Overview
Here is an overview of the basic builds for each character. While their strength may fluctuate with updates, we do not recommend sticking to the same build at all times. There may be builds that are temporarily overpowered, but we believe the game will eventually balance out, so we encourage you to experiment with various setups.
Basic Approach
- Early-Game Performance
- Late-Game Performance
- Draw and Energy
- Synergy
Here are the key strategies you’ll need to master SlayTheSpire 2. While I’ve summarized the knowledge applicable from the original game in a separate article, I’ll provide a brief overview here.
Early-game performance is essential for minimizing damage taken and defeating more blacksmiths and elites. If you can defeat more blacksmiths and elites early on, this will snowball into a significant advantage later in the game. Late-game performance is all about scaling. You need to incrementally increase your damage output and block capacity with each passing turn.
Draw and Energy are the resources needed to consistently perform at a high level. You shouldn’t lean too heavily toward either one. Synergy includes card-to-relic compatibility, as well as the new Ancients (boss rewards), event rewards, and enchantments introduced in Slay the Spire 2. You need to consider what cards work well with your chosen deck, and conversely, which cards pair well with the Ancients.
Ironclad
Muscle-type
Let’s take a look at the Strength-based build. With this build, you gain performance benefits in the later stages by increasing your Strength. Demonization is a prime example of this; since your Strength automatically increases with each turn, you’ll never struggle with damage output.
The benefit of Strength is that it makes you more susceptible to multi-hit attack cards, and the Common card Sword Boomerang is a good example of this. Since Strength adds to your base damage, you can reap the benefits of increased Strength multiplied by the number of hits.
Points to Note
The Strength-type has no endurance. Therefore, you must either engage in a quick battle or boost your defense with another build. While you can increase your Strength to force a quick battle, be careful, as some enemies cannot be defeated in a quick battle.
Self-harm type
Another defining feature of Ironclad is its abundance of self-damage cards (cards that reduce your own HP). There are also cards that convert HP into Strength or Energy Draw. While reducing your HP is a drawback in itself, it can be a powerful deck when combined effectively.
Since these HP-reducing cards generally deal more damage and provide stronger blocking capabilities than other cards, they can also be used early in the game to gain an advantage.
weak type
In SlayTheSpire 2, cards that scale based on the number of debuffs have been introduced. Currently, there is a mistranslation in the Japanese text that makes it confusing, but the “Intimidation” card grants Strength based on the number of debuffs the enemy has. There are also cards whose damage increases based on the number of debuffs.
Disposable type
Painless compensates for blocking, while Dark Embrace compensates for drawing. There are also cards that increase damage based on the number of cards discarded, or that convert cards from the discard pile into attacks. While discard-type decks can compensate for blocking, drawing, and energy, they require some combination with other deck types to deal damage.
Discard cards also serve as a means of removing curses and status effects. While they aren’t easy to pick up early in the game, some Elite and Mob enemies will mix in status effects like “Dizziness.” These cards can serve as a countermeasure against such enemies.
Barricade-type
The Barricade type works well with Block cards. Body Slam, which converts blocks into damage, serves as its main attack. It also pairs well with Painless, a discard card. If you don’t have Body Slam, you’ll need attacks that scale on their own or ways to deal damage through blocking, such as Juggernaut.
Points to Note
The Barricade-type deck is not suitable for a strategy focused on the early game. It is generally a deck designed for the mid-game and beyond. The reasons for this are that it requires many components (Energy, Block, and Cards) and has poor early-game performance.
Strike-type
This deck is built around cards with “Strike” in their names. The core card is “Perfect Strike,” a low-rarity card that can be obtained right from the start of the game. It performs exceptionally well in the early game.
Points to Note
The Strike deck is strong early on, but the game becomes more challenging as it progresses. The reason for this is that collecting too many Strike cards makes the deck bulky, reducing its stability. As the deck size increases, the likelihood of taking longer to draw key cards also rises.
You could consider acquiring Perfect Strike to gain an early advantage, then discarding or transforming it in the mid-game or later. Shifting from the Strike-type strategy in the early game to a different strategy in the late game isn’t a bad move either.
There are also relics and Ancient rewards that synergize well with Strike, so if everything clicks, it might be worth aiming for the endgame.
