Building a strong run-ending deck in Vampire Crawlers requires more than just lucky picks. You have to understand how your character’s unique abilities interact with the cards you collect. As a turn-based, first-person reimagining of the classic survival formula, this game shifts the focus from dodging projectiles to managing a hand of cards that represent your weapons, buffs, and defenses. Success in each dungeon crawl depends on your ability to recognize card types and leverage their colour-coded synergies to trigger powerful Crawler effects. So let’s break down those cards!

Vampire Crawlers Card Types and Mechanics

In Vampire Crawlers, every card in your deck is colour-coded to signify its primary function, ranging from red attack cards that deal direct damage, to blue defensive cards that provide much-needed armour. Beyond their basic stats, cards often feature “Trigger” interactions that tie directly into your chosen character’s passive abilities. 

When you play a card of a specific color, you may activate a Crawler effect that grants a temporary boost to your power, XP gain, or resource management. Learning and using these card classifications is the foundation of any successful run through the game’s many dungeons.

Combos

Combos serve as the connective tissue of your deck, allowing you to chain together specific card sequences for devastating results. A Combo is typically initiated when you play cards in order of mana costs – from low to high. This then grants a massive multiplier to your damage or utility stats for that turn. 

Unlike standard Crawler effects that rely on a single trigger, successfully executing a Combo requires careful hand management and knowing your deck’s rotation. When timed correctly, these chains can thwart enemy defenses or generate enough resources to turn a failing run into a decisive victory, making them the most potent tool for players looking to overcome the game’s more difficult dungeon floors.

Character Cards

Characters all have their own character cards in Vampire Crawlers. You can purchase and equip Characters by visiting the Gorton Bell Inn in the main hub. Each character possesses a unique Crawler effect that typically activates when a specific color card is played and remains active for a set period. This is governed by the Duration deck stat, so the higher the stat, the more times a character’s Crawler effect can trigger during a run.

Additionally, the Gorton Bell Inn also features a rare event known as Disco mode, which has a 10% chance to trigger after you have purchased at least 5 Crawlers. During Disco mode, players benefit from a 5% discount on any additional Crawler purchases. It is important to note that once you leave the Inn after Disco mode has been activated, the event cannot be re-triggered until you have completed another dungeon run.

Card Name	Mana Cost	Unlock Cost	Card Effect	Trigger	Duration
Antonio	0	0	Add 4 Armor. Crawler.	Deal 10% more damage when a red card is played.	5
Arca	0	500	Add 3 Mana. Crawler.	Add 1 Mana when a purple card is played.	5
Cavallo	0	Unknown	Fire 2 more projectiles. (2 Duration) Crawler.	Unknown	Unknown
Christine	0	Unknown	Reduce Mana cost of cards in hand by 1. (9 Duration) Crawler.	Unknown	Unknown
Clerici	0	Unknown	Heal 5 HP. (12 Duration) Crawler.	Unknown	Unknown
Concetta	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Divano	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Dommario	1	Unknown	Gain 3 Duration. (9 Duration) Crawler.	Unknown	Unknown
Gallo	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Gennaro	1	500	Fire 1 more projectile. Crawler	Deal 60 damage when a red card is played.	5
Giovanna	1	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Imelda	0	10	Add 15 XP. Crawler.	Gain 5% XP Growth when a yellow card is played.	5
Krochi	0	Unknown	Gain 25% Revive. (12 Duration) Crawler.	Unknown	Unknown
Lama	1	Unknown	Increase damage 50% Add 1 Armor when a red card is played (11 Duration) Crawler.	Unknown	Unknown
Mortaccio	0	Unknown	Fire 2 more projectiles. (8 Duration) Crawler.	Unknown	Unknown
O’Sole	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Pasqualina	1	100	Attacks deal 10% splash damage. Crawler.	Increase Hand by 1 when a purple card is played.	2
Poe	1	500	Increase Draw by 1. Crawler.	Draw 1 card when a blue card is played.	5
Poppea	1	Unknown	Increase Hand by 1. (10 Duration) Crawler.	Unknown	Unknown
Porta	0	Unknown	Projectiles hit 50% more times. (11 Duration) Crawler.	Unknown	Unknown
Pugnala	0	Unknown	Deal 25% more damage. (8 Duration) Crawler.	Unknown	Unknown
Ramba	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown

Attack cards

You can recognize Attack cards in Vampire Crawlers by their red-coloured backgrounds. They are your primary damage-dealing cards and, beyond starting cards for each character, will be offered as level-up card rewards.

