Hello, there! If you’re here, it’s most likely because you’ve decided to jump intoMonster Train 2without playing the original game first. Shame, shame.
Full transparency… I didn’t play it either. Still, when I checked out the sequel, I fully expected my 200+ hours spent withSlay The Spireto carry me through the early portions of this game. I’m here to tell you—they did not.
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Don’t get it twisted, though. Monster Train 2 isn’t the most complicated deckbuilder in the world, but itismore layered and complex than some ofthe options out there that are more geared towards beginners. The game does a fine job of explaining its systems and mechanics, but it’s still just a lot to process right from the get-go.
Veterans coming from the first game won’t have any trouble whatsoever jumping into the sequel, but it still never hurts to have a refresher either. If you’re new around these parts, however, I really must insist that you take a look at the tips below to get your train rolling smoothly to its angelic destination.
All aboard, Champions.
12Become A Student Of The Game Immediately
This may seem like a no-brainer, but I really cannot stress enough how going into Monster Train 2 ready and willing to learn is Step 1 in your deckbuilding journey. There are alotof terms and unique mechanics to wrap your mind around. You might even feel overwhelmed, and that’s okay.
To get to grips with the game quickly,you really want to readeverything. Every time you have the option to add a card or select a Champion, take the extra time to absorb every explainer the game offers for every buff, debuff, skill, spell, etc. Some won’t begin to make sense until you see them in action, but you need to build a baseline of knowledge.
From here, don’t be afraid to simply experiment with builds, unit placements, cards, and upgrades until everything starts to come together. You will fail, but Monster Train 2 is also a game of numbers and math. If you’re paying attention to how things are playing out, you’ll always be able to understand why you’re succeeding valiantly or crashing and burning entirely.
This is a(really good) roguelike, after all, so repeated runs are the name of the game.Don’t be afraid to treat your first few attempts as simple learning exercises.
11Stay With The Default Primary Clan For Now
Fel Can Carry Your Entire Run
Each run, you’ll have the option to select a primary clan and an allied clan. The different clans all come with unique cards for your deck, units to deploy in the train, and a Champion that’s automatically placed into your hand at the start of every battle.
Initially, you’ll only have two options—The Banished and The Pyreborne. You’ll have all cards/units from these clans at your disposal, but the difference in choosing your primary clan changes the Champion you’re available to bring into battle for your run.
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Select The Banished as your primary clan, and you’ll get to use Fel as your Champion. Select The Pyreborne, and you’ll get Lord Fenix.
Simply put,Fel can becomeveryOP if you use her ability and stack Valor on her every chance you get, and she can ultimately carry you in an early battle much more admirably than Lord Fenix.
Fel’s multi-strike ability, once adequately buffed with enough Valor, can deal 200+ damage easily with every attack opportunity, which is frankly insane on standard Covenant Zero difficulty.
10Stay At Covenant Zero Until You’re Winning Runs
We’re Talking About Practice
After you more than likely fail your first run, Monster Train 2 will immediately give you the option to change the game’s difficulty, or Covenant Level. You’ll have the option of playing at Covenant Zero or Covenant One, with the promise of more cards and rewards if you opt to jump to Covenant One.
Don’t do this yet. If you’re a total newbie, Covenant Zero will still give you enough cards to ultimately win runs eventually, and the lowered challenge is the best setting to continue coming to terms with the mechanics and systems of the game.
I’d actually recommend getting a couple of Covenant Zero wins under your belt before you start entertaining the idea of kicking things up a notch. Practice first, then bring on the additional levels of challenge later.
9Nail Down Your Unit Placement Strategies
Tanks Up Front, Glass Cannons In The Back
It’s incredibly easy to feel lost when placing units during the deployment phase. Here’s a general formation I’d recommend you follow at first:
Your front unit will almost always be the one that takes damage from attacking enemies, so you will want to place tanks with higher HP in this position. In the early game, that’s your Shield Steward. Your Spear Steward has higher attack but much lower health, so keeping them in the back allows them to wallop enemies without fear of direct attacks.
I prefer keeping my Champion at the top of the train as a last line of defense. For Fel specifically, this also gives me ample time to buff her Valor, turning her into an absolute monster by the time any enemies reach the third floor.
This same basic strategy applies as you earn better units in your run and can replace the grunt-level stewards.Tanks in front, glass cannons in back is almostalwaysthe move.
8Prevent Damage By Attacking From Your Hand
You’re The First Line Of Defense
Unless your units come equipped with a Quick modifier,enemies willalwaysattack you first. Because of this, gaining the upper hand during the card playing phase before the units attack each other is critical.