Cards that scale individually
- Rampage (Number of uses)
- Mash (Conditional number of uses)
- Tear Apart (Number of times HP has been lost Depends on the deck)
If you’re struggling to define your deck’s strategy or lack the damage needed to take down a boss, including a single card like the ones listed above—which scale on their own—can sometimes be helpful. The text in parentheses indicates how each card scales. Cards like Rampage and Beatdown can be used more frequently if you return them to the top of your deck with Headbutt, which speeds up their scaling.
Tear to Shreds, however, depends on the number of times you’ve lost HP, so if your deck doesn’t contain any self-damage cards, it relies on enemy attacks (it’s easier to use against enemies that attack repeatedly), which makes it a bit hit-or-miss.
Silent
Sly-type (Discard)
The Sly archetype is incredibly versatile. There are various cards available, such as attack cards that activate when discarded, skill cards that grant blocks, and power cards that grant passives. You’ll need to discard a card along with Sly’s card.
Since the Starter Deck includes “Survivor,” a discard card, and given Sly’s versatility, you can incorporate this archetype into any type of deck.
Toxicity type
The Poison build scales by stacking poison. While it performs exceptionally well in the late game, its weakness is that it struggles to deal instant damage. Therefore, even if you’re aiming for the Poison build, it’s wise to keep a few high-early-game-performance Attack cards on hand to secure resources. Once you’ve stacked poison, simply focusing on defense will cause your opponent’s HP to steadily decrease.
The Poison-type has the advantage of being able to pierce enemy shields and maintain damage output even when Strength is reduced.
Points to Note
On the other hand, you need to be careful when facing enemies with the “Artifact” debuff resistance. Since the number of Artifacts isn’t affected by poison, it takes time to apply the poison. Against such enemies, the skill “Expose,” which removes all of the enemy’s Artifacts, comes in handy.
Knife-type
Knife-type cards excel in the early game. Since they deal damage instantly, players often keep a few knife-type cards in their deck even if they’re aiming for a different strategy. To deal damage in the late game, you’ll need power cards like “Accuracy Boost.” Because they attack multiple times, they pair well with Strength, as well as with Relics and certain Potions.
Points to Note
While the Knife class is relatively strong, it has a notable weakness against certain enemies. A prime example is the “Entomancer,” an Elite enemy in Act 2. Since you take debuffs based on the number of attacks you make, your deck will quickly become flooded with the “Dizziness” status effect while you’re dealing damage with your knife. If you have no countermeasures, you may need to avoid Elite tiles altogether.
There are also enemies that lower your Strength, so caution is required. While the Knife benefits greatly from Strength, the drawbacks of having your Strength reduced are significant.
Grand Finale type
There is a card called “Grand Finale” that ranks among the strongest in terms of raw power (0 cost, 50 damage). However, it has very limited conditions for use, making it extremely difficult to master. This difficulty stems not only from the technical aspects but also from the requirements related to your deck and relics. To master this card, the following conditions must be met:
- Retention Strategies (Runic Pyramid, Meticulous Planning, Retention Enchantment)
- Thin Deck
- Draw Cards
First, you need a way to hold onto Grand Finale in your hand. Also, to use Grand Finale frequently, you need a thin deck with few cards. Additionally, you’ll need draw cards to manage your deck.
Regent
Star-type
The Star archetype is generally used across all Regent decks. Since it consumes Stars, it delivers high damage and blocking power, making it particularly strong in the early game. Another key feature is that the Starter Deck includes a card that replenishes Stars called “Awe.”
While it is possible to fight all the way to the end using only the Star-type, since using Stars allows for a wide range of actions—such as forging or generating colorless cards—it might be more accurate to describe it as the “foundation for all Regents” rather than simply a “type.”
Points to Note
In Star, the balance between consumption and supply is crucial. If either is excessive, the deck becomes weak. If consumption is too high, you end up with more unusable cards, and if supply is too high, it results in wasted resources.
Sovrinblade-type
The Sovereign Blade archetype utilizes “Forging,” a status unique to the Regent class. When you use Forging for the first time, a Sovereign Blade is generated in your hand, and as you level up Forging, the damage dealt by the generated Sovereign Blade increases. The scaling is straightforward: simply pick up Forging cards to increase your damage. However, it’s not as simple as picking up every Forging card you see; it’s more efficient to reuse the stronger Forging cards.
Upgrading the Sovereign Blade using potions or relics reduces its cost from 2 to 1, so it’s worth keeping this in mind for boss battles and other situations where you’ll likely use it repeatedly. Additionally, if you duplicate the Sovereign Blade during combat using any method and then use Forge, the attack power of all Sovereign Blades will increase.
