Slay the Spire 2 Characters & Cards – All Five Heroes, Mechanics & Signature Cards | Slay the Spire 2 Guide

Choose Your Hero

Strength / Block

Agility / Poison

The Necrobinder

The Necrobinder

Heroes unlock in a chain: Ironclad → Silent → Regent → Necrobinder → Defect. Beginners should start with Ironclad.

The IroncladStrength / Block

The Ironclad

Starting HP80

Starter RelicBurning Blood: heal 6 HP after each combat

UnlockAvailable from the start

Core Mechanics

Highest starting HP (80) plus post-combat healing makes him the most forgiving pick. Core systems: Strength stacking, Vulnerable (a full archetype in StS2), Exhaust synergies and self-damage payoffs.

Recommended Builds

S Exhaust Block Widely considered Ironclad's strongest high-Ascension deck: Corruption makes skills free-but-Exhaust, Dark Embrace draws off Exhaust, Feel No Pain blocks off Exhaust, Barricade keeps Block forever, and Body Slam converts it to damage. S Strength Scaling Demon Form + Limit Break (double Strength, no cap) remains the most consistent climb. New card Hellraiser auto-plays every Strike you draw for free — a semi-automatic Strike engine.

Signature Cards

Deal damage and apply Vulnerable (+50% attack damage taken). The opener of Ironclad's Vulnerable engine.

0-cost attack, one of the best early commons — fills out your 5-card hand for free.

Damage plus draw; upgraded it draws twice. Core lubricant of the Strike engine.

Skills cost 0 but Exhaust when played — the engine of the Exhaust-Block archetype.

Deal damage equal to your Block. Upgraded to 0 cost — the Block deck finisher.

Gain 8 Block (11 upgraded) and draw 1 card — the best common defensive pick for any Ironclad deck.

Gain 7 Block (9 upgraded) and Exhaust a random card; upgraded lets you choose which — the starter motor of Exhaust decks.

Gain 2 Strength (3 upgraded) — premium-value core of every Strength deck.

Deal 5 damage (8 upgraded) to ALL enemies X times — the multiplier that converts Strength into AoE.

At the start of each turn gain 2 Strength (3 upgraded) — taking it commits you to the Strength archetype.

The SilentAgility / Poison

The Silent

Starting HP70

Starter RelicRing of the Snake: draw extra cards at combat start

UnlockStart a run as Ironclad to unlock

Core Mechanics

Poison, Shivs and discard synergies. New StS2 keyword Sly: cards with Sly play themselves for free when discarded — the highest single-turn damage ceiling in the game.

Recommended Builds

S Sly Discard The highest damage ceiling in StS2: Sly cards play themselves when discarded, so Prepared/Acrobatics-style engines resolve 5+ cards a turn. S+ ceiling, but needs specific pieces. A Poison Stacking Classic Poison remains reliable: stack it up, then double/triple with Catalyst. Slow against high-HP bosses but extremely consistent, and great in co-op.

Signature Cards

0-cost burst damage that fits Poison, Shiv and Sly decks alike.

Double (upgrade: triple) an enemy's Poison — the Poison deck finisher.

Adds Shivs to your hand. Core Shiv generator — pair with Accuracy to scale.

Draw plus energy in one card — fits virtually every Silent deck.

Deal 3 damage (4 upgraded) and apply 1 Weak (2 upgraded) — the strongest starter card in the game, free value every fight.

Deal 9 damage (12 upgraded), draw 1 card then discard 1 — the discard trigger every Sly deck wants.

Draw 3 cards (4 upgraded) then discard 1 — the draw core of the Sly engine. Moved from Common to Uncommon in v0.103.

Gain 1 energy (2 upgraded). Sly — being discarded plays it for free, turning discard effects into free energy.

At the start of each turn apply 2 Poison (3 upgraded) to ALL enemies — the 1-cost engine of Poison decks.

Gain 2 Intangible (3 upgraded); lose 1 Dexterity at the start of each turn. Raised to the new Ancient rarity in StS2 — a defensive answer any deck can splash.

The RegentStars / Forge

The Regent

Starting HP72

Starter RelicDivine Right: gain 3 Stars at combat start

UnlockStart a run as Silent to unlock

Core Mechanics

New character — an astral mage carried on a throne. Dual resources: Stars persist between turns with no cap; Forge permanently empowers his Sovereign Blade. Never mix Star and Forge cards in one deck.

Recommended Builds

A Star Burst Alignment converts Stars into energy; Seven Stars spends 7 for 49 AoE. Never mix with Forge — your Star income per shuffle dictates how many Star-spenders the deck supports.

Signature Cards

Spend 7 Stars for 49 AoE damage — the signature Star deck finisher.

