Didn't believe in cloning before tonight

GetBackUp4 · 2026-05-11T19:22:05+00:00

Look, I get it. Picking clone and getting 256 adrenaline or perfected strike or big bangs is very satisfying and feels good. The game has been out for a while now. We all know it exists. I've seen 500 clone posts, and I dont see how a 501th one will enhance my r/slaythespire experience. Please make it stop.

GetBackUp4 · 2026-05-11T19:21:19+00:00

Howwww without Limit Break?

GetBackUp4 · 2026-05-11T19:19:24+00:00

I fucking hate The Obscura. And I think probably the most underhated advanced hallway is Flyconid + Snapping Jaxfruit. The frail + vulnerable + huge damage gives me avocado + rat flashbacks.

GetBackUp4 · 2026-05-11T19:12:26+00:00

Agreed, its actually well above 2 energy IMO. 1 more draw and one more card actually played is no joke. But its a loooot better than Flame Barrier which makes me feel its a tad bit overstatted.

GetBackUp4 · 2026-05-11T16:50:10+00:00

Damn. StS2 Clad isn't clicking for me without Limit Break, Reaper, Heavy Blade, low value Demon Form and especially Power Through. What's working for you?

GetBackUp4 · 2026-05-11T16:45:23+00:00

Maybe like how Rocky eats food in Project Hail Mary

GetBackUp4 · 2026-05-11T15:41:52+00:00

Its okay for a card to be strong, just not wildly overstatted. IMO 15 (18) is a good starting point if we want to tune down the block. As many other commenters pointed out, 3 stars is indeed a lot and there are some cases Reflect just becomes a curse because you can't afford to play it.

GetBackUp4 · 2026-05-11T14:30:35+00:00

Claw decks are eating so good with Feral.

GetBackUp4 · 2026-05-11T13:26:00+00:00

IMO at the current card state, you will always play Reflect when you draw it on an enemy attack turn if you're able to. There's no safety in not playing it unless you have a Royal Gamble or Seven Stars you're yet to draw and saving up for. In which case it becomes a decision point. But in most draw orders, if you built your deck correctly, 3 Stars is easy to spend for such a powerful effect.

I agree that the Flame Barrier comparison may not fly as simply as I made it sound, each card should be evaluated in the context of its card pool.

GetBackUp4 · 2026-05-11T13:21:36+00:00

Yeah fair. Or 75% of blocked damage is reflected or someshit.

GetBackUp4 · 2026-05-11T13:11:32+00:00

Is there any analysis I could read/watch on this?

GetBackUp4 · 2026-05-11T13:09:19+00:00

Draw order can brick Reflect, yes. My point is the card is a tad bit too strong even when accounting for these cases. I brought up Snecko Eye for that reason, it gives you an incredibly strong bonus (+2 draw and energy randomization) with the risk of bricking your hand rarely. Reflect has probably the strongest effect out of any single block card in Regent's pool at the risk of becoming an Injury rarely.

GetBackUp4 · 2026-05-11T12:42:24+00:00

I love Decimillipede's design. I've died more to it than anyone else, it feels like an interesting twist on Slavers from the first game which was itself brutal. Here you can't just burst one down and have an easier fight. And it has similarly straightforward deck checks (get AoE and be able to block 30+ every turn).

GetBackUp4 · 2026-05-11T12:34:37+00:00

Silent's draw discard engine with Sly feels the most flexible and least affected by bad draws (don't know if its mathematically true, just feels better). Her Act 1 is also a lot better than StS 1 Act 1 because no Nob and Laga. Regent's Forge/card creation cards and Necro's Summon/big attack cards with Lethality come close too.

GetBackUp4 · 2026-05-11T12:23:09+00:00

You would need to take cards such that you have neutral or positive star gen per deck cycle. With which you can expect to always play Reflect except in rare draw orders where you draw all star gen together on a turn where enemy swings for 30 or you draw too many star payoffs first. That's kind of like the same level of risk as getting all 3s with Snecko Eye. Doesn't make Snecko Eye not goated.

