Last Updated on by Samuel Franklin
Our Mindthief Gloomhaven guide optimises this high skill starting character with card, builds, perk, card enhancements and equipment recommendations. With a playstyle of invisibility, quick movement, summoning, looting and crowd control this Vermling character is a master of moving across the scenario and avoiding return damage.
Table of Contents:
– Mindthief Cards, Perks, Enhancements and Items Overview
– Mindthief Cards Detailed
– Mindthief Perks Detailed
– Mindthief Enhancements Detailed
– Mindthief Items Detailed
Gloomhaven Mindthief Guide Overview
This overview section is your template to a flexible Mindthief that is effective across scenarios for most playstyles and party compositions. These recommendations focus on the Mindthief’s powerful single target damage which support from movement and crowd control.
Mindthief Cards Overview
- Level 1: Remove Possession, Parasitic Influence and Withering Claw to create your starting deck of cards
- Level 2: Hostile Takeover replaces Submissive Affliction
- Level 3: Silent Scream replaces Gnawing Horde
- Level 4: Cranium Overload replaces Empathetic Assault
- Level 5: Mass Hysteria replaces Fearsome Blade
- Level 6: Dark Frenzy replaces Hostile Takeover
- Level 7: Corrupting Embrace replaces Feedback Loop
- Level 8: Shared Nightmare replaces Scurry
- Level 9: Phantasmal Killer replaces Into The Night
Mindthief Perks Priority Overview
- Remove two -1 cards (take twice)
- Replace one -2 with +0
- Replace two +1 cards with two +2 cards
- Remove four zeros
- Add one +2 ice (take twice)
- Ignore negative scenario effects
Mindthief Enhancements Priority Overview
- Add +1 range to the bottom of Perverse Edge
- Add wound or +1 attack to the top of Frigid Apparition
- Add strengthen to the bottom of Empathetic Assault
Mindthief Items Priority Overview
- Minor Stamina Potion
- Cloak of Invisibility
- Boots of Striding
- Minor Healing Potion
- Iron Helmet
Gloomhaven Mindthief Guide Detailed
This detailed section goes deeper into your Mindthief build decisions and explains potential alternatives for advanced players or specific party dynamics.
Mindthief Cards Detailed
The Mindthief cards below are in unlock order with detail of where each card is strong or weak.
- The Mind’s Weakness (Starting): The defining card for the Mindthief and the core augment due to the +2 melee attack. An important advanced tactic to eventually learn with any augment is discarding them before a rest in order to recover them. When done on a rest cycle that would have had an odd number of cards otherwise you’ll boost your longevity by a decent amount although keep in mind this is a trade off in immediate damage as you will need to spend a round to replay the augment after resting.
- Empathetic Assault (Starting): A card that gives a small heal and movement card. The low initiative also makes this a fantastic setup card that we want to hold onto so avoid using the top until the end of a scenario for experience and burst damage.
- Fearsome Blade (Starting): A card that is easy to overlook but provides the valuable push to utilise traps for additional enemy damage. The bottom can be safely ignored as it isn’t worth a loss but does give us 2 experience to play at the end of the scenario when we do utilise this card.
- Feedback Loop (Starting): The top shield augment has some niche scenario uses although generally we want to avoid damage entirely. Despite this Feedback Loop is a regular addition to our Mindthief deck given it provides an important jump movement bottom to help position around enemies and a late initiative to create slow and then fast combos across two rounds.
- Gnawing Horde (Starting): As a level 1 summon this rat swarm is quite durable at 6 health although the melee attack and slow movement means they are unlikely to contribute much. This card is still useful for the reliable bottom move, high intiative to balance our lower ones and the 2 easy experience toward the end of a scenario.
- Into the Night (Starting): A fantastic core card that has great flexibility, dark generation and the useful loot utility. With the loot on top it is easy to move into the perfect position before using it and when our +2 attack augment is active even the basic attack option is worth +4 if you don’t need the loot or invisibility.
- Parasitic Influence (Starting): A Mindthief augment card that heals with each melee attack to provide some safety although we are sacrifing damage to use this augment over The Mind’s Weakness. The bottom is nicely on theme of the Mindthief and will occasionally be able to score you some trap damage but isn’t consistent enough to be a strong card.
- Perverse Edge (Starting): A core level 1 card for the bottom ranged stun attack action, initiative, ice generation and easy experience acquisition. The top is less useful but this card is the perfect for using the ice requirement stun of Frigid Apparition.
