We've been enjoying Culdcept Revolt for awhile now, and some "usual suspects" appear in just about every online match these days. Old Willow Scrub even wrote a guide about them, Essential Cards. You're well aware of the cards I'm talking about - Mad Harlequin, Boomerang, Chariot, etc. - but they're not what this guide focuses on. No, this guide aims to shake up the stable metagame created by the popular cards. If you're looking to add a little spice and versatility to your battle-tested deck, this guide is your resource.

While you're almost certainly familiar with the 14 cards in this guide, you probably dismissed them for one reason or another, or perhaps didn't realize the value they provide. I'd consider each one to be a second-tier card overall, but they definitely add that special something extra to a complementary strategy. I'll go so far as to say they'll occasionally win you a match you otherwise would've lost, because of their unique abilities and effects. I've included one card of each type, for variety.

Of course, these aren't the only off-beat cards to consider. Culdcept as a whole offers incredible depth, and virtually every card in every game is useful - it's just a matter of discovering where each card fits and is used well. View this guide from the perspective of Alice peering down into the rabbit hole - how deep does the game go? These 14 cards will start to give you a sense.

Clockwork Owl

Clockwork Owl

ST: 20 HP: 20 MHP: 20 G: 10

Item Limit:

Secret Art (40G): Target Cepter can choose movement direction next turn.

You might remember this odd little bird from the PS2 and Xbox 360 games, and you probably didn't use him then, either. Though he hasn't changed much in Culdcept Revolt, the game itself has, thanks to Territory Abilities becoming Secret Arts and moving to the Spell phase of the turn.

Why is that a big deal for Clockwork Owl, you might ask? Because "next turn" means your next dice roll, which now happens right after you use his Secret Art, instead of the next round. This makes it much more useful, helping you avoid high tolls, thwart Holy Word spells, and shorten your laps virtually on demand, among other things. Tuck the Owl away somewhere safe on the map and enjoy your newfound freedom of movement!

Domovikha

Domovikha

ST: 10 HP: 20 MHP: 20 G: 20

Secret Art (80G): Adds "Anti-Spell" to user's target creature.

The introduction of Shining Geyser really changed the game, making every targetable creature with 40HP or less vulnerable to obliteration in an instant. On its own, Geyser wouldn't be so bad, but we now have Rune Adept casting it repeatedly - low HP is a serious liability in Culdcept Revolt. In previous Culdcept games, you could just apply Land Protection, but that's now Magic Shelter, which makes the enchanted creature Defensive in battle. That means you're likely to take a Battering Ram to the face, because Turn to the Wall is also very popular now.

What to do? Add a hamster to your deck, that's what. Domovikha provides Land Protection on demand, without that pesky Defensive drawback. Even better, you can exploit the mass-enchant ability of Enchantress to protect all of your creatures at the same time - how cool is that? Like Clockwork Owl, she's hard to keep alive, so put her somewhere safe - and use her Secret Art on herself first!

Swamp Spawn

Swamp Spawn

ST: 20 HP: 40 MHP: 40 G: 20

Land Limit:

Item Limit:

Defensive / Secret Art (50G): Adds "Dice 1-3" to target Cepter. (Makes the next dice roll 1 to 3.)

Though absurdly cheap like the first two creatures in this guide, Swamp Spawn is more difficult to summon and keep alive, thanks to a wicked combination of a land limit, two item limits, and being Defensive to boot. Fortunately, what it lacks in user-friendliness, it more than makes up for with one outstanding Secret Art - a half-duration version of the old spell card, Slow.

What makes it so great? Well, it's the only Target Cepter movement Secret Art in the game, aside from Sigil of Float, an enchant spell you apply to a creature with no Secret Art of its own. You can slow your opponents with Swamp Spawn's SA, and increase the chances they'll roll onto that high toll. Note that its ability isn't Target enemy Cepter, meaning that you can enchant yourself with it as well. Why would you want to do that, you ask? That's its other twofold benefit. You can walk past a Magic Trap and snatch all the G it has collected. At the same time, walking slowly gives Doom Devourer an ST and MHP boost, making the creature more useful with every lethargic step you take.

Healer

Healer

ST: 10 HP: 40 MHP: 40 G: 80

Regenerates / Vigorous / Secret Art (10G): Recovers target user's creature's HP by 30.

Healer is such a useful card... that nobody seems to use, myself included. Exactly why is a mystery, because she has a 3-pack of abilities that work very well together, Regenerates, Vigorous, and a handy Secret Art.

I do wish her Secret Art fully healed the target creature, but having it available every turn via her Vigorous ability is a huge plus. Also, Regenerates keeps her alive in battle far better than you might think, meaning she'll be around to help keep the rest of your army alive. The fact that she has no limits at all and no summoning prerequisites makes her an excellent land-grabber as well. What's not to love? I could see Healer being a very sneaky unconventional invader with Angry Mask - take a big hit, kill them in return, then Regenerate.

