Earth has 42 Creature cards, the most of any element, with 14 Rare and 2 Extra. The Culdcept BEGINS best earth cards are led by Dark Master, and the reason Earth shows up in so many competitive Books is the Support package underneath it.
Culdcept BEGINS Best Earth Cards: Rare and Extra
Cost is shown with its deployment requirement; AT and HP are the printed values.
| Card | Cost and requirement | AT / HP | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dark Master | 120+ G, Earth land, discard | 60 / 80/80 | Scroll Critical Hit, Boost [Earth] AT+10; the user loses 100 magic at the end of the battle |
| Carbunfly | Extra, 100+ G, Fire land | 40 / 40/40 | Attacks First, Reflects Scroll Attacks, and revives as a Carbuncle if it is destroyed |
| Gooba | Extra, 0 G | 0 / 10/10 | A free Creature that Gooba Queen can deploy onto an empty territory |
| Kudzu Folk | 80 G | 30 / 30/30 | If it is destroyed while you hold four or fewer territories it revives as a Green Mold; Defensive and Regeneration |
| Vampire | 60+ G, Earth land | 40 / 40/40 | Attacks First, and on a successful attack its HP grows by the damage it dealt |
| Mandrake | 60+ G, Earth land | 10 / 50/50 | If its HP is 20 or under when the battle ends, both it and the opposing creature are destroyed |
| Sakuya | 60+ G, Earth land | 20 / 30/30 | Support, and a Territory Ability that converts one of your territories to Earth for 120 G |
| Humbaba | 50+ G, Earth land, discard | 50 / 40/40 | Boost [Air] AT-10, and on a successful attack it adds Poison to the enemy creature |
| Shambling Vine | 50+ G, Earth land | 20 / 40/40 | Penetrates against Fire and Earth, gains AT equal to your Earth territories ×10, and gains 20 HP if either creature carries an enchantment |
| T'ao T'ieh | 50+ G, Earth land | 40 / 40/40 | On victory its base AT, HP and MHP all rise by 20 |
| Basilisk | 50+ G, Earth land | 30 / 40/40 | A 40% Instant Death, and at the end of the battle it lowers the level of the territory by one |
| Coati | 30+ G, Earth land | 30 / 30/30 | In battle it gains AT equal to the number of Earth creatures in play ×5 |
| Gooba Queen | 30+ G, Earth land | 10 / 40/40 | A Territory Ability that deploys a Gooba onto a vacant territory of your choice for 20 G |
| Odradek | 30 G | 20 / 20/20 | Support, and its HP and MHP cannot be altered by spells |
| Sage | 50 G | 20 / 30/30 | Support, and immune to Destroy Item and Steal Item effects |
Two of them are cheap and change the board on their own: Gooba costs nothing and can be deployed onto an empty territory, and Sakuya converts one of your lands to Earth for 120 G instead of making you fight for it.
Earth's Support Package
Earth is the element with the strongest Support package — Dryad, Great Tusker, Woodfolk, Sage, Odradek and Sakuya — which is why Earth appears in most Fire/Earth competitive lists. Support Creatures buff the Creature they support and can use creature cards from your hand as items, so they are worth slots of their own. Deck building covers how to give each of them a job inside 40 slots.
Why Earth Shows Up in Fire/Earth Books
Two elements that each bring their own support Creatures can support themselves, which is exactly what Fire and Earth do. Best element combinations explains why that pairing is the standard opening choice.