Warrior is the starting class in Rogue Adventure. It's supposed to be basic and not overpowered so you can learn how to play the game with additional power and complexity introduced gradually. Naturally, increasing enemy HP and attack damage makes the starting deck increasingly inappropriate. Warrior has no starting ability that can scale with the difficulty level, so you will be relying on the cards and skills you find along the way in order to survive. World 1 can be the most difficult part of the run, because you need to ramp up quickly to defeat Gorilla King or Evil Forest Guardian. You will lose some runs early simply because you didn't find any good cards. Don't feel too bad about it.
This guide is here to help you beat Inferno 1 through 7 with Warrior in order to unlock the third Class Bonus, which makes temporary Strength and Resistance buffs become permanent buffs. When you equip Class Bonus 3, Inferno 8 should actually be easier than Inferno 7. Many weaker cards become powerful, opening up many new strategies. Check the end of this guide for notes on Class Bonus 3. Good luck!
- Mana - Most strategies benefit from getting extra Mana each turn, so you will want to find a way to do that. Some of the best cards for this include Lady of the Knight, Souls Priestess, V01-B01 [ROBOT], and Sou, The Blade of Wind [ANCIENT].
- Defense first - Build up your defense quickly or you will likely lose. Don't get too many attack cards. Look for Shield cards with multiplying effects like Dark Shielded Knight and Apprentice Guard. Try to get to a point where you are not losing any HP.
- Permanent buffs - Favor Strength and Resistance buffs that last until the end of the fight instead of temporary end-of-turn buffs. Sun Priestess and Wizard of Nature are a couple of the best cards for this.
- Combat cards - Try to take mostly Combat cards, and only take Magic cards if they exile (with few exceptions). This is to maximize the effectiveness of cards like Lady of the Knight and Dark Shielded Knight that count the number of Combat cards in your hand.
- Small deck - A smaller deck will be more consistent. When your deck grows to about 12 cards or more, it becomes unlikely that you will see key cards each turn, unless you have ways to cycle through your deck faster.
- Don't upgrade - Don't upgrade the class skill. It's not worth 300 Coins, so spend them on something else.
- When starting a run, you can pick the map you want while keeping your starting bonus. Before you pick your starting bonus, try looking in the background to see if it's the map you want. If not, kill the app and re-open it, then start a new run instead of continuing. Your starting bonus will still be offered in the new run. On very high Infernos (23+) this is a must, as you likely won't be able to survive two consecutive battles before the first Merchant. There is one map which has a Merchant after the first fight.
- You can restart a fight. Quit from the menu and select continue to restart the fight from the beginning. Do this if you make a critical error or an important random outcome is not favorable.
- Key of the Portal (Skill) protects you from a bad starting hand. Combine with the restart fight trick above to get the best results.
- Besides Key of the Portal, there are other ways to alter the outcome of your first few turns. Although the starting hand and starting deck order for a fight is fixed, there are a few cards which produce random outcomes that can be optimized by restarting the fight. Some examples: Old Jester, Cthool Acolyte, Cthool Apprentice. Night Fairy [FAIRY] shuffles your deck, so you could play Night Fairy during your first turn just to escape a bad opening shuffle. Similarly, if you can run through your cards once and trigger a new shuffle, you may restart the fight if you find that the second shuffle isn't so good.
- Merchant card prices will randomize after each card you buy, so if you plan to buy more than one, you won't know beforehand exactly how much you will have to pay for all. The price ranges for each category are: Bronze 55-75, Silver 110-150, Gold 220-280. You can use this knowledge to choose which card you should buy first in order to save Coins. If you see one card that is closer to the low end of its price range, buy that card first.
Until you unlock the third Class Bonus, stick with the first one (Knowledge of Resistance), because the goal is to get Shield cards with multiplying effects, such as Dark Shielded Knight and Apprentice Guard.
You will want to begin with a starting bonus, so if you lose in World 1, play a different class to beat the first Boss and earn your next starting bonus. If you're trying to advance other classes at the same time, you can take this as an opportunity to alternate between them and Warrior. If you want the starting bonus ASAP, pick Assassin/Ranger/Barbarian at Classic Normal or Hell difficulty, and you can beat World 1 in a minute or two. You can quit immediately after defeating the Boss, on the rewards screen.
- 2 Gems - Never pick this. 100 Coins is worth more.
