Now, you might be wondering why this isn’t titled “the best builds for Ascension 10”, and that’s because while builds are still important at higher difficulties in Slay the Spire 2, they’re also actually a lie—Ascension 10 isn’t about getting the perfect synergy, it’s about plugging leaks. Your starter deck is a problem, and you need to fix those problems as quickly and as soon as possible.
I’ll get into what Silent’s builds are at the end of this article, but really, you’ll be better served at Ascension 10 by understanding which cards cover up which weaknesses. Or, as the title might suggest, the best Ascension 10 cards for Silent. Not the best cards overall, but rather, the ones that’ll get your hiney out of the fire the fastest. Let’s go.
I’ve beaten Ascension 10 in Slay the Spire 2 on every character at least once, which means I find myself in the enviable/unenviable position of being PC Gamer’s resident ‘how not to suck at the roguelike deckbuilder’ expert, and I’m here to pass on that knowledge to you—firstly with the Silent, STS2’s poison-toting rogue.
Best Silent cards in Slay the Spire 2
By far, the most powerful mechanic the Silent has at her disposal is the Sly modifier—wherein if you discard a card with Sly, it’ll play anyway. However, this comes with a huge asterisk: You generally don’t want to pick most Sly cards before you have a reliable set of discard options, since they usually aren’t worth their energy cost alone.
If you get too many Sly cards too early on without ways to get rid of them, you’ll have essentially created curses for yourself—and you’ll lose in Act 1 to terrible hands that see you eating huge damage.
Other than that, the general priority for Ascension 10 stays true: Get early damage and 1-2 AoE cards, get good defensive/block options, then go for card draw and discard so you can both improve your hands on a turn-by-turn basis and set yourself up for Sly synergies.
Early Picks
These cards aren’t necessarily run-winners in their own right—some of them might stay put in your deck for the whole run, while others might be less useful as time goes on. But again, this is A10—you need to cover for your weaknesses as soon as possible, regardless of whether or not these cards fit into your imagined build.
It’s all about early value. In the first few floors of any run, your job is to grab cards that are just better than a strike—because strikes don’t give you nearly enough damage to get past A10’s scarier, tankier fights.
- AoE – Echoing Slash/Flick-Flack/Dagger Spray: You’ll want at least one of these early on. STS2 has a lot of nasty multi-target fights.
Image credit: Mega Crit
Image credit: Mega Crit
- Poisoned Stab/Bubble Bubble: Poisoned Stab is decent damage, and Bubble Bubble is a natural combo to it—nine whole poison for just one energy is a good deal, as long as you can set it up properly, which is what Poisoned Stab will always do for you.
- Backstab/Assassinate: These cards get stronger with good turn-one draw, but they’re never a bad idea in Act 1 where you’re starving for energy and quick, easy damage. Just don’t take too many, since they don’t scale well on their own.
Image credit: Mega Crit
Image credit: Mega Crit
Image credit: Mega Crit
- Strangle: This card doesn’t scale too well, but if you’re able to pick up a couple of shiv cards to supplement it, the early damage value it offers can be massive.
- Ricochet: Ricochet stays useful until the endgame thanks to its Sly property, and it’s not a disastrous card to play early on even without discard, given it’s the equivalent of two non-upgrade strikes.
- Flechettes: This thing’s better than it seems, especially if you’re able to get fat hands with card draw. It’ll usually be doing 10 damage for 1 energy even on a sub-par hand—but if you can draw a few skills, Flechettes is excellent.
Image credit: Mega Crit
Image credit: Mega Crit
Image credit: Mega Crit
- Snakebite (No, really): This card gets memed on a lot, but Snakebite is actually fine—it has Retain, which means once you draw it, it’s basically out of your deck until you have a chance to use it. It combos nicely with Flechettes, and some enemies or bosses will have turns where throwing 7 poison at them is valuable. You probably don’t want more than one, but Snakebite is just fine.
- Dagger Throw: Better damage than a strike, card draw, and potential synergies with Sly—if you see this in Act 1’s early fights, just get it.
- Dash: Dash is kinda garbage late game, but good early game just because of its value—you’re blocking and attacking for two energy, meaning you can play a defensive turn without falling too far behind on tempo.
Defense
Once you’ve got some early value under your belt, you’ll want to figure out your defensive game, too. Damage in A10 is severe, and chances are high you’ll be taking chip damage at least every fight—and resting at campfires more than you can upgrade your cards. Snagging an early defensive plan doesn’t just help you dodge damage, it also makes you stronger in the long run.
