Pugnala Draw Loop Build

Build Concept

Pugnala's Draw Loop build exploits her unique combination of a 5-card starting hand and a yellow card draw trigger to create a high-velocity deck engine that assembles the ideal hand every single turn. Attractorb drives continuous draw chains, Bracer expands hand capacity, and Clover raises lucky card appearance rates while simultaneously triggering Pugnala's passive. The finisher slot belongs to Cross evolved into Heaven Sword, with an optional Attractorb into La Borra evolution line for additional firepower.

The result is a build that structurally avoids the main failure mode of most Vampire Crawlers decks—drawing the wrong cost band and stalling the staircase—because the sheer volume of draw makes hand variance almost negligible.

Pugnala unlocks by finding a coffin in the Frenzy Forest, so other Crawlers serve as the unlock path before this build becomes available.

Pugnala's Unique Ability

Pugnala starts with 50 HP, 5 hand size, and 2 mana. The 5-card hand is the highest in the roster, and her passive—drawing one additional card every time a yellow card is played—turns the hand advantage into a self-reinforcing loop. Filling the deck with yellow cards (Attractorb, Bracer, Clover) means every play generates more plays, compounding into turns where the entire deck effectively cycles through.

Core Cards

Attractorb

The central draw engine. Playing Attractorb draws the next card from the deck, and Pugnala's passive triggers an additional draw on top of that. Chain two or three Attractorbs in sequence at the start of a turn and the hand refills almost completely before any damage cards are played. Run two to three copies and prioritize picking them up early.

Bracer

Expands hand size and is itself a yellow card, so playing it triggers Pugnala's passive for another draw. More cards held means more links in the staircase, more draw triggers per turn, and a lower risk of the chain breaking due to empty hand. This card is both the evolution material for Thousand Edge (in other Pugnala builds) and a core yellow card for this build.

Clover

A yellow card that raises the frequency of lucky card appearances—the randomly offered bonus cards presented each floor. Multiple Clover copies improve the quality of card picks over the course of a run, providing indirect deck improvement. Each Clover played also triggers Pugnala's passive draw.

Cross → Heaven Sword

The main finisher and primary evolution target. Cross combines with Clover to evolve into Heaven Sword, a multi-hit high-damage weapon card. The draw loop guarantees Heaven Sword lands in hand at the right point in the staircase every turn, and the multi-hit nature benefits heavily from elevated combo multipliers.

Mana Books

Pugnala's 2 starting mana demands mana support. Run multiple low-cost Mana Books to smooth the 0-to-1-to-2 cost transitions in the staircase. Mana Books may not be yellow cards in all cases, but they are essential connectors within the chain.

Recommended Arcanas

Jester's Hat

Adds an extra card pick option every floor. Draw-loop builds depend on assembling specific cards—particularly multiple Attractorbs and Bracers—as quickly as possible. Additional pick opportunities directly accelerate that timeline and maintain deck quality throughout the run.

Chain Link

Preserves combo across turns. Even with high draw volume, a badly-distributed hand can occasionally break the staircase. Chain Link ensures that when this happens, the next turn begins with the multiplier intact rather than reset, providing a critical safety net. Unlocks at combo 12 or higher.

Wild Buff

Strengthens the combo multiplier contribution of drawn cards. Draw-loop builds play more cards per turn than any other build type, so Wild Buff scales directly with the volume advantage that Pugnala creates. More cards played per turn equals more Wild Buff instances firing.

Evolution Path

Cross + Clover → Heaven Sword

Primary evolution. Clover runs multiple copies in this build, so using one as evolution material leaves the remaining copies active as draw triggers and luck boosters.

Attractorb + Holy Water → La Borra (optional)

Evolves a draw engine card into an offensive weapon. La Borra retains attack capability after evolution while freeing the Attractorb slot for other cards. Pursue this after Heaven Sword is complete and resources allow.

Target Deck Composition

Cost	Count	Key Cards
0-cost	5	Attractorb, Bracer, Clover (yellow cards primarily)
1-cost	4	Cross / Heaven Sword, Mana Books
2-cost	3	Mana Books, Holy Water / La Borra
3-cost	1	Finisher card

Keep total deck size between 13 and 15 cards. Pugnala's 5-card hand fills most of a small deck every turn—larger decks dilute the draw engine's consistency. Load the 0-cost slot with yellow cards to maximize passive draw triggers.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Strengths: High structural consistency—draw volume neutralizes hand variance, yellow card synergy self-reinforces with every play, finisher reliability is the highest of any build due to guaranteed draw access.

Weaknesses: 2 starting mana limits staircase height per turn compared to Arca. If 0-cost cards dominate the hand due to overloading, the chain produces draws without damage. Attractorb availability is not guaranteed every run—without multiple copies the engine underperforms its potential.

Play Tips

Open every turn by playing all available Attractorbs. Each one draws a card and Pugnala's passive draws another—two Attractorbs played back to back can refresh the entire hand before a single damage card lands. This front-loads card availability and ensures Heaven Sword is in position for the chain's later half.

Hold Heaven Sword for the elevated combo multiplier. Build the chain with 0-cost yellow cards first, let the multiplier climb, then release Heaven Sword's multi-hit output at peak multiplier for maximum damage.

When Jester's Hat provides extra floor picks, spend them exclusively on Attractorb and Bracer until both are at target copy count. Once those two cards are secured, the draw loop runs at full speed and all subsequent picks can go toward finisher and evolution material collection.