Card Name	Mana Cost	Card Effect
Axe	2	Deal 45 damage to multiple enemies with a chance to Knockback.
Bloody Tear	2	Deal 40 damage to multiple enemies. On Crit: Heal 3.
Bone	0	Deal 3 damage to multiple enemies.
Bracelet	W	Unknown
Carréllo	2	Unknown
Celestial Dusting	2	Deal 35 damage. Little Heart.
Cherry Bomb	1	Deal 18 damage. Chance to explode.
Cross	2	Unknown
Death Spiral	3	Deal 160 damage to the front row.
Ebony Wings	4	Deal 140 damage. Bombards enemies after every turn.
Eight The Sparrow	2	Deal 35 damage.
Fire Wand	1	Deal 45 damage.
Garlic	1	Deal 10 damage to the front row. Disarm.
Gatti Amari	1	Deal 25 damage. Chance to Scuffle.
Gorgeous Moon	1	Unknown
Heaven Sword	3	Unknown
Hellfire	3	Deal 225 damage with a chance to Knockback.
Holy Wand	2	Deal 150 damage. Prioritize attackers.
King Bible	1	Deal 40 damage with a chance to Knockback.
Knife	0	Deal 40 damage. Crit.
La Borra	4	Deal 150 damage. Burns enemies after every turn.
Lightning Ring	2	Deal 125 damage.
Magic Wand	0	Deal 30 damage. Prioritize attackers.
NO FUTURE	3	Deal 15 damage. Bounces and explodes.
Peachone	3	Deal 100 damage. Bombards enemies after every turn.
Pentagram	4	Erase 8 rows. Countdown.
Phiera Der Tuphello	3	Unknown
Phieraggi	4	Unknown
Runetracer	1	Deal 15 damage. Bounces to deal more damage.
Santa Water	3	Deal 60 damage. Burns enemies after this turn.
Shadow Pinion	3	Unknown
Soul Eater	3	Deal 100 damage to the front row. Heal 3. Disarm*.
Thousand Edge	3	Deal 180 damage.
Thunder Loop	4	Deal 150 damage. Attacks again at the end of the turn.
Unholy Vespers	2	Deal 120 damage with a chance to Knockback.
Vandalier	5	Deal 500 damage with a chance to Knockback. Big Bird.
Whip	0	Deal 8 damage to multiple enemies.

Defense Cards

Cards with a blue background are typically your defense cards. Some characters start with them in their decks, while others have to pick them up as level-up rewards. These cards typically provide you with armour, which prevents a certain amount of direct damage for a turn. However, some defense cards will heal you instead.

Card Name	Mana Cost	Card Effect
Armor	0	Add 2 Armor.
Clock Lancet	3	Unknown
Golden Armor	1	Add 4 Armor.
Hero’s Armor	3	Add 8 Armor.
Parm Aegis	W	Unknown
Pummadora	2	Recovery: Heal 4 after encounter.
Pummarola	1	Recovery: Heal 2 after encounter.
Rainbow Armor	2	Add 6 Armor.

Boost Cards

Boost cards in Vampire Crawlers are cards with a yellow background. These cards, as the name implies, often provide stat boosts during a combat encounter. They are not to be confused with Wild Cards, which can have similar, but more permanent effects.

Card Name	Mana Cost	Card Effect
Attractorb	1	Draw 1 card.
Bracer	0	Hand: Increase Hand by 1.
Candelabrador	2	Attacks deal 15% splash damage.
Candella	1	Area: Attacks deal 10% splash damage.
Candle	0	Area: Attacks deal 5% splash damage.
Clover	2	Add 10% Luck.
Crown	1	Growth: Gain 15% XP Growth. Destroy.
Du-Duplicator	2	Fires 2 more projectiles.
Duplicator	1	Amount: Fire 1 more projectile.
Forever Heart	2	Gain 1 Max Health.
Friendship Amulet	W	Increases Combo.
Hollow Heart	1	Gain 3 Max Health. Destroy.
Skull O’Maniac	0	Increase enemy strength 10%, gain additional XP.
Spellbinder	0	Duration: Crawlers trigger 2 more abilities before leaving.
Spinach	1	Might: Deal 10% more damage.
Sprig o’ Spinach	2	Deal 20% more damage.
Stone Mask	1	Greed: Gain 10% more coins. Destroy.
Tirajisú	2	Unknown

Mana Cards

Mana cards have a purple background and, as expected, provide you with extra mana during your turn. Note that this mana is temporary in nearly all cases, meaning that you have to spend it, or else it will go to waste.

Card Name	Mana Cost	Card Effect
Ancient Tome	3	Add 4 Mana.
Empty Tome	0	Add 1 Mana.
Light Tome	1	Add 2 Mana.
Song of Mana	4	Deal 10 damage to multiple enemies. Raw Mana. Mana Scaling.
Weighty Tome	2	Add 3 Mana.
Wings	W	Reduce Mana cost of next card played by 1

Wild Cards

You will recognize wild cards by their grey border. These cards have a W as their mana cost,  which means that you can play them without breaking your Combo streak. Many of these cards provide permanent effects to your run, while others have other minor effects, on top of prolonging your Combos.

Card Name	Card Type	Card Effect
Big Coin Bag	Wild	Add 25 coins. Destroy.
Bracelet	Attack	Unknown
Clover Petal	Wild	Add 5% Luck. Draw 1 card. Destroy.
Coin Purse	Wild	Add 10 coins. Draw 1 card. Destroy.
Friendship Amulet	Stat	Increases Combo.
Little Clover	Wild	Add 10% Luck. Destroy.
Little Heart	Wild	Heal 1. Destroy. Destroy.
Orologion	Wild	Apply 1 Freeze to the front row. Destroy.
Parm Aegis	Defense	Unknown
Raw Mana	Wild	Unknown
Rosary	Wild	Kill 1 row. Destroy.
Vacuum	Wild	Draw 1 Card. Destroy.
Wings	Mana	Reduce Mana cost of next card played by 1

Temporary Cards

Temporary cards are often debuffs placed into your deck by enemy actions. You have to play them to get rid of them – which means that they can also be a part of the Combo, so there’s a silver lining. You can recognize them by their dark background.

Card Name	Mana Cost	Card Effect
Confuse	0	Mana costs are randomized. Temporary.
Junk	1	Destroy on use. Draw 1 card. Temporary.
Muddle	0	Crawler trigger types are randomized. Temporary.
Shatter	0	Unknown