The best builds in Slay the Spire 2 usually have the highest damage and consistency, easily dominating top Ascension runs among skilled players. Some of the builds can even enable infinite combos via discard and draw synergies.
Each of the five characters presented in the game excels in their own special approach, using key cards and relics that you need to prioritize during your run. This guide will provide you with a list of the best builds in Slay the Spire 2 for each of the five characters.
The Sylent Sly Discard Build
One of the absolute strongest builds in the game utilizes the new Sly keyword that lets your discarded cards trigger powerful free effects. You can pair it with discard and draw engines for some fantastic payoffs and consistency. Here are the top card choices:
- Escape Plan
- Finesse
- Acrobatics
- Blade Dance
- Deadly Poison
- Footwork
Here are the top relics for this build, such as starting draws, discard, energy, and damage boosters:
- Ring of the Snake
- Kunai
- Shuriken
- Tough Bandages
The Ironclad Strength Build
Ramping Strength, then multiplying it across multi-hit attacks for massive damage, is always a good combo. Be sure to use it with self-healing and some Exhaust synergy to breeze through the first three acts. Here are the cards that you’ll need:
- Inflame
- Whirlwind
- Body Slam
- Feel No Pain
- Rupture
- Barricade
When it comes to relics, pick even more Strength boosters, healers, and auto-blockers:
- Burning Blood
- Vajra
- Eternal Feather
- Orichalcum
- Runic Pyramid
The Necrobinder Summon Build
Here’s another extremely powerful build, especially when it hits a critical mass of summons for some truly overwhelming board presence and burst. You can even one-shot bosses with this build, especially with the right soul engine. Watch out for these cards:
- Borrowed Time
- Reanimate
- Sic ‘Em
- Fetch
- Flatten
- Necro Mastery
As for the relics, you’ll definitely need more Exhaust value, safe blockers, and status removals:
- Orichalcum
- Eternal Feather
- Girya
- Flute
The Regent Star Engine Build
The Regent’s signature mechanic shines when you generate tons of Stars as a secondary resource, then spend them on big multi-hit attacks. Combine consistent Star producers and payoff spells for some truly explosive setups. These are the main cards:
- Child of the Stars
- Reflect
- Cloak of Stars
- Big Bang
- Alignment
- Dying Star
When it comes to relics, it’s important to start with many Stars, as well as high energy and power:
- Divine Right
- Ice Cream
- Fencing Manual
The Defect Infinite Build
Lastly, if you want to try out the Defect, then opt for the Claw spam and All for One infinite combo or Focus and Orb hybrid for zero-cost Claw spam with recursion for infinite turns. Look out for the following cards:
- Claw
- All for One
- Overclock
- Compile Driver
- Capacitor
- Ball Lightning
Of course, you’ll need even more Claw synergies with your relics, and some extra Orb and Focus slots:
- Cracked Core
- Letter Opener
- Runic Capacitor
- Data Disk