So, in bug fables, there's this great side mode called spy cards. It's a card game, using the enemies in the bestiary to build a deck. It boils down to a complicated version of war, and it's quite a bit of fun. More than that, It's a great way to make some berries. So, how exactly does one go about playing this side mode? Glad you asked!

First, in order to reap the benefits of playing spy cards, you'll need to complete the side quest associated with it. You'll need to at least start this side quest to unlock spy cards, which can be done as early as the start of chapter 3, but you won't be able to finish it until you unlock metal island during chapter 6. Be sure your bestiary is mostly complete, too. To start, talk to Carmina, who will give you a tutorial duel explaining the mechanics, and then duel her again to get the blank card you need to challenge the card masters.


The first card master is Chuck, who can be found at his hut the the bugaria outskirts.


The second card master is Arie, who can be found in the room to the right in the golden settlement.


The third card master is Shay, who can be found to the right in the defiant root market.


The fourth and final card master is Crow, who can be found in H.B.'s lab in the hive.


Once you have the four suit card from defeating Crow, talk to this NPC on metal island, and He'll give you access to the room in the back, where the card tournament is held.



Winning the tournament will complete the quest, give you 150 berries, and a trophy that goes in your house in ant city. Winning the tournament again will give you another 150 berries every time you win it!


Additionally, digging into the hole off to the right will trigger a boss fight with Carmina.

Before getting into the meat of deckbuilding, it's helpful to delve a little deeper into the nuances of how spy cards is played.

Firstly, you start at 2 tp and gain one extra tp every turn until you reach 10 tp on turn 9. This represents a hard limit on how much damage you can deal each turn. This effectively means that as turns go on, the amount of damage that you can deal and shields that you can put up rises, and the more room you have to make scary offensive and defensive plays. Most cards sit squarely in the 1-4 tp range, with very few exceptions, meaning you can play 3-4 cards quite often in the late game. However, you only draw 2 cards each turn, meaning that playing the maximum number of cards that you can every turn is not sustainable, and will quickly run you out of options. As a result, every deck needs to either succeed in the early game and in the late game, or quickly steamroll the opponent in the early game and risk running out of steam in the late game. It's very easy for a poorly built deck to fail at both of these, so you need a plan for both.

The most practical solution is to go with an offensive strategy using equal an distribution of attacking cards. If you need to leave room for effect cards, then your curve should span 3 tp. However, if you don't, then allowing it to span a 4 tp range can be very helpful for keeping up the pressure in the late game. Generally, you'll want to start at 2, since you start at 2 tp. A 2-4 or 2-5 curve also fits many common empower tribes, so that can help with the late game even more. Generally, you want to play a 2 tp attacker on turn 1, a 3 tp attacker on turn 2, and so on. Once Tp is higher than your highest attacker, you then want to transition into combing attack cards to maximize damage, and playing effect cards alongside attacker cards.

As for effect cards, you generally get some attackers that provide more attack than regular cards if you meet a condition, like midges, weevils, and leafbugs, cards that let you get more defense than an attack would provide for that amount of tp, such as inichas and acornlings, and the rare numb card, like numbnails, ironnails, and denmukis. Of these, Numb cards are typically the best, as they completely shut down a single attacker card for a relatively cheap cost, giving certain offensive decks a much needed defensive backbone.

As for bosses and minibosses, Since they tend to be the core of your deck, you'll want to make sure that the deck is built to facilitate them. If you have an empower card as one of them, for example, make sure your attacker cards match the necessary tribe. This depending on the card you chose, It may even justify starting your curve at 1. If your card needs another card for it's effect to trigger, make sure that card is in the deck. Miniboss cards in particular need this to work, as they very frequently come in pairs. If the card has poor offensive or defensive presence but a powerful effect, include a few numb cards to help get the effect off.

With this in mind, let's take a look at two fairly good sample decks.

Thug everlasting offense


This is a deck that generally follows the principles I laid out. It runs the following:

Boss: the everlasting king
mini boss: Monsieur scarlet and Astotheles
Other cards: x3 Thief, x3 Bandit, x3 burglar, x3 jumping spider

Thugs are a great archetype, as they form a natural 2-4 curve, and since they operate on a miniboss, you can easily use the boss card to include a secondary supporting archetype, or as a general attacker, usually shoring up your late game. You won't be able to take advantage of the many miniboss pairs, but you do get access to the few good solo miniboss cards. In this deck, That's Monsieur scarlet, a card which provides a heal and is right at home in this aggressive build. The everlasting King Provides a great way to keep up the pressure in the late game, as do the jumping spiders. The end result is a powerful deck that can keep up a sustained offensive all the way into the late game.

