Ch.2 / 6 SP / survival
Healer (priority 1) + Archer (priority 2). Your SP is limited so keep one Healer use in reserve for the final round.
Block Tales Best Summon -- Summon Card Tier List and Matchup Finder
Pick the best summon card for your chapter, SP budget, and fight type. The interactive finder scores each summon against your inputs, then ranks them side by side. Full tier table and SP efficiency notes below.
TL;DR -- Summon Card Quick Picks
- Chapters 1-2: Healer for survival, Archer for damage. Both start available and cover your two biggest needs early on.
- Chapter 3+: Big Bad Wolf replaces Archer as your primary damage summon. Witch adds control utility before burst windows.
- Chapter 5 boss fights: Knight Captain before danger phases, Big Bad Wolf for add waves, Healer in reserve.
- Not every fight needs a damage summon. When a fight is a survival test, two Healer uses beat one BBW use.
Summon Matchup Finder
Enter your current chapter, SP budget for the fight, and the main fight scenario. The finder scores each summon card against your inputs and ranks them with a side-by-side comparison.
No summons matched your filters. Try a higher SP budget or different chapter.
Full Summon Tier Table
All 10 summon cards ranked from S to C, with SP cost, damage, healing, and the key "best for" and "not ideal for" notes. Tier assignments reflect performance across normal clears tested between Chapters 1 and 5.
| Summon | Tier | Unlocks | SP Cost | Uses | Damage | Healing | Roles | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big Bad Wolf | S | Ch.3+ | 4 SP | 1x | 4.2 | -- | damage, aoe | Clearing add waves and chipping bosses without spending your own turn on weak attacks. |
| Healer | S | Ch.2+ | 3 SP | 2x | -- | 5.0 | heal, support | First-clear survival when your party SP is too low to run Cure or Prayer every round. |
| Knight Captain | A | Ch.2+ | 3 SP | 2x | 1.5 | -- | defense, support | Buying a safe turn before a dangerous boss phase without spending your main card action. |
| Archer | A | Ch.1+ | 2 SP | 2x | 2.3 | -- | damage | Early chapters where you need consistent chip damage without high SP investment. |
| Witch | A | Ch.3+ | 3 SP | 1x | 2.0 | -- | control, support | Applying a status debuff before a burst window without using a card slot for Daze. |
| Thunder Dragon | B | Ch.4+ | 5 SP | 1x | 5.5 | -- | damage, burst | Single big damage turn on a boss when you have spare SP and want to spike total output. |
| Stone Golem | B | Ch.3+ | 4 SP | 1x | 0.5 | -- | defense, tank | Surviving a single dangerous boss mechanic without burning heal cards. |
| Fire Mage | B | Ch.2+ | 3 SP | 2x | 2.8 | -- | damage, burn | Building burn pressure on enemies that stay alive for multiple rounds. |
| Medic | C | Ch.1+ | 2 SP | 3x | -- | 2.5 | heal | Early game when no better heal summon is available. |
| Shadow Assassin | C | Ch.4+ | 4 SP | 1x | 3.6 | -- | damage, single-target | High single-target damage if you already have a reliable heal plan and can afford 4 SP. |
Damage and healing values are normalized estimates from in-game testing. Exact numbers depend on party size and card synergies. See the Builds Calculator for full party planning.
Tested Setup Examples
These are real scenarios from playtesting different chapter and SP configurations. Click the matchup finder above to generate your own.
Ch.5 / 12 SP / boss
Big Bad Wolf for burst, Knight Captain before the rage phase. Save 4 SP for the Trinity Castle sequence before this fight.
Ch.3 / 8 SP / aoe
Big Bad Wolf handles the wave. Witch on the miniboss. Healer on standby if the wave stall costs HP.
Ch.4 / 10 SP / damage
Thunder Dragon for the spike turn. Shadow Assassin as backup single-target. Skip defensive summons to close fights faster.
How Summon Cards Work in Block Tales
Summon cards (also called call cards) are a separate card type that spends SP on your turn to call in a helper ally. The ally acts right away -- dealing damage, healing the party, or applying a status condition -- then leaves the field. This means using a summon does not sacrifice your card-action slot for that turn, which is why a well-timed Healer summon can let you keep attacking while also recovering HP.
Each summon carries a fixed use count that resets between encounters but does not refill mid-fight. Big Bad Wolf carries one use; Healer carries two; Medic carries three. Running out of uses mid-fight is the main reason players sometimes rate a summon lower than it deserves -- the card is not bad, the build just ran the summon dry too early in the fight.
