Last updated: 20 July 2026

Slay the Spire 2 Ironclad Build Guide Strength, Exhaust & Block

The Ironclad returns from Slay the Spire 1 with his signature self-reliance intact: 80 base HP, a heal of 6 HP after every combat (via his starter relic Burning Blood), and a card pool built around raw power. He is the most forgiving character for learning the game, and one of the strongest in experienced hands. This guide covers all three main archetypes, the key cards within each, and the relics that push a run over the finish line.

01Ironclad Unique Mechanics

Before building a deck, understand what makes the Ironclad different from the other four characters:

• Burning Blood (Starter Relic) — at the end of each combat, heal 6 HP. This passive heal is why the Ironclad forgives mistakes — you can take damage making aggressive plays and recover before the next fight.
• Exhaust keyword — some Ironclad cards have the Exhaust keyword, which removes them from your deck for the rest of combat after they're played. This sounds like a downside but it's actually a feature: it keeps your deck lean in late-game fights and combos with cards that trigger when any card is Exhausted.
• Self-damage cards — several Ironclad cards (like Bloodletting and Rupture) deal damage to you but provide Energy or Strength in exchange. Paired with the post-combat heal and certain defensive relics, these form a core part of two of his archetypes.

The Ironclad's three archetypes — Strength, Exhaust, and Block — can also be mixed to varying degrees, but picking one as your primary strategy and supplementing with the others gives you the clearest path to consistent wins.

02Archetype 1: Strength Scaling

The Strength build is the most straightforward Ironclad strategy: stack Strength (each point adds 1 damage to every attack you play), then unleash high-damage multi-hit attacks to close fights quickly. It scales hard in the late game but requires finding the right Strength sources early.

Key Strength sources:

• Inflame (Power, 1 Energy) — gain 2 Strength permanently. Cheap, efficient, and the backbone of most Strength builds. Upgrade to gain 3 Strength instead.
• Demon Form (Power, 3 Energy) — at the start of each turn, gain 3 Strength (4 if upgraded). Slow to set up but the highest Strength ceiling in the game once it's running.
• Limit Break (Skill, 1 Energy, Exhaust) — double your current Strength. Combines explosively with any Strength you've already built.
• Dominate — provides early Vulnerable on enemies as well as Strength, making it a strong card throughout the entire run.
• Bloodletting (Skill, 0 Energy) — lose 3 HP, gain 2 Energy. Best used when you need to play a Power card on a tight Energy turn.

Key Strength payoffs (attacks that benefit from high Strength):

• Heavy Blade (Attack, 2 Energy) — deal 14 base damage; Strength adds to each hit 3 times (5 times when upgraded). At 8 Strength, an upgraded Heavy Blade hits for 14 + (5 × 8) = 54 damage — enough to one-shot most Act 3 enemies.
• Whirlwind (Attack, X Energy) — deal 5 damage to all enemies X times. Each hit benefits from Strength: at 5 Strength and 3 Energy, Whirlwind hits 3 times for (5 + 5) = 10 damage per hit, dealing 30 damage to each enemy.
• Twin Strike (Attack, 1 Energy) — deal 5 damage twice. Cheap and efficient with Strength.
• Sword Boomerang (Attack, 1 Energy) — deal 3 damage to a random enemy three times. Like Twin Strike, hits multiple times and scales well.

The win condition is straightforward: reach 10+ Strength through Inflame stacks and one or two Limit Break activations, then close fights in two or three Heavy Blade swings. Include at least one Block card (Shrug It Off is excellent — draws a card while providing Block) to survive long enough to set up.

03Archetype 2: Exhaust Synergy

The Exhaust archetype takes advantage of the Ironclad's unusually large pool of Exhaust cards. The strategy centres on cards that trigger when any card is Exhausted and cards that benefit from a small, tightly managed deck.