Yowie

Yowie

ST: 40 HP: 40 MHP: 40 G: 70

Critical Hit: / Toll value for occupied territory randomly changes by 1/2 to 2.5x.

As Monty Python would say, "... and now for something completely different!" At first glance - solid stats, decent G cost, no limits - seems solid enough. Then you get to Yowie's abilities, and you find yourself scratching your head, just like his card artwork. Critical Hit to Neutral? Who needs that? A variable toll ability? Huh? Baffling.

But then you pause to reconsider. That Critical Hit ability means he can kill almost 90% of the Neutral creatures in the game unarmed. Not bad at all. Then you think a little more about that unique toll modifier... 25% chance of a lower toll, but a 75% chance of a higher toll. That includes a 25% chance of an extremely inflated toll. Then you remember that Greed is a thing. Suddenly that toll modifier is 3/4 to 3.75x - that has GAME OVER written all over it. Even an unchained greedy level 5 Yowie would rake in up to 4800G. Yowie, indeed.

Prismatic Wand

Prismatic Wand

G: 70

ST & HP+40 if equipped creature's element is different from opponent's element.

Introduced way back in Culdcept II for the Dreamcast and PlayStation 2, this powerful Weapon card is my favorite kind of item - the dual-use kind. I don't like to sit around waiting for an offensive or defensive item to show up - I want both, and I want them in hand, now. It's a Battle Axe and a suit of Scale Armor, all in one. Know of any other Weapons that give you HP+40? No? That's because there aren't any.

I imagine Prismatic Wand's condition scares a lot of people off, but it's not hard at all to satisfy when invading. When defending, you probably have something else in hand that'll get the job done anyway if they invade with a like-element creature. No biggie. It also forces opponents to pick and choose what they invade with, and anything that makes my opponents do some extra thinking is a win in my mind. Or you can be evil and use Prismatic Wand with Baldanders, and give yourself a 4-in-5 chance of a mismatched element, and watch the mayhem ensue. Good times.

Squid Mantle

Squid Mantle

G: 50

HP+40 / In Battle: Disables opponent's Attack Bonus.

There are eight creatures and six items in Culdcept Revolt with Attack Bonus abilities, all of which harm you and/or benefit your opponent. No bueno. For a mere 20G more than ordinary Scale Armor, Squid Mantle stops those shenanigans cold. Given the turn G bonus, it's almost a no-brainer. Bandit doesn't rob you. Nike doesn't paralyze you. They draw no cards from a Nebiros attack. Nada. Just holding Squid Mantle is usually enough to discourage opponents from invading at all with an Attack Bonus creature.

Squid Mantle would have been incredible in Culdcept Saga, as that game had a whopping 22 (!!!) cards with Attack Bonus abilities. If nothing else, it would have been a staple in anti-deprivation decks, which were extremely popular.

Rag Doll

Rag Doll

G: 60

Neutralizes: Scroll Attacks / Neutralizes: Creatures with greater ST than equipped creature.

Like Prismatic Wand above, I think Rag Doll's neutralization condition scares players away. It really shouldn't, though. A little bit of careful deck planning is all you need to make opponents feel like they're playing Five Nights At Freddy's. There are only ten creatures in Culdcept Revolt with 0 ST, and over half of those are Defensive - they're very unlikely to be invading anyway.

Two creatures immediately jump to mind as being perfect with Rag Doll - Garuda and Gooba - but for different reasons. Rag Doll turns the otherwise very squishy Gooba into a respectable land holder, and we all know how out-of-control a match gets when you can't stop those little boogers from filling the map. Garuda benefits twice - since he's an outstanding invader and defender, he wins both ways. Rag Doll prevents Attacks First creatures from landing the first strike, and it also stops Instant Death threats like Topaz Amulet and morph attacks like Cockatrice. Here's another fun card to use with Rag Doll - Fat Body.

Aura Strike

Aura Strike

G: 90

Scroll Attack: ST= (equipped creature's base ST).

I've never been a big fan of Scrolls, mostly because they just don't suit my dual-use item preference (see Prismatic Wand above). When I do use them, I like to create a guessing game in battle - am I attacking normally or with a Scroll? In most battles, an opponent can block one, but not both at the same time. The problem usually lies in the fact that Scrolls tend to be pretty weak - if they know they can survive your Scroll attack, they just block the normal attack.

Aura Strike does a nice job of solving that problem. Since its scroll attack is equal in ST to the creature's normal unarmed attack, it's a natural fit - and a massive headache! - with high-ST creatures like Typhon and Death Scythe. The guessing game becomes even more fun when you boost a creature's printed ST with Fay. Picture a Typhon that does 120ST damage normally with Critical Hit and 80ST scroll damage with Aura Strike. That's probably a lose-lose scenario for the defender.

