Slay the Spire 2 Necrobinder Cards — Guide & Card Tier List
Published 2026-09-209 min read
Every Necrobinder card that matters in Slay the Spire 2: the Ethereal engine, Doom stacking, Osty protection and a full card tier list from Demesne down.
The Necrobinder is Slay the Spire 2's death mage: 66 HP, a summoned left hand called Osty that tanks for her, and a card pool built on Ethereal (cards that vanish if not played), Doom (delayed burst damage) and spirit economy. The class overview covers her stats and unlock; this page is the card-by-card guide — what to draft, what powers the build archetypes, and what to leave in the graveyard. For general drafting logic, see the deck building guide.
How the Necrobinder card pool works
- Ethereal is her engine, not a drawback. Spirits of the dead return as value — Pagestorm triggers on drawing Ethereal cards, Spirit of Ash pays out on playing them, and Reaper Form keeps the best ones in hand.
- Doom is her finisher. Doom stacks detonate for damage at end of turn — Deathbringer applies 21 (26 upgraded) in one cast.
- Osty is her Block budget. Cards like Bone Shards and Fetch get stronger when Osty is alive, so protection cards double as damage cards.
- Souls are currency. Capture Spirit converts enemy HP into Soul cards that later become resources.
S-tier — the cards that carry runs
| Card | Cost | Type | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Demesne | 3 | Power | Extra energy and an extra card every turn — the Ethereal engine's power plant |
| Neurosurge | 0 | Power | Free Necromancy energy generation; enables every cost-heavy line |
| Danse Macabre | 1 | Power | Value every time you play a cost-1-Necromancy card; the engine that never turns off |
| Sleight of Flesh | 2 | Power | 9 damage (13 upg) whenever you apply a debuff — Necrobinder applies debuffs constantly |
| Call of the Void | 1 | Power | Adds a card to your hand every turn (Innate) — free fuel for Ethereal payoffs |
| Reanimate | 3 | Skill | Summons back the big bodies; late-act boss insurance |
| Capture Spirit | 1 | Skill | Enemy loses HP AND you bank Souls — the best trade in the pool |
| Deathbringer | 2 | Skill | 21 Doom (26 upg) in one card — with detonation multipliers it's a boss-delete |
| Spirit of Ash | 1 | Power | Pays out on every Ethereal played; the glue of Ethereal decks |
| Reaper Form | 3 | Power | Retain + per-turn payoffs; the form that stretches decks into consistency |
| Lethality | 1 | Power | Your first Attack each turn deals +50% damage (+75% upgraded) — Ethereal burst enabler |
A-tier — strong secondary picks
- Putrefy — 2 Weak (3 upg), cheap and fuels Sleight of Flesh
- Delay — 11 Block (13 upg); Necrobinder's honest defense card
- Enfeebling Touch / Defy — Ethereal support that keeps Osty alive
- Bone Shards — scales off Osty's presence; solid Act 1–2 damage
- Pagestorm — with 8+ Ethereal cards, draws become damage
- Banshee's Cry — 33 AoE damage for 9 Necromancy energy; heavy but wipeable
- Shared Fate — 0-cost strength trading that co-op parties love
- Eradicate / Hang / Undeath / Grave Warden / End of Days / Borrowed Time / Afterlife / Fetch — each solves a specific gap: single-target burst (Hang), sustain (Undeath, Borrowed Time), and the Doom finisher End of Days (29–37 Doom).
B-tier — fine in the right deck
The swarm and sacrifice toolkit: Transfigure, Spur, No Escape, Countdown, Sow, Calcify, Invoke, Pull Aggro, Melancholy, Oblivion, Sentry Mode, The Scythe, Death's Door, Reap, Shroud, Haunt, Dredge, Debilitate, Negative Pulse, Defile, High Five, Pull From Below, Eidolon, Time's Up. Most are playable, none are priorities — they fill gaps after the engine is online.
C/D-tier — the graveyard of drafts
- C: Cleanse, Seance, Sic 'Em, Wisp, Snap, Rattle, Right-Hand Hand, Blight Strike, Death March, Squeeze, Drain Power, Poke — niche payoffs for decks that already work.
- D: Bury, Soul Storm, Graveblast, Fear — the cards you take when the alternative is nothing.
Two practical Necrobinder deck plans
- Ethereal engine (solo): Demesne + Spirit of Ash + Pagestorm + Danse Macabre. Draft every cheap Ethereal card, play your whole hand every turn, let Reaper Form retain the finishers. Deck reference
- Doom burst: Deathbringer + End of Days + Putrefy + Sleight of Flesh. Stack Doom on elites and bosses, protect Osty so you never trade tempo. Deck reference