Deathcard

A Deathcard is a Special card, referenced in Act II, but only usable or obtainable in Act I of Inscryption. They may be rarely obtained from card choice Events as well as their own special Event. They are additionally used in the Phase Two of Leshy's boss fight. If the Special Dagger was used during a run, that run's deathcard will be missing its right eye.

Creation[]

When you lose, you will be prompted to select three cards, each randomly chosen from your deck. This excludes other Deathcards, Talking Cards and the Caged Wolf.

The first card selection decides the Deathcard's Cost. (For example, if you select a Wolf the Deathcard will cost 2 Blood, or if you select an Opossum the Deathcard will cost 2 Bones.) Additionally, the cost of Pelts in your deck can also be selected, allowing the card to be played without any cost.
The second card selection decides the Deathcard's Power and Health. Special Behaviours that alter Power such as Ants or Card Counter will also be copied.
The third card selection decides the Deathcard's Sigils. If a card bears more than one Sigil (or has gained one by sacrificing another card), they will all be copied.
- If the player does not have enough suitable cards for any of the previous choices, Leshy will fill in the missing details for you.
The last decision is the name of the Deathcard, which has no real effect on gameplay. This can be, at most, 16 characters long.

Finally, Leshy will take a photo of the player and set it as the portrait. The portrait depends on the head of the figurine that was used during the run, and is the only non-customizable part of the card. There are 6 eye variants, 6 mouth variants, and 8 head variants, resulting in 288 possible portraits. There are also another 288 possible portraits if you lose your last life while missing an eye (after using the Special Dagger), each missing their right eye.

You may then find the Deathcard in future runs.

Pre-made Deathcards[]

From your second run onward, some Deathcards that were not created by the player may be found.

Louis: a 1/1 that costs 1 Blood with the Sprinter and Waterborne Sigils.

Kaycee: a 1/2 card that costs 1 Blood, with the Bifurcated Strike and Sharp Quills Sigils.

Kaminski: a 0/1 card that costs 1 Bone, with the Guardian and Sharp Quills Sigils.

Reginald: a 1/3 card that costs 3 Bones, with the Touch of Death Sigil.

Strategy[]

Due to the greatly varying nature of Deathcards, most of the strategy involved is about creating them.

Combining certain Sigils and stats can synergize to make an overpowered Deathcard, which may increase the chances of winning on your next run.
- For example, a high attack with the Bifurcated Strike or Trifurcated Strike Sigils can allow it to multiply its damage output. This can be made even better with an additional Airborne Sigil, allowing the card to directly attack the opponent for high damage.
The Urayuli makes a great card to use for a Deathcard due to its extremely high stats.
- Pelts and Geck can also work as an excellent card for a Deathcard, as you'll be able to play it for free.
Losing a run with many Pelts in your deck is an easy way to get free Deathcards.
Be careful when creating cards, however, as they will be used against you during phase two of Leshy's boss fight. Fortunately, when he switches his mask to The Trader you will have to opportunity to take one back.

Kaycee's Mod[]

In Kaycee's Mod, Deathcards can no longer be created or obtained, but still show up during phase two of Leshy's boss fight. Additional premade Deathcards are used for it. a 2/1 that costs 2 Blood, with the Frozen Away and Guardian Sigils.

Cody: a 3/1 that costs 2 Blood, with the Burrower and Loose Tail Sigils.
David: a 2/4 that costs 2 Blood, with the Hefty and Sharp Quills Sigils.
Sean: a 1/6 that costs 2 Blood, with the Mighty Leap and Touch of Death Sigils.
Tamara: a 2/3 that costs 2 Blood, with the Rampager and Loose Tail Sigils.
Jonah: a 2/5 that costs 3 Blood, with Bees Within and Sharp Quills Sigils.
Daniel: a 2/2 that costs 2 Blood, with Double Strike.

Trivia[]

Kaminski and Reginald are impossible to recreate legitimately due to their Costs.
- While Kaycee's Mod introduces the Curious Egg, a card that costs 1 Bone, there is no card that costs 3 Bones and Deathcards cannot be created regardless.
All of the pre-existing Deathcards in the base game are references to other characters that appear in-universe.
- Louis may refer to Louis Nathas, a fictional person mentioned in the credits. His name is also similar to that of the CEO of GameFuna, Lou Natas.
- Kaycee Hobbes is a reoccurring character throughout the game, and shares her name with one of Grimora's Ghouls.
- Kaminski is a name that appears in the Inscryption ARG, as the owner of "Kaminski Data Storage," which had information about the Karnoffel Code.
- Reginald is a character from The Hex, another game by Daniel Mullins. The card matches his appearance, as well as having a fitting Sigil. It may also refer to Barry Reginald Wilkinson, a name seen several times throughout the game.
If the player inputs a deathcard name as PARTS|PAIN|JAMES on console, it will transform the card into a free-cost 0/3 with the name "James Cobb" and the same head portrait every time. This is part of the Inscryption Console ARG, and if the card is later added to your deck characters will have new dialogue throughout the game.
The Deathcards' portraits are a reference to the Hunter cards in Sacrifices must be made.