The Ironclad
80 HPMax HP on floor one. No Ascension level changes it.
The last soldier of the Ironclads.
Crushes foes with sword and flame against his will.
Gold
99 GoldGold on floor one. No Ascension level changes it; Ascension 3 only cuts what fights and chests drop.
Card pool
87 cardsCards only the Ironclad finds: 37 Attacks, 30 Skills, 20 Powers. The card list also shows 3 playtest cards, marked, that the live game leaves out.
Starting relic
Burning BloodIn hand from floor one. Hover the name for what it does.
Burning BloodIn hand from floor one. Hover the name for what it does.Starting deck
Ironclad relics
Ironclad potions
How the Ironclad plays
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The basics
- The Ironclad starts with 80 HP, the highest of the five characters, 3 Energy a turn and 99 Gold.
His relic, Burning Blood, heals 6 HP after every combat he survives, so he can afford to spend HP on Energy and damage.
Starting deck
- The starting deck is ten cards: five Strike, 6 damage for 1 Energy, four Defend, 5 Block for 1, and one Bash, which costs 2, deals 8 and applies 2 Vulnerable.
Bash is the floor-one game plan: play it first and every Strike into that enemy deals 9 instead of 6, so Bash plus Strike is 17 damage from a 3-Energy turn.
Upgraded, Bash deals 10 and applies 3 Vulnerable.
How the pool plays
- His pool runs on three currencies: Strength, Exhausted cards and lost HP.
- Nearly every strong Ironclad card pays HP for Energy or damage, feeds the Exhaust pile, or turns Strength into multi-hit damage.
- Block comes as flat numbers, so he wins by ending fights quickly rather than by out-scaling long ones.
Ironclad card pool
Break
Attack
1
Deal 20 damage.
Apply 5 Vulnerable.
Apply 5 Vulnerable.
Brand
Skill
0
Lose 1 HP.
Exhaust 1 card.
Gain 1 Strength.
Exhaust 1 card.
Gain 1 Strength.
Corruption
Power
3
Skills cost 0 .
Whenever you play a Skill, Exhaust it.
Whenever you play a Skill, Exhaust it.
Conflagration
Attack
1
Deal 2 damage to ALL enemies 4 times.
Cascade
Skill
X
Play the top X cards of your Draw Pile.
Aggression
Power
1
At the start of your turn, put a random Attack from your Discard Pile into your Hand and Upgrade it.
Feed
Attack
1
Deal 10 damage.
If Fatal, raise your Max HP by 3.
Exhaust.
If Fatal, raise your Max HP by 3.
Exhaust.
Impervious
Skill
2
Gain 30 Block.
Exhaust.
Exhaust.
Barricade
Power
3
Block is not removed at the start of your turn.
Fiend Fire
Attack
2
Exhaust your Hand.
Deal 7 damage for each card Exhausted.
Exhaust.
Deal 7 damage for each card Exhausted.
Exhaust.
Not Yet
Skill
2
Heal 10 HP.
Exhaust.
Exhaust.
Crimson Mantle
Power
1
At the start of your turn, lose 1 HP and gain 8 Block.
+78 moreSee all Ironclad cardsOur picks
OfferingSkill0Lose 6 HP.
Gain .
Draw 3 cards.
Exhaust.- Crimson MantlePower1At the start of your turn, lose 1 HP and gain 8 Block.
UnmovablePower2The first time you gain Block from a card each turn, double the amount gained.
DominateSkill1Apply 1 Vulnerable.
Gain 1 Strength for each Vulnerable on the enemy.
Exhaust.
StokeSkill1Exhaust your Hand.
Add 1 random card into your Hand for each card Exhausted.
What to pick up
Act 1 damage
- Act 1 elites punish a slow deck, so early rewards should add damage and a cheap Vulnerable source.
Pommel Strike deals 9 and draws a card.
Tremble applies 3 Vulnerable for 1 Energy, so each Strike after it deals 9, not 6.- Offering is worth taking at any point: for 0 Energy and 6 HP it gives 2 Energy and 3 cards, then Exhausts.
- Burning Blood heals those 6 HP after the fight.
Defence on a few cards
- Defence rests on a few strong cards rather than extra Defends.
Crimson Mantle costs 1 Energy and, from the next turn on, turns 1 HP into 8 Block every turn.- Unmovable doubles the first Block gained from a card each turn, so a Defend gives 10 and Impervious gives 60.
Colossus adds 5 Block and halves attack damage from Vulnerable enemies until their turn ends.
Two strong plans
- Strong decks follow one of two plans.
- The Vulnerable plan applies it with Tremble, Taunt or Uppercut, then cashes it in with Dismantle, which hits twice against a Vulnerable enemy.
- Dominate applies 1 more Vulnerable and grants 1 Strength per stack, so it gives 4 Strength after a Tremble.
The Exhaust plan burns weak cards for value. Stoke exhausts the hand and replaces each card with a random Ironclad card, and Fiend Fire deals 7 damage per card it exhausts.- Both feed Feel No Pain, 3 Block per exhausted card, and Ashen Strike, 3 more damage per card in the Exhaust pile.
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Upgrade order
- Upgrade Offering first, since it then draws 5.
- Upgraded, Unmovable drops to 1 Energy and Dominate applies 2 Vulnerable.
Inflame looks like an easy Strength pick, but its 2 Strength trails what Dominate gives in a Vulnerable deck.
Thunderclap looks like cheap area damage, but 4 damage to each enemy does little after the first floors.
Notes
The Ironclad is unlocked from the start and is the only character on a fresh save.- Finishing any run, even one you abandon, unlocks the Silent. The unlock code runs after the run ends and hands the character over on the Timeline screen.
