Master Slay the Spire: Top Builds for Every Character Revealed

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As a devoted fan, I can’t help but sing the praises of “Slay the Spire” – this captivating deck-building roguelike by Mega-Crit Games that’s taken the gaming world by storm. With an array of distinctive characters, customizable decks, enchanting relics, and potent potions at your disposal, every playthrough offers a fresh experience as you forge your own path to triumph.

However, newcomers might find themselves drowning in the game’s immense depth and build variety, as they stumble trying to force specific builds to work without fully understanding the intricate synergies that make certain items shine.

As I delve deeper into the mystical world of Slay the Spire, it’s clear that mastering the perfect decks and matching relics for each character becomes essential for impressive runs and honing my gaming prowess. This guide uncovers the game-changing builds within the game, equipping me with the tools I need to stay ahead and ensure my journey through Slay the Spire is a successful one.

Slay the Spire

Dead Branch + Corruption

Relic Description
Dead Branch Exhausted cards add a random card to the playable hand.
Bottled Storm Choose a power card to start each encounter with.
Medical Kit Exhaust status cards.

As an avid fan, there’s nothing quite as memorable in Slay the Spire than wielding Dead Branch and Corruption on Ironclad. Just like Twitch Streamer Jorbs demonstrated, this deadly duo can take down the final boss in a single turn (one-turn kills are no longer achievable post that update). To create this formidable setup, you’ll need the following cards:

  • Corruption: Skills are free, but exhausted upon use.
  • Fiend Fire: Exhaust your hand and deal 7-10 damage per card.
  • Offering: Lose 6 HP, draw 3–5 cards.
  • Second Wind: Exhaust all non-attack cards and gain 5-7 block per card.
  • Power Through: Acquire 15-20 block and add 2 wounds to hand.
  • Barricade: Block is no longer removed between turns.
  • Body Slam: Deal Damage equal to the current block (0 energy on upgrade).

Consider adding “Feel No Pain,” particularly beneficial due to its ability to provide 3-4 shields when a card is exhausted.

This relic setup essentially turns the player into a virtually indestructible force. Each skill costs nothing, and they automatically regenerate thanks to Dead Branch and Corruption. The Storm in the bottle relic ensures that Corruption is always drawn as the first card. Fiend Fire and Second Wind exhaust your playable deck to inflict damage and gain block respectively. During combat, Barricade keeps the block value between rounds, allowing Body Slam to dish out immense damage. This synchronized build with impressive late-game potential has earned it a respected status among Ironclad players.

Slay the Spire

Poison Stacking And Defense

Relic Description
The Specimen Transfers poison between enemies when one dies.
Twisted Funnel Applies 4 stacks of poison to every enemy at the start of a battle
Snecko Skull Applies +1 poison to all poison cards.
Art of War Art of War gives +1 energy if the player does not use attacks in the previous turn (poison is a skill and does not count as an attack).

It’s true that The Silent boasts many impressive decks, such as the Shiv and Accuracy builds. However, a build that truly excels highlights her poison mechanic. In this build, enemies afflicted with poison lose health equal to their poison stacks at the beginning of their turn. Poison is categorized as a negative status debuff, so it can’t be amplified by strength or Akabeko. To swiftly inflict poison, there are several cards available for use.

  • Deadly Poison: The most cost-efficient method to stack poison by cost. Inflicting 5-7 poison stacks for 1 energy.
  • Bouncing Flask: Apply 3 poison ticks, 3-4x at random.
  • Noxious Fumes: Apply 2-3 poison at the start of every turn.
  • Crippling Cloud: An AOE applying 4-7 poison and 2 weak. Weak is debuff that decreases damage by 25%.
  • Catalyst: The best poison card, Doubling (tripling when upgraded) the poison stacks an enemy has.
  • Corpse Explosion: Apply 6-9 poison. When the foe dies, they deal their max HP as damage to their allies (the effect is stackable).
  • Burst: Burst plays 1–2 cards twice, enabling rapid poison stacking.

Funnel-like Twist and Springy Flask assist in removing items from foes such as Donu and Deca, who retaliate against this specific build setup. Essentially, these artifacts protect them from receiving status conditions and detrimental effects, including vulnerability and toxicity.

Steer clear of the urge to overlook defensive strategies. Poison takes time to accumulate, and The Silent can be easily destroyed. She needs to minimize damage taken; a card that excels in this regard defensively is Footwork. It offers 2-3 dexterity points, increasing block by +1 for each point. Acquiring multiple copies of Footwork cards can make standard defense cards produce a double-digit defensive output. Combine this setup with Escape Plan to draw skills and boost defense at no energy cost.

In addition, players have the option to obtain a protective card called Wraith Form, which minimizes damage from attacks. Yet, using this card decreases dexterity by one unit each turn and this reduction accumulates over time. However, players can mitigate some of these adverse effects by employing an Ancient Potion or a Clockwork Souvenir.

​​Slay the Spire

Loads Of Power

Relic Description
Mummified Hand Wherever a power card is played, a random card in the Defect’s hand costs 0 for that turn.
Inserter Gain 1 orb slot every 2 turns.
Runic Pyramid Cards are no longer discarded at the end of the player’s turn.
Cursed Key Gain 1 energy at the start of each turn; non-boss chests now contain curses (avoid them).

