Slay the Spire 2 Builds — All Five Characters' Archetypes
Slay the Spire 2 build overview: every character's main archetypes (Star Engine, Doom, Orb, Shiv, Dominate), how to pick one, and the deckbuilding rules that apply to all of them.
Every Slay the Spire 2 character runs two or three real archetypes, and the single biggest skill jump you can make is committing to one instead of drafting everything good. This page is the map: which archetypes exist, where the full build guide for each lives, and the deckbuilding rules that cut across all five characters.
The Build Map
| Character | Main archetypes | Full guide |
|---|---|---|
| Ironclad | Vulnerability→Strength scaling (Dominate engine) · Exhaust/Block engine with Body Slam finisher | Ironclad Builds |
| Silent | Draw/discard manipulation + shiv package (Footwork-fueled evasion) | Silent Build |
| Defect | Orb engine (Echo Form / Defragment / Glacier focus stacking) | Defect Builds |
| Regent | Star Engine (consistent, high-Ascension pick) · Sovereign Blade (boss-killer, high risk) | Regent Builds |
| Necrobinder | Doom Deck (delayed execution) · Osty Deck (summon tank) | Necrobinder Builds |
Card-by-card tier standings for every archetype live on the Tier List.
Four Rules That Apply to Every Build
These come straight from the community deckbuilding guides, and they survive every patch so far:
1. Let the deck build itself — don't force a plan on floor one. Pick strong, flexible cards early; the archetype you commit to should be the one the run offers you, not the one you queued up wanting.
2. Learn your character's archetype list before you draft. The difference between a good deck and a pile is knowing, for example, that Regent's Star Engine wants Glow/Big Bang/Royal Gamble while Sovereign Blade wants Forge cards — so a "good card" from the wrong archetype is a trap.
3. Don't make your deck too thin — but do thin it. Engine characters (Regent, Defect) want small, focused decks — the Regent guide works in the 10–15 card range with dedicated deck-thinning cards (Begone, Charge) that turn dead strikes and curses into fuel. The rule isn't "small deck," it's "no dead cards."
4. It gets easier — Act 1 is the hardest part. Your starting deck is the worst it will ever be on floor one; early picks should solve the immediate act (AoE for four-enemy elite fights, one solid block plan), not your late-game fantasy.
Where to Go Next
- Tier List — every card ranked S–D, updated each patch
- Patch Notes — why last patch's best build may not be this patch's
- Tips — the fundamentals expanded
All Build Pages (22)
- Builds Defect
- Builds Ironclad
- Builds Necrobinder
- Builds Overview
- Builds Regent
- Builds Silent
- Defect Claw Build
- Defect Dark Build
- Defect Frost Build
- Defect Lightning Build
- Ironclad Dominate Build
- Ironclad Exhaust Build
- Ironclad Strikes Build
- Necrobinder Doom Build
- Necrobinder Osty Build
- Regent Forge Build
- Regent Infinites Build
- Regent Star Midrange Build
- Regent Starfall Build
- Silent Poison Build
- Silent Shiv Build
- Silent Sly Build