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It can be a tough deck to build with lots of different strategies that are possible to implement, but it’s possible to become a pro for those who understand the nature of the cards and which ones are the strongest for each strategy. To help build the Ironclad deck, here are a listing of the best cards players can have for Ironclad.
Updated on September 13th, 2022 by Hodey Johns: Of course, there are many elements at play when trying to rank the best cards for any class. Player preference is the first and most simple. Every gamer will have cards that just fit with their mentality and others that don’t. This is a game, do whatever is enjoyable so long as it works! Next, players don’t get to choose their decks meaningfully. Every run is unique and sometimes decks must allow for variation depending on the type of cards given. All that being said, the great folks over at spirelogs.com do keep track of the most successful cards in the game. This list utilizes that information and the best cards have been ranked here.
10 Feel No Pain
What will become evident as this list goes on is that exhausting cards does not fear the better players. Even boss fights don’t last for more than a shuffle or two, so losing a card for an entire combat is about the same as discarding it.
Since exhaustion will be part of the normal loop, why not get some serious defensive benefit out of it? With Feel No Pain, the Ironclad gets block points out of every card exhausted without a limit. It’s like having a great starting bonus that gets reapplied in every fight.
9 Bludgeon
Bludgeon is about as clunky as it sounds; just a ton of damage for a pretty high cost of three energy. So why is it that players who find success strive to get ahold of this expensive card? The best defense is a good offense, as they say, and this is as great as offenses get.
Think of how many enemies Bludgeon can kill in a single round. Each time that happens, that’s a round they can’t act, can’t attack, and can’t buff or support their enemies. Instantly crushing one enemy, even if it’s a lesser one, simplifies the battlefield nicely. New players learning the ropes of the game can appreciate this kind of simplicity.
8 Seeing Red
If energy were removed from the equation, Slay the Spire would be one of the easiest games out there. Suddenly, players can select expensive cards and play them without worrying that the flow of power will run out.
That’s why Seeing Red is such a boon for the cardholder. It gives players extra energy, two extra points if the card is upgraded. This can either be used to fit in some more offense in a single round or for extra assistance on defense.
7 Burning Pact
Exhausting a card is often thought of as a penalty; a part of a payment for a card’s price outside of its energy cost. But experts have often found that voluntarily getting rid of a card for a combat session can help them be a bit more diverse.
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See, since not every enemy is the same, not all cards will work against all enemies. Knowing this information, exhausting one card that don’t help out against the given opponent and drawing new cards that might is an easy choice to make.
6 Sentinel
At its worst, Sentinel is the same as a Block card. It provides the same amount of protection and costs a single unit of energy. That alone isn’t so bad. But it has the possibility of being even better than its standard fare counterpart.
If this card is exhausted instead of played normally, then the Ironclad gains more energy. Specifically, two points normally and three points when upgraded. Protection and more energy? That’s a lot of versatility for a single card.
5 Havoc
Exhausting a card in exchange for playing it early and reducing the energy cost is a tough pill to swallow. Knowing that the card will be gone for the rest of the combat session is, indeed, a price to pay, but Havoc respects that cost and rewards it well.
Havoc automatically plays the next card that would be drawn for either one energy or no energy at all if Havoc is upgraded. This kind of expediency ends the combat session before the need to reshuffle exists, which is why the cost is well worth the payoff.
4 Exhume
Cards with an Exhaust trait are usually considered too powerful to include more than once per combat. Being able to do that makes defeating the Corrupt Heart not only possible, but much more simple. Exhume enables the Ironclad to do just that.
Upgraded, Exhume+ costs absolutely no energy at all, so gamers can suddenly perform this maneuver of bringing back exhumed cards at a minimal cost. Throwing off the core mechanics of the game elevates the Ironclad to elite levels.
3 Reaper
The Reaper is an attack card that deals four damage to all enemies and heals the player based on the damage that wasn’t blocked. This is a fantastic card for whittling down opponents and giving the Ironclad some much-needed HP.
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The key is to soften up opponents first to ensure as much damage breaches their block as possible so you do the most damage and get the most healing. Doing a little damage first or applying a card like Shockwave leverages the most benefit from this card.
2 Entrench
Some cards are so good that they function as an ideal Ironclad relic all on their own. Doubling the Block amount for two points of energy (or only a single point when upgraded) saves the Ironclad from what could be an early death, especially on higher ascension levels.
Those who play only on the normal setting will still get enjoyment out of Entrench as they can potentially turn Block into damage or even keep block between turns, depending on their relics, cards, and powers.
1 Corruption
This is easily the strongest power card in the entire Ironclad deck. When played Corruption will cause all skills to have zero energy cost. This means powerful cards like Shockwave, Impervious, and more can be played while still leaving three energy intact to play other cards.
This makes the job a whole lot easier as now any skill can be played without a second thought and they can still follow up with attack or defense cards. The one downside is that those skills cards will be exhausted and won’t resurface that round.
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