Slay the Spire tier list of best cards (2024)

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By Will Quick

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Slay the Spire tier list of best cards (1)

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

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Updated on May 12th, 2024- Version2.2.5

There's a natural synergy that goes with roguelike 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 areSlay the Spire tier lists outlining the best cards for each character and 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.

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1

Best Cards for the Ironclad

Slay the Spire tier list of best cards (2)

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 NameEnergy CostCard TypeRarityEffect Details
Anger0AttackCommonDeal 6 damage. Add a copy of this card into your discard pile.
Feed1AttackRareDeal 10 damage. If this kills the enemy, gain 3 permanent Max HP. Exhaust..
Immolate2SkillRareDeal 21 damage to ALL enemies. Shuffle a Burn into your discard pile.
Armaments1SkillCommonGain 5 Block. Upgrade a card in your hand for the rest of combat.
Iron Wave1AttackCommonGain 5 Block. Deal 5 damage.
Thunderclap1AttackCommonDeal 4 damage and apply 1 Vulnerable to ALL enemies.
Flame Barrier2SkillUncommonGain 12 Block. Whenever you are attacked this turn, deal 4 damage back.
Inflame1PowerUncommonGain 2 Strength.
Rage0SkillUncommonWhenever you play an Attack this turn, gain 3 Block.
Demon Form3PowerRareAt the start of your turn, gain 2 Strength.
Juggernaut2PowerRareWhenever you gain Block, deal 5 damage to a random enemy.
Double Tap1SkillRareThis turn, your next Attack is played twice.
Corruption3PowerRareWhenever you play a Skill, Exhaust it.
Offering0SkillRareLose 6 HP. Gain 2 Energy. Draw 5 cards. Exhaust.
Battle Trance0SkillUncommonDraw 3 cards. You cannot draw additional cards this turn.
Disarm1SkillUncommonEnemy loses 2 Strength. Exhaust.
Reaper2AttackRareDeal 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

Slay the Spire tier list of best cards (3)

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 NameEnergy CostCard TypeRarityEffect Details
Bane1AttackCommonDeal 7 damage. If the enemy has Poison, deal 7 damage again.
Dagger Spray1AttackCommonDeal 4 damage to ALL enemies twice.
Deadly Poison1SkillCommonApply 5 Poison.
Flying Knee1AttackCommonDeal 8 damage. Next turn, gain 1 Energy.
All-Out Attack1AttackUncommonDeal 10 damage to ALL enemies. Discard 1 card at random.
Choke2AttackUncommonDeal 12 damage. Whenever you play a card this turn, the enemy loses 3 HP.
Noxious Fumes1PowerUncommonAt the start of your turn, apply 2 Poison to ALL enemies.
Phantasmal Killer1SkillRareNext turn, your attacks deal double damage.
Grand Finale0AttackRareCan only be played if there are no cards in your draw pile. Deal 50 damage to ALL enemies.
Envenom2PowerRareWhenever an Attack deals unblocked damage, apply 1 poison.
Adrenaline0SkillRareGain 1 Energy. Draw 2 cards. Exhaust.
Wraith Form3PowerRareGain 2 Intangible. At the end of your turn, lose 1 Dexterity.
Well-Laid Plans1PowerUncommonAt the end of your turn, Retain up to 1 card.
After Image1PowerRareWhenever you play a card, gain 1 Block.
Backflip1SkillCommonGain 5 Block. Draw 2 cards.
Footwork1PowerUncommonGain 2 Dexterity.
MalaiseXSkillRareEnemy loses X Strength. Apply X Weak. Exhaust.
Piercing Wail1SkillCommonALL enemies lose 6 Strength for 1 turn. Exhaust.
Terror1SkillUncommonApply 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

Slay the Spire tier list of best cards (4)

