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Archetypes

Curated character archetype decks

Want to level up your game?

Check out these tried and tested strats that can conquer even the highest ascensions.

The archetypes below are specific strategies that benefit heavily from certain synergies or interactions. In some cases these decks use game breaking infinite combos, or allow you to deal absurd amounts of damage you couldn't achieve without fully commiting to a certain tactic. We've listed the most powerful ones for each character here.

Note that there are many ways to play Slay the Spire, and although these archetypes are powerful, by no means are they the only way to play and win. Sometimes you'll use a mixture of several of these combined together, or you may discover a new strategy altogether.

ironclad

Strength

ironclad power baseDemon Formrare frame

power

Demon Form

ironclad mana

3

A

At the start of each turn, gain 2 Strength.

ironclad skill baseLimit Breakrare frame

skill

Limit Break

ironclad mana

1

D

Double your Strength.
Exhaust.

ironclad skill baseSpot Weaknessuncommon frame

skill

Spot Weakness

ironclad mana

1

B+

If an enemy intends to attack, gain 3 Strength.

ironclad power baseInflameuncommon frame

power

Inflame

ironclad mana

1

B+

Gain 2 Strength.

ironclad skill baseFlexcommon frame

skill

Flex

ironclad mana

0

D

Gain 2 Strength.
At the end of your turn, lose 2 Strength.

ironclad attack baseHeavy Bladecommon frame

attack

Heavy Blade

ironclad mana

2

C

Deal 14 damage.
Strength affects Heavy Blade 3 times.

ironclad attack baseWhirlwinduncommon frame

attack

Whirlwind

ironclad mana

X

B+

Deal 5 damage to ALL enemies X times.

ironclad attack baseReaperrare frame

attack

Reaper

ironclad mana

2

A

Deal 4 damage to ALL enemies. Heal for unblocked damage.
Exhaust.

Rack up absurd amounts of strength and demolish foes with gigantic attacks.

Perfected Strike

ironclad attack basePerfected Strikecommon frame

attack

Perfected Strike

ironclad mana

2

C-

Deal 6 damage.
Deals an additional +2 damage for ALL of your cards containing "Strike".

ironclad skill baseDual Wielduncommon frame

skill

Dual Wield

ironclad mana

1

D+

Create a copy of an Attack or Power card in your hand.

Fill your deck with Strikes and let your Perfected Strikes decimate enemies.

Rampage

ironclad attack baseRampageuncommon frame

attack

Rampage

ironclad mana

1

C

Deal 8 damage.
Every time this card is played, increase its damage by 5 for this combat.

ironclad skill baseDouble Taprare frame

skill

Double Tap

ironclad mana

1

B

This turn, your next Attack is played twice.

Repeatedly play Rampage until it builds up devastating amounts of damage.

Dropkick Infinite

ironclad attack baseDropkickuncommon frame

attack

Dropkick

ironclad mana

1

D-

Deal 5 damage.
If the target is Vulnerable, gain and draw 1 card.

ironclad attack baseDropkickuncommon frame

attack

Dropkick

ironclad mana

1

D-

Deal 5 damage.
If the target is Vulnerable, gain and draw 1 card.

ironclad attack baseBashcommon frame

attack

Bash

ironclad mana

2

C

Deal 8 damage.
Apply 2 Vulnerable.

ironclad skill baseTrue Gritcommon frame

skill

True Grit

ironclad mana

1

C

Gain 7 Block.
Exhaust a random card from your hand.

ironclad skill baseBurning Pactuncommon frame

skill

Burning Pact

ironclad mana

1

D

Exhaust 1 card.
Draw 2 cards.

ironclad skill baseRageuncommon frame

skill

Rage

ironclad mana

0

D+

Whenever you play an Attack this turn, gain 3 Block.

Thin your deck down to trigger an infinite double Dropkick combo.

Searing Blow

ironclad attack baseSearing Blowuncommon frame

attack

Searing Blow

ironclad mana

2

D+

Deal 12 damage.
Can be upgraded any number of times.

ironclad skill baseArmamentscommon frame

skill

Armaments

ironclad mana

1

C+

Gain 5 Block.
Upgrade a card in your hand for the rest of combat.

