Slay The Spire - Ironclad

The Ironclad Ascension 20 run (without Heart) is complete! My biggest Ironclad learnings after this series are:

• I’m no longer scared of exhausting too many cards. They can provide tons of block, and thin out your deck in a good way during combats. Second Wind and Fiend Fire are amazing!
• YOLO attack decks with no defense seldom work out.
• Snecko Eye and Runic Pyramid are incredible.

Ascension 0

The ironclad run begins! This run featured a Snecko Eye with expensive attacks like Bludgeon and Clothesline. Brimstone and Demon Form provided late game scaling, and Reaper helped keep me alive.

Ascension 1

This was my first time using Berserk, and Runic Pyramid made it easy to play at the right time. The extra energy enabled Inflames and Demon Form to give me the strength I needed.

Ascension 2

Runic Pyramid, Power Through, and True Grit were a great combination for block. I was able to take the Fusion Hammer and upgrade my cards with Armaments+ x2 instead. An early Ritual Dagger was the big attack that got me through most fights.

Ascension 3

An Apotheosis from Neow gave me momentum at the start of this run. I tried my hand at a "Rampage" deck some help from Headbutt and Warcry. The deck soon evolved into a pretty standard deck with some strength from Inflame, some extra damage from Charon's Ashes, and a Medkit to extinguish statuses.

Ascension 4

A Searing Blow on floor 2 carried this run. The rest of the deck assembled support offensively with Double Tap and Immolate, and defensively with some True Grit and Power Through action. Reaper and some strength gain helped keep me alive too.

Ascension 5

This was my first successful run exploring the power of the Exhaust mechanic. Feel No Pain provided a significant amount of block, paired with True Grit and Second Wind. Pocketwatch helped me sail through Act 1. Sacred Bark and White Beast Statue were a great pair. The Chemical X with Whirlwind, as well as Runic Pyramid, help me decisively end fights.

Ascension 6

My first successful with the holy trinity of Corruption, Dark Embrace, and Feel No Pain! Fiend Fire and Red Skull finished most hallway fights, and Juggernaut closed out longer battles.

Ascension 7

This run was shaped by an early Demon Form and Whirlwind from the Match and Keep event. After obtaining them, the rest of the deck focused on block, and some minor strength gain like an Inflame. Meat on the Bone provided a lot of healing after combats, and Runic Pyramid after Act 2 sealed the deal.

Ascension 8

This run had a great set of relics to support it, including an early Molten Egg, Paper Phrog, and Thread and Needle. Demon Form, tons of card draw, and Whirlwind finished most fights.

Ascension 9

This was another fun run with Corruption, Dark Embrace, and Feel No Pain. Five Apparitions with Toxic Egg and Runic Pyramid was a great way to stay alive long enough for Demon Form to scale up.

Ascension 10

Halfway there! I got a Snecko Eye boss relic swap, and loaded up on expensive tools like Bludgeon, Clothesline, Impervious, and Fiend Fire. Barricade and Entrench provided some much needed sustain.

Ascension 11

This was a straightforward run. Brutality let me skip an energy relic in Act 2 and pick up the Cursed Bell. The deck featured balanced card draw with Pommel Strikes and Battle Trance, energy generation with Bloodlettings, and strength scaling with Inflame and Rupture (which worked great with the Bloodlettings).

Ascension 12

Another Searing Blow run! A thinner deck, Double Tap, and Headbutts helped me play Searing Blow as often as possible, and Feel No Pain helped me survive the longer battles.

Ascension 13

Another Snecko Eye boss swap. Perfected Strikes got me through Act 1. Demon Form and Reaper provided the scaling and healing I needed for the late game.

Ascension 14

This run was carried by great relics. Snecko Eye, Molten Egg, Pen Nib, a couple of boat relics, even a Fossilized Helix. Demon Form provided scaling, Immolate provided area damage, and Fiend Fire provided single-target damage to finish off bosses.

Ascension 15

I scraped through most of this run with Ritual Dagger, Demon Form, Reaper, and Immolate. I sacrificed several upgrades to Rest instead. However, an Apotheosis and Lee's Waffle in an Act 3 shop came in clutch to heal me up and provided those much needed upgrades.

Ascension 16

Red Skull, Torii, and Feed worked well together to comfortable keep my life total below 50%. A Snecko Eye after Act 2 helped seal the deal on this victory.

Ascension 17

This run featured a lot of fun synergies. Black Blood, Blood Vial, and Lizard Tail worked towards keeping me alive. White Beast Statue, Toy Ornithopter, and Potion Belt as well. An upgraded Apotheosis helped turn this deck into a winner.

Ascension 18

This may have been my first run with an Exhume. I learned that it was a great tool to replay an Offering or Master of Strategy. Along with some Inflames and a Demon Form, this led to some huge Whirlwind turns to end fights decisively.

Ascension 19

A Fusion Hammer boss swap and a quick Armements gave me a lot of momentum to start this run. Feel No Pain and Dark Embrace gave me survivability and card draw. Some great relics like an early Toxic Egg, Gremlin Horn, Runic Pyramid, and Paper Phrog cemented this victory.

Ascension 20

And finally, the Ascension 20 run. This run helped me truly understand the importance of solving upcoming problems, instead of trying to build some sort of deck archetype. With a wide selection of Rare cards, and a good balance of card draw and energy generation, this deck got me to my first Ascension 20 win.