Core Exhaust synergy cards:

• Dark Embrace (Power, 2 Energy) — whenever a card is Exhausted, draw 1 card. With multiple Exhaust cards in play, this turns Exhausting cards into an engine that keeps your hand full.
• Feel No Pain (Power, 1 Energy) — whenever a card is Exhausted, gain 3 Block. Combined with Dark Embrace, each Exhaust becomes both card draw and Block generation.
• Sentinel (Skill, 1 Energy) — gain 5 Block; if Exhausted, gain 2 Energy. When Sentinels are triggered by another Exhaust effect, they refund Energy.
• Fiend Fire (Attack, 2 Energy, Exhaust) — deal 7 damage for each card in your hand. With Dark Embrace drawing cards on Exhaust, Fiend Fire can hit for enormous damage in a large hand.
• Corruption (Power, 3 Energy) — Skills cost 0 but are Exhausted when played. Once Corruption is in play and you have Dark Embrace and Feel No Pain active, every Skill you play becomes free card draw and Block, turning the rest of the fight into a runaway engine.

The Exhaust build is slower to set up than Strength but generates more Block, making it more durable against the sustained damage of Act 3 and boss fights. It's particularly strong when your starting hand has Corruption early in a fight.

04Archetype 3: Block / Juggernaut

The Block archetype leans into the Ironclad's ability to generate large amounts of Block per turn and convert that Block into damage through Juggernaut and Barricade.

• Barricade (Power, 3 Energy) — Block is no longer removed at the start of your turn. Normally Block resets every turn; with Barricade, your accumulated Block carries over indefinitely.
• Juggernaut (Power, 2 Energy) — whenever you gain Block, deal 5 damage to a random enemy. With a high-Block turn, Juggernaut can deal 30–50 incidental damage without playing a single Attack.
• Body Slam (Attack, 1 Energy, or 0 upgraded) — deal damage equal to your current Block. With 40+ Block accumulated via Barricade, this becomes a one-shot finisher.
• Entrench (Skill, 2 Energy) — double your current Block. One of the strongest single cards in a Block build — with Barricade and 20 Block, Entrench pushes you to 40 in a single card.

Block builds tend to be the most durable of the three archetypes but require finding Barricade, which is a rare power. If you find it early, commit to it — if not, lean toward Strength or Exhaust instead.

05Best Relics for Ironclad

These relics are particularly strong on the Ironclad regardless of archetype:

• Demon Tongue — the first time you lose HP on your turn, heal HP equal to the amount lost. Turns self-damage cards (Bloodletting, Rupture) into survivability tools.
• Vajra — gain 1 Strength at the start of combat. Free permanent Strength without spending a card slot.
• Ruined Helmet / Sling of Courage — additional free Strength at combat start, stacking with Vajra and Inflame.
• Astrolabe — transforms and upgrades 3 cards from your deck on pickup. A critical improvement to any archetype.
• Ice Cream — unused Energy carries into the next turn. Allows enormous Whirlwind turns in the Strength build.
• Bag of Preparation — draw 2 extra cards on the first turn. Improves the likelihood of hitting your key Powers on turn 1.

Avoid relics that require discarding cards unless you've built discard synergy — the Ironclad's base kit doesn't benefit from those mechanics the way the Silent does.

06Ironclad Run Tips

• Fight every Elite in Act 1. Your post-combat heal means you can afford to take damage against an Elite, and the Relic reward is almost always the single biggest power spike of the Act.
• Remove a Strike or Defend at the first shop. It costs 75–100 gold, but removing a diluting basic card is worth it for any archetype.
• Prioritize Demon Form if you see it before Act 3. Even at 3 Energy cost, it's the highest Strength ceiling in the game and can carry a Strength build through the toughest bosses.
• Keep your potion inventory for Elite and boss fights. A Strength Potion (+5 Strength for one combat) combined with Heavy Blade can close an Elite fight in two turns.
• In Exhaust builds, play Corruption last. Corruption makes all Skills free but Exhausted — play your other Powers first so they survive and only trigger Corruption when you're ready to go infinite with Dark Embrace and Feel No Pain.