Dominate Build — Slay the Spire 2 Build Guide
The Dominate Engine build for the Ironclad in Slay the Spire 2: core cards, relics and step-by-step strategy.
The Dominate engine is the Ironclad's most consistent scaling build in the current meta: turn Vulnerability into Strength with Dominate, then let Bully, Uppercut and your Strikes cash it in.
The Dominate Engine (Vulnerability → Strength)
The plan: apply Vulnerability, then convert it. Dominate gives you one Strength for each Vulnerability on the enemy plus an immediate Vulnerability — one card that adds both flat damage and multiplies your total damage. Multiple copies scale with each other: more Vuln application means more Strength means bigger hits that apply more Vuln.
The engine core:
| Card | Role |
|---|---|
| Dominate (S) | The payoff — Strength per Vulnerability, applies one on play, scales with itself |
| Bloodletting (S) | Reusable Energy generation; the best enabler on the character |
| Pommel Strike (S) | Damage + draw in one card |
| Battle Trance (S) | Draw three at zero cost — feeds everything |
| Expect a Fight (A) | Energy for each Attack in hand; Ironclad fills his hand with attacks easily |
| Headbutt (A) | Puts your best card back on top of the draw pile — replay your strongest play |
| Tremble (B) | Splashable Vulnerability applier; activates exhaust payoffs too |
The Vuln appliers that feed Dominate: Bash (your starter, C-tier but functional), Tremble, Thunderclap (Vuln on all enemies — sets up multi-target turns), and Molten Fist in a pinch. Once two or more Vulnerability stacks are on the target, Bully — a zero-cost Attack that scales its damage with the target's Vulnerability count — starts hitting like a premium card.
Related
- Ironclad build hub — all archetypes overview
- Builds Overview
- Ironclad card table
- Card Tier List