Skulking Colony

Elite
Health
75/80 HPAlways 75. 80 from Ascension 8.
Gold
4030 goldAny amount from 35 to 45, rolled when the fight ends. 26 to 33 from Ascension 3.Any amount from 26 to 33, rolled when the fight ends. 35 to 45 below Ascension 3.
Found in
UnderdocksElite room, alone, 1 in 3 from the elite pool.
Starts with
20 Hardened Shell
attack14/16
Skulking Colony75/75/80/80Skulking ColonyHardened Shell20

Turn 1

How to beat Skulking Colony

  • Arithmetic: HP 75 (80 at Ascension 8+) at 20 a turn means at least four of your turns, no matter how strong the deck is.
  • Cap: any damage past 20 in a turn is thrown away, including poison and other HP loss, so hit it for exactly 20 and spend the rest of your energy on Block.
  • Damage: 14, 14, 9 and 14 per turn (16, 16, 11, 16), rising by 2 (4) each loop.
  • Block: around 15 a turn keeps you clean through the minimum four turns.
  • Powers and setup cards are unusually good here, since the fight length is known.

Notes

  • Elite in Underdocks, always alone.
  • The cap applies to all HP loss, not just attacks, and it counts separately on the enemy's turn.
  • The Shell's amount is multiplied by the player count in multiplayer.
  • Once the cap is reached the HP bar shows the damage as capped for the rest of the turn.
  • The two Zoom moves are separate states with identical numbers.

Changes by version

  1. 18 Jun 2026HP70(75)75(80)Hardened Shell1520v0.107.1
    HP increased from 70 to 75 (75 to 80 with Ascension); Hardened Shell increased from 15 to 20; Smash move removed; now uses Zoom on turns 1 and 2; no longer gains Block; now gains +1 Strength on its Strength-gain turn at high Ascension
    Interfacev0.107.1
    Skulking Colony's health bar now changes color to indicate it cannot take more damage this turn
    Artv0.107.1
    Added Skulking Colony animations
    Artv0.107.1
    Added phobia mode alternate art
    Soundv0.107.1
    Added SFX
    Bug fixPoisonv0.107.1
    Fixed a softlock when setting up an infinite against Skulking Colony, and Skulking Colony's per-turn damage cap now resets at the start of both turns (so Poison no longer counts toward it on your next turn)
    Bug fixThe BootBad LuckIntangiblev0.107.1
    Fixed The Boot relic amplifying Bad Luck curse's damage from 1 to 5 while you have Intangible, and dealing the correct 5 damage when you deal Skulking Colony 1-4 damage
  2. 4 Jun 2026BuffStrengthBeta branch
    Now gets +1 Strength on its Strength gain turn on high Ascension
  3. 21 May 2026HP70(75)75(80)Hardened Shell power1520Beta branch
    HP increased from 70 to 75 (75 to 80 with Ascension); Hardened Shell power increased from 15 to 20; Smash move removed, now uses Zoom move turns 1 and 2 instead; no longer gains Block
    ArtBeta branch
    Added alternate phobia mode art
    SoundBeta branch
    Added SFX for Skulking Colony
    Bug fixPoisonBeta branch
    Skulking Colony's per-turn damage cap now properly resets at the start of both the player's and the enemies' turns, fixing an issue where Poison damage counted towards the damage cap on the players' next turn
All 10 patch notes7 older
  1. 7 May 2026InterfaceBeta branch
    Skulking Colony's health bar now changes color to indicate that it cannot take any more damage this turn
    Bug fixThe BootBeta branch
    If the player has The Boot relic and deals Skulking Colony 1-4 damage, they now properly take 5 damage
    Bug fixBeta branch
    Fixed a softlock that occurred if the player set up an infinite against Skulking Colony
  2. 26 Apr 2026ArtBeta branch
    Added Skulking Colony animations
  3. 9 Apr 2026HP74(79)70(75)Beta branch
    HP decreased from 74 to 70 (79 to 75 with Ascension)
  4. 2 Apr 2026BuffBeta branch
    Buffed Skulking Colony; Now attacks on all turns; deals slightly more damage
  5. 26 Mar 2026NerfDazedBeta branch
    Deals less damage, damage scales slower, and no longer applies Dazed status cards
  6. 19 Mar 2026ReworkBeta branch
    Reworked Skulking Colony to have a deadlier moveset
  7. 26 Feb 2026Bug fixInternal playtest
    Fixed an issue where Skulking Colony encounter was appearing in the Run History as Mad Crab

Internal playtest notes are from before the Early Access release. Names and numbers in them can differ from the game today.

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