- Scurry (Starting): A card that looks weak initially but when buffed by The Mind’s Weakness augment turns into a decent attack with the ability to move in the same action. With the useful intiative to balance fast and slow and looting action this card will stick around for a while as its highly flexible.
- Submissive Affliction (Starting): A weaker starting card given it requires some conditions for both its top and bottom action. When augment buffed the attack is decent and provides reliable experience to help progress past the early levels.
- Frigid Apparition (Starting): This card is perfect for the ice element by adding a stun to a reusable attack. Even if we lack ice the damage output of this card at level 1 with our favourite augment gives us 5 attack for massive damage.
- Possession (Starting): Another card that captures the theme of the Mindthief as we take control of our allies. Unfortunately neither of these actions is particularly useful as we have a top loss with moderate burst at level 1 but requires several positioning conditions to be met and a bottom that lets us move an ally which is something that will rarely be required if we plan carefully ahead.
- Withering Claw (Starting): A starting augment that simply doesn’t compete with the raw attack power added by The Mind’s Weakness although muddle and poison can be used in some specific scenarios. The bottom can also be a useful way to trap an enemy in place and run away if that is required regularly for a campaign scenario.
- Hostile Takeover (Level 2): Provides a useful ranged attack to apply immobilise that can easily prevent a melee enemy from moving towards us or an ally with the low initiative. The bottom is best used as a quick intitiatve default movement action as the loss portion of the card has limited uses altough acts like a stun by removing the enemy turn.
- Wretched Creature (Level 2): Melee summons are weak in Gloomhaven beyond beyond absorbing a hit or two and this card has less health than our starting summon. The bottom is definitely tempting though but we simply lack easy dark generation to make use of the curse and the nature of curse is random compared to our other sources of guaranteed crowd control like stuns.
- Brain Leech (Level 3): With our augment active this bottom turns into a 3 attack that also strengthens us for additional damage but I do recommend the alternative level 3 card for a few reasons. Most notably bottom attacks aren’t as powerful on us as other characters as we don’t want to be in sustained fights given our goal is to jump in, out and around the battlefield. The weak top loss is also practically useless as we can’t afford to play it, its a ranged attack not buffed by our main augment and gives us a heal that if playing correctly we shouldn’t need.
- Silent Scream (Level 3): This might not seem like the better option at level 3 as the top is an augment that won’t get any usage but the bottom is giving us something we actually need at this level with a reliable 3 move while balancing out or low and high initiatives for combo rounds. A 2 push card with move is also a great addition to any scenario with traps which can even become a deadly 3 push with elemental enhancement offering great flexibility.
- Cranium Overload (Level 4): A ranged execution attack on a normal enemy with some area of effect attached makes this an okay loss in the right situation. The strength of it though is the fantastic initiative of 5 and a 5 move bottom that gives plenty of movement for our role.
- Pilfer (Level 4): A unique top loot action that lets us create gold from thin air if enemies are around that turns a risky play into potentially a great reward. Given we have other priorities when in the midst of combat this card is simply best skipped given the bottom loss isn’t doing much either.
- Frozen Mind (Level 5): An augment that turns every single attack into a stun is an interesting mechanic and even though it requires ice to take effect we actually have two ice generation options across our deck currently and a third coming in a few levels (and a fourth on the other level 5 card). For the wealthy player that is happy to throw all manner of ice enhancements on their cards and is happy to take both level 5 options by giving up something else later you’ll actually have a deadly stunning Mindthief. While no doubt fun and reasonably effective this is a bit more of a niche pathway than the standard Mindthief build path.
- Mass Hysteria (Level 5): The bottom of Mass Hysteria sounds fantastic but you quickly realise in practice it just isn’t viable because you’ll be effectively locking up 3 cards (2 augments and playing this loss) which is more than we can absorb. Despite this the top is an incredible utility card that lets us muddle 4 enemies within 4 range to reduce the damage coming towards our team. While the base damage on a single target is lacking when you factor in the multiple targets hit and the potential rolls from our attack modifier deck it can turn into something respectable while we get to generate our core ice element in the process.
- Corrupting Embrace (Level 6): Leaning into the concept of debuffing foes this card is useful and don’t be fooled by the 1 attack values that are easily buffed up to 3 each with our favourite augment. The result is a total of 7 attack when factoring in the poison that has no requirements and applies two useful debuffs on the enemy. The bottom isn’t quite as strong but does provide an important jump and dark generatio. A middling initiative can cause some issues when trying to play this card so be sure to carefully pair it with something with a clearer initiative.