- 100 Coins - Choose this if you want your best option without the risk of wasting a starting bonus.
- Random Rare - Go ahead, give it a try. This can give you your best starting situation.
- Random Skill - You can try your luck here, but there are 97 possible Skills. Random Rare is more likely to give you a good result if you're struggling.
To maximize your chances of survival, you want a path that gives you the most Merchants and Chests, and the least Elites. You will want a Merchant early to prepare for the rest of the world, and one close to the Boss so you can use all the Coins you've accumulated so far to prepare for the Boss fight.
Most of the time you should be taking 1 Gem after a fight, unless you see a card that you would have bought anyway or one you know works well with your chosen strategy. Don't take random cards just because they are free, because they can clog up your hand and make it harder to win. Even if you see a card that would be good for late game, you may not want to take it early. For early game, prioritize cards that will help you survive.
- Heal - When your HP is low and your defense is not well developed yet, I recommend healing immediately at the Merchant rather than buying a card that will heal you slowly. If your HP is still over 50% and you think you can survive until the next Merchant, you don't need to heal.
- Thin your deck - Your starting deck includes 4 Fighter cards, which means at some point in a fight you may want to spend all your Mana on Shield but you can't because every card in your hand is Fighter. I recommend Removing or Transforming at least two in World 1. Fighter is one of the worst cards in the game, so there is a good chance that Transform will improve your deck.
- Remove or Transform your Fighter cards.
- Remove Mage once you have a good replacement for it (High Witch, Spirit of Magic, Keyra).
- Remove Guard once your defense is strong enough without it.
- Consider trading Gems for Coins - Once you have 4 Gems, you will be able to trade them for 100 Coins, so keep that in mind when looking at card prices. Similarly, when you have 7 Gems you can afford the Gold Ingot skill which gives 300 Coins.
- Don't upgrade the class skill - It's not worth 300 Coins. The +3 Resistance is only until end of turn, and it only triggers after you've successfully blocked all the damage from an enemy. If you can do that, you probably don't need this bonus anyway. You are better off spending 300 Coins thinning your deck or buying better cards.
- Spend wisely - If you don't see any good options and you think you can survive until the next Merchant, save your Coins and Gems. If the next Merchant is 2 or 3 fights away and you think you need to prepare for those, don't be afraid to Reroll cards or skills if you can afford something nice that could show up.
Try to focus on a single attack strategy. If you have too many attack cards, your deck becomes incoherent and you may not have enough defense. Make sure you build up your defense first before committing too many cards to offense. However, if you can't improve your defense before fighting an Elite enemy in World 1, then you should get an attack card that is better than Fighter. If you can't find any of the suggested cards below, you can take any card that does about 10 damage or more and remove it later in the game once once you have something better.
Deal damage equal to your Shield. This is the safest strategy, because you can focus on building up massive Shield to block every attack. Strength boosts are useless for this strategy, so you only need Resistance boosts. You will want sources of Armored, permanent Resistance, and Shield cards with multiplying effects. This strategy works best when you have Space Commander or RoboWitch [ROBOT], but you can also make do with a mixture of Armored sources, including the Snail Shell skill, Blessed Lady [ANGEL], Iron Colossus [ROBOT], and Dhorion, Holy Sentinel [ANCIENT].
- First choice: Alestar, Tranquility Defender [ANCIENT] - Take multiple copies and start collecting ANCIENT cards. Try to get Dhorion, Holy Sentinel [ANCIENT] as well.
- Second and third choice: Guardian of the Demons [DEMON], Black Knight - Take only one copy. I would avoid getting these until I know I will be using a Shield Bash strategy.
These cards are affected by strength multiple times. You will need sources of permanent Strength for this strategy in order to scale up against more powerful enemies.
- Beast Champion [BEASTMAN] is one of the earliest multiplying attack cards you encounter in the game, and is quite good with extra Strength. It attacks three times and is affected by Strength three times, so it effectively multiplies by 9.
- Lady of the Dark Souls and Apprentice Knight multiply by the number of cards you play in the turn, so try combining them with cards that give extra Mana.
- Commander Armstrong [DEMON] multiplies by the number of cards in your deck, and combined with extra Strength it becomes quite powerful. Night Fairy [FAIRY] works well with Commander Armstrong, because it will shuffle everything into your deck to maximize the attack multiplier. You can also get Souls Guardian so you can play it more times in a single turn.
