Cards That Make The Necrobinder a Joy to Play in Slay the Spire 2

While Slay the Spire 2 features characters you might recognize, this focuses on one of the new additions: The Necrobinder. She’s driven by a desire for revenge, but as an undead character, she’s quite fragile. Despite this, she’s a fantastic new character to play.

The Necrobinder is a powerful character who can inflict ‘Doom’ on enemies, potentially banishing them if their health drops to zero. She also has a collection of strong, but temporary, ‘Ethereal’ cards that vanish if you don’t play them. While she might not immediately seem impressive, her greatest strength is that she excels at teamwork and isn’t meant to fight alone.

The Necrobinder’s main ally is a massive skeletal fist called Osty. It protects her by taking damage, and it actually gets stronger with each turn, becoming a serious threat to her opponents. Let’s explore the cards that make this pair such a formidable team!

10. Dirge

A Mournful Song

Osty is a powerful fighter, but he needs time to grow stronger. He starts with very little health, which slowly increases each turn as long as he isn’t defeated and reset. Luckily, you can boost his health more quickly by playing cards that summon him, both increasing his maximum health and healing any damage he’s taken.

Dirge is a really powerful card, but it needs a lot of energy to use. Cards with an ‘X cost’ drain all your energy when activated, and with Dirge, each unit of energy directly increases Osty’s life. It becomes even better once you’ve upgraded it.

If you generate extra energy, you can significantly boost Osty’s initial low health, effectively turning him into a durable character that can withstand a lot of damage. This becomes even more powerful when used with cards like Unleash, which deals damage and gets a bonus based on Osty’s health. Plus, adding Souls to your deck gives Necrobinder a quick and simple way to draw more cards.

9. Grave Warden

Bony Boss Lady

There are a couple of ways to make Osty stronger in battle. You can use cards that bring creatures onto the field, or you can focus on protecting Necrobinder directly, so he can take less damage. I’ve had a lot of success with the Grave Warden card for boosting his defenses.

Grave Warden is a cost-effective defensive card that provides more Block than most. What really makes it stand out is that, similar to the Dirge card, it adds extra Soul cards to your deck, giving you more options when drawing. Even though Soul cards are used up after one play, their benefits still make them very useful.

We’ll cover another benefit of Souls in the next section.

8. Haunt

Ungrateful Dead

I’ve been playing a lot of Slay the Spire 2 lately, and Power cards are super useful – they give you passive buffs that last the whole fight. Normally, these are pretty pricey, needing at least 2 energy to play. But Haunt is different, and that’s why it’s become a must-have in my runs. It’s amazing how much value you get for the cost!

The Necrobinder collects Souls with their cards, and the ‘Haunt’ ability lets you turn those Souls into extra damage. Whenever the Necrobinder plays a Soul card and draws a card, a random enemy will take damage.

While the damage isn’t huge and varies each time, this ability can be incredibly helpful in tough fights. Plus, if you can consistently generate more mana, you can deal significant damage to bosses with it.

7. Deathbringer

Wave of Darkness

I mentioned before that Necrobinders are good at using cards that apply the Doom effect. This is powerful because enemies with enough Doom will instantly die, even if they still have health. Cards like Deathbringer make that outcome very likely.

Even though Deathbringer costs 2 energy, it’s a great investment. It deals a massive 21 Doom damage to all enemies and also weakens them, making it easier for Necrobinder and Osty to stay protected.

This card has often turned the tide for me, letting me quickly defeat large groups of enemies with little health. You’ll come to appreciate how powerful Doom is.

6. Flatten

Smashed By Osty

The main challenge when playing Necrobinder and Osty together is that they use the same energy pool, forcing you to decide whether to power up their attacks or hers. However, cards like Flatten can help minimize this issue.

Play a cheap attack card for Osty, and if you also have Flatten in your hand, that card will cost nothing for the rest of the turn. If you have several Flatten cards, your opponent will be heavily damaged by a large skeletal creature.

Osty includes some cards with no cost, which can be a powerful advantage. If you build a deck around those zero-cost cards and use the ‘Flatten’ card, you can really overwhelm your opponent.

5. Neurosurge

Necromantic Wisdom

Putting Doom on yourself is usually a bad idea, but some of the strongest cards for the Necrobinder require it. If you play carefully, this shouldn’t be a problem. You just need to make sure you’ve Doomed your opponents before time runs out for you.

Neurosurge is a powerful card that provides a quick boost of energy and lets you draw two cards, all while only costing a small amount of Doom. In difficult situations, it can be the key to winning a battle.

This card is essential for strong decks. Don’t hesitate – unleash its power and overwhelm your opponent!

4. Melancholy

Upside Down Smile

Initially, I wasn’t sure if the Melancholy ability was worth its high price. Even though its cost goes down when enemies are defeated, it still didn’t seem beneficial. Then I realized it affects anyone who dies, and unfortunately, that includes Osty.

It’s usually best to keep Osty alive so he can get stronger, but he’s likely to be defeated within the first couple of fights, regardless of your strategy. Given that, why not use Melancholy to your advantage?

Once Melancholy costs nothing to play, it becomes a powerful defensive tool for The Necrobinder. And don’t worry, Osty will likely forgive his master eventually.

3. The Scythe

One Grim Card

Given Necrobinder’s design, which is heavily inspired by the Grim Reaper, The Scythe card feels like a natural fit. It’s incredibly powerful, though it can only be used once per battle. The good news is, each time you use it, it becomes even stronger, potentially dealing over 30 damage with a single attack as you progress.

If you can lower the cost of The Scythe or include multiple copies in your deck, it becomes a really powerful card. You could also explore ways to get cards that have been discarded back into play, boosting your undead strategy even further.

2. Right Hand Hand

Recursive Fist

In a game like Slay the Spire 2, strong cards are important, but the best ones can be used repeatedly and work well with other cards. The card ‘Right Hand Hand’ is a clever name, and it’s also one of the most valuable abilities for the Necrobinder character.

Right Hand Hand doesn’t do a lot of damage, but it consistently returns to your hand. You just need to discard it and then play a card costing 2 or more energy. Most of Necrobinder’s cards are cheap to play, but the most effective ones require a significant amount of energy.

I usually like to pair this card with others costing X energy, such as Dirge. However, sometimes you want a powerful finishing move, and that’s what the final card here is for.

1. Squeeze

Crushed To a Pulp

Players often look for cards that can finish off an opponent, and for the Necrobinder character, Squeeze is a great choice. While it costs 3 energy to play, its power is worth the cost. Unlike many damage cards, Squeeze doesn’t rely on damage you’ve already dealt – instead, it gets stronger based on how many other attack cards are in your deck!

I started dealing a lot of damage – 60 or more – with each use of the Squeeze card, and it quickly became a favorite. It’s so effective at defeating bosses that you won’t even think about how much it costs to play.

If you haven’t tried The Necrobinder yet, I recommend giving this undead fighter a chance in your next playthrough. She’s a bit dark, but she’s also really enjoyable to play!

2026-03-13 22:41