Slay the Spire

eddy · Jan 6, 2018

Surprised there's no thread for this little Early Access gem (steam). I just came on to it during the holidays, but it seems to have been around for a while. Very nice little deck builder with a dash of random risk-vs-reward events and that 'unlock items for your next run' mechanic.

The devs have kept up a near-weekly schedule of updates, and the game is already very polished.

You can watch someone competent play it for the first time, like cKnoor (part 1, part 2, part 3, ...)

There are two characters in the game with different decks, and a third, 'Robot' is planned.

Personally I prefer the character "The Silent" -- unlocked after a first run with the other character, "The Ironclad" -- which can be built around drawing a lot and using poison. I've never actually been into deck builders, but this one hooked me from the first minute.

Just like in FTL, some random events tie together, so you can for instance pick up an item and a later event will reward you for having it, or perhaps vice-versa.

Have any hot strategies to share?

Deleted member 1849 · Jan 6, 2018

I've seen this pop up a few times on Steam and from Northernlion's YouTube. Haven't tried it yet but I'm loving the mixture of genres I'm seeing. It looks really interesting, and I love card game mechanics mixed in with other things.

Igniz12 · Jan 6, 2018

I've been watching NorthenLion's LP of this for the past 2 weeks and I am hooked. I was gonna find a CCG during Steamsale but then he started doing the LP and now all I want it to get this instead. It's really fun to watch, the card options allow some interesting deck builds either with playing to the character's strengths in mind of just using your card gains to come up with a strategy around them.

Would love to get some recommendations on similar games of this style and singleplayer focused like Spire if anyone knows of any.

eddy · Jan 7, 2018

Late, late late this morning I had a pretty good run up to the 50:th floor with The Silent. Things were going pretty well, then I have a turn where I can't for the life of me draw any block, and there's 2x22 damage incoming and I'm already pretty beaten up.

Love this game.

Qvoth · Jan 7, 2018

just beat it for the 1st time
ironclad by abusing strength buff then multiplying it with limit break
was a very lucky run, got 2 different relics that give blocks at the end of my turn, and then a relic that deals 5 damage everytime i gain block, so that's easy 10 damage per turn
a relic that draws a card everytime i lose hp
a power that makes you lose 1 hp at the end of the turn to deal 5 damage to enemies
2 heavy attacks that has extra strength multiplier
also 1 healing attack move that heals based on damage to unlocked enemies, and since i have high strength the healing amount is buffed as well
and some other great utility cards like double attack next attack, a card that loses hp to draw card and energy etc
was disappointed to know that 3rd boss is the final though...

viral · Jan 7, 2018

Really fun game. I'm 15 hours in, and had 2 wins so far (I'm bad), one with each character. My only problem is that the early game can be quite boring until you get some fun cards.

eddy · Jan 13, 2018

First beat after 14 hours, with The Ironclad. First time I made it to 50 with him.

Now to do it again as The Silent.

Ferrio · Jan 14, 2018

Just started playing this because I saw some streamers playing, didn't even know it existed. A roguelike rpg deckbuilding card game is right up my alley. Beat it with the warrior 3 times, twice using a really really OP relic that gives you more card draw and confusion. Currently trying to win with The Silent and it's a lot more difficult.

If you like any combination of the following:
-Rogue Likes
-Card games like Dominion
-RPGs

you might want to pick this up.

AnansiThePersona · Jan 14, 2018

Yes! Card game systems in games that aren't just card games RULE. That's why I dig Chain of Memories so much. Any other games have this kind of system?

Qvoth · Jan 14, 2018

been messing around with the silent since i cleared all ironclad unlocks
silent is much harder to play than ironclad :/
the starting relic really need to be buffed imo, it's so much worse than ironclad's

cHinzo · Jan 14, 2018

Watched Chu8 play this game all day. It looked really cool, with the turn-based combat, deckbuilding and rogue-like runs. Definitely gonna keep my eyes on the game, because I don't buy early access stuff.

m43lstr0m · Jan 14, 2018

The super popular steamer Sodapoppin or whatever was playing it today. Thousands were watching and loving it so that's great news for the devs as the game takes off on Twitch.

