Monster Train 2 Beginner Guide: Your First Wins

The core loop in one minute

Your train has three defendable floors plus the Pyre room on top. Each battle, enemies board at the bottom and climb one floor per turn; whatever survives your defenses attacks the Pyre. If the Pyre's health hits zero, the run ends. Between battles you draft cards, buy upgrades and pick artifacts — by the final boss, you want a machine, not a pile of cards.

Use Deployment to start with a working board

Each battle begins with a Deployment Phase before enemies arrive. Use its extra Ember to place your available units deliberately: a durable unit in front, damage behind it, and enough free Capacity for any units your plan creates later. Check the deployment hand before assuming a room, piece of equipment or support unit will be ready on the first combat turn.

The developers introduced this phase to support unit synergies and multiple floors. Their official gameplay FAQ also explains Undo: it restarts the current turn, so you can compare play orders while learning. Undo use is recorded; a learning run need not be a no-Undo run.

Balance Ember with the cards you need to play

You play cards with Ember, refreshed each turn. Early on, expensive bombs look tempting, but a hand you can't afford cannot solve the wave in front of you. Combine affordable spells with a clear way to pay for expensive carries. The cheap end of the card database can help fill gaps. X-cost cards use the Ember you spend when playing them; they do not automatically become stronger just because more turns have passed. For boss rewards, compare Ember, draw and Capacity against the resource that is actually limiting your deck.

Give every occupied floor a job

Keep units that depend on one another together: a carry, its protection and its support should form a useful floor. Then decide what the other floors contribute. One can weaken a wave before it climbs; another can finish survivors. A top-floor setup buys more time before ordinary enemies reach it, but a leak there has no friendly floor left above it.

Multistrike helps a carry handle several targets, while Armor protects its front line. Neither replaces a plan for support enemies hiding behind a tank. Inspect the boss and enemy mechanics before choosing where to set up; there is no single floor that is correct for every encounter.

Draft for an engine, not a highlight reel

• Skip is a pick. Every card you add dilutes the deck. If it doesn't feed your plan, pass.
• Remove cards that no longer do a job. Merchants can purge weak cards, but keep a starter if it still clears a backliner or enables your scaling.
• Follow keywords, not rarity. A common that triggers your keyword engine beats a rare that doesn't. Every keyword page lists all its payoffs.
• Upgrade what you actually play. Two upgraded workhorses beat five sidegrades.

Clans to learn first

Start with an available clan whose resource you can explain. A high tier is not a substitute for understanding how your floor survives:

• Banished — a useful first lesson in movement, Valor and protecting a carry. Read the chosen Fel path before deciding whether movement, equipment or the champion should lead the plan.
• Underlegion — learn how generated Fun Guys and repeated triggers build a board. Keep the generator alive and check where each effect triggers.
• Melting Remnant — a rewarding next step for learning death triggers. Burnout is a timer, not automatic resurrection: have a Reform plan before relying on a unit dying.

Your ally clan matters too: its banner units and spells fill the gaps your primary clan leaves. Use the clan playstyle guide to choose that missing role and the unlock checklist if a recommended clan is still unavailable.

Champion paths decide your plan

Each champion offers three upgrade paths of three tiers — that choice is your build-around. Browse all 24 champions and 72 path trees, or open a specific champion such as Fel or Bolete the Guillotine, to read every tier with exact numbers before you commit at the opening Light Forge.

When you're ready: Covenant

Winning unlocks Covenant ranks — stacking difficulty modifiers up to Covenant 10. Read the Covenant guide for every rank's exact effect, and start logging your climbs in the run tracker to see which pairings actually win for you.

First-run questions

Should I turn on every Trial?

Only when you can explain how the current deck beats its modifier. Extra rewards are useful if the added enemies or pressure will not cost the run. Read the battle preview before accepting.

Do I need to take a card after every battle?

No. Take a card that solves the next fight or strengthens a repeatable plan. Skip a redundant payoff when you still need defense, backline damage or the Ember to play your existing hand.

What should I work on after beating Seraph?

Choose a concrete goal: climb Covenant, unlock a new Pyre Heart, or follow the Titans unlock route. For a more reliable next deck, use the drafting and upgrade checklist.