Burning Blood only heals if the Ironclad is alive when the fight ends.- Feed and Not Yet are excluded from random in-combat card generation, so Infernal Blade never produces Feed.
Demonic Shield and Tank appear only in multiplayer runs.- Cascade upgraded plays X plus 1 cards.
Break and Corruption are his Ancient cards.
Changes by version
- Added new multiplayer Ironclad cards; Midnight: Rare - Attack - Cost 12 - "Deal 99(120) damage. Costs 1 less for each card Exhausted this combat by ANYONE."; Blaze: Uncommon Skill - Cost 2 - "Give another player 5(7) Strength."; Outrage: Uncommon - Attack - Cost 0 - "Deal 9(13) damage. Add a copy of this card into EVERYONE'S Discard Pile."
- Ironclad heavy attack
- Added new Ironclad heavy attack animation
All 31 patch notes28 older
- Colorful Philosophers event can no longer be encountered if a player has only Ironclad unlocked
- Now let's take a look at the rest of the updates, including updated art, some reworks and balance changes, a new Ironclad card, and new Neow relics (one of which may be very familiar to seasoned Slayers)
- 12 Mar 2026Bug fixFixed crash when selecting Ironclad on Turkish locale systems
- De-Chin-ified Ironclad in character select button and backgroundBug fixInternal playtestFixed Ironclad's chapter 4 and 5 Epochs being swapped
- Fixed incorrect speakers in Ironclad x Vakuu first visit dialogue
- Fixed Ironclad/Vakuu dialogue not displaying from the correct character
- Card Library now defaults to Ironclad when opened from main menu
- Changed Ironclad Inflame bundle: Stomp replaced with Twin Strike
- Added Power Through, previously an Ironclad card in StS1
- Added new Ironclad Grapple Neow bundleChangeVulnerableNeowMolten FistTrembleInternal playtestChanged Ironclad's Vulnerable Neow bundle: Molten Fist to Tremble
- Changed Ironclad's Vulnerable Neow bundle: card content changed from Dominate to Dismantle
- Ironclad: Body Block, The Tank (no longer colorless)PoolInternal playtestPool changed from colorless multiplayer to Ironclad multiplayer
- Changed The Ironclad Epoch: unlocked card changed from Grapple to Dominate
- The Regent now has his own map marker icon instead of using The Ironclad's
- Changed Ironclad EpochsChangeDrum of BattleHowl from BeyondInternal playtestIronclad Epoch 5 now unlocks Drum of Battle instead of Howl From BeyondChangeBlood WallInfernoInternal playtestIronclad Epoch 7 now unlocks Blood Wall and Inferno instead of placeholder Strikes
- Cleaned up Ironclad's Epoch art
- Added a former Ironclad card from StS1: Evolve
- Pool changed from Ironclad to all characters
- Updated portrait art for various Ironclad cards
- Ironclad button cannot be reclicked on when opening up main menu for the first time
- Cleaned up some Ironclad cards
- Updated Ironclad character select art
- Adjusted hitboxes for Ironclad, Necrobinder, and Act 1 enemies
- Ironclad's HP is now 80
- New Ironclad Animations added
- Re-add Blood for Blood card into Ironclad pool
Internal playtest notes are from before the Early Access release. Names and numbers in them can differ from the game today.
Goes well with
Ironclad+Silent
- Her Flanking makes an enemy take double attack damage from other players this turn, so every Strength-fuelled Strike of his lands twice as hard.
- His Tank power halves the damage every ally takes; she has 70 HP and no heal of her own.
- Demonic Shield hands her Block equal to his, and her Sneaky gives her Block every time he attacks.
History
The story ofThe Ironclad6 chapters of the Timeline, from Seeds to Invitation, and the first game
Seeds Chapter 1 of 6The Pact
For centuries, war raged between the Ironclads and the Valleyguard. Driven by ambition, a young ironclad ventures to the forbidden boundary and bargains with the sacred “Demon”.
Seeds Chapter 2 of 6Devastation
The Ironclad’s strength surges!
The flames of the Demonic pact course through his blood. Cuts and bruises heal rapidly. The Valleyguard are cleaved in two, the Desert Tribe are burned to a crisp, Wind Walkers smashed into the ground, and even a familiar horde of aggressive bronze-cladded warriors are set ablaze with these exciting new flames!
All of the Ironclad’s enemies are shown no mercy. All of the Ironclads... Ironclad?
...where is everyone?
The first game Slay the Spire, character selectSlay the Spire (2019)
The Ironclad was one of the four who climbed in the first game, which introduced him as
The remaining soldier of the Ironclads. Sold his soul to harness demonic energies.
Blight Chapter 3 of 6The Ironclad
The Ironclad. A warrior from a faraway land entered the Spire.
Driven by pure instinct and accursed blood, he has lost all reason and identity.All who prevent his ascent shall perish.
Blight Chapter 4 of 6Ablaze
The Ironclad slays the Heart with its full might... and the Demon's Contract hungrily absorbs the Blight unto itself.
Immediately, the warrior and Blight are set ablaze. The parasite is drawn into the flame, its writhing form consumed like wax wicking into a fire.
Flourish Chapter 5 of 6Snuffed
It is said that a never ceasing flame atop the Spire burns proudly. Proven by the neighboring clouds glowing a gentle violet through the darkest winter nights.
Then one day, the clouds were normal.
The flame went out.
Invitation Chapter 6 of 6My Face
“The Spire was mine to rule. But the Architect lives again. Look what he's done to my FACE.”
The Demon throws a massive fit, smashing his chamber and setting all manner of things on fire.
“My death puppet, brandish my power and kill again. KILL THE ARCHITECT!!”
Purchase today
If you haven't bought Slay The Spire 2 yet, it's time. Support the devs, they made an amazing game.
Get it on Steam