The Complete Guide to the Ironclad in Slay the Spire 2

Ironclad is one of the playable characters that appeared in both Slay the Spire and Slay the Spire 2. This powerful knight is all about powerful weaponry, fire, straightforward attacks, and a single-minded focus on getting to the top of the Spire.

1. The Ironclad Decks in Slay the Spire 2

The Ironclad hasn’t changed much between the first and second games, but the changes that have been made make a huge difference. If you want to succeed with this powerful knight, you will want to focus on one of several possible builds. Below the decks you can find the list of all Ironclad cards you can get.

1.1 Vulnerable Deck

Cards for the Vulnerable Deck for The Ironclad.

There are several cards in The Ironclad’s repertoire that will apply Vulnerable to enemies. This forces the enemies to take 50% more damage with each hit. But The Ironclad can also force other positives by applying Vulnerable.

• Vicious: Power – Whenever you apply Vulnerable, draw 1 card.
• Uppercut: Attack – Deal 13 damage. Apply 1 Weak. Apply 1 Vulnerable. 
• Dominate: Skill – Gain 1 Strength for each Vulnerable on the enemy.
• Colossus: Skill – You receive 50% less damage from Vulnerable enemies this turn.
• Bully: Attack – Deals 2 additional damage for each Vulnerable on the enemy.
• Cruelty: Power – Vulnerable enemies take an additional 25%/50% damage.
• Bag of Marbles: Relic – At the start of each combat, apply 1 Vulnerable to ALL enemies.
• Paper Phrog: Relic – Enemies with Vulnerable take 75% more damage from Attack cards rather than 50%.
• Unsettling Lamp: Relic – Each combat, the first time you play a card that Debuffs an enemy, double its effect.
• Hand Drill: Relic – Whenever you break an enemy’s Block, apply 2 Vulnerable.
• Shockwave: Colorless Skill – Applies 3 Weak and Vulnerable to ALL enemies.
• Squash: Colorless Attack – Deal 12 damage. Apply 3 Vulnerable.

1.2 Block Deck

Cards for the Block Deck for The Ironclad.

To build the Block deck, you need Body Slam. This card deals your Block amount as damage for 1 or 0, which means you want a lot of block and several Body Slams that are upgraded.

• Body Slam: Attack – Deal damage equal to your Block.
• Any cards that give block.
• Iron Clad: Attack – Deals damage and gives Block.
• Armaments: Skill – Gain 5 Block. Upgrade a card in your Hand. When upgraded, it upgrades ALL cards in your hand.
• Prolong: Colorless Skill – Next turn, gain Block equal to your current Block. Exhaust.
• Fresnel Lens: Relic – Whenever you add a card that gains Block to your Deck, Enchant it with Nimble 2.
• Parrying Shield: Relic – If you end a turn with at least 10 Block, deal 6 damage to a random enemy.
• Sai: At the start of your turn, gain 7 Block.
• Sturdy Clamp: Up to 10 Block persists across turns.
• Vambrace: Relic – The first time you gain Block from a card each combat, double the amount gained.

1.3 Lose HP Deck

Cards for the Lose HP Deck for The Ironclad.

The Ironclad’s Lose HP deck is incredibly powerful, but also can be very dangerous. Each time you lose HP on your turn, you have power cards and things that give you buffs.

• Inferno: Power – At the start of your turn, lose 1 HP. Whenever you lose HP on your turn, deal damage to ALL enemies.
• Rupture: Power – Whenever you lose HP on your turn, gain 1 Strength.
• Offering: Skill – Lose 6 HP. Gain 2 energy. Draw 3 card. Exhaust.
• Spite: Attack – Deal 6 damage. If you lost HP this turn, draw 1 card.
• Tear Asunder: Attack – Deal 5 damage. Hits an additional time for each time you lost HP this combat.
• Bloodletting: Skill – Lose 3 HP. Gain 2/3 energy.
• Blood Wall: Skill – Lose 2 HP. Gain 16/20 Block.
• Brand: Skill – Lose 1 HP. Exhaust 1 card. Gain 1 Strength.
• Breakthrough: Attack – Lose 1 HP. Deal damage to ALL enemies.
• Black Blood: Relic – At the end of combat, heal 12 HP.
• Blood Vial: Relic – At the start of each combat, heal 2 HP.
• Any of the other other healing relics.
• Self-Forming Clay: Relic – Whenever you lose HP in combat, gain 3 Block next turn.
• Centennial Puzzle: Relic – The first time you lose HP each combat, draw 3 cards.