Venus guardian offense


This deck is a bit more flavorful than the last, and requires a little more skill to maintain in the late game, but played well, it can be powerful. It consists of:

Boss: Venus' guardian
Mini boss: Acolyte aria and Monsieur Scarlet
Other cards: x3 Venus' bud, x3 any 2 attack card, x3, any 3 attack card, x3 any 4 attack card

Venus' guardian is a powerful card when played, as it not only often wins the turn, but also heals you from the lifesteal on Venus' buds. Acolyte aria usually summons 1-2 venus buds, so playing Venus' guardian, a Venus' bud, and Acolyte aria usually nets you 9-12 damage with 2-3 life returned, costing 8 tp. This is extremely powerful, but the deck doesn't have much else for the late game, so that needs to be played carefully. Monsieur scarlet is, as always, a great choice and a natural fit. The extra life you get back from all of this lifesteal and healing actually means you can afford to throw away a few turns in order to draw cards, and knowing when to do so is crucial for surviving in the late game. Play well, and you will come out on top.

Yes, you read that right. I'm giving you my thoughts on every single card. As a disclaimer, any cards that are meant to function as a pair will be reviewed together. These are going to go by the order they are listed in the deckbuilder, and will be accompanied by an image of the card itself, so feel free to scroll to the card you want. I won't be giving a review for the many attacker cards, but I will list them here.


Spider
Cost: 3
tribe: spider
text:
ATK: 2
Summon Inichas
Summon Jellyshroom

To start things off, we have a boss card that's.... okay. It has a total of three attack, and 1 of that attack can be numbed, and then it has a coinflip for an extra 2 defense. That's pretty good, and rarely a bad option, but the vulnerability to numbs combined with only sometimes getting the extra value you get automatically with other boss cards makes it a hard sell as a boss card. I wouldn't recommend this one.




Venus' Guardian
Cost: 4
tribe: plant
text:
ATK: 2
+3 ATK per Venus' Bud

This is definitely one of the best boss cards. The effect itself means that with only one Venus bud, you get 5 attack for 5 with lifesteal. Add an acolyte aria on top and you can usually expect 9 for 8 with 2 lifesteal, and that gets better with better luck. The large attack combined with the lifesteal makes this very strong, especially in a closer game. The healing makes a huge difference. However, it comes with the steep drawback of having to actually run those venus bus and acolyte aria, which puts a serious strain on your deck, as they aren't very good outside of the venus turn. Still, this is an arcetype to be considered, as a good venus turn is almost unbeatable.



Heavy Drone B-33
Cost: 5
tribe: Bot
text:
DEF: 2
Empower +2 (Bots)

Of all of the empower cards, this one is arguably the worst. It's not terrible, but at only +2 per bot for 5 tp and having 2 defense instead of attack (although it is a member of the tribe it empowers), coupled with the fact that bots as a whole lack stronger attackers, it puts a strain on any deck that tries to incorporate it. However, it can be done, and it is fun when it does work. still, it's generally outclassed.


The Watcher
Cost: 5
Tribe: none
text:
ATK: 1
Summon Krawler
Summon Warden

This Boss card is pretty average as far as boss cards go, and is nothing spectacular. All it does is add 6 attack for 5 tp, and 5 of that attack can be numbed. It's only real niche is that it's the cheapest card of it's kind that's perfectly consistent, which, unfortunately, is a tiny niche, since most decks would look to boss cards to help bolster the later turns.. I wouldn't recommend this one.




The beast
Cost: 5
Tribe: none
text:
ATK: 3
If Kabbu: ATK +4

Kabbu
Cost: 2
Tribe: bug
text:
ATK: 1
Pierce (3)

The beast is... weird. When played with kabbu, you get 8 attack and 3 pierce (ignore defense), none of which can be numbed, for 7 tp. That's great on it's own, but the catch is that you need to draw both cards for it to work. This is a problem with many pair cards, and we'll see far worse cases, but just know that you're signing up for this when you run pair cards. The Beast is certainly deadweight on it's own, but kabbu, fortunately, is a little more self-sufficient. The Beast is made better as a result, so definitely consider this card if you're not planing on taking advantage of tribal affinities or a miniboss pair other than kabbu/kali, as that pierce damage can come in clutch, and kabbu is one of two cards in the entire game that has any kind of pierce. Outside of that niche, however, the beast is generally outclassed by......



Ultimax tank
Cost: 7
Tribe: none
text:
ATK: 8

This guy. This one provides 8 attack for 7 tp, which is a very real upside, as it can help refresh your hand if played on turn 7. It also can't be numbed at all. More importantly, since it also doesn't require that a mini boss card slot be taken up by another card to make it function, you can freely go for miniboss pairs, or use a tribal affinity miniboss alongside a standalone miniboss card. it's simply flexible enough to be played in any kind of deck you like. It's pretty good. that being said, it's definitely not a contender for best boss card.



Mother chomper
cost: 4
tribe: chomper, plant
text:
lifesteal (2)
Empower +2 (chompers)

This is definitely one of the better boss cards. The solid 2 lifesteal, combined with the general effectiveness of chompers as attacking cards, makes this a solid option. It's niche is a little overshadowed by venus' guardian, but doesn't have to run the mediocre venus' buds or the otherwise near-useless acolyte aria in order to get the most out of it's attacking turn. This leaves decks featuring it free to run better attackers, effect cards, and gives them better access to all of the good miniboss cards. It can't output anywhere near as crazy of a turn as venus gaurdian can, but the extra flexibility at the deckbuilder means that you may want to consider using this instead.



