Grail

You pick Ratagnan, thin your starting deck down to something lean, and watch your first few cards resolve automatically as the turn timer ticks toward the 40-turn bleed-out. That’s your introduction to Grail, an autobattler where you never directly control combat once a run of cards starts playing out, and the entire skill of the game lives in the deckbuilding decisions you make between fights.

Energy pips are the resource that governs everything: you start each turn with four, and every card in your deck costs some portion of that pool to play. Beginners routinely build thick decks stuffed with expensive rares, not realizing that a fat deck delays your best cards from showing up when you need them, while a thin deck built around cheap, reliable pieces tends to fire its plan more consistently turn after turn.

Ratagnan’s Bleed Tools and Early Builds

Ratagnan leans on bleed-focused cards like Toothpick and Bayonet, building toward the Iconic Rapier of the Rat as a late-game payoff. A new player’s first instinct is often to hold onto every card they draft regardless of fit, but Grail rewards cutting weak links from your deck just as much as adding strong ones, since a card that doesn’t support your current plan is actively working against your energy efficiency.

Once Mabel unlocks at 200 trophies, the game opens up considerably. Her carrot-and-cheese lines, built around cards like Carrot bites and the Iconic Carrot roast dinner, play very differently from Ratagnan’s bleed plan, favoring sustain through over-heal rather than steady damage over time. Zappy, the inventor character, threads a third path entirely with tools like the Steam pack and Plier leading toward the Iconic Johanna’s prosthetic.

A theorycrafting player will spend hours in the run planner comparing weapon paths before ever starting a run.

Blacksmith Upgrades, Stickers, and River Nodes

Beyond raw card choice, Grail layers in upgrades, stickers, blisters, and enchants through the blacksmith system, letting you push a card beyond its base stats. A locked card can quietly become a trap late in a run if you’ve invested resources into it without checking whether it still fits your build, and that’s one of the sharper lessons players learn the hard way during their first several runs. River nodes scattered through the map add optional routing decisions that can grant early advantages if you’re willing to detour for them.

Which starting character is easiest to learn first?

Ratagnan is generally considered the most straightforward starting point, since bleed damage accumulates predictably and the Toothpick-into-Bayonet line gives new players a clear early goal before they’ve learned the blacksmith system.

Should new players spend trophies on cosmetics before unlocking Mabel?

Most guides recommend holding trophies until Mabel is unlocked, since chest rows in early seasons cost around 40 trophies each and cosmetics don’t affect a run’s outcome the way an additional character option does.

Whether you end up chasing a freeze-and-lifesteal route or building around Ratagnan’s Iconic Rapier of the Rat, Grail keeps the same promise across every run: your deck fights the battle, but only after you’ve done the real work of building it correctly.