Slay the Spireis the ever-popular deck-building roguelike by Mega-Crit Games. It sees players carve out their path to victory using unique characters, decks, relics, and potions. The game’s sheer depth and build variety caneasily overwhelm new gamerswho fall foul in their attempts at forcing builds to work, often missing key synchronizing items.
However, as players reach higher ascensions,knowing the best deckand corresponding relics for each character is key to guaranteeing great runs and furthering one’s skill. This article showcases the most powerful builds in-game that can be utilized to gain the upper edge and guarantee gamers are successful in the journey toSlay the Spire.
Medical Kit
Exhaust status cards.
InSlay the Spire, there’sno combination more iconicthanDead BranchandCorruptionon Ironclad.Twitch Streamer Jorbsused it to beat the heart in a single turn (one-turn kills are no longer possible because of that). To make this build, the following cards are required:
Feel No Pain, Entrench, and Bloodlettingare worth incorporating into this deck.Feel No Pain,especially, as it gives 3-4 block per exhausted card.
This build makes the player nigh near unkillable. All skills cost 0 and are self-replacing due to the combination of Dead Branch and Corruption.The relic bottled Storm ensures corruption is always drawn first.Fiend Fire and Second Windexhaust the playable hand to deal damage and gain block, respectively. Meanwhile, Barricade makes block stay between rounds, letting Body Slam deal obscene damage. The build’s synchronization and late-game potential have made it revered by Ironclad players.
Transfers poison between enemies when one dies.
Twisted Funnel
Applies 4 stacks of poison to every enemy at the start of a battle
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).
Admittedly, The Silent hasplenty of notable decks, namely the Shiv and Accuracy builds. However,the best build focuses on her poison mechanic. The Silent applies poison to enemies who lose health equal to their poison stacks at the start of their turn. Poison is considered a negative status debuff. Thus, it is not an attack that can be damage-boosted by strength or Akabeko. To apply poison fast, there are several cards:
Twisted Funnel and Bouncing Flask aid in artifact-stripping enemies like Donu and Deca, who counter this build.Artifacts prevent status and debuff effects, like weakness and poison.
Avoid the temptation to neglect defense. Poison is slow to build, and The Silent is squishy. She NEEDS to stall out damage;the best card for this defense-wise is Footwork.It gives 2-3 dexterity, boosting block by +1 per point. Possessing multiple Footwork cards can make standard defense cards pump out a double-digit defense. Pair this build withEscape Planto draw skills and gain defense for it too, for 0 energy.
Furthermore, players can acquireWraith Form, a run-saving cardthat reduces any attack to its minimum damage. However, the card reduces dexterity by -1 per turn andthis debuff is stackable. However, players can partially offset the negative effects with anAncient PotionorClockwork Souvenir.
Description
Mummified Hand
Wherever a power card is played, a random card in the Defect’s hand costs 0 for that turn.
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).
TheDefectis a sentient robot with aPOWER-ful deck. The point of this deck is to draw and play power cards, which increase the capacity of his orbs and focus.Orbs are his form of offense, defense, and energy gain. However, this build will solely center on lightning and frost orbs, as they are the most effective. Whereas,focus improves the power of the Defect’s orbsby +1 per point. For example, a frost orb normally provides 2 block, but with 20 focus, it is 22 block per orb. Players will need the following cards for this build:
Frost (Defense)
Electric (Offense)
This build scales infinitely.Power cards last a whole encounter and give the Defect constant methods of increasing focus and capacity. He can continually channel orbs, get their passive effect, and evoke them.When orbs are evoked, they unleash a stronger effect and discard themselves. Orbs will evoke and replace themselves naturally due to Storm creating lightning orbs per power played, and the deck being almost exclusively power cards. During a boss encounter, it is normal to have over 100 passive block and attack.
However,this build is relic-dependent; the Mummified Hand is needed for momentum. Players can replace the Cursed Key with the Sozu relic. However, +2 focus and capacity potions can no longer be used with Sozu, which is a downside.
Due to the many power cards played per turn, it is common to struggle againstThe Awakened One, who gains 1-2 strength per power card. So, when facing him, prioritize building frost orbs and targeting the cultists who gain strength every turn. Use power cards that scale better than his strength gain!
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.
The player cannot discard their hand when ending their turn. This makes it easier to draw the infinite.
The Watcher is undeniably the most broken character. Leaderboards reflect this, as the Watcher has a Win Streak score of 2017!!! The Defect is miles behind as the closest character with 323 (on Xbox).The Infinitebuild focuses on drawing cards and switching stances between Calm and Wrath. Calm gives two energy when leaving the stance, and wrath doubles all damage dealt and received. To reliably “go infinite,” use these cards:
Calm Stance
Draw and Defense
Have at most 10 non-exhausting cards. Remove Defend cardsand replace them withMental Fortress,Vigilance, andTalk to the Hand. That will allow gamers to guarantee that the deck is small enough to do an infinite consistently. Additionally, players canforce this build,ignore half of the cards available to them, and skip card rewards.FORCING BUILDS IS NOT ADVISED FOR ANY OTHER CHARACTER.
The Infinite Build does notrely on relicsbut benefits immensely fromtheRunic Pyramid. It is a synergetic build: the Watcher obtains 2 energy upon exiting Calm (3 with Violet Lotus) and receives 4-6 defense from stance-switching due to Mental Fortress. Meanwhile, Wrath doubles the damage dealt, grants players +2 cards due to Rushdown, and gives players 2-3 defense per attack from Talk to the Hand. In Wrath, the damage received doubles, AVOID ending turns in Wrath. Moreover, Vault lets the Watcher retake her turn, while Scrawl allows her to redraw a full hand for 0-cost. Culminating in a powerhouse with an unending turn.
Overall, the Watcher melts bosses. She has tons of offense output, passive block, energy, and cost-free methods of redrawing her entire hand. Gamerscan use alternative builds, likeAlpha, Beta, Omega, orDivinity. However, they are weaker than just focusing on the infinite build, as it is stronger and consistent.
