Slay the Spire 2
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Slay the Spire 2 1.0 release: Sep 2027Not announced: our best guess from Mega Crit's 1 to 2 year Early Access plan.
Best guessMega Crit's Early Access FAQ on Steam says it will stay in Early Access "Until the game feels great! Last time we thought it would be about a year and it took about 1.5 years. So perhaps in the same 1 - 2 year range." We count 18 months from the Mar 5, 2026 Early Access launch, as the first game took, to the first Thursday of Sep 2027 (Mega Crit ships on Thursdays) at 10 AM Pacific, the hour of the Early Access launch. Steam

10Months6Days

Necrobinder

The Necrobinder is a new character in Slay the Spire 2, "A Spireborn lich who seeks revenge" who fights beside her giant hand Osty, unlocked by playing one run as the Regent. She starts with 66 HP, the lowest of the five, 99 Gold, 3 Energy, the relic Bound Phylactery (Summon 1 at the start of each turn) and 4 Strike, 4 Defend, Bodyguard and Unleash.

The Necrobinder is one of the two new characters in Slay the Spire 2, unlocked by playing one run as the Regent, win or lose, and she starts with 66 HP, the lowest of the five, the relic Bound Phylactery and her "trusty left hand" Osty, a reanimated giant hand that fights and takes hits for her (TheGamer's unlock guide; Spire Codex, game data v0.107.1). Her select screen calls her "A Spireborn lich who seeks revenge. Calls upon her trusty left hand, Osty, in combat." Mega Crit's introduction calls her "a sassy lich" whose kit "is themed around necromancy" and "plays with the balance of life and death" (Mega Crit's October 2025 Neowsletter). She plays with Summon, which grows Osty, Doom, a debuff that kills, and Souls, cards that draw. Slay the Spire 2 is still in Early Access, and her numbers below are the main branch's, v0.107.1 (Jun 19, 2026). Every card is on Necrobinder Cards, and how guides play her is on Necrobinder Guide.

A skeleton in a red robe with a purple flame for hair holds up a bony hand beside a giant pink skeletal hand, on a magenta background. A panel names The Necrobinder with 66 of 66 HP and 99 gold and the relic Bound Phylactery. Below, an Ascension selector reads No Ascension, and five character portraits sit in a row.
The character select screen for the Necrobinder, 66 HP and 99 Gold: "A Spireborn lich who seeks revenge. Calls upon her trusty left hand, Osty, in combat." Her relic, Bound Phylactery, Summons 1 at the start of each turn. Mega Crit

Quick facts

Character The Necrobinder (new in Slay the Spire 2)
Companion Osty, her reanimated left hand
Unlock Play one run as the Regent, win or lose (Epoch "Life and Death")
Max HP 66, the lowest of the five characters
Gold 99
Energy 3 per turn
Starter relic Bound Phylactery: at the start of your turn, Summon 1
Ancient starter relic Phylactery Unbound: Summon 5 at the start of each combat, Summon 2 at the start of your turn
Starting deck 4 Strike, 4 Defend, Bodyguard, Unleash (10 cards)
Mechanics Osty and Summon, Doom, Souls, Ethereal
Card pool 88 cards, 2 of them Ancient and 2 for multiplayer only
Unlocks next The Defect, after one run as the Necrobinder

Sources: Spire Codex, characters, relics and cards (game data, v0.107.1), read Oct 26, 2026; PCGamesN's characters guide, Apr 28, 2026; TheGamer's unlock guide, Mar 6, 2026.

Who the Necrobinder is

The Necrobinder is a lich born in the Spire who climbs it for revenge. She was "the first new character we announced for Slay the Spire 2", revealed in Mega Crit's October 2025 Neowsletter, and she was already in the first gameplay trailer at The Game Awards on Dec 12, 2024, beside the Ironclad and the Silent (Mega Crit). The Steam store counts five characters, "two of whom who are brand new" (Steam store); the other is the Regent. More on the cast is on Characters and Lore and Story.

Osty is part of her character, not a card. Asked whether Osty would rather Defend or Bodyguard against a 5-damage attack, Mega Crit's Casey Yano answered "Osty wants to be a good boy and Defend so we should let him." (Mega Crit's August 2026 Neowsletter).

How to unlock the Necrobinder

The Necrobinder unlocks after one run as the Regent, whether that run is won or lost. TheGamer and PCGamesN give the same chain: the Ironclad is available from the start, a run as the Ironclad unlocks the Silent, a run as the Silent unlocks the Regent, a run as the Regent unlocks the Necrobinder, and a run as the Necrobinder unlocks the Defect (TheGamer, Mar 6, 2026; PCGamesN, Apr 28, 2026).