- Cthool, the Darkmaster [ANCIENT] is one of the most powerful multiplying attack cards because it grows in power during the fight as it copies your cards with Exile. For best results, don't let your deck grow too large and combine with Exiling cards that give permanent buffs, Immune, or Daze. You can also get cards like Old Jester or Moon Fairy so you can search for Cthool. Because Cthool is useless by itself, avoid getting it until you have some good cards that Exile.
- Angel Fighter [ANGEL] / Blade of Justice / Young Fighter - These multiply by the number of Combat cards in your hand, so they won't scale beyond 4x attack. Angel Fighter is good for recovering a bit of HP, but it will rarely allow you to recover completely in a single fight because the enemy will likely die before that happens. Blade of Justice is nice because it is not affected by the Block debuff.
- Mystic Bird / Sou, The Blade of Wind [ANCIENT] - Many ANCIENT cards work well by themselves, and if you collect enough of them these cards can provide decent attack damage. Mystic Bird doubles as a strong Shield card, but note that it does not count towards any Race total. Sou is good for the extra Mana even if you don't end up collecting many ANCIENT cards.
- Lullyp [BEASTMAN][FAIRY] multiplies by the total number of BEASTMAN and FAIRY cards in the game. Each copy of Lullyp counts as two in the multiplier total, and they can be buffed with Bear Doll and Fairy Doll skills. BEASTMAN has more useful cards for Warrior than FAIRY.
- Angel Archer [ANGEL] multiplies by the number of ANGEL cards in the game. You can also get copies of Angel Priestess [ANGEL] and Angel Captain [ANGEL], both of which Exile, and will continue to count towards the total number of ANGEL cards after Exiling.
- Fairy Warrior [FAIRY] is not recommended. It's difficult to build a good FAIRY deck using Warrior class, so unless you're up for a challenge, pick something else.
These cards duplicate themselves for increasing damage. You can take multiple copies, but pick only one type of card in order to maximize its effectiveness.
- Damage and Poison - These do not need extra Strength, though if you have enough Strength you may be able to kill enemies without needing a strong defense. A few sources of Daze/Immune or some good defensive Skills may suffice.
- Robo Wasp [ROBOT] (Silver card) - Cheap and effective. Multiple copies are better. Alternatively, having a copy of High Priest can be nearly as good as having another copy of Robo Wasp [ROBOT].
- Cualdir, Ethereal Blade [ANCIENT] (Gold card) - Worth spending all your Coins on if you can stick with an ANCIENT deck. Extremely powerful, and effective even with a medium-size deck. Cards that synergize well with Cualdir include: Sou, The Blade of Wind [ANCIENT] for Mana, Alestar, Tranquility Defender [ANCIENT] for Shield, and Mystic Bird for Shield. Because Cualdir uses the number of ANCIENT cards in your deck, you are better off getting extra copies of Sou for Mana and Alestar for Shield instead of duplicating Cualdir. Also note that having a copy of High Priest can be nearly as good as having another copy of Cualdir.
- Damage only - Using these cards on lower Inferno levels you may be able to get away with no extra Strength if you have strong defense, but it's risky. Because the base damage is only 2, a little Strength goes a long way. +2 Strength would be double the damage!
- Masked Swordsman (Bronze card) - This one puts copies in your Exile pile. Try to get multiple copies so you can play it more often.
- Self-Destruction Bot [ROBOT] (Bronze card) - This is risky because it damages you. You will want to pair this with a healing card. You can take multiple copies so you can play it more often, but make sure you can heal enough to recover the lost HP. The nice thing about this one is that it counts the number of ROBOT cards, so you can pair it with others such as Flamethrower [ROBOT] and Iron Colossus [ROBOT].
- General Wukong [BEASTMAN] (Gold card) - Attacks all enemies instead of one, but does not exile, so you will see it more and more as you use it. You will want a lot of extra Strength because when this overruns your deck you will have a hard time defending. Because of this risk, I would recommend one of the other options instead, but if you do use this you can pick Ant Wizard [BEASTMAN] for Shield. Also note that having a copy of High Priest can be nearly as good as having another copy of General Wukong.