More_Badass · Jan 14, 2018

Ferrio said:
Just started playing this because I saw some streamers playing, didn't even know it existed. A roguelike rpg deckbuilding card game is right up my alley. Beat it with the warrior 3 times, twice using a really really OP relic that gives you more card draw and confusion. Currently trying to win with The Silent and it's a lot more difficult.

If you like any combination of the following:
-Rogue Likes
-Card games like Dominion
-RPGs

you might want to pick this up.

Have you heard of Dream Quest? If you like the idea of a deckbuilding card game roguelike, you might want to check it out. It may be a hard sell due to its look, but beneath that is a great game with such good design that Blizzard hired the dev to work on Hearthstone and the creator of Magic The Gathering personally reached out to give the dev feedback.

never · Jan 14, 2018

A lot of streamers I follow on twitch were playing this last night, it looks really fun. I gotta check this out.

Ferrio · Jan 15, 2018

Finally beat it as The Silent. Ran a poison+corpse explosion build, and was pretty OP by the end. At one point I did 500 damage in one hit.

More_Badass said:
Have you heard of Dream Quest? If you like the idea of a deckbuilding card game roguelike, you might want to check it out. It may be a hard sell due to its look, but beneath that is a great game with such good design that Blizzard hired the dev to work on Hearthstone and the creator of Magic The Gathering personally reached out to give the dev feedback.

I haven't, I'll put it on my wishlist though thanks.

Deleted member 16657 · Jan 15, 2018

Started playing this after seeing it on Twitch. VERY FUN! Ticks all the things I like.

Deleted member 16657 · Jan 15, 2018

More_Badass said:
Have you heard of Dream Quest? If you like the idea of a deckbuilding card game roguelike, you might want to check it out. It may be a hard sell due to its look, but beneath that is a great game with such good design that Blizzard hired the dev to work on Hearthstone and the creator of Magic The Gathering personally reached out to give the dev feedback.

I just checked that out and I busted out laughing when I saw the art.

eddy · Jan 16, 2018

Tops any streamer endorsement:

Ferrio · Jan 16, 2018

eddy said:
Tops any streamer endorsement:

Perfected Strike is too good, easy to make a good deck if you just go strikes. I have to make myself skip them because of that.

eddy · Jan 19, 2018

This week's patch is out. Adds leaderboards.

KKRT · Feb 1, 2018

Beat the game on the first run with Ironclad.
Game is amazing, though i hope that there will be longer dungeons in the future :)

eddy · Feb 9, 2018

Looks like a nice little update this week.

Features:

Run History: You can now view your past runs. Simply select the option from the Main Menu.
Boss icons on the map now reveal which boss you are up against in the current Act.
Fast Mode.
Twitch integration (voting)

DireRaven · Feb 9, 2018

after watching just one YouTube video of it - it was bought!..

a beautifully paced, RPG/card/rogue like game that is simply wonderful to play

personally i'd love an iPad version!

Cipherr · Feb 20, 2018

Got this recommended because I love HS's dungeon mode they added. But this has WAY more depth and is way less cheap. Its perfect.

Tim · Feb 24, 2018

Getting a good synergized deck going feels so good. Just had a run as iron clad where I got the relic that lets you draw a card when you have no cards in your hand. I then Pandora boxed all my defends and strikes which got me Corruption (all skills are 0 cost and exhaust). I focused on getting 0 cost attack cards like anger which created a perpetual draw machine. I spent the better part of act 2 and all of act 3 finishing every encounter without hitting the end turn button.

FHIZ · Feb 24, 2018

DireRaven said:
personally i'd love an iPad version!

Oh god yes.

Great game, absolutely perfect for a pallet cleanser. After getting done playing whatever, go for a round of Spire to end the night.

viral · Feb 24, 2018

I'm addicted to this game, but still suck at it. Currently at Ascension 10 with the Ironclad and 7 with the Silent after 90 hours. I'm really looking forward to the third character.

This week's update added 2 new locked game modes in the menu, I'm guessing one is gonna be the daily, but do we know what the third one is?

Novel Mike · Feb 24, 2018

This game is fantastic, any fan of card games should really give this game a shot. I fell in love with it after watching Projared play it. I've beaten it a few times now, its so much fun seeing what kinds of decks work the poison decks can be completely nuts. Only problem I've had is that I have this habit of not wanting to skip on cards so I always end up with more then 30 which you do not need at all and it can really mess with deck synergies.

