This post contains basic build orders for the starter set (1 hero mode Bashing vs. Finesse), and for each of the monocolor decks for 3 hero mode. The monocolor decks have 3 plans each, one focusing on each of the 3 specs. These plans are far from perfect, but each has a coherent strategy with a strong win condition and a reasonable set of timings. As you learn more about Codex, you can and should modify these to work better as first or second player, or in a particular matchup.
One note on terminology: because the tech decision happens during your opponent’s turn, saying “tech this on turn 3” can be ambiguous. To be consistent, in all of these plans the turn number is the turn that ended just before you tech the card in. So your “T1” tech happens after you play your first turn and is locked in just before you start your second turn.
Bashing vs. Finesse (1 vs. 1)
Bashing plan
T1: Iron Man, Iron Man
T2: Revolver Ocelot, Intimidate
T3: Rhinoceros, Hired Stomper
T4: Rhinoceros, Eggship
T5: Trojan Duck, Trojan Duck
Strategy:
Finesse plan
T1: Nimble Fencer, Discord
T2: Nimble Fencer, Two Step
T3: Maestro, Appel Stomp
T4: Grounded Guide, Cloud Sprite
T5: Blademaster, Blademaster
Strategy: Play units that give bonuses to Virtuosos and overwhelm your opponent with your powered-up army
Blood Anarchs (Mono-Red)
Anarchy plan
T1: Lobber, Gunpoint Taxman
T2: Chaos Mirror, Lobber
T3: Disguised Monkey, Kidnapping
T4: Pirate Gunship, Disguised Monkey
T5: Pirate Gunship, Bloodlust
Worker Bloodburn, Pillage, Scorch, and Makeshift Rambaster
Strategy: Keep the board clear and build Tech 3 ASAP. Even if it gets destroyed once or twice, you can keep re-building for free until you can stick a Gunship and win.
Blood plan
T1: Crash Bomber, Crash Bomber
T2: Bloodlust, Kidnapping
T3: Captured Bugblatter, Crashbarrow
T4: Land Octopus, Flame Arrow
T5: Shoddy Glider, Desperation
Suggested workers: Bloodburn, Careless Musketeer, Scorch, Bombaster
Strategy: Leverage base damage from units dying to win a base race.
Fire plan
T1: Lobber, Lober
T2: Bloodlust, Chaos Mirror
T3: Pick 2 of Molting Firebird, Bamstamper Lizzo, Kidnapping
T4: Whatever wasn’t picked on T3 and the other Bamstamper Lizzo
T5: War Drums, Calypso Vystari
Suggested workers: Scorch, Careless Musketeer, Bloodburn, Mad Man
Strategy: Drakk’s abilities let Lobbers trade up and give Firebird haste to kill tech buildings. Don’t be afraid to dump gold into Zane just to sacrifice him; he can make really big plays! Try to chip away at the opponent’s base each of the first few turns, and you can end the game sooner than you’d think.
Moss Sentinels (Mono-Green)
Balance plan
T1: Tiny Basilisk, Centaur
T2: Dinosize, Galina Glimmer
T3: Potent Basilisk, Fairie Dragon
T4: T-Rex, Moment’s Peace
T5: T-Rex, Moment’s Peace
Strategy: Make good trades with your early units, focusing on keeping enemy Heroes off the board. Use Moment’s Peace to protect your Tech III, and then win with Dinosaurs.
Worker Rich Earth, Verdant Tree, Spore Shambler, and Ironbark Treant
Feral plan
T1: Murkwood Allies, Murkwood Allies
T2: Giant Panda, Galina Glimmer
T3: Gigadon, Gigadon
T4: Barkcoat Bear, Ferocity
T5: Moss Ancient, Moss Ancient
Strategy: Play Murkwood Allies as much as possible so you can play extremely cheap Gigadons at Tech II.
Workers: Tiger Cub, Verdant Tree, Rich Earth, Spore Shambler, Forest’s Favor
Growth plan
T1: Tiny Basilisk, Galina Glimmer
T2: Ferocity, Tiny Basilisk
T3: Might of Leaf and Claw, Blooming Ancient
T4: Moment’s Peace, Might of Leaf and Claw
T5: Stampede, Blooming Elm
Suggested workers: Rich Earth, Verdant Tree, Ironbark Treant, Forest’s Favor
Strategy: Play lots of low cost green units and tokens, and power them up with Blooming Ancient and Might of Leaf and Claw
Blackhand Scourge (Mono-Black)
Demonology plan
T1: Bone Collector, Bone Collector
T2: Plague Spitter, Sickness
T3: Blackhand Dozer, Voidblocker
T4: Shrine of Forbidden Knowledge, Doom Grasp
T5: Zarramonde, Zarramonde
Note: if you are planning to put Garth to max-band on any particular turn, and don’t already have a legal target in the discard pile (you’re allowed to check) swap out the first tech card listed for an appropriate unit (Twilight Baron if you don’t have Tech II active, Blackhand Dozer if you do).
Worker Jandra, the Negator, Poisonblade Rogue, Skeletal Archery, Pestering Haunt
Strategy: build board presence with strong units, supported by removal spells and build to your Tech III.
Disease plan
T1: Dark Pact, Bone Collector
T2: Shadow Blade, Hooded Executioner
T3: Cursed Crow, Metamorphosis
T4: Gorgon, Cursed Ghoul
T5: Carrion Curse, Death and Decay
Strategy: Use Vandy and Garth as a tag team with an early hero’s hall, create card advantage with Dark Pact, Thieving Imp and Shadow Blade. Aim to get a 3 hero Metamorph off around turn 5 or 6, fetching Cursed Crow with Garth maxband (change your tech before the turn you Metamorph to tech a Cursed Crow if you weren’t doing so already).
