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The newest Monster Train 2 clan is The Punished, led by Archus, Darkness Incarnate. It is a paid DLC—not an achievement or combat-counter unlock—announced at $7.99 USD and scheduled to launch on 10 November 2026 for PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, and Xbox. You need the base game, then you can buy and install the DLC when it becomes available. Until launch, the playable roster remains at 12 clans; The Punished is set to become the 13th.
How do I unlock The Punished in Monster Train 2?
Buy and install Monster Train 2: The Punished on the same platform as the base game after the DLC launches. The published instructions describe access through DLC ownership; they do not list a Pyre Heart requirement, a spell or equipment counter, or an additional in-game achievement.
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- Get the base game. If you do not already own Monster Train 2, buy it for the platform where you plan to play the DLC. Its Steam list price is $24.99, according to Steam-sourced data from Steambase in 2026. The game is also available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series. The PlayStation 5 version joins PlayStation Plus Monthly Games on 3 November 2026.
- Wishlist or purchase The Punished. The DLC is announced for $7.99 USD on PC and consoles. Before it goes on sale, you can use the official wishlist link. Steam currently marks the DLC as not yet available.
- Wait for the release date. The announced date is 10 November 2026. The launch platforms are PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, and Xbox.
- Install the add-on. After purchase and release, install The Punished on the platform where you own the base game. Published information describes DLC ownership as the access path, following the pattern used for the previous paid clan, Railforged. No separate post-install story beat or clan-selection requirement has been published for The Punished.
- Select the clan and progress normally. The first champion is available with the clan. The second champion unlocks at clan level 5, and the clan’s cards enter the draft pool as you gain clan levels.
At announcement, Shiny Shoe and Big Fan Games called The Punished the second and final DLC, and the companies said Monster Train 2 had reached 1 million players in 2026. The new clan is therefore a paid addition to the current game, not a replacement for one of its existing unlock tracks.
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What does The Punished add to the game?
The Punished is built around deliberately damaging friendly units and turning that risk into power. Its clan leader, Archus, Darkness Incarnate, works with the Monolith, a battle interaction that converts card sacrifices into Devotion and strengthens the clan over a run.
Archus and the Monolith
Steam describes Archus as a former angel, Seraph’s younger brother, who was abandoned by Fel and cast into Heaven’s Maw after trying to overthrow Seraph. In battle, you can spend Ember and discard cards as Tribute to the Monolith. Devotion accumulates throughout the run; higher levels empower certain cards and give newly summoned units stacks of Zeal.
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Zeal increases a unit’s Attack and maximum Health. That makes the clan’s central decision more than simply whether to deal damage: you weigh the immediate risk to a unit against the triggers, buffs, and later power the damage can activate. Shiny Shoe CEO Mark Cooke described the design to PC Gamer on 28 October 2026 as a risk-reward approach based on self-damaging units.
Four new keywords
- Punish: triggers when friendly spells or abilities damage units. The effect gives you a reason to target your own side deliberately rather than treat every friendly hit as a mistake.
- Bloodshed: rewards you when a friendly unit takes damage on the same floor. It focuses on damage happening in that room, so the unit placement and timing of effects matter.
- Chained: causes enemies to take damage alongside your units. It lets a self-damage strategy spread some of the pain to opposing units.
- Tenacious: prevents friendly damage from delivering the killing blow. That safeguard can support riskier self-hit sequences, though the keyword does not mean friendly damage is harmless.
Revealed examples
PC Gamer’s 28 October 2026 reveal included a small set of cards, not a complete card list. Reaper of Suffering is a 60-attack, 25-defense Sweep unit that is suppressed when first played. Scarred Justicar gains 15 Attack through the new Punish keyword, while Collector of Sorrows has a new Restitution ability. Shackles of Spite is a common Equipment card that makes a unit deal double damage while its life total is at 50 percent or less. Several of the revealed spells emphasize global damage or damage to friendly units.
Those examples illustrate the announced theme, but they do not establish every card, interaction, or final balance detail. The Steam listing’s description is specific about the core mechanics: friendly self-damage, Punish and Bloodshed triggers, Chained damage, Tenacious protection, and the Monolith’s Devotion system.
Is The Punished a free clan or a DLC purchase?
The Punished requires a DLC purchase. It is different from clans unlocked through gameplay, including Luna Coven, Underlegion, and Lazarus League, and from Wurmkin, which is part of a free update after a story gate.
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The announced price is $7.99 USD, from Shiny Shoe in 2026. A German-language recap gave a 7.99-euro figure, so the local price can differ by region. Do not treat the US dollar announcement as a guaranteed price in every storefront. The Steam listing says the base game is required to play the add-on.