The character in question is a self-aware robot known as Defect, who possesses an exceptionally strong deck. The main objective of this deck is to pull and employ power cards, which amplify the potency of his orbs and concentration levels. Orbs serve as his offensive, defensive, and energy recharge mechanisms. However, this strategy primarily focuses on lightning and frost orbs, as they offer the greatest efficiency. Focus, on the other hand, enhances the strength of Defect’s orbs by +1 for every point accumulated. For instance, a regular frost orb offers 2 block, but with 20 focus, it increases to 22 blocks per orb. Players are required to have the following cards for this setup:

Power (Power Scaling)

  • Echo Form: The first card played each turn is played 2x.
  • Consume: Removes an Orb slot for 2-3 focus.
  • Defragment: Gain 1-2 focus.
  • Capacitor: Gain 2-3 orb slots.

Frost (Defense)

  • Glacier: 7-10 block, channel 2 frost.
  • Coolheaded: Channel 1 frost, draw 1–2 cards.
  • Loop: Trigger the passive ability of the next orb 1-2x.

Electric (Offense)

  • Storm: Whenever a power card is played, channel 1 lightning.
  • Electrodynamics: Lightning hits all enemies, channel 2-3 lightning.

As an ardent admirer of this game, I’ve come to appreciate the seemingly endless scaling potential of my Defect character. Power cards in my deck last for the entire encounter, providing me with consistent ways to amplify focus and capacity. I can continually generate orbs, reap their passive benefits, and trigger them at will.

When orbs are triggered, they unleash a more potent effect before being discarded. Orbs have a knack for triggering and replacing themselves naturally, thanks to Storm creating lightning orbs every time a power card is played, and the majority of my deck consisting of power cards. In a boss encounter, it’s not unusual for me to accumulate over 100 passive block and attack points!

In other words, this particular build relies on specific relics, particularly the Mummified Hand for maintaining momentum. Players have the option to swap out the Cursed Key with the Sozu relic. Yet, it’s worth noting that using +2 focus and capacity potions is no longer an option with Sozu, which could be a disadvantage.

When taking on The Awakened One, it’s often challenging due to his ability to increase his strength by 1-2 points for each power card played per turn. Therefore, when battling him, focus on creating frost orbs and aiming at the cultists who grow stronger with each turn. Opt for power cards that boost more than his strength increment!

Slay the Spire

The Rushdown Infinite

Relics Description
Violet Lotus It gives +1 energy when exiting calm.
Peace Pipe It allows for the removal of cards at camps. Remove the base defense cards and replace them with better defenses.
Runic Pyramid The player cannot discard their hand when ending their turn. This makes it easier to draw the infinite.

Without a doubt, The Watcher stands out as the character with the most significant imbalance. This is evident from the leaderboards, where The Watcher boasts an incredible Win Streak of 2017!!!, far surpassing any other character such as The Defect, which has 323 wins on Xbox. The Eternal build primarily revolves around acquiring cards and transitioning between the Calm and Wrath stances. The Calm stance grants two energy upon departure, while the Wrath stance doubles all dealt and received damage. To consistently achieve an “infinite” state, utilize these specific cards:

Wrath Stance

  • Eruption: Deals 9 damage and enter Wrath stance.
  • Rushdown: Upon entering Wrath, draw 2 cards, (expend 0 energy upon upgrade).
  • Tantrum: Deal 3 damage, 3-4x, enter Wrath.

Calm Stance

  • Inner Peace: If the Watcher is Calm, draw 3–4 cards. Otherwise, enter the Calm stance.
  • Fear No Evil: Deal 8-11 damage and enter the Calm stance.
  • Meditate: Put 1–2 cards from the discard pile into hand; retain them. Enter the Calm stance and end the turn.
  • Vigilance: Gain 8-12 block and enter Calm.

Draw and Defense

  • Vault: End the current turn and take another turn (triggers all end/start of turn effects).
  • Scrawl: Draw cards until the hand is full (0 energy upon upgrade).
  • Mental Fortress: Upon changing stance, gain 4-6 block.
  • Empty Mind: Draw 2–3 cards and exit the current stance.
  • Talk to the Hand: Deal 5-7 damage and gain 2-3 block per attack.

Limit your deck to a maximum of 10 cards, excluding Defend cards. Replace those with Mental Fortress, Vigilance, and Talk to the Hand. This adjustment ensures the deck is compact enough for an infinite loop consistency. Players can opt for this setup, discard half of their available cards, and forego card rewards. However, forcing such a build should be avoided for other characters, as it might not work optimally.

This Infinite Build doesn’t depend on relics, but it significantly profits from the Runic Pyramid. It’s a synergistic setup: when the Watcher leaves Calm (with bonus from Violet Lotus), she gains 2 energy; and she gets 4-6 defense whenever she changes stance thanks to Mental Fortress. Meanwhile, Wrath amplifies the damage done, awards +2 cards because of Rushdown, and gives +2-3 defense for each attack with Talk to the Hand. In Wrath, the received damage is multiplied, so it’s crucial not to end turns in Wrath. Additionally, Vault allows the Watcher to restart her turn, while Scrawl lets her redraw a full hand at no cost. This results in a highly potent character with an endless turn cycle.

In summary, the Watcher dominates bosses with her high offensive capabilities. She boasts passive defense, energy generation, and cost-free techniques for reshuffling her entire deck. Players can opt for alternative builds such as Alpha, Beta, Omega, or Divinity, but these are generally less potent compared to focusing on the infinite build, which offers greater strength and consistency.

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2025-04-01 22:36