Inscryption: Best Decks For Each Act

Updated:

24 Nov 2024

Are you ready to be the very best? Like no one ever was? No, this isn’t Pokémon. Rather, this is Inscryption. We are back again with an Inscryption guide on synergies and deck-building. Deck-building can vary from throwing all your cards in one pile and praying for the best, or you can try to plan out a strategy beforehand. Unfortunately, I'm mostly the former.

It does depend on your method of playing. With games like Inscryption, there can be numerous ways on how to build your deck and what kind of deck to focus on. Well, here we are going to discuss what the best decks are for each Act. These decks, like any decks, rely on some synergy.

Synergy is how well the cards play together. A prime example would be the Black Goat and the Ouroborus. You need cards that can stand on their own and can play well with others. So we will look into what kind of deck that could mean for you. Join me as we go through Inscryption: Best Decks For Each Act.

Act 1 (Early Game)

In this Act, we will be going over Kaycee’s Mod decks as well as base game decks.

Original Inscryption

1.Black Goat Deck

A winning strategy starts with a good base.

Balance is key when it comes to any deck-build. You need to have cards that can play off of one another and can stand alone if needed. This deck does simply that. It covers numerous bases and even provides some quick exit strategies if needed.

I have played Inscryption numerous times since its 2021 release date. I have seen, played, and became many a card. But I feel confident about this deck, and its versatility. The exit strategies I mentioned are mostly with flying cards, which I really under-utilized in my first playthrough.

By having flying cards, you can do direct damage to Leshy. By having two, and one of them close to double digits in damage, you can ensure a quick getaway if the fight goes south. The scale only goes to 5, so if you can deal him at least 5 damage, you’re golden.

There are only a few high cost cards that are easily rectified by the low-cost Black Goat. Especially if you put good sigils on it. Mostly, it is a great balance between fighters and support cards with a variety of sigils that pair well together. Synergy, people, synergy.

What are the strengths of the Black Goat Deck?

The Black Goat is a more common card so it will be easier to get your hands on it and is essential for playing higher cost cards in a shorter time. .
The Ouroboros is the most consistent card you can have in your deck since it retains all levels it gets through sacrificing.
Mole Man is a better defensive card than its counterpart, the River Snapper due to a lower cost and Burrower sigil. The Burrower sigil guarantees the protection of your spaces.
Strange Larva is just a fantastic rare card with the Fledgling ability that turns into a beast with 7 attack and 3 health. This gives you an essentially Great Value Urayuli. The Adder has a secondary use, thanks to its Touch of Death. If you haven’t been able to get your hands on a Ring Worm yet, you can sacrifice the Adder to the Campfire for about 5 free upgrades in the base game. If you don’t want to sacrifice it, it’s great to take care of those pesky giants with its bite.
Amalgam is another rare card that goes under the umbrella of your Black Goat when it comes to cost, but it utilizes your totem. Thanks to its amalgamation, it is covered by a multitude of totems.
You can use the bones you get from sacrificing the Ouroboros into summoning the Turkey Vulture who can deal 3 points of damage to Leshy directly.

Our Contenders:

Black Goat
Ouroboros
Mole Man
Strange Larva
Adder
Amalgam
Turkey Vulture

2. Rat King Deck

This deck is a little different than its counterpart. The first deck more so utilized Blood Sacrifices, so this one will focus a little more on Bones. Bones can summon some powerful but costly cards. Things like the Rattler and the Bat, who alone are worrisome, but they cost 6 bones and 4 bones respectively.

We are going to utilize those cards and many others as we go through your second best deck to have in Inscryption Act 1.This deck features some fliers like the last one. So if you get in a pinch or if you want to ink out that last bit of overkill, fliers are good for putting salt in the wound. Like the first deck, the second deck is also fluffed out with support cards. Support cards are not bad cards; most of them have a secondary use of being punching bags.

So what are the Rat King deck strengths?

The Rat King is one of the pivotal cards you need in order to properly make a bone economy in this act. Though it costs only two blood to play, it still yields about 4 bones when it perishes.
Child 13 has two forms in it, where you can plan out when you want it to strike or lay-low. Sacrificing it can give you the Demon form or the Original Form. The Demon form will do about 2 points of damage to your opponent.
The Rattler is a brittle creature you can warm by the campfire to boost its health. Despite its poor health and pricey cost, the Rattler deals 3 points of damage.
Flying creatures like the Bat make use of some of the obstacles Leshy will throw your way. With its Airborne sigil, you can fly over boulders or other creatures in order to still do the damage you need to win.
The Wolf does about 3 damage and only has about 2 health. You can warm the Wolf by the campfire and boost up its health to make it last longer.

