Any tips for Ironclad's build?

[Eguzko]

I have won several times easily with the Silent with several different builds. But it seems I cannot really beat the game with the Ironclad.

I have tried the body slam build several times, but it seems that I didn't get the correct cards/enemies because I never reached tier 3. Other builds have worked even worse. With demon form and pure attacks I always reach a moment where I can't kill some enemies fast enough and I get killed because of lack of heal/block. Also demon form takes a long time to build up.

Some extra builds/tips would be appreciated. Thank you.

PD: This is a great game! I wish we had already at least 3 more classes and more levels.

[Big Mad Wolf]

I always go full offence with Ironclad. On bad pull can kill you at the boss, but it is more fun anyway. I reached Tier 3 in the first run, but sometimes already died halfway through the first Tier.

Flex and Offering seem to be kind of a must have and Whirlwind is probably the strongest and most versatile attack. Thanks to some relics like Necronimcon and double tap I killed an elite with 500 life in one turn in the third act and I won just now for my first time. I could have killed the final bosses aswell, if had drawn one of my double taps.

Sadly long play tactics don't work at all, because there is just not enough available to heal yourself. The strongest block card is hardly usefull, because of its exhaust, if are not lucky enough to get the Blockade buff somehow.

[Dad Poets Society]

If you go pure strength, try to get double tap+reaper or bites to top off your health.

[Prydzen ᛋᛟ]

the block build is not viable because barricade is to rare and to expensive, most of the time before you get your block build up the monsters are doing more damage. only in easy fights i got the 99+ block achievement. with dual wielding+body slam you can do tons of damage but calipers or baricade is to rare and expensive to rely on.. Good luck getting bodyslam+barricade+impervious+metalicize and upgraded so its viable.

[Zerea]

I've personally yet to have a victory on Ironclad using a Barricade deck, simply because I never see the card and the game likes to give me Limit Break or Demon Form far more often. It also has the issue of needing significant numbers of block cards paired with it, and Entrench+ is absolutely mandatory for certain bosses. It also must be upgraded immediately or it's utterly unuseable, and you really need at least one +1 energy relic for it to truly shine. Demon Form shines mostly on its own but absolutely requires a +1 energy relic, and Limit Break requires immediately upgrading and an initial source of Strength from Inflame or Spot Weakness (Or Vajra if you're super desperate.)

It's a bad idea to try and force a certain type of deck when you start a run. You can't go into a run and say, "I'm going to get Barricade and do a block deck this run." You have to roll with the punches in Slay the Spire and build accordingly to what the game gives you, not what you'd like to play.

[itssirtou]

I had the most fun with a Clash build. Basically whittle everything thats not a power, attack, Exhaust skill, multiplier or Rage out of your deck, take Iron Wave every time its offered. I got Orichalcum and Thread and Needle so I was actually pretty tanky, and Dual Weild+ on Clash is SO much damage.

I also really like Exhaust decks. The thinning can be amazing. I don't think I've found quite the right balance yet.

Metalicize is amazing. In pretty much every deck.

I don't like Demon form (Or Silents Wraith form for that matter). I'd rather do a Rupture combo. You take some damage sure but unless you're going full tank build you are going to take some anyway. In most encounters you can usually cut off at least one or two turns and take less damage that way. The Forms are only really better during boss fights (don't play a self DoT during boss fights), and maybe miniboss fights. If you get a form and don't intend to Remove it you want to upgade it ASAP

[Aeternalis the Abyssal Alchemist]

I've seen some amazing stuff with the Ironclad's possible builds. The most fun is of course being the Exhaust build, which is just amazing to behold.. unless Time Eater happens to be the last boss, in which case you are probably screwed.

[Eguzko]

Hi Guys,

I finally reached the final boss (time eater) and won the game. At the end the deck was a kind of a mixed deck, because I started in one way, but I had to change it several times along the way. So I ended up with cards like barricade, demon form and whirlwind but also with exhausts and other cards. I thought that it had barely any synergy, but apparently it worked.
Anyway, in my opinion the relics you get are even more important than the cards.

Thanks for the tips everyone!

[kerputnick]

Originally posted by Fenrir:

the block build is not viable because barricade is to rare and to expensive, most of the time before you get your block build up the monsters are doing more damage. only in easy fights i got the 99+ block achievement. with dual wielding+body slam you can do tons of damage but calipers or baricade is to rare and expensive to rely on.. Good luck getting bodyslam+barricade+impervious+metalicize and upgraded so its viable.

I've beaten the game on ascension level 15 with a block build based on body slam without barricade in the deck. Barricade is nice, but not absolutely necessary. What is necessary is "i feel no pain", exhaust cards, and lots of energy. Cards I would highly recommend are apotheosis, impervious, ghost armor, shrug, battle trance, evolve, warcry (upgraded), entrench (upgraded), seeing red, havoc, disarm, and the already mentioned i feel no pain (to name a few). It's important for this build that you remove strikes from the deck and pick up relics from boss fights that give you more energy. If you end up with a runic cube, bloodletting is also quite useful.

