Origins Trading Card Game Boss Guide

This page covers all nine bosses in Origins Trading Card Game, one section each: what the boss deck does, which cards to be afraid of, and how to set up the win. Beating five of them also unlocks a free Collector Pack once you enter a friend's referral code, see Free Collector Pack.

The short version: use the Swarm deck for the first six bosses (Legion of the Dead through Merlin), switch to Glinda Pigs for Dracula, Dorothy and Van Helsing, and in most fights pick the locations you can win and leave the one that favors the boss alone. Cheap openings matter against most of them, because several boss decks get stronger the longer the game runs.

Card stats and effects below are as of the time of writing and can change with patches.

The two decks used here

Boss	Deck
Legion of the Dead, Mulan, Queen of Hearts, King Arthur, Wicked Stepmother, Merlin	Swarm
Dracula, Dorothy, Van Helsing	Glinda Pigs

Both decks come as import codes. Paste the entire string, since the section after the colon is part of the code.

Swarm:

KGBLDCdjF8QzAwMDEzX1NCfEMwMDAxNV9TQnxDMDAwMTlfTUJ8QzAwMDIxX01CfEMwMDA0Nl9NQ3xDMDAwNzRfTUJ8QzAwMTI1X01CfEMwMDEzMV9NQnxDMDAxNTVfTUJ8QzAwMTYyX1NCfEMwMDE5MV9NQnxDMDAxOTRfTUJ8QzAwMjQ1X01C:17dfc85e

Glinda Pigs. Compared with Swarm it runs extra spells and draws more cards:

KGBLDCdjF8QzAwMDEzX1NCfEMwMDAxNF9TQnxDMDAwMTVfU0J8QzAwMDE4X01CfEMwMDAyMl9NQnxDMDAwNDZfTUN8QzAwMTAzX01CfEMwMDE1NV9NQnxDMDAxNjNfU0J8QzAwMTY5X1NCfEMwMDIwNV9TQnxDMDAyMzBfTUJ8QzAwMjc1X01C:a2b8c856

Every boss you beat hands you its own deck, and the game switches you onto it automatically. To go back, press Swap and pick Swarm (or Glinda Pigs, from the Dracula fight onward).

Free Collector Pack

The game has a referral screen under your Profile.

1. Open your Profile.
2. Select Invite Friends.
3. Press Enter Code and type in a friend's code.

The pack is tied to defeating five bosses. If you have already beaten five, it arrives right away, and if not, it unlocks when you reach five.

Legion of the Dead

Expect to be outnumbered early, because this boss floods the board with a crowd of units.

Cards to watch

Card	What it does
Legion of the Dead	Puts a steady supply of 2/2 Zombies onto the boss's side.
Rain of Arrows	Hits every character you have for 2. Stronger if the boss reveals second.
Basilisk	Has Deathtouch, so whatever it fights dies, no matter its size.
Bridge Troll	A 5/6 Defender that is tough to remove.

How to win

• Swarm draws very few cards, so pace yourself and keep some of your hand back.
• Protect Big Bad Wolf if you draw it. It grows +1/+1 after each combat, and one that survives becomes a real threat to the boss.
• Aim to hold two locations, with a larger card count on the board than the boss.
• A strong trick is to slide a unit beneath an enemy unit and then kill that enemy with a spell. It is very hard for the boss to answer.

Mulan

Mulan's deck runs on On Reveal, so cards trigger the instant they are revealed.

Cards to watch

Card	What it does
Ellen Trechend	Costs 8 mana. Gets +3/+3 for each card of yours at her location, so crowding one spot makes her huge.
Mulan	Attacks twice. Fairy Godmother can add +3/+3.
Rumple	Gives the boss bonus mana, so expensive cards come out sooner.
Stroke of Midnight, White Queen	Bounce your units back into your hand.

How to win

• Shape your mulligan around a smooth mana curve, so every turn has a play.
• Work out which location favors her and avoid leaving it to her, since her deck dominates there.
• Finish quickly. A long game gives Ellen Trechend time to appear.
• When she has nothing to play on a turn, push in free damage.

Stay on Swarm rather than switching to her reward deck.

Queen of Hearts

The Queen of Hearts has an On Death deck, and its cards trigger when they die.

Cards to watch

Card	What it does
Cockatrice	Destroys a random unit of yours when it dies. Killing her units can backfire, since many do something on death.
"Off With Your Head!"	Kills one of her units, then spawns a copy of it in each other location. Risky when the target is Cockatrice or Boogeyman.
Davy Crockett	Has Defender and soaks up your attacks.

Locations decide a lot here. Burial Grounds runs On Death effects a second time. The Gallows kills the opposing enemy whenever a character enters. Wall of Dumpty destroys the first character you put there.

How to win

• Choose two locations to fight over. Skip the one that favors her most and concentrate on the other two.
• Think before you kill: sometimes taking the location is better than clearing her units.
• If a location will cost you a character, sacrifice a cheap one.
• A big unit tucked under an enemy unit works well here. Paul Bunyan (10/10) is the best candidate, and it is hard for her to stop.

King Arthur

King Arthur runs a Good deck packed with Shields.

Cards to watch

Card	What it does
King Arthur	Grants Shield across his Good characters. Shield Maiden and Defense Matrix supply still more.
Lancelot	Gives +2/+2 to Good characters played at his location.
Morgiana	Stops On Reveal abilities at her location, yours included.
Blessed Grounds	If it appears, gives Shield to Good characters played there, which favors him.

