Across the Obelisk is 50% off during Steam Summer Sale. That means it’s the perfect time to drag your friends into the fire and burn down the obelisk (figuratively, of course).

The best part of it being summer means you get to:

👥 Have more co-op chaos

🃏 Draw and pick the (best) cards (or worst)

🐾 Get all the pets. You heard me. Pets are the best part of vactioning

⚔️ Endless roguelite replayability and fun maps!

If the base game isn't enough and you need more cooling off, pick up the Across the Obelisk - Complete Bundle[store.steampowered.com] that includes the base game and all the DLC from Spooky Night in Senenthia to our newest DLC release, The Sunken Temple!

☀️ Drop a comment, ping your friends, and let’s ride the waves of the Sahti map.

There's only one week left, so don’t miss your chance to build the perfect team with a friend and immediately regret everything. The sale disappears into the shadows on July 10th at 10am PST, just like your hopes in Madness.

👉 Grab ATO on Steam now before it’s gone!

Stay cool out there, adventurers!

—The ATO Team ⚔️

Tulah the Spider Queen brings unique mechanics and powerful versatility to your party. Whether you’re healing under pressure, cursing enemies with Sanctify, or melting minds with Vanish-fueled spells, she thrives in roles few others can fill. This guide offers three builds that focus on her strengths; each sharpened by traits, perk paths, and card suggestions that will help you craft a deck worthy of her silk-threaded domain.

Big shoutout to @BinBin in Discord for teaming up with us on this hero guide! Their tips, feedback, and all-around brainpower helped bring this to life for the AtO community. If it saves your run or sparks a new build idea, make sure to show BinBin some love in the comments or over in Discord! 🔥

🧭 This guide also includes quick TL;DR beginner notes, as we wanted to support both new players and seasoned veterans. Visuals and combo examples are provided throughout.

• Always take Energy.
• Use Speed if needed to adjust turn order.
• Choose extra perks based on team synergy! Regen, Vitality, or Buffer are great for support builds.
• Spend remaining points on Resistances, Max HP, Shards, or Gold.

This build focuses on a minimal deck built around high-efficiency healing spells.. Rather than loading up on lots of healing cards, Tulah benefits from cycling a tight core of spells. Cards like Prayer of Healing become very effective when discounted by Omen of Peril and Holy Hatchery. Use vanishing low-cost cards like Clarity or Detoxify to further slim your deck while still supporting your team.

✅ Strengths: • Leverages a small deck size for fast, repeated spell access.
• Prayer of Healing and Spark of Life scale well with Bless.
• Great adaptability when you need reliable healing and status cleanse tools.

🔧 Traits:

Holy Hatchery ➝ Temple Lurkers ➝ Cleansing Prayer ➝ Webweaver

🛠️ Perks:

• Core: Energy, Healing, Bless
• Further Support: Powerful, Regen, Vitality, Buffer
• As Needed: Speed, Resistances, Max HP, Shards, Gold

🃏 Core Cards:

Healing: Prayer of Healing, Flash Heal, Benediction, Spark of Life, Omen of Peril

Support / Dispel: Clarity, Detoxify, Dispel Magic, Delay Response, Healing Rain

Utility: Fanaticism, Expected Prophecy, Meditate, Demonic Tutor, Scry, Fortune Telling

🔄 Play Pattern

Begin by vanishing cheap support cards like Clarity or Detoxify to cycle quickly. Reach Prayer of Healing or Spark of Life, which should now cost less thanks to Holy Hatchery. From there, replay discounted cards over and over, while protecting your allies from debuffs and bleed. 

Small deck = consistent healing. Try to keep your deck below 20 cards!

• Omen of Peril makes healing spells cheaper each time you cycle your deck.
• Clarity and Detoxify are perfect vanish cards to help you further reduce your deck.
• Prayer of Healing heals everyone, and works great with Bless.

This build turns Tulah into a Sanctify-focused damage dealer. Sanctify reduces enemy Holy resistance and heals allies. Tulah works best in teams that revolve around Holy Damage, as each charge of Sanctify increases everyone’s Holy Damage. She can apply Sanctify to heal up her allies while supporting her allies, or if you are looking for even more damage, she can combo with Fade to set up big AoE damage turns using Holy Storm.

✅ Strengths: • Strong AoE burst damage with healing synergy
• Benefits from both support and DPS party setups
• Smooth transition between offense and utility roles

🔧 Traits:

Holy Hatchery ➝ Temple Lurkers ➝ Cleansing Prayer ➝ Webweaver

🛠️ Perks:

• Core: Energy, Holy Damage, Sanctify
• Further Damage: Powerful, Bless, Stealth
• Further Support: Buffer, Regen, Vitality
• As Needed: Speed, Resistances, Max HP, Shards, Gold

🃏 Core Cards:

Damage: Flash, Dawnlight, Holy Nova, Holy Storm, Radiant Assault

Further Damage: Fade (amplifies AoE), Inner Fire, Holy Smite

Support: Healing Rain, Delay Response, Dispel Magic, Anthem of Hope

Utility: Fanaticism, Meditate, Demonic Tutor🔄 Play Pattern

Start by buffing Tulah with Energize, Inspire, or Bless. Then reduce their resistances with Sanctify before, setting up a Fade and unleashing powerful AoEs like Holy Storm or Holy Nova.. If played well, this build creates momentum that snowballs over time.