1.4 The Exhaust Deck

Cards for the Exhaust Deck for The Ironclad.

Much like the Lose HP deck, the Exhaust deck is a powerful but dangerous strategy. You will need a lot of cards in your deck to make sure you are not going to run out of them in longer fights.

• Ashen Strike: Attack – Deal 6 damage. Deals additional damage for each card in your Exhaust Pile.
• Brand: Skill – Lose 1 HP. Exhaust 1 card. Gain 1/2 Strength.
• Burning Pact: Skill – Exhaust 1 card. Draw 2/3 cards.
• Cinder: Attack – Deal 17/22 damage. Exhaust the top card of your Draw Pile.
• Corruption: Power – Skills cost 0 energy. Whenever you play a skill, Exhaust it.
• Dark Embrace: Power – Whenever a card is Exhausted, draw 1 card.
• Drum of Battle: Power – Draw 2 cards. At the start of your turn, Exhaust the top card of your Draw Pile.
• Evil Eye: Skill – Gain 8 Block. Gain another 8 Block if you have Exhausted a card this turn.
• Feel No Pain: Power – Whenever a card is Exhausted, gain 3/4 Block.
• Fiend Fire: Skill – Exhaust your hand. Deal 7/10 damage for each card Exhausted. Exhaust.
• Forgotten Ritual: Skill – If you Exhausted a card this turn, gain 3 energy.
• Havoc: Skill – Play the top card of your Draw Pile and Exhaust it.
• Pact’s End: Attack – Can only be played if you have 3 or more cards in your Exhaust Pile. Deal 17/23 damage to ALL enemies.
• Second Wind: Skill – Exhaust all non-Attack cards in your Hand. Gain 5/7 Block for each card Exhausted.
• Stoke: Skill – Exhaust your Hand. Draw a card for each card Exhausted. Exhaust.
• Thrash: Attack – Deal 4 damage twice. Exhaust a random Attack in your Hand and add its damage to this card.
• Burning Sticks: Relic – The first time each combat you Exhaust a Skill, add a copy of it into your Hand.
• Charon’s Ashes: Relic – Whenever you Exhaust a card, deal 3 damage to ALL enemies.
• Forgotten Soul: Relic – Whenever you Exhaust a card, deal 1 damage to a random enemy.
• Joss Paper: Relic – Every 5 times you Exhaust a card, draw 1 card.
• Toasty Mittens: Relic – At the start of your turn, Exhaust the top card of your Draw Pile and gain 1 Strength.

1.5 Strike Deck

Cards for the Strike Deck for The Ironclad.

Another possible build for The Ironclad is the Strike deck; this deck ramps up damage based on the number of cards that say “Strike” in your deck. It relies on a card called Perfected Strike.

• Pummel Strike, Strike, Twin Strike, and Setup Strike.
• Perfected Strike: Deal 6 damage. Deals 2/3 additional damage for ALL your cards containing “Strike.”
• Any card that gives you more energy.
• Nutritious Soup: Relic – Upon pickup, Enchant all Strikes in your Deck with Tezcatara’s Ember.
• Strike Dummy: Relic – Cards containing “Strike” deal 3 additional damage.

1.6 Which Ironclad Deck is Best?

You may be wondering which deck is best to build overall or for beginners. In all honesty, that’s not an easy question to answer. For beginner’s, building a simple Strength amplification deck, where you focus on big, heavy hitting cards and anything with a Strength bonus is great.

