Monster Train 2 speedrun in

While casually playing the hardest difficulty Covenant 10 (plus Titans), I found a seed which had a few broken synergies available quite early on. After some investigating and routing, I decided to do a speedrun. It went better than I expected: this is likely the world's first sub 10 minutes run in Monster Train 2!

Most of the important tactics are possible only thanks to the new Lost Arsenal update. I wouldn't be surprised if they'll nerf something to make this route impossible in the future... it would be a bit sad, of course. EDIT: as of patch 1.2.2, the Siren's Song room duplication effect did indeed become fixed. Pretty short-lived route...

This run could be at least a few seconds faster with cleaner input and better use of keyboard shortcuts.

0:00 - Ring 1
The run starts with Malicka's Shifting Pyre and Capricious Reflection. This means many random upgrades in all drafted cards, which could have either brilliant or catastrophic results. In this seed, it's thankfully the former.

Regarding Vengeful Shards, my general rule is to either play them if they appear individually since otherwise they proc the pyre damage effect which is a bit slow. However, if there's more than one Shard, letting them resolve might be faster than playing them individually, but I'm not 100% sure on that.

My starting characters are too flimsy to take Yorael head-on, but I survive long enough to give the boss Spell Weakness 9, which is enough to finish him off with a Frozen Lance.

Card reward: Perils of Production (plus Ember) that has Holdover. This card played a big role in an earlier version of the run, but in the current route I don't use it at all. But skipping it would mess up card draw order later, so I still take it.

00:58 - Ring 2

Shadoweater gets a Life upgrade as well as Multi-strike, which doesn't do much... for now.

I activate the Mind Muddler trial since cash is important in Ring 3. I can get a pretty good card order by placing the characters exactly as I do in the run.

I build up Shadoweater's strength with some stray morsels while letting some enemies slip past. (Pyre health won't be a big problem in this run.)

As a general rule, it's faster to only have one strong character trading hits with a boss vs one strong and one weak character alternating their attacks. That's why I only use Tethys sparingly, even though she does decent sweeping damage.

Card reward: Energy Siphon with Spellchain Holdover.

2:02 - Ring 3

I go to the left for a deployable Siren's Song (very important) as well as a Savage Spirit upgrade for Shadoweater (also very important). Having Savage Spirit on a high-HP character allows their attack to scale up very quickly as they get damaged, making them very suitable for Relentless fights in particular.

Arkion is pyre-hunter, which isn't a big problem. I let him damage the pyre instead of playing unnecessary units. The tactic here is to only play one floor, feed Shadoweater a few morsels and let his newfound scaling win the day.

Using Tethys here may be an outdated tactic from the old route; the fight would likely be winnable (and possibly faster) without her there.

Card reward: skipped, plus an Energy upgrade.

3:19 - Ring 4

Now here's where the run gets truly silly. I buy a Manifold Mirror to duplicate Siren's Song effect on all floors. It's exactly as broken as you might think: now all the regular enemies in the game are powerless. However, the run's not over yet: I can't beat the bosses unless I continue to find new ways to scale damage.

Regarding the fight itself, I skip all my turns after deployment and win by doing absolutely nothing.

Card reward: skip.

4:18 - Ring 5

A deployable Stasis Crystal fixes my scaling problems for the few next Rings ahead. It's a nice card!

I use Vortex to start deleting cards off my deck. I start from Shadow Lances since Plinks are actually useful vs the Titans to get rid of Dominion's Spell Shield faster. I'm not sure these removes are truly necessary, but my current card draw plan relies on doing this.

Card reward: skip.

5:21 - Ring 6.

I get some extra Pyre health before the fight (shrug). Nothing to comment about the fight itself.

Card reward: a truly convenient Forever Consumed with Holdover, plus more energy.

6:42 - Ring 7.

I give one of my Energy Siphons a Holdover Doublestack and remove two more cards.

Extra energy helps set up Shadoweater, Stasis Crystal and Siren's Song before turn 1 begins. Consistency! Nothing to comment on the fight.

Card reward: Urchin Spines with Doublestack.

8:05 - Ring 8.

Remove two more cards. Also - a new strat! I give Seraph Spell Weakness 15 with Tethys plus cards to insta-kill it with Forever Consumed only a few waves in.

9:04 - Titans.

I again forego the use of Stasis Crystal to instead inflict Spell Weakness on all three Titans. With a good draw order, I can snipe all the Titans with a huge damage spell in 5 turns total.

Feel free to ask if you have any questions.