Best Frosthaven starting party
You can pick any six. What actually decides a first campaign is whether the party has someone to stand in front, someone to heal, and enough damage to end a fight before the cards run out.
2 players
- Drifter · Low
- Boneshaper · Medium
One body that can hold a doorway, one that brings extra bodies and healing. The Drifter covers whatever the party is missing that scenario, which matters most when there are only two of you.
Swap: If nobody wants to summon: Drifter + Deathwalker. You lose the healing, so plan on short fights.
3 players
- Banner Spear · Low
- Drifter · Low
- Boneshaper · Medium
Banner Spear brings the front line and the buffs, the Drifter flexes, the Boneshaper keeps everyone upright. The summons double as the ally the Banner Spear needs to stand next to for formation attacks.
Swap: Trading the Boneshaper for Deathwalker makes the party hit harder and heal less. Fine if you are playing scenarios you already know.
4 players
- Banner Spear · Low
- Drifter · Low
- Boneshaper · Medium
- Deathwalker · Medium
Two front-line bodies, a support that also produces bodies, and a fourth class that gets stronger as the fight goes on. Nothing here needs a second read to play.
Swap: Swapping in Blinkblade for the Drifter is the aggressive version: more damage, less margin for a mistake.
The three jobs
Every starting party wants three jobs covered: a figure that can absorb attacks, a way to recover health, and damage that does not run out of cards on round five. Six classes means you can cover all three without anyone doubling up.
Pairs to avoid on the first run
Blinkblade and Geminate in the same party is two high-complexity classes at one table, and the party still has no real healer. Bone with Deathwalker is a different problem: both want something to die before they come online, so a slow scenario leaves both of them waiting.
Banner Spear needs an ally standing in a specific place for its big attacks. Cephalofair's own starter tips for the class make the same point: the formation attacks are where the damage lives. If your group tends to scatter across the map, the Banner Spear will feel weak for reasons that have nothing to do with the cards.
After the first retirement
The composition question comes back every time someone retires, because the class goes back in the box and the next character starts fresh. Keep the three jobs covered and you can rotate freely; that is also the point where the XP calculator starts mattering, since a new character begins at level 1 with no XP.