Ironclad is one of the starting characters in Slay the Spire, with a well-rounded balance of attack and block cards. He also has the most healing of any class, making him more forgiving of mistakes. 

According to the lore, Ironclad is the last of his kind. He sold his soul to a demon for power, giving him heavy-hitting attacks that cripple enemies and dole out brutal damage. 

Cards in Slay the Spire are always situational, and a fantastic card one run might be completely useless the next. But here are ten Ironclad cards to keep an eye out for because when they work in your deck, they could be the difference between a win and a loss.

10. Uppercut

Applying debuffs to your enemy is always excellent. Vulnerable boosts Ironclad’s already powerful attacks, and Weak diminishes the enemy’s hits and saves you a lot of damage.

Before its upgrade, Uppercut is fairly expensive. It can be hard to take full advantage of the Vulnerable debuff when most of your energy goes into applying it. But upgraded, two turns of debuffs is a fantastic deal.

Why Uppercut is great…

• Decent damage
• Applies Weak and Vulnerable

9. Immolate

For only 2 energy, Immolate’s damage is insane. This card can easily wipe out multi-enemy rooms, especially when paired with a Thunderclap. The added 7 damage from its upgrade is even more impressive since that’s a bigger damage boost than most upgrades.

Immolate does add a burn to your discard as an added cost. But the powerful damage this card deals out will help you finish the fight quickly–often before you have to worry about drawing that burn.

Why Immolate is great…

• Incredible AOE damage
• Burn goes to discard (instead of the draw pile)

8. Barricade

A highly defensive Barricade build can feel like the dream run. With Impervious and Entrench, your block stacks up so much that no one can hurt you. Throw in a Body Slam or two, and you dole out tremendous damage to boot.

In the right decks, Barricade is a game-winning card. That said, early on it can be challenging to play and feel like a curse in your hand. It takes time and energy to get rolling, but it’s an invaluable power card if you have the tools to make it work.

Why Barricade is great…

• Powerful for defensive builds
• Lets you get max efficiency from your block cards

7. Impervious

So many elites and bosses have big damage turns that leave you crippled and clinging to life. With just one Impervious, you can protect your HP from most–if not all–of a massive hit.

Blocking 30 for only 2 energy is an incredible deal. None of Ironclad’s other defensive cards come even close to that efficiency. Impervious also pairs well with powers like Barricade and Corruption. 

Why Impervious is great…

• Life-saving block
• Highly efficient block-to-energy cost

6. Reaper 

There certainly are times when Reaper feels bad. Against single-target enemies or groups that like to shield, it can be hard to feel like you’re getting your energy’s worth. When you manage to get a clean shot in, you’ll only do 12 total damage to a 3-enemy room.

But that’s 12 damage healed, and even casual Slay the Spire players know how hard HP is to come by. Ironclad has the most self-healing out of any class, and Reaper is a prime example of why.

Especially paired with a Thunderclap, Reaper’s sustain is invaluable during your climb through the spire.

Why Reaper is great…

• AOE damage
• Good healing potential

5. Corruption

Ironclad is an attack-heavy character. His costs are fairly high, so you’ll often find yourself struggling between playing a 2-cost card or skipping it in favor of a more responsible defensive play.

With Corruption, you don’t have to debate it. You can play all your attacks AND all your blocks. Cards like Shockwave and Impervious become insane when paired with Corruption. These typically expensive cards exhaust anyway, so playing them with Corruption is pure profit.

Corruption comes with its risks, of course. If you don’t have enough damage to kill your enemy before you run out of skills, you take a lot of damage. But in the right deck, your ability to attack more aggressively will end the fight before your lack of block cards ends up mattering.

Why Corruption is great…

• Lets you play aggressively without sacrificing block
• Good synergy with other exhaust cards

4. Feed

At 10 damage for 1 energy, Feed’s damage isn’t anything crazy. It’s not bad, but it’s certainly not much compared to all of Ironclad’s other heavy-damage cards.

But the chance to permanently upgrade your max HP? Amazing. If you can grab a Feed early and proc its effect consistently throughout your climb, you can easily add dozens to your max health. 

Ironclad likes to bash his head into things, sometimes at the cost of his own HP. Having the extra beefiness from Feed lets you fight more aggressively and play more HP-cost cards like Offering and Hemokinesis. 

Why Feed is great…

• Health scaling lasts the entire run
• Satisfying to proc
• Decent damage

3. Offering

With both draw and energy regen, Offering gives you everything you need to extend your turn. Depending on the situation, you can give yourself more time to smack the enemy, beef up your defenses, or both. With a 3-5 card draw, you’ll have plenty of options.

Even though offering has a health cost, Ironclad has plenty of self-healing to mitigate the damage. Besides, if you can kill the enemy faster or play another block card, this card will likely save more than 6 HP during the fight.

Why Offering is great…

• Extends your turn
• Gives both energy and card draw
• 3-5 card draw gives you plenty of options

2. Limit Break

Ironclad has plenty of ways to generate strength–both with cards and class-specific relics. The chance to double your strength for only 1 energy is an incredible boost to your damage potential.

Upgraded, Limit Break no longer exhausts. You can double your strength and grow exponentially every time it comes around, making for an incredible card during a long boss or elite fight.

Why Limit Break is great…

• Good synergy with Ironclad’s many ways to gain strength
• Doesn’t exhaust when upgraded

1. Disarm

Disarm doesn’t have all the flash and pizazz of a high damage card, but that doesn’t make it any less incredible.

For just 1 energy, this card debuffs an enemy for the entire fight. Subtracting 2-3 strength doesn’t sound like much, but it renders multi-hitting enemies useless. Hexaghost, the Book of Stabbing, Gremlin Leader, and even the Heart itself are effectively declawed by this card’s strength debuff. 

Why Disarm is great…

• Makes certain enemies virtually harmless
• Debuff lasts the entire fight
• Only 1 energy cost
• As an uncommon card, it’s easier to find

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