Patronage

Levels up your base plot by 3 levels. Works beyond its max level.

How players use it

Run plan by year Merchant, year 7. The first card costs 30 gold. Greed players spend it on a Rainbow card or Mercenaries, and the Greed perk Peddler makes a shop purchase free. Patronage raises the base 3 levels past its cap, which Vao uses to offset the Ingenious cut.
Level-up chains: Lab Rat, Concabulator and Overhaul Lab Rat levels up whenever an adjacent plot levels up, with no maximum level. A level-up next to one Rat therefore levels the Rat too, and if that Rat sits next to another Rat, the second one levels as well. The chain starts from anything that levels a plot: an upgrade, Wildcard, Overhaul, a level-3 Concabulator and, since Patch #29, Patronage.
Rainbow cards by job Levels: Patronage (+3 base levels beyond the cap), X-Ray (levels every plot diagonal to the target, beyond max level), Shrine (spends gold for a random level-up each year), Mantra (1.0, bearer gains +3% all stats per stack whenever any plot levels up).

Loot after beating the Jack of Rainbows (twice per run).
Merchants have a chance to stock one; the Lucky perk and Rare Goods decree raise it.
Gacha at max level, Diffract and the Refraction decree give random Rainbow cards.

Patch #23 2026-05-08
Patronage now works beyond your base's max level cap.
Patch #24 2026-05-25
Ingenious perk (Universal): now gives you +3 levels instead of +5. This is long due, given we now have Regression and a buffed Patronage.
Patch #29 2026-07-29
Lab Rat chain effect is now also triggered by Patronage.
Patch #29 2026-07-29
Patronage now also triggers the Lab Rat chain effect.

Lines from the official Steam patch notes since Patch #18 that name this card.

Data: 9 Kings 1.0 card table on the official wiki, imported 2026-11-13.