Turn income into troops and damage
Turn the King of Greed's economy into a winning army by establishing Vault income, holding gold to maintain Mercenary numbers, and developing Palace and Dispenser as your damage sources. Save while your defense holds; spend when a clear improvement to damage or survival is worth the smaller Mercenary force.
What each core card contributes
| Card | Role and priority |
|---|---|
| Vault | Produces 3 gold per level each year and levels itself automatically. Place it early enough to benefit from that growth, while keeping enough combat strength to survive the battles ahead. |
| Palace | Greed's base generates gold by killing designated enemies. Treat it as part of your damage plan as well as your economy, and prioritize its development when enemies survive your defensive line. |
| Mercenary | Troop count follows your available treasury, with a unit for every 9 gold held. Saving therefore grows the army, while purchases and paid rerolls can immediately reduce the bodies protecting your damage sources. |
| Dispenser | A single-target tower whose attack speed scales with gold earned. Establish it early so your income also develops a damage source, rather than relying entirely on the size of your Mercenary crowd. |
The Greed build play loop
- Establish damage before committing everything to income. Place a Dispenser when it arrives and prioritize its early upgrades. Develop Palace alongside it when your board needs more killing power, so saving gold remains a choice you can afford.
- Place Vaults while your combat board can support the investment. They generate gold and level automatically each year. An early Vault has more time to contribute, but another income building is a poor priority when the next battle already looks dangerous.
- Add Mercenaries and preserve the treasury that sustains them. Their numbers rise with the gold you hold. Before buying anything, consider whether the remaining force can still hold enemies long enough for Palace and Dispenser to do their work.
- Choose an economy engine when a suitable decree appears. Speculation supports continued Vault growth, while Supplies gives you a hand containing Greed's cards. Favor the option that solves your current shortage instead of chasing a fixed decree order regardless of the board.
- Use Earthworks to expand your Vault engine when the card is available. Applying it to a maxed Vault can turn that plot into new Vault cards that grow again after placement. Reserve space for the returned cards before committing to the move.
- Reassess spending after each battle. Keep banking gold when the army holds comfortably, and spend deliberately when damage or survival falls behind. If repeated emergency purchases keep draining the treasury, shift your attention toward Palace and Dispenser rather than forcing a larger Mercenary plan.
When saving beats shopping
Hold gold when your Mercenaries are doing their job and your damage sources are clearing battles. Merchant prices rise as you buy, and repeated rerolls also consume the money supporting your army. Approach a shop with a specific gap to fill, such as missing damage or an important support card, instead of buying every useful-looking option.
Over-invest is a deliberate trade: it spends 30 gold to increase every stat of its target by 15%. Compare that improvement with the Mercenary strength you surrender by spending the gold. Favor it when strengthening a key combat plot addresses the battle you are struggling with, and the smaller defensive force can still hold.
Place troops and supports around their jobs
Keep Mercenaries on accessible defensive plots, with Palace and Dispenser providing the main damage. If you acquire a Mob, put it between Mercenary plots so it touches the troops gaining units. The Mob gains a unit whenever a different adjacent card gains one, allowing it to benefit from the treasury-driven growth.
Place a Beacon beside the combat plot you want to support. Its yearly effect increases attack speed and movement speed on adjacent plots. Choose its position around the part of your army that needs help, while preserving useful Mercenary and Mob adjacency.
Choose decrees for the bottleneck
| Option | When it helps |
|---|---|
| Speculation | Raises the Vault level cap to 99. Choose it to extend an established Vault economy when you can survive while that income develops. |
| Yield | Pays 9% of your current gold each year. It suits a treasury you can preserve, making restraint at shops especially valuable. |
| Supplies | Provides a hand containing every Greed card. Consider it when access to the deck's pieces matters more than extending the economy already on the board. |
| Overwork | Works with Vault. Weigh it as an income-supporting option when your combat board is stable enough to benefit from further economic development. |
| Conscription | Do not choose it to grow Mercenary numbers. Their count follows your gold, so the extra yearly unit does not stick. |
Fix the weak opening before hoarding harder
Greed rewards long-term planning but struggles early against large enemy counts and fast attacks. When enemies overwhelm the board, prioritize functional damage and defense before adding another economic commitment. Palace and Dispenser should help turn the time your Mercenaries buy into cleared battles.
Area damage is dangerous to a Mercenary crowd. Avoid the Kings of Time and Stone as early enemies when the choice allows it. If the same weakness keeps costing battles, reconsider where you invest rather than assuming a larger treasury will solve every matchup.
Use the updated economy rules
9 Kings reached its full release on November 12, 2026. Older advice budgeting 15 gold per Mercenary uses the previous cost; the balance changes reduced it to 9 gold and made Vaults level automatically each year. After installing a patch, start a fresh run as the developer advises so the run includes the updates.