Burn can be a risky strategy because it damages enemies at the end of their turn, giving them a chance to attack first. There is also one enemy that is not affected by Burn: Skeleton Mage. If you want to give it a try, combine several sources of Burn (both cards and skills) with a strong defense. During fights, it's best to apply Burn as soon as possible so it can damage enemies across several turns. If you go with a DEMON deck, also try to pick up multiple copies of Demon Guard [DEMON]. As with any other attack strategy, if you go with Burn you should try to focus on it, or your deck will become incoherent and less effective. Burn and Strength have no direct synergy, although both work with Flame Imp [DEMON].
- Good sources of Burn:
- Lava Boulder
- Flame Dino
- Red Drake
- Succubus [DEMON]
- Flame Imp [DEMON] (For a DEMON deck only. Works well with Burning Strike skill.)
- Good supporting cards:
- Witch of Flame
- Melgaroth, Keeper of Flames [ANCIENT][DEMON]
- 1x Lady of the Knight (Mana) - Don't take more than one copy, because that will decrease its effectiveness. You will always want 3 combat cards in your hand when you play this, so if you have another Magic card in your hand like Mage, you may want to play that first so you have a chance to draw a combat card and get the Mana back from Lady of the Knight.
- 1-3x Dark Shielded Knight (Shield) - Combined with permanent Resistance, this is one of the strongest Shield cards. If you have a Magic card in your hand at the same time you may want to play that first to maximize the Shield you get from Dark Shielded Knight.
- 1-2x Apprentice Guard (Shield) - It may not seem like much to new players, but combined with extra Mana and permanent Resistance it can give you a lot of Shield.
- Beast Emperor [BEASTMAN] (Double Damage/Strength/Resistance) - This is one of the best cards you can get. Perfect as a starting bonus, and worth buying.
- V01-B01 [ROBOT] (Mana/Resistance) - Free +1 Mana and +1 Resistance for some turns. Only play it if the Shield would save you from dying or it will prevent HP loss and you think you can still defeat the enemy without it. Having it in your hand will make Lady of the Knight (LotK) give you one less Mana, but the Mana you get from V01-B01 compensates for that. If you have two in your hand with LotK, it makes LotK useless. However, I'd say it's still worth getting multiple copies because it pays for itself if you want to play it. You can also opt for Wizard instead of LotK.
- Sou, The Blade of Wind [ANCIENT] (Attack/Mana) - This is worth taking just for the extra Mana you get when you play it as the first card of your turn. It doesn't give you Overcharged, so you can use it in addition to other cards that give Mana.
- Souls Priestess (Mana) - Take it if you don't have Lady of the Knight. Cycling through your deck is very useful to keep your deck performing consistently.
- Sun Priestess (Strength/Resistance) - Great if you don't take any DEMON cards.
- Wizard of Nature (Strength/Resistance) - This will convert temporary Strength/Resistance into permanent Strength/Resistance, so it's good even if the only way you get those buffs is from two or more cards giving Mana and Overcharged.
- Sigil Essence (Immune/Resistance) - Take no more than 2 cards that require empty draw/discard pile because you don't want to be stuck with an unplayable hand.
- Snow Queen (Immune) - Buys you time during the fight.
- Earth Seed (Quest/Daze) - The upgraded version is great, but taking this in World 1 before you have a strong defense could be risky. It will make your deck worse until you upgrade it, so if you can't do that before fighting Elites or the Boss, you may be in trouble. However, if you take it right before fighting a Normal enemy you can probably linger there and complete the 200 Shield Quest whether or not you have an improved defense.
- Portia, Keeper of Silence [ANCIENT][ANGEL] (Attack/Daze) - Works well against Gorilla King, combined with Immune or enough Shield. Also stops enemies from Evoking (Lycanthrope) or applying debuffs (Giant Wasp, Evil Forest Guardian).
- Alestar, Tranquility Defender [ANCIENT] (Shield/Attack) - Very strong defensive card. Combine with more ANCIENT cards, Resistance, and Armored for best results. Works well with Dhorion, Holy Sentinel [ANCIENT].
- Dhorion, Holy Sentinel [ANCIENT] (Resistance/Armored) - Free source of permanent Resistance. Temporary Armored is nice, too. Don't play it unless you have to, because you want your Resistance to keep increasing.