• The best decks will be unique for each run; you will have to judge based on the types of cards that are showing up in your rewards.
• Your personal style of play will also be important. Some people feel that the pros of decks like the Lose HP deck or the Exhaust deck don’t outweigh the challenges.
• Unlocked cards can also be a factor. If you haven’t completed runs with The Ironclad, you may not have access to all the cards.
• The most powerful, if you are able to build it, is the Lose HP deck.
• The easiest to get cards for is the Exhaust Deck.
• The Vulnerable deck is probably the easiest to get good at quickly as a beginner.

2. All Cards for The Ironclad

The Ironclad has dozens of cards with several different focuses that you can unlock. Each of the cards has its own unique text, cost, and upgrade text.

2.1 How to Unlock All Cards

You will be required to unlock most of these cards, as you will only have a couple of them to start with. To unlock them all, you basically just have to play the game with The Ironclad. Each run will earn you points towards overall unlocks, timeline unlocks, and getting all the cards from whichever character you are playing as.

2.2 The Starting Ironclad Deck

The starting deck for The Ironclad contains three different cards. It has five Strikes, four Defends, and one Bash.

Card	Name	Cost	Rarity	Type	Text	Upgrade
	Strike	1	Common	Attack	Deal 6 Damage.	Deal 9 Damage.
	Bash	2	Common	Attack	Deal 8 damage. Apply 2 Vulnerable.	Deal 10 damage. Apply 3 Vulnerable.
	Defend	1	Common	Skill	Gain 5 Block.	Gain 8 Block.

2.3 All Ironclad Cards in Slay the Spire 2

There are almost 90 cards that can be unlocked for The Ironclad, including a multiplayer card and some “other” rarity cards as well. Here is a complete list of the cards that can pop up in the shop and rewards that are specific to this character.