Worker: Jandra, the Negator, Skeletal Archery, Graveyard, Poisonblade Rogue, Pestering Haunt
Necromancy plan
T1: Bone Collector, Bone Collector
T2: Lich’s Bargain, Skeletal Lord
T3: Lord of Shadows, Dark Pact
T4: Lord of Shadows, Crypt Crawler
T5: Zarramonde, Dark Pact
Note: Try to max-band Garth once you have your tech II built. On the turn you do that, replace the second tech card with a Skeletal Lord, and fetch back the Skeletal Lord.
Strategy: Make as many skeletons as you can, then kill your opponent with enhanced Long Range attacks from Skeletal Archery, or just cheat in Tech III units (they don’t even need to be in spec!)
Worker Jandra, Poisonblade Rogue, Graveyard, and Pestering Haunt
Flagstone Dominion (Mono-Blue)
Law plan
T1: Brave Knight, Overeager Cadet
T2: Injunction, Overeager Cadet
T3: Justice Juggernaut, Censorship Council
T4: Judgement Day, Insurance Agent
T5: Lawbringer Gryphon, Community Service
Suggested workers: Bluecoat Musketeer, Traffic Director, Porkhand Magistrate, Building Inspector
Strategy: Lock out your opponent’s options until you can close them out with Lawbringer Gryphon and Justice Juggernaut
Peace plan
T1: Overeager Cadet, Free Speech
T2: Garrison, Overeager Cadet
T3: Drill Sergeant, Drill Sergeant
T4: Spectral Flagbearer, Hallucination
T5: Spectral Flagbearer, Boot Camp
Worker Bluecoat Musketeer, Lawful Search, Jail, and Manufactured Truth.
Strategy: Get down Garrison ASAP, then play lots of cheap units to block/attack. Once you have Drill Sergeants, your units will be huge, but if your opponent’s are bigger, use Hallucination to make them Illusions, then target then with Drill Sergeant’s ability.
Truth plan
T1: Tax Collector, Spectral Hound
T2: Free Speech, Spectral Hound
T3: Reteller of Truths, Macciatus the Whisoerer
T4: Reteller of Truths, Eyes of the Chancellor
T5: Liberty Gryphon, Liberty Gryphon
Strategy: Use Macciatus and Reteller to get good value out of your efficient yet fragile Illusion units
Whitestar Order (Mono-White)
Discipline plan
T1) Sparring Partner, Bird’s Nest
T2) Entangling Vines, Rambasa Twin
T3) Young Lightning Dragon, Vigor Adept
T4) Training Grounds, either Young Lightning Dragon or Mind-Parry Monk
T5) Whatever you didn’t pick from T4, and Earthquake or Fox’s Den Students based on which one you think you can cast.
Ninjutsu plan
T1: Bird’s Nest, Sparring Partner
T2: Rambasa Twin, Entangling Vines
T3: Porcupine, Glorious Ninja
T4: Porcupine, Fox’s Den Students
T5: Flying Fox, Fox’s Den Students
Suggested workers: Fox Primus, Morningstar Flagbearer, Fox Viper, Smoker
Strategy: Build board presence with efficient units / Rook, then transition to a max level Setsuki to get back the cards lost and finish things with swarms of stealthy ninjas.
Strategy:
Strength plan
T1: Sparring Partner, Bird’s Nest
T2: Sparring Partner, Speed of the Fox
T3: Whitestar Grappler, Doubling Barbarbarian
T4: Whitestar Grappler, Oathkeeper
T5: Oathkeeper, Earthquake
Worker Fox Viper, Grappling Hook, Fox Primus, and Smoker
Strategy:
Vortoss Conclave (Mono-Purple)
Past plan
T1: Stewardess of the Undone, Seer
T2: Seer, Rememberer
T3: Rememberer, Origin Story
T4: Shimmer Ray, Yesterday’s Golgort
T5: Shimmer Ray, Yesterday’s Golgort
Note: Build your Tech III. If you start a turn with your Tech III complete, and a Remember in play (or Rememberer + Seer/Time Spiral in hand) tech in one or more Ebbflow Archons (instead of what you would have brought in, or as optional techs if after turn 5).
Worker Temporal Research, Forgotten Fighter, Tinkerer, Neo Plexus
Strategy: Flood the board with free units from Rememberer, and guarantee yourself an Ebbflow Archon as soon as possible. Use Hardened Mox, Stewardess, and sacrificial Heroes to stall and protect the Tech II.
Present plan
T1: Stewardess of the Undone, Stewardess of the Undone
T2: Argonaut, Origin Story
T3: Hyperion, Tricycloid
T4: Temporal Distortion, Immortal
T5: Rewind, Temporal Distortion
Suggested workers: Plasmodium, Tinkerer, Forgotten Fighter, Neo Plexus
Strategy: Attack/use abilities with your powerful Tech II units, then use Temporal Distortion to turn them into other Tech II units and do it again!
Future plan
T1: Stewardess of the Undone, Argonaut
T2: Undo, Promise of Payment
T3: Void Star, Xenostalker
T4: Void Star, Now!
T5: Origin Story, Xenostalker
Suggested workers: Battle Suits, Hardened Mox, Tinkerer, Plasmodium
Strategy: Hinder your opponent’s offense until you can use juiced Void Stars to Overpower patrollers and smash important heroes or tech buildings with the same attack.