Also FYI this is exactly what Hearthstones Dungeon run should have been like.

Kingpin Rogers · Feb 24, 2018

Played it at a friends house yesterday and really enjoyed it. Got up to floor 38 or so and died to a boss enemy but was being guided most of the way through. I'm not normally all that into card games but I am into turned based RPG's so by combining the two the devs have actually made something surprisingly enjoyable. Tempted to pick it up for myself and see what kind of decks I can make.

Sloane · Feb 24, 2018

DireRaven said:
after watching just one YouTube video of it - it was bought!..

a beautifully paced, RPG/card/rogue like game that is simply wonderful to play

personally i'd love an iPad version!

Yeah, game is really surprisingly good, but it's one of those games that would work even better (or I at least would feel more comfortable playing) on a tablet or the Switch. Think the devs mentioned they're gonna work on that once it's out of EA.

Chojin · Feb 24, 2018

I watched Northen Lion play this and got so frustrated at his horrible decisions I bought it out of spite.

First time I ever hate bought anything

Love this game and I love NL too :)

Ferrio · Feb 24, 2018

Chojin said:
I watched Northen Lion play this and got so frustrated at his horrible decisions I bought it out of spite.

Same reason I bought the game, but a different streamer.

Poodlestrike · Feb 25, 2018

I feel like if I could get past floor 3, I'd have a much better time of things lol. The real tricky part seems to be that period where you've got most of the cards you want in your deck, but you don't have enough of them to ensure you draw the ones you need reliably. Unless you just go for full minimalism, I suppose, but that's expensive as allll get out. Hard to get reliably, too, since you're so dependent on Store spawns.

Deleted member 1852 · Feb 25, 2018

I watched someone playing this. The player character and enemy just stand there the whole battle. I feel like they should at least MOVE when a turn is playing out.

Poodlestrike · Feb 26, 2018

Welp, just realized that Floor 3 is... the last floor. Joke's on meeeee.

Plus side, finally finished a run with the Ironclad. Strength build ftw - number one pro-tip is that the way you win is with Limit Break stacking, stuff like the 3 per turn or 1 every time you spend a health are pretty much traps in comparison. The +4, -4 at end of turn can get turned into a permanent +4 with Limit Break, combine that with JAXX and maybe an Infusion beforehand and you can get up to 20 just fine. A vulnerable and a Heavy Blade+ takes you the rest of the way to 150+ damage per hit.

Nome · Feb 26, 2018

Gives me shades of FTL.
100% of my game designer friends have been playing this.

Cipherr · Feb 27, 2018

Poodlestrike said:
Welp, just realized that Floor 3 is... the last floor. Joke's on meeeee.

Yeah, too short IMO. By the time my build is pristine the game is over. STR builds are so fun. Need a 4th floor so I can stack limit breaks and oneshot everything.

Poodlestrike · Feb 27, 2018

Cipherr said:
Yeah, too short IMO. By the time my build is pristine the game is over. STR builds are so fun. Need a 4th floor so I can stack limit breaks and oneshot everything.

I really think it needs another floor... anybody know if it's in the cards post-launch? The thing with the heart and the cumulative damage makes me think there might be more coming.

Also cool thing would be a pre-made deck mode so you can start out with the exact cards you want, just to see how it plays.

AcridMeat · Feb 28, 2018

I got it about a month ago, I have 69 hours nice.

TGR Sean · Mar 3, 2018

Thanks to this thread I lost 10 hours of my weekend after buying the game yesterday. So incredibly addicting. Made it to the Act 3 final boss but he had an affinity to my deck which put me down quick :(

Tim · Mar 16, 2018

Didn't like daily runs before as they were too hard and not wacky enough to have fun with, but last week's patch made it my favorite mode. Lots of fun ideas and twists that make the runs unique.

Nose Master · Apr 13, 2018

Bumparino, but has anyone won with The Ironclad? He's so shitty compared to The Silent. Like, I legit don't know any really good decks to aim for with him. Silent can get really stupid with the right relics and card setups.