Card	Name	Cost	Rarity	Type	Text	Upgrade
	Aggression	1	Rare	Power	At the start of your turn, put a random Attack from your Discard Pile into your Hand and Upgrade it.	Innate. At the start of your turn, put a random Attack from your Discard Pile into your Hand and Upgrade it.
	Anger	0	Common	Attack	Deal 6 Damage. Add a copy of this card into your Discard Pile.	Deal 8 Damage. Add a copy of this card into your Discard Pile.
	Armaments	1	Common	Skill	Gain 5 Block.  Upgrade a card in your Hand.	Gain 5 Block.  Upgrade ALL cards in your Hand.
	Ashen Strike	1	Uncommon	Attack	Deal 6 damage. Deals 3 additional damage for each card in your Exhaust Pile.	Deal 6 damage. Deals 4 additional damage for each card in your Exhaust Pile.
	Barricade	3	Rare	Power	Block is not removed at the start of your turn.	Lowers card cost to 2.
	Battle Trance	0	Uncommon	Skill	Draw 3 cards. You cannot draw additional cards this turn.	Draw 4 cards. You cannot draw additional cards this turn.
	Bloodletting	0	Common	Skill	Lose 3 HP. Gain 2 energy.	Lose 3 HP. Gain 3 energy.
	Blood Wall	2	Common	Skill	Lose 2 HP. Gain 16 Block.	Lose 2 HP. Gain 20 Block.
	Bludgeon	3	Uncommon	Attack	Deal 32 damage.	Deal 42 damage.
	Body Slam	1	Common	Attack	Deal damage equal to your Block.	Lowers the card cost to 0.
	Brand	0	Rare	Skill	Lose 1 HP. Exhaust 1 card. Gain 1 Strength.	Lose 1 HP. Exhaust 1 card. Gain 2 Strength
	Break	2	Other	Attack	Deal 20 damage. Apply 5 Vulnerable.	Deal 25 damage. Apply 7 Vulnerable.
	Breakthrough	1	Common	Attack	Lose 1 HP. Deal 9 damage to ALL enemies.	Lose 1 HP. Deal 13 damage to ALL enemies.
	Bully	0	Uncommon	Attack	Deal 4 damage. Deals 2 additional damage for each Vulnerable on the enemy.	Deal 4 damage. Deals 3 additional damage for each Vulnerable on the enemy.
	Burning Pact	1	Uncommon	Skill	Exhaust 1 card. Draw 2 cards.	Exhaust 1 card. Draw 3 cards.
	Cascade	X	Rare	Skill	Play the top X cards of your Draw Pile.	Play the top X+1 cards of your Draw Pile.
	Cinder	2	Common	Attack	Deal 17 damage. Exhaust the top card of your Draw Pile.	Deal 22 damage. Exhaust the top card of your Draw Pile.
	Colossus	1	Rare	Skill	Gain 5 Block. You receive 50% less damage from Vulnerable enemies this turn.	Gain 8 Block. You receive 50% less damage from Vulnerable enemies this turn.
	Conflagration	1	Rare	Attack	Deal 8 damage to ALL enemies. Deals 2 additional damage for each other Attack you’ve played this turn.	Deal 9 damage to ALL enemies. Deals 3 additional damage for each other Attack you’ve played this turn.
	Corruption	3	Other	Power	Skills cost 0 energy. Whenever you play a skill. Exhaust it.	Lowers the card cost to 2.
	Crimson Mantle	1	Rare	Power	At the start of your turn, lose 1 HP and gain 8 Block.	At the start of your turn, lose 1 HP and gain 10 Block.
	Cruelty	1	Rare	Power	Vulnerable enemies take an additional 25% damage.	Vulnerable enemies take an additional 50% damage.
	Dark Embrace	2	Rare	Power	Whenever a card is Exhausted, draw 1 card.	Lowers the card cost to 1.
	Demon Form	3	Rare	Power	At the start of your turn, gain 2 strength.	At the start of your turn, gain 3 strength.
	Demonic Shield	0	Uncommon	Skill	Lose 1 HP. Give another player Block equal to your Block. Exhaust.	Lose 1 HP. Give another player Block equal to your Block.
	Dismantle	1	Uncommon	Attack	Deal 8 damage. If the enemy is Vulnerable, hits twice.	Deal 10 damage. If the enemy is Vulnerable, hits twice.
	Dominate	1	Uncommon	Skill	Gain 1 Strength for each Vulnerable on the enemy. Exhaust.	Gain 1 Strength for each Vulnerable on the enemy.
	Drum of Battle	0	Uncommon	Power	Draw 2 cards. At the start of your turn, Exhaust the top card of your Draw Pile.	Draw 3 cards. At the start of your turn, Exhaust the top card of your Draw Pile.