Points to Note
While the Sovereign Blade scales well, it deals single-target damage and isn’t particularly strong early on, so you should be careful about choosing only Forging cards.
Minion-type cards
Minion-type cards transform cards from your deck or hand into Minion token cards. Since all Minion token cards have the “Discard” ability, they are also effective as a means of discarding cards. Because the Minion type serves as a way to generate Minion token cards, it pairs well with the Colorless and Generation types, which will be discussed later.
Uncommon and Rare Minion-type cards are particularly easy to use, so they can be included in a wide variety of deck types.
Colorless-type
Although it goes by various names—such as “colorless card-generating” or “generation-type”—this archetype focuses on generating colorless cards to boost attack power or block. Since the colorless card generation provided by Regent is essentially random, there is an element of luck involved; however, because there are many cards that synergize well with it, its ultimate strength is high. As long as the means to generate colorless cards remain uninterrupted, it becomes infinitely powerful.
Beyond colorless cards, there are other cards that gain effects by generating cards. In particular, the “Super Giant” card is an attack card that scales based on card generation, making it infinitely powerful.
Points to Note
Colorless and Generic decks require power and scaling, so you’ll also need draw cards and energy cards to keep them stable. Since their early-game performance is on the lower side, you’ll also need Star-type cards and the like.
Card for standalone scaling
- Royal Punch (Number of times drawn)
- Royal Kick (Cost decreases based on the number of times drawn)
These two cards scale well without relying heavily on the rest of the deck. If you don’t have enough cards to boost your damage, they’re worth considering. If you have the common cards “Cosmic Indifference” or “Photon Cut,” you can return them to your deck from the discard pile or your hand, which speeds up your scaling.
Necrobinder
Destructive Type
This build focuses on “Doom,” a debuff unique to the Necrobinder. Similar to Silent’s poison, it involves accumulating Doom on enemies to win the battle. The key difference from poison is that while poison triggers “at the end of your turn,” Doom triggers “at the end of the enemy’s turn.”
When considering boss and elite battles, you’ll need more than just the fixed-Doom cards commonly found among Common cards; you’ll also need cards that accelerate Ruin, such as “Countdown,” “No Escape,” “Oblivion,” and “Reaper.” Countdown accelerates Ruin based on the number of turns, No Escape based on the number of Ruin stacks, Oblivion based on the number of cards played, and Reaper based on the attack damage dealt.
Additionally, if you have “Shadow Cloak,” you can build up your block simply by dealing Ruin, making your deck rock-solid in both offense and defense.
Summoning Type (Osty)
The Summoning-type deck is generally a versatile setup that works well with other deck types as well. Since Osti’s HP effectively serves as the deck’s durability, players often use Osti to compensate for the lack of block power in other setups. The Starter Deck includes a card called “Bodyguard.” However, it’s more effective to include five Summoning cards—which carry over to the next turn—rather than simply adding five block cards.
Builds that prioritize summoning focus on increasing Osty’s HP or using cards that trigger via “Osty’s Attack” as part of a combo. Increasing Osty’s HP scales the starter card “Unleash.” “Unleash” can sometimes be upgraded to “Protector” through Ancient rewards. This changes the effect from a percentage of remaining HP to a percentage of maximum HP, making it easier to use.
Seoul-type
Souls help compensate for draw power, making this a solid deck type even in other builds. Cards like “Grave Keeper” and “Funeral Song,” which generate souls while providing durability, are particularly versatile and can be used effectively in other deck types as well.
Common ways to deal damage using souls include “Possession,” “Soul Storm,” and “Death March.” “Possession” deals fixed damage when souls are spent, while “Soul Storm” increases damage by the number of cards discarded using souls. “Death March” scales based on the number of cards drawn, making it a great fit for Soul-based decks.
Even without cards directly tied to Soul, there are ways to deal damage by using 0-cost attacks or reusing single-target scaling cards like “Hang.” This is because you can reuse them frequently thanks to the card draw.
Ethereal type
Another defining feature of Necrobinder decks is that many of their cards synergize well with Ethereal. “Pull from the Underworld” is a clear example of this, scaling in power based on the number of times Ethereal has been used. Perhaps because Ethereal cards have the drawback of being discarded if they aren’t used, many of them are particularly powerful compared to other cards and perform well in other deck types as well.
