Combolands Spymaster & Secret Guild Unlocks

The short answer

Rogue: complete the Spymaster request, collect 75 Gold, use the Spymaster vote and finish the run. Arcane: fill the gem-container heirloom, sell it for the Lost Crown, sell the crown for a Wizard vote, use it and finish the run.

Rogue Guild unlock: the Spymaster route

Watch Council and milestone offers for the Spymaster request.
Collect 75 Gold during the milestone. The detailed community guide shows this as the request condition.
Claim the resulting Spymaster vote and use it.
Finish the run before Endless mode. The Guild should then appear on the end screen and remain available in future runs.

Both independent Steam guides describe the Spymaster path. The Steam achievement list separately identifies the hidden Rogue unlock through Bribery and Corruption.

What does Spymaster unlock?

Spymaster is the Council request and vote route for the hidden Rogue Guild; it is not a normal starting Guild by itself. The practical sequence is request → 75 Gold milestone → Spymaster vote → finished run. After the unlock registers, Rogue buildings can enter later runs even though Rogue is not selected from the original seven-Guild starting screen.

Spymaster checklist

If the vote appeared but Rogue did not register, first confirm that you used the vote and completed the run. If the Guild appears in a later run while the Steam achievement is missing, restart once before repeating the entire 75-Gold route.

Arcane Guild unlock: the gem route

Find the gem-container heirloom. One community guide names it Jewellery Box; the other calls it Gemstone Satchel.
Fill the container with gems. The more detailed guide specifies 8 gems and says they do not need to be unique.
Sell the completed container to receive the Lost Crown.
Sell the Lost Crown to receive a Wizard vote, then use the vote.
Finish the run to register the Arcane Guild unlock.

The two guides agree on the gem container, crown and Wizard-vote chain. Because they use different names for the first heirloom, this page keeps both names visible instead of pretending the alias is settled. The Steam achievement list calls the Arcane unlock Hidden Enchantment. The heirloom guide separates this community-tested route from the smaller set of official heirloom facts.

Make the unlock run easier

Both paths consume a lot of Gold. One guide recommends Civic + Commercial; the other recommends Martial + Commercial. The common part is Commercial for income. The second Guild changes how you support the run: Civic helps the councillor route, while Martial can help trigger money-producing buildings after placement.

For a focused economy plan, use the Combolands Gold guide. Do not reset a promising run just because the secret Guild is not available as a starting pick: the guides describe these as pool and end-screen unlocks.

If the achievement does not appear

Finish a normal run before Endless mode when possible.
If the Guild appears in later runs but Steam has not awarded the achievement, restart the game once.
Recheck the live end screen before repeating the entire unlock route.

These troubleshooting steps come from guide comments after the August 28 update. They are useful reports, not an official guarantee for every save.

Quick answers

Frequently asked questions

How many secret Guilds are in Combolands?

Two are documented by the Steam achievement list and independent Steam Community guides: Rogue and Arcane. They are additional unlocks, not replacements for the seven starting Guilds advertised on the store.

How do you unlock the Rogue Guild?

Complete the Spymaster Council request, collect the required 75 Gold during its milestone, claim and use the Spymaster vote, then finish the run. Community guides agree on the Spymaster path and the end-of-run unlock.

How do you unlock the Arcane Guild?

Find the gem-container heirloom, fill it with gems, sell it to obtain the Lost Crown, then sell the crown for a Wizard vote. Use the vote and finish the run. One guide calls the container Jewellery Box and another calls it Gemstone Satchel, so check the live item text in your build.

Can you pick Rogue or Arcane at the start of a run?

The community guides say no. Their buildings enter the pool after the unlock route, while the Guild itself appears on the end screen rather than becoming a normal starting pick.

Why did the secret Guild achievement not unlock?

Community reports say an Endless-mode unlock may appear in future runs before the Steam achievement fires. After an August 28 update, affected players reported that restarting the game made it recheck the achievement. This is community troubleshooting, not an official patch-note guarantee.