Broodmother
cost: 4
tribe: none
text:
ATK: 2
Empower +2 (Midges)

Broodmoother is okay, which, as far as empower cards goes, means that you probably shouldn't use it. Despite what you would reasonably expect, this card is NOT a member of the tribe it empowers. Worse, the way unity works means that midges actually go down in power as you play more, for some reason(one midge is 2 for 2 tp, 2 midges is 3 for 4 tp????). They can't fit in a curve, which means they put a strain on your deck. Overall, it's a niche card with a lot of problems.



Zommoth
cost: 4
tribe: Fungus
text:
Empower +2 (Fungi)

This is another weird empower card. Since fungi don't have attackers that cost 2, you'll need to patch up the offensive holes to make a 2-5 curve. This puts a small strain on deckbuilding, but it really isn't an issue. It's worth noting that if you really want to, you can try to make room for the fungi attackers that only have 1 attack. It's something to consider, since it's a path to very high damage. If you don't want to deal with that, however, then it's best to just try to make a 2-5 curve. It's Honestly pretty good.



Seedling king
cost: 4
tribe: Seedling, plant
text:
Empower +2 (Seedlings)

Out of all of the weird empower cards, this is by far the weirdest. Seedlings actually have a number of solid defensive cards, which they can employ at the cost of their offense. They also get access to lifesteal. The sheer variety of seedling cards combined with the necessity of making up for their poor offensive presence makes building a deck around seedlings difficult. However, because of the number of different seedling cards, it can also be one of the most fun archetypes. Probably on the better end of the boss cards, but just barely.

Tidal wyrm
cost: 5
tribe: none
text:
ATK: 2
Numb all attackers.

I'll just say it: This is a contender for the best boss card. It's not hard to see why, either: It has 2 attack and comes with the brutal effect of numbing every attacker card on the opponent's side. You need only numb at least 3 attack to break even with this thing, and in the later turns, you can potentially numb a lot more, leading to winning turns where you put out as little as 2 cards. This is insanely overpowered, and can be game-breaking when played at the right time. However, this is also very prediction reliant, and playing it at the wrong time can actually cost you the turn. However, thanks to the 2 attack, this is offset somewhat. Overall, this is a solid card any deckbuilder should consider.



Peacock spider
cost: 5
tribe: spider
Text:
Empower +3 (spiders)

Here we have a card whose attackers need to have their offensive holes patched up. However, since it's attackers only consist of 3's and 5's, pairing it with thugs or wasps is the preferred option. This is comparable to the Zommoth, who had only one hole in it's attacker cards. Notably, it costs more while providing a greater potential empower. Since it doesn't have attackers cheaper than 3, however, it can't quite match up in terms of offensive potential, as it's max damage is stuck at 11. However, it's by no means a bad choice, and built well, a deck with it can be pretty good.



Devourer
cost: 4
tribe: plant
text:
ATK: 3
VS Bugs (ATK +3)

Immediately, what sticks out about this card is the fact that you get 6 attack for 4 tp if you fulfill the requirement of simply playing it when your opponent plays a bug. 59 of the 90 cards in the game belong to the bug tribe, and a sizeable portion of those that don't have low attack. In other words, you're very likely to get the effect off even if you play this card the turn it becomes playable. Definitely a contender for the best boss cards, and one you should consider if you want a pure attacker for your boss.



False Monarch
cost: 5
tribe: Mothfly, bug
text:
Empower +3 (Mothfly)

This one's in the same boat as Zommoth and Peacock spider. It's attackers, one again, need their defenseive holes patched up. This time, it has 1 attack and 3 attack attackers. I find that this card, more than the previous 2, pairs especially well with thugs and wasps, as you can play this and a 1 attack attacker for 7 damage at only 6 tp. this makes decks involving it curve out quite nicely. still, it means your deck will be left lacking stronger attackers, so consider if that's worth it before choosing this over the other two. Also worth mentioning is that it's access to a 1 cost attacker and +3 empower give it access to huge potential damage, as playing it with a 1 cost attacker and a 3 cost attacker (I find this to be the most you can usually get) gives it a damage of 14, which is extremely difficult to beat, and if your luck is good, that number can climb to 17, although at that point you're spending a lot of cards for diminishing returns. Built well, a deck build around it is quite good. It's a soild choice.





