Monster Train 2: The Punished Price and Clan Guide

Monster Train 2: The Punished launches on November 10, 2026, adding a paid clan built around deliberately damaging friendly units. Shiny Shoe's announced US price is $7.99, and the Steam version requires Monster Train 2. Archus and Zariel lead the clan, with champion paths that reward different uses of damage, positioning and the new Monolith system.

Release, price and the base-game requirement

The developer's DLC announcement names November 10 for PC and consoles. That date is a release plan, not a promise that every platform's store unlocks at the same local hour. The announcement does not supply one worldwide unlock time, so check your platform's listing before arranging a launch session.

On Steam, The Punished store page explicitly requires the base game. Check the title in your library before buying: Monster Train and Monster Train 2 are different games, and this expansion belongs to the sequel. The announced dollar price is a US reference, not a conversion for every store region or a guarantee about local taxes.

The page is listed as downloadable content, so buying it is an addition to your existing game access. If you play through a subscription, check that the base game remains available under your plan before buying an expansion for that version. Our Game Pass November guide explains why the plan and platform both matter when checking access.

Friendly damage has several different jobs

The Steam listing describes Punish as a trigger for damage from friendly spells or abilities. Bloodshed rewards damage taken by a friendly unit on the same floor. Those conditions are worth reading separately when building a deck: a card that responds to friendly damage is not automatically equivalent to one that responds to any hit.

Chained transfers the consequences to enemies, while Tenacious prevents friendly damage from dealing a killing blow to the protected ally. Those mechanics suggest a practical order for learning the clan. First identify the unit you want to strengthen, then check which damage source triggers its effect and whether the unit can survive the sequence.

The DLC has not launched yet, so these combinations are still something to try when it arrives. A self-damage card needs a payoff that justifies its health cost on the floor you are building. Watch what happens after the trigger resolves, including how much health remains for the next enemy hit.

What the Monolith changes during a run

The Monolith accepts Tribute through Ember spending and discarded cards. That raises Devotion across the run. Higher Devotion levels improve certain cards and give newly summoned units stacks of Zeal, which increases Attack and maximum Health.

This adds another use for resources you might otherwise spend on an immediate play. Before offering a card, consider what you need for the current wave and what the next summon gains. The announced system rewards planning across turns, but the opportunity cost remains visible: an offered card is not available for the same immediate use.

Read the in-game keyword text when the DLC arrives, especially the duration of a buff and the conditions that activate it. Devotion can affect later summons, while the next incoming hit is an immediate problem. Spending for future strength still needs to leave you able to survive the current fight.

Archus and Zariel offer different starting points

Shiny Shoe's champion-path preview describes two champions. Archus has paths involving Punish, Flight and Darkshards, including support that changes how a floor handles damage. Zariel's paths include Chained, Pain-related effects and a Devotion interaction.

The preview also says Zeal increases Attack and maximum Health by one per stack and loses one stack each turn. That makes timing relevant when reading a card's promised benefit. A large temporary bonus and a longer-term improvement to later summons are different rewards, even when both appear in the same run.

You can inspect the official path preview before launch, but it contains detailed ability spoilers. Players who prefer to discover champion upgrades during play can stop at the basic clan explanation and leave the path images for later.

Watch the launch stream for a full sequence

The official developer stream is scheduled for November 10 at 14:00 PST, which is 22:00 UTC. Shiny Shoe invites questions for the designers while the team plays a run. That is a useful place to see how the announced systems interact over several turns, rather than judging a single card in isolation.

Frequently asked questions