It’s always satisfying when a game gives you multiple ways of carving your way through it, and card games are no different. Be itSlay the Spire’s characters,Balatro’s hands orHearthstone’s classes, being introduced to a slew of options will inevitably reveal which is the strongest and most advantageous.
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Logical locomotive lessons.
The clans inMonster Train 2are remarkably well-balanced, each covering a different niche and spinning your game plan into different strengths. But time with the game has shown me that some classes are more adept at handling the reins of a deck than others.
Here, we’ll be looking at which clans performed the best while acting as a run’s primary, while briefly discussing how well they fair as a backup too. Everyone had their part to play afterall, and there’s no shame in covering the rear!
10Luna Coven
Healing and CC and Spell Damage, Oh My!
The Luna Coven are, as the name suggests, a coven of moon worshiping witches protected by their magic-less enforcers, the Silent. Their designs are stellar, dreamlike and ethereal, while maintaining an other-worldly, alien feel.
The Coven aren’t native to Hell, and as such they really struggle to act as the central force of a run. Most Luna Coven units forgo physical resilience to empower spells or hit-and-run tactics, which begin to stumble more and more the longer a run goes.
The Coven is also, however, home to the only sources of non-regen healing and some of the best damage on offer. Over many runs, it becomes apparent that their unique spell lineup can slot well into more combat-focused clans as a secondary, but even while running their alternative champion, they crumble at the slightest form of proper upfront front resistance.
Use their spell damage to amplify the effects of the Lazarus League, or their CC and healing to keep other frontline factions breathing between waves.
Grow Tall And Hold The Line
The Awoken are the first of the returning Monster Train 1 clans we’ll be discussing, all of which have their niche but largely feel overtaken by some of their newer competitors. The Awoken fall into a similar state as the Luna Coven, with strong supporting spells and a slightly better frontline, alongside their own additions to the melee options.
Certain units in the Awoken lineup activate special effects when healed, and the entire clan has a focus on supportive spellcasting. This allows many of their healthier units to take quite a beating, but they struggle to respond in turn.
They work well as a support lineup to more combat-focused clans like the Banished or Hellhorned, and while they can have their standout moments, that’s where they’re best.
To Consume And Be Consumed
The Umbra are one part Monster Train’s original sacrifice lineup, with their DNA later seen in shades of the Lazarus League and Underlegion. As such, their slower form of stat boosting and sacrificing can feel a little out of date.
They still stand as a strong main clan, making great use of tools introduced by their successor clans. When put side by side however, it’s harder to get the ball rolling on the Umbra with no way of easily stacking units past floor caps like the Underlegion, or getting reuse from the same units as the Lazarus League.
They are workable as a main, but slotting them as a secondary for an Underlegion run to proc even more rally and harvest triggers is where I found the most luck.
7Pyreborne
Fire And Brimstone
Depicted as a species of gold-hoarding dragons, the Pyreborne are one of the first clans you’re able to play at the game’s opening. Flavor-wise, they’re fantastic, and a great introduction to the dichotomy of the forces you’ll be forced to utilize as you play.
The majority of their units play into their two central mechanics: the Hoard and Pyregel. The Hoard, represented by golden dragon eggs, allows you to cash in the resource as you slowly accumulate them over a run for rewards, a great incentive for careful play.
Alternatively, Pyregel is one of the best debuffs in the game, adding a stacking effect that reapplies damage equal to the debuff’s stack every time an enemy is struck. Despite these strong tools, as a primary faction, the Pyreborne just don’t feel consistent enough to be any higher.
Their units, especially champions, take less setup and are better powerhouses than the Luna Coven’s, but other clans utilize Pyregel better, and the Hoard is universally good. The Pyreborne are a fantastic support clan, but don’t stand strong enough to take the frontline.
6Hellhorned
Sometimes Classics Are The Best
Ah, the Hellhorned; the very first faction under the player’s control in the original Monster Train, back to recall the classic combat builds of yesteryear. The Hellhorned still hold their own and make fantastic use of Valor and the myriad of buffs provided by other factions. Sadly, their own supply is still a bit lacking.