In the game the unlock is the Epoch "Life and Death", earned by playing a run as the Regent (Spire Codex, epochs). Since v0.100.0 (Mar 20, 2026), Epochs cannot be earned in Daily or Custom runs. The whole system is on Unlocks and the Timeline.

Three of her own Epochs add cards, per Spire Codex: The 12 (beat Act 1 as the Necrobinder; Mega Crit's spelling), The Giant (kill 15 Elites) and To Kill (beat Ascension 1); the cards are listed on Necrobinder Cards. Spireborn, for beating Act 3, opens Ascension for her.

Starting deck and relic

The Necrobinder starts with 66 HP, 99 Gold, 3 Energy and 10 cards: 4 Strike, 4 Defend, Bodyguard and Unleash (Spire Codex, game data v0.107.1). PCGamesN notes she has "the lowest health of the cast" (PCGamesN's Necrobinder guide, Apr 7, 2026). Her Strike deals 6 damage (9 upgraded) and her Defend gives 5 Block (8 upgraded) (Spire Codex, cards).

Bodyguard costs 1 Energy and reads "Summon 5.", 7 upgraded. Unleash costs 1 Energy and reads "Osty deals 6 damage. Deals additional damage equal to Osty's current HP.", 9 upgraded (Spire Codex, cards). Mega Crit wrote in January 2026 that her unique starter card had been Bodyguard and was reworked into Unleash, keeping the art but with "a completely different mechanic", adding "Perhaps we'll see the old card again" (January 2026 Neowsletter); in the launch game both are in her deck.

Her starter relic, Bound Phylactery, reads "At the start of your turn, Summon 1." (PCGamesN). It brings Osty back each turn: TheGamer notes he revives with 1 HP at the start of her turn if he died (TheGamer's Necrobinder beginner's guide, Mar 10, 2026). Early guides called it "Osty's Binding", a preview name.

Osty and Summon

Osty is a second body on her side of the fight. Mega Crit wrote that "Osty can attack enemies independently of the Necrobinder and is unaffected by debuffs afflicting her", and that he "also takes attack damage that would normally affect the Necrobinder... as long as he has HP to give" (October 2025 Neowsletter). PCGamesN adds that he starts with 1 HP, takes damage once her Block runs out, "isn't affected by most debuffs and doesn't receive your buffs" (PCGamesN).

Summon raises Osty's HP or brings him back. The game's text reads "Summon Osty. If already summoned, raise his Max HP for this combat." (Spire Codex, glossary). Mobalytics points out that Summoned HP "doesn't wear off" because "it's not Block" (Mobalytics' Necrobinder guide).

Cards that say "Osty deals X damage" are Osty's attacks, not hers. They include Unleash, Poke, Snap, Flatten, Fetch, Rattle, Right Hand Hand, High Five, Sic 'Em and Squeeze (Spire Codex, cards). Other cards use him up: Sacrifice kills him for Block equal to double his Max HP, and Bone Shards has him hit ALL enemies before he dies. Since v0.107.0, the relic The Boot also raises Osty's attacks.

Doom

Doom is a debuff that kills a creature once its HP falls to the Doom on it. Mega Crit's rule: "When a creature's Doom meets or exceeds its current HP, it will die. It's a debuff that's applied similarly to Poison, but it does not deal damage over time or tick down, and it only affects creatures at the end of their turn." (October 2025 Neowsletter). The in-game text reads "At the end of the enemy turn, if this creature has [Amount] or less HP, it dies." (Spire Codex, powers).

Doom's timing is its catch. Because it checks at the end of the enemy's turn, a Doomed enemy "may still get one final attack" (PCGamesN). Mobalytics says the waiting is paid back with "noticeably higher number values on your cards" (Mobalytics): Scourge applies 13 Doom for 1 Energy and End of Days 29 Doom to ALL enemies (Spire Codex). One card applies Doom to her: Neurosurge, 3 Doom at the start of each turn.

Souls and Ethereal

Souls are her card draw. Mega Crit wrote that she can "draw (ha) on the power of Souls, giving her a source of card draw" (October 2025 Neowsletter). A Soul is a token Skill that costs 0, reads "Draw 2 cards." (3 upgraded) and Exhausts (Spire Codex: Soul); cards such as Reave, Grave Warden, Capture Spirit and Severance add them to her piles, and Haunt, Devour Life and Soul Storm pay off for playing them.

