Should I upgrade Claw in Slay the Spire 2?

Compare the upgraded text: Deal 4 damage. Increase the damage of ALL Claw cards by 3 this combat.. If the upgrade lowers cost, adds damage/block, or enables a combo piece, it is usually high priority.

What builds use Claw?

Claw appears in 2 tracked builds: Claw Machine (A-tier, hero card), Machine Mind (B-tier, core card).

What character uses Claw?

Claw is tagged as a Defect card. See the Defect build hub for archetypes that care about it.

Updated for Data 2026-03-17Early Access — numbers may shift with patches.

Claw

Defect · Attack · Common · 0 cost

Base

Upgraded

Card text

Deal 3 damage. Increase the damage of ALL Claw cards by 2 this combat.

Claw+

Deal 4 damage. Increase the damage of ALL Claw cards by 3 this combat.

Builds that use Claw

Archetypes that draft this card in real runs, with the role it plays.

Build context

See the Defect build hub for archetypes that feature this card in real runs.

Related cards

Claw FAQ

Should I upgrade Claw in Slay the Spire 2?: Compare the upgraded text: Deal 4 damage. Increase the damage of ALL Claw cards by 3 this combat.. If the upgrade lowers cost, adds damage/block, or enables a combo piece, it is usually high priority.
What builds use Claw?: Claw appears in 2 tracked builds: Claw Machine (A-tier, hero card), Machine Mind (B-tier, core card).
What character uses Claw?: Claw is tagged as a Defect card. See the Defect build hub for archetypes that care about it.

Patch history

SpireForge snapshots card text from Untapped exports dated 2026-03-17. When Mega Crit ships a balance patch, we re-run the scraper and refresh every affected URL—see /patches for the editorial log.