Translated from Japanese using AI assistance and human editing.
Who is the Ironclad?
The Ironclad is one of the playable characters in Slay the Spire. A surviving soldier who sold his soul to harness demonic energies. He starts with 80 HP—the highest among all characters—and his starting relic, Burning Blood, heals 6 HP at the end of each battle.
Ironclad Strategy Tips
The Ironclad excels in building decks with clear concepts:
Strength-based high-damage attacks
Single-card-focused attack strategies
Exhaust-based rapid deck cycling
He’s a character that embodies the “strike before being struck” philosophy. Playing defensively can often lead to a slow defeat. For beginners, building a Strength deck is recommended to grasp his playstyle effectively.
Recommended Deck Archetypes
For Beginners
Perfected Strike Deck
Focuses on cards with “Strike” in their name.
Key cards
Perfected Strike: Deal 6 damage. Deals an additional 2 damage for ALL of your cards containing “Strike”Bash: Deal 8 damage. Apply 2 Vulnerable.
Pommel Strike: Deal 9 damage. Draw 1 card.
Shrug It Off: Gain 8 Block Draw 1 card.
Dolly’s Mirror: Upon pickup, obtain an additional copy of a card in your deck.
Card Picks:
Pick cards named “Strike” and draw cards.
Upgrade Bash or pick cards that apply Vulnerable to maintain the debuff.
Exhaust-based rapid deck cycling.
How to play:
Use Perfected Strike on enemies afflicted with Vulnerable.
If Perfected Strike isn’t in hand, use draw cards like Pommel Strike or Shrug It Off to fetch it.
Having multiple Perfected Strike cards (ideally 3 or more) can make this deck overpowering. If the merchant offers Dolly’s Mirror, consider purchasing it to duplicate Perfected Strike.
Strength decks
Whirlwind Deck
Focuses on repeatedly using Whirlwind with increased Strength from cards like Flex, while keeping the deck as thin as possible.
Key cards
Whirlwind: Deal 5 damage to ALL enemies X times.
Flex: Gain 2 Strength. At the end of your turn, lose 2 Strength.
Card Picks:
Prioritize picking Whirlwind and Flex (or other Strength gain cards), while removing all other unnecessary cards.
Avoid picking random cards—commit to this archetype from the start.
How to Play:
After gaining Strength with Flex, use Whirlwind to deal massive area damage.
Avoid picking random cards—commit to this archetype from the start.
Visit as many merchants and ‘?’ nodes as possible to remove unneeded cards and streamline your deck.
Rupture Deck
Uses Rupture to gain Strength whenever self-damage occurs.
Key cards
Rupture: Whenever you lose HP from a card, gain 2 Strength.
Pain: Unplayable. While in hand, lose 1 HP when other cards are played.
Hemokinesis: Lose 2 HP. Deal 15 damage.
Card Picks:
Pick Rupture as the core card.
Add cards that deal damage to yourself, including curses like Pain or attack cards like Hemokinesis.
Picking up Reaper can provide additional survivability.
How to Play:
Play Rupture early to start gaining Strength.
Repeatedly play self-damaging cards to trigger Rupture.
Once Strength is built up, use Reaper to recover HP and stabilize.
Limit Break Deck
A deck that focuses on massively increasing Strength using an Limit Break, making the Ironclad incredibly buff.
Key cards
Limit Break: Double your Strength. Exhaust.
Spot Weakness: If the enemy intends to attack, gain 3 Strength.
Inflame: Gain 2 Strength
Demon Form: At the start of each turn, gain 2 Strength.
Card Picks:
Pick Limit Break as the core card.
Pick cards that boost Strength, such as Flex, Spot Weakness, Inflame, or Demon Form.
How to Play:
Gain Strength using your power and skill cards.
Use Limit Break to double your Strength repeatedly.
Tips:
Can be combined effectively with a Rupture deck for even more Strength scaling.
Once upgraded, Limit Break becomes reusable with no exhaust—this is crucial for scaling.
Demon Form provides a strong Strength engine, but its 3-cost makes it difficult to use early unless you have energy support. Consider picking up energy-generating relics or cards before relying on Demon Form.
Body Slam Deck
Builds up Block using Barricade and Entrench, then uses Body Slam to deal massive damage.
Key cards
Body Slam: Deal damage equal to your current Block.
Barricade: Block is not removed at the start of your turn.
Entrench: Double your current Block.
This deck is unique among Ironclad builds and is recommended for players uncomfortable with losing HP. It’s also the deck the author used for their first clear.
Termediate Decks
Corruption + Dead Branch Deck
Utilizes Corruption to make skills cost 0 and Dead Branch to generate random cards upon exhausting.
Key cards
Corruption: Skills cost 0. Whenever you play a Skill, Exhaust it.
Dead Branch: Whenever you Exhaust a card, add a random card to your hand.
ws for playing numerous cards regardless of cost. Effective even in high-difficulty modes.
Advanced Decks
Curse Deck
Collects curses through events, uses Evolve to draw them, and Fire Breathing as a damage source.
Key cards
Evolve: Whenever you draw a Status card, draw 1 card.
Fire Breathing: Whenever you draw a Status or Curse card, deal 6 damage to all enemies.
Though conditions are strict, once activated, enemies melt away effortlessly.
Exhauszt Deck
Comprises cards that trigger effects upon being exhausted.
Key cards
Feel No Pain: Provides Block when cards are exhausted.
Fiend Fire: Exhaust all cards in your hand. Deal 7 damage for each Exhausted card. Exhaust.
Requires careful card selection and timing, but with Feel No Pain, it’s stable even in high-difficulty modes.
Dropkick Deck
Chains Dropkick repeatedly for infinite combos.
Key cards
Dropkick: Deal 5 damage. If the enemy is Vulnerable, gain 1 energy and draw 1 card.
Simple to execute once the deck is set up.
Rampage Deck
Focuses on Rampage, which increases damage each time it’s played.
Key cards
Rampage: Deal 8 damage. Increase this card’s damage by 5 this combat.
Headbutt: Deal 9 damage. Place a card from your discard pile on top of your draw pile.
Draw Cards: Ensures Rampage is drawn frequently.
May struggle during early stages, so consider combining with other decks.
This guide aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the Ironclad’s strategies and deck archetypes.
See you agein!!
Slay the Spire for Complete Beginners