Image credit: Mega Crit
Image credit: Mega Crit
Image credit: Mega Crit
- Footwork: Dexterity is so good, and Footwork is a cost-effective power that, on its own, can prevent dozens of points of chip damage over the course of several fights. One Dexterity is solid, two is amazing. Three is probably too much, but if you’ve got relics or energy gain to support it, you can grab more of those, too.
- Abrasive: A touch situational, and only worth playing if you’ve got good discard options, Abrasive is still great for the reasons Footwork is great. Dexterity’s super valuable, and the thorns are a nice bonus.
- Blur: Blur’s extremely useful not necessarily because of its value (though that is good), but because it can help bail you out of nothing turns where you draw a bunch of defence but the enemy isn’t attacking. A blur can transform a wasted turn into a lovely bit of setup for the next one.
Image credit: Mega Crit
Image credit: Mega Crit
Image credit: Mega Crit
- Leg Sweep: This almost made the “Early Picks” list, because Weak in A10 is an incredibly useful status effect, and the Silent only has a few ways to apply it. Almost always worth having one of these in your hand.
- Blade of Ink: Similar to Leg Sweep, Blade of Ink is a nice, fuss-free way to cause Weak in your deck—it also synergises with the Mystic Lighter relic, so it’s a must-pick if you’ve got that knocking about.
- Untouchable: If you have good discard, you should always grab an Untouchable or two. It’s a free block.
Image credit: Mega Crit
Image credit: Mega Crit
- Afterimage: Again, chip damage in Ascension 10 is the enemy—no matter your deck, having one Afterimage in it is useful. Having two, albeit harder in A10, is excellent. This plays especially nice with Shiv cards, so make sure to grab a few if you get it.
- Escape Plan: Save for a few specific enemies, Escape Plan is basically free. If you play it and don’t draw a skill, you haven’t wasted any energy. If you play it and do draw a skill, you just got 3 block for nothing. See it, click it.
Draw, Discard, and Retain
Once you’re all set up, the Silent wants to figure out its draw/discard game—Sly is your friend, which means that discard is your friend, and card draw is just good insurance on any character playing any deck, as having good draw reduces your chances of having wasted turns—which, in A10, can be fatal.
Image credit: Mega Crit
Image credit: Mega Crit
Image credit: Mega Crit
- Prepared: Prepared is solid, baseline, but if you can upgrade this bad boy it can be responsible for winning your run—it might even be worth forgoing a rest at a campfire if you’ve got the Sly cards to support it. No Sly cards in your hand? Prepare might draw them for you. Sly cards in your hand? Prepared will let you play them. You cannot lose.
- Tools of the Trade: This is basically a Prepared that auto-plays at the start of your turn, and it’s good for all the same reasons.
- Well-Laid Plans: Never underestimate Retain—a Well-Laid Plans means you can keep a hold of useful cards for synergies, or remove crappy cards from your draw pool, allowing you to have more effective turns.
Image credit: Mega Crit
Image credit: Mega Crit
Image credit: Mega Crit
- Reflex: Reflex plays nicely with all of the other cards on this list, boosting their draw to give you even bigger hands—which usually means better turns.
- Acrobatics: Never a bad card to grab. Fish for Sly cards in your deck, or draw some cards and play a Sly card already in your hand.
- Backflip: Card draw with a little block. What’s not to love?
Image credit: Mega Crit
Image credit: Mega Crit
- Calculated Gamble: You want one of these in your deck, especially if it’s upgraded—bad turns kill A10 runs, and being able to simply go “no, I’d like to do something else” is always useful. Bonus points if you’re getting rid of (and auto-playing) a bunch of Sly cards, too.
- Hidden Daggers: The Discard plays nicely with Sly, and the two extra shivs are just a sexy bonus.
Ramp/Scaling
Last in your priorities is ramp and scaling—for the non-card game folks among you, that basically means “things that let you play more cards earlier in the fight” and “things that multiply your existing damage, or let you get more powerful over time”.
Image credit: Mega Crit
Image credit: Mega Crit
Image credit: Mega Crit
- Adrenaline: This is a “see it, pick it” card. Card draw and extra energy to play with? Get it. Get it yesterday.
- Accelerant: If you’ve got a poison deck and you’re offered this, get it. A measly one energy to effectively double your poison damage is a great way to make you scale into the later acts.
- Tactician: If you’ve got a good amount of discard going, Tactician helps your discard turns go further, helping to solve your energy problems.
Image credit: Mega Crit
Image credit: Mega Crit
Image credit: Mega Crit
- Noxious Fumes: If you’re building any sort of poison deck, Noxious Fumes is worth getting—it might be worth getting even if you aren’t. This also counts as an AoE damage card, so it’s super valuable.
