Necrobinder Guide

The Necrobinder is one of Slay the Spire 2's two new characters, with 66 HP, the lowest of the five, and Bound Phylactery (Summon 1 at the start of your turn). Guides build her around Osty, her giant hand that soaks damage, Souls for card draw, or Doom, and disagree on whether she is the easiest character or a weak one.

2:01 To play the Necrobinder well in Slay the Spire 2, guides say to keep Osty, her giant reanimated hand, alive as a shield, use Souls for card draw, and take attack cards early, because Doom kills only at the end of the enemy's turn (PCGamesN's Necrobinder guide, Apr 7, 2026). She starts with 66 HP, the lowest of the five characters, and her starter relic Bound Phylactery Summons 1 at the start of every turn. Opinions on her split: Kotaku calls her the easiest character, PCGamesN ranks her A tier and Pocket Tactics C. Advice below is attributed; card numbers are the main branch, v0.107.1, as the game is in Early Access. Her cards are on Necrobinder Cards and her story on Necrobinder.

Quick facts

Starting HP	66, the lowest of the five
Starting deck	4 Strike, 4 Defend, Bodyguard, Unleash (10 cards)
Starter relic	Bound Phylactery: Summon 1 at the start of your turn
Ancient starter relic	Phylactery Unbound: Summon 5 at the start of each combat and 2 at the start of your turn
Ancient cards	Protector, Forbidden Grimoire
Mechanics	Osty and Summon, Doom, Souls, Ethereal
Archetypes guides name	Osty, Souls, Doom
Character tier	PCGamesN A (Apr 28, 2026); Pocket Tactics C (Oct 5, 2026)
Share of all runs	17%, the least played (Mega Crit, May 2026)

Sources: Spire Codex (game data, v0.107.1); Spire Codex relics; PCGamesN; Pocket Tactics; Mega Crit's May 2026 Neowsletter; read Oct 26, 2026.

How Osty, Doom and Souls work

8:35 Osty is a second body that takes hits for her. Mega Crit's October 2025 Neowsletter says "Osty also takes attack damage that would normally affect the Necrobinder... as long as he has HP to give", that he attacks on his own and is unaffected by debuffs on her, and that Summon raises his HP or revives him. PCGamesN adds that Osty starts with 1 HP, takes damage once your Block runs out, and does not receive your buffs. Mobalytics points out that Summoned HP "doesn't wear off" because it is not Block.

1:04 Doom kills slowly but surely. In Mega Crit's words, "When a creature's Doom meets or exceeds its current HP, it will die", like Poison but without ticking down, and "it only affects creatures at the end of their turn." PCGamesN warns this means a Doomed enemy may still get one final attack. Mobalytics says that in exchange for waiting, Doom cards have noticeably higher numbers.

8:01 Souls are her card draw. A Soul is a 0-cost Skill that draws 2 cards and Exhausts (3 upgraded), and many of her cards shuffle Souls into your piles. TheGamer's Necrobinder guide (Mar 10, 2026) says new players overlook Souls and should prioritize Capture Spirit, Severance and Grave Warden.

Strengths and weaknesses

Guides disagree more about the Necrobinder than any other character. PC Gamer's Evan Lahti calls storing block on Osty "defensive scaling that makes Necrobinder a particularly new-player-friendly character" (Sep 18, 2026), and Kotaku's Lewis Parker calls her the easiest character. Game Rant (Mar 10, 2026) says she is weak in Act 1 until her synergies form.

The tier lists split the same way. PCGamesN (Apr 28, 2026) ranks her A and calls her Souls archetype very strong while Doom is weaker than Poison. Pocket Tactics (Oct 5, 2026) ranks her C because Doom resolves after your turn ends, not before enemies attack, which makes elites and bosses hard, and because Doom and Osty hybrids lack synergy.