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 NameEnergy CostCard TypeRarityEffect Details
Seek0SkillRareChoose 1 card from your Draw pile and place them into your hand. Exhaust..
Charge Battery1SkillCommonGain 7 Block. Next turn, gain 1 Energy.
Rebound1AttackCommonDeal 9 damage. Put the next card you play this turn on top of your draw pile.
Streamline2AttackCommonDeal 15 damage. Reduce this card's cost by 1 this combat.
Sweeping Beam1AttackCommonDeal 6 damage to ALL enemies. Draw 1 card.
Doom and Gloom2AttackUncommonDeal 10 damage to all enemies. Channel 1 Dark.
Equilibrium2SkillUncommonGain 13 Block. Retain your hand this turn.
Melter1AttackUncommonRemove all Block from an enemy. Deal 10 damage.
All for One2AttackRareDeal 10 damage. Put all cost 0 cards from your discard pile into your hand.
Echo Form3PowerRareEthereal. The first card you play each turn is played twice.
Electrodynamics2PowerRareLightning now hits ALL enemies. Channel 2 Lightning.
Biased Cognition1PowerRareGain 4 Focus. At the start of each turn, lose 1 Focus.
Self Repair1PowerUncommonAt 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

Slay the Spire tier list of best cards (5)

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 NameEnergy CostCard TypeRarityEffect Details
Bowling Bash1AttackCommonDeal 7 damage for each enemy in combat.
Cut through Fate1AttackCommonDeal 7 damage. Scry 2. Draw 1 card.
Follow-Up1AttackCommonDeal 7 damage. If the last card played this combat was an Attack, gain 1 Energy.
Pressure Points1SkillCommonApply 8 Mark. ALL enemies lose HP equal to their Mark.
Battle Hymn1PowerUncommonAt the start of each turn add a Smite into your hand.
Conclude1AttackUncommonDeal 12 damage to ALL enemies. End your turn.
Swivel2SkillUncommonGain 8 Block. The next Attack you play costs 0.
Blasphemy1SkillRareEnter Divinity. Die next turn. Exhaust.
Deva Form3PowerRareEthereal. At the start of your turn, gain 1 Energy and increase this gain by 1.
Judgment1SkillRareIf the enemy has 30 or less HP, set their HP to 0.
Blasphemy1SkillRareEnter Divinity. Die next turn. Exhaust
Spirit Shield2SkillRareGain 3 Block for each card in your hand.
Lesson Learned2AttackRareDeal 10 damage. If Fatal, Upgrade a random card in your deck. Exhaust.
Foresight1PowerUncommonAt the start of your turn, Scry 3.
Vault3SkillRareTake an extra turn after this one. End your turn. Exhaust.
Cut Through Fate1AttackCommonDeal 7 damage. Scry 2. Draw 1 card.
Establishment1PowerRareWhenever 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

Slay the Spire tier list of best cards (6)

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 NameEnergy CostCard TypeRarityEffect Details
Enlightenment0SkillUncommonReduce the cost of all cards in your hand to 1 this turn.
Impatience0SkillUncommonIf you have no Attacks in your hand, draw 2 cards.
Trip0SkillUncommonApply 2 Vulnerable
Panacea0SkillUncommonGain 1 Artifact. Exhaust.
Mayhem2PowerRareAt the start of your turn, play the top card of your draw pile.
Hand of Greed2AttackRareDeal 20 damage. If Fatal, gain 20 Gold.
Panache0PowerRareEvery time you play 5 cards in a single turn, deal 10 damage to ALL enemies.
sad*stic Nature0PowerRareWhenever you apply a debuff to an enemy, they take 5 damage.
The Bomb2SkillRareAt the end of 3 turns, deal 40 damage to ALL enemies.
Apotheosis2SkillRareUpgrade ALL your cards for the rest of combat. Exhaust.
Through Violence0AttackSpecialRetain. Deal 20 damage. Exhaust.
Omega3PowerSpecialAt the start of your turn deal 50 damage to ALL enemies.
Bandage Up0SkillUncommonHeal 4 HP. Exhaust.
Insight0SkillSpecialRetain. Draw 2 cards. Exhaust.
Dramatic Entrance0AttackUncommonInnate. Deal 6 damage to ALL enemies. Exhaust.
Master Of Strategy0SkillRareDraw 3 cards. Exhaust.
Secret Technique0SkillRareChoose a Skill from your draw pile and place it into your hand. Exhaust.
Secret Weapon0SkillRareChoose an Attack from your draw pile and place it into your hand. Exhaust.
Miracle0SkillSpecialRetain. Gain 1 Energy. Exhaust.
Safety1SkillSpecialRetain. 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.

sad*stic 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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Slay the Spire tier list of best cards (8)Slay the Spire tier list of best cards (9)

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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.

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Slay the Spire tier list of best cards (2024)

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