- Shadow Step: Plays nicely with Sly cards, and increases the damage of your next turn.
- Tracking: If you’ve got good ways to cause Weak in your deck, tracking is monstrously powerful. It also plays nicely with shiv archetypes, as well as cards like Flechettes and Ricochet.
Image credit: Mega Crit
Image credit: Mega Crit
Image credit: Mega Crit
- Accuracy/Phantom Blades: If you’re building a Shiv deck, you’ll want to start grabbing these cards—but not before you’ve got a few Shiv creators in your pocket.
- Corrosive Wave: If you’ve got a bunch of card draw, Corrosive Wave is a no-brainer. It’s a cheap, effective way to potentially throw a whole bunch of poison on your enemies—and it makes poison decks play much faster under the right circumstances.
Situationals
I’d hesitate to call any of these cards bad; most cards are useful in Slay the Spire 2. But they’re so situational that you want to make sure you pick them only when you’ve already got the other cards or relics that make them work.
Image credit: Mega Crit
Image credit: Mega Crit
Image credit: Mega Crit
- Envenom: On its own, Envenom just isn’t worth playing—but if you’ve got a decent shiv deck going or ways to get free powers like a mummified hand, it’s a nice supplement to certain decks that improves your scaling.
- Bullet Time: Combos well with high-draw decks. Get a big, nasty hand and then drop a bullet time to play everything in it. Otherwise, skip it.
- Speedster: Similar to Envenom, the energy cost of Speedster is just too high to make it worth playing—unless you’ve got a deck with an obscene amount of draw and the energy to back it up, in which case, Speedster can win you runs. It’s a feast or famine card.
Image credit: Mega Crit
Image credit: Mega Crit
- Serpent Form: More often than not, Serpent Form just doesn’t work. Three-energy powers are way too costly at Ascension 10—but again, if you’ve got the relics and/or energy generation for it? It might be worth taking.
- Fan of Knives: A very good card. However, because of how little you can find Rare cards in Ascension 10, you’re unlikely to get this before you’ve got a couple AoE cards in your deck; Snag it if you’re still somehow lacking in AoE, if it’s offered to you early, or if you’re building Shiv.
Best builds for Silent in Slay the Spire 2
Again, I must emphasise—if you wanna win Ascension 10 runs in Slay the Spire 2, you should be building for solutions, not builds. Stubbornly trying to stick to a certain archetype is a great way to get killed. However, it’s good to keep them in mind, given you’ll more or less be trying to steer into one of these versions of Silent whenever you play.
Shiv
- (+) Good to build for if you find a Kunai, Shuriken, or Ornamental Fan.
- (+) Mystic Lighter + Blade of Ink combo is very strong, as Blade of Ink counts as an enchanted attack.
- (-) Most reliant on synergy cards.
Worth building into if you get an early Kunai or Shuriken relic, as both give you in-built Strength and Dexterity, scaling that the Silent’s particularly good at taking advantage of. Shiv decks primarily rely on cards like Fan of Knives, Accuracy, Phantom Blades, Blade of Ink, and Afterimage. And, naturally, cards that generate shivs themselves, such as Hidden Daggers.
Still, given the amount of supplementary cards you need, it’s only really worth building for Shiv if you’ve been given the aforementioned relics or if you’re given no real other synergistic option.
Poison
- (+) Poison scales well.
- (+) Good to build if you get lots of defensive relics and good block cards.
- (-) Very slow tempo.
The second-strongest archetype, poison is just pretty good. It deals its damage right before the enemy’s turn, and by its nature has in-built scaling. Poison decks only really struggle with AoE damage, and they can be a little slow to start off with.
You’ll want to build for Poison if you get certain key cards like Corrosive Wave, Accelerant, Bouncing Flask, or an early Bubble Bubble—or if you find yourself with a lot of relics that provide you block, allowing you to survive long enough to start ramping up those poison stacks.
Sly (Draw/Discard)
- (+) The strongest Silent archetype.
- (+) Builds out of cards you want to be getting in Shiv and Poison builds, anyway.
- (-) Getting Sly cards before you get discard options can brick a run.
By far the strongest out of the Silent’s current archetype, Sly is just busted—and this archetype’s already empowered by things you want to be building for any way, namely card draw and discard.
Even if you’re building for Shiv or Poison, chances are you’ll have some Sly cards in your deck, and a lot of the best cards for Silent—Adrenaline, Calculated Gamble, Tools of the Trade, Hidden Daggers, and so on—are naturally Sly enablers, as well.
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