Our Contenders:

Rat King
Child 13
Rattler
Bat
Wolf

Kaycee’s Mod

3. Mantis God Deck

If you’ve played with Mantis God at all in the original game, then you’re already pretty familiar with him. Mantis God is a rare card given to you free and is the leader of this card deck. Starting strong with its Trifurcated strike, it can attack 3 places at once, making it ideal for clearing out multiple enemies or causing multiple points of damage to Leshy.

Instead of having to scrounge around for Ring Worms, hoping your RNG is better today, the Mantis God deck gives you two for free. This guarantees free upgrades once you get the Survivors to consume the Ring Worm, and buff an already buff card.

There is a lot of potential here with this deck and with the Mod itself. Pairing the Mantis God and his trifurcated strike with something as simple as Pelt Lice where it attacks twice makes for some interesting strategies.

What are the Mantis God deck strengths?

The Mantis God itself is able to attack three places at once thanks to its Trifurcated Strike. Boosting it one time will give you 6 damage in one turn, making this a clean sweep.
Ring Worms give you that chance to boost up your Mantis God. Thanks to the mechanics in the original Inscryption, sacrificing the Ring Worm will let you pump a few upgrades into whatever card you choose next time.
The free pelts given to you enable you to pick other powerful cards like the Red Hart. Plus, the addition of the pelts makes it easier that you don’t have to fall back on one card. It’s different if you rely on one card and have multiple, than if you rely on one and you have none.
Mealworm is most useful here thanks to its Morsel ability. This will pass off any buffs you give it to the card you are sacrificing it for. This makes it easy to pump some levels into Mealworm then cut it open for the next guy, potentially giving your weaker cards an edge or your stronger cards more overkill.
Red Hart is great because, in Inscryption, you have to sacrifice. There isn’t a way around it. But now you’ll get rewarded for your kills. Think of Red Hart as a sponge to clean up the blood of your enemies; the more blood you give it, the stronger it becomes.
Pelt Lice is good to have and can give you a reason to keep pelts in your deck. Thanks to its ability, Pelt Lice will strike the same place twice. Not to mention, Pelt Lice is automatically added onto the board once you play a Pelt card.

Our Contenders:

Mantis God
Ring Worm x 2
Pelt x 2
Mealworm
Red Hart
Pelt Lice

4. Bone Deck

The Bone Deck is my favorite deck. I love the easier economy you’re able to set up with it, than you are with obviously something like the High Cost Deck. You’re already given the Dire Wolf Pup and the Racoon when you first start a run with this deck, and both of these are like the Gravedigger from Act 2.

Creatures like the Lammergeier are especially good for a deck like this because of its attack. Lammergeier itself bases its attack off how many bones you have. In Inscryption, you’ll always have one card or even multiple to face against. Wolverine and the Hodag we have included with this deck are perfect blood soakers for those guys.

Both are given the Blood Lust ability, which will increase their attack with each kill they manage to perform. This means that you can throw them to where the board is most congested, let them go to town, and grab that higher attack. The Coyote is a familiar card that, though brittle, does make up for it with its 2 attack stat.

What are the Bone Deck’s strengths?

The Racoon acts like the Gravedigger from Act 2, except this furry bandit steals the bones of your enemies. This makes him the only one in Kaycee’s Mod to begin a bone economy with.
Dire Wolf Pup is another Gravedigger for you. The first stage of the Dire Wolf Pup allows it to generate a bone for you. The fledgling ability it has turns it into the Dire Wolf, a creature that can attack the same place twice.
Lammergeier is the one who will benefit from these bones you are gathering. Its attack is based on ½ of the amount of bones you have gathered, so it's good to start a bone economy early.
Hodag benefits from the death of Leshy’s creatures. Each one that it manages to kill actually boosts its attack. Plus with its 5 health, the Hodag will be able to withstand plenty of attacks while you boost its own attack.