For context, the previous paid clan DLC, Destiny of the Railforged, was listed at $9.99 by FullCleared and launched in February 2026 alongside the free Wurmkin clan. Railforged likewise uses DLC ownership and installation as its clan unlock rather than a separate combat counter. The Punished’s published access description follows that same purchase-and-install model unless launch information adds a requirement.
Which Monster Train 2 clans can I unlock now without buying DLC?
The live roster is 12 clans on patch 2.2.1, updated July 2026. Banished and Pyreborne are available from the start; several additional clans use counters that accumulate across runs. Returning clans are gated behind Pyre Hearts, while Railforged remains paid DLC.
| Clan | How it becomes available | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Banished | Available on a new save | Uses Valor and Shift/movement. |
| Pyreborne | Available on a new save | Uses damage spells, Equipment access, and cheap Consume cards. |
| Luna Coven | Defeat 40 enemies with spell cards | The May 2025 patch reduced the earlier requirement of 70. |
| Underlegion | Consume 75 cards across runs | The May 2025 patch reduced the earlier requirement of 120. |
| Lazarus League | Attach Equipment to friendly units 100 times | Temporary friendly units count when you attach Equipment to them. |
| Hellhorned, Awoken, Stygian Guard, Umbra, Melting Remnant | Six-Pyre-Heart story gate, followed by individual objectives for four clans | Hellhorned opens with the sixth heart; the other four objectives are then revealed. |
| Wurmkin | Free 2.0 update plus six Pyre Hearts | No Railforged purchase is needed. |
| Railforged | Own and install Destiny of the Railforged | Paid DLC; cards then progress through clan levels. |
| The Punished | Buy and install The Punished DLC after its launch | Announced for 10 November 2026; not playable before release. |
How do I unlock Luna Coven?
Defeat 40 enemies with spell cards across runs. The counter was reduced from 70 by the May 2025 patch. Prioritize inexpensive area-damage and multi-hit spells if you want to advance the objective efficiently; Moon Ritual and Witchweave can also contribute to the later Stygian Guard objective.
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How do I unlock Underlegion?
Consume 75 cards across runs, down from 120 after the May 2025 patch. Draft cards with Consume and look for effects that return consumed cards so you can play them again. Progress does not require you to complete a winning run.
How do I unlock Lazarus League?
Attach Equipment to friendly units 100 times across runs. The unit does not have to be permanent: an Equipment attachment to a temporary unit counts. Lazarus League’s Reanimate and Equipment identity also makes it a useful clan to pair with the Melting Remnant unlock objective.
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You can see the counter for these objectives on the Primary or Allied Clan selection screen after clicking Depart. Put the clan you are leveling in the primary slot if you want its progression to move faster: the primary clan receives 100 percent of the run score as XP, while the allied clan receives 50 percent.
How do I unlock the returning clans and Wurmkin?
For the returning clans, first unlock six of the 13 Pyre Hearts. From Depart, open Pyre Heart selection on the left, just below Allied Clan, and hover over locked hearts to see their requirements. They include trials, specific fights, and Dimensional Challenges; most can be completed at low Covenant without winning a run.
Unlocking the sixth Pyre Heart reveals the remaining persistent objectives and unlocks Hellhorned. Then advance the other four clan counters across runs:
- Awoken: Heal 300 lost health. Healing counts only when it restores missing health, so units need to take damage first. Luna Coven and the Wyngh’s Spirit Pyre Heart can help.
- Stygian Guard: Cast five spells in one turn on five separate turns. The qualifying turns can span multiple runs. Luna Coven’s Moon Ritual and Witchweave can help you meet the condition.
- Umbra: Increase room capacity 20 times. Heaven’s Light after bosses and the Bogwurm’s Growth Pyre Heart can assist; capacity cards count even when the extra space is not essential.
- Melting Remnant: Reform or Reanimate 50 units. Lazarus League is a natural partner for progressing this objective.
Wurmkin is a free-update clan, not a paid add-on: install the free 2.0 update and unlock six Pyre Hearts. Existing saves already past the story gate receive Wurmkin after updating. Older launch-era pages that describe Wurmkin as unavailable are out of date.
How do I unlock Railforged, and is it the same as The Punished?
Railforged is the other paid DLC clan. Own and install Destiny of the Railforged to gain access; the announced/covered price was $9.99, and the DLC launched in February 2026 with the Soul Savior mode. Its cards then unlock through clan levels like the cards for other clans.
