Cards are king in the 2021 roguelike Inscryption. They are the characters and the main mechanic; they develop the story in parallel with the meta. Each act of Inscryption is radically different from the others, opening up the story and changing the gameplay in equal parts. For Act 2, the changes in gameplay mean giving the player many more cards that in Act 1 and separating them into 4 different “schools,” each with unique mechanics, similar to the five colors in Magic: The Gathering.
After finishing Act 1, players will find that the second chapter of Inscryption puts lots more emphasis into building a coherent deck. On top of that, there are fewer ways to buff one’s own cards, making it vital to find out which creatures work best together.
10 Mrs. Bomb, To Restart The Battle
When Mrs. Bomb enters the battle, every space available on the board is filled with Explode Bots. As the name implies, Explode Bots blow up once they receive any damage, bringing with them any card in front of them and besides them.
While Mrs. Bomb serves a unique purpose, it’s almost impossible to use her in combination with other cards, making this a fun but situational tool in a Technology based deck. This card is also in Act 3, but there, she's been turned into a consumable item.
9 Shutterbug, The Turret
If Plasma Jimmy is a gun, then the Shutterbug is a deadly turret. Once played for a whopping 5 energy, the Shutterbug is able to keep a lane locked from any direct threats. Players will still have to watch out from indirect threats, like Bifurcated Strike.
The moment a card pops up in front of it, its “Sentry” sigil will cause an immediate attack. Meanwhile, the “Touch of Death” sigil will make sure that the hit can kill any card, regardless of its health value.
8 Dead Hand, An Emergency Measure
When playing with a deck based on a two-cards combo, not having both of those cards at the right time can be outright disastrous. One way to avoid this is to use the clover leaf, which lets the player re-draw their hand at the start of the match. The other option is to use the Dead Hand card.
This undead card costs a not-insignificant 5 bones to play and isn’t very good overall, with just 1 strength and 1 health. On the other hand, the Dead Hand allows the player to discard everything and draw 4 cards from the deck.
7 Plasma Jimmy, The Infinite Bullet Machinegun
Plasma Jimmy is a gun, plain and simple. It can’t attack on its own, but can be activated any number of times during a round for the cost of one energy, at which point it will deal one point of damage to the enemy in front of it.
Plasma Jimmy has one strong point and one weak point. The upside is that it can deal damage to any creature, including those usually immune to direct attacks. If paired with a source of infinite energy, it can even kill any creature standing in front of it in one turn. Sadly, Plasma Jimmy can only attack other creatures, meaning it can’t win a match by itself.
6 M3atB0t & Pharaoh's Pets
These cards don't have to be part of a complex strategy, so they're great for any player struggling to wrap their head around Inscryption. Both M3atB0t and Pharaoh's Pets are a must-have for anyone who wants to play a Beast deck. M3atB0t is the clear choice for those who favor Technology, while Pharaoh's Pets works best when playing some Undead cards.
Both cards have the same objective: give a nice 3 blood when sacrificed with the sigil “Worthy Sacrifice.” The difference is that M3atB0t is quite easy to play, costing only 1 energy, while Pharaoh's Pets costs a whole 6 bones but does not die when sacrificed.
5 Blue Mage, And Lots Of Mox Cards
The Blue Mage is the best way in the game to draw lots of cards in the first few turns of a match. Playing a Blue Mage lets the player draw a card per every Mox card they have on the board. The best combination is to first play three of the abundant Mox cards (at least one Blue Mox) and then fill the remaining spots on the board with Blue Mages.
The Magick deck is the closest to a classic TCG deck. The risk of a Magick deck shouldn't look unfamiliar to all card game enthusiasts: that is, to end up with lots of resources but nothing to play. This technique lets players draw 3 to 6 cards, making sure they always have something on their hands.
4 Bone Lord's Horn, For Infinite Bones
The Bone Lord’s Horn is a truly unique card that allows the player to convert one unit of energy for three bones. Though it requires the player to use both Technology and Beast creatures, the Bone Lord’s Horn is one of the easiest ways to generate infinite bones in Act II.
Played alongside an active Energy Conduit, which makes sure that energy never depletes, players can be sure that they’ll never run out of energy and bones. A word of advice, though: while the Bone Lord’s Horn generates infinite bones, Energy Conduit only keeps the player's current energy from depleting.
3 Tomb Robber, A Simpler Infinite Bones Combo
Tomb Robber is a unique card in the undead deck and, unlike The Bone Lord’s Horn, it’s a staggeringly versatile card as well. Tomb Robber has no attack value and only 2 health, but it’s the only card in the game with the ability “Disentomb,” meaning it can summon a Skeleton at the cost of a bone.
By playing the Tomb Robber next to the Necromancer, which makes every sacrificed or killed card generate double the bones, players can easily generate infinite bones in just a couple of rounds. It is possible to substitute the Necromancer for the more common Field Mice for a less spectacular, but just as effective, combo.
2 Bone Heap, For A One-Hit-Kill Card
The easiest way to break Act II of Inscryption is to generate infinite bones or energy. But infinite resources are only good to someone who knows how to use them. Here the Bone Heap comes into play: his sigil “Enlarge” lets him gain +1 in Power and Health at the cost of two bones.
Bone Heap isn’t the only card with the Enlarge ability, but it is the only one that only costs bones, so pure Undead decks should use this card. Enlarge can be used infinite times in a single turn, granted players have a way to create infinite bones.
1 Ouroboros, The Infinite Power-Up Cycle
The Ouroboros is one of the few cards present in all acts of Inscryption. It's a 1/1 that comes back to the player's hand every time it dies. This ability is usually what Inscryption calls “Unkillable,” and it’s nothing extraordinary, except that the Ouroboros also gains +1 in strength and health every time it dies.
The Ouroboros can be hard to find, but it's well worth the effort. Since it only costs 2 bones to play, buffing the Ouroboros by one or two points per turn is very simple. But it doesn’t have to end there. Accompanied by two “Unkillable” cards with a low enough combined cost, the Ouroboros can be infinitely played and sacrificed in a single turn, becoming stronger and stronger.