That’s always been the point, of course. Strong units supported by casting or backline units is a great combination. But when compared to the newly introduced frontlines that can provide their own support, the Hellhorned struggle.
Despite that, they make great use of buffs and units provided by other clans, and can easily still act as your vanguard for run after run.
5Lazarus League
Loose Limbs Are To Be Recycled
The Lazarus League is an amazingly unique concept for a faction, an army of scientific abominations led by a mad scientist and his underpaid cronies. The flavor is immaculate, and they back it up by being incredibly flexible.
The Lazarus League uses a variety of the game’s mechanics: buffing, debuffing, andequipment, all spun together with a few unique effects and a policy where sometimes, dead is better. With the easiest access to the resurrection buff, many members of the League’s lineup are there to die, while others benefit either directly or indirectly from those deaths.
Turn a weak creature into a bomb, resurrect some poor slime creature over and over as a tank… Heck, just eat your comrades to make yourself stronger! The Lazarus League encourages you to play fast and loose with your units, and as such, they can easily empower the other factions while providing their own manageable frontline if you decide to run them as primary. A perfect middle place consistent pick.
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4Stygian Guard
Deep Sea Spellcasting
The Stygian Guard’s absence was felt in the early hours of Monster Train 2, but once unlocked, they quickly remind returning players just how powerful a couple cheap spells can be. Unlike the Luna Cover or the Awoken, the Stygian Guard focus almost entirely on offensive magic, and they come out swinging.
WIth strong, incant-empowered frontline units, alongside some truly wild spell scaling, the Stygian Guard perfectly fulfill the fantasy of spell-slinging combat.
As always, it never hurts to have some heavy casting as a secondary, but the Stygian Guard shatter the trope of the squishy spellcaster, hitting like a truck while taking punishment along the way. Back them up with the Luna Coven or Awoken for the pure casting run of your dreams.
3Melting Remnant
Burning At Both Ends
The Melting Remnant are the other side of Monster Train 1’s unit cycling duo. While the Umbra see fit to scrap the fallen, the Melting Remnant are eager to recycle.
Boasting strong, limited lifetime units and boons on death, the Melting Remnant are all about going as hard as possible 24/7, with easy access to targeted resurrection and rewards for smothering any fires that burn too bright.
They stand as an incredibly flexible faction, doing well as face or support for many clan pairings, most notably others that provide rez and harvest procs.
Allying them with the proper fighting force leads to runs where invaders are smothered in high damage defenders who simply come back over and over, leaving nothing behind but wax.
2The Banished
Full Speed Ahead
The Banished are the first clan you get to control, marketed as your simple standard frontline troops, and they aregoodat it. Uniquely rocking the Valor buff, Banished units will accumulate armor and extra attack equal to the buff’s amount after every fight.
Stacking it early will allow your frontline to hit hard, fast, and take plenty of punishment in return. With easy access to some of the only movement in the game as well as damage-negating shields, the Banished are a beautifully adaptable main force ready to take their spots in Heaven.
Valor works well as a buff to other combat-focused factions, but many Banishedunitsare uniquely suited to rocking it, incentivizing you to run it alongside their simple, effective champions. Back them up with either of three previously mentioned clans, and you’ve got a hell of a fighting force.
1Underlegion
You Cannot Kill Me In Any Way That Matters
The Underlegion come out on top simply due to their own internal synergy, as well as how adept they are at utilizing assistance from any of the otherclans. Relying on cycles of life and death, many Underlegion units proc effects whenever a friendly unit enters or any unit leaves the battlefield.
With their powerful, unique DoT debuff Decay, as well as their ability to summon and stack small Funguy troops that count as multiple units, it’s so easy to snowball out of control. And again, they work well with any clan backing them up.
With a fantastically beefy primary champion and a great debuffer as a secondary, the Underlegion can easily grow faster than any angel can cut them down, leaving them standing atop their allies when it comes to leading the charge.
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