Maki
Cost: 6
tribe: bug
text:
ATK: 6

Kina
cost: 4
tribe: bug
text:
ATK: 2
if Maki: ATK +3

Yin
cost: 3
tribe: bug
Text:
DEF: 1
if maki: Heal 2

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's the worst boss card in the entire game! To start, 6 attack for 6 tp with no additional effects is pretty terrible for a boss card. While you can play him alone, which is nice, because the other two cards rely on him to be worth playing, you really don't want to. This means that if you happen to draw both before having enough tp to play both, or worse, draw all three, they're going to take up a huge portion of your hand until you can play them. All pair-type cards have a similar problem, but it's at its worst here. They also take up your hand space while you wait to actually draw them, which is surprisingly hard to do. Yes, these cards also manage to have the opposite problem. Keep in mind, the max hand size is 5 cards. having three deadweights in your hand is downright awful. It's also very expensive to play them all, which is awful when you look at other cards of this type, all of which can be both played for 7 tp or less. You can't even play them all at once and it costs 9 or 10 tp to play 2. The effects you get aren't even that good: kina and maki played together only do 11 damage for 10 tp, which can't be numbed. this is outclassed by card combinations that do more for less, of which there are many. Maki and yin played together deals 6 un-numbable damage, provides 1 defense, and heals you for 2 for 9 tp. However, you're more than likely to lose the round, meaning it's only a heal 1. That isn't great, because every other heal card either carries a bigger heal or can heal and provide a high chance of winning a round, always for cheaper. So, despite the fact that heals are generally amazing, this card combo manages to be thoroughly outclassed by all of them. Overall, I wouldn't play maki EVER.



Wasp King
cost: 7
tribe: bug, wasp
text:
summon 2 wasps

For the definition of inconsistent, look no further. The effect of summoning 2 wasps is wildly inconsistent. there's a 2 attacker, a 4 attacker, the usually mediocre wasp bomber, which needs 2 coin flips to work for it to get value, and the wasp driller, which is nearly identical to the 4 attacker in most cases. since it costs 7 tp, you're likely to lose out playing this. Even if you play it with ultimax, you very frequently only get 10 attack out of it. Try it if you like, but I'd avoid this card for the most part.



The everlasting King
cost: 9
tribe: does it even matter?
text:
Win this round

Oh, hey. It's the best boss card in the entire game. Seriously. There isn't a single flaw with this card. To start, it automatically wins you the round by giving you 99 attack. It cannot be numbed. It cannot be beaten, either. That's reason enough to call it one of the best, but let's look even closer, which is where the broken-ness of this card gets all the more ridiculous. Unlike many boss cards that do a big attack on the turn you play them,, it wins all rounds with ease while being a single card, which means that it's a free plus one. That's exactly what most aggressive decks looking to shore up their late game need. In fact, This means that it's high cost really doesn't matter, as aggressive curves don't really need any help in that department. Since you draw 2 cards at the start of every turn, It serves to refill your hand as you start to run out of steam in the late game. This card is completely busted. Use it. you will likely win.

Moving onto the miniboss cards now....

I'll break from the format so far here and talk about this one first:



Monsieur Scarlet
cost: 3
tribe: bug
text:
ATK: 3
If ATK (7): Heal 1

remember how I said The everlasting king was the best boss card in the game? This is the best miniboss card in the game. In fact, this card is so much better than every other miniboss card that he is almost mandatory for a good deck. So good that many miniboss pairs are almost not worth it. Which is odd, because he looks pretty unassuming at first. Until you consider his effect more deeply. First of all, 7 attack is a very easy requirement to meet. you just need a four attack attacker or two two attack attackers. If you pull this off, you won't be putting yourself at any kind of card disadvantage on turn 6. usually, you can win the round like this, and you'll be up one hp while the opponent is down one. This means that you get to build on your advantage and negate a lost round without putting yourself at any risk. Now consider the fact that he fits like a glove in almost any agressive deck and can be played by himself if he needs to. This card carries no risk for a big reward, and for that, it's no wonder why he's so good.




Ahoneynation
cost: 5
tribe: none
text:
Coin (2): Summon Abomihoney

This card is generally pretty bad. Now, If you actually manage to hit the 1/4 chances of getting both abomihonies, Then it's great. Unfortunately, you're still at a disadvantage if you do get one. This means that playing the card 3/4ths of the time will result in putting yourself at a disadvantage. The risk generally isn't worth the reward, especially since you'd want more from your miniboss card. As a result, you're better off picking something else.



Acolyte Aria
cost: 3
tribe: bug
text:
ATK:1
Coin (3): Summon Venus' bud

Ah yes, a cornerstone of the Venus' Guardian deck. Some may be against including this one, for fear of busting out when it comes time to do a venus turn, but it is very worth it. She has a great chance of getting either 1 or 2 buds, which adds +4 or +7 to the total attack of the guardian, and providing lifesteal. Of course, this card is very difficult to get any use of outside of that one turn, so you're probably not going to want to run it or even play it when you aren't playing the guardian alongside it. Great when you can take advantage of it, but don't play in any other decks.





Mothiva
cost: 2
tribe: bug
text:
ATK: 2
If Zasp: heal 1

Zasp:
cost: 3
tribe: bug
text:
ATK: 3
If Mothiva: ATK +3

Out of all the pair-style miniboss and boss cards, this is easily the best of them all. Mothiva and Zasp provide not only a whopping 8 attack when played together, but also 1 heal. This is pretty crazy, because it's normally only possible to get that kind of value out of your attackers very late into the game. Played early, you have a near-certain chance of both winning the round and getting a heal, meaning that it's a 2 hp swing. This is pretty crazy by itself, but it's even better when you consider that mothiva and zasp are not bad as attackers by themselves. They can be played by themselves without losing any kind of value, Which is something very few cards of this type (and no good cards of this type, frankly) can claim. This helps to circumvent the main downside of most cards like them, which is that most cards like them are pretty bad played alone. Overall, this makes for a card pair that actually justifies taking up both of your miniboss card slots to play. If you want to play any miniboss pairs, play this one.



