Description Of The Deck
The deck is based on accumulating Waste on enemies in large quantities. For defense, the deck uses Ward generation, and life regeneration. Orders are usually used offensively, while keys defensively, which makes easy and smooth play experience. The deck is also capable of adjusting strategy accordingly to situation.
First Seal
The starting deck is pretty straightforward - you use orders for offensive spells, and keys to build-up ward using In Father's Name. Sometimes you cast Salmandia, mostly to get rid off Waste put on you. You also have an option to nuke selected enemy by casting 2xKila/Nava + Koldun Fiend.
For items, it is highly recommended to buy Kiryan Cherub from Abbe, it'll carry you for a long time. It is a bit costly at the moment you'll 1st see it (150), so save money from the very beginning of the game up until then - it is well worth it. During my test playthrough on Koldun difficulty I had to sell Rusted Axe and one Adam's Head to have exactly 150 rubles.
Another key item is Zalom, but this one you'll get for free, as story progresses. Dead Man's Cross which grants +2 Ward at the start of battle is also helpful, don't miss it.
Starter deck:
Orders:
4x Skorchit
4x Kila or 4x Nava, or distribution like 2/2 between them
1x Salmandia
2x AvoilKeys:
1x Koldun Fiend
1x In Father's Name
Aspen Seal
A little change in defense means - Blue Stone will help with enemy Waste/Decomposure, and overall HP recovery. You can also change direct-damage pages for something stronger, namely Ognevitsa. Kain won't work that well because of In Father's Name Firm keyword.
Also you'll get companion Proshka to help with shields at the beginning of match, from now on pick him whenever possible.
Items: Dead Man's Cross, Zalom, Kiryan Cherub, Makhlushka, Notes of Volhid, Prokopy's Staff
Important new pages:
Deck update:
-1 to 2 Avoil +1 to 2 Blue Stone
-X Kila/Nava +X Ognevitsa
Orders: 4x Skorchit
2-4x Ognevitsa (depends how many vampirism books you have - if both then you can go 4x Ognevitsa, especially if you use 2x Blue Stone)
0-2x Kila/Nava
1x Salmandia
1-2x Blue Stone (2 when you have Prokopy's Staff and Dead Man's Cross)
0-1x AvoilKeys:
1x Koldun Fiend
1x In Father's Name
1-2x Key-Tongue/Circle (if you have taken Keys 1/Keys 2 upgrade. Use Circle only before you'll get vampirism books and Prokopy's Staff)
Water Seal
Obvious upgrade of the deck is Korkusha, which does the same what Skorchit does, but with additional Well-Versed keyword. Then for direct damage order pages you can choose between Korkoteya, Smerteya or Ubeitsa - depending on playstyle one of them might be more appealing, for example for non-sin run extra income Korkoteya provides might be welcomed. If you don't care about sins, and want to avoid self-harm of Ognevitsa - Smerteya is an option. If you use some bless sources - Ubeitsa will preform really nice, as it can cause domino effect. Or you can stick to Ognevitsa, with 2 vampirism books and regeneration provided by Blue Stone it still works well.
For items, don't miss important Mermaid's Cross on the underwater cemetery.
Important new pages:
Deck update:
-4x Skorchit +4x Korkusha
-X direct damage pages +X Korkoteya, Smerteya or Ubeitsa eventually
Orders:
4x Korkusha
0-4x Ognevitsa
0-4x Korkoteya, Smerteya or Ubeistsa
1x Salmandia
2x Blue StoneKeys:
1x Koldun Fiend
1x In Father's Name
1-2x Key-Tongue/Circle
Wolf Seal
It's time to say goodbye to Ognevitsa/Smerteya/Ubeitsa - Snake-head deals more damage without any negative effects, especially if you can consistently cast two Key-Tongue each turn; and also it does not care about colors of the pages in zagavor. Maybe you'd like to keep Korkoteya for extra income, however enemies in chapter 4 are stronger, and it's better to kill them faster. Snake-head is so powerful it might be even worth to get some items which grants bless, it will carry you through up to engame. Alas, before fighting Filimon it's recommended to change setup a bit to 2x Snake-head 2x Omur River, you'll get some serious hits there, and Omur River will help to return the favor.
Important new pages:
Deck update:
-4x direct damage pages +4x Snake-head
Orders:
4x Korkusha
2-4x Snake-head
0-2x Omur River
1x Salmandia
2x Blue StoneKeys(have Keys 2 upgrade):
1x Koldun Fiend
1x In Father's Name
2x Key-Tongue
Spruce Seal
Now the deck starts to get into its final form. As you'll see Herod Bones allows you to quickly overwhelm even the toughest enemies - but I recommend to stick with 2x Key-Tongue until level 19. If you want to use it earlier you'll need something which increases Articulacy for keys, like herb, or page Babushka-Atamanushka. Imo not needed, the deck was preforming fine without that during my playthrough.
Another useful page is Lend Help, Nicolas - it outpaces In Father's Name after 3rd turn, even faster if you have ascended Proshka.