Buff Tulah first, then go all in with Holy Storm.

• Fade makes your next spell much stronger, make sure to use it before big AoEs.

• Sanctify lowers the enemy’s Holy resistance and heals your team, so stack it with AoEs!

*Here's a before and after showing how damage scales with more stacks of Sanctify!

In this build, Tulah sheds her healing silk for threads of madness. She becomes a Mind-based damage dealer, fueling her power through Vanish; a mechanic where cards disappear from your deck during combat. The core of this build is Deja Vu, a spell that grows stronger the more cards you’ve Vanished. Doing this successfully means that Tulah can unload bursts of Insane damage that tear through resistances and sanity alike.
✅ Strengths: • High-scaling damage that ramps with each Vanish
• Applies Insane, weakening enemy resistances and output
• Can flex into hybrid damage or support roles as needed
• Plays well with draw-heavy and vanish-friendly items

🔧 Traits:

Premature Hatching ➝ Mental Scavengers ➝ Pendulum ➝ Webweaver

🛠️ Perks:

• Core: Energy, Mind Damage, Insane
• Further Damage: Powerful, Bless, Stealth
• Further Support: Buffer, Regen, Vitality
• As Needed: Speed, Resistances, Max HP, Shards, Gold

🃏 Core Cards:

Damage: Dawnlight, Mind Blast, Deja Vu, Spectral Missiles

Further Damage: Mind Twist, Clairvoyance, Foresight, Pandemonium

Support: Clarity, Detoxify, Delay Response, Dispel Magic

Utility: Fanaticism, Expected Prophecy, Meditate, Demonic Tutor

🔄 Play PatternBegin by flooding your Vanish pile with 0-cost or vanish-enabled cards like Clarity, Dawnlight, and Mind Blast. Use draw tools like Expected Prophecy to refill your hand and cycle again. Then cast Deja Vu for massive damage and Insane application. Clean up with Mind Twist or additional Mind spells.

• Deja Vu deals more damage for every Vanished card, so vanish early and often.

• Look for draw cards (like Expected Prophecy) to help you chain turns.

• Sanctify lowers the enemy’s Holy resistance and heals your team, so stack it with AoEs!
• Insane makes enemies take more Mind damage and reduces their output—stack it against bosses.
• Items that draw and vanish are especially powerful in this build (e.g., Fishing Rods, Mixed Salad).

*P.S.: This build was our capture artist's absolute favorite out of the three!

“The web doesn’t ask what you intend. It only holds or breaks. It’s up to you.”

Tulah isn’t defined by a role. She’s not just a healer, or a Sanctify spammer, or a Mind damage dealer. With the right deck, the right traits, and the right timing, she becomes the backbone of your run, whether it’s to keep you alive or be the sharpened edge of it.

You can choose to guide her threads toward restoration, revelation, or ruin and she’ll reward your precision.

🕸️ “Choose your thread. Then pull.”

Play "Tulah, the Spider Queen" and "The Sunken Temple" now!

The Spiders & Temples bundle, for Across the Obelisk, combines the base game of Across the Obelisk, a Hero Pack “Tulah, the Spider Queen” and a new type of content, a Dungeon Pack “The Sunken Temple”.
Dive deep into the ancient ruins of Aquarfall in the Sunken Temple dungeon, a perilous two-floor adventure packed with branching paths, over 15 new events, dynamic boss encounters, and unique rewards including a new pet, Rocky, and a treasure trove of items, skins, and cardbacks.

Alongside this comes Tulah, a dark and mysterious new healer hero who brings a fresh twist to team composition with her spiderling swarm, unique evolving pet, and powerful synergies rooted in corruption and decay. With Tulah’s arrival, you'll also unlock new cosmetics, emotes, and roleplay responses that make her as fun to play as she is to build around.

Both DLCs are available now—expand your journey, sharpen your decks, and brave the new challenges!

https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/54230/Across_the_Obelisk__Spiders__Temples/

Tulah, the Spider Queen Hero Pack contains:

• Tulah, a unique hero who blends summoner and support roles. Use her spiderlings to overwhelm enemies or protect allies with layered debuffs and healing effects.

• A hero unlike any other. Tulah’s gameplay revolves around her Broodmother talent tree, letting you build around aggressive spiderling swarms, poison synergy, or haunting control strategies.

