Should I upgrade Setup Strike in Slay the Spire 2?

Compare the upgraded text: Deal 9 damage. Gain 3 Strength this turn.. If the upgrade lowers cost, adds damage/block, or enables a combo piece, it is usually high priority.

What builds use Setup Strike?

Setup Strike appears in 1 tracked build: Demon Form Juggernaut of War (S-tier, core card).

What character uses Setup Strike?

Setup Strike is tagged as a Ironclad card. See the Ironclad build hub for archetypes that care about it.

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

Setup Strike

Ironclad · Attack · Common · 1 cost

Base

Upgraded

Card text

Deal 7 damage. Gain 2 Strength this turn.

Setup Strike+

Deal 9 damage. Gain 3 Strength this turn.

Builds that use Setup Strike

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

SDemon Form Juggernaut of WarIronclad · Core card

Keywords

Strength

Build context

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

Related cards

Setup Strike FAQ

Should I upgrade Setup Strike in Slay the Spire 2?: Compare the upgraded text: Deal 9 damage. Gain 3 Strength this turn.. If the upgrade lowers cost, adds damage/block, or enables a combo piece, it is usually high priority.
What builds use Setup Strike?: Setup Strike appears in 1 tracked build: Demon Form Juggernaut of War (S-tier, core card).
What character uses Setup Strike?: Setup Strike is tagged as a Ironclad card. See the Ironclad 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.