It might be a bit surprising why Babushka-Adamushka is added, increasing deck size - but it makes a nice combo with Snake-head and white well-versed cards, and it removes itself from the deck after using, which is both good and bad. Anyway, any player who ever played a card type games knows how powerful are tutor/play for free effects, and Babushka-Adamushka does both.
One might ponder why not to use Skorchen or Tryasovitsa. Well, Snake-head deals bigger damage(22 vs 18), and its condition it much easier to fulfill, as you practically cast every turn 3 orders and 3 other pages at least(keys + Key-Tongues), not even counting Babushka-Adamushka. However, Skorchen might be useful during battles of kolduns, where having shorter zagavor is beneficial.
Tryasovitsa does nothing on its own, and if you managed to accumulate high Waste it's better to use Herod Bones. What's also important, it uses orders slot, so it means one less Korkusha in zagavor.
Important new pages:
Deck update:
+4x Babushka-Adamushka
-1x In Father's Name +1x Lend Help, Nicolas
-1x Key-Tongue +1x Herod Bones after reaching level 19
Orders:
4x Babushka-Atamanushka
4x Korkusha
4x Snake-head
1x Salmandia
2x Blue StoneKeys:
1x Koldun Fiend
1x Lend Help, Nicolas
1x Herod Bones
1x Key-Tongue
Fern Seal
You get access to some nice pages, but you won't use them right away, except Posmotril instead of Babushka-Adamushka. Posmotril is better because it stays in the deck, allowing you to find needed card each turn; you lose the combo Babushka + Snake-head though, so if you like it you can keep Babushka-Adamushka for that reason. However, prepare a playset of 4x Human Hand, you'll need these pages in final chapter.
There are potentially nice cards Vasiliy Boil and Fire Chains. Sadly, in practice they are not so great - Vasiliy Boil has Immediate keyword which weakens Well-Versed Korkusha, not to mention Snake-head, and Fire Chains has to compete with Herod Bones. Theoretically you can go 4x Vasiliy Boil + 4x Korkusha + Herod Bones route, but setup 4x Snake-head 4x Korkusha is more flexible.
Important item to get in this chapter is Fever Candles, which increases strength of Waste by 4, just remember to wear it off before you finish jobs of your chorts if you care about how much you've sinned.
Items: Mermaid's Cross, Prokopy's Staff, Zalom, Fever Candles, 2x Superik or 1x Superik 1x something defensive, like Kupala Salve, Fern Flower, or Petka's Flute
Important new pages:
Deck update:
+4 Posmotril -4 Babushka-Atamanushka (optionally)
+4 Human Hand (collect, but don't put into the deck yet)
Orders:
4x Posmotril/Babushka-Atamanushka
4x Korkusha
4x Snake-head
1x Salmandia
2x Blue StoneKeys:
1x Koldun Fiend
1x Lend Help, Nicolas
1x Herod Bones
1x Key-Tongue
Dead Seal
The time has come for Vasilisa to ascend, and become true Goddess of Pestilence which slaughters bosses and chorts alike - within 2 turns.
The deck uses some trick to obtain ungodly level of well-wersed power - pages with Gesture like Withering and Chemer/Lomota whose don't spend order slots + Human Hand. It works that way - you cast all pages you can, emptying your hand, then cast Human Hand which replenishes your hand, then repeat. The goal for the 1st turn is to put into the zagavor 4x Withering, 1x Chemer/Lomota, 3x Korkusha, 1x Lend Help, Nicolas, 1x Key-Tongue, and 1x Herod Bones. That alone gives +10/+11 Well-Versed strength for black pages, not counting items/Blackspeech bonuses. Now goes the real nuke - you cast Wind-Moses, which causes all these pages will stay in the zagavor for the next turn, and ofc they will be counted by well-wersed keyword ;]
Next turn cast pages and replenish your hand till you have the same zagavor again. Theoretically the freshly cast zagavor will stay too, but no enemy in last chapter was able to live into 3rd turn, as I checked this sequence created over 3k Waste on the final boss.
In rare cases, ex. when you want to heal up, create zagavor 2x Blue Stone, 1x Salmandia, 1x Lend Help, Nicolas, and either aim all black pages at one enemy, or don't use them this turn. You can spend Wind-Moses on these healing zagavor if needed.
New important pages:
The final, butt-kicking and nuts-cracking deck:
-4x Snake-head +4x Withering
-1x Korkusha +1x Chemer/Lomota
-4x Posmotril/Babushka-Adamushka +4x Human Hand
+1x Wind-Moses
Orders:
4x Human Hand
1x Chemer/Lomota (Chemer is slightly better, but it does not really matter which one)
3x Korkusha
4x Withering
1x Salmandia
2x Blue StoneKeys:
1x Koldun Fiend
1x Lend Help, Nicolas
1x Herod Bones
1x Key-Tongue
1x Wind-Moses
Epilogue
I hope you've enjoyed the reading, and will have fun in game. If you've found the guide helpful - don't hesitate to fav'd and rate it.
Source: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3303044620
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