Apply Mantra Before Triggering Upgrades
For the Universe 25 quest in 9 Kings, apply the starting Mantra to your intended carry before triggering plot level-ups, then build around the Lab Rat and Concabulator upgrade chain. Mantra benefits from subsequent leveling events, so getting it onto your carry comes before spending those upgrades.
Check Your Starting Hand and Difficulty
Universe 25 is a King of Progress challenge in Quest Mode. Its 1.0 opening includes one Mantra card. Quest Mode offers Knight, King, and Chaos difficulties, so match your selected difficulty when comparing your attempt with a walkthrough.
Use the Rat Level-Up Chain
- Apply the starting Mantra to your intended carry before triggering plot level-ups, putting its effect in place for the upgrades that follow.
- Upgrade a plot adjacent to a Lab Rat to trigger that Rat's automatic level-up.
- Bring a Concabulator to level 3 to trigger its kingdom-wide upgrades and give your Lab Rats another source of level-ups.
When an Older Opening Looks Different
An older opening that predates the starting Mantra begins from a different hand. Account for Mantra before copying its upgrade plays. If you installed a patch during an existing run, start a new attempt: previous runs do not receive the patch's updates and may cause conflicts.