- Space Commander (Armored/Shield) - When low on health it gives you 10 Shield, which is better than Guard, so it can help you survive in World 1 before your defense is fully developed. It really shines when you have more than 50% HP and a good source of Shield. Great for Shield Bash strategy, or even just playing defensively. Having this card also allows you to upgrade Space Fighter into a powerful Attack and Shield card, so grab that as well if you plan to have at least 3 Races in your deck.
- RoboWitch [ROBOT] (Armored) - This will greatly improve your deck if you can generate a lot of Shield. Works well with Shield Bash strategy.
- Cthool, the Darkmaster [ANCIENT] / Azahr, the Exiled Wizard [ANCIENT] - If you have powerful cards that Exile such as Sun Priestess, Wizard of Nature, or Snow Queen, you can reuse them with Cthool or Azahr. These are two of the most overpowered cards in the game.
- Wizard (Quest/Mana) - It becomes better than Lady of the Knight if you have enough Shield to linger on an enemy to complete the Quest.
- Souls Guardian (Mana) - If you don't have another card that gives you two or more mana, you can get this. This allows you to reuse cards that you just played from your discard pile, which is especially useful when you're using self-duplicating attack cards.
- Sapphire Guard (Shield) - One copy recommended. Can give you free Shield or temporary Strength/Resistance via Overcharged, and can increase cards played per turn (for Apprentice Guard, Apprentice Knight, or Lady of the Dark Souls).
- Cthool Acolyte (Shield) - Exiles itself and another card. Good for early game to defend yourself and thin your deck. Combine with restarting the fight to get the best results.
- Medusa [BEASTMAN] (Daze) - Buys you time during the fight.
- Xatior Order of Wizards (Daze) - Buys you time during the fight.
- Blue Witch (Resistance) - Good permanent Resistance boost.
- Red Witch (Strength) - Good permanent Strength boost.
- Angel Captain [ANGEL] (Strength) - Good permanent Strength boost if nothing better is found. Slightly better than Guardian of the Sigil but can't be played for free.
- Guardian of the Sigil (Strength) - Good for early game if nothing better is found. Take no more than 2 cards that require empty draw/discard pile because you don't want to be stuck with an unplayable hand.
- Fairy Queen [FAIRY] (Quest/Strength/Resistance) - Good if you have enough Shield to linger on an enemy to work towards completing the Quest. Very tedious, though.
- Nephil [ANGEL] (Attack/Heal) - Works well as a starting bonus because it can help maintain your HP and provides a decent attack. It can help you survive World 1.
- Ultron [ROBOT] (Attack/Heal) - Works well as a starting bonus. It can help you survive World 1 and slowly recover HP.
- High Witch (Quest/Weak) - Good replacement for Mage, because the upgraded version exiles. Plan to remove or transform Mage after getting this.
- Spirit of Magic [ANCIENT] (Quest/Weak) - Good replacement for Mage. Free play for early game, so it does not have to interfere with Lady of the Knight / Dark Shielded Knight. It's still good for late game even after it upgrades. Plan to remove or transform Mage after getting this.
- Keyra, the Shy Soul [ANCIENT] (Weak/Shield) - Good replacement for Mage. Doubles as a Shield card. Although it does not exile, it's still worth having. Plan to remove or transform Mage after getting this.
- Spirit of Defense [ANCIENT] (Quest/Shield) - Free extra Shield for early game. It can help you survive. After 20 plays it upgrades and the upgraded version isn't that great, so try not to play it unless you need it.
- Vampire Lord (Heal) - Nice to have for free. One of the most desirable healing cards for early game, because it's a Combat card that Exiles and won’t interfere with any strategy you may end up following.
- Druid of the High Elves (Strength/Resistance/Heal/Immune) - This card does it all, but it will cost you 5 Mana. Having this may be better than having no Immune cards, but Snow Queen and Sigil Essence are better choices because of the Mana cost. Make sure you have ways to gain Mana before taking this.
- The Timeshifter [ANGEL] - Returns all Exiled cards to your deck. This is good later in the game when you already have multiple powerful cards that Exile such as Snow Queen, Medusa, Earth Seed, and Wizard of Nature.
- Elder Fairy [FAIRY] (Mana) - Nice to have for free. Because it gives you Mana without Overcharge, it will rarely interfere with Lady of the Knight. Note that after it Removes itself, it will stop affecting Cualdir, Ethereal Blade [ANCIENT] as well as Lullyp [BEASTMAN][FAIRY].
