Master the Gloomhaven Brute: Your Complete Class Guide

Let's take a deep dive into Gloomhaven's Brute Class and learn everything there is to know from level 1 to level 9! We'll talk about starting cards and items, then cover every leveled card from level 2 up, before jumping into what perks to take first, and finally cover items to upgrade to as Gloomhaven's prosperity increases! We may even discuss a few unique strategies around certain cards, so do miss out!
If you love the content I produce, consider supporting the channel and getting access to exclusive perks and content:
/ @89games
Help Support the Channel through the 89 Games Merch Store!: 89-games-merch...
Thank you so much!

[@TheRobversion1]

I'll share my brute build/progression aside from items/enhancements. for the swaps, if i swap out a top card, i'm primarily using the top of the new card. i usually have a rigid use of my cards:
starting cards:
top: sweeping blow, trample, balanced measure, skewer, provoking roar
bottom: spare dagger, shield bash, warding strength, grab and go, leaping cleave
L2: juggernaut in, sweeping blow out
L3: hook and chain in, shield bash out
L4: fatal advance in, trample out
L5: skirmishing maneuver in, skewer out
L6: impossible phalanx in, warding strength out, balanced maneuver is switched to bottom, spare dagger is switched to top
L7: quietus in, grab and go out
L8: frenzied onslaught in, spare dagger out
L9: face your end in, leaping cleave out
final set:
top: fatal advance, juggernaut, skirmishing maneuver, frenzied onslaught, provoking roar
bottom: balanced measure, hook and chain, quietus, face your end, immovable phalanx
losses: face your end, fatal advance, immovable phalanx
i disagree on fatal advance or any insta-kill loss cards being terrible. you wont need extra turns when there are less enemies on the board. of course, this depends on how many hits an enemy takes before it goes down. if it take 1-2 hits typically then insta-kills arent worth it. if an enemy take 3+ hits and is either dangerous or shielded then it's worth it as you save turns killing that enemy which makes the loss worth it. the latter becomes the usual case as you go higher up in levels. fatal advance is not worth the pickup at L2 but it starts to become worthy at L3-4.
i also disagree with your assessment of frenzied onslaught. this is one heck of a card. with immovable phalanx, this is essentially an attack 2 x4. use a power potion and quietus bottom and you've got 16 points of dmg without factoring the modifier deck. with a decent modifier deck at this point (assuming an average of +1 per hit), it's not unusual to see this card delete bosses churning out 20 dmg in 1 turn. if you didnt' need to move with quietus then this essentially a 25 dmg combo in 1 turn. and the dmg is repeatable as a non-loss.

[@89Games]

Good points! I like hearing from someone who has played the characters differently. It can be hard to see the combos that can be run with the cards you don't take. I think I may try doing a playthrough where I pick all the cards I wouldn't normally take and see what happens.

[@TheRobversion1]

@@89Games yeah the brute just can spike out dmg. I think the largest i was able to do was over 30 in a round. I had a boss and some minions beside me and i used frenzied onslaught (with immovable phalanx in play). I used frenzied onslaught 1st on the surrounding minions and i was able to hit 15+ with a power potion. Then i used the bottom of balanced maneuver to nuke the boss for the same amount of dmg.
the scoundrel is fast but they just get rendered obsolete by the brute for single target dmg (the scoundrel's niche) once immovable phalanx is out. At least in comparison to the melee poison scoundrel i made. The tools are there for a ranged multi-target scoundrel that would compete against the spellweaver instead.
spellweaver doesnt have much build diversity. Every player is going to build around reviving ether and being ranged multi-target.
mind thief has more build diversity. can focus on melee with the augments (can be dark themed or not), ranged with summons or an ice themed control.