Act 1: attacks first

11:24 The Necrobinder's Act 1 problem is damage. PCGamesN calls her weak against elites and says to take attack cards early, especially at higher Ascension. Her starter Unleash is the best of any character's to PC Gamer's Austin Wood, who calls it "the strongest starter card" in the game unupgraded; it has Osty deal 6 damage plus his current HP, so a well-Summoned Osty turns it into a big hit.

Wood, whose most-played character is the Necrobinder, gives more early value picks: Fetch is free damage, Dirge is great with spare Energy, and Reanimate is a big chunk of permanent block. Mobalytics' Doom picks for early turns are Blight Strike, Defile, Negative Pulse, Scourge, Deathbringer and Delay. TheGamer recommends Doom only with early payoffs and defensive Doom support such as Negative Pulse, Death's Door and Shroud.

Acts 2 and 3: finishers

21:19 From Act 2 she adds scaling and finishers. PCGamesN's Souls deck brings in Capture Spirit, Dirge, Haunt and Severance in the middle acts and Death March, Soul Storm, Spirit of Ash and Devour Life by Act 3. Its Doom deck stalls with Invoke, Borrowed Time and Delay, then adds Deathbringer, End of Days, Shroud and Reaper Form in Act 2.

Osty can be spent, not only kept. Wood says Osty can be used as ammo for Bone Shards or Melancholy, and that "Archetypes are often a lie in Slay 2", with Osty strong even without Rattle, Squeeze or Calcify. PCGamesN's Osty combo is Fetch into Flatten, which then costs 0, then Rattle, for up to 29 damage on one Energy.

Builds

Build	Key cards	Relics	Named by
Souls	Early Grave Warden, Reave, Graveblast; then Capture Spirit, Dirge, Haunt, Severance; Act 3 Death March, Soul Storm, Spirit of Ash, Devour Life	Funerary Mask, Anchor, Gorget, Horn Cleat	PCGamesN, Apr 7, 2026
Osty	Early Bodyguard, Afterlife, Spur, Necro Mastery; attacks Unleash, Fetch, Flatten, Right Hand Hand, Rattle; finisher Squeeze; Friendship, Shared Fate	Bone Flute, Bookmark, Funerary Mask	PCGamesN, Apr 7, 2026
Osty	Pull Aggro, Snap, High Five, Rattle, Fetch, Flatten, Necro Mastery, Reanimate, Sic 'Em, Spur	Bone Flute	Mobalytics, Mar 13, 2026
Osty	Necro Mastery, Pull Aggro, Spur, Calcify, Squeeze	Bone Flute, Phylactery Unbound, Anchor	Pocket Tactics, Sep 30, 2026
Doom	Early Negative Pulse, Defy, Enfeebling Touch; stall with Invoke, Borrowed Time, Delay; Act 2 Deathbringer, End of Days, Shroud, Reaper Form	Book Repair Knife, Undying Sigil, Lantern, Candelabra, Chandelier	PCGamesN, Apr 7, 2026
Doom	Scourge, Negative Pulse, Blight Strike, No Escape, End of Days	Book Repair Knife, Undying Sigil, Gorget	Pocket Tactics, Sep 30, 2026

20:06 PCGamesN calls Osty the easiest of her three archetypes and Doom the hardest, needing the most card unlocks, and says Souls appear in nearly every build. It notes Osty ignores most of your own debuffs, so Friendship's Strength loss does not hurt him. Mobalytics suggests splashing a small Soul package into a Doom deck for draw. Game Rant's Necrobinder guide (Mar 6, 2026) says to use Time's Up once Doom reaches about half the enemy's HP, and to finish with Squeeze then Flatten.