3 Stars for 14 AoE — one of the strongest commons in the game.

1 energy + 4 Stars for Forge 30 — the big Forge pay-off.

Deal 8 damage (12 upgraded) and apply 1 Weak + 1 Vulnerable — the strongest starter Strike in the game.

Gain 2 Stars (3 upgraded) — the baseline Star generator of the Star archetype.

Deal 9 damage (10 upgraded) and gain 1 Star (2 upgraded) — offense and Star income in one common.

Convert Stars into 2 energy (3 upgraded) — the Star-to-energy converter at the heart of the Star engine.

Draw 6 cards (9 upgraded) — one of the strongest draw cards in the game; take on sight.

At the start of each turn gain 2 Stars (3 upgraded) — seeing it defines the Star archetype for the run.

End your turn; afterwards your first 2 cards each turn cost 0. Ethereal. The core of Void burst engines — never mix with Forge cards.

The NecrobinderSummon / Doom

The Necrobinder

Starting HP66

Starter RelicBound Phylactery: Summon 1 at the start of each turn

UnlockStart a run as Regent to unlock

Core Mechanics

New lich character fighting alongside Osty, a giant skeletal hand that attacks and body-blocks. Doom stacks execute enemies at turn end once Doom ≥ their max HP — the only S+ answer to co-op HP scaling. Souls are 0-cost "draw 2 then exhaust" tokens.

Recommended Builds

S Doom Execute Doom executes by percentage of max HP, ignoring co-op HP scaling — the only S+ co-op character. End of Days wipes boards. Balance Soul generation vs. spending or you stall in boss fights.

Signature Cards

Massive AoE Doom that immediately executes enemies at threshold — can end fights on the spot.

Apply Weak (-25% enemy damage) — the best-value mitigation in the game.

Osty deals 6 damage plus damage equal to its current HP — the core Osty payoff; the bigger Osty, the harder it hits.

Summon 5 (7 upgraded) — the baseline way to grow Osty's HP.

Apply 13 Doom (16 upgraded) and draw 1 card (2 upgraded) — the main Doom stacker that never costs tempo.

Deal 9 damage (11 upgraded) and shuffle 1 Soul (2 upgraded) into your draw pile — the baseline Soul engine.

Osty deals 6 damage (9 upgraded) — a free Osty command every Summon deck wants.

Whenever you play a Soul, a random enemy loses 6 HP (8 upgraded) — the pivot of the S-tier Soul engine.

At the start of each turn apply 6 Doom (9 upgraded) to a random enemy — a passive Doom engine.

Whenever your attacks deal damage, apply that much Doom — the ceiling card of Doom × attack hybrid decks.

The DefectOrbs / Energy

The Defect

Starting HP75

Starter RelicCracked Core: channel 1 Lightning at combat start

UnlockStart a run as Necrobinder to unlock

Core Mechanics

Orb system (Lightning/Frost/Dark/Plasma). Permanent Focus stacking is gone in StS2, replaced by active channel/evoke play. The 0-cost Claw archetype returns and kills faster than anything else.

Recommended Builds

A Claw Zero-Cost Claw + Scrape + All for One + FTL + Beam Cell forms a 0-cost damage cycle — the fastest kills in the game. Dark-orb control is the polar opposite for long fights.

Signature Cards

0-cost attack that buffs every Claw for the rest of the combat — the 0-cost engine core.

Channel 1 Lightning — the foundation of every orb deck.

Evoke your rightmost orb twice — the key to Dark orb burst turns.

Deal 7 damage (10 upgraded) and channel 1 Lightning — the mainstay common of Lightning decks.

Deal 6 damage (9 upgraded) and channel 1 Frost — offense and defense in one card.

Deal 7 damage (10 upgraded); draw 1 card for each different orb type you have — the draw engine of mixed-orb decks.

Gain 6 Block (9 upgraded) and channel 2 Frost — the core of the Frost turtle deck.

Gain 1 Focus (2 upgraded) — after the StS2 Focus rework this is the only stable Focus source (now a rare); every orb deck wants it.

Channel X Lightning (X+1 upgraded) — one card, a full board of orbs.

The first card you play each turn is played twice. Ethereal — the ceiling card of every Defect deck; top upgrade priority.

Card Library Overview

There are 577 cards in the current version — this is a curated selection of each hero's core signature cards. Open any character section above for full mechanics and build advice.

The Ironclad · 10 cards

Deal damage and apply Vulnerable (+50% attack damage taken). The opener of Ironclad's Vulnerable engine.

0-cost attack, one of the best early commons — fills out your 5-card hand for free.

Damage plus draw; upgraded it draws twice. Core lubricant of the Strike engine.

Skills cost 0 but Exhaust when played — the engine of the Exhaust-Block archetype.

Deal damage equal to your Block. Upgraded to 0 cost — the Block deck finisher.

