Ironclad Build
🎯 Cruel Hand of Reckoning
Crack their guard, then hit through the wound
Vulnerable enemies take an additional 25% damage.
Upgraded: Vulnerable enemies take an additional 50% damage.
Win condition: Apply heavy Vulnerable and increase the damage multiplier it provides (Cruelty, Paper Phrog). Once enemies take far more from every hit, your ordinary attacks — and AoE like Thunderclap and Shockwave — kill rooms quickly.
- B-Tier
- Tier
- Beginner
- Difficulty
- 10
- Core cards
- B-Tier
- Power
Deck core
Core cards
The cards this build is built around — prioritize these on every run.
Must-pick
Deal 8 damage. Apply 2 Vulnerable.
Upgraded: Deal 10 damage. Apply 3 Vulnerable.
Vulnerable enemies take an additional 25% damage.
Upgraded: Vulnerable enemies take an additional 50% damage.
Whenever you apply Vulnerable, draw 1 card.
Upgraded: Whenever you apply Vulnerable, draw 2 cards.
Deal 4 damage and apply 1 Vulnerable to ALL enemies.
Upgraded: Deal 7 damage and apply 1 Vulnerable to ALL enemies.
Deal 4 damage. Deals 2 additional damage for each Vulnerable on the enemy.
Upgraded: Deal 4 damage. Deals 3 additional damage for each Vulnerable on the enemy.
Deal 8 damage. If the enemy is Vulnerable, hits twice.
Upgraded: Deal 10 damage. If the enemy is Vulnerable, hits twice.
Deal 10 damage. Double the enemy's Vulnerable. Exhaust.
Upgraded: Deal 14 damage. Double the enemy's Vulnerable. Exhaust.
Deal 20 damage. Apply 5 Vulnerable.
Upgraded: Deal 25 damage. Apply 7 Vulnerable.
Deal 13 damage. Apply 1 Weak. Apply 1 Vulnerable.
Upgraded: Deal 13 damage. Apply 2 Weak. Apply 2 Vulnerable.
Apply 3 Weak and Vulnerable to ALL enemies. Exhaust.
Upgraded: Apply 5 Weak and Vulnerable to ALL enemies. Exhaust.
Flex picks
Apply 2 Vulnerable.
Upgraded: Apply 3 Vulnerable.
Gain 7 Block. Apply 1 Vulnerable.
Upgraded: Gain 8 Block. Apply 2 Vulnerable.
Gain 5 Block. You receive 50% less damage from Vulnerable enemies this turn.
Upgraded: Gain 8 Block. You receive 50% less damage from Vulnerable enemies this turn.
Gain 1 Strength for each Vulnerable on the enemy. Exhaust.
Upgraded: Gain 1 Strength for each Vulnerable on the enemy.
Lose 1 HP. Deal 9 damage to ALL enemies.
Upgraded: Lose 1 HP. Deal 13 damage to ALL enemies.
Deal 15 damage. Deals 5 additional damage for each unique debuff on the enemy.
Upgraded: Deal 18 damage. Deals 8 additional damage for each unique debuff on the enemy.
Deal 10 damage. Apply 2 Vulnerable.
Upgraded: Deal 12 damage. Apply 3 Vulnerable.
Gain 5 Block. Deal 5 damage.
Upgraded: Gain 7 Block. Deal 7 damage.
Gain 8 Block. Draw 1 card.
Upgraded: Gain 11 Block. Draw 1 card.
Synergy
Relic priorities
What to grab from shops, bosses and chests to power the engine.
Paper PhrogCorePushes Vulnerable from +50% to +75% damage — the single biggest multiplier for this entire deck.
Bag of MarblesStrongApplies 1 Vulnerable to all enemies at combat start, instantly setting up your punish cards turn 1.
Hand DrillStrongBreaking an enemy's Block applies 2 Vulnerable — extra free stacks that feed Vicious and your payoffs.
Unsettling LampStrongDoubles the first debuff effect you apply each combat — a doubled Bash or Shockwave is a huge head start.
Red MaskSituational1 Weak to all at combat start; pairs Weak with your Vulnerable for layered enemy suppression.
Centennial PuzzleSituationalDraw 3 the first time you take HP loss each combat — helps you dig to your debuff payoffs faster.
Game plan
How to play
Step-by-step through the run, from opening hands to the win.
Honest take
Pros & cons
Strengths
- Easy to pilot and assemble — mostly common cards that come online fast.
- Strong against both single bosses and packs thanks to AoE Vulnerable.
- Vicious keeps your hand stocked so the deck rarely runs dry.
Weaknesses
- Damage plateaus in late Act 3 without a Strength or scaling splash.
- Relies on the Vulnerable multipliers to hit its true ceiling — weaker if you never find Cruelty or Paper Phrog.
Opening
Mulligan & priorities
What to keep, what to ditch in your opening hands.
- Keep Bash — it's your most reliable Vulnerable application and a damage card in one.
- Keep Cruelty if drawn; the multiplier defines the deck's ceiling.
- Hold Thunderclap against multiple enemies for instant board-wide Vulnerable.
- Keep a payoff attack (Bully, Dismantle, Break) to cash in the debuff once it's applied.
Map strategy
Pathing
How to route the map to assemble the build and stay healthy.
Routing
This is a beginner-friendly, low-rare-dependency deck — most of its pieces are common/uncommon, so you can take a flexible route. Hunt for Paper Phrog and Bag of Marbles in elite/shop slots to amplify and pre-apply Vulnerable.
Avoid these
Common mistakes
- Attacking before applying Vulnerable — always debuff first, then punish.
- Stacking Vulnerable far beyond what you can punish in a turn; apply enough, then commit damage.
- Skipping the multipliers (Cruelty / Paper Phrog) — without them the deck is just average tempo.
- Wasting Molten Fist on a target with no existing Vulnerable; it's a doubler, so apply a stack first.
Quick answers
FAQ
Common questions about the Cruel Hand of Reckoning Ironclad build.
Is the Vulnerable build good in Slay the Spire 2?
It's a solid B-tier tempo deck that's easy to assemble and strong against both single bosses and packs thanks to AoE Vulnerable. Its main weakness is that damage plateaus in late Act 3 without a Strength or scaling splash, and it relies on finding its multipliers to reach its true ceiling.
What are the best cards for a Vulnerable Ironclad?
Bash is your foundational Vulnerable source, and Cruelty is the key multiplier that boosts damage to Vulnerable targets. Thunderclap and Shockwave apply Vulnerable to the whole board, Vicious draws a card on each application, and Bully, Dismantle, Break, and Molten Fist are the payoffs that scale off the debuff.
What relics does the Vulnerable build want?
Paper Phrog is the core relic, pushing Vulnerable from +50% to +75% damage — the single biggest multiplier in the deck. Bag of Marbles pre-applies Vulnerable to all enemies at combat start, Hand Drill adds stacks on breaking Block, and Unsettling Lamp doubles your first debuff each fight.
Is the Vulnerable build good for high Ascension or beginners?
It's the most beginner-friendly Ironclad line here — mostly common and uncommon cards that come online fast with little rare dependency. At high Ascension it can run out of raw damage in Act 3, so splash Inflame or Dominate to keep scaling. StS2 is in Early Access, so the Vulnerable multiplier percentages may be retuned.
Provenance
Sources & video guides
This build's strategy is informed by these community creators.