Our Contenders:

Raccoon
Dire Wolf Pup
Coyote
Lammergeier
Hodag
Wolverine

Act 2 (Mid Game)

1.Grimora’s Starter Deck

Grimora’s Bone Deck was a fun deck to play with. Though different from the fleshy Squirrels, the Skeletons are another free to play card. This makes it easy to start a bone economy, and their Brittle sigil will keep them from cluttering your board.

There are tons of combinations you can do, especially with this deck. You can combine the Bone Heap with something like the Sporedigger, and within a few rounds, be able to upgrade him. However, the Necromancer offers a faster bone generation with its pairing of the Ouroborus.

What are its strengths?

Bone Heap gets more power and health based on the amount of bones you give it.
Sporedigger combines two of the Gravediggers to give you twice the amount of bones. You’ll be able to pump twice the amount of power and health into him. If you can pay the cost.
The Necromancer is another must-have for a bone economy. Any creature that perishes while he is on the board, he will end up generating another bone for. So when one creature dies, you’ll get two instead.
Ouroboros is great for this. If you throw the Necromancer down and then proceed to put levels into the Ouroborus, you can use the bones for the Bone Heap.
Pharaoh’s Pets paired with the Ouroborus and the Necromancer give you an infinite amount of bones for your bone economy.

Our Contenders:

Bone Heap
Sporedigger
Necromancer
Ouroboros
Pharaoh’s Pets
Skeletons
Mantis God
Urayuli
Dead Hand

2. Stim Mage Deck

There are a variety of hard hitters here, which is what really makes this deck shine. Its variety of activated abilities and the synergies between them make this easy to play, and easy to win.

Gamblobot gives us 6 attack if you’re lucky with the roll of RNG. You can use cards like the Buff Conduit and the Energy Conduit to give your cards infinite energy and an extra point of attack damage. The Stim Mage takes full advantage of the Energy Conduit with help from the Emerald Mox.

The Stim Mage uses the excess energy to buff itself, giving you pretty much a second Ouroborus. Then you have the Skelemagus who does 4 damage by himself and does not overstay his welcome.

What are its strengths?

Gamblobot is great because with a click of a button, you can have 6 attack on one creature. Having multiple Gamblobot set with 6 a piece can equate to 24 damage, and more or less 24 foils.
Double Gunner is great for doing 4 damage with its Bifurcated Strike, setting up for you to do the sweep.
Energy Bot is good for having in your back pocket to get creatures like the Double Gunner out sooner. A card you can have in combination with this is the Krokall, since it submerges itself but still provides a battery for you.
Mox Module covers your bases with Moxes. While having a steep learning curve, the Magic deck from Magnificus is full of powerhouses.

Our Contenders:

Gamblobot
Double Gunner
Energy Bot
Krokall
Mox Module
Stim Mage
Gem Fiend
Skelemagus
Buff Conduit
Energy Conduit

3. Magic Deck

A gem dance-off!

While there is a learning curve for learning Magnificus’ deck, there are some gems here and there. Having cards that give you multiple gems are key for this deck so you can take up as little space on your side to still play strong cards. While it is Mox heavy, cards like the Gem Fiend rely on that to give you that 2 damage it has.

Plus it integrates a system we are already familiar with when it comes to bones. Bones, aside from Beasts, is probably the second easiest to understand. So its easier to build on that foundation with creatures like the Gourmage. Thanks to it utilizing two separate economies, you won’t have to worry as much about starvation. You won’t be running one into the ground.

What are its strengths?

Bleene’s Mox provides two gems instead of one, meaning you’ll be able to get twice as many creatures out.
Master Bleene will sacrifice itself if you have a Mox and give you cards. The card distribution in Act 2 is not the best, so definitely have this guy on standby to shake things up for you.
Necromancer is great for generating Bones, like the Bone Lord’s Horn. These two cards create a bone economy in order for you to power up Gourmage.
The Blue Mage acts like a second version of Master Bleene. The difference is that the Blue Mage will draw the number of Mox cards you currently have.

Our Contenders:

Bleene’s Mox
Master Bleene
Bone Lord’s Horn
Necromancer
Skeletons
Gourmage
Blue Mage
Sapphire Mox

Act 3 (Late Game)

1.Fish Bot Deck

This deck is a great deck, and is my usual go-to with its more stable foundation. With Son1a, you are able to turn into a Bat and deliver 2 points of damage to your opponent. Though most of the other decks mentioned here had a little longer of a list doesn’t take away from this small group of powerhouses.

