Build Your Army Before Throwing Oblation
Place your Blood troop plots, throw spare cards into the pit to strengthen Oblation, then throw Oblation into the pit to add units across your existing army. Those extra troops give your Cemetery and Demon Altar setup more bodies to work with when allies die.
Oblation and the Older Vampirism Build
Oblation replaced Vampirism during the Blood deck rework before the PC full release on November 12, 2026. Older Vampirism instructions describe attack-based healing; Oblation instead increases troop numbers through the pit. Follow the pit sequence when building around the replacement card.
| Card | Effect and use |
|---|---|
| Oblation is the pit-triggered troop-count tome. | Its starting effect gives all your troops +1 unit when thrown into the pit. Its effect increases by +1 whenever any card is thrown into the pit. |
| Vampirism is the older healing card. | It provided attack-based healing and was replaced by Oblation in the Blood deck. Do not carry its healing instructions over to Oblation. |
| Chaos Oblation has its own effect. | When thrown into the pit, it gives all your troops +3 units per card thrown into the pit. Keep this rule separate from ordinary Oblation. |
Choose Troops and Their Sacrifice Support
Imps are a practical choice when your Blood setup includes a Mangler. The Mangler feeds on units from adjacent plots, so put the Imp supply directly beside it. Keep food available there: a Mangler with no neighbouring unit loses its opportunity to grow.
A Cemetery gives you another reason to plan where expendable troops stand. Destroying an adjacent troop plot creates a Skeleton plot in its place. A Demon Altar serves a different purpose, growing permanently stronger from allied deaths; Bombers can contribute through their own explosions.
Choose the support that fits the cards already available instead of trying to assemble every Blood interaction at once. Reserve the troop and support cards your board needs before deciding what to discard. The goal is a functioning army that benefits from Oblation immediately.
Play the Oblation Sequence
- Place the Imp plots you want to enlarge. In a Mangler setup, position them directly beside the tower so their units can become food for its permanent growth. Establishing these troops first also gives Oblation an existing army to expand.
- Place a Cemetery beside the troop plot you intend to destroy later. Its passive creates a Skeleton plot when an adjacent troop plot is destroyed, making the location of your expendable troops part of the sacrifice plan.
- Place a Demon Altar in a corner if allied deaths are part of your build. It can accumulate permanent strength while the disposable troops fight, giving your army another way to benefit from losing bodies.
- Throw expendable cards into the pit before using Oblation. Each card thrown in increases Oblation's effect by +1. Choose cards you can spare after reserving the pieces needed to maintain your troops and their support.
- Throw Oblation into the pit once your intended troop plots are established. This activates its troop addition across the existing army. Use the pit itself for the payoff; applying Oblation directly to a troop as an ordinary enchantment is not its trigger.
- Use Sacrifice on an expendable troop plot beside the Pagoda when you want base growth. The Sacrifice levels the Pagoda, and the destroyed troops contribute to its Ghost supply. Enlarging the army beforehand gives this sacrifice setup more bodies to work with.
Improve the Payoff With Oracle and Bloodbath
Oracle makes Oblation start with +1 effect stack. It improves the starting effect, while the underlying sequence remains troops first, pit discards next, and Oblation afterward. Treat it as an enhancement to that sequence rather than a reason to leave your board undeveloped.
Bloodbath connects Oblation's troop growth to damage: whenever Oblation gives a troop a unit, the decree also gives that troop +1% damage. This makes it a relevant choice when offered during an Oblation-focused run. Keep its damage effect separate from Oblation's own unit addition.
If you obtain a Recycler, place it beside the plots you want to strengthen before discarding spare cards. Every card thrown into the pit gives its adjacent plots +2% damage and HP per Recycler level. Your pit use can then strengthen those neighbours while also building Oblation's effect.
Keep the Different Growth Triggers Separate
Track cards thrown into the pit separately from troops destroyed on the board. Pit use grows Oblation's effect, while the Pagoda's permanent Ghost supply counts troops lost through Sacrifice, other destruction cards, or Mangler feeding. Troops falling during battle do not add to that permanent supply.
Extra fodder also does not make a Mangler eat faster. It sacrifices one adjacent unit each year regardless of its level, so a larger Imp supply supports continued feeding rather than increasing that feeding rate. Demon Altars benefit differently, gaining strength from allied deaths during the fighting.
Check Oblation's displayed effect before committing it, and avoid planning around an assumed unlimited stack count. Do not discard essential defenders merely to chase a larger payout. Use the card when expanding the army helps your current board, then replenish the fodder your sacrifice setup consumes.