Alright, so today I wanted to finally crack this Slay the Spire card tier list thing everyone talks about. Been banging my head against the wall trying to “pick the strongest cards fast” like some guides promise. Yeah, right. More like picking the cards that get me killed fast, am I right? Here’s how my run went down.
The Messy First Try
Jumped straight into a Defect run, super pumped. Saw “Claw” pop up early. Everyone memes “Claw is Law,” right? Grabbed it instantly. Found another Claw soon after. Heck yeah! Built my whole dang deck around Claw attacks.
Breezed through Act 1 easy. Boss was Lagavulin. Popped Claws like candy, felt like a genius. Then Act 2 rolled around. Those stupid Bird Cultists with their dumb artifacts? Shut me down hard. My Claws just bounced off uselessly. Couldn’t scale damage quick enough against groups either. Panicked, tried grabbing any defense card I saw to survive. Deck got so bloated. Died horribly to the Act 2 boss like a chump. My “S-Tier” Claws felt F-tier real quick.
Lesson screamed at me: Don’t just chase memes or tier lists blindly. What works early might screw you later.
Getting Practical About Synergies
Fired up a new Silent run, feeling a bit humbled. Ditched the tier list obsession. Focused on answering two questions for every card choice:
- Does this actually help me right now? (Like, is the next elite gonna murder me?)
- Does this potentially work with what cards I’ve already, kinda, maybe got?
Early Act 1 was rough. Needed damage fast. Saw “Dash”. Not fancy, not talked about much. But it deals damage and blocks. Perfect! Got me past Nobs without dying. A few floors later, got offered “Blade Dance”. Normally, I grab all the shiv cards like candy. But this time? Paused. Looked at my deck. Had a few poison cards from rewards earlier but nothing solid. Blade Dance didn’t help with elites or bosses solo.
Then I saw “Bouncing Flask”. Pure poison. Ignored Blade Dance, took the Flask. Later, lucked into “Catalyst”. Suddenly, I had a poison engine going! Those Cloak Dagger relics? Pure gold with this setup. Shoved in some Footworks for consistent block. Wasn’t flashy, but man, it worked.
Light bulb moment: The strongest card depends entirely on what junk you already have. That Blade Dance might be “A-Tier” in a shiv deck, but straight trash tier poison run. Synergy over static lists any day.
Building My Own Stupid Simple Tier Rules
Screw generic tier lists. Based on my brick walls, I need guidelines rooted in how I actually play:
- Scaling First: Bosses wreck you without scaling. Cards like Footwork (Silent), Demon Form (Ironclad), Defragment (Defect)? Gold. Grab them early-ish.
- Problem Solvers: Need AoE for Act 2 crowds? Cards like Die Die Die are suddenly top priority. Need artifact strip? Screw tier lists, take it when you NEED it.
- Opportunity Cost: That sweet rare power card? Is it worth passing a basic strike? Probably. But if my deck needs a way to kill elites now? Might gotta skip it. Always ask: What problem do I die to next if I DON’T take this?
Ran another Ironclad using this. Picked up Corruption early. Sounds dangerous? But paired it with Feel No Pain and Fire Breathing relics. Suddenly, exhausting cards was free block + AoE damage. Act 3 elites? Melted. Took scaling like Inflame over flashy attacks. Crushed it. Didn’t follow someone else’s list, just built based on problems I faced.
The Real Talk Conclusion
Forget finding the one perfect tier list like some holy grail. Ain’t happening. I wasted runs trying to “pick strongest cards fast” using online S-tiers that didn’t fit my situation. Got wrecked every time. The real tier list lives in your head during a run.
Here’s what actually works for me now:
- Fix immediate threats first (damage for Act 1 elites).
- Scan your deck constantly: “Do I have a way to win later?” If not, prioritize scaling.
- Anticipate the next brick wall (Act 2 groups? Specific boss?) and grab problem-solvers.
- DITCH CARDS! Seriously, paying gold to remove Strikes/Defends is often the best “card” pick.
My runs got way more consistent. Not always wins, but fewer faceplants. Strongest card? The one that makes your current pile of junk actually work together against what’s coming next. Screw those rigid S-tiers!