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9 Kings is a newroguelikethat has you playing as one of nine leader characters, each with their own playstyle and aunique deck of cards. While the game is by definition randomized to a point, there are some better ways to play certain Kings.
Since you won’t have an incredible amount of control over your run, you should take these strategies as a guideline rather than something definitive. The King of Nothing is the most basic, but there are a few small things you can do to make each run much easier.
I’ll also cover some of the better perks you can get for the King of Nothing. Keep in mind the goal of the game is to break it, much likeBalatro, so try a wealth of things to see what kinds of ways you can break the game.
Best Strategy for King of Nothing
The King of Nothing is the very first King you’ll have access to, so they should be the easiest to play.They are easy to play but difficult to master in a sense.
My strategy with the King of Nothing is to always focus on increasing the damage or number of troops through a setup that puts my buildings in good spots.For now, I’ll cover the important cards that you’ll want to keep an eye out for during your run.
Since each run has random enemies, you’ll want tocombine these cardswith whatever else you can get your hands on during your run.
These cards are just the ones I use for this strategy, but if you prefer something else, that’s perfectly fine. What becomes much more important is the way you arrange your kingdom in its grid.
Below you’ll find a grid setup that demonstrates the general way you’ll want your grid arranged:
Blacksmith/Other
Troop/Tower
Blacksmith
Farm/Blacksmith
Don’t get bogged down by this, as you may not even get a blacksmith card until some of the later years. If you can play the card earlier, it will always result in much better damage down the line.
Always try to have at least a few defender-style troops adjacent to a farm to give you enough time to slow down enemies. I recommend Paladins if you’re able to get any.
Best Perks for King of Nothing
Each King has nine perks for you to invest in as the King levels up.You can use these to create different strategies or help you get past higher difficulties.
I’ll list the ones I find the most helpful, but these will only provide some help. The rest of the challenge lies in how you play your run.
These should give you enough of an advantage at the beginning of the game to get yourself set up.You’ll at minimum want Hoarder and Ingenious, so you can hopefully get your hands on a blacksmith sooner rather than later.
Your focus will be on towers and using the setup from above. Using these perks will make the strategy from above much easier to utilize as well.
Best Cards from Other Kings
You may not be able to choose which cards will be available to you in any run, but there are some better choices when you have the opportunity. You’ll only ever have access to three or four other kings at a time, but random ones can show up as choices or in the shop.
Keep in mind that these are just suggestions about what worked best for me.You should always try to work with what you’re given, but leaning into these might make it easy.
Below you’ll find a table with the best cards to grab from each King:
King of Progress
Use this to empty out a plot.
Makes for an excellent shield unit.
King of Stone
Keeps your castle safe for longer.
Earthworks
Opens up new plots for you to use without destroying a plot.
King of Nature
This is a great way to level up your plots, especially your castle.
Helps to create more troops to slow enemies.
King of Blood
Frees up a plot but also levels adjacent plots
Demon’s Altar
Helps create some powerful troops since yours are likely to die a lot.
King of Greed
Increases the attack speed of the castle and towers.
When combined with a Blacksmith, this becomes incredibly strong.
King of Spells
Keeps defensive units alive longer.
Empties a plot and gives three random cards that could be very helpful.
These are just what I typically go for with this strategy. You can always try to explore your options and find new ways to play if you’d prefer.
Now that you’re all set with some ideas for thissingle-player game, you should be able to go out and be the only King left standing. 9 Kings has so many ways to play that it would be impossible to list them all.
The most important part of any run is that you play with what you’re given. Once you have a good grasp of how a King should work, play around with it a bit, and don’t be afraid to experiment.
