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With that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the best cards to pick up at the Magic Forge in Across the Obelisk’s early game, and why they’re so useful early on. Keep in mind, The Healers, compared to other Classes like the Warriors, tend to play very differently from each other, and none of them are “useless”. With that in mind, these picks depend on how a player wants to use their Healer, and what Damage type that Healer prefers.
8 Healing Spell: Heal
Recommended Upgrade: Gold Variant
Let’s start things off simple and talk about a Healing Spell, which is of course named Heal. This is one of the most basic Healing Spells in the game, and that’s also exactly why it’s so useful, especially for beginners. Use it on a character of choice, and they’re healed a certain amount, simple and easy.
And, in Senenthia and the majority of wherever Act 2 takes place, simple is usually best, especially with the Gold Variant of Heal. This version of the card has Vanish, which lets the Healer cut down their possible draws a bit as well as Heal allies, maximizing their potential damage for the next turn. Healing Spells in anything, even in Dungeons and Dragons, typically force players to choose between DPS output or team survivability, and Heal is one of the best options in AtO for Healing the party without using all the Healer’s available Energy.
7 Defense Skill: Anthem Of Hope
Recommended Upgrade: Blue Variant
Next up let’s look at another support-type card, Anthem of Hope. Now, this Defense Skill is pretty simple, when used, it gives every party member two stacks of Courage, which buffs their Holy, Shadow, and Mind resistances by 30 percent a turn, per Stack, with a Stack fading after each turn.
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But, if players Upgrade this card to the Blue Variant, it also gives a stack of the Inspire Buff as well. Finding a card that gives Inspire to even one ally can be costly, so having one that applies it to every party member at once that is also an Uncommon-Rarity card is just so useful. Sadly, the Gold Variant gets rid of the Inspire part of the card, making it an Upgrade to avoid at all costs.
6 Skill: Fanaticism
Recommended Upgrade: Either Variant
Just like Mages, Healers tend to be a bit Energy-heavy with all their high-cost cards. The best damaging cards cost quite a bit and their Energy is split between Attacks, Support-type cards, and Healing cards. So, what are their options for Energy regain? Energy regain, of course, is an aspect of deckbuilding roguelikes that’s always incredibly important. Well, Warriors have the Enrage card and Scouts have Adrenaline, but what about Healers? They have Fanaticism. And, while this card does cost 0 Energy while giving 1 Energy and a Stack of Energize at the base level, it also applies a lot of self-damage and Debuffs to the caster like Vulnerable and Stacks of Dark.
That said, these downsides aren’t that bad if it leads to wiping out the enemies in the same turn or even the next turn. Plus, it’s only an Uncommon-Rarity card, so it’s not that expensive in Shards either. Both Upgrade Variants are also worthwhile in different ways. The Blue Variant is better for Healers who can’t handle the self-damage from the card as well as they thought while the Gold Variant is for those who double down on the damage in exchange for an additional pip of immediate Energy.
5 Spells: Dawnlight & Black Karma
Recommended Upgrade: Gold Variant For Both
As previously mentioned, the Healers in Across the Obelisk all have unique playstyles that separate the cards they prefer more than other Classes would. For example, Ottis is primarily a Support-type Holy-Damage Healer while Malukah specializes in Dark or Shadow Damage while also Supporting with Healing Spells. Typically, this is split two ways between the Holy-damage Healers and the Shadow, or Mind Healers. So, these are the best low-cost Spell options for each:
For Ottis and Reginald , Dawnlight is a fantastic card as its damage is based on their current hand size and it hits all Monsters for only 1-Cost with the Gold Variant Upgrade. For Malukah and Nezglekt, the only Spell they have that’s comparable to Dawnlight is Black Karma . And, while the Gold Variant of this card doesn’t hit All Monsters, it’s a great early-game damage tool that applies Stacks of Dark.
4 Spells: Flash & Vile Lance
Recommended Upgrade: Gold Variant For All Three
Again, the main aspect players should look for when picking “good” early game cards and Upgrades is the Energy Cost to Damage to Debuffs ratio. Until they get to their third character Trait at Level 3 which tends to have an option for additional Energy gain, they likely want to stay away from a Deck with a high average Energy cost. So, here are some fantastic low-cost options for both the Holy Healers and the Shadow/Mind ones:
Flash is hands down the best low-cost Holy option for Ottis and Reginald. With the Gold Variant, it costs 0 Energy, and the damage will scale based on their Traits and current Bless Stacks. Meanwhile, Malukah and Nezglekt have the Gold Variant of Vile Lance for their low-cost Dark damage option that also applies Dark, Slow, and Poison. Alternatively, Nezglekt has the Gold Variant of Foresight which applies Sight Stacks and deals Mind damage for 0-Cost.
3 Spells: Holy Nova, Unholy Storm, & Clairvoyance
Recommended Upgrade: Either For Holy Nova and Unholy Storm, Gold Variant For Clairvoyance
Last up for the Attack-type Spells, let’s take a look at some of the pricier options for all four of the Healers. These are the Spells that usually cost between 2-3 Energy but are meant to deal substantial damage to all the enemies at once. Typically, players will go for the lower Energy cost Upgrade with these and then Transform them to their higher-cost Variant in Act 2. The options are:
Holy Nova for Ottis and Reginald , with either Upgrade being worthwhile. Though, in the early game, the Gold Variant is likely better since it’s only a 1-Cost. Unholy Storm for Malukah, as it’s one of the best ways to apply Dark to the entire enemy team. It’s pricier at being a 4-cost, but it’s absolutely worth it. Nezglekt can also use Unholy Storm , but can also use the Gold Variant of Clairvoyance to apply a lot of Sight Stacks at once for a chunkier Heal thanks to his Mental Leech Innate Trait.
2 Skill: Inner Fire
Recommended Upgrade: Blue Variant
Inner Fire is essentially just the Healer version of Unstable Power that Mages players likely know all about. The Powerful buff is fantastic on Spell-users as it applies to all damage and heals, and Stacks with things like Bless or the Damage Reduction that comes from Elemental Debuff Stacks.
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3 Stacks of Burn as a tradeoff for the Powerful Stacks is also such a low tradeoff. Also, Players should go for the Blue Variant of the card since it makes Inner Fire Innate.
1 Skill: Clarity
Recommended Upgrade: Either Variant
Finally, there’s Clarity, another Support-type Skill for Healers that lets them give their party members some Inspire. Honestly, the Purge enemies of Fury and self-Dispel Insane parts of this card are usually ignored, as a lot of the confusing Buffs and Debuffs in games tend to be. And, even the Slow Dispel isn’t the main reason why people spend Shards on this card.
No, people use this simply because this is a 0-Cost card that gives Inspire. That said, the Blue Variant Upgrade is the preferred option as it removes the Vanish aspect of the card and also gives it the ability to Dispel Sanctify, which is helpful in Act 3 and Act 4.
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