Slay the Spire 2 Ironclad — Class Guide, Stats & Starter Relic

The Ironclad is Slay the Spire 2's starting class — the last soldier of the Ironclads, crushing foes with sword and flame against his will. He is the simplest class to learn and the last one veterans still argue about, because his kit turns every fight into a math problem: how much damage can you push through before the enemy math pushes back?

Ironclad stats and starter relic

• Max HP: 80 — the highest of all five classes
• Starting gold: 99
• Starter relic: Burning Blood — at the end of combat, heal 6 HP
• Availability: available from the start, no unlock required

That 6 HP per combat sounds small. It is not. Eighty max HP plus automatic healing after every fight is what lets the Ironclad play the most health-hungry cards in the game — paying blood for energy, drawing, or raw damage — and simply walk it off.

How the Ironclad plays

The Ironclad's kit is built on four pillars:

1. Heavy single-target damage. Big attack cards that end elite fights before they become long fights.
2. Vulnerable setup. Applying Vulnerable multiplies everything the deck does, which is why so many strong Ironclad lines start with a Vulnerable application and end with something enormous.
3. Strength scaling. Flat Strength gains compound turn over turn; a deck that keeps adding Strength turns your opening hits into finishers.
4. Exhaust value. Cards that exhaust themselves or other cards for immediate payoff reward decks that stay lean — fewer dead draws, more consistent engines.

What a good Ironclad run looks like

Early on, take the efficient attacks and one or two Vulnerable enablers, and let Burning Blood absorb the chip damage while you filter your deck. By the back half of the run, the strongest Ironclad decks have usually picked a lane: a Strength-and-Vulnerable engine that one-shots elites, or an Exhaust-powered machine that turns every card in the pile into fuel.

For worked examples, see our build guides — the Ironclad wheelchair-style engine and the infinite strike loop are two of the most popular routes.

Ascension notes

Beating an Act 3 boss unlocks Ascension for the Ironclad, and each level adds a permanent, cumulative modifier to future runs. His high HP ceiling makes the early Ascension levels friendlier than most, but the class never stops rewarding aggressive play — the spire just starts punishing it more precisely.

Keep reading:

• All 5 Classes and Unlock Order
• Silent Class Guide
• Regent Class Guide