Slay the Spire 2 Ethereal Perpetual Motion — The Banshee's Cry Loop

Published 2026-03-09Updated 2026-09-196 min read

The Necrobinder's Ethereal engine in Slay the Spire 2: Sculpting Strike converts cards to Ethereal, Lethality and Pull from Below pay per cast, and Banshee's Cry ends fights for free.

The Ethereal perpetual motion deck runs on a bargain: Ethereal cards vanish at the end of the turn, but everything in this build pays you for playing them. Sculpting Strike manufactures Ethereal cards on demand, Lethality marks the first attack each turn for +50% (75%), and Banshee's Cry — 33 damage to ALL enemies — gets cheaper with every Ethereal cast until it costs nothing at all.

The Necrobinder channeling in Slay the Spire 2
Cards that disappear, damage that doesn't.

The engine core

  • Sculpting Strike (Common, 1) — deal 9 (12) damage and add Ethereal to a card in your hand. The converter: any card can join the economy. Take one minimum; it is the build's ignition.
  • Parse (Uncommon, 1) — Ethereal; draw 3 (4). The cycle card — and once it gains Sly-style discounts or you stack casts, the loop's pump.
  • Pagestorm (Power, 1) — whenever you draw an Ethereal card, draw 1 more. The multiplier on every draw: one Parse becomes a cascade.
  • Wisp (Common, 0) — gain energy, Exhaust. Free fuel that never clogs a turn.

The payoffs

  • Lethality (Power, 1) — Ethereal; the first Attack each turn deals 50% (75%) more damage. Every Ethereal attack you lead with lands enormously.
  • Pull from Below (Uncommon, 1) — deal 5 (7) damage for each Ethereal card played this combat. The scaling clock: the longer the loop runs, the harder this hits.
  • Banshee's Cry (Rare, 9) — deal 33 damage to ALL enemies, costing 2 less energy for each Ethereal card played this combat. Ten Ethereals played turns this into a free board-wipe; that is the deck's endgame.
  • Defile (Common, 1) — Ethereal; 13 (17) damage. Solid, cheap ammunition that counts toward everything.

Turn template

  1. Convert: Sculpting Strike tags a draw card or an attack with Ethereal.
  2. Cycle: Parse (with Pagestorm online) draws half your deck; Wisp covers the energy.
  3. Lead with Lethality: the turn's first Ethereal attack swings for half-again.
  4. Cash out: Pull from Below scales with the combat's Ethereal count; once the counter is deep, Banshee's Cry resolves for 0 and clears the room.

Deckbuilding cautions

Ethereal cards expire at end of turn, so the deck needs density, not hoarding — 20–25 cards with heavy draw, and the discipline to remove basic Strikes that will never be converted (see deck thinning). Respect Lethality's target rule: it boosts only the first attack, so sequence the big hit before the chip. And keep one real wall — Shroud or Death's Door — because a deck this fast should never need a long fight, but the one turn it does will be against a boss.

Keep reading:

Related Guides

Slay the Spire 2 Rocket Fist Infinite — The Status-Fed Zero-Cost LoopSlay the Spire 2 Overclock Status Engine — Burn Recycling with Rocket PunchSlay the Spire 2 Ironclad Pommel Strike Rush — Fast Draw Engine BuildSlay the Spire 2 Ironclad Infinite Strike — Perfected Strike Scaling BuildSlay the Spire 2 Sly Tricks Build — Master Planner Zero-Cost LoopSlay the Spire 2 Poison Kill Build — Accelerant and Corrosive Wave SetupsSlay the Spire 2 Infinite Poison — The Corrosive Wave Draw LoopSlay the Spire 2 Silent Fan of Knives — Shiv AOE Build with AccuracySlay the Spire 2 Blade-Poison Hybrid — Knife Trap Burst with EnvenomSlay the Spire 2 Blade Bandit — The Classic Pure Shiv BuildSlay the Spire 2 Assassinate Build — Backstab Openers and Burst WindowsSlay the Spire 2 Starlight Engine — Balanced Star Deck and Route PlanningSlay the Spire 2 Radiate Burst Engine — Star Banking for One-Turn KillsSlay the Spire 2 Regent Particle Wall Loop — The Safest Infinite BuildSlay the Spire 2 Regent Infinite Chain — The Minimal Deck LoopSlay the Spire 2 Ten-Thousand HP Osty — The Hand Wall BuildSlay the Spire 2 Soul Drain Engine — Capture Spirit and Haunt LoopSlay the Spire 2 Doom Burst Build — Necrobinder Execution DeckSlay the Spire 2 Ironclad Vulnerable Engine — Dominate Wheelchair BuildSlay the Spire 2 Ironclad Vulnerable Stack — Bash, Tremble and Squash SetupsSlay the Spire 2 Perfected Strike Stack — The Upgrade-Heavy Ironclad DeckSlay the Spire 2 Ironclad Hellraiser Flow — Auto-Playing Strikes BuildSlay the Spire 2 Ironclad Exhaust Enchant Engine — Burn for StrengthSlay the Spire 2 Focus Lightning Build — Frost Defense, Thunder BurstSlay the Spire 2 Claw Deck — The Zero-Cost Swarm Build