Character Guide

Slay the Spire 2 Ironclad Guide

Ironclad still wins by making early turns matter. Bash and Burning Blood let him take rough fights up front, then the best lists turn that tempo into Vulnerable burst, Exhaust value, or long-fight Strength scaling.

The class is at its cleanest when every card either opens a damage window, cashes in on one, or pays you back for thinning the deck with Exhaust. If a card does none of those jobs, it usually needs a very good reason to stay.

Vulnerable burst87 cards8 relics38 attacks28 skills21 powers

Ironclad artwork — Sword pressure first, scaling second. Ironclad decks stay clean when the payoff cards arrive before the room stabilizes.

A-Grade Guide Scope

How To Use The The Ironclad Guide

This page should explain the class plan, the package priorities, and the act pressure points without pretending one static guide can script every run.

Reviewed2026-03-28

Use This Guide

Read the class plan before you chase one premium hit

Use this page when the real question is how The Ironclad wins, which core cards and relics matter, and what act checkpoints punish lazy drafting.

Where It Drifts

A guide stops helping when you treat it like fixed pick order

Patch shifts, relic spikes, and route pressure can all move the best line away from the default shell. One long page should frame judgment, not fake certainty.

Open A Tool Next

Switch to a calculator once the room asks for numbers

This guide covers package fit and route logic. If the next decision is exact HP, damage, draft, or campfire math, use the linked tools instead of forcing precision out of the guide.

Current Scope

This guide is tied to the current Early Access strategy cycle

Current Early Access character-guide cycle. If a patch moves the draft incentives, starter shell, or route math hard enough, the guide gets revised instead of pretending one old summary still fits every room.

Real Example

Spend HP To Buy Tempo

Ironclad can afford rough hallway fights if the reward improves the next elite. Prioritize the first real payoff card over ornamental defense, and upgrade Bash whenever the rest of the deck can cash the extra Vulnerable.

Maintenance Signals

Who Maintains This Page

Guide pages should make the owner, review date, revision reason, and scope visible before the page starts asking for trust.

Maintained bySTS2 Calculator Strategy Desk

Owns longform strategy pieces that turn card, relic, and route data into run decisions.

Responsible editorSTS2 Calculator Site Operator

STS2 Calculator Site Operator is the final operator for corrections, rights issues, and maintenance triage at [email protected].

Last reviewedMarch 28, 2026

The hero summary, package recommendations, act plans, FAQ answers, and related tool links were rechecked on the date shown here.

Revision noteVisible update

The Ironclad guide rechecked for vulnerable burst, Vulnerable Burst, Spend HP To Buy Tempo, and the Combo Damage Calculator handoff against the current Early Access strategy surface.

Patch verifiedCurrent Early Access character-guide cycle

If a patch changes the class shell, route pressure, or payoff incentives, this guide should be revised instead of keeping stale priorities online.

Applies toThe Ironclad strategy guidance for the current Slay the Spire 2 Early Access surface covered by this page.

Use the linked calculators and databases once the run needs exact numbers instead of a broader shell-level judgment.

DisclaimerCharacter guide, not scripted pick order.

The guide frames what usually matters. Current relics, route shape, and room pressure can still override the default line.

Guide hubCompare the rest of the roster when the real question is who owns the current shell better.Editorial standardsRead the site-wide source boundary, patch workflow, correction path, and desk ownership rules.Patch workflowRead how the site rechecks data and editorial layers after a live update.Report stale dataUse the contact page or email the site operator when a number, rule, editorial note, or rights boundary looks wrong.

Why The Ironclad Works

Front-loads damage, leans on Vulnerable windows, and turns short kill turns into clean team bursts.

Open A Vulnerable Window

Bash, Dominate, and the rest of the class rewards make Ironclad much better when one target is marked and you can cash that turn immediately.

Turn Exhaust Into Value

Burning Pact, Dark Embrace, Feel No Pain, and Charon's Ashes reward the same play pattern: trim dead cardboard and get paid for it.

Keep One Long-Fight Plan

Demon Form, Inflame, or a Barricade shell are all real. The mistake is carrying every slow payoff at once and drawing none of them on time.

Starter Shell

Bash means your first clean payoff is already in the deck. Burning Blood buys room to take tougher hallway fights, so early upgrades can stay pointed at damage or draw instead of panic defense.

StarterDefense

Burning Blood

At the end of combat, heal 6 HP.

Heal 6

Open relic entry

3 basicsOpening deck

Starter Cards

Bash, Defend, Strike.

BashDefendStrike

Early deaths

Most Common Early Deaths

Ironclad usually does not die because the class is weak. He dies because Burning Blood made a bad draft feel legal for two floors too long.

Act 1Drafting

Keeping every flashy 3-cost card

Burning Blood patches chip damage, not dead turns. Two slow rares before you fix draw or Energy is how Act 1 elites get a full free cycle.

UpgradeTempo

Treating Bash as optional

If the deck wants Vulnerable payoffs but Bash stays unupgraded and unsupported, the whole damage plan is pretending to exist instead of actually existing.

