Necrobinder plays differently from any other STS2 character. She wins by creating a board presence — minions that attack, block, and can be sacrificed for value — while generating Soul cards that scale over the course of a fight. The complexity comes from balancing three resources: health (yours and your minions'), Souls (cards in your draw pile), and Ethereal density (cards that disappear when played but trigger Spirit of Ash).
Summon mechanics and density
Summon X creates X summon power — roughly equivalent to temporary minions that fight for you. Basic: Bodyguard (1-cost Skill, Summon 5) is your starter. Afterlife (1-cost Skill, Summon 6) is the common upgrade. Each summon card contributes to board presence but does nothing if you cannot protect it.
Reanimate (3-cost Skill, Summon 20) is the extreme high-end. It generates massive board value in one turn but costs your entire turn. Only take it with protection — Pull Aggro (2-cost Skill, Summon 4, gain 7 block) gives you defense alongside summons.
Legion of Bone (2-cost Skill, ALL players Summon 6) is excellent in co-op but still valuable solo — 6 summon from a single card is efficient for 2 energy.
Soul cards — Necrobinder's scaling engine
Souls are special cards added to your draw pile by effects like Grave Warden (1-cost Skill, gain 8 block, add a Soul to draw pile) and Severance (2-cost Attack, deal 13 damage, add a Soul to draw pile, ethereal). Playing Souls provides value through other cards.
Haunt (1-cost Uncommon Skill, whenever you play a Soul, a random enemy loses 6 HP) turns every Soul into damage. Combined with Grave Warden, it creates a repeating cycle: block + add Soul → play Soul → damage.
Devour Life (1-cost Rare Power, whenever you play a Soul, Summon 1) links the Soul and Summon engines. Each Soul play also generates board presence, creating exponential value over long fights.
Soul Storm (1-cost Rare Attack, deal 11 damage + 2 per Soul in your draw pile) rewards high Soul density. With 10 Souls in the pile, it deals 31 damage for 1 energy.
Osty — Necrobinder's companion
Osty is Necrobinder's left-hand companion, tied to several cards. Necro Mastery (2-cost Rare Power, Summon 5, whenever Osty loses HP, ALL enemies lose that much) turns Osty's health into AOE damage.
Sic 'Em (1-cost Uncommon Skill, Osty deals 5 damage, whenever Osty hits this enemy this turn, deal 5 more) provides scaling single-target damage. In long fights, Sic 'Em can deal 30-50 damage.
Spur (1-cost Uncommon Skill, Summon 3, Osty heals 5 HP) combines summon and sustain. Healing Osty keeps the Necro Mastery engine running longer.
Ethereal synergy with Spirit of Ash
Spirit of Ash (1-cost Rare Power, whenever you play an Ethereal card, gain 4 block) is the card that makes ethereal density a defensive strategy. With Defy (1-cost Common Skill, gain 5 block + apply 2 weak, ethereal), Grave Warden (ethereal), and Sculpting Strike (adds ethereal to cards), each ethereal card play generates 4 block.
Banshee's Cry (6-cost Rare Attack, deal 33 AOE damage, costs 2 less per Ethereal card played this combat) can cost 0 in an ethereal-heavy deck — 33 AOE damage for free is absurd. Pagestorm (1-cost Uncommon Power, draw 1 whenever you draw an ethereal card) provides the draw engine to ensure you see your ethereal cards regularly.
Pitfalls and balance tips
Do not over-invest in summon without Soul generation: a deck with Reanimate and Legion of Bone but no Grave Warden or Haunt will stall against enemies that clear your board. Build the Soul engine first, add summons as force multiplier.
Block is mandatory: Necrobinder has lower max HP than Ironclad and fewer raw block cards. Defy, Grave Warden, and Pull Aggro should be early picks. Minions are NOT your primary block plan — they get killed.
Be selective with ethereal: not every card needs to be ethereal. 3-4 ethereal cards plus Spirit of Ash is the sweet spot. Too many dilute your deck, too few fail to trigger Spirit of Ash consistently.