Upgrade Searing Blow repeatedly until it one-shots foes.

Block (WIP)

ironclad power baseBarricaderare frame

power

Barricade

ironclad mana

3

D+

Block no longer expires at the start of your turn.

ironclad skill baseEntrenchuncommon frame

skill

Entrench

ironclad mana

2

D-

Double your current Block.

ironclad power baseJuggernautrare frame

power

Juggernaut

ironclad mana

2

C

Whenever you gain Block, deal 5 damage to a random enemy.

ironclad attack baseBody Slamcommon frame

attack

Body Slam

ironclad mana

1

B

Deal damage equal to your current Block.

Build up enormous amounts of block and use it to break your enemies.

Exhaust (WIP)

ironclad power baseCorruptionrare frame

power

Corruption

ironclad mana

3

A+

Skills cost 0.
Whenever you play a Skill, Exhaust it.

ironclad power baseDark Embraceuncommon frame

power

Dark Embrace

ironclad mana

2

D+

Whenever a card is Exhausted, draw 1 card.

ironclad power baseFeel No Painuncommon frame

power

Feel No Pain

ironclad mana

1

D

Whenever a card is Exhausted, gain 3 Block.

ironclad skill baseSentineluncommon frame

skill

Sentinel

ironclad mana

1

E+

Gain 5 Block.
If this card is Exhausted, gain .

Make your skills free to rapidly cycle through your deck and dispatch foes.

Dead Branch (WIP)

ironclad power baseCorruptionrare frame

power

Corruption

ironclad mana

3

A+

Skills cost 0.
Whenever you play a Skill, Exhaust it.

Dead Branch

rare

Whenever you Exhaust a card, add a random card to your hand.

S+

S

B-

S

Pull dozens of free cards out of thin air with a Dead Branch and Corruption combo.

Status (WIP)

ironclad power baseEvolveuncommon frame

power

Evolve

ironclad mana

1

C

Whenever you draw a Status, draw 1 card.

ironclad power baseFire Breathinguncommon frame

power

Fire Breathing

ironclad mana

1

C+

Whenever you draw a Status or Curse card, deal 6 damage to ALL enemies.

This archetype revolves around abusing powerful status-generating cards by negating their offsets. Evolve nullifies most of the downsides of drawing statuses. Fire Breathing turns those statuses into a win condition; no more than 2 are necessary. Add some exhaust options to manage the build up of statuses, since too many Wounds can completely clog up your hand. Couple this with a few reliable draw cards to keep triggering Fire Breathing.

Health Sacrifice (WIP)

ironclad power baseRuptureuncommon frame

power

Rupture

ironclad mana

1

D-

Whenever you lose HP from a card, gain 1 Strength.

ironclad power baseCombustuncommon frame

power

Combust

ironclad mana

1

C-

At the end of your turn, lose 1 HP and deal 5 damage to ALL enemies.

ironclad power baseBrutalityrare frame

power

Brutality

ironclad mana

0

B-

At the start of your turn, lose 1 HP and draw 1 card.

ironclad attack baseHemokinesisuncommon frame

attack

Hemokinesis

ironclad mana

1

C+

Lose 2 HP.
Deal 15 damage.

ironclad skill baseOfferingrare frame

skill

Offering

ironclad mana

0

A+

Lose 6 HP.
Gain .
Draw 3 cards.
Exhaust.

ironclad skill baseBloodlettinguncommon frame

skill

Bloodletting

ironclad mana

0

B-

Lose 3 HP.
Gain .

ironclad attack baseBlood for Blooduncommon frame

attack

Blood for Blood

ironclad mana

4

D+

Costs 1 less for each time you lose HP in combat.
Deal 18 damage.

ironclad attack baseReaperrare frame

attack

Reaper

ironclad mana

2

A

Deal 4 damage to ALL enemies. Heal for unblocked damage.
Exhaust.

