Slay the Spire 2 Ironclad Pommel Strike Rush — Fast Draw Engine Build

Published 2026-05-09Updated 2026-09-195 min read

The Ironclad Pommel Strike rush for Slay the Spire 2: 9 damage plus draw on a 1-cost common, Bloodletting energy, Hellraiser automation, and the fastest deck in Early Access.

Pommel Strike looks like a common. It is actually the engine block of one of Early Access's fastest Ironclad decks: a 1-cost attack that deals 9 (10) damage and draws 1 (2) cards. Upgraded, it pays for itself and then some — and a deck built to draw itself every turn wins fights before enemy intents matter.

Ironclad character art
Draw, hit, draw, hit — the cycle feeds itself.

Core cards

  • Pommel Strike ×2–3 (1) — 9 (10) damage, draw 1 (2). The upgrade priority above everything else; upgraded copies turn the whole deck into a slide.
  • Bloodletting ×2 (0) — lose 3 HP, gain 2 (3) energy. Free energy is what lets a draw engine keep running on the same turn.
  • Pillage (1) — 6 (9) damage, draw until you hit a non-Attack. Depth for the draw plan.
  • Hellraiser (Power, 2) — whenever you draw a card containing "Strike", it is played automatically against a random enemy. Draw becomes damage; see the full tech in the Hellraiser flow.

Support and glue

  • Battle Trance (0) — draw 3 (4), no more draws this turn. The spike card for finding your engine.
  • Burning Pact (1) — Exhaust 1 card, draw 2 (3). Removal and draw in one line.
  • Shrug It Off (1) — 8 (11) Block, draw 1. Defense that doesn't break the cycle.
  • Second Wind (1) — Exhaust all non-Attacks in hand, gain 5 (7) Block each. Turns junk into a wall while thinning the loop.
  • Forgotten Ritual (1) — gain 3 (4) energy, Exhaust. Burst-turn fuel.

What to remove, what to respect

The deck's religion is card count: every Strike and Defend you delete raises Pommel Strike's average turn. Target the high teens by Act 2. The one discipline cost is HP — Bloodletting plus aggressive drawing means you live on Burning Blood's 6-HP-per-fight drip, so treat block cards as maintenance, not luxuries.

Upgrade and relic priorities

  1. Upgrade Pommel Strike copies first — the draw 1→2 jump is the build's biggest single power spike.
  2. Then Hellraiser, then Bloodletting.
  3. Relics: anything that adds energy per combat (The Lantern-style effects), anything that scales Strike damage, and Paper Phrog if you keep a Vulnerable opener like Bash for the finish.

How the turn plays out

Open with Bloodletting if the hand is hungry, cast Pommel Strike, keep drawing, keep hitting — the deck's ideal turn ends with your whole pile cycling and every Strike in it having hit something. Against elites and bosses, hold Battle Trance for the turn you need to find both Pommel Strikes at once; against hallways, just run the machine.

It is the recommended first "real" build for new players: the pieces are commons, the plan is one sentence, and the ceiling is a full-deck cycle every turn.

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