• New Pet: The Cocoon – A curious creature that mutates over time. Depending on your choices, it can become a powerful offensive threat or a supportive companion.

• Three chilling skins – Dress Tulah in styles as eerie as they are divine.

• Three Sahti-themed cardbacks – Embrace the spider’s touch with new, sinister deck designs.

• Expanded world dialogue – Experience new event responses and unveil Tulah’s connection to the ancient powers of Sahti.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3473700/Across_the_Obelisk_Tulah_the_Spider_Queen/

In The Sunken Temple Dungeon Pack you will:

• Explore a new dungeon zone filled with narrative depth and gameplay variety.

• Experience a dynamic final encounter with 9+ unique boss variants and reward paths.

• Uncover 15+ new events that illuminate the ancient secrets of Aquarfall’s mysterious past.

• Unlock 10 new items and powerful underwater relics to enhance your builds.

• Discover a new pet, Rocky, to fight alongside you on your dives into the deep.

• Equip 7 new ocean-themed skins to give your heroes a look worthy of the sea.

• Earn an exclusive deep-sea cardback to mark your conquest of the Sunken Temple.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3473720/Across_the_Obelisk_The_Sunken_Temple/

Along with the two new DLCs, we also updated the base game of Across the Obelisk with a few changes. Check out the patch notes below:


New features
- Weekly challenges now reward 2 cardbacks. The first is the one that corresponds to the weekly and the second is a random cardback from the pool that includes the seasonal cardbacks.
- Added a new chain event covering all zones. This event can start in Senenthia at the crossroads and is related to the Casthak family history.
- Added 1 new item, the Spear.

Balance changes
- Sahti boss the Rust King, reduced the scaling of Rust Volley, so there should be substantially less dmg, poison and wet applied.
- Sahti boss the Rust King, made Kings Presence yellow version reduce the cost of cards by 1 (instead of 2), and give -1 speed.
- Sahti captain enemies, made Captains Presence yellow version be random single target (instead of all heroes).
- Challenge Madness 9 modification "permanent injuries" changed so that injuries cannot be removed in the towns, but you will be able to remove them normally during the adventure.

- Increased the damage of Nenukil Extra Gunpowderâ enchantment by 5%.

Fixes
- Singularity, from Madness 1 onwards, 4 monsters should appear per combat in Senenthia and first combat of Act 2 (as M1 adventure).
- Fixed Reginald white combat bandages, to be the one intended instead of the corrupted version.
- Fixed Equalizer corruptor not rewarding correct scores.
- Fixed some text, typos and inconsitencies here and there.

Before the Sunken Temple opens, rumors and sightings of Tulah have already begun to spread…

A huge thanks to BLUDGEON and Casual Viking for sharing early impressions and gameplay with the Spider Queen herself. Whether you’re curious about her unique card mechanics or how she fits into your favorite party, these are great first stops:

▶️ BLUDGEON’s Tulah Act 1 Overview

🔗 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuPTAKYesdE

▶️ Casual Viking's Obelisk Challenge with Tulah

🔗 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPAkQD9LnVU

🕸 Tulah’s already turning heads as a dual-utility healer with debilitating abilities.

Will she be your Support? How do you feel about Damage? Maybe your Debuff queen? Why not all three?

Let us know what you think of her so far! Or better yet, what combo you’re planning to break the game with.

🗓️ Tulah Hero Pack and Sunken Temple DLC launch June 11th -

If you're still curious on whether or not you should pick her up, we've got a build guide coming soon for beginners and experienced players alike!

• Tulah, a unique hero who blends summoner and support roles. Use her spiderlings to overwhelm enemies or protect allies with layered debuffs and healing effects.
  
• A hero unlike any other. Tulah’s gameplay revolves around her Broodmother talent tree, letting you build around aggressive spiderling swarms, poison synergy, or haunting control strategies.
  
• New Pet: The Cocoon – A curious creature that mutates over time. Depending on your choices, it can become a powerful offensive threat or a supportive companion.
  
• Three chilling skins – Dress Tulah in styles as eerie as they are divine.
  
• Three Sahti-themed cardbacks – Embrace the spider’s touch with new, sinister deck designs.
  
• Expanded world dialogue – Experience new event responses and unveil Tulah’s connection to the ancient powers of Sahti.

• Explore a new dungeon zone filled with narrative depth and gameplay variety.
  
• Experience a dynamic final encounter with 9+ unique boss variants and reward paths.
  
• Uncover 15+ new events that illuminate the ancient secrets of Aquarfall’s mysterious past.
  
• Unlock 10 new items and powerful underwater relics to enhance your builds.
  
• Discover a new pet, Rocky, to fight alongside you on your dives into the deep.
  
• Equip 7 new ocean-themed skins to give your heroes a look worthy of the sea.
  
• Earn an exclusive deep-sea cardback to mark your conquest of the Sunken Temple.