- Mage Thief (Coins) - Earn extra Coins during a fight. Get it when you have a strong defense and you think you can spare one turn during a fight. Allows you to remove your unnecessary cards quicker and buy stronger ones. You can combine this with cards that give Armored so you can set up your Shield the turn before you play Mage Thief.
- Mystic Bird (Attack/Shield) - Strong Attack & Shield when you have enough Strength/Resistance and at least three ANCIENT or FAIRY cards in your deck. Weak otherwise.
- Ant Wizard [BEASTMAN] (Shield) - This is a strong Shield card if you are building a BEASTMAN deck with permanent Resistance. Weak otherwise.
- Lullyp [BEASTMAN][FAIRY] (Attack/Shield) - Strong Attack & Shield if you are building a BEASTMAN deck with permanent Strength + Resistance. Weak otherwise.
- Demon Guard [DEMON] (Shield) - This is actually a very strong shield card if you load your deck up with DEMONs. If you want to build a DEMON deck, try to get multiple copies of this.
- Illusionist (Weak/Attack) - Works well as a starting bonus because it is free damage + weak. It can help you survive World 1.
- Young Witch (Weak/Mana) - Mostly useful for the extra 2 Mana for one turn when played on a Weakened enemy. May be a good early pick if you haven't found another card that gives you extra Mana yet.
- Young Mermaid (Strength/Resistance) - 1x is OK if you are lacking in Strength/Resistance boosts. Useful for extra Shield when an enemy has Weak.
- Moon Fairy [FAIRY] (Search) - Nice as a free reward. It helps keep your deck consistent.
- Apprentice Witch (Search) - 1x is nice to have if your deck is getting too big and you have an important card you want to pick out when necessary. The target card ought to be quite important because this costs extra Mana.
- Ambassadress of Peace (Shield/Armored) - This is nice to have if you find it and you need help with defense, but I wouldn't recommend spending Coins on it.
- Shadow Assassin (Attack) - Nice as a free reward once your deck has good defense and losing 3 HP per fight is acceptable. I wouldn't recommend spending Coins on it, though.
- Seeker of the Light (Heal/Remove Debuffs) - This is one of the few Magic cards that do not exile and may be worth getting, but only after you've improved your shield capability. If you have enough Shield to linger on an enemy, this will allow you to fully heal, and it will help by removing Debuffs in late game.
- King Neptune / Mermaid Queen (Quest/Strength/Resistance) - Because the Quest of 30 Strength or Resistance can take a long time to complete, it's unlikely these would help you in World 1. If you have a strong defense and a source of temporary buffs, you could linger on an enemy long enough to complete the Quest. Without upgrading, these cards are equivalent to Fighter, and they will hurt your chances of winning.
- Invisibility Potion (5 Gems) - It may not seem like much, but this is a very efficient use of Gems. Dodging the first attack gives you extra time to set up your strategy for the rest of the fight.
- Ice Block (7 Gems) - Also a very efficient use of Gems. More versatile than Invisibility Potion, as you can either use it to buy you time at the beginning or save yourself from death. Try to avoid triggering it until you really need it. You can restart the fight if this triggers too early and you think it's possible to delay it more.
- Frost Nova (9 Gems) - Think of this as an automatic extra turn at the beginning of the fight. Allows you to set up your strategy during the first turn without worrying about defending.
- Freezing Shot (9 Gems) - Every 10 cards, daze a random enemy. Combine with extra Mana each turn for best results. Most of the time this will improve your chances of winning, but it can make it tricky to fight certain enemies that block damage while in the waiting state. It's still worth getting. Since this is a random outcome, you can restart the fight if you really need to daze a certain enemy at a specific time to save your HP.
- Key of the Portal (9 Gems) - Always an improvement to any strategy. Provides you extra Mana for a head start and improves consistency. You can combine this with restarting fights for even greater chances of winning.
- Necronomicon (9 Gems) - Extra 1 Mana per turn, but halves your HP. Combine with defensive Skills listed above for best results. Focus on setting up a solid defense and most of the time it doesn't matter how much HP you have. Take this if you think you will be able to avoid most damage. If you think you may take some hits, then Have a Meal at every Merchant after taking this Skill.