Gain 8 Block (11 upgraded) and draw 1 card — the best common defensive pick for any Ironclad deck.

Gain 7 Block (9 upgraded) and Exhaust a random card; upgraded lets you choose which — the starter motor of Exhaust decks.

Gain 2 Strength (3 upgraded) — premium-value core of every Strength deck.

Deal 5 damage (8 upgraded) to ALL enemies X times — the multiplier that converts Strength into AoE.

At the start of each turn gain 2 Strength (3 upgraded) — taking it commits you to the Strength archetype.

The Silent · 10 cards

0-cost burst damage that fits Poison, Shiv and Sly decks alike.

Double (upgrade: triple) an enemy's Poison — the Poison deck finisher.

Adds Shivs to your hand. Core Shiv generator — pair with Accuracy to scale.

Draw plus energy in one card — fits virtually every Silent deck.

Deal 3 damage (4 upgraded) and apply 1 Weak (2 upgraded) — the strongest starter card in the game, free value every fight.

Deal 9 damage (12 upgraded), draw 1 card then discard 1 — the discard trigger every Sly deck wants.

Draw 3 cards (4 upgraded) then discard 1 — the draw core of the Sly engine. Moved from Common to Uncommon in v0.103.

Gain 1 energy (2 upgraded). Sly — being discarded plays it for free, turning discard effects into free energy.

At the start of each turn apply 2 Poison (3 upgraded) to ALL enemies — the 1-cost engine of Poison decks.

Gain 2 Intangible (3 upgraded); lose 1 Dexterity at the start of each turn. Raised to the new Ancient rarity in StS2 — a defensive answer any deck can splash.

The Regent · 10 cards

Spend 7 Stars for 49 AoE damage — the signature Star deck finisher.

3 Stars for 14 AoE — one of the strongest commons in the game.

1 energy + 4 Stars for Forge 30 — the big Forge pay-off.

Deal 8 damage (12 upgraded) and apply 1 Weak + 1 Vulnerable — the strongest starter Strike in the game.

Gain 2 Stars (3 upgraded) — the baseline Star generator of the Star archetype.

Deal 9 damage (10 upgraded) and gain 1 Star (2 upgraded) — offense and Star income in one common.

Convert Stars into 2 energy (3 upgraded) — the Star-to-energy converter at the heart of the Star engine.

Draw 6 cards (9 upgraded) — one of the strongest draw cards in the game; take on sight.

At the start of each turn gain 2 Stars (3 upgraded) — seeing it defines the Star archetype for the run.

End your turn; afterwards your first 2 cards each turn cost 0. Ethereal. The core of Void burst engines — never mix with Forge cards.

The Necrobinder · 10 cards

Massive AoE Doom that immediately executes enemies at threshold — can end fights on the spot.

Apply Weak (-25% enemy damage) — the best-value mitigation in the game.

Osty deals 6 damage plus damage equal to its current HP — the core Osty payoff; the bigger Osty, the harder it hits.

Summon 5 (7 upgraded) — the baseline way to grow Osty's HP.

Apply 13 Doom (16 upgraded) and draw 1 card (2 upgraded) — the main Doom stacker that never costs tempo.

Deal 9 damage (11 upgraded) and shuffle 1 Soul (2 upgraded) into your draw pile — the baseline Soul engine.

Osty deals 6 damage (9 upgraded) — a free Osty command every Summon deck wants.

Whenever you play a Soul, a random enemy loses 6 HP (8 upgraded) — the pivot of the S-tier Soul engine.

At the start of each turn apply 6 Doom (9 upgraded) to a random enemy — a passive Doom engine.

Whenever your attacks deal damage, apply that much Doom — the ceiling card of Doom × attack hybrid decks.

The Defect · 10 cards

0-cost attack that buffs every Claw for the rest of the combat — the 0-cost engine core.

Channel 1 Lightning — the foundation of every orb deck.

Evoke your rightmost orb twice — the key to Dark orb burst turns.

Deal 7 damage (10 upgraded) and channel 1 Lightning — the mainstay common of Lightning decks.

Deal 6 damage (9 upgraded) and channel 1 Frost — offense and defense in one card.

Deal 7 damage (10 upgraded); draw 1 card for each different orb type you have — the draw engine of mixed-orb decks.

Gain 6 Block (9 upgraded) and channel 2 Frost — the core of the Frost turtle deck.

Gain 1 Focus (2 upgraded) — after the StS2 Focus rework this is the only stable Focus source (now a rare); every orb deck wants it.

Channel X Lightning (X+1 upgraded) — one card, a full board of orbs.

The first card you play each turn is played twice. Ethereal — the ceiling card of every Defect deck; top upgrade priority.

Card values reflect the current EA version and may change with updates.