Fish Bot alone offers three variations of its perished form. When Fish Bot dies, you can get Bad Fish, More Fish, or Good Fish. More Fish gives you a reroll into a potentially strong card like Good Fish. Shieldbot is as his name says and offers you a shield to keep it on the board despite its 1 health.

Cards like the Fish Bot and the Good Fish are good, because we don’t get access to the same sacrificial process like in Act 1. These guys come with those extra sigils on them already, making them more versatile.

What are its strengths?

Son1a is a creature that can transform from its normal mode to its beast mode, going quickly from doing 1 damage to 2 instead.
Gr1zz is another creature that has 2 forms, but it goes instead from a 0 attack and 4 health to a 4 attack and 4 health creature. Though you have to wait a turn for him to come out of his shell, you can find he’s a pretty hard hitter.
Sentry will take care of any pesky fliers, or it can take things out like the Explode Bots so you don’t waste your good cards.
Fish Bot has 3 forms it can take when it dies, the Good Fish is the best one because of its 2 attack and several sigils that come with it already.

Our Contenders:

Son1a
Gr1zz
Sentry
Fish Bot
Shieldbot
Energy Bot

2. Mycobot Deck

The amalgamation spreads terror through its opposers.

This is another strong deck, starting with the Mycobot. It takes the form of the Amalgam from Act 1, but its amalgamation is by your design. During the battle, you can lay down strong cards to eventually merge together and reflect their health and attack combined.

This combined with other hard-hitters like the Swapbot can make it easy to sweep through P03’s fights. Swapbot is especially good in combination with the Buff Conduit, as when Swapbot is hit, it switches its attack and health.

Buff Conduit makes up for that lost point of attack and gives it right back for you to deliver to P03. While this deck is pretty straightforward, sometimes simple is best. Using the Buff Conduit and Null Conduit with the Splinter Cell can give you at least 6 attack without your other cards.

What are its strengths?

The Buff conduit gives one extra attack point to the creatures within its circuit when the circuit is complete. You can pair this with the Null Conduit in order to do some extra damage.
Mycobot is a cool amalgamation you can get from fighting a secret boss in Act 3. As the battle progresses, your cards will get merged together and combine their attack and health. This is a great card to have in your arsenal for some of the tougher fights.
Another benefit from a completed circuit would be the Splinter Cell, as that completed circuit activates its Trifurcated Strike and deals 2 points of damage in three places.
Swapbot will swap its attack and health once it gets hit, so it will instead do 4 points of damage than the 1 it was doing originally.

Our Contenders:

Null Conduit
Buff Conduit
Swapbot
Splinter Cell
Mycobot

3. Custom Deck

Custom made victory.

The Gembound Ripper is a card I really loved to use, especially when paired with the Double Gunner. Thanks to the Gembound Ripper and its strong attack start of 3, this makes it easier to end battles quickly. Pairing the Double Gunner with the Gembound Ripper will do at least 7 points of damage together.

There are no traditional campfires in this Act, so being able to gemify things is definitely a must. The gemifying process ends up lowering the cost, boosting the health and attack of the creatures you choose. The Gembound Ripper, for example, goes from doing 3 attack to 4 instead. And its 1 health gets replaced with 2.

Gemifying cards like the Sniper Bot also means you can try picking off stronger cards from behind a boulder, but not have to worry about the cost as much. There is plenty of potential with this deck, especially with the customization that comes with making the custom cards.

What are its strengths?

The Gembound Ripper is able to deal some serious damage to P03 thanks to its 3 attack, but it does only have one health. Gemifying the Gembound Ripper adds another health point and rounds out its attack to 4. Though a pricier card, you can generally lower this with some sapphire gems.
The Double Gunner is another expensive card but worth it. It will
Sniper Bot makes it easier to take out those pesky fliers. From my experience P03 loved using Son1a in every fight he could. Putting the Sniper Bot or even the Sentry in front of them makes it a lot easier to squash that.
Custom cards are a brief part of Act 3, but you can make some powerful cards out of it. Being able to choose what sigils to give it makes it versatile to play into your strategy in whatever way you need. You need more energy? Done. Unkillable? Done.
The Explode Bot is generally just a card you can use for forced trades. This card can be replaced with anything that you generally don’t want. And even though you don’t want it, pump it up with upgrades when you can. You can sacrifice this card to get more SP for your custom card.

Our Contenders: