Anyway Kill Spire 2 still available early, it’s full of intricate little things to unlock. And now that I’ve personally spent over 30 hours in early access, I’m finally starting to get some really fun and game-changing cards in the tour.
Whether you choose to play as Silent, Necrobinder, Ironclad, Defect, or Regent, each character’s deck has several cards that completely change how they play. Maybe they’ll focus more on defense than offense, or they’ll focus entirely on a new mechanic that proves addictive.
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There is a deck, a synergizing shaped hole in my heart, and these games need to fill it.
In fairness to the weird characters in the game, we’re going to share three game-changing cards for each of them. So get ready to discover a new way to play in this popular deckbuilder series!
15
Echo form
Two for the Price of One
I admit I last played Defect. I’m not always a fan of his orb-centric playstyle, which ranges from using a slow and steady effect to sudden lightning burst attacks. But with Echo Form, this adorable robot just got a lot more powerful. Because not only does the Force continue throughout the battle, but it makes his first card played each turn work overtime.
Now, the downside to this card is that it has a very high cost, and it’s Ethereal, which means you play it or lose it until the next battle. It is best to activate Echo Form if you have Frost orbs active to provide some Elemental defense. Especially against enemies that block you in the first turn of the battle, which is a recurring theme.
That said, once you have Echo Form working, you can really spend money on powerful attacks, switch orbs to Awaken them, or turn inexpensive cards into devastating combos.
14
You forgot the Tradition
A Worrying Combo
In my experience, Ironclad is a great tank, but usually doesn’t have much mana to spare for attacks. Enter the Forgotten Tradition. It’s an Ability instead of an Ability, which means it only takes a chance to play it. But if you use it effectively, you can generate a lot of mana to power up the attack.
The key is to have a lot of cards that feature the Exhaust mechanic in your deck, and then play them after activating Ritual of Oblivion. With that extra power coursing through the Ironclad’s veins, you can set up a giant shield and powerfully attack every enemy on the battlefield.
Of course, the downside to this card is that it is not a permanent effect throughout the battle. But if you build a deck around it, and have a lot of Forgotten Habits and cards with Exhaust, suddenly you’ll be playing Ironclad a lot.
13
A storm of pages
Writing Ink
Usually, I don’t fill my decks Kill Spire 2 with Ethereal cards. They are dangerous because if you don’t play them, they disappear until the next time. But Necrobinder breaks many of the traditional rules in the game, and can often generate as many Ethereal cards as Souls.
As Pagestorm works, you’ll suddenly draw a bunch of cards. Because every time you draw an Ethereal card, you’ll draw another card for the rest of the battle. This can easily fill a Necrobinder’s hand with tons of cards, which is dangerous because it can shut it down, but it’s still a solid card that makes the brittle skeleton very fast.
Now, I wouldn’t say that Necrobinder has a bad deck-reducing game, but it’s nice to boost it dramatically with this card. Just remember that you may need a generation of mana to make the most of all the cards that come into your hand.
12
Hail
Crushed Ice
Defect has a number of different Orbs that he can produce, all of which have a different function. Some damage a single target, others attack the entire field, and Frost generates defense. Normally, that makes Frost a much less attractive option, but not if you have Hailstorm active.
With Hailstorm, having one Frost orb active means you’ll outrun all enemies every time. Sure, it’s not much damage, but it adds up. Usually, the only way to do this is with Glass orbs, which deal less damage unless they are Evoked.
If you complement this with cards that allow Defect to hold multiple orbs, Hailstorm can be very useful. You’ll be generating a ton of defense every now and then, and maybe taunting enemies or blasting them with lightning.
11
Stepping on each other
Milling Weight
Even though Ironclad is more defensive than offensive, that doesn’t mean it can’t crush enemies. In fact, you have access to very powerful attack cards. And one of my favorite ways to use them is Stampede.
