Shiv Build — Slay the Spire 2 Build Guide
Shiv Spam build for the Silent in Slay the Spire 2: core cards, relics and step-by-step strategy.
Fill your hand with zero-cost blades and multiply them — the classic Silent aggro route, powered by Accuracy and Hidden Daggers.
Shiv Spam
Play pattern: flood cheap attacks and multiply them. The caveat up front: this build is somewhat rare-dependent — "if you don't get Fan of Knives, it's kind of hard," but with the rares it's excellent.
Core cards:
| Card | Cost | Effect | Why it earns a slot |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up My Sleeve | — | Shiv generation whose cost decreases until it's 0 | "Probably the best Shiv card" — what Blade Dance used to be |
| Leading Strike | 1 | 11 damage at worst; beta version makes two Shivs | A "permanent Blade Dance" that bridges you into the archetype |
| Blade of Ink | — | Beta version makes three Inky Shivs | "Kind of just a Blade Dance with upside... a really good card now" |
| Blade Dance | 1 | 12 damage in Shivs; now Exhausts | Low risk — it removes itself, so it barely counts against your deck size |
| Cloak and Dagger | — | Shivs plus Block | Only take it upgraded |
| Accuracy | — | Shivs deal more damage | The classic Shiv payoff |
| Fan of Knives | — | Makes your Shivs hit all enemies | The rare that makes or breaks the build |
| Knife Trap | — | Shiv payoff that grows with every Shiv played | "Probably the best Shiv payoff" — the card the video is most excited to open; dead weight before you have Shivs |
| Serpent Form | — | Power that boosts your Shivs (4 → 6 per the video) | Take it even before the payoffs — "it kind of just solves every fight" |
| Strangulate | — | Heavy single-target damage | Excellent in Act 1; falls off by Act 3 |
| Finisher | — | Damage per attack played this turn | Fine, but Knife Trap, Envenom and Serpent Form do the job proactively |
Relics: Shuriken and Kunai — on this character they're run-defining, converting every spam turn into permanent Strength/Dexterity.
How to pilot it: draft the entry generators first (Up My Sleeve, Leading Strike, Blade of Ink, Blade Dance), and only then the payoffs — Accuracy and Knife Trap do literally nothing without Shivs in the deck.
Strengths and weaknesses: explosive multi-card turns and the best AoE route on the character; heavily reliant on the right rares appearing.
Related
- Silent build hub — all archetypes overview
- Builds Overview
- Silent card table
- Card Tier List