You can get all the items you need by refining cards but it helps if you've been playing TT from the start. I can usually end up with punishment by the end of disc one using this method.

As for damage- why not junction 100 deaths or 100 zombies to your status attack. Using death you can instant kill most enemies in 1 hit. If you zombie you can then cast life or use the GF abilities recover and revive to defeat an enemy.