Astotheles
cost: 5
tribe: thug, bug
text:
Empower +3 (Thugs)

Another empower card, but this time, it's a miniboss. Since thugs have a natural 2-4 curve, Astoltheles works great not only as a means of playing an empower deck without using your boss card slot on an empower card, but also as a way of "completing" the curve of an empower deck using a boss card with empower. Most of these boss cards don't have the clean curve that thugs do, which you would think makes them inferior, but they're actually excellent partners. Simply put thugs in the parts of their curves that aren't naturally covered by the respective tribe and run astotheles and whatever other miniboss you see fit (*cough* monsieur Scarlet *cough*). The resulting "Double tribe" deck can be very powerful. You don't have to go this route, but the option is there. It's a powerful and surprisingly flexible card, despite the deck support it demands.



Dune Scorpion
cost: 7
tribe: none
Text:
ATK: 7

This is an extremely simple card, in this case to it's detriment. It's nice that it's a free 7 attack card without any chance of a numb, but you'd really want more out of a miniboss card, and when your job can be done almost as well by playing 2 attacker cards, what exactly is the point? I'll give you a hint: there isn't one. When there are a number of good miniboss cards out there, playing this isn't a great choice. You're better off playing those cards instead.



Primal Weevil
cost: 6
tribe: weevil, bug
text:
ATK: 3
Empower +2 (Weevils)

This card is a lot like the broodmother in that it's an empower card that works off of a specific effect card. Unlike the broodmother, weevils are an objectively inconsistent card to begin with. I'll cover them separately later, but the gist of it is this: If you play it and two weevils, you get either 11 or 14 damage depending on wether your opponent plays one of the few plant cards. That's not great coming off of an empower card. Since it takes up a miniboss slot, you need to forgo all of the pair cards, too. You could pair this with thugs (or any of the boss empower tribes for that matter), but it's generally outclassed.




Cross
cost: 3
tribe: bug
text:
ATK: 2
If Poi: ATK: +2

Poi
cost: 3
tribe: bug
text:
DEF: 1
If Cross: DEF +3

Cross and Poi are... decent. Not amazing like mothiva and zasp or Monsieur Scarlet, but they're respectable in their own right. They provide 4 damage and 4 defense for 6 tp, which is great when you can play it early. However, they provide very little outside of this, being weak alone, and they're really outclassed both offensively and defensively by other miniboss pairs. Play them if you like, but they're kind of mediocre.



General Ultimax
cost: 3
tribe: wasp
text:
ATK: 1
Unity (wasps)

This card is, unfortunately, stuck playing second fiddle to Astotheles. Wasps only have 2 and 4 attackers, meaning that if you want to run wasps, you need a way to patch that Hole. We've already discussed how playing him with the wasp king isn't worth the 10 tp either. This idea of a watered-down Astotheles is also embodied by his effect, which is unity, not empower. Unity tends to be weaker than empower, and as a result, General ultimax can't approach nearly the same numbers that Astotheles can in the late game. That being said, he's every bit as flexible, and most complimentary empower types naturally fill the gap in your offense with their own attackers. Plus, he does have one distinct advantage over astotheles: his cost. He can more effectively score you an easy round in the opening turns, which can make a huge difference. It's a small niche, but it's a niche nontheless.

Cenn
cost: 3
tribe: bug
text:
ATK: 2
If Pisci: numb

Pisci
cost: 3
tribe: bug
text:
DEF: 2
If Cenn: +4 DEF

Cenn and Pisci are a surprisingly good pair of cards. For starters, they provide 2 Attack and 6 defense for 6 tp, and on top of that, they have a numb. This makes them fantastic as a defensive answer to an opponent slamming down attacker cards, without being unable to go on the offensive. However, they can't be used in a truly defensive deck for the simple reason that you're giving up the number of healing minibosses. They also have the issue that other miniboss pairs have that it's not generally good to play one without the other, so faster decks may want to reconsider. Instead, they are best used in a more midrange deck that isn't already too aggressive. A solid choice, should the deck call for it.





Kabbu
Cost: 2
Tribe: bug
text:
ATK: 1
Pierce (3)

Kali
Cost: 4
tribe: bug
text:
DEF: 2
If Kabbu: Heal 3

Out of all of the miniboss pairs, this is by far the most defensive. You're only getting 1 attack, 2 defense, and the potentially beneficial 3 pierce, but also the rather insane effect of Healing for 3. This means that you still get +2 HP even if you lose the round. This helps make the otherwise weak defensive decks work in a way that helps them compete with offense. Since heal is so valuable, I wouldn't pair these cards with the beast, despite what you might think. Instead, choose a boss that can help win rounds by itself (*cough* Everlasting King *cough*) so you can keep healing until you draw it and win a round, winning very slowly. It's very hard to actually play, but it's a viable option.



