Necrobinder Card Tier List
Necrobinder has three main archetypes: Soul builds (strongest), Doom builds (viable alternative), and Ethereal builds (high ceiling, hard to execute). The core Act 1 loop is Defend → Summon → Unleash. Necrobinder has the worst Act 1 among all characters but a very high ceiling once online. Borrowed Time, Neurosurge, Devour Life, Dirge, and Severance are among the absolute top cards. Soul cycling is the primary win condition — Haunt deals unblockable damage per soul played.
Soul Engine & Core Power
18 cards
S-tier cards define Necrobinder's dominant Soul strategy and include key enablers for Doom and Ethereal builds. These cards generate souls, provide massive acceleration, or serve as the primary win conditions. Dirge, Devour Life, and Severance are the cornerstones of the class.
Apply 6 Doom to yourself.Gain.
0-cost, doesn't exhaust. Upgrade gives +2 mana with unchanged doom. Core infinite piece — enables Death's Door combo turns. Take it always, regardless of build.
Enemy loses 2 HP.Add 2 Souls into your Draw Pile.
Add 3 souls to your draw pile. Soul bias towards hand — leads to infinite loops and Hunt kills. Top of S tier for enabling the soul cycling win condition.
Whenever you play a Soul, Summon 1.
Power: +1 summon per soul played. 10+ souls per round means massive summon scaling. 'Top of S tier' — enables the scaling that makes Necrobinder's late game unstoppable.
[etain.]Put 3 cards from your Discard Pile into your Hand.Exhaust.
Retrieve 3 cards from discard to hand, exhaust. Better than Grave Blast. With Borrowed Time = infinite setup. Refills your hand with the exact pieces you need.
Summon 3 X times.Add X Souls into your Draw Pile.Exhaust.
'Best Necrobinder card.' Creates 4x summons and souls when upgraded. Put retain on it for insane value every turn. Take it in every build — the card defines the character.
Apply 29 Doom to ALL enemies.Kill enemies with at least as much Doom as HP.
3 mana AoE that trivializes roaches, centipede, and scroll encounters. One-shots most multi-enemy fights when upgraded. Skills at battle start relic makes it even stronger.
Lose 2 Strength.Gain at the start of each turn.
-2 strength, +1 mana per turn. Best builds don't care about strength. Works in Soul, Doom, AND Osty builds. Premium energy generation power.
Whenever you play a Soul, a random enemy loses 6 HP.
6 damage per soul played this combat. Unblockable — enemies can't mitigate it. Main win condition when cycling souls. Each soul played permanently increases Haunt's damage for the fight.
Next turn, Summon 2 and gain.
Upgraded: gain 3 mana next turn. Enables massive pop-off turns. Cycling Invoke between turns creates momentum that's hard for enemies to keep up with.
Ethereal.The first Attack each turn deals 50% additional damage.
First attack this turn deals +50% damage (75% upgraded). Works on the current turn you play it — possibly a glitch but incredibly powerful. Any deck, any build.
Deal 7 damage.Apply any debuffs on the enemy to ALL other enemies.
7 damage + spread all debuffs on the target to all enemies. Insane in multi-enemy fights and multiplayer. Status effects, weakness, vulnerability — all spread.
Gain.Draw 2 cards.At the start of your turn, apply 3 Doom to yourself.
+3 mana, draw 2, apply 3 doom to yourself. 'Always take it.' Premium acceleration — the self-doom is manageable with Countdown or Death's Door. Two copies is fine.
Deal 5 damage for each Ethereal card played this combat.
Deal 5 damage per ethereal card played this combat. Self-scaling in ethereal builds. S tier specifically for ethereal strategies — the damage grows every turn.
Deal 13 damage.Add a Soul into your Draw Pile, Hand, and Discard Pile.
2 mana deal 13 damage + generate 3 souls (1 to hand). 'Busted.' Damage + soul generation in one card. With Lethality = 19+ damage plus soul cycling. Core to every soul build.
Deal 9 damage.Deals 2 additional damage for each Soul in your Exhaust Pile.
Scaling soul damage over the entire fight. Better than Death March for long encounters. The damage accumulates as you play more souls — finisher card.
