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Slay the Spire tier list of best cards

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Slay the Spire tier list of best cards

A list of the best cards for each character in Slay the Spire

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Updated on March 4th, 2024 - Version 2.2.5

There's a natural synergy that goes with rogue-type games and card game mechanics. This synergy can be found in the roguelike Slay the Spire. The objective of the game is to climb to the top of a spire and slay the boss enemy waiting there. You'll only have one character to attempt the climb with but there are four to choose between. They are the Ironclad, the Silent, the Defect, and the Watcher. Each one has different stats and behaviors but they all use cards to fight and perform different actions. You'll start off with some basic cards but will be able to get more from battles, events, treasure chests, and shopping.


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Since each of the characters is different, they all have different cards associated with them. They are suited to their stats and abilities which gives them their own strategies. Character cards can be used to deal damage, apply debuffs, give themselves armor, buff their stats, or boost their cards. Cards cost energy to play and once you're out, you'll need to end your turn. While most of them are unique to each character, special Colorless cards are available for any of them to use.

The following are Slay the Spire tier lists outlining the best cards for each character and for Colorless as well as the top three picks. They are organized by least to most rare.

Original article by Will Quick, updated by Mihail Katsoris.
Click Here To View The List »

1
Best Cards for the Ironclad

The Ironclad is a warrior-type character focused on buffing strength and dealing damage. He starts with the highest HP at 80 and comes with the Burning Blood Relic, which allows him to recover six HP at the end of a battle.

Card Name Energy Cost Card Type Rarity Effect Details
Anger 0 Attack Common Deal 6 damage. Add a copy of this card into your discard pile.
Feed 1 Attack Rare Deal 10 damage. If this kills the enemy, gain 3 permanent Max HP. Exhaust..
Immolate 2 Skill Rare Deal 21 damage to ALL enemies. Shuffle a Burn into your discard pile.
Armaments 1 Skill Common Gain 5 Block. Upgrade a card in your hand for the rest of combat.
Iron Wave 1 Attack Common Gain 5 Block. Deal 5 damage.
Thunderclap 1 Attack Common Deal 4 damage and apply 1 Vulnerable to ALL enemies.
Flame Barrier 2 Skill Uncommon Gain 12 Block. Whenever you are attacked this turn, deal 4 damage back.
Inflame 1 Power Uncommon Gain 2 Strength.
Rage 0 Skill Uncommon Whenever you play an Attack this turn, gain 3 Block.
Demon Form 3 Power Rare At the start of your turn, gain 2 Strength.
Juggernaut 2 Power Rare Whenever you gain Block, deal 5 damage to a random enemy.
Double Tap 1 Skill Rare This turn, your next Attack is played twice.
Corruption 3 Power Rare Whenever you play a Skill, Exhaust it.
Offering 0 Skill Rare Lose 6 HP. Gain 2 Energy. Draw 5 cards. Exhaust.
Battle Trance 0 Skill Uncommon Draw 3 cards. You cannot draw additional cards this turn.
Disarm 1 Skill Uncommon Enemy loses 2 Strength. Exhaust.
Reaper 2 Attack Rare Deal 4 damage to ALL enemies. Heal for unblocked damage.
Exhaust.

Anger is a very useful card to have as it's a free attack. It can be upgraded to do additional damage and is boosted by buffs and debuffs. It also adds a copy so you'll likely draw it again for future attacks.

Flame Barrier is a powerful defensive card. Not only is it cost-effective, but it adds a significant defense boost as well as a counterattack. It can also be upgraded to be even more efficient and deal higher damage.

Demon Form is a power that gives you a recurring buff. As the battle continues, having boosted damage will really start to pay off the longer the fight drags on.

2
Best Cards for the Silent

The Silent is a hunter-type character focused on multiple strikes and poisoning targets. She only starts with 70 HP but has the Ring of the Snake Relic, which allows you to draw two extra cards when you enter battle.

