I remember the first time I saw Hollow Crown’s stat block.
“1 life,” I said out loud. “This should be easy.”
It was not easy.
Hollow Crown cannot be dealt damage. Its actual win condition is buried in the rules: if there are no Acolytes in play at the end of any turn, the players win. There are nine Acolytes. Which means the life is, for all practical purposes, 99 — and each of those nine Acolytes has its own blood magic effect that will make your life complicated in a different way.
What finally made this fight click wasn’t raw damage output. It was understanding the order in which things need to die.
A Boss You Can’t Actually Hit
To be clear about the mechanics: Hollow Crown has 1 life but is immune to all damage. The only way to win is to eliminate all nine Acolytes so that none remain in play at the end of a turn.
The Acolyte deck contains all nine followers. They enter play via the nemesis’s Unleash effect and linger there doing damage every round. Your real job isn’t attacking the Crown — it’s clearing the board.
Your Defense Priorities
Before we get to the Acolytes, one foundational point:
Priority 1 — Player’s life. Priority 2 — Gravehold.
That said, you want to keep both relatively balanced. Damage will sometimes be forced onto one side or the other — that’s unavoidable. What you can control is making sure you have recovery options lined up before you need them. Secure healing early.
The Nine Acolytes — Who to Kill First
Here’s the breakdown of each Acolyte and how to think about them.
Bezu
Effect: Gravehold and this minion each suffer 1 damage for each spell prepped by the player with the most prepped spells.
Bezu damages itself alongside Gravehold, which is useful — it’ll chip away at its own health. If Gravehold has a reasonable life buffer, there’s no urgency to kill Bezu. Lower priority.
Edryss Tragg
Effect: Any player suffers 2 damage. Then, if that player has 5 life or less, this minion suffers 2 damage.
Another self-damaging type, which helps. But watch out: when Lurzan shows up alongside Edryss Tragg, suddenly being at low life becomes doubly dangerous. Kill Edryss Tragg before that situation spirals. Higher priority.
Holadran
Effect: Two different players each suffer 1 damage.
You get to distribute the damage, which is actually a gift. In 4-mage play, keep one player’s life in reserve and spread the remaining damage evenly across the other three. Manageable.
Kurgax
Effect: Gravehold suffers 1 damage. Any player suffers 1 damage.
Straightforward split damage. Decide who takes the player hit based on how the Acolyte situation is looking overall.
Lurzan
Effect: The player with the lowest life suffers 1 damage.
This is where keeping life balanced pays off. If one mage is running significantly lower than the others — from Edryss Tragg, from Holadran, from anything — Lurzan punishes them repeatedly. Keeping life equalized across your team is the direct counter. Higher priority to kill.
Mord
Effect: Gravehold suffers 3 damage — OR — Any player loses 1 charge, Gravehold suffers 1 damage, and this minion suffers 1 damage.
Take the second option whenever possible (lose 1 charge instead of letting Gravehold eat 3). The catch: if nobody has charges, you can’t choose it. Keep at least one charge banked on someone specifically for this.
Nhavkalas
Effect: Gravehold suffers 3 damage. This minion suffers 1 damage.
Three damage to Gravehold every round is brutal. It hits itself, but that’s cold comfort when your city is bleeding. High priority to eliminate.
Ren-Goda
Effect: Any player suffers 2 damage — OR — Any player suffers 1 damage and discards their most expensive card in hand.
Early game, you want to avoid losing expensive gems. Take the 2-damage option to keep your hand intact. Later, if your hand is mostly Sparks and Crystals with one spare, the discard option becomes fine.
Solara
Effect: Any player discards 2 cards in hand. This minion suffers 3 damage.
Solara only makes you discard cards — which stings but doesn’t drain life — and it damages itself for 3. On paper, low priority. But here’s the catch: late game, with Unleash happening five or more times per round, you could end up discarding ten cards in a single round. Zero spells prepped, zero momentum.
If you can choose, save Solara for last. Finishing with Solara as the final Acolyte makes the endgame significantly easier.
Supply Picks for the Early Game
One clear takeaway for the early game: prioritize Frozen Magmite, Scoria Slag, and Erratic Ingot early in the market to help manage power cards. Locking in these gems before you need them gives you options when the pressure ramps up.
Summary
- Hollow Crown can’t be damaged — the win condition is eliminating all nine Acolytes
- Balance player’s life across your team; Lurzan punishes whoever falls behind
- Kill order priority: Nhavkalas (Gravehold 3 dmg), Lurzan (lowest life targeting), Edryss Tragg (before Lurzan combos) — lower priority for Bezu and Solara
- Keep at least 1 charge banked so you can always take Mord’s reduced damage option
- Save Solara for last — its late-game discard pressure is real, but it’s manageable as the final target
- Early market picks: Frozen Magmite, Scoria Slag, Erratic Ingot
Tested in 4-mage mode. Mileage may vary in solo or 2-mage, but the core priority logic holds.
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