[Prydzen ᛋᛟ]

Originally posted by kerputnick:

Originally posted by Fenrir:

the block build is not viable because barricade is to rare and to expensive, most of the time before you get your block build up the monsters are doing more damage. only in easy fights i got the 99+ block achievement. with dual wielding+body slam you can do tons of damage but calipers or baricade is to rare and expensive to rely on.. Good luck getting bodyslam+barricade+impervious+metalicize and upgraded so its viable.

I've beaten the game on ascension level 15 with a block build based on body slam without barricade in the deck. Barricade is nice, but not absolutely necessary. What is necessary is "i feel no pain", exhaust cards, and lots of energy. Cards I would highly recommend are apotheosis, impervious, ghost armor, shrug, battle trance, evolve, warcry (upgraded), entrench (upgraded), seeing red, havoc, disarm, and the already mentioned i feel no pain (to name a few). It's important for this build that you remove strikes from the deck and pick up relics from boss fights that give you more energy. If you end up with a runic cube, bloodletting is also quite useful.

I am not that far into the game yet, i still have 2 unlocks(very annoying!)

[Jack_Daniels84]

I have 9 wins on each class at this moment (about 40 losses on each too), but I find having a couple of upgraded flexes and an upgraded limit break is far more reliable than a demon form. My luck is that Demon form is in the last few cards of my deck and always appears on a turn where the most damage is incoming. So I prefer to use Flex and attack when possible and accept the strength buff limit breaks can offer. Also yes a Heavy Blade and or Whirlwind combo'd with these is fun, And a general shriek of happiness if necronomicon appears.

I like Barricade decks too, but find early combat setup can lead to a eventual loss sometimes. A cool combo is an upgraded Evolve with Power Throughs/True grits, provides a nice card draw and block buff, but also the combo of an Oricalcum relic and upgraded Metalicize is awesome for aggressive decks, 10 free block each turn is awesome for only 1 energy a combat.

[DrViz]

You can succeed on Ironclad with just about ANYTHING for the first few ascensions. There's no need to try to intentionally build a deck, and honestly, trying too hard to work to a preconceived idea can just cause problems when you don't draw what you need. You can just take the best cards on the table for the first 10 loots and then start thinking about what fits.

[Lv 20 Bolting Bot]

Block, I've found, is very reliable.

When you see Metallicize, pick it. You don't actually need Barricade for a block deck, as a person above said. Metallicize, plenty of block cards and some Body Slam+ are enough. Dual Wield+ is godlike, as well, used to copy either Metallicize for stacking or Body Slam for 1-shots. An Armaments+ or Apotheosis is sort of necessary, as well. Armaments pops up all the time, though, so it shouldn't be an issue.

[Prydzen ᛋᛟ]

Originally posted by BOLTINGBOT:

Block, I've found, is very reliable.

When you see Metallicize, pick it. You don't actually need Barricade for a block deck, as a person above said. Metallicize, plenty of block cards and some Body Slam+ are enough. Dual Wield+ is godlike, as well, used to copy either Metallicize for stacking or Body Slam for 1-shots. An Armaments+ or Apotheosis is sort of necessary, as well. Armaments pops up all the time, though, so it shouldn't be an issue.

i dont take armaments anymore. i rather draw my upgraded cards. I like small decks. Like whirlwind+seeing red+flex+bloodletting+some draw controlling cards or strength/energy buffs like rupture

[Lv 20 Bolting Bot]

Originally posted by Fenrir:

Originally posted by BOLTINGBOT:

Block, I've found, is very reliable.

When you see Metallicize, pick it. You don't actually need Barricade for a block deck, as a person above said. Metallicize, plenty of block cards and some Body Slam+ are enough. Dual Wield+ is godlike, as well, used to copy either Metallicize for stacking or Body Slam for 1-shots. An Armaments+ or Apotheosis is sort of necessary, as well. Armaments pops up all the time, though, so it shouldn't be an issue.

i dont take armaments anymore. i rather draw my upgraded cards. I like small decks. Like whirlwind+seeing red+flex+bloodletting+some draw controlling cards or strength/energy buffs like rupture

Yeah that makes sense, although the deck you're describing is completely different. Whirlwind 1-shots make use of primarily Whirlwind and energy/strength cards. A general, reliable block deck like the one I described doesn't rely too much on few cards, meaning that Armaments+ provides incredible value when you can't get Apotheosis.

[DrViz]

Originally posted by Fenrir:

Originally posted by BOLTINGBOT:

Block, I've found, is very reliable.

When you see Metallicize, pick it. You don't actually need Barricade for a block deck, as a person above said. Metallicize, plenty of block cards and some Body Slam+ are enough. Dual Wield+ is godlike, as well, used to copy either Metallicize for stacking or Body Slam for 1-shots. An Armaments+ or Apotheosis is sort of necessary, as well. Armaments pops up all the time, though, so it shouldn't be an issue.

i dont take armaments anymore. i rather draw my upgraded cards. I like small decks. Like whirlwind+seeing red+flex+bloodletting+some draw controlling cards or strength/energy buffs like rupture

Armaments+ upgrades all the cards in your hand for the rest of the fight. There's no comparison. There are very few cards with good enough upgrades to be worth more than upgrading 5 randomly chosen cards.