Sacrifice your health in exchange for power.

silent

Shiv (WIP)

Death by 1000 cuts.

Poison

silent skill baseCatalystuncommon frame

skill

Catalyst

silent mana

1

A-

Double an enemy's Poison.
Exhaust.

silent skill baseCatalystuncommon frame

skill

Catalyst

silent mana

1

A-

Double an enemy's Poison.
Exhaust.

silent skill baseNightmarerare frame

skill

Nightmare

silent mana

3

B

Choose a card.
Next turn, add 3 copies of that card into your hand.
Exhaust.

silent skill baseBurstrare frame

skill

Burst

silent mana

1

B

This turn your next Skill is played twice.

silent skill baseCorpse Explosionrare frame

skill

Corpse Explosion

silent mana

2

A-

Apply 6 Poison. When an enemy dies, deal damage equal to its MAX HP to ALL enemies.

The Specimen

rare

Whenever an enemy dies, transfer any Poison it has to a random enemy.

A-

Snecko Skull

common

Whenever you apply Poison, apply an additional 1 Poison.

S+

Maintain your block while ramping up lethal amounts of Poison.

Envenom Poison (WIP)

silent power baseEnvenomrare frame

power

Envenom

silent mana

2

A

Whenever an attack deals unblocked damage, apply 1 Poison.

silent power baseInfinite Bladesuncommon frame

power

Infinite Blades

silent mana

1

B+

At the start of your turn, add a Shiv to your hand.

Cut your foes to shreds while racking up Poison.

Grand Finale (WIP)

silent attack baseGrand Finalerare frame

attack

Grand Finale

silent mana

0

E-

Can only be played if there are no cards in your draw pile.
Deal 50 damage to ALL enemies.

silent skill basePreparedcommon frame

skill

Prepared

silent mana

0

C

Draw 1 card.
Discard 1 card.

silent skill baseCalculated Gambleuncommon frame

skill

Calculated Gamble

silent mana

0

B-

Discard your hand, then draw that many cards.
Exhaust.

Runic Pyramid

boss

At the end of your turn, you no longer discard your hand.

A-

B

B-

B-

Manipulate your card draw to unleash huge multitarget damage.

Heel Hook (WIP)

Were still writing this section. Check back soon.

Discard (WIP)

Trigger powerful effects by discarding your cards.

Infinite Discard (WIP)

silent skill baseCalculated Gambleuncommon frame

skill

Calculated Gamble

silent mana

0

B-

Discard your hand, then draw that many cards.
Exhaust.

silent skill baseReflexuncommon frame

skill

Reflex

E+

Unplayable.
If this card is discarded from your hand, draw 2 cards.

silent skill baseTacticianuncommon frame

skill

Tactician

E+

Unplayable.
If this card is discarded from your hand, gain .

silent skill basePreparedcommon frame

skill

Prepared

silent mana

0

C

Draw 1 card.
Discard 1 card.

silent skill baseAcrobaticscommon frame

skill

Acrobatics

silent mana

1

B-

Draw 3 cards.
Discard 1 card.

Generate infinite energy using a looping discard combo.

watcher

Stance Dance

watcher attack baseFlurry Of Blowscommon frame

attack

Flurry Of Blows

watcher mana

0

B+

Deal 4 damage.
Whenever you change stances, return this from the discard pile to your hand.

watcher attack baseFlurry Of Blowscommon frame

attack

Flurry Of Blows

watcher mana

0

B+

Deal 4 damage.
Whenever you change stances, return this from the discard pile to your hand.

watcher power baseMental Fortressuncommon frame

power

Mental Fortress

watcher mana

1

B

Whenever you change Stances, gain 4 Block.

watcher skill baseMeditateuncommon frame

skill

Meditate

watcher mana

1

B+

Put a card from your discard pile into your hand and Retain it.
Enter Calm.
End your turn.

watcher skill baseSimmering Furyuncommon frame

skill

Simmering Fury

watcher mana

1

B-

At the start of your next turn, enter Wrath and draw 2 cards.

watcher power baseRushdownuncommon frame

power

Rushdown

watcher mana

1

C

Whenever you enter Wrath, draw 2 cards.