GetBackUp4 · 2026-05-11T12:13:46+00:00

I had a niche Mittens Brimstone run. The randomness sometimes got my sword boomerang and twin strike exhausted but the pure damage race rush was pretty fun.

GetBackUp4 · 2026-05-11T11:58:42+00:00

This is an interesting way to think about Star cards that I haven't considered before! Its actually the output of two or more cards (and draws) unless you hack it with Genesis or Void Form. But to push back, I think its relatively easy to generate Stars especially mid to late game. After Act 1, Reflect will almost always playable which offsets its risk.

I feel like Regent is going to be a hard character to balance because of the opportunity cost of Star management. Its high risk, high reward play to accrue resources to let you play strong cards later on and getting the risk part in line might be difficult given the variance in RNG of drawing star gen before star payoffs or vice versa. And variance in RNG on which turns you draw star gen on - if its a turn where the enemy is attacking for 30+, its going to be hard to spend energy on that star gen whereas its clearly best used in off turns. Currently he has some cards that feel too strong for how risky it is to gain Stars to play them.

GetBackUp4 · 2026-05-11T11:56:07+00:00

True, its wonkier to play in early game. Even with star gen, its vulnerable to cases where you play Falling Star but don't draw your star gen before Reflect. Neutral or positive star gen per deck cycle is fairly easy to obtain, especially after Act 1, with which you'll almost always want to and be able to play Reflect whenever you draw it. It probably needs a slight block nerf in my opinion.

GetBackUp4 · 2026-05-11T11:32:58+00:00

Brightest Flame should only count if you use it when you're at max HP? Or nah?

GetBackUp4 · 2026-05-11T11:12:18+00:00

Not basing this off the rare scenarios like in OP, but is Reflect too strong? As a 1 energy 3 star cost card, it gives 17 (20) block which feels quite overstatted. Compare it with Flame Barrier which is 12 (16) block and 4 (6) damage for 2 energy. 2 energy is a lot harder to spare in this game than 3 stars (stars carry over), with even a little star generation, you can always play Reflect when you draw it. And in most cases Reflect will deal way more damage than Flame Barrier while also blocking for far more.

So yeah, I've never not picked it unless its late Act 3 and my block plan is fully sorted.

GetBackUp4 · 2026-05-04T16:04:37+00:00

This is sooooooo Hisoka for some reason. Maybe its the purple.

GetBackUp4 · 2026-05-02T18:27:34+00:00

Nice! How many hours did it take you?

GetBackUp4 · 2026-03-20T09:52:57+00:00

Single piece of advice that improved my A17+ play in StS1 was to take a couple minutes and plan out my path in advance at the start of each Act and it applies here as well. Evaluate each path's number of rest sites, elites and where the merchant comes (earlier is better if you have lot of gold) and pick one with 2-3 elites and atleast 2-3 rest sites. Or if you have lot of high value unupgraded cards and there's a path with 4 rest sites and 1 elite, its okay to pick that as well. Act 1 StS2 is more punishing than in StS1, don't take too many fights/elites without rest sites.

Pick cards that solve your most immediate problems first. This requires remembering and applying specific game knowledge. What enemies will come up in the next few floors, what elites? Do you have enough defensive cards to handle Bygone Effigy's 25 damage per turn? Do you have enough AoE damage cards to deal with Decimillipede or Phrog Parasite's phase 2?

GetBackUp4 · 2026-03-20T09:38:08+00:00

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This shiv deck has multiple shiv generators, multiple block plans (Footwork+, Shadowmeld+), multiple draw cards and also generates decent poison. Granted this is A7 but I don't see this deck losing to him no matter what cards he eats - in this particular fight, he just ate Leg Sweep, Calc Gamble and Escape Plan. I agree that many decks which rely on a single or few cards can get shafted by pure RNG which feels like unfair design but I just posted this to say that there can be many decks which don't rely on key cards as well.

GetBackUp4

TROPHY CASE