9 Kings Beginner's Guide: From Year 1 to Year 33
Most early losses in 9 Kings happen not because enemy waves are unfair, but because players fill all 9 grid plots with unscaled filler or declare Diplomacy wars blindly. Follow this phase-by-phase framework to stabilize every King run.
PHASE 1 · YEARS 1–7
Anchor Your Center & Economy
- Keep your Base near the center `(1,1)` or flanked edge so buff Buildings (Blacksmith, Forest, Quarry, Beacon) touch multiple allies.
- Never fill all 9 squares by Year 5 with duplicate un-upgraded Troops—prioritize level-ups on 1 core Tank + 1 core DPS.
- Save at least 25–40 Gold before the Year 7 Merchant arrives.
PHASE 2 · YEARS 8–20
Curate Enemy Diplomacy
- Winning battles against rival Kings awards drafts from their King deck—treat Peace/War events as deck-building choices.
- Need scaling Buildings? Keep King of Nothing (Blacksmith/Farm) or King of Nature (Forest/Procreate) at War.
- Running Spells or Towers? Draft King of Stone (Quarry) or King of Greed (Beacon/Vault) cards deliberately.
PHASE 3 · YEARS 21–33+
Convert Static Plots Into Engines
- Use Razing or Sacrifice to clear dead Year-2 filler and drop a second Multiplier Building next to your carry plot.
- Apply key Enchantments (Steel Coat, Poison Vial, Oblation, or reworked Reinforce) onto your highest-count stack.
- Evaluate Endless Mode after Year 33 only if your board has true multiplicative scaling.
Best First Kings for New Players
Start with King of Nothing to internalize Paladin + Archer positioning and Blacksmith adjacency, then unlock King of Nature to experience exponential Forest + Boar HP scaling.