- Demon Eye (7 Gems) - Extra 1 Mana per turn, but you become blind. Combine with defensive Skills listed above for best results. More efficient use of Gems than Necronomicon, but requires more familiarity with the game. Some strategies benefit from the extra Mana so much that it makes sense to take it. Example 1: Small deck with Robo Wasp or Cualdir that ramps up damage so quickly that the enemy dies before you take a hit. Example 2: Quickly build up Shield so high with Armored that it doesn't matter what the enemy does. Shield Bash for the kill.
- Bonus! You can use this tool to help plan your moves. It's not 100% accurate for all situations, but it's good enough to be useful.
- Stone Skin (8 Gems) - If you're having trouble building a strong defense and your health is low, this can turn things around and save you.
- Circular Shield (8 Gems) - Works best with small decks. Extra Shield that doesn't require Mana is always good to have.
- Snail Shell (6 Gems) - This can be good for accumulating Shield before you draw your other cards that give Armored buffs. Combine with cards that give Armored, or it won't be very useful.
- Life Sword (8 Gems) - Get it if you consistently stay at full HP and you're using attacks that multiply damage. Good with Masked Swordsman, Robo Wasp, Cualdir, Lady of the Dark Souls, Beast Champion. Don't get it if your strategy is Shield Bash or if you can't maintain full HP.
- Gold Ingot (7 Gems) - Coins can be more useful than Gems. If you don't see any better Skill, get this.
- Phantom Boots (13 Gems) - Most of the time, this makes the game seem like it's in easy mode. It will never be bad for you to get this, but you may shoot yourself in the foot by skipping to the Boss without preparing well enough. Keep in mind that when you fight enemies, you can get both Coins and Gems (or a free card). If you visit a Merchant, you're only getting Coins.
- Mana Battery (12 Gems) - It's not immediately obvious that this is good, but occasionally you may have a turn that doesn't require spending all your Mana. When that happens, this will allow you to save it for the next turn to have an extra strong defense when needed. You can also get rich quick with Mana Battery and Mage Thief.
- Blessing of Sanctuary (10 Gems) - If you are worried you may lose, you can get this. When it triggers, restart the fight instead of continuing, unless you can find no way to survive the fight without it.
- Shuriken Attack / Kunai Attack (8 Gems) - With the right deck, these skills are a good source of permanent Strength and Resistance, respectively. Combine with sources of extra Mana so that you can reliably play 4 Combat cards per turn.
- Rock Dagger (9 Gems) - This one is just OK, considering its price. If you don't have any better option and you really need to improve your defense before the next Merchant, you can get it.
- Potion Maker (6 Gems) - This is an option if you regularly lose HP and you don't have any healing cards, and you are OK with healing slowly. It's a one-time cost and won't take up Mana during a fight.
- Apple Pie (5 Gems) - Excellent as a starting bonus, because it can help you survive World 1. However, it's probably not worth spending 5 Gems on in World 1 because by the time you have that many Gems there is probably only one Merchant left and you're better off spending 50 Coins to heal immediately.
- Knowledge of Strength (8 Gems) - Not the most efficient use of Gems, but useful if your attack strategy is not Shield Bash.
- Knowledge of Resistance (8 Gems) - Not a very efficient use of Gems, but it's an alternative if you are lacking in cards that give permanent Resistance. You will have this automatically if you're using Class Bonus #1.
- Piece of Coal (8 Gems) - This is a weird recommendation, but it gives you +2 Resistance for the same price as Knowledge of Resistance, and you can restart the fight until the debuffs you get are favorable. Only get it if you have the patience for a Reroll Adventure!
- Mana Dagger (9 Gems) - This may seem good, but it's usually a bad idea because of Overcharged. Don't get it, unless you do not plan on getting extra Mana from cards.
- Bones Armor (7 Gems) - Don't get this, because you get Shield from playing Combat cards and Bones Armor won't trigger!
- Souls Guardian - This is one of the best cards you can get. Play it repeatedly to power up.
- Souls Priestess + V01-B01 [ROBOT] - This combination works very well.
- Beast Emperor [BEASTMAN] - Very powerful, and the only starting bonus that activates Class Bonus 3.
- Lizard Guard [BEASTMAN] - Try collecting these and build a BEASTMAN deck that can generate hundreds of Shield per turn.
- Young Mermaid - Cheap way to get permanent Strength and Resistance if you find nothing else.
- Sapphire Guard - Gives mana and overcharged, so it can be combined with other such cards to get permanent Strength and Resistance.