Ironclad

Ironclad Overview

The Ironclad is an 80-HP melee warrior and the most beginner-friendly character in Slay the Spire. His starting Relic, Burning Blood, heals 6 HP at the end of every combat. This passive recovery creates a significant margin for error, letting you fight Elites aggressively in Act 1 and absorb mistakes that would end other characters' runs.

Starting deck (10 cards):

Card	Count	Effect
Strike	5	1 Energy / 6 damage
Defend	4	1 Energy / 5 Block
Bash	1	2 Energy / 8 damage + Vulnerable 2 turns

Nine of the ten starter cards are weak filler. Removing Strikes and Defends at every opportunity is the single most impactful action in deck improvement.

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Build 1: Strength Build

The Ironclad's most straightforward build. Accumulate Strength — a permanent buff that adds N to the damage of every Attack card — and convert that into massive single-card damage output.

Key Cards

Card	Cost	Effect	Role
Inflame	1	Gain 2 Strength (permanent)	Immediate Strength generation
Demon Form	3	Gain 2 Strength at the start of each turn	Long-run scaling engine
Limit Break	1	Double your current Strength (Exhaust)	One-shot Strength explosion
Whirlwind	X	Deal 5 damage X times to all enemies	Converts all Energy to AoE damage
Heavy Blade	2	Deal 14 damage + Strength × 3	Scales exponentially with Strength
Battle Trance	0	Draw 3 cards; cannot draw more cards this turn	0-cost hand refresh

Key Relics

Relic	Effect	Priority
Vajra	Gain 1 Strength at combat start	High
Shuriken	Gain 1 Strength whenever you play 3 Attacks in one turn	High
Red Skull	While HP is at or below 50%, gain 3 Strength	Medium (requires HP management)
Brimstone	Gain 2 Strength each turn; all enemies gain 1 Strength	High (Boss Relic)

Strategy Notes

Early game (Act 1): Securing 1–2 Inflames is the top priority. Use Bash's Vulnerable to stretch early damage output while hunting Elites. Landing Vajra or Shuriken early signals a clean Strength-scaling run.

Mid game (Act 2): Acquire Demon Form as soon as possible. This card determines how well you handle the long Boss fights ahead. Heavy Blade earns its cost only once you have 5+ Strength; before that, prioritize cards with more immediate impact.

Late game (Act 3+): Demon Form stacks Strength every single turn, making long boss fights increasingly one-sided in your favor. Upgraded Limit Break (no longer Exhausts) can double Strength every turn for exponential scaling. Whirlwind + high Strength clears multi-enemy floors in a single card.

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Build 2: Barricade Block Build

This build exploits Barricade to prevent Block from resetting between turns, building an ever-growing defensive wall. Once enough Block accumulates, Body Slam converts that value directly into damage.

Key Cards

Card	Cost	Effect	Role
Barricade	3	Block no longer expires at turn end (Power)	Core enabler
Entrench	2	Double current Block	Explosive Block amplification
Impervious	2	Gain 30 Block (Exhaust)	High-volume Block generation
Body Slam	1	Deal damage equal to current Block	Converts defense to offense
Second Wind	1	Exhaust all non-Attack cards in hand; gain 5 Block each	Converts Skills to Block
Shrug It Off	1	Gain 8 Block; draw 1	High-efficiency defensive cycling

Key Relics

Relic	Effect	Priority
Calipers	At end of turn, Block above 15 stays at 15 rather than dropping to 0	High (functions even without Barricade)
Anchor	Gain 10 Block at combat start	Medium (early stability)
Torii	Reduce all damage of 5 or less to 1	High (dramatically reduces chip damage)

Strategy Notes

Early game (Act 1): Barricade costs 3, making it slow in short fights. Build a foundation of Block skills while waiting for Barricade to appear. Do not force the build; use standard defensive play in the meantime.

Mid game (Act 2): Once Barricade is secured, target the Impervious + Entrench line: Impervious for 30 Block → Entrench for 60 Block → Body Slam on the next turn for 60 damage. This combination handles most Act 2 content reliably.

Late game (Act 3+): Upgraded Body Slam costs 0, allowing multiple uses on high-Block turns. Upgraded Entrench drops to 1 Energy, letting you double Block twice in a single turn with enough Energy.

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Build 3: Corruption / Exhaust Build

The most explosive build when Dead Branch is available. Corruption makes all Skill cards cost 0 but Exhausts them. Dead Branch adds a random card to your hand every time a card is Exhausted. Combined with Feel No Pain (3 Block per Exhaust) and Dark Embrace (draw 1 per Exhaust), the result is a self-sustaining engine that generates infinite cards, Block, and draw simultaneously.

Core Trio (assemble all three)

Card	Cost	Effect
Corruption	3	All Skills cost 0; they Exhaust instead (Power)
Dark Embrace	2	Whenever a card is Exhausted, draw 1 (Power)
Feel No Pain	1	Whenever a card is Exhausted, gain 3 Block (Power)

Supporting Cards

Card	Cost	Effect	Role
Fiend Fire	2	Exhaust all cards in hand; deal 7 damage per card (Exhaust)	Finisher
Second Wind	1	Exhaust all non-Attack cards; gain 5 Block per card	On-demand Exhaust trigger
Armaments	1	Gain 1 Block; upgrade a card in hand (or all cards when upgraded)	Deck quality improvement
Impervious	2	Gain 30 Block (Exhaust)	Exhaust trigger + defensive value

Key Relics

Relic	Effect	Priority
Dead Branch	Whenever a card is Exhausted, add a random card to your hand	Top priority — this IS the build
Cursed Key	Open chests without a key; each chest adds a Curse card	Medium (downside awareness required)

Critical Warning

Do not take Corruption without Dead Branch already in hand or guaranteed soon. Corruption alone causes all your Skill cards to disappear, rapidly depleting your deck without the Branch's replenishment loop.