Carmina
cost: 4
tribe: none
text:
Turns into a random Mini-boss card

Is this card fun? Absolutely. Is this card a good option? unfortunately, no. There are simply too many minibosses that are either not worth paying 4 tp for or bad when played alone (or both!). There isn't to much to say here. Have fun with it, but don't expect it to be the rock that your deck leans on.



Riz
cost: 3
tribe: bug
text:
ATK: 1
Setup (ATK +2)

Riz is unique in that it''s the only card in the entire game that has any form of Setup. In this case, It gives your next turn +2 attack, which can allow you to easily win the next round. However, since riz only has one attack, he often requires some support to get the setup off safely. This means that, more than most other cards, paying close attention to your opponent's hand size to determine if it's safe to play Riz. To help with this, it's best to play riz with a numb card or two, which is often the safest way of playing him. Played at the right time, your next round can become basically a free win. It's a solid choice for most decks.





Dead Lander α
cost: 4
tribe: none
text:
ATK: 3
DEF: 1

Dead Lander β
cost: 4
tribe: none
text:
ATK: 2
Coin (1): ATK +2 or DEF +2

Dead Lander γ
Cost: 6
tribe: none
Text:
ATK: 3
DEF: 3

Since my thoughts on all three of these are literally the same, I'll talk about them as a group. Remember how I called dune scorpion Outclassed because it's job can be done almost as well with just 2 attacker cards? These cards have it even worse, because there are attacker card that can actually match their stats. You really, really want more out of your miniboss, and these cards literally can't do anything other than be on-par attackers. The first two in particular are especially underwhelming because there are tribeless, 4 attack attacker cards already in the game. Don't fall into the trap of using these when better options exist.

And now, we can move on to the rest of them....

Attackers

Here, I won't say anything unless I feel it's absolutely necessary. I'll just be listing stats and tribes. Tribs can be weird sometimes.



Seedling
Cost/ATK: 1
tribe: seedling, plant



Underling
Cost/ATK: 3
tribe: seedling, plant



Golden seedling
Cost/ATK: 9
tribe: seedling, plant

I know it has 9 attack. I know that. But any play you make with it can be beaten with numb + 2 attack. It's a recipie for disaster.



Zombiant
Cost/ATK: 1
tribe: fungus



Zombee
Cost/ATK: 3
tribe: fungus



Zombeetle
Cost/ATK: 5
tribe: fungus



JellyShroom
Cost/ATK: 1
Tribe: fungus

for some reason, there are a few attacker cards that share both a tribe and a cost/ATK. This makes their existence redundant, which is kind of dumb, but that's just me.



Bloatshroom
Cost/ATK: 4
Tribe: fungus



Chomper
Cost/ATK: 2
Tribe: Chomper, plant



Chomper Brute
Cost/ATK: 4
tribe: Chomper, plant



Psicorp
Cost/ATK: 2
Tribe: bug



Arrow Worm
Cost/ATK: 3
tribe: bug



Thief
Cost/ATK: 2
Tribe: thug, bug



Bandit
Cost/ATK: 3
Tribe: thug, bug



Burglar
Cost/ATK: 4
Tribe: thug, bug



Ruffian
Cost/ATK: 6
Tribe: thug, bug

notable for being one of 2 6 attackers in the entire game. This is unfortunately a bad thing because it means he can't be used with astotheles. shame.



Security Turret
Cost/ATK: 2
Tribe: bot



Abomihoney
cost/ATK: 4
Tribe: none

I'll just say this now since It doesn't fit anywhere else: Tribeless attackers should be used over tribed attackers when you can if you don't need to take advantage of a tribe. This is because of cards like weevil and Devourer that punish being a member of a tribe. better to be safe than sorry.



Krawler
cost/ATK: 2
tribe: bot



Warden
cost/ATK: 3
tribe: bot



Haunted Cloth
cost/ATK: 4
Tribe: Not a bot for some reason, none



Mantidfly
cost/ATK: 4
tribe: bug



Jumping Spider
cost/ATK: 3
tribe: spider



Mimic Spider
cost/ATK: 5
tribe: spider

Diving spider
Cost/ATK: 3
tribe: spider



Water Strider
Cost/ATK: 3
tribe: bug



Belostoss
Cost/ATK: 6
Tribe: bug

The other 6 attacker. This one's just a bug. Still functionally identical because of astotheles costing 5. Weird, huh?



Mothfly
Cost/ATK: 1
Tribe: mothfly, bug



Mothfly cluster
Cost/ATK: 3
Tribe: mothfly, bug



Wasp Scout
Cost/ATK: 2
tribe: wasp, bug



Wasp Trooper
Cost/ATK: 4
Tribe: wasp, bug

Finally, onto the effect cards..



Acornling
cost: 2
tribe: seedling, plant
text:
Coin (1): DEF +3

Acornling is the first of a few defense cards that trigger a coin flip that, if successful, will give more defense than it possible to break with just attacker cards for the same tp cost. These cards are inherently risky, but the reward of a very difficult round to beat, barring combo cards, is pretty great. In acornling's case, the low tp cost mitigates the risk of playing it somewhat, as it is extremely easy to fit on a turn. As a result, the acornling is a fairly good card. It has a place both in seedling decks and more midrange decks, but the risk is still there. Expect to lose a few unfortunate rounds because this thing missed a coin flip. Only use it if you're okay with that.