This amazing power allows you to play an attack card for free at the end of every turn. The target is also randomized, to keep it accurate. But if you combine this with a deck full of high cost attacks, your opponent may be destroyed.
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Some of the best cards I’ve played with an active Stampede include Bludgeon, Stomp, and Mangle. Each one does a lot of damage, be it to one or more enemies, and can even generate a lot of mana. Suddenly, this turtle looks like a kaiju.
10
Calcify
Supplement for Bone Strength
You’ve probably heard the phrase “collaboration makes the dream come true” before. And one character who embodies that ethos is the Necrobinder, along with his skeletal friend, Osty. In general, Osty’s attacks don’t do much damage, and most require him to have basic health to really affect opponents.
However, with Calcify, all of Osty’s attacks deal 4 more damage. That sounds small, but trust me, it makes a big difference. Especially since most of them have very low mana costs, and some can be very expensive cards if played in the right order.
With Calcify in play, Osty suddenly does a lot of damage. Which means he can quickly KO opponents, and then organize his bodyguards to protect his wife. Truly the best friend any dead hero could wish for!
9
Pillar of Creation
The Power of the King
On paper, the Pillar of Creativity card doesn’t look too small. It relies on you to create cards to work, and only provides 3 Block. But when you look at how many Regents cards produce other cards (some good, some bad), then you start to see the appeal. Especially since all that extra protection is needed to keep this glass cannon from shattering.
Many of them include cards that generate Minion-themed cards, and two of my favorite examples are Crash Landing and Spectrum Shift. The former generates a ton of Debris after smashing the entire field, and the latter is a power that generates a random colorless card every turn.
Perhaps my favorite part about Pillar of Creation is that it leaves me free to focus less on Regent star cards and Ruling Blade, and allows me to focus on offense and defense. Which makes this king very easy.
8
Make it so
Enter Picard’s Index Here
I will freely admit that I laughed the first time I saw Make It So. It immediately reminded me of far-flung sci-fi adventures Star Trekwhich I think makes sense for the cosmic Regent. Jokes aside, it’s an incredibly useful attack card.
First, it costs zero mana, which is always useful. But the best part about Make It So is that it returns to your hand every time you play three Skills at once. When you consider how many random Skills the Regent uses, this suddenly becomes a very annoying boomerang attack.
If you really want to get the most out of it, fill your deck with different abilities, and try to get a copy of Void Form in your deck. Those Useful Powers make your first two cards always completely free. Which turns this glass cannon into a machine gun.
7
Roll Up My Sleeve
Bows, Bows Everywhere
It is probably clear now that Mthulisi is my favorite actor Kill Spire 2. I like to play a lot of cards all the time and I poison everything I see. On the other hand, I don’t always like to use Shivs with him, mainly because he does less basic damage. But with Up My Sleeve, Shivs becomes a much more powerful gameplay mechanic.
After each time you play Up My Sleeve, the cost decreases each time. Which means if you play the third time in the battle, you won’t cost anything. If the battle goes on for a long time, that means three free attacks every time you draw it. Compound that pain by playing cards that increase the power of Shivs, and nasty cards like Fan of Knives, which let your Shivs burn all enemies.
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The endgame attack with this strategy is the Knife Trap, which plays each Shiv you played on one enemy. It’s definitely a fun strategy that makes Shivs just as powerful as poison, if not more so.
6
Senior Editor
So Very Sly
One of the fun things about playing as Silent is that discarding cards with Sly makes them work no matter what. There are several cards that will do things like damage enemies, draw more cards, or generate mana, also with Sly. However, not all cards have it. At least, that is until you play Master Planner.
This incredible power turns every ability Silent plays into a tricky card. Which means you can play a bunch of cards that you draw and discard, and activate all of your Discarded Abilities in battle. It goes without saying that it’s very useful, especially in tough boss and Elite battles.
The only real downside to this card is that it takes a while to work, just like Up My Sleeve. But once it gets going, you won’t want to play Silent any other way.