How to win

• Start fast. Pick cheap cards in the mulligan to avoid falling behind.
• Skip the hardest location and win the other two.
• Play your On Reveal cards somewhere away from Morgiana.
• Blow the House Down damages all enemies in its spot, so cast it with a big unit. If you manage that at two locations in one turn, both can fall together.

His reward deck is not worth using.

Wicked Stepmother

The Wicked Stepmother fields nothing but Evil cards, and a lot of her units have Deathtouch.

Cards to watch

Card	What it does
Wicked Stepmother	Grants Deathtouch to her Evil characters, so even a tiny unit can kill a giant.
Guy of Gisborne	Has Double Attack and can do real harm through an empty lane.
Mummy	Has Rebirth and returns after it dies.
Poison Grounds	If it appears, Evil characters there get Deathtouch. Every card she has is Evil, so this location suits her.

How to win

• Look for cheap cards in the mulligan.
• Keep your big units out of fights that one of her Deathtouch units can win.
• Close your lanes so Guy of Gisborne cannot reach your barrier.
• Clear a path to her barrier and strike, while blocking in the other lanes. Combat resolves from left to right. Check which of your attacks is furthest left, because that one lands first.

Merlin

Merlin plays a spell deck that grows stronger the longer the game goes.

Cards to watch

Card	What it does
Merlin	The first spell he casts each round happens twice. Merlin's Prophecy does the same for the next spell.
Obliterate	Does 10 damage to one character or barrier. If repeated, one of your barriers can fall at once.
Sandman	Discounts his spells.
Queen of the Night	Hits your barrier for 2 each time he casts a spell.

Two locations help him. Gold Spinning Wheel takes 1 off card costs, and Giant's Beacon lets him draw his priciest card for 1.

How to win

• Be aggressive and apply pressure from the first turn, because Merlin only gets stronger with time.
• Mulligan toward cheap cards so every turn has a play. A big unit like Paul Bunyan takes a long time to become castable, so do not count on it early.
• If one location favors him too much, give it up and focus on the other two.
• Blow the House Down needs enemies already standing at the location. With none there, save it for a later turn.

Dracula

Use the Glinda Pigs deck for this fight. Dracula's own deck is built around discarding: its cards come back to the boss's hand or go off when discarded.

Cards to watch

Card	What it does
Dracula	Returns to the boss's hand whenever the boss discards.
Koschei	Returns to the boss's hand with +2/+2 after dying or being discarded.
Underworld Flare	Burns one of your characters for 6. If the boss discards it instead, the 6 lands on a random character of yours.
Brides of Dracula	Created by Dracula. Each time the boss discards, every Bride gains 1 health and hits your barrier for 1.

How to win

• Glinda drives the deck: each spell you cast gives your allies +1 attack. Guard her closely.
• Get Sandman out early. He cheapens your spells, and the longer he lives the better.
• Dig for spells and draw effects. Good picks are Trash for Treasure (sacrifice an ally, draw 2), Mind Palace and Reinforcements. Reinforcements counts as one of those spells for Glinda's bonus, and nobody has to take damage.
• Dracula has only 2 health, while the Brides keep growing. Attack with your Pigs (Trample) in the lane where Dracula stands.

Dorothy

Use the same deck as against Dracula.

Dorothy plays a Move deck, where her units shift between spaces and grow as they go.

Cards to watch

Card	What it does
Dorothy	Gains +1/+1 each time one of her allies moves, so time is on her side.
Card Soldier	Leaves a copy of itself behind whenever it moves.
Black Knight	Deals 2 to the enemy opposite it On Reveal, enough to knock a Shield off a protected unit.
Cloning Lab	Location that, when it shows up, duplicates each character played into its spaces.

How to win

• Build up your hand by spending Pigs, or the Merry Men that Reinforcements brings, on Trash for Treasure. The extra draws help you find Glinda and Sandman.
• With Glinda on the board, chain several spells in one turn. That turn can decide the match.
• Shield Maiden is sturdy, because her Shield absorbs the first hit and she has to be hit twice. Just watch out for Black Knight.
• Play Sandman when you reveal second, which usually keeps him alive longer and keeps your spells cheap.
• Keep count of which of the boss's cards have been used. If one Card Soldier is already down, only one remains.

Van Helsing

Use the Glinda Pigs deck.

Van Helsing is a control opponent that restores its barrier and hurts whoever attacks it.

Cards to watch

Card	What it does
Van Helsing	Gets Van Helsing's Tools ahead of each combat, so every turn he survives gives him more value.
Baby Bear, Papa Bear, Mama Bear	A chain: Baby Bear becomes Papa Bear on death, and Papa Bear becomes Mama Bear on death. A unit that hits his barrier at that location is punished by whichever bear is there: 1 damage from Baby Bear, 3 from Papa Bear, and Mama Bear destroys it outright.
Shahrazad	Heals 1 from his barrier whenever a card enters his hand.
Windmill Ridge	If it appears, every character there gains Defender, so getting at the barrier is very difficult.

How to win

• Be quick. Each extra turn makes this fight harder, so press from the opening turns.
• Kill Van Helsing the moment he appears.
• Avoid Windmill Ridge with an aggressive deck, since your damage will not reach the barrier there.
• Before attacking his barrier, check whether a bear sits at that location.
• For a large Glinda turn, open with Reinforcements. Every spell cast after it then buffs the Merry Men as well.