Card Name Energy Cost Card Type Rarity Effect Details
Bane 1 Attack Common Deal 7 damage. If the enemy has Poison, deal 7 damage again.
Dagger Spray 1 Attack Common Deal 4 damage to ALL enemies twice.
Deadly Poison 1 Skill Common Apply 5 Poison.
Flying Knee 1 Attack Common Deal 8 damage. Next turn, gain 1 Energy.
All-Out Attack 1 Attack Uncommon Deal 10 damage to ALL enemies. Discard 1 card at random.
Choke 2 Attack Uncommon Deal 12 damage. Whenever you play a card this turn, the enemy loses 3 HP.
Noxious Fumes 1 Power Uncommon At the start of your turn, apply 2 Poison to ALL enemies.
Phantasmal Killer 1 Skill Rare Next turn, your attacks deal double damage.
Grand Finale 0 Attack Rare Can only be played if there are no cards in your draw pile. Deal 50 damage to ALL enemies.
Envenom 2 Power Rare Whenever an Attack deals unblocked damage, apply 1 poison.
Adrenaline 0 Skill Rare Gain 1 Energy. Draw 2 cards. Exhaust.
Wraith Form 3 Power Rare Gain 2 Intangible. At the end of your turn, lose 1 Dexterity.
Well-Laid Plans 1 Power Uncommon At the end of your turn, Retain up to 1 card.
After Image 1 Power Rare Whenever you play a card, gain 1 Block.
Backflip 1 Skill Common Gain 5 Block. Draw 2 cards.
Footwork 1 Power Uncommon Gain 2 Dexterity.
Malaise X Skill Rare Enemy loses X Strength. Apply X Weak. Exhaust.
Piercing Wail 1 Skill Common ALL enemies lose 6 Strength for 1 turn. Exhaust.
Terror 1 Skill Uncommon Apply 99 Vulnerable. Exhaust.

Deadly Poison is simple and effective. It's cheap and immediately applies recurring damage to an enemy of your choice. It can be upgraded to apply more stacks and is extremely useful for wearing down protected enemies.

Choke is a stacking damage attack that hits hard. When faced with an elite or a boss enemy, this card is perfect for dealing repeated damage. Start your turn with this card to make the most of it and boost any damage sources you have.

Grand Finale is a finishing move that is risky but worth it. It's the most powerful card in the game that can eliminate many enemies and severely injure elites and bosses.

3
Best Cards for the Defect

The Defect is a mage-like character focused on harnessing elements and setting up attacks. It starts out with 75 HP and has the Cracked Core Relic which Channels one Lightning when you enter battle.

Card Name Energy Cost Card Type Rarity Effect Details
Seek 0 Skill Rare Choose 1 card from your Draw pile and place them into your hand. Exhaust..
Charge Battery 1 Skill Common Gain 7 Block. Next turn, gain 1 Energy.
Rebound 1 Attack Common Deal 9 damage. Put the next card you play this turn on top of your draw pile.
Streamline 2 Attack Common Deal 15 damage. Reduce this card's cost by 1 this combat.
Sweeping Beam 1 Attack Common Deal 6 damage to ALL enemies. Draw 1 card.
Doom and Gloom 2 Attack Uncommon Deal 10 damage to all enemies. Channel 1 Dark.
Equilibrium 2 Skill Uncommon Gain 13 Block. Retain your hand this turn.
Melter 1 Attack Uncommon Remove all Block from an enemy. Deal 10 damage.
All for One 2 Attack Rare Deal 10 damage. Put all cost 0 cards from your discard pile into your hand.
Echo Form 3 Power Rare Ethereal. The first card you play each turn is played twice.
Electrodynamics 2 Power Rare Lightning now hits ALL enemies. Channel 2 Lightning.
Biased Cognition 1 Power Rare Gain 4 Focus. At the start of each turn, lose 1 Focus.
Self Repair 1 Power Uncommon At the end of combat, heal 7 HP.

Charge Battery is a useful card for this kind of strategy. Not only does it apply some protection to give you time to put things in place, but also to set up future plays. Upgrade it to make it even better.

Equilibrium is a great card to have if you don't want to leave anything to chance. If you end up with a good hand, use Equilibrium to keep it and apply some strong protection at the same time.

Echo Form is an interesting power card that changes the character's properties. Namely, it makes your first play each turn twice as effective.

4
Best Cards for the Watcher

The Watcher is a martial arts-like character focusing on stances and fluid combat. She starts out with 72 HP and the Pure Water Relic, which adds a Miracle card to your hand when you enter battle.