Key cards

Card	Cost	Effect	Upgraded	Guides that rate it
Unleash	1	Osty deals 6 damage, plus damage equal to his current HP.	9 base	"The strongest starter card" (Austin Wood)
Dirge	X	Summon 3 X times. Add X Souls into your Draw Pile. Exhaust.	Summon 4, Souls+	PCGamesN S; Mobalytics S; Pocket Tactics best cards
Capture Spirit	1	Enemy loses 3 HP. Add 3 Souls into your Draw Pile.	4 and 4	Mobalytics S; TheGamer's priority
Haunt	1	Whenever you play a Soul, a random enemy loses 6 HP.	8 HP	PCGamesN S
Severance	2	Deal 13 damage. Add a Soul into your Draw Pile, Hand and Discard Pile.	18 damage	TheGamer's priority
Graveblast	1	Deal 4 damage. Put a card from your Discard Pile into your Hand. Exhaust.	6 damage	PCGamesN S; Mobalytics D
Fetch	0	Osty deals 3 damage. The first time each turn, draw 1 card.	6 damage	Austin Wood's free damage
Flatten	2	Osty deals 12 damage. Costs 0 if Osty attacked this turn.	16 damage	PCGamesN's Osty combo
Squeeze	3	Osty deals 25 damage, plus 5 for each other Osty Attack you own.	6 per Attack	PCGamesN S; Mobalytics C
Necro Mastery	2	Summon 5. Whenever Osty loses HP, ALL enemies lose that much.	Summon 8	PCGamesN A
Reanimate	3	Summon 20. Exhaust.	Summon 25	Mobalytics S
Neurosurge	0	Gain 3 Energy. Draw 2 cards. At the start of your turn, apply 3 Doom to yourself.	4 Energy	PCGamesN S; Mobalytics S
Negative Pulse	1	Gain 5 Block. Apply 7 Doom to ALL enemies.	6 Block, 11 Doom	PCGamesN A
End of Days	3	Apply 29 Doom to ALL enemies. Kill enemies with at least as much Doom as HP.	37 Doom	Pocket Tactics best cards
No Escape	1	Apply 10 Doom, plus 5 for every 10 Doom already on the enemy.	15 Doom	Pocket Tactics best cards
Borrowed Time	1	Gain 4 Energy. Cards cost an additional Energy this turn.	6 Energy	PCGamesN S

Source: Spire Codex (game data, v0.107.1), read Oct 26, 2026; ratings from PCGamesN (Apr 7, 2026), Mobalytics' card tier list (Aug 12, 2026) and Pocket Tactics' best cards (Jun 29, 2026).

The two big card lists disagree more on the Necrobinder than on any other character. PCGamesN ranks Graveblast, Soul Storm, Squeeze and Seance S tier; Mobalytics ranks Graveblast and Soul Storm D and Squeeze and Seance C, while putting Friendship, Demesne, Call of the Void and Danse Macabre in S. Lahti names Neurosurge as one of the few Doom cards with real risk and reward. See the Card Tier List.

The public beta has buffed several of her Souls cards, none of them on the main branch: v0.108.0 (Jul 3, 2026) raised Haunt to 7(9), Reave to 10(13) damage and Soul Storm's bonus to 4(6) per Soul. The same patch made Defect Orb passives and Regen Potion healing resolve before Doom, so Neurosurge's self-Doom no longer kills you first.

Relics

The Necrobinder has seven relics of her own on the main branch:

Relic	Rarity	Effect
Bone Flute	Common	Gain 2 Block whenever Osty attacks
Book Repair Knife	Uncommon	Heal 3 HP when a non-Minion enemy dies to Doom
Funerary Mask	Uncommon	3 Souls into your Draw Pile at the start of combat
Big Hat	Rare	2 random Ethereal cards into your Hand at the start of combat
Bookmark	Rare	Lowers a random 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 (game data, v0.107.1), read Oct 26, 2026.

Untapped.gg's Dillon Skiffington (Apr 2026) names Book Repair Knife, Undying Sigil and Funerary Mask as the relics that point to her three approaches; PCGamesN and Mobalytics both file Book Repair Knife under Doom. Mobalytics' relic tier list (Jul 27, 2026) puts Funerary Mask and Book Repair Knife in S tier. Since Major Update #2 the relic The Boot also boosts Osty's attacks. See Relics.