- Dark Frenzy (Level 6): When our two elements are available and we have our augment active this is a potential repeatable 8 attack for burst damage. When we don’t have the elements available we can use the bottom instead to move, attack and generate ice with a fantastic initiative of 10. Between this level 6 card and our other level 6 card (that I recommend taking at level 7) we have two boosts that our playstyle as enemies get stronger.
- Psychic Projection (Level 7): An odd card with the top healing us and granting a shield with the trade off being a stun to the Mindthief. If playing as intended we shouldn’t be in desperate need for the healing and the stun means lost damage potential which is our party role. The bottom might have been tempting if it wasn’t a loss as we do actually acquire some good ranged cards but this card is never worth taking.
- Vicious Blood (Level 7): Retaliate is not a strong Gloomhaven mechanic given its reliance on enemies attacking you (which is not guaranteed) and the fact that we need to loss some health in the process. The bottom is a little better with a move and attack value of 4 with our augment but it’s significantly weaker than going back and grabbing our other level 6 card most of the time.
- Domination (Level 8): If this wasn’t a level 8 card it will be worth consideration as it would effectively give one of allies a 6 attack provided we have a melee ally in our party. At this stage in the game though that just doesn’t cut it compared to our other level 8 option with the bottom of this card also having niche uses only.
- Shared Nightmare (Level 8): Another great initiative card that we can add to our growing number of sub 10 options that allow us to achieve our intended attack and run playstyle. This card also has two useful halves with the top allowing us to deal moderate damage at a solid range of 4 against two targets while applying poison and curse provided we have the required dark. Meanwhile the bottom 5 move is a backup if we’ve lost some move cards during short rests or simply when we need to move quickly towards or away from battle with a shield buff that doesn’t hurt to have but is not going to play a significant factor in our decision to play this.
- Many as One (Level 9): The best of our summons the Rat King has a decent health pool that allows them to survive several hits while also having a unique damage mechanic tied to their hit point value. Unfortunately this doesn’t overcome the general weakness of melee summons in Gloomhaven and when we consider a situational loss bottom it’s easy to choose our other level 9 card.
- Phantasmal Killer (Level 9): The first real augment that we might actually swap out with our favourite level 1 card (The Mind’s Weakness) as it provides a way to assassinate a normal enemy. It’s unfortunate that this card is really the first time where you can start to live out that fantasy of swapping augments in and out for the situation at hand as intended by the Mindthief’s character design. The bottom is also a direct upgrade for Into the Night and gives us important utility with move, loot, dark generation and invisibility in one action so is the clear choice for our final level up.
Mindthief Perks Detailed
Mindthief perks focus on improving our attack modifiers by removing negatives and then buff the positives before taking out zeroes to shift our damage expectations beyond just what it says on our card.
After this core add some ice as this is our useful element before removing negative scenario effects that can often ruin our plans and are particularly dangerous to the Mindthief.
Mindthief Enhancements Detailed
The Mindthief doesn’t rely on enhancements but they still add utility or damage. With our loot cards the Mindthief also naturally gains gold over time relatively quickly to invest into either enhancements or items.
Adding a range to the bottom of Perverse Edge increases the power and usability of this stun card. If you’re lacking a healer adding strengthen on the bottom of Empathetic Assault is a nice cost effective buff to damage output. Lastly and the lowest priority overall is the addition of wound or attack to the top of Frigid Apparition given it is a staple attack and cost effective damage over a scenario.
If you’re rich and looking for other options to enhance then cards like Shared Nightmare, Cranium Overload, Dark Frenzy, Mass Hysteria, Silent Scream and Phantasmal Killer all have something to consider although most of these are not cheap so make sure you have all your item needs first and your party members have enough gold too.
Mindthief Items Detailed
The Mindthief prosperity level 1 item choices are Minor Stamina Potion and Cloak of Invisibility. This helps our longevity, creates some useful back to back combinations of cards and provides useful utility when we need to go invisible. Boots of Striding are a nice early game item although once you reach mid game you’ll generally find yourself having an abundance of movement anyway and rarely using them so consider if other party members need them before buying.
Past these items as you progress in prosperity you’ll want to consider hand items that consistently power your attacks or turn them into multi target attacks as this can significantly boost your power level.
For information and build guides on other Gloomhaven character options visit our Gloomhaven classes overview and the related Gloomhaven class tier list.
