Imperial Knights card tier list
Equip chips, not a museum. Status-null first, portraits later.
Town item shops hide a gacha machine that spends gold on cards — equippable chips with chibi art from Circle Poison’s older games, including Slave’s Sword faces. They are accessories, not a sixth party member. This list ranks combat effect, not album completion. For how to spend the gold, see getting started. For casino extras on Route 3, see the tools hub.
English Steam names may differ slightly from DLsite tables. We describe effects. If your card is called “Lucida tentacle ver.” in a Japanese chart and something else in Kagura English, match the sleep-null line, not the meme name.
S — changes a boss
Sleep null. The final boss sleeps the healer and then drops a dark shade. Charts call this the wipe combo. Put sleep-null on Lysithea, not on a mercenary you might bench. If you only pull one good card in Route 1, you want this family.
Poison null / heavy poison resist. Spirit Cave and Mud Poison tick for a chunk of max HP. Poison Rings are the shop answer; a card that also shuts poison lets you spend the ring slot on stats. Either layer is S. Both is luxury.
Blind / darkness null. Svalt’s demon king and catacomb Balnia. Japanese charts mention an “Alice dress” style card here. Dispel from Lysithea is the backup; a card means she can spend the turn healing instead.
A — always useful
Diana Knight (stat-up) version. All-stat sticks on the one actor who never leaves. Japanese Q&A already calls this out as a recommended pull. If it lands early, North Road stops being a flee simulator.
Generic all-status resist / Water Guard type. Not as clean as a perfect null, but it covers the “I do not know the next dungeon yet” problem. Good on Diana while you learn combat.
Holy or dark resist for Protea / castle basement. Cardinal and finale are magic-heavy. A dedicated magic-bulk card on the person taking shade nukes is A.
B — situational
Element-boost cards (fire for plants, holy for undead). Great when you already know the next map from the walkthrough, dead weight in the castle if you forgot to swap.
Counter / niche boss cards. Tear Beast’s auto-counter makes extra physical-counter cards weird; sometimes you want to stop hitting. Read the tell first.
Revolution Army A and other story-loot cards. They are free; they are not always a reason to open the gacha.
C — album bait
Duplicate portraits, tiny gold bonuses, cards you keep because you like the chibi. Completionists will still grind them — the checklist has a row. Combat players can sell or dump when inventory screams.
Route 3’s VIP duel cards and casino prizes can jump a C into B if the effect is a hidden null. Identify by description, not by the word VIP.
How to spend without going broke
- Buy Repair Kits and Poison Rings first.
- Spin until you see a status-null, then stop for a while.
- Do not empty the wallet before Silved’s junior-rank gear.
- Put the best card on Lysithea or Diana, never on a temp the plot is about to delete.
- Route 3 casino (slots, poker) is extra income, not a Route 1 plan. Video notes live on tools.
Gacha in this game is a single-player gold sink, not a live-service pity banner. There is no daily gem. You cannot pay Steam to skip the machine. If a chart says you got a god pull at level 4, that is variance, not a strategy.
Card battles
Protea has a nearly hidden NPC under the item-shop machine who plays a rarity-only card match if Lea is present. No meaningful loot; extra gallery flags. Bring high-rarity junk, not your only sleep-null, in case the game uses equipped cards as the wager. Save first. Details: walkthrough.
Route 3 casino nobles can similarly punish a loss with a scene flag. Treat those as checklist rows, not as a way to rank the card pool.
Naming collisions
- Cards (this page) ≠ guild certificates ≠ revolution keys.
- Ether Knight is a class, not a card, though a Diana Knight card exists.
- Steam Family Sharing does not clone your album to a friend.
When DLC or a Kagura patch adds more chips, we will add rows. Until a name is confirmed in English, we rank the effect and let you match it in the inspect window.
If you hate the machine, you can still clear Route 1 with shop rings and Lysithea. The S-tier cards are shortcuts, not keys. The ritual in Ether Knight does not ask for a complete album.
Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers to the questions Imperial Knights players ask first.
What is the best card in Imperial Knights?
The sleep-null that keeps your healer awake for the final boss, then poison-null for Spirit Cave. Diana Knight is the best generic stat card.
Can I beat the game without gacha cards?
Yes. Poison Rings, Repair Kits, and Lysithea cover Route 1. Cards make bosses less annoying.
Do cards carry into New Game+?
NG+ is built to reuse progress, including board hires. Keep a save until you confirm the album carried on your build.
Should I equip cards on Tear?
Only if you will unequip them before she leaves after Mud Poison. Unique nulls belong on Diana or Lysithea.