Ethereal Build

Build Overview

A build that loads the deck with Necrobinder Ethereal cards (cards that vanish once played under specific conditions) and leverages the synergy of cards that scale with the number of Ethereal cards played. Banshee's Wail starts at cost 9 but drops by 2 cost for every Ethereal played, reaching cost 0 with 5 Ethereal plays for a 33-damage AoE. Upgraded, it costs 7 and reaches cost 0 at 4 Ethereals. Drawn from Below deals 5 damage per Ethereal played this combat, scaling into a huge late-fight finisher. Veil Piercer makes the next Ethereal cost 0, letting you chain Ethereal plays for free and deal enormous damage while keeping the deck spinning.

Tier: A

Banshee's Wail is one of Necrobinder's highest-ceiling cards — with enough Ethereals flowing, a free 33-damage AoE every turn is achievable. Since patch v0.103.0 pushed the base cost to 9, reaching cost 0 now requires 5 Ethereals (4 after upgrade). The deck's ceiling does depend on which Ethereal cards you find, so it's somewhat pick-reliant. Pairing it with Domain (energy + draw each turn) and Analyze (3-card draw) dramatically improves consistency and puts it close to S. Add Friendship for comfortable energy on higher-cost Ethereals.

Key Cards (Essential)

• Banshee's Wail: Base cost 9 (7 upgraded), 33 AoE damage, and each Ethereal played this combat reduces its cost by 2. Unupgraded hits cost 0 at 5 Ethereals, upgraded at 4, so stacking Ethereals gives you an effectively free 33 AoE every turn
• Veil Piercer: Cost 1, 10 damage, and the next Ethereal you play costs 0. It both counts toward Banshee's cost reduction and zero-costs high-cost Ethereals — the single most important support card
• Drawn from Below: Cost 1 attack dealing 5 damage per Ethereal played this combat. It shares the Ethereal count with Banshee's Wail: 10 Ethereals = 50 damage, 15 = 75, making it the late-game finisher

Candidate Cards

• Analyze: Cost 1 (Ethereal) skill that draws 3 cards. Feeds Banshee's counter while refilling your hand. Zero-cost via Veil Piercer turns it into "draw 1 then draw 3" at exceptional efficiency
• Domain: Cost 3 Ethereal Power. Once placed it grants +1 energy and +1 draw each turn. Zero-costing it through Veil Piercer effectively drops it to cost 1, and the benefit lasts the rest of combat
• Blasphemy: Cost 1 Ethereal attack for 13-17 damage. Drives Banshee's count while also putting direct damage on the board. Veil Piercer drops total cost to 1 for 23-27 damage — very efficient
• Rebellion: An Ethereal skill that grants Block and applies a debuff. Stacks Banshee's counter while handling defense
• Necromancy: Cost 1 (0 upgraded) Ethereal skill that converts a deck card. Triples up as Banshee counter, Soul generation, and deck thinning
• Shadow Cloak: A Power that grants 2-3 Block each time Doom is applied. It doesn't interact directly with Banshee's Wail, but combos with Ethereal cards that apply Doom (like Blasphemy) to stack Block
• Friendship: +1 energy each turn (Strength -2). An energy engine that makes Domain and unreduced Banshee's Wail much easier to play
• Killer Instinct: An Ethereal Power that adds 50-75% damage to the first attack. Zero-cost it through Veil Piercer early and your first-attack damage scales for the whole combat

Relic Synergies

• Ghost Seed: Adds Ethereal to Strike and Defend. Your starter cards feed Banshee's counter from turn 1 — arguably the best Ethereal-build relic in the game
• Backpack: Draw 2 extra cards at the start of combat. More Ethereals on turn 1 accelerates Banshee's cost reduction from the first turn
• Game Piece: Draw 1 card on any Power play. Compensates for the draw you lose while placing Domain, Killer Instinct, and Friendship
• Mummified Hand: After playing a Power, a random card in hand becomes cost 0. Zero-cost Ethereals during Domain or Killer Instinct turns accelerates Banshee's counter
• Lantern: +1 energy at the start of combat. Plays Domain (cost 3) or unreduced Banshee's Wail on turn 1, massively improving opening tempo
• Death Mask: Necrobinder-exclusive relic that adds 3 Souls to the draw pile at combat start. Souls are Ethereal, so they feed Banshee's counter automatically

Play Plan

Act 1

Pick Banshee's Wail as top priority the first time you see it. Veil Piercer is cheap and useful, so aim for multiple copies. Slot 1-2 copies of Analyze for draw consistency. Drawn from Below is weak early while you have few Ethereals, but its count naturally grows across combat so it's worth keeping. Multiple copies of Blasphemy give you Banshee counts and direct damage at the same time. Since v0.103.0 pushed Banshee's cost to 9, collect Ethereals more aggressively than before.

Act 2

Pick Domain and zero-cost it with Veil Piercer when placing. Domain's +1 energy and +1 draw per turn massively stabilizes the deck. Killer Instinct works the same — zero-cost it through Veil Piercer to multiply your first attack by 1.5-1.75 every turn. Friendship handles the energy for your high-cost cards. Prioritize upgrading Banshee's Wail (9 to 7) because it drops cost-0 threshold from 5 Ethereals to 4 — a huge benefit.

Act 3

Once the deck is finished, you're firing off cost-0 Banshee's Wail for 33 AoE every turn plus another 50-100 damage from Drawn from Below. On bosses, the ideal line is "Veil Piercer, Blasphemy (cost 0), Analyze (cost 0), Necromancy, Banshee's Wail cost 0, Drawn from Below" — 100+ damage in a single turn. With Friendship and Domain both down, you gain +2 energy and +2 draw every turn, keeping your hand stocked with a high rotation.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Strengths

• Banshee's Wail throwing out a cost-0 33 AoE each turn gives overwhelming AoE pressure
• Analyze and Domain supply draw and energy, so you're rarely short on hand size
• Veil Piercer zero-costs high-cost Ethereals, packing many actions into a single turn
• Drawn from Below scales into a bigger finisher the longer the fight runs

Weaknesses

• Since v0.103.0 raised Banshee's cost to 9, the ramp-up is slower than before and requires more Ethereals to reach cost 0
• Single-target focus suffers — against one strong enemy the AoE-first plan is slower
• Pick-reliant: if the right pieces don't appear, damage output falls off
• Ethereal decks don't use Strength, so Friendship's Strength -2 is tolerable, but Strength-based potions lose value