Add Replay to a card in your Hand.It costs an extra.Exhaust.
Add Replay to a card (+1 cost, exhaust). Broken on Dirge (8x summons/souls), Severance (double damage + souls), and Capture Spirit (6 souls). Essentially doubles the output of your best card.
Osty deals 6 damage.Deals additional damage equal to Osty's current HP.
Core Act 1 card. Must use every time it's available for summon synergies. Without Unleash, the character literally doesn't function. The foundation of every Necrobinder deck.
Deal 10 damage.The next Ethereal card you play costs 0.
Next ethereal card costs 0 energy. Enables ethereal combo turns. Bury becomes 0-cost with Sculpting Strike. Even at worst, it's 10 damage + cost reduction.
Strong Support Cards
28 cards
A-tier cards provide excellent support for Soul, Doom, or Ethereal archetypes. They offer damage, defense, utility, or archetype-specific scaling that complements the S-tier engine cards.
Deal 33 damage to ALL enemies.Costs less for each Ethereal card played this combat.
Deal 33 to all, -2 cost per ethereal card played. Ethereal build finisher. Needs setup but the payoff is massive AoE damage.
Summon 5.
Essential Act 1 survival card. Block + summon support. Later increases Unleash damage. Back of A tier but critical for getting through the hardest part of the run.
If Osty is alive, he deals 9 damage to ALL enemies and you gain 9 Block.Osty dies.
1 mana: your summon deals 9 to all enemies, you gain 9 block. Summon dies in the process. 9 damage + 9 block for 1 mana is excellent. Follow with Bodyguard to revive.
At the start of your turn, add 1 random card into your Hand. It gains Ethereal.
1 mana: add a random ethereal card to hand. Veilpiercer synergy. Ethereal build support that provides card advantage. A tier in ethereal builds.
At the start of your turn, apply 6 Doom to a random enemy.
Start of each turn: apply 6 doom to a random enemy. Core Doom build card — with Sleight of Flesh, Death's Door becomes active every turn. Doom payoff scaling.
Deal 8 damage.Deals 3 additional damage for each card drawn during your turn.
Soul cycling utility. Find value through deck manipulation. Outdone by Devour Life and Unleash for raw power but provides consistency.
Apply 21 Doom and 1 Weak to ALL enemies.
Apply 21 doom to all enemies + 1 Weak. Primary Doom archetype damage dealer. Sleight of Flesh activates it twice, four times with two copies.
Deal 10 damage.Vulnerable and Weak are twice as effective against the enemy for the next 3 turns.
Vulnerability + Weakness for 2x effective, lasting 3 turns. 7 damage on top. Strong defensive debuff application.
Ethereal.Deal 13 damage.
1 mana deal 13, ethereal. No downside — the ethereal keyword is actually upside in ethereal builds. Good damage that transitions to late game synergy.
Ethereal.Gain 6 Block.Apply 1 Weak.
Apply Weakness, ethereal, gain 6 block. Osty activation trigger. Multi-purpose defensive card.
Gain 11 Block.Next turn,gain.
13 block now, gain 2 mana next turn (upgraded). Setup card that gives you resources for pop-off turns.
Deal 10 damage.Upgrade 2 random cards in your Discard Pile.
Upgrade 2 random cards from discard. Armaments-like effect that provides permanent deck improvement.
Retain.Deal 11 damage X times.
Good attack with finisher potential. Strong early and mid game damage option.
At the end of combat, you may remove a card from your Deck.Eternal.
End of combat: remove a card from your deck. Event-like deck thinning as a card. Win-more but very powerful for deck optimization.
ALL players add 3 Souls into their Draw Pile.Exhaust.
Add 3 souls to all zones, exhaust. Massive soul generation for combo turns.
Deal 10 damage.Double the damage ALL Hang cards deal to this enemy.
10 damage, doubles per Hang debuff on enemy. Multiple Hangs = exponential damage. Copy and replay for insane scaling.
Ethereal.Enemy loses 8 Strength this turn.
8 unmitigated block with negative effects on enemies. Reliable defensive option.
Whenever you play a card this turn, apply 3 Doom to the enemy.