Card Name Energy Cost Card Type Rarity Effect Details
Bowling Bash 1 Attack Common Deal 7 damage for each enemy in combat.
Cut through Fate 1 Attack Common Deal 7 damage. Scry 2. Draw 1 card.
Follow-Up 1 Attack Common Deal 7 damage. If the last card played this combat was an Attack, gain 1 Energy.
Pressure Points 1 Skill Common Apply 8 Mark. ALL enemies lose HP equal to their Mark.
Battle Hymn 1 Power Uncommon At the start of each turn add a Smite into your hand.
Conclude 1 Attack Uncommon Deal 12 damage to ALL enemies. End your turn.
Swivel 2 Skill Uncommon Gain 8 Block. The next Attack you play costs 0.
Blasphemy 1 Skill Rare Enter Divinity. Die next turn. Exhaust.
Deva Form 3 Power Rare Ethereal. At the start of your turn, gain 1 Energy and increase this gain by 1.
Judgment 1 Skill Rare If the enemy has 30 or less HP, set their HP to 0.
Blasphemy 1 Skill Rare Enter Divinity. Die next turn. Exhaust
Spirit Shield 2 Skill Rare Gain 3 Block for each card in your hand.
Lesson Learned 2 Attack Rare Deal 10 damage. If Fatal, Upgrade a random card in your deck. Exhaust.
Foresight 1 Power Uncommon At the start of your turn, Scry 3.
Vault 3 Skill Rare Take an extra turn after this one. End your turn. Exhaust.
Cut Through Fate 1 Attack Common Deal 7 damage. Scry 2. Draw 1 card.
Establishment 1 Power Rare Whenever a card is Retained, reduce its cost by 1 this combat.

Pressure Points is an interesting but powerful type of debuff. Somewhat like Poison, it ignores any blocking and is added to targets directly. Keep playing the card to maximize its effect and upgrade when you can.

Conclude is a strong attack card to have in your deck. When it appears in your hand, you should play it last to negate the negative side while also doing good damage. Since it's cheap to use, it's worth upgrading.

Blasphemy is the definition of a Hail Mary move. This is meant as a last resort but that makes it perfect to use against bosses, especially if you're running low on health and armor.

5
Best Colorless Cards

These cards are available for any character to use in a variety of ways. They're the only type that can't be gained at the end of battles and instead have to be found, bought, or added to your deck through the use of other cards.







Card Name Energy Cost Card Type Rarity Effect Details
Enlightenment 0 Skill Uncommon Reduce the cost of all cards in your hand to 1 this turn.
Impatience 0 Skill Uncommon If you have no Attacks in your hand, draw 2 cards.
Trip 0 Skill Uncommon Apply 2 Vulnerable
Panacea 0 Skill Uncommon Gain 1 Artifact. Exhaust.
Mayhem 2 Power Rare At the start of your turn, play the top card of your draw pile.
Hand of Greed 2 Attack Rare Deal 20 damage. If Fatal, gain 20 Gold.
Panache 0 Power Rare Every time you play 5 cards in a single turn, deal 10 damage to ALL enemies.
Sadistic Nature 0 Power Rare Whenever you apply a debuff to an enemy, they take 5 damage.
The Bomb 2 Skill Rare At the end of 3 turns, deal 40 damage to ALL enemies.
Apotheosis 2 Skill Rare Upgrade ALL your cards for the rest of combat. Exhaust.
Through Violence 0 Attack Special Retain. Deal 20 damage. Exhaust.
Omega 3 Power Special At the start of your turn deal 50 damage to ALL enemies.
Bandage Up 0 Skill Uncommon Heal 4 HP. Exhaust.
Insight 0 Skill Special Retain. Draw 2 cards. Exhaust.
Dramatic Entrance 0 Attack Uncommon Innate. Deal 6 damage to ALL enemies. Exhaust.
Master Of Strategy 0 Skill Rare Draw 3 cards. Exhaust.
Secret Technique 0 Skill Rare Choose a Skill from your draw pile and place it into your hand. Exhaust.
Secret Weapon 0 Skill Rare Choose an Attack from your draw pile and place it into your hand.
Exhaust.
Miracle 0 Skill Special Retain. Gain 1 Energy. Exhaust.
Safety 1 Skill Special Retain. Gain 12 Block. Exhaust.

Enlightenment is a very handy card that can keep your energy costs low until you find the proper Relics or cards. Since it costs nothing, there's no downside to using it, and should be kept in rotation.

Sadistic Nature is perfect since you're likely to collect a lot of debuff cards. It's easy to stack debuffs on enemies since they ignore blocking. Once that's done, this card proves to be quite powerful.

Apotheosis is a one-time per battle use card, but it's worth it. It instantly buffs every single one of your cards for the rest of the fight and takes itself out of rotation to make space.

With this, we are closing down Slay the Spire tier list. Note that we will update this tier list with new cards and whenever a rebalance patch is out, so stay tuned.

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Will Quick
Will Quick
Will Quick is a travelling writer currently dedicating his time to writing about the games he spends his free time playing. He's always on the lookout for the smaller and stranger of the bunch so he can shine a light on them.