ShopRouting

Buying Brimstone without a kill clock

Upgrade

At the start of your turn, gain 3 Strength.

Open card entry

Core Relics

Good relic sections should explain why the relic matters to this character, not just repeat the text line. These are the pieces that most cleanly sharpen the class plan.

StarterDefenseIronclad Pool

Burning Blood

The starter relic keeps greedy routes legal. It is the reason you can take an efficient but bloody line and still arrive at the elite with real HP.

At the end of combat, heal 6 HP.

Heal 6

Open relic entry

UncommonAttackIronclad Pool

Paper Phrog

Paper Phrog is exactly what a Vulnerable deck wants: the setup cost stays the same, but every marked turn becomes much more expensive for the enemy.

Enemies with Vulnerable take 75% more damage rather than 50%.

Open relic entry

RareAttackIronclad Pool

Charon's Ashes

Once the deck is Exhausting cards anyway, Charon's Ashes gives you free room-wide pressure and makes cleanup turns much less passive.

Whenever you Exhaust a card, deal 3 damage to ALL enemies.

Damage 3

Open relic entry

RareAttackIronclad Pool

Ruined Helmet

Strength relics get better the more concentrated your gain is. Ruined Helmet loves lists that spike Strength instead of collecting it in tiny pieces.

The first time you gain Strength each combat, double the amount gained.

Open relic entry

ShopAttackIronclad Pool

Brimstone

Brimstone wins fast or gets you killed. Buy it only when the deck already kills on schedule and can afford the enemy side of the exchange.

At the start of your turn, gain 2 Strength and ALL enemies gain 1 Strength.

Self Strength 2Enemy Strength 1

Open relic entry

Best Packages And Synergy

A package is worth more than a pile of on-theme cards. Keep the shell small enough to find the cards that matter, and let the support pieces answer a clear question.

Vulnerable Burst

This is the cleanest Ironclad shell when the run offers it. Open with Bash or Dominate, then cash the marked turn with oversized attacks before the room gets another full cycle.

Cards

Bash Dominate Cruelty Dismantle

Relics

Paper Phrog Ruined Helmet

Exhaust Value

One good Exhaust outlet is enough to justify the rest. Once Dark Embrace or Feel No Pain is live, every dead starter or status card becomes fuel instead of drag.

Cards

Burning Pact Dark Embrace Feel No Pain Fiend Fire

Relics

Charon's Ashes

Strength Carry

Take the slow scaling package only when the deck can defend the setup. A Strength list with weak draw is just a promise to lose before the numbers matter.

Cards

Inflame Demon Form Colossus Fight Me!

Relics

Ruined Helmet Brimstone

Relic pairs

Relic Pairs That Change The Run

Ironclad relics are strongest when they sharpen one plan instead of spraying generic value everywhere.

Burst

Paper Phrog + Ruined Helmet

This is the clean burst package. One Vulnerable window turns into immediate lethal pressure instead of a polite setup turn.

Exhaust

Charon's Ashes + Dark Embrace

Once both show up, Exhaust stops being deck maintenance and starts becoming a real room-clearing engine.

RouteRace

Burning Blood + Brimstone

The starter sustain is what makes an otherwise reckless race line survivable. If the attack shell is already dense, this pair changes route choices immediately.

Act Strategy

The class plan only matters if it survives contact with the route. These checkpoints keep the guide pointed at the rooms that punish sloppy drafting.

Act 1Spend HP To Buy Tempo

Find one strong frontload card.
Find one payoff for Vulnerable.
Do not overload on 3-cost cards too early.

Act 2Commit To One Engine

Act 2 is where mixed plans start failing. Either the deck is an Exhaust list, a Strength list, or a frontload list with enough block to reach the payoff turns. Make the call and trim the rest.

Keep one clear scaling package.
Respect enemy multi-hit turns.
Only keep Barricade if the deck truly produces repeated Block.

Act 3Protect The Kill Turn

Late Ironclad fights are about timing. Preserve the turn where Vulnerable, Strength, and your payoff attack all line up, and stop pretending every rare still belongs in the deck.

Keep draw and hand quality high.
Avoid slow cards that do not change boss math.
Enter the boss with one reliable scaling line.

Doom thresholds, Osty pressure, Soul loops, and delayed lethal that becomes safe only when the shell survives the setup.

Stars and Forge sequencing88 cards

The Regent

Stars as a real resource, Forge as a payoff engine, and explosive turns that still need a steady economy underneath them.

FAQ

Short answers to the questions that usually show up once the broad plan is already clear.

How hard should I chase Vulnerable on Ironclad?

Hard enough that your payoff turns are reliable, not so hard that every hand is setup. One or two strong enablers and a few cards that really cash the window is usually cleaner than stuffing the deck with every Vulnerable card.

When is Barricade actually worth keeping?

When the deck produces repeated Block and can afford the setup turn. If your defense is mostly single-use patches, Barricade often reads better than it plays.

Is Exhaust a side package or a full archetype?

It can be either. Burning Pact alone is just quality control. Dark Embrace, Feel No Pain, or Charon's Ashes push it into a real engine that deserves more support.