Slay the spire

[Alhambram]

Finally reached 10th ascension with Ironclad after 50 attempts I think. Mostly bad RNG or my stupid mistakes, but main cause is lack of energy in act2/3 or failing to create good deck to deal with troubles in act 2/3.
   
I got killed by Shield&Spear, final opponents before corrupt heart, but I did beat act 3 boss and with that I crossed line for achieving 10th ascension.
Deck is usual Heavy Blade nuking, but this deck is weaker due lack of Demon Heart or Limit Break. Instead I used Dual Wield to add 2 more copies of Inflame to boost strength to 9 and Spot Weakness for more strength.

Now I shall start ascension with Silent till 10th ascension, bit tired of Ironclad for now, no desire to go all way to level 20 ascension with him now.

[GermanJoey]

Heart kills are tough at any Ascension level. Congrats man. Apparitions are nearly always a yes on upper Ascensions. They are insanely good with Echo Form.

I still play a ton of this game. I’m not sure exactly, but I think I have aroubd 15-20 total Ascension 20 heart kills, roughly evenly split between classes. I can get to Act 4 probably 30-35% of the time on A20. And then I can beat the Heart maybe 25-30% of the time when I get there. It’s a tough game. 

My new favorite jam are Power Pellets. Saving a speed potion (or two) for the heart fight and removing the debuff is so satisfying. It’s also so broken with Biased Cog.

You mean the Orange Pellets? That's one of my favorite items too. (I'm also an A:20 player!)

Here's some other great Orange Pellets combos:

• Remove the -dex every turn from Wraith Form
  
• Remove the "no-card draw" debuff from Bullet Time and Battle Trance
  
• Remove the -energy from Fasting
  
• Remove the vulnerable from Berserk
  
• Remove the "No Block" from Panic Button
  

The first 3 + the Biased Cog combo you mention alone make Orange Pellets a top tier relic. The nominal part of actually removing enemy-inflicted statuses turns out to just be a nice bonus.... 

That said, Orange Pelelts will also remove the "Confused" status from Snecko Eye, so be careful if you have that relic!

[The Black Sword]

Been playing a bit with the Watcher, got offered a Rushdown after the first fight and started to build this:


I got inner peace somewhere along the first level and just started infiniting everybody. I added the 2nd rushdown and follow-up just to speed the game up, but I got the time boss for the final fight and he was doing ridiculous damage before I finished him off. The extra damage might actually have been important.

[GermanJoey]

Been playing a bit with the Watcher, got offered a Rushdown after the first fight and started to build this:


I got inner peace somewhere along the first level and just started infiniting everybody. I added the 2nd rushdown and follow-up just to speed the game up, but I got the time boss for the final fight and he was doing ridiculous damage before I finished him off. The extra damage might actually have been important.

Pretty slick! Were you able to kill the heart?

[The Black Sword]

Yeah, the Heart was easier than the time boss, I think it only stopped my infinite combo 1 turn with the curses. Trying to get this guy up to A20 now.

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Just got the Switch version of Slay the Spire in the mail yesterday.  I chose it based on both the Realms Beyond recommendations, and the fact that it was one of the cheaper physical Switch games available at the time.  (Seriously, Nintendo, why don't you ever drop the prices of your first party games years after release?)


So far, it's as good as everyone says!  The farthest floor I've reached so far is the boss of Act 2 with Ironclad.  Still trying to figure out how to build a proper deck, especially how many defensive vs. offensive cards, or how many cards in general.  Is going for Elites to get as many Relics as possible a good idea in the latest version?


Be sure to turn on the "bigger text" option if you are playing with a Switch Lite, since otherwise the font is small in handheld mode.


I'll probably alternate between this and RPGs like FF12 for the time being.  Too many attempts at a permadeath game at once would drive me mad.

[Alhambram]

Just got the Switch version of Slay the Spire in the mail yesterday.  I chose it based on both the Realms Beyond recommendations, and the fact that it was one of the cheaper physical Switch games available at the time.  (Seriously, Nintendo, why don't you ever drop the prices of your first party games years after release?)


