Grail Trait Tier List

Traits are passives. You may hold three. You remove one by holding it. 1.0 put traits in the cardopedia with their own tab. This list ranks kinds of traits plus the named ones from notes. It does not invent a hundred tooltips. If the in-game text disagrees, the game wins.

S — names a type you already spam

A trait that says “when you play a cheese card, poison cards gain 10 poison” is S on a Mabel cheese-poison run and C on a Ratagnan bleed run. The rank lives on your deck, not on the trait portrait. Same rule for “when you apply bleed” or “when a gadget fully energizes.”

If you have to buy a whole new type to make the trait work, it is not S. It is a homework assignment. Skip it unless the shop also sells the type the same day.

A — generic survival and income

• First-hit revive style (“first time you hit 0, heal to 10%”) — A because it is a life against snapshot burst. Still not a reason to play badly.
• Extra gold on a condition you already meet — A.
• Extra energy or refunds that match your pip problem — A. See energy and cards.
• Extra strip on heal if you are Mabel food — A.

Named 1.0 / 0.39 traits

• Insulated (1.0) — A/B. The name screams shock interaction. Read the tooltip. If it protects your income against shock, Zappy and anyone fighting shock snapshots care. If it does something else, rank the text, not the name.
• Antifragile (1.0) — A/B. Sounds like “get hit, get paid.” Good on bleed-heavy PvP if the text actually pays you. Bad if it wants you to take damage you cannot strip.
• Scutate (0.39, shield) — B default, C versus poison (poison is 2x against shield). Read status effects.
• Unstable — enemy trait on patrol foes. Not a player pickup. Know it exists so you do not copy an enemy ribbon.

B — expensive or event-gated

Woods events that sell a trait costing 8 or more gold are B only if the trait completes a named combo. Otherwise skip. Paying 8 gold for a C trait is how you miss the next shop. How to win a run treats skips as a skill.

Free “any hero or monster trait” opening bonuses are high-roll A or instant C. Take them only if you already have a plan on the synergy checklist.

C — dead slots

• Names a type you sold.
• Names a type from another hero’s pool.
• Shield stacking into poison PvP.
• Fourth idea when you already have three working slots — you cannot hold four. Replace, do not dream.

Removal discipline

Hold-remove is a control. Use it the same day the type leaves the deck. Keeping a cheese trait after you sold cheese is how Mabel players pretend they are still on plan. Controls if you forgot the hold.

Table

Rank	Kind	Keep when
S	Type hook you already spam	The shop still sells that type
A	Revive / gold / energy / heal-strip	The condition already happens
B	Scutate, pricey event traits	You are not fighting poison, or the combo is complete
C	Off-type, off-hero, leftover hooks	Always cut

Patch notes will add more named traits. When they do, they go on updates, then back here. Until then, the type-hook rule will outlive any letter grade.

For which hero wants which hook, use the character tier list and the three hero pages. For which cards feed those hooks, the card tier list.