Equipment
- Damage core
- Trebuchet with a poison-capable attacker
- Support cards
- Quarry, Cauldron, Wallmaker
- Enchantments / tome actions
- Poison Vial only on a valid troop alternative
- Board state
- Developed plan; adjust to actual draws
Skills
- Card access
- Trebuchet, Quarry, Cauldron, Ballista and Wallmaker belong to Stone. Nothing or other kings can supply a replacement screen when offered.
- Effect condition
- B3 Cauldron is adjacent to B2 Trebuchet, not C2 Ballista. Poison on Ballista requires moving Cauldron to C3 or another cardinal neighbor. Current Cauldron grants three poison stacks per level.
Best for
A tower route that separates damage growth, poison delivery and the time needed to attack.
Avoid if
Adding poison where no attack delivers it, or spending too much on supports while the army lacks immediate contact time.
How it works
Trebuchet has area-damage projectiles under the deck rework. Quarry grows tower damage; Cauldron grants adjacent recipients poison. Control or screening makes those attacks useful before enemies reach the base.
Equipment priority
| Priority | Equipment | Instruction |
|---|---|---|
| 1 · Stabilize | Trebuchet with a poison-capable attacker | Put an attacker that contributes now onto the board. Trebuchet is the tower commitment, while Ballista can supply a useful troop role if the tower route is incomplete. Wallmaker is conditional protection/control; verify whether it delays the threat actually causing the loss. |
| 2 · Connect | Quarry, Cauldron, Wallmaker | Connect Cauldron at B3 to Trebuchet at B2, then check that attacks deliver poison to useful targets. Quarry supplies tower damage under its own card text. Do not infer that every support follows Cauldron adjacency, or that a tower-growth effect also develops Ballista. |
| 3 · Develop | Poison Vial only on a valid troop alternative | Trebuchet has area projectiles under the rework. The Cauldron connection adds a separate poison route, while Quarry develops tower damage. Their value depends on attacks happening before the enemy reaches the base. If Ballista becomes the poison recipient instead, re-plan Cauldron adjacency rather than retaining the tower diagram. |
Build order
- Put an attacker that contributes now onto the board. Trebuchet is the tower commitment, while Ballista can supply a useful troop role if the tower route is incomplete. Wallmaker is conditional protection/control; verify whether it delays the threat actually causing the loss.
- Connect Cauldron at B3 to Trebuchet at B2, then check that attacks deliver poison to useful targets. Quarry supplies tower damage under its own card text. Do not infer that every support follows Cauldron adjacency, or that a tower-growth effect also develops Ballista.
- Trebuchet has area projectiles under the rework. The Cauldron connection adds a separate poison route, while Quarry develops tower damage. Their value depends on attacks happening before the enemy reaches the base. If Ballista becomes the poison recipient instead, re-plan Cauldron adjacency rather than retaining the tower diagram.
How to play
If poison is not delivered before the army collapses, stop buying more poison support and repair useful attacks or contact time. If hits are delivered but too weak, develop tower damage. This higher-pressure framework has no measured difficulty-clear claim, so an old King IX screenshot is not a stop-loss rule.
What can break the build
Cauldron at B3 is diagonal to Ballista at C2. That arrangement can support B2 Trebuchet but does not establish the intended Ballista link. Move Cauldron to C3 if Ballista needs it, checking the remaining tower relationships before the move.
Evidence limit
Mechanics checked against the official card reference and developer Patch #29, #30 and #31 notes on 2026-10-13. Layouts and priorities are editorial recommendations for 0.9.8; no fresh-run clears, win rates, damage benchmarks or universal difficulty guarantees are claimed.