	Expect a Fight	2	Uncommon	Skill	Gain 1 energy for each Attack in your Hand.	Lowers the card cost to 1.
	Evil Eye	1	Uncommon	Skill	Gain 8 Block. Gain another 8 Block if you have Exhausted a card this turn.	Gain 11 Block. Gain another 11 Block if you have Exhausted a cad this turn.
	Feed	1	Rare	Attack	Deal 10 damage. If Fatal, raise your Max HP by 3. Exhaust.	Deal 12 damage. If Fatal, raise your Max HP by 4. Exhaust.
	Feel No Pain	1	Uncommon	Power	Whenever a card is Exhausted, gain 3 Block.	Whenever a card is Exhausted, gain 4 Block.
	Fiend Fire	2	Rare	Attack	Exhaust your hand. Deal 7 damage for each card Exhausted. Exhaust.	Exhaust your hand. Deal 10 damage for each card Exhausted. Exhaust.
	Fight Me!	2	Uncommon	Attack	Deal 5 damage twice. Gain 2 Strength. The enemy gains 1 Strength.	Deal 6 damage twice. Gain 3 Strength. The enemy gains 1 Strength.
	Flame Barrier	2	Uncommon	Skill	Gain 12 Block. Whenever you are attacked this turn, deal 4 damage back.	Gain 12 Block. Whenever you are attacked this turn, deal 4 damage back.
	Forgotten Ritual	1	Uncommon	Skill	If you Exhausted a card this turn, gain 3 energy.	If you Exhausted a card this turn, gain 4 energy.
	Grapple	1	Uncommon	Attack	Deal 7 damage. Whenever you gain Block this turn, deal 5 damage to the enemy.	Deal 9 damage. Whenever you gain Block this turn, deal 7 damage to the enemy.
	Havoc	1	Common	Skill	Play the top card of your Draw Pile and Exhaust it.	Lowers the card cost to 0.
	Headbutt	1	Common	Attack	Deal 9 damage. Put a card from your Discord Pile on top of your Draw Pile.	Deal 12 damage. Put a card from your Discord Pile on top of your Draw Pile.
	Hellraiser	2	Rare	Power	Whenever your draw a card containing “Strike,” it is played against a random enemy.	Lowers card cost to 1.
	Hemokinesis	1	Uncommon	Attack	Lose 2 HP. Deal 14 damage.	Lose 2 HP. Deal 19 damage.
	Howl From Beyond	3	Uncommon	Attack	Deal 16 damage to ALL enemies. At the start of your turn, plays from the Exhaust Pile.	Deal 21 damage to ALL enemies. At the start of your turn, plays from the Exhaust Pile.
	Impervious	2	Rare	Skill	Gain 30 Block. Exhaust.	Gain 40 Block. Exhaust.
	Infernal Blade	1	Uncommon	Skill	Add a random Attack into your Hand. It’s free to play this turn. Exhaust.	Lowers the card cost to 0.
	Inferno	1	Uncommon	Power	At the start of your turn, lose 1 HP. Whenever you lose HP on your turn, deal 6 damage to ALL enemies.	At the start of your turn, lose 1 HP. Whenever you lose HP on your turn, deal 9 damage to ALL enemies.
	Inflame	1	Uncommon	Power	Gain 2 Strength.	Gain 3 Strength.
	Iron Wave	1	Common	Attack	Gain 5 Block. Deal 5 damage.	Gain 7 Block. Deal 7 damage.
	Juggernaut	2	Rare	Power	Whenever you gain Block, deal 5 damage to a random enemy.	Whenever you gain Block, deal 7 damage to a random enemy.
	Juggling	1	Uncommon	Power	Add a copy of the third Attack you play each turn into your Hand.	Innate. Add a copy of the third Attack you play each turn into your Hand.
	Mangle	3	Rare	Attack	Deal 15 damage. Enemy loses 10 Strength this turn.	Deal 20 damage. Enemy loses 15 Strength this turn.
	Molten Fist	1	Common	Attack	Deal 10 damage. Double the enemy’s Vulnerable. Exhaust.	Deal 14 damage. Double the enemy’s Vulnerable. Exhaust.
	Offering	0	Rare	Skill	Lose 6 HP. Gain 2 energy. Draw 3 card. Exhaust.	Lose 6 HP. Gain 2 energy. Draw 5 card. Exhaust.
	One-Two Punch	1	Rare	Skill	This turn, your next Attack is played an extra time.	This turn, your next 2 Attacks are played an extra time.
	Pact’s End	0	Rare	Attack	Can only be played if you have 3 or more cards in your Exhaust Pile.  Deal 17 damage to ALL enemies.	Can only be played if you have 3 or more cards in your Exhaust Pile.  Deal 23 damage to ALL enemies.