You’ll almost always have a Firestarter card in your hand, and this can be used to deal 1 Damage point and add 2 Pyregel—a stackable source of additional damage—to an enemy.
This might not seem like a lot of damage, but it’s often enough to clear out some of the smaller fodder enemies before they have a chance to attack your units.
Even though these foes don’t deal much damage, their attacks can still quickly add up. Clearing them with cards in your hand early is never a bad idea, especially if they’re on the front lines and will prevent your units from landing blows on the more powerful enemy units behind.
7Don’t Be Too Proud To Restart Or Undo
These Mechanics Are There For A Reason
Monster Train 2 offers anextremelybeginner-friendly feature by allowing you to restart any battle from the pause menu. Similarly, if you want to simply redo one turn because you misplayed a button input or simply had a devastating brain-fart, there’s also an “undo” button on the right side of the screen to replay a single turn.
The hardcore, “git gud” crowd will tell you this is the same assave scumming, and you should be ashamed of using these options. Whatever.
The devs of Monster Train 2 gave you these options for a reason. Sure, you can use these tactics to essentially have infinite lives and attempts during every run, but as long as you’re still able to sleep at night, what’s the big deal? Don’t be afraid or too proud to retry and learn from a battle if you’re getting destroyed.
6Only Take On Trials In The Early Run
Dollar Dollar Bills, Y’all
Each non-boss battle will give you the option to add a Trial to your encounter. These add one debuff/challenge to a fight with the reward of extra gold if you still come out victorious.
For the extremely unconfident,don’t bother with these at all yet. Extra gold is massively useful, but you don’t need to sweat it during this learning portion of your Monster Train 2 experience.
Once you do start feeling up to the challenge,only toggle on Trials in the first couple of battles of a run. The extra gold can get your run off on the right foot, and these early fights are typically a breeze once you know what you’re doing.
The added Trial challenges later on get pretty extreme and can easily kill your entire run, so keep skipping those until you’re positive you may win them.
5Spend Your Gold, But Do It Last During Each Intermission
Treat Yourself… Responsibly
After each fight, you’ll get to select your train’s route and visit various merchants, repair your pyre, add additional units, and more. The merchants' wares cost gold, and you should absolutely spend your money with them.
Just don’t do it first. There’s nothing worse than spending all of your gold on an upgrade for a unit, then adding a way stronger unit immediately afterward that your money would’ve been better spent on.
You can visit anything on your route in whatever order you like within the same area, so don’t assume you have to visit a merchant first simply because they’re first on the route. Do everything you can without spending gold, then head to the merchants to make sure you’re making the wisest purchases for your squad.
I’m also a major advocate for just spending as much money as you can during each break between battles. You never know when a run is going to end prematurely, so you may as wellstock up whenever you can.
4Prioritize Routes With Artifacts And Unit Upgrades
The Easiest Way To Become OP
Monster Train 2 allows you to choose a path to steer your locomotive after every battle. Different paths lead to different instances, perks, and upgrades.
Whenever you have a route option that will allow you to pickup (Herzal’s Hoard) or purchase (Merchant of Trinkets) an Artifact, take it. For the Slay The Spire fans out there, Artifacts are the same as relics, adding a permanent perk/buff/bonus to you permanently.
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These can be things like doubling Valor every time you apply it, additional health or attack for your units, or more cards added to your draw pile. Ultimately, many of the Artifact options can lead to you becoming totally overpowered for Covenant Zero runs.
If you don’t have a route with bonus Artifacts, look for routes that feature the Merchant of Steel. Here, you can purchase incredibly useful upgrades for your units themselves, like bonus health and attack, the ability to multi-strike, and more.
3Culling Your Deck Is A Good Thing
Too Many Cards Means Too Many Options
As gamers, I feel like it’s ingrained in our minds to collect as much of everything as we possibly can. This is not a good strategy for deckbuilders, however.Stocking up on excess cards is rarely the best idea.
This point is driven home by the fact that most merchants will allow you to pay a small fee to remove a card from your deck. There are also special stops along your routes that will occasionally allow you to do this for free. With the right consideration,thinning down your draw pile is typically wise.
For example, once you’ve added several higher-level units to your deck, it’s often a good idea to remove the Spear and Shield Stewards simply to give yourself better odds of drawing your new and improved units during the deployment phase. The same theory applies to your other cards as well.
As you add more and more cards to your deck and figure out what you like, it’s worth paying to remove those options you find you’re never getting any use from. The fewer cards you have, the more often you get to reshuffle and add your good stuff back into the draw pile.