Ancient blessings

Touch of Orobas is the blessing guides name for the Necrobinder. It replaces Bound Phylactery with Phylactery Unbound, which Summons 5 at the start of each combat and 2 at the start of each turn, and Pocket Tactics' Osty build lists it for the extra Summon. Her Ancient cards, from Orobas' Archaic Tooth or Darv's Dusty Tome, are Protector and Forbidden Grimoire; PCGamesN says Unleash "upgrades to Protector" and ranks Protector S tier.

Mega Crit has suggested which Energy tools suit her: it said in v0.102.0 that Borrowed Time "should go particularly well with high cost cards like Reap and Bury". Energy blessings with downsides, such as Tanx's Spiked Gauntlets (Powers cost 1 more), weigh differently for a deck built on Powers like Necro Mastery and Haunt. See Neow and the Ancients.

Bosses and fights that trouble her

2:08 Elites and bosses are where Doom struggles, because they act before Doom resolves. PCGamesN calls her weak against elites, and Pocket Tactics says Doom's timing makes elites and bosses hard. The Doormaker, an Act 3 boss removed in Major Update #2, countered Poison and Doom decks (Game Rant, Mar 12, 2026) because its Door returned without status effects; its replacement, Aeonglass, is a damage race that fills your hand with Wither cards. Pocket Tactics names Hang as a card strong against single bosses or elites. See Bosses.

Ascension 10

At Ascension 10 the Necrobinder's low HP and slow start matter most. PCGamesN stresses taking attacks early, especially at higher Ascension, and both Austin Wood and Evan Lahti lean on Osty as stored defense. Wood ran an Ascension 10 win streak through every character one by one, and his most-played is the Necrobinder. The Ascension Guide covers each level.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best Necrobinder build in Slay the Spire 2? PCGamesN calls Osty the easiest Necrobinder build in Slay the Spire 2, Souls the one in nearly every deck, and Doom the hardest. Pocket Tactics lists both an Osty build and a Doom build, and says hybrids of the two lack synergy.

Is the Necrobinder good in Slay the Spire 2? The tier lists split on the Necrobinder in Slay the Spire 2: PCGamesN (Apr 28, 2026) ranks her A tier, while Pocket Tactics (Oct 5, 2026) ranks her C, last of the five. Kotaku and PC Gamer's Evan Lahti call her friendly to new players.

How does Doom work in Slay the Spire 2? Doom is a Necrobinder debuff in Slay the Spire 2 that kills a creature whose Doom meets or exceeds its HP at the end of its turn. It does not deal damage or wear off, so a Doomed enemy may still attack once more before it dies.

What does Osty do in Slay the Spire 2? Osty is the Necrobinder's giant reanimated hand in Slay the Spire 2: he takes attack damage meant for her once her Block is gone, attacks through cards that say "Osty deals", and ignores her debuffs. Summon raises his HP or revives him, and Summoned HP does not wear off like Block.

Is the Necrobinder easy in Slay the Spire 2? Kotaku calls the Necrobinder the easiest character in Slay the Spire 2, and PC Gamer's Evan Lahti calls her "particularly new-player-friendly", while Game Rant and TheGamer put her in the middle. She has the lowest HP, 66, but Osty absorbs hits.

What are the best Necrobinder cards in Slay the Spire 2? Dirge and Neurosurge are near the top of both PCGamesN's and Mobalytics' Slay the Spire 2 lists, and PC Gamer's Austin Wood calls her starter Unleash "the strongest starter card". The lists disagree on Graveblast, Soul Storm and Squeeze.

