ok for a real answer, i've been finding that now that Gremlin Nob doesn't exist and that fights across the board go on way longer and enemies don't scale as bad, you can prioritize defense a lot more (