Ethereal is her other theme. "Transformation is a major part of necromancy", Mega Crit wrote, so many of her cards add keywords to other cards: Sculpting Strike adds Ethereal, Snap adds Retain, Transfigure adds Replay, and Seance turns a card into a Soul (October 2025 Neowsletter). Pagestorm, Pull from Below, Spirit of Ash, Banshee's Cry and Veilpiercer reward playing Ethereal cards (Spire Codex).

Ancient starter relic and Ancient cards

Her starter relic has an Ancient version, Phylactery Unbound: "At the start of each combat, Summon 5. At the start of your turn, Summon 2." (Spire Codex, relics). It replaces Bound Phylactery when the player takes Touch of Orobas from the Ancient Orobas, which reads "Upon pickup, replace your starter Relic with an Ancient version." The Ancients are on Neow and the Ancients.

She has two Ancient-rarity cards, Protector and Forbidden Grimoire (Spire Codex, cards). Protector is Unleash's Ancient form, per PCGamesN: 1 Energy (0 upgraded), "Osty deals 10 damage. Deals additional damage equal to Osty's Max HP.", 15 upgraded. Forbidden Grimoire is an Eternal Power costing 2 Energy (1 upgraded): "At the end of combat, you may remove a card from your Deck." The Ancient relic Archaic Tooth is what transforms "a starter card into an Ancient version" (v0.103.0 notes).

Necrobinder relics

Seven relics appear only for the Necrobinder in v0.107.1 data (Spire Codex, relics):

Relic Rarity Effect
Bone Flute Common Whenever Osty attacks, gain 2 Block
Book Repair Knife Uncommon Heal 3 HP when a non-Minion enemy dies to Doom
Funerary Mask Uncommon Add 3 Souls into your Draw Pile at the start of combat
Big Hat Rare Add 2 random Ethereal cards into your Hand at the start of combat
Bookmark Rare Lowers a Retained card's cost by 1 each turn
Ivory Tile Rare Gain 1 Energy when you play a card costing 3 or more
Undying Sigil Shop Enemies with at least as much Doom as HP deal 50% less damage

Source: Spire Codex, relics (game data, v0.107.1), read Oct 26, 2026. Every relic is on Relics.

Archetypes guides name

PCGamesN names three Necrobinder builds: Souls, Osty and Doom (PCGamesN's Necrobinder guide, Apr 7, 2026). It calls Souls part of nearly every build, Osty the easiest, and Doom the hardest, needing most of her card unlocks.

Each build has its cards in PCGamesN's guide. Souls: Grave Warden, Reave and Graveblast early, then Capture Spirit, Dirge, Haunt and Severance, and Death March, Soul Storm, Spirit of Ash and Devour Life by Act 3. Osty: Bodyguard, Afterlife, Spur and Necro Mastery, with the attacks Fetch, Flatten, Right Hand Hand and Rattle and Squeeze as a finisher. Doom: Negative Pulse, Defy and Enfeebling Touch, stalling with Invoke, Borrowed Time and Delay, then Deathbringer, End of Days, Shroud and Reaper Form.

How hard and how strong she is

Guides disagree on whether she is easy. Kotaku calls her the easiest character, followed by the Silent (Kotaku, Mar 18, 2026), and PC Gamer's Evan Lahti calls storing Block on Osty "defensive scaling that makes Necrobinder a particularly new-player-friendly character" (PC Gamer, Sep 18, 2026). Game Rant and TheGamer instead put the Ironclad first and her in the middle, Game Rant noting she is weak in Act 1 until her synergies form (Game Rant, Mar 10, 2026; TheGamer, Mar 9, 2026).

The tier lists disagree too. PCGamesN's character tier list (Apr 28, 2026) puts her in A, calling her Souls archetype very strong and Doom weaker than the Silent's Poison (PCGamesN). Pocket Tactics' list (Oct 5, 2026) puts her last, in C, because Doom resolves after her turn rather than before enemies attack, which makes elites and bosses hard (Pocket Tactics).

Changes by patch

Her biggest changes came in the first betas after launch. v0.100.0 (Mar 20, 2026) raised Banshee's Cry's cost from 6 to 9(7), made Dirge Exhaust and made Seance cost 1(0), and v0.102.0 (Apr 3, 2026) reworked Borrowed Time into "Gain 4(6) energy. Cards cost an additional energy this turn.", which Mega Crit said "should go particularly well with high cost cards like Reap and Bury". Later betas up to v0.107.0 raised Death March, Sic 'Em and The Scythe, and all of these reached the main branch with Major Update #2, v0.107.1 on Jun 19, 2026. Each card's changes are in the tables on Necrobinder Cards.