So far, it's as good as everyone says!  The farthest floor I've reached so far is the boss of Act 2 with Ironclad.  Still trying to figure out how to build a proper deck, especially how many defensive vs. offensive cards, or how many cards in general.  Is going for Elites to get as many Relics as possible a good idea in the latest version?


Be sure to turn on the "bigger text" option if you are playing with a Switch Lite, since otherwise the font is small in handheld mode.


I'll probably alternate between this and RPGs like FF12 for the time being.  Too many attempts at a permadeath game at once would drive me mad.

Gaining many relics as possible is generally good idea, often they can be powerful, be sure to be prepared before elite battles. However if you aren't feeling confident to face elite, be free to skip elites.
Rarely getting a certain relic backfires resulting in destroying your strategy with deck that you just built.

You also can get relics from chests (always minimal once per act), buying from trader (quite pricey) or random event which might give you cursed relic instead good relic.

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Gustaran's going to love this incident, given that they think I'm a "vampire hunter". . .


Vampires(?)


Navigating an unlit street, you come across several hooded figures in the midst of some dark ritual.  As you approach, they turn to you in eerie unison.  The tallest among them bares fanged teeth and extends a long, pale hand towards you.  "Join us broken one, and feel the warmth of the Spire".


[Accept] Remove all Strikes.  Receive 5 Bites.  Lose 23 Max HP.
[Refuse]  (The one I picked)


What really makes this strange is that I was playing Defect at the time.  Even Stephenie Meyer, who obviously flunked middle school biology, should at least know that robots don't have blood. . .

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

*Altered Beast voice*  Rise from your grave!


I was playing a couple of runs with Ironclad tonight, and unexpectedly got my first victory.  The deck looked like this:


Cards (25)

Barricade
Combust
3 X Clothesline
3 X Iron Wave+
Iron Wave
Heavy Blade
2 X Defend
Bash
Blood for Blood
2 X Juggernaut
Juggernaut+
Feed
Rage
Flame Barrier
Fire Breathing
Entrench
2 X Strike
Mayhem


By itself, the deck isn't spectacular.  Relics saved this playthrough, particularly one I got by swapping out the starting relic at the beginning.  The goal was to use Juggernaut to inflict damage while using Block cards to preserve momentum and protect the Ironclad.  Fire Breathing was mostly pointless in particular.  Mayhem was acquired very late, but in time for the 3rd boss to play cards at the start of every turn.


Relics:


Snecko Eye
Ornamental Fan
Stone Calendar
Sacred Bark
Mummified Hand
Mercury Hourglass
Mutagenic Strength
Matryoshka
Medical Kit (never used from what I recall)
Vajra
Preserved Insect (came too late to be used)
Question Card
Blue Candle (pointless)


Snecko Eye randomizes the cost of cards, which was both helpful and harmful.  Also very fun when something unexpected is reduced to 0!  Mummified Hand made the deck more viable as well, since it relied heavily on Power cards.


My ending score was 703, and the bosses were:  Slime Boss, The Collector, Time Eater.


The seed was 3TV3PMMNDQRDW.  Special thanks to Snecko Eye for unlocking The Watcher.

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Today was my first Defect victory!  (Non-Ascension, mind you.)


Cards:


Reboot
Streamline
Rebound+
Leap+
Leap
Barrage
2X Charge Battery
2X Strike
2X Defend
Dualcast
Recursion+
Seek
Electrodynamics+
Auto-Shields+
Melter+
Storm
Storm+
2X Double Energy
2X Defragment
Tempest
Capacitor
Zap


Relics

Cracked Core
Ginger
Preserved Insect
Centennial Puzzle
Velvet Choker
The Boot
Darkstone Periapt
Potion Belt
Empty Cage
Meal Ticket
Incense Burner


It was a deck based on channeling Lightning orbs and powering them up with Focus.  Electrodynamics was a card granted by that Exordium whale at the beginning, so it was easy to tell which way this run would go.  Meal Ticket came far too late to be useful.  Incense Burner was a prize from fighting Hexaghost in Act 3.  This was probably a bad idea since the Defect took a lot of damage during that battle and the relic was inconsequential.


Main Bosses:  The Guardian, Bronze Automaton, Donu and Deca


Seed:  17UM8WRX4KQ4B


Score:  699