Sources

Characters API, cards API, relics API, Unleash and Soul, Spire Codex (game data, v0.107.1), read Oct 26, 2026
Slay the Spire 2 Necrobinder guide - strategy, builds, and tier list, PCGamesN (Christian Vaz), Apr 7, 2026
Slay the Spire 2 character tier list, PCGamesN (Christian Vaz), Apr 28, 2026
Slay the Spire 2 Necrobinder Guide and Overview, Mobalytics, Mar 13, 2026
Slay the Spire 2 Card Tier List, Mobalytics, Aug 12, 2026
Slay the Spire 2 Relic Tier List, Mobalytics (JapaneseExport), Jul 27, 2026
Slay The Spire 2: The Necrobinder Beginner's Guide, TheGamer (Collin MacGregor), Mar 10, 2026
The Best Cards to Use for Necrobinder Runs in Slay the Spire 2, Game Rant (Marc Santos), Mar 6, 2026
The Hardest Playable Characters In Slay The Spire 2, Ranked, Game Rant (Marc Santos), Mar 10, 2026
Here's Every Ancient and All the Relics They Offer You in Slay the Spire 2, Game Rant (Marc Santos), Mar 11, 2026
Slay the Spire 2 Doormaker Boss Tips, Game Rant (Marc Santos), Mar 12, 2026
Slay the Spire 2 tier list - the best characters ranked, Pocket Tactics (Connor Christie), Oct 5, 2026
The best Slay the Spire 2 cards for each character, Pocket Tactics (Connor Christie), Jun 29, 2026
Slay the Spire 2 builds, Pocket Tactics (Connor Christie), Sep 30, 2026
A Slay The Spire 2 Guide For Getting Better And Surviving Your First Full Run, Kotaku (Lewis Parker), Mar 18, 2026
After 894 hours in Slay the Spire 2, these are our 12 strongest opinions, PC Gamer (Evan Lahti, Harvey Randall, Austin Wood), Sep 18, 2026
Slay the Spire 2 patch fixes RNG bug after a fan's '8 hour descent into madness' proves it exists, PC Gamer (Harvey Randall), Jun 19, 2026
The Best Relics in Slay the Spire 2: Identifying Directional Relic Signals, Untapped.gg (Dillon Skiffington), Apr 2026
The Neowsletter - October 2025, Mega Crit, Oct 16, 2025
Beta Patch Notes - v0.102.0, Mega Crit, Apr 3, 2026
The Neowsletter - May 2026, Mega Crit, May 23, 2026
Major Update #2 - v0.107.1, Mega Crit, Jun 19, 2026
Beta Patch Notes - v0.108.0, Mega Crit, Jul 3, 2026
How to Play Necrobinder in Slay the Spire 2 (Guide), Baalorlord, Mar 19, 2026 (video)
How to Win with Necrobinder | Slay the Spire 2 Guide, Caleb Gannon Gaming, Mar 9, 2026 (video)

Moments

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

Baalorlord

2:01 To play the Necrobinder well in Slay the Spire 2, guides say to keep Osty, her giant reanimated hand, alive as a…
8:01 Souls are her card draw. A Soul is a 0-cost Skill that draws 2 cards and Exhausts (3 upgraded), and many of her cards…

How to Win with Necrobinder | Slay the Spire 2 Guide

Caleb Gannon Gaming

8:35 Osty is a second body that takes hits for her. Mega Crit's October 2025 Neowsletter says "Osty also takes attack…
1:04 Doom kills slowly but surely. In Mega Crit's words, "When a creature's Doom meets or exceeds its current HP, it will…
11:24 The Necrobinder's Act 1 problem is damage. PCGamesN calls her weak against elites and says to take attack cards early…
21:19 From Act 2 she adds scaling and finishers. PCGamesN's Souls deck brings in Capture Spirit, Dirge, Haunt and Severance…
20:06 PCGamesN calls Osty the easiest of her three archetypes and Doom the hardest, needing the most card unlocks, and says…
2:08 Elites and bosses are where Doom struggles, because they act before Doom resolves. PCGamesN calls her weak against…