SP cost is the main limiting factor across all chapters. In Chapters 1 and 2, a party often runs under 8 total SP, which means only Archer (2 SP), Medic (2 SP), and Healer (3 SP) fit without cutting core card actions. From Chapter 3 onward, SP Wire, Good Vibes, and Pity SP give you room to run the 4-5 SP summons that actually change fight outcomes.
Which Summons to Run by Chapter
Chapter 1 and 2 -- starter summons
Archer and Medic are your main options. Medic covers healing if you do not have Prayer yet. Archer adds chip damage on turns where your cards are committed to defense. Neither option is exciting, but both unlock early and do not drain your SP pool in a chapter where every point matters.
Chapter 3 -- first real upgrade window
Big Bad Wolf becomes available and changes what damage summons can do. If you can route the chapter to pick up BBW before the Harrowing Home stretch, the multi-hit aoe output against enemy groups is noticeably better than Archer. Witch also becomes an option here for control setups, though her single use limits how often she appears in a normal clear build.
Chapter 4 and 5 -- boss fight summons
Knight Captain earns its place as a way to absorb a single heavy hit before a dangerous boss phase. Thunder Dragon works when your SP support can cover the 5-point cost, but it requires Good Vibes or SP Wire in the party to not feel like a burden. Healer remains relevant through Chapter 5 because the Frostmaw fight's Cassie protection stretch is a prolonged survival challenge that chips through heal resources quickly.
SP Efficiency -- Getting Value from Summon Slots
The most useful frame for comparing summons is SP efficiency: output per SP point spent across all uses in a fight. Healer at 3 SP with two uses delivers 2 heal units per SP across the fight. Medic at 2 SP with three uses delivers 3.75 heal-efficiency per SP, but the absolute healing value is lower, so Medic wins on efficiency while losing on total output.
For damage summons, Archer at 2 SP delivers 2.3 damage per use with two uses, making it 2.3 damage per SP point. Big Bad Wolf at 4 SP delivers 4.2 damage in one use at 1.05 damage per SP -- a worse ratio but a better single-turn impact, which matters more in boss fights where you need the spike, not the grind.
The practical takeaway: in fights with multiple rounds where you need sustained pressure, SP efficiency favors Archer over BBW. In fights with a decisive turn -- a boss rage phase, a dangerous countdown -- the absolute spike of BBW or Thunder Dragon matters more than the ratio. This is why the matchup finder separates "boss fight" from "add wave" scenarios rather than giving a single universal ranking.
FAQ
What is the best summon in Block Tales?
Big Bad Wolf is the strongest damage summon in most situations from Chapter 3 onward because its multi-hit attack clears add waves and chips bosses without costing your own action. For pure survival, Healer is the more reliable pick with two uses per fight and steady party recovery.
How do summon cards work in Block Tales?
Summon cards (also called call cards) spend SP on your turn to bring in an ally that acts immediately. The ally deals damage, heals, or applies a status effect, then exits. Most summons have one to three uses before they are spent for the battle, resetting between separate encounters.
Which summon card should I unlock first?
Healer is the best first summon for new players because it covers your main weakness -- party sustain -- at a low SP cost of 3 with two uses. Archer is a solid early damage summon available from Chapter 1 if you want offensive options before better picks unlock.
Is Big Bad Wolf worth 4 SP in Chapter 3?
Yes, provided you have SP Wire or a tempo card to cover the cost. BBW deals roughly 4.2 damage units across multiple targets, which competes with running two weaker attack cards while also clearing any adds present in the fight.
When does Thunder Dragon become worth using?
Thunder Dragon is worth using in Chapter 4 and 5 boss fights where you have a party supporting SP recovery (Good Vibes, SP Wire, Pity SP) and can spare the 5 SP investment for a spike turn. Outside of that setup, the cost makes it a luxury rather than a staple.
What summon cards work in every chapter?
Healer and Archer both start at Chapter 1 and remain useful throughout. Healer scales because heal value stays relevant even as enemy HP grows. Archer falls off in late Chapter 4 and 5 compared to Thunder Dragon, but it never becomes useless if you need consistent chip.
Do summon cards stack with card effects?
Summon card effects and card effects apply separately on the same turn. You can use Power Stab plus a Healer summon in the same round if your SP supports it, dealing damage with the card while recovering HP from the summon simultaneously.
Which summons work best against Frostmaw?
Knight Captain before the rage phase to absorb the heavy hit, then Big Bad Wolf once the party stabilizes. Healer on standby for the Cassie protection stretch. Avoid Thunder Dragon unless you have full SP support; spending 5 SP at the wrong moment in this fight leaves you exposed.