	Perfected Strike	2	Common	Attack	Deal 6 damage. Deals 2 additional damage for ALL your cards containing “Strike.”	Deal 6 damage. Deals 3 additional damage for ALL your cards containing “Strike.”
	Pillage	1	Uncommon	Attack	Deal 6 damage. Draw cards until you draw an non-attack card.	Deal 9 damage. Draw cards until you draw an non-attack card.
	Pommel Strike	1	Common	Attack	Deal 9 damage. Draw 1 card.	Deal 10 damage. Draw 2 cards.
	Primal Force	0	Rare	Skill	Transform all Attacks in your Hand in Giant Rock.	Transform all Attacks in your Hand in Giant Rock+.
	Pyre	2	Rare	Power	Gain 1 energy at the start of each turn.	Gain 2 energy at the start of each turn.
	Rage	0	Uncommon	Skill	Whenever you play an Attack this turn, gain 3 Block.	Whenever you play an Attack this turn, gain 5 Block.
	Rampage	1	Uncommon	Attack	Deal 9 damage. Increase this card’s damage by 5 this combat.	Deal 9 damage. Increase this card’s damage by 9 this combat.
	Rupture	1	Uncommon	Power	Whenever you lose HP on your turn, gain 1 Strength.	Whenever you lose HP on your turn, gain 2 Strength.
	Second Wind	1	Uncommon	Skill	Exhaust all non-Attack cards in your Hand. Gain 5 Block for each card Exhausted.	Exhaust all non-Attack cards in your Hand. Gain 7 Block for each card Exhausted.
	Setup Strike	1	Common	Attack	Deal 7 damage. Gain 2 Strength this turn.	Deal 9 damage. Gain 3 Strength this turn.
	Shrug It Off	1	Common	Skill	Gain 8 Block. Draw 1 card.	Gain 11 Block. Draw 1 card.
	Spite	0	Uncommon	Attack	Deal 6 damage. If you lost HP this turn, draw 1 card.	Deal 9 damage. If you lost HP this turn, draw 1 card.
	Stampede	2	Uncommon	Power	At the end of your turn, 1 random Attack in your Hand is played against a random enemy.	Lowers the card cost to 1.
	Stoke	1	Rare	Skill	Exhaust your Hand. Draw a card for each card Exhausted. Exhaust.	Lowers the card cost to 0.
	Stomp	3	Uncommon	Attack	Deal 12 damage to ALL enemies. Costs 1 less energy for each Attack played this turn.	Deal 15 damage to ALL enemies. Costs 1 less energy for each Attack played this turn.
	Stone Armor	1	Uncommon	Power	Gain 4 Plating.	Gain 6 Plating.
	Sword Boomerang	1	Common	Attack	Deal 3 damage to a random enemy 3 times.	Deal 3 damage to a random enemy 4 times.
	Taunt	1	Uncommon	Skill	Gain 7 Block. Apply 1 Vulnerable.	Gain 8 Block. Apply 2 Vulnerable.
	Tear Asunder	2	Rare	Attack	Deal 5 damage. Hits an additional time for each time you lost HP this combat.	Deal 7 damage. Hits an additional time for each time you lost HP this combat.
	Thrash	1	Rare	Attack	Deal 4 damage twice. Exhaust a random Attack in your Hand and add its damage to this card.	Deal 6 damage twice. Exhaust a random Attack in your Hand and add its damage to this card.
	Thunderclap	1	Common	Attack	Deal 4 damage and apply 1 Vulnerable to ALL enemies.	Deal 7 damage and apply 1 Vulnerable to ALL enemies.
	Tremble	1	Common	Skill	Apply 2 Vulnerable.	Apply 3 Vulnerable.
	True Grit	1	Common	Skill	Gain 7 Block. Exhaust 1 card at random.	Gain 9 Block. Exhaust 1 card at random.
	Twin Strike	1	Common	Attack	Deal 5 damage twice.	Deal 7 damage twice.
	Unmovable	2	Rare	Power	The first time you gain Block from a card each turn, double the amount gained.	Lowers card cost to 1.
	Unrelenting	2	Uncommon	Attack	Deal 12 damage. The next Attack you play costs 0 energy.	Deal 18 damage. The next Attack you play costs 0 energy.
	Uppercut	2	Uncommon	Attack	Deal 13 damage. Apply 1 Weak. Apply 1 Vulnerable.	Deal 13 damage. Apply 2 Weak. Apply 2 Vulnerable.
	Vicious	1	Uncommon	Power	Whenever you apply Vulnerable, draw 1 card.	Whenever you apply Vulnerable, draw 2 cards.
	Whirlwind	X	Uncommon	Attack	Deal 5 Damage to ALL enemies X times.	Deal 8 Damage to ALL enemies X times.