When Dead Branch is active: Corruption sets Skills to 0-cost → each Skill Exhausts → Branch adds a new random card → Dark Embrace draws a card → Feel No Pain builds Block. This chain produces unlimited cards, Block, and draw in a single turn.

Fiend Fire interaction: With Dead Branch active, Fiend Fire Exhausts the entire hand, Branch replaces each Exhausted card, those new cards are still in hand, and can themselves be Exhausted again. The result approaches infinite damage in a single use.

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Build 4: Infinite Build (Dropkick Loop)

A loop-based build that generates infinite Energy and draw through repeated card plays. The Ironclad's signature Infinite is the Dropkick loop.

How the Dropkick Loop Works

Requirements: Dropkick + a reliable Weak application source

• Dropkick: 1 Energy / 7 damage. If the target is Weakened, also gain 1 Energy and draw 1 card
• Against a Weakened enemy, Dropkick pays for itself: 1 Energy in, 1 Energy back, plus 1 free card draw
• Stack multiple Dropkicks in the deck and the loop sustains indefinitely

Key Cards

Card	Cost	Effect	Role
Dropkick	1	7 damage; if enemy is Weakened, gain 1 Energy and draw 1	Core loop engine
Shockwave	2	Apply 3 Weak and 3 Vulnerable to all enemies	Weak application
Clothesline	2	12 damage + apply 2 Weak	Single-target Weak source

Key Relics

Relic	Effect	Priority
Sundial	Every 6 shuffles, gain 2 Energy	High (synergizes with loop cycling)
Nib	Every 10th play of the same card, gain 1 Energy	Medium (accelerates Dropkick spam)

Strategy Notes

Infinite builds are fragile until the loop is complete. For Acts 1–2, play like a standard Strength build while acquiring Dropkicks and a Weak source. Do not pollute the deck with off-combo cards — even a single disruptive card can break the loop mid-execution. Commit hard once the combo pieces exist.

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Early to Late Game Strategy

Early Game (Act 1)

Leverage Burning Blood actively: The 6 HP heal per combat is the primary justification for fighting Elites above 60% HP. Secure 2–3 Elite Relics in Act 1 to define the run's power trajectory.

Keep the deck thin: Target 10–15 cards by the end of Act 1. Use Merchant card removal when available; upgrading Bash (2→1 cost) is worth a Campfire stop.

Remain build-flexible: Start with a Strength-bias but switch directions if Barricade, Corruption, or other powerful build-defining cards appear. Sunk-cost thinking kills runs.

Secure AoE early: Act 1 has heavy multi-enemy encounters. Without Whirlwind, Cleave, or another AoE source, grouped fights become costly.

Mid Game (Act 2)

Lock in one build direction: By early Act 2, commit fully to one concept. Two half-built plans are always worse than one complete one.

Prioritize core Power cards: Demon Form, Barricade, and Corruption each require 3 Energy to play. They feel slow early but become the backbone of the late game. Pick them proactively.

Remove Strikes and Defends aggressively: Merchant card removal (75–100 Gold per removal) is consistently the highest-value gold expenditure in the game. Every Strike removed is a percentage point better chance of seeing your key cards.

Late Game (Act 3 and Boss Fights)

Verify your scaling: Confirm that your Strength stacking or Block engine is functional. Act 3 bosses can run long; without reliable scaling you will run out of cards or damage at a critical moment.

Finalize the deck: Adding new cards in Act 3 is almost always a mistake unless filling a critical gap. Focus on upgrading existing cards at Campfires.

Spend Potions on Elites: Use Potions freely in Elite fights to minimize HP loss entering the next node. Dying with Potions in your inventory is the single worst possible Potion usage.

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Common Failure Patterns

Mistake 1: Overloading the deck

Taking cards indiscriminately in Acts 1 and 2 results in 25–40-card decks with poor key-card frequency. Skipping a card is always a valid choice, and often the correct one.

Mistake 2: Taking too many Inflames

Inflame is strong, but three or more copies crowd out cards that provide utility, draw, or burst. One to two copies are sufficient; skip the third.

Mistake 3: Over-relying on Burning Blood

Six HP healed per combat is meaningful in a war of attrition, but a single 50-damage hit negates it instantly. Do not ignore Block or HP management because Burning Blood exists.

Mistake 4: Taking Corruption without Dead Branch

Without Dead Branch, Corruption depletes your Skill cards permanently, accelerating deck exhaustion rather than creating advantage. Only take Corruption when Dead Branch is already in your possession or imminent.

Mistake 5: Polluting an Infinite deck with off-combo cards

The Dropkick loop stops the instant a card appears that cannot cycle back. Every non-loop card in the deck is a liability. Ruthlessly reject additions that are not part of the loop.

Mistake 6: Forcing a build too early in Act 1

Act 1 presents random rewards. If a build-defining card for a different archetype appears — say, Barricade when you were planning Strength — evaluate it on its merits. Flexibility in Act 1 converts into stronger runs by Act 3.

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Summary: Playing to the Ironclad's Strengths

The Ironclad's combination of 80 HP and Burning Blood gives him more runway than any other character. Use that margin to fight Elites early, accumulate Relics, and experiment with builds without catastrophic punishment for error.

All four builds share the same foundational rules: keep the deck thin, secure core cards early, and commit to one direction by Act 2. Master these principles and the Ironclad becomes a reliable vehicle for learning every system the game has to offer.

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This article covers the original Slay the Spire (STS1).