Cactling
cost: 3
tribe: seedling, plant
text:
Coin (1): DEF +4

Cactling is a very similar card to the acornling. Since it costs more, it inherently carries more risk, and it is also harder to fit on a turn. Unfortunately, there isn't much reason to use it when you could just use acornling. The extra reward really isn't worth it, even in a seedling king deck.



Flowerling
cost: 1
tribe: seedling, plant
text:
Lifesteal (1)

Of all of the cards that fit well in a seedling king deck, this probably fits the best. it provides insane damage for the cost if you play more than one, and also gives lifesteal. Any kind of heal is usually good, and this is no exception. However, this card struggles to fit itself on non-seedling decks, as it carries a big risk played alone. It's also interchangeable with venus bud in those decks, so use it if you really want to, but don't expect it to consistently win you games. Including lifesteal can be a gamechanger, but only sometimes.



Plumpling
cost: 6
tribe: seedling, plant
text:
Coin (1): DEF +6

If cactling was outclassed, then this card's just bad. It only gives 6 defense instead of the 7 you would expect, costs a huge 6 tp, which is a lot to gamble on a coin flip that doesn't pay itself back more than you put it, and it can't really be played effectively with the seedling king, again due to it's high cost. This card is bad. don't even use it in a seedling king deck.



Inichas
cost: 1
tribe: bug
text:
Coin (1): DEF +2

This card is very good. For only 1 tp, you get 2 defense on a successful coin flip. Everything I said about the acornling, barring the seedling stuff, applies here even more. It costs 1 tp to play, so fitting it into a turn is easy. You might lose if the coin flip doesn't work out, but you still get to use the rest of your tp on attack, so it's not always going to happen. If it does work out, then it's fantastic, giving you a great chance of victory. It's probably the best card of it's kind. Still, the risk prevents it from being a truly great card.



Denmuki
cost: 3
tribe: bug
text:
ATK: 1
Coin (1): Numb

As an attacker with access to the coveted numb ability, this card is immediately appealing. However, the risk introduced by the coin makes for an inconsistent card. It's especially bad if played against another effect card, and you put yourself at a huge disadvantage whenever you miss the coin flip. It can be good, or even great, in the right situation, but inconsistency holds it back.



Madesphy
cost: 5
tribe: bug
text:
Coin (2): DEF +3

here, we have a truly awful card. For some cruel reason, it has to hit two coin flips in order to get the necessary defense to justify it's cost. Even if it was only one coin, it wouldn't be very good (I've already gone into detail about the problems with cards like these, so you can probably infer why), but when 3/4ths of the time it doesn't pay back it's tp cost, it's plain awful. Never use this over the other defensive cards; they are all superior to it.



Numbnail
cost: 2
tribe: bug
text:
Numb

This card is straight-up a fantastic card. You get to stop a single attacker for only 2 tp. Since it can be played at basically any time, a well-timed numb can easily win you a turn. This is great, as it is far more consistent than the defense cards are, and gives an effective defensive backbone to decks looking to be a little more passive. It also has no issues being played in faster decks, so it's probably worth including in all but the most agressive decks or those that can't make room for it. If you're using a deck that has the room, then by all means, include this one.



Ironnail
cost: 3
tribe: bug
text:
DEF: 1
Numb

Everything I said about the numbnail applies here as well. Instead of costing two and only giving numb, this one costs 3 and has the added benefit of providing one defense. This can help protect yourself from attacking cards even better, as this also weakens the next attacker to be played, and can save you if your opponent plays an effect card with attack. However, that 1 extra tp cost makes it a little harder to play, so it comes down to personal preference. You could also play both if you're feeling ambitious. Not much else to say. Fantastic card.



Midge
cost: 2
tribe: bug, midges
text:
Unity (1)

On the surface, this card seems like a great alternative to empower cards. You'd be forgiven for thinking unity works like empower does, but unfortunately, Unity is a weak effect which is honestly a bit of a mystery (seriously, nobody can figure out how this thing works), and it's at it's worst here. One midge is 2 attack, 2 midges is 3 attack, and 3 midges is 4 attack. midges cost 2. Midges suck. Not even a powerful boss card like broodmother can make midges anything more than alright. And without broodmother? Look at those numbers, man. Midges are not worth playing alone.



Wild Chomper
cost: 4
tribe: chomper, plant
text:
ATK: 1
Coin (1): Summon Chomper

Here we have another unfortunate case of the coin effect ruining a probably alright card. Even if the coin hits, you are left with only 3 attack. when it misses, you are left with 1. you paid 4 tp for this. On the upside, it can be quite good in a mother chomper deck, but it needs to actually hit it's coin flip to be good on the empower turn. It could have actually been really good in those decks if it didn't have to hit a coin flip, but as is, it's mediocre at best.