Dream Terrain

Dream Terrain

G: 40

Adds "Shared Toll Fees" to user. (For 5 rounds, user gains 50% of tolls collected by other Cepters.)

I've never actually seen this spell in an online match, and that's amazing, because this spell is absolutely spectacular from about the midway point on in a 4-player match. With high tolls spread all over, you can't help but make a killing - easily thousands of G. A particularly beneficial aspect of Dream Terrain that many players don't realize is that it includes tolls you pay. In other words, if you pay 1280G on a toll, you immediately get 640G back. They pay up, you collect. You pay up, you collect. Who doesn't love loads of free G?

Chaos Panic

Chaos Panic

G: 60

Adds "Reverse Movement" to all Cepters. (On the next turn, all Cepters will move backwards.)

It's the only mass-movement card in Culdcept Revolt, and yet, it's almost never used. Why is that? Maybe it's fear of self-harm. It just requires a little planning when used, so you don't moonwalk into a big problem. I can see it being used to simultaneously shorten your lap (by walking backward over the gate you just completed a lap with), and to push somebody backward onto a Kelpie or Old Willow. It would also be handy to change your direction on maps with branching paths.

I also love the idea of this card as an overwrite-everyone move - and yes, that includes Cepters with Barrier on. Since it doesn't target Cepters directly, it replaces whatever they're currently enchanted with.

Land Transfer

Land Transfer

G: 100

Releases target territory from user's control and reverts it to magic at 70% of its value.

Land Transfer's text makes it seem like the dumbest spell ever conceived, which is probably why few people use it. Why on Earth would you spend 100G to liquidate a land and lose 30% of its value to boot? It doesn't make sense. However, you've actually seen the value of this in action already, but you might not have realized what was going on (or why). The AI does a "natural" land transfer move virtually every time its G in hand goes below zero and is forced to sell off land.

The AI in Culdcept Revolt will usually sell its highest-value land first, because of a fact you may not be aware of - the value of a chained land is more than the G invested. A lot more. Turns out, transferring a high-level land to G in your hand that can then be invested in another land is a very successful strategy. Chain, level, liquidate, repeat. The hard part is protecting your invasion magnet long enough to profit from it, because your opponents will be coming for it. Guaranteed.

Consider this also: You profit nicely from the 70% return you get from Land Transfer. In the earlier games, the return was 100% - and in Culdcept Saga, Tokebi's Territory Ability was Land Transfer for free, on demand. Unbelievably great, and extremely difficult to beat.

Want to see exactly how much profit you'll generate with a land transfer strategy? Check out the guides that SBRJCT and Hiroyoshi have written - yes, we have two guides. Land Transfer is that good.

Ray of Law

Ray of Law

G: 60

Destroys all cards with a value of 100G and up in all Cepters' hands.

With the overwhelming popularity of expensive cards like Tiamat, you'd think we'd see Ray of Law often online. Warlock's Disk, most of the land-change spells, most of the Hidden spells, Evo dragons... they'd all get wiped out. Like many of the other cards in this guide, you just have to make sure to use it when you won't zap yourself, or build your deck so you don't have any 100+G cards. Either method wouldn't be difficult to accomplish, and the results would be game-changing.

If you're really feeling like playing the spoiler in a multiplayer match, you could use it in a mass-disruption strategy with Erosion and Ray of Purge. Using a carefully constructed deck, you could find yourself with a massive card-in-hand advantage - and having more cards in hand than your opponents do is never a bad thing.

Natural World

Natural World

G: 70

Adds "Abilities Disabled" to the world. (For 6 rounds, Secret Art, Upon Defeat, and Battle End abilities do not activate.)

I'll close out this guide with a type of card I just don't see used very often online - Global-effect spells. It's strange, because they replaced Idols, which were very popular online in Culdcept Saga. I imagine it's because a Global spell's effect only lasts 6 rounds, they don't stack (only one can be in effect at any given time), and they're pretty easily removed (Purify and Uriel). That said, by their very nature, Global spells are game-changing - and Natural World is among the most disruptive.

And yet, I've never seen anyone use it. Maybe because people love Secret Arts so much, they don't want to deprive themselves? Whatever the reason, I think a very powerful deck could be built that exploits Natural World. Consider for a moment what it doesn't prevent - Attack Bonus, Instant Death, Upon Victory, Regenerates... there's a very effective strategy lurking in there.

... and there's plenty more

As I said earlier, the cards in this guide are just rarely-used examples of each type. There's a bunch more in the game - see what you can find to add that special sauce to your favorite decks. If you discover something that works really well, share it in our Discord chat. The community always loves new ideas, and is always happy to help too!