Violet Lotus

boss

Whenever you exit Calm, gain an additional [energy].

A

Switch between stances to punish foes with Wrath and protect yourself with Calm.

Infinite Stance Dance

watcher power baseRushdownuncommon frame

power

Rushdown

watcher mana

1

C

Whenever you enter Wrath, draw 2 cards.

watcher attack baseEruptioncommon frame

attack

Eruption

watcher mana

2

C

Deal 9 damage.
Enter Wrath.

watcher skill baseInner Peaceuncommon frame

skill

Inner Peace

watcher mana

1

B+

If you are in Calm, draw 3 cards.
Otherwise, enter Calm.

watcher skill baseScrawlrare frame

skill

Scrawl

watcher mana

1

A-

Draw cards until your hand is full.
Exhaust.

watcher power baseMental Fortressuncommon frame

power

Mental Fortress

watcher mana

1

B

Whenever you change Stances, gain 4 Block.

Peace Pipe

rare

You can now remove cards from your deck at Rest Sites.

C

C+

C+

C+

Generate infinite energy by jumping in and out of Calm.

Establishment Infinite Stance Dance

watcher power baseRushdownuncommon frame

power

Rushdown

watcher mana

1

C

Whenever you enter Wrath, draw 2 cards.

watcher attack baseEruptioncommon frame

attack

Eruption

watcher mana

2

C

Deal 9 damage.
Enter Wrath.

watcher skill baseVigilancecommon frame

skill

Vigilance

watcher mana

2

C

Gain 8 Block.
Enter Calm.

watcher power baseEstablishmentrare frame

power

Establishment

watcher mana

1

A

Whenever a card is Retained, reduce its cost by 1 this combat.

watcher skill baseMeditateuncommon frame

skill

Meditate

watcher mana

1

B+

Put a card from your discard pile into your hand and Retain it.
Enter Calm.
End your turn.

watcher skill baseScrawlrare frame

skill

Scrawl

watcher mana

1

A-

Draw cards until your hand is full.
Exhaust.

watcher power baseMental Fortressuncommon frame

power

Mental Fortress

watcher mana

1

B

Whenever you change Stances, gain 4 Block.

Peace Pipe

rare

You can now remove cards from your deck at Rest Sites.

C

C+

C+

C+

Generate infinite energy by jumping in and out of Calm using your starting cards.

Ragnarok

watcher attack baseRagnarokrare frame

attack

Ragnarok

watcher mana

3

A-

Deal 5 damage to a random enemy 5 times.

watcher skill baseWreath of Flameuncommon frame

skill

Wreath of Flame

watcher mana

1

C-

Your next Attack deals 5 additional damage.

watcher skill baseWreath of Flameuncommon frame

skill

Wreath of Flame

watcher mana

1

C-

Your next Attack deals 5 additional damage.

watcher skill baseCrescendocommon frame

skill

Crescendo

watcher mana

1

B-

Retain.
Enter Wrath.
Exhaust.

watcher skill baseBlasphemyrare frame

skill

Blasphemy

watcher mana

1

S

Enter Divinity.
Die next turn.
Exhaust

Save up for a huge Ragnarok turn which wipes out your foes.

Divinity

watcher power baseDevotionrare frame

power

Devotion

watcher mana

1

B

At the start of your turn, gain 2 Mantra.

watcher skill baseWorshipuncommon frame

skill

Worship

watcher mana

2

C-

Gain 5 Mantra.

watcher skill baseProstratecommon frame

skill

Prostrate

watcher mana

0

C+

Gain 2 Mantra.
Gain 4 Block.

Damaru

common

At the start of your turn, gain 1 Mantra.

C

Build up enough Mantra to enter Divinity and end fights outright.