Card for standalone scaling
- Hangman: “Number of Uses”
- Call of the Void: “Generates an Ethereal card every turn”
- Great Scythe: “Permanent Attack Boost with Discard”
Here are the cards that can scale infinitely on their own in Necrobinder. Hanging has an effect that doubles the damage dealt to the same enemy with each subsequent use (be careful with artifacts). Call of the Void generates cards indefinitely, so while there is an element of luck involved, it can scale infinitely. The Great Scythe has a unique effect that permanently increases its attack power, meaning the card’s performance improves with each battle.
Defect
Frost-type
Frost-type cards are versatile and can be used in a wide range of builds. With the exception of certain builds that rely on lowering Concentration (the stat that controls Orb output), they are generally usable. While under the effect of Frost, your durability increases, and since this is generally not affected by enemy debuffs like Vulnerability, it’s an excellent ability.
On the other hand, their damage output is fairly low, so they are typically used in combination with the “Dark-type,” “Lightning-type,” and “Status Effect-type” builds described below.
The Common card “Cool-Headed” is an excellent draw card even in the late game, and since Frost contributes to durability, it’s a great card to acquire early on.
Dark-type
Dark is an Orb capable of dealing explosive damage. Unlike other Orbs, it doesn’t activate every turn, so you can effectively fight with just a single Dark Orb. It pairs well with Frost; the basic strategy is to build up Dark while Frost holds the line, then unleash it once it’s fully charged.
It doesn’t pair well with Lightning-type cards that rely on releasing (pushing out) Orbs to fight, so in a Lightning-focused deck, Dark’s true strengths won’t be fully utilized.
Given Dark’s characteristics, it pairs exceptionally well with cards like “Loop,” “Dual Cast,” and “Multi Cast” that allow you to build up or release the front Orb multiple times, further amplifying the power of a fully built-up Dark. Combining it with the Ancient card “Quadcast” makes for a very powerful combo. It also pairs well with “Shatter,” which releases all orbs; since it releases them all even if Dark isn’t in the lead, it’s effective as a finishing move.
The Uncommon card “Darkness” is the easiest to use for growing Dark, and the similarly Uncommon “Shadow Shield” is the next easiest to use since it generates Dark while blocking.
Lightning-type
Lightning-type decks generally feature many cards that synergize well with generating or unleashing large amounts of Lightning. As mentioned earlier, they don’t pair very well with the “Grow” type Dark cards, so in a deck where Lightning is the main focus, Dark cards are generally unnecessary—or, at most, used only in specific situations.
It also pairs reasonably well with Frost, and there are strategies that involve generating both Lightning and Frost to ensure both durability and damage output. Even without relying on Frost, you can secure defense using status-effect-based block cards. However, if you have cards that boost Concentration, it’s more efficient to rely on Frost for blocking.
Muscle-Brain Type / Plasma Type
This is a build that relies on Orb Slots and fights without relying on Concentration. While it generally doesn’t pair well with the Lightning/Frost/Dark builds mentioned earlier, you can use them together as long as you avoid using “Hyper Beam,” which lowers Concentration. In particular, it’s possible to use “Frost” for defense while boosting Strength and Agility to fight.
The Brawn-type build pairs well with Plasma. Plasma has the characteristic that its effects remain unchanged even if Concentration drops. Since Plasma generates Energy, you can convert that Energy into Draws or deal damage by using high-output cards that consume a lot of Energy.
If you include Hyper Beam in a Brawn-type deck, it becomes difficult to use Orb-type cards in general, making this a deck that appeals more to experienced players. While the starter card “Zap” is often removed or modified, “Dual Cast,” which becomes usable after unlocking Plasma, can be very effective.
Status Effect Type
Another key feature of Defect is that many of its cards have strong synergy with status effects. Since these cards can convert status effects into draws or Energy, it’s possible to adopt a playstyle that intentionally induces status effects.
Since these cards generate the disadvantage of status effects, many of them have high attack power or blocking capabilities. As a result, players often include status-effect-based blocking cards in their decks even when using other deck types.
In particular, the Common card “Emergency Evasion” is a blocking card that can be used for 0 Energy. The “Dizziness” status effect it inflicts is a mild one that is discarded, making it an easy-to-use card.
Status ailment cards as countermeasures
Cards that convert status ailments like “Repetition” or “Compression” into draws or beneficial token cards are sometimes included in decks as a countermeasure against certain elite enemies and bosses. Enemies that inflict status ailments can be found on every floor, and some bosses also make heavy use of them.