Ferrio · Apr 13, 2018

Nose Master said:
Bumparino, but has anyone won with The Ironclad? He's so shitty compared to The Silent. Like, I legit don't know any really good decks to aim for with him. Silent can get really stupid with the right relics and card setups.

I haven't played much in awhile, but ironclad was easier than silent imo. Whirlwind was pretty much a "I win card" but been lot of changes since then. Strength and Heavy blade are easy builds that worked great, so did strike builds.

Nose Master · Apr 13, 2018

Ferrio said:
I haven't played much in awhile, but ironclad was easier than silent imo. Whirlwind was pretty much a "I win card" but been lot of changes since then. Strength and Heavy blade are easy builds that worked great, so did strike builds.

Whirlwind is only good with extra energy cards / Ice cream, imo. Additionally, Ice Cream is super broken.

Tim · Apr 13, 2018

Good Ironclad builds are barricade + entrench + bodyslam + lots of block cards. And yeah, whirlwind is great too. If you're struggling, try watching some youtubers who talk through their moves (like quil18) to get an idea of what cards you should be focusing on.

e: whirlwind with double tap and some kind of vulnerability is great. I think it's probably the best attack card in the game, I almost always grab it.

Ferrio · Apr 13, 2018

Nose Master said:
Whirlwind is only good with extra energy cards / Ice cream, imo. Additionally, Ice Cream is super broken.

Extra energy is super easy to come by in the game though. Boss relics are usually have one relic that gives +1 energy.

And yes you can Double Tap WW like the poster said above, super broken.

Nose Master · Apr 13, 2018

I guess, but Whirlwind pales in comparison to some of the Silent combos with the right relics. The ability to draw a billion cards and stack as much defense and attack as I want in a turn as Silent will never compare to blowing all energy I have for (even a double tapped) 60? damage twice on every enemy.

Extra energy is easy to come by yeah, but free extra cards / draw cards aren't as plentiful with ironclad. Like, you get a gold as Silent to upgrade every single card in your deck. As Ironclad, you have to upgrade a card to upgrade every card in your *hand*. So many relics play off of attacks played this turn, or cards played that it's hard not to lean Silent.

Ferrio · Apr 13, 2018

Nose Master said:
Extra energy is easy to come by yeah, but free extra cards / draw cards aren't as plentiful with ironclad. Like, you get a gold as Silent to upgrade every single card in your deck. As Ironclad, you have to upgrade a card to upgrade every card in your *hand*. So many relics play off of attacks played this turn, or cards played that it's hard not to lean Silent.

Apotheosis is a neutral card, both characters can get it in the shop.
http://slay-the-spire.wikia.com/wiki/Apotheosis

Ironclad has draw cards too, including Offering which is fantastic.

Sounds like you've just had some lucky runs with Silent because Ironclad can do ridiculous stuff too.

Tim · Apr 13, 2018

Nose Master said:
I guess, but Whirlwind pales in comparison to some of the Silent combos with the right relics. The ability to draw a billion cards and stack as much defense and attack as I want in a turn as Silent will never compare to blowing all energy I have for (even a double tapped) 60? damage twice on every enemy.

Extra energy is easy to come by yeah, but free extra cards / draw cards aren't as plentiful with ironclad. Like, you get a gold as Silent to upgrade every single card in your deck. As Ironclad, you have to upgrade a card to upgrade every card in your *hand*. So many relics play off of attacks played this turn, or cards played that it's hard not to lean Silent.

Apotheosis is a colorless card and available to both characters.

I personally find Silent more fun to play, but I disagree it's easier. A lot of the Silent combos are harder to get going compared to Ironclad. You're often relying on relics or powers that you may never see. When they do click it's great though.

Nose Master · Apr 13, 2018

Ferrio said:
Apotheosis is a neutral card, both characters can get it in the shop.
http://slay-the-spire.wikia.com/wiki/Apotheosis

Ironclad has draw cards too, including Offering which is fantastic.

Sounds like you've just had some lucky runs with Silent because Ironclad can do ridiculous stuff too.

This was my last silent run, a bit before it really opened up. You're probably right about getting lucky with him, but I just can't get the ball rolling correctly with Ironclad.

tbh the real lucky bit of this run was turning in his garbage starting relic into "get two relics off of every elite" on the whale in the beginning

Slay the Spire

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