Retain

watcher power baseEstablishmentrare frame

power

Establishment

watcher mana

1

A

Whenever a card is Retained, reduce its cost by 1 this combat.

watcher power baseBattle Hymnuncommon frame

power

Battle Hymn

watcher mana

1

B-

At the start of each turn, add a Smite into your hand.

watcher attack baseSands of Timeuncommon frame

attack

Sands of Time

watcher mana

4

B+

Retain.
Deal 20 damage.
When Retained, lower its cost by 1 this combat.

watcher attack baseWindmill Strikeuncommon frame

attack

Windmill Strike

watcher mana

2

A-

Retain.
Deal 7 damage.
When Retained, increase its damage by 4 this combat.

watcher skill baseProtectcommon frame

skill

Protect

watcher mana

2

A-

Retain.
Gain 12 Block.

watcher skill baseMeditateuncommon frame

skill

Meditate

watcher mana

1

B+

Put a card from your discard pile into your hand and Retain it.
Enter Calm.
End your turn.

Use Establishment to make your Retain cards free to unleash huge value turns.

Scry

watcher power baseForesightuncommon frame

power

Foresight

watcher mana

1

A+

At the start of your turn, Scry 3.

watcher power baseNirvanauncommon frame

power

Nirvana

watcher mana

1

B

Whenever you Scry, gain 3 Block.

watcher attack baseWeaveuncommon frame

attack

Weave

watcher mana

0

C+

Deal 4 damage.
Whenever you Scry, return this from the discard pile to your Hand.

watcher attack baseWeaveuncommon frame

attack

Weave

watcher mana

0

C+

Deal 4 damage.
Whenever you Scry, return this from the discard pile to your Hand.

Never draw a bad card again.

Pressure Points

watcher skill basePressure Pointscommon frame

skill

Pressure Points

watcher mana

1

D-

Apply 8 Mark.
ALL enemies lose HP equal to their Mark.

watcher skill basePressure Pointscommon frame

skill

Pressure Points

watcher mana

1

D-

Apply 8 Mark.
ALL enemies lose HP equal to their Mark.

watcher skill basePressure Pointscommon frame

skill

Pressure Points

watcher mana

1

D-

Apply 8 Mark.
ALL enemies lose HP equal to their Mark.

Mark enemies with Pressure Points and watch them crumble.

Master Reality (WIP)

watcher power baseMaster Realityrare frame

power

Master Reality

watcher mana

1

B-

Whenever a card is created during combat, Upgrade it.

watcher power baseBattle Hymnuncommon frame

power

Battle Hymn

watcher mana

1

B-

At the start of each turn, add a Smite into your hand.

watcher power baseStudyuncommon frame

power

Study

watcher mana

2

C+

At the end of your turn, shuffle an Insight into your draw pile.

Dead Branch

rare

Whenever you Exhaust a card, add a random card to your hand.

S+

S

B-

S

Generate powerful cards mid-combat to answer any encounter.

Alpha

watcher skill baseAlpharare frame

skill

Alpha

watcher mana

1

D

Shuffle a Beta into your draw pile.
Exhaust.

colorless skill baseBetacommon frame

skill

Beta

colorless mana

2

E

Shuffle an Omega into your draw pile.
Exhaust.

colorless power baseOmegacommon frame

power

Omega

colorless mana

3

S

At the start of your turn deal 50 damage to ALL enemies.

Play Alpha, Beta and Omega, then turtle up while shredding foes every turn.

Expunger

watcher skill baseConjure Bladerare frame

skill

Conjure Blade

watcher mana

X

D+

Shuffle an Expunger into your draw pile.
Exhaust.
(Expunger costs 1, deals 9 damage X times.)

watcher skill baseWreath of Flameuncommon frame

skill

Wreath of Flame

watcher mana

1

C-

Your next Attack deals 5 additional damage.

Chemical X

shop

The effects of your cost X cards are increased by 2.

B+

B+

B+

C

Smiling Mask

uncommon

The merchant's card removal service now always costs 50 Gold.

C-

C+

C-

C-

Peace Pipe

rare

You can now remove cards from your deck at Rest Sites.

C

C+

C+

C+

Were still writing this section. Check back soon.