The public beta has more that is not on the main branch. v0.108.0 raised Haunt to 7(9), Reave to 10(13) and Soul Storm's extra damage to 4(6), and added the multiplayer cards Underworld, Soulbound and Cacophony; v0.109.0 reworked Eidolon; v0.110.0 made Sacrifice give triple Osty's Max HP; v0.111.0 raised Shroud to 3(4) Block. Every update is on Patches and Updates.

Compared with the first game

The Necrobinder is new to the series: she was not in Slay the Spire (2019), whose four characters were the Ironclad, the Silent, the Defect and the Watcher (PCGamesN). Osty, Summon and Doom, which Mega Crit compares with Poison, came with her (October 2025 Neowsletter). Other changes are on Differences from Slay the Spire.

Frequently asked questions

How do you unlock the Necrobinder in Slay the Spire 2? In Slay the Spire 2 the Necrobinder unlocks after you play one run as the Regent, whether you win or lose (TheGamer). The Regent in turn unlocks after a run as the Silent, and Daily and Custom runs do not count.

What is the Necrobinder's starting deck in Slay the Spire 2? The Necrobinder starts Slay the Spire 2 with 10 cards: 4 Strike, 4 Defend, Bodyguard (Summon 5) and Unleash, plus 66 HP, 99 Gold and the relic Bound Phylactery (Spire Codex, game data v0.107.1).

Who is Osty in Slay the Spire 2? Osty is the Necrobinder's reanimated left hand in Slay the Spire 2: he attacks on his own, takes attack damage for her while he has HP, and grows or revives when she Summons (Mega Crit).

How does Doom work in Slay the Spire 2? In Slay the Spire 2, Doom kills a creature at the end of its turn if its HP is at or below its Doom; unlike Poison it deals no damage and does not tick down (Mega Crit). A Doomed enemy can still attack once before it dies.

Is the Necrobinder good in Slay the Spire 2? PCGamesN's tier list (Apr 28, 2026) puts the Necrobinder in A tier for Slay the Spire 2, while Pocket Tactics' (Oct 5, 2026) puts her in C (PCGamesN; Pocket Tactics). Kotaku and PC Gamer's Evan Lahti call her friendly to new players.

What is the Necrobinder's Ancient relic in Slay the Spire 2? Her Ancient starter relic in Slay the Spire 2 is Phylactery Unbound, which Summons 5 at the start of each combat and 2 at the start of each turn (Spire Codex). It replaces Bound Phylactery through Orobas' Touch of Orobas.

Sources

Moments

Slay the Spire 2 Beginner’s Guide | Important Tips You Need to Know

IGN

  1. The Necrobinder is one of the two new characters in Slay the Spire 2, unlocked by playing one run as the Regent, win…

How to Play Necrobinder in Slay the Spire 2 (Guide)

Baalorlord

  1. Bodyguard costs 1 Energy and reads "Summon 5.", 7 upgraded. Unleash costs 1 Energy and reads "Osty deals 6 damage…
  2. Ethereal is her other theme. "Transformation is a major part of necromancy", Mega Crit wrote, so many of her cards add…

Slay the Spire 2 - 15 Biggest Changes From Slay the Spire 1

IGN

  1. Osty is a second body on her side of the fight. Mega Crit wrote that "Osty can attack enemies independently of the…

How to Win with Necrobinder | Slay the Spire 2 Guide

Caleb Gannon Gaming

  1. Summon raises Osty's HP or brings him back. The game's text reads "Summon Osty. If already summoned, raise his Max HP…
  2. Doom is a debuff that kills a creature once its HP falls to the Doom on it. Mega Crit's rule: "When a creature's Doom…
  3. Souls are her card draw. Mega Crit wrote that she can "draw (ha) on the power of Souls, giving her a source of card…
  4. PCGamesN names three Necrobinder builds: Souls, Osty and Doom (PCGamesN's Necrobinder guide, Apr 7, 2026). It calls…

Photos

A skeleton in a red robe with a purple flame for hair holds up a bony hand beside a giant pink skeletal hand, on a magenta background. A panel names The Necrobinder with 66 of 66 HP and 99 gold and the relic Bound Phylactery. Below, an Ascension selector reads No Ascension, and five character portraits sit in a row.

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See also

Last updated Oct 26, 2026 by the Vi.ki team. Page text CC BY-SA 4.0.

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