Weevil
cost: 2
tribe: weevil, bug
text:
ATK: 1
VS Plants: ATK +2

This is a card that tries to be like the devourer, and almost succeeds. The thing is, only 5 cards in the entire game are plants, so unless your opponent is actually running those cards, this is just 1 attack that can't be numbed for 2 tp, which isn't all that worth it. unfortunately, the relative rarity of plant cards means that you won't be able to get the value you paid for out of this card very frequently. it's great in the right situation, but bad everywhere else.



Bee-Boop
cost: 1
tribe: bot
text:
Coin (1): ATK +1 or DEF +1

This card sure isn't like other 1 cost cards, alright, and it's sort of a good thing. This card either has 1 attack or 1 defense, depending on how the coin flip goes. unlike 1 cost attackers, this one can't be numbed. this makes it great for empower, but defense has the downside of not being able to win a round by itself. it also can't protect stronger attacking cards from numb. it amounts to a decent card, and a good choice for bots decks. 1 cost attackers are pretty inefficient, however, so don't expect this card to be amazing.



Mender
cost: 1
tribe: bot
text:
Bots (4): Heal 1

This card is.... Bad? it only heals 1 while having the ludicrous prerequisite of having to play FOUR BOTS CARDS ON THE SAME TURN YOU PLAY IT. This isn't as massive as a requirement as you might think due to bots cards being very cheap across the board and their access to a boss with empower on it. However, it requires you to dump most of or all of your entire hand to get only 1 heal, which is especially bad when your deck is not very good at refilling it's hand. Sure, Heavy Drone B-33 might allow you to get that heal off while winning the round. the problem is attempting to deal with whatever bad hand you have the following turn. it's a huge pain, and this is only going to cost you rounds in the long run.





Leafbug ninja
cost: 3
tribe: Leafbug, bug
text:
Unity (2, Leafbugs)

Leafbug Archer
cost: 2
Tribe: Leafbug, bug
text:
Unity (1, Leafbugs)

Leafbug Clubber
cost: 4
tribe: Leafbug, bug
text:
ATK: 2
Leafbugs (3): Numb

since these are all clearly meant to be played together, I'll talk about them together. To start, I'll show some damage measurements with included tp costs taken by u/Wintar_ in this reddit thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/BugFables/comments/fypqb7/how_does_unity_work_in_spy_cards

leafarcher x1: 1dmg cost 2

leafarcher x2: 2dmg cost 4

leafninja x1: 2dmg cost 3

leafarcher + leafninja: 6dmg cost 5

leafarcher + leafclubber: 4dmg cost 6

leafarcher x2 + leafclubber: 5dmg + numb cost 8

leafarcher + leafninja + leafclubber: 11dmg + numb cost 9

As always, unity is behaving very strangely. Seemingly, the besr way to get some bang for your buck is to use all three leafbugs in one turn. Almost all of the other combinations have you overpaying for mediocre damage and an unsustainable number of cards played per turn. from this, we can reasonably conclude that leafbugs, despite their access to the coveted numb ability, aren't very good. they just aren't worth the trouble of getting their effects off, because they're a detriment when played alone, or even played in the wrong combinations. You're better off using other archetypes than this mediocre one that isn't even supported by a powerful miniboss.



wasp bomber
cost: 5
tribe: wasp, bug
text:
ATK: 2
Coin (1): numb
Coin (1): ATK +1

Remember how I said that Coin effects make cards inconsistent? Here's one of the biggest offenders, and a contender for worst effect card in the entire game (which, due to the nature of effect cards, makes it one of the worst cards in the entire game). It's a wasp, so you can use this with ultimax if you want, and that's it for the positives with this card. 1/4th of the time, you pay 5 for 2 attack. that's awful. another 1/4th of the time, you pay 5 for three. that's also kind of awful. 1/4th of the time, you pay 5 for 2 attack and a numb. that's mediocre. 1/4th of the time, you pay 5 for 3 attack and a numb. that's pretty good. You may have spotted the problem: the only worthwhile result only happens 1/4th of the time. 3/4ths of the time, you get an arguably bad result. Numb is amazing, so an optimist might consider this card. However, there are far better options for numb that don't leave you behind on damage. more often than not, you lose out while playing this card, and for that, it's awful.



Wasp Driller
cost: 6
tribe: wasp, bug
text:
ATK: 4
Pierce: (2)

This card is extremely average. Since it relies on your opponent playing defense cards, you can sometimes catch them by playing this. however, it's not very good outside of those situations. Because of this, it's inconsistent and kind of niche. Play it only if you're okay with that.



Venus Bud
cost: 1
tribe: plant
text:
Lifesteal (1)

Now, I've already talked at length about how Venus Gaurdian decks can be good, so there isn't much else to say about this card in particular. Outside of them, everything I said about the flowerling also applies. In them, it takes up some deck space, and contributes to a very powerful turn. Obviously use it in venus gaurdian deck, maybe consider them outside of it, because it can be quite mediocre when used without venus gaurdian.

WOW, that took a while to write. I have spent weeks writing this, but feel free to correct me if I made any mistakes. Also, be sure to provide your own strategies in the comments section, as well as your own input on all of these cards. I'd love to hear what you think. Without further ado, I hope you have a successful spy cards experience!