The Punished is scheduled for 10 November 2026 and has a different clan identity: self-damage, the Monolith, Devotion, and Zeal. Railforged is associated with Forge and armor, while Lazarus League is associated with Reanimate and Equipment, and Banished with Valor and movement. Both paid clans differ from the free objective clans because their published unlock path is DLC ownership rather than accumulating an in-game counter.
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What is available now, and what happens after launch?
The Punished was announced on 28 October 2026, but the live roster remains 12 clans until its scheduled release. The announced timeline also helps distinguish it from earlier additions: Monster Train 2 launched on 21 May 2025; Lost Arsenal arrived as a free update in September 2025; Echoes From the Void followed as a free update in November 2025; and Destiny of the Railforged plus free Wurmkin arrived in February 2026.
The Punished is planned for PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, and Xbox on 10 November 2026. Nintendo Switch 2, iOS, and Android versions of the game—with The Punished available—are promised later in 2026, but no calendar dates have been announced for those platforms. Steam lists English interface, audio, and subtitles, alongside supported interface and subtitle languages including French, German, Spanish (Spain), and Japanese among 10 supported languages.
As of the announcement, Steam showed no user reviews for The Punished because the DLC was not yet live. There is no published review score, player-count split, or DLC sales figure to establish how players have received the new clan. The publisher’s 1 million-player figure applies to Monster Train 2 overall, not specifically to The Punished.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What should I know about clan levels after unlocking one?
Unlocking a clan gives access to its first champion; its second champion becomes available at clan level 5. The rest of the clan’s cards enter the draft pool as you level that clan, so getting access to the clan and unlocking its full card set are separate progression milestones.
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Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstallPatch 2.2.1 records 24 champions, 72 upgrade paths, 216 path tiers, and 127 clan-level card rewards. Those are roster-wide figures, not a promise that every clan has the same number of rewards or the same unlock sequence.
- Banished: Imprisoned Zephyr appears at level 5, and Wyngh’s Radiance at level 10.
- Lazarus League: Risky Operation appears at level 5, and Tome of Horrors at level 10.
- Luna Coven: Celestial Storm appears at level 5, and Heavenfall at level 10.
- Railforged: Sentry Turret appears at level 5, and Assembly Room at level 10.
To focus XP on a particular clan while working through these rewards, place it in the primary slot rather than the allied slot: primary receives the full run-score XP share and allied receives half. That progression applies after the clan is unlocked, whether access came from a free objective or a paid DLC.
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What can block a clan unlock?
Most confusion comes from using older instructions or assuming all clans share the same kind of gate. Check the relevant counter or store listing before spending time on the wrong objective.
- You are grinding for The Punished before release. It is not playable before 10 November 2026. The published unlock route is DLC purchase and installation, not a hidden counter.
- You expect The Punished to unlock when you buy it today. Steam currently lists it as not yet available. Wishlist it, then return to the platform store after launch.
- You bought the DLC but cannot access it on the platform you are using. Confirm that the base game and DLC are on the same platform and that the add-on is installed. Steam explicitly requires the base game.
- You are following a guide that says Pyreborne needs early progression. Patch 2.2.1 lists Pyreborne as available at the start, alongside Banished.
- You are looking for Wurmkin in the DLC store. Wurmkin is included in the free 2.0 update after the six-Pyre-Heart gate; it is not part of the Railforged purchase.
- Your Stygian Guard counter seems stricter than an old guide suggests. The current requirement is five spells in one turn on five separate turns, not just one qualifying turn.
- Your Luna Coven or Underlegion guide gives a larger number. Current counters are 40 spell-card kills and 75 Consume cards, respectively; older figures of 70 and 120 reflect the pre-adjustment requirements.
No post-install story beat or separate clan-select lock for The Punished has been published. Until launch details establish otherwise, the reliable distinction is that The Punished uses the paid-DLC route while the existing clans use their documented start, counter, or Pyre Heart gates.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I play The Punished before 10 November 2026?
No. Steam lists the DLC as not yet available, and the announced release date is 10 November 2026. You can wishlist it before then, but the announcement does not describe early access.
Will The Punished be on Nintendo Switch 2, iPhone, or Android?
The game and The Punished are promised for Nintendo Switch 2, iOS, and Android later in 2026. No calendar release dates for those platforms have been announced.
Does The Punished have a review score yet?
No published review score is available in the announcement window. Steam showed no user reviews while the DLC was not live.
Do the new clans’ unlock counters require a winning run?
The Luna Coven, Underlegion, and Lazarus League counters accumulate across runs, and a win is not required. The returning-clan Pyre Heart requirements also can generally be completed at low Covenant without winning.
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