0 mana: apply 3 doom per card played. Soul cycling feeds this for massive doom accumulation. Doom build core.
Whenever you draw an Ethereal card, draw 1 card.
When you draw an ethereal card, draw 1 more. Core ethereal build card that provides continuous draw.
Ethereal.Draw 3 cards.
Draw 3 cards, no block. Brave Warden + soul is better. Can go infinite with Borrowed Time. Deck cycling utility.
Osty deals 10 damage.Deals additional damage equal to Osty's Max HP.
Summon gains 10 + max HP worth of block. Summit build support. Strong defensive scaling.
Apply 2 Weak.Apply 2 Vulnerable.Exhaust.
2 mana: apply 2 Weak + 2 Vulnerable, exhaust. Third debuff application method. Exhaust means it won't clog your deck.
Summon 20.Exhaust.
3 mana: summon with 20 HP, exhaust. 4 mana + Unleash = massive burst turn. Strong setup for Unleash payoffs.
Whenever you apply a debuff to an enemy, they take 9 damage.
2 mana: enables Doom activation. With Countdown = 26 damage per turn (upgraded). Two copies of Sleight + Countdown = fight over. Key Doom build support.
Osty deals 7 damage.Add Retain to a card in your Hand.
Add Retain to a card. Throw on Dirge, Borrowed Time, Death's Door for permanent value every turn. Top of A tier utility.
Deal 13 damage.Permanently increase this card's damage by 3.Exhaust.
13 damage + gain 3 permanent damage. Scales across combats — by late game adds significant burst. Strong damage rare.
Deal damage equal to the enemy's Doom.Exhaust.
Doom finisher with retain and exhaust. Win-more when you have doom already accumulating.
Gain 7 Block.Add a copy of this card into your Discard Pile.
0 mana 7 block. Fragile but cheap. One-skill fight solution. Summon persistence and scaling.
Viable Support
13 cards
B-tier cards serve niche roles in specific archetypes or provide reliable but unspectacular value. They can round out a deck but shouldn't be prioritized over S/A tier alternatives.
Summon 6.Exhaust.
Decent stat line with Fragile keyword. Unleash synergy. Serviceable in summon-focused builds.
Deal 4 damage.Put a card from your Discard Pile into your Hand.Exhaust.
Worse than Dredge — exhausts itself first, only retrieves one card. Still provides discard pile access when you need it.
Gain 8 Block.Add a Soul into your Draw Pile.
8 block + soul (soul+ when upgraded). Best pure defense card for Necrobinder. Souls cycle into your engine while blocking.
ALL players Summon 6.Exhaust.
6 summons — especially strong in multiplayer. Provides massive Unleash triggers.
Gain 13 Block.Reduce this card's cost by whenever ANYONE dies.
Combo with Bone Shards for 13 block at 0 mana mid-game. Summoning means your companion isn't dying as often.
Summon 5.Whenever Osty loses HP,ALL enemies lose that much HP as well.
When summon loses HP, enemies lose HP too. 2 mana and slow to set up. Late game scaling power.
Apply 10 Doom, plus an additional 5 Doom for every 10 Doom already on this enemy.
Doom finisher that needs multiple pieces assembled. Powerful when online but requires too much setup for most runs.
Osty deals 7 damage.Hits an additional time for each other time he has attacked this turn.
Summon deals 7 + bonus per prior attack. Osty builds don't scale well at high ascension. Fun but not reliable.
Deal 9 damage.Add a Soul into your Draw Pile.
Damage option with some utility. Better versions exist but it fills a slot when needed.
Apply 13 Doom.Draw 1 card.
1 mana: draw 2, apply 16 doom (upgraded). Doom build card draw + doom generation. Useful but archetype-specific.
Whenever you apply Doom, gain 2 Block.
Block per doom accumulated. Late game only — one copy is bad, two is good. Upgrade to 3 block per doom helps significantly.
Retain.Summon 3.Osty heals 5 HP.
5 summon with retain, heal when upgraded. Helps Unleash turns. Reliable summon source.
Gain.Exhaust.
Worse Borrowed Time. Still provides mana but without the infinite potential.
Situational Picks
7 cards
C-tier cards are generally not worth picking. They either belong to the weaker Osty/AI archetype or have setup requirements that are too demanding for consistent play.
Deal 8 damage.Apply Doom equal to damage dealt.
Basic doom damage card. Not good enough to justify a slot — doom build has better options.
Whenever you play a card that costs or more, gain 4 Block.
3 block per card costing 2+ mana. Mana reduction effects make this awkward. Too conditional for reliable block.
Osty deals 3 damage.If this is the first time this card has been played this turn, draw 1 card.
Summon deals 3, first play draws 1. Souls make this useless since they don't trigger draw. Too weak for the slot.
Osty deals 12 damage.This card costs 0 if Osty has attacked this turn.
12 damage for 2 mana, 0 if cost reduced. Unleash always available for damage — not worth the slot.
Osty deals 11 damageand applies 2 Vulnerableto ALL enemies.
Summon deals 11, apply 2 Vulnerable to all. Worse Bone Shards at 2 mana. Costs more for less value.
Gain 5 Block.Apply 7 Doom to ALL enemies.
5 block + 7 doom to all enemies. Sleight of Flesh and Shroud prefer it, but Death's Door is simply better.
At the start of your turn, add 1 Sweeping Gaze into your Hand.
2 mana Sweeping Gaze equivalent with random targeting. Not reliable enough for the cost.
Generally Avoid
8 cards
D-tier cards actively hurt your deck or belong to the weakest archetype (Osty/AI). Skip these unless you literally have no other option in a card reward.
Deal 52 damage.
4 mana deal 52. Requires Veilpiercer + Sculpting Strike setup. The setup cost is too high for what's essentially a single-target nuke.
Exhaust your Hand.If 9 cards were Exhausted this way, gain 1 Intangible.
Exhaust your entire hand; if 9+ cards exhausted, gain 1 Intangible. Too much setup for a single turn of Intangible. The cost far outweighs the benefit.
Osty deals 6 damage.
Doesn't scale. Period. The damage is too low and it has no synergy with any archetype.
Summon 4.Gain 7 Block.
2 mana for a basic summon. Not worth the mana or the card slot. Much better summon options exist.
Retain.Deal 27 damage.
1 mana more than Bury for similar effect. Retain is useless on an ethereal card. Terrible value.
Osty deals 4 damage.Whenever you play a card that costs or more, return this to your Hand from the Discard Pile.
4 damage with Flatten synergy. When Flatten costs 0, this adds nothing. Rattle is better for similar effects.
Osty deals 25 damage.Deals 5 additional damage for ALL your other Osty Attacks.
3 mana for 30 summon damage. AI/Osty build core that doesn't scale at high ascension. Don't take it.
Deal 6 damage.
Bad. Worse than Defend in most situations. Remove it as soon as possible.
Necrobinder Card Strategy Notes
- 1Act 1 loop: Defend → Summon → Unleash. Bodyguard helps survive early. Without Unleash the character struggles — must use it every time it's available.
- 2Soul build (strongest): Devour Life (+1 summon per soul), Capture Spirit (3 souls to hand), Haunt (6 unblockable damage per soul), Severance (damage + soul generation). Cycling souls is the win condition.
- 3Doom build (alternative): Countdown (6 doom per turn), Death's Door (18 block at 12+ doom), Deathbringer (21 doom all), Sleight of Flesh enables doom activation. Strong but harder to assemble.
- 4Ethereal build (high ceiling): Veilpiercer (next ethereal costs 0), Sculpting Strike (make cards ethereal), Pagestorm (draw per ethereal). Pull From Below scales with ethereal cards played.
- 5Dirge is the best Necrobinder card: Creates 4x summons/souls when upgraded. Put retain on it for insane value. Take it in every build.
- 6Avoid: Osty/AI-focused builds (don't scale at high ascension); Poke and Squeeze as primary damage sources (too slow).
- 7Transfigure (add Replay to a card) is broken on Dirge, Severance, and Capture Spirit — essentially doubles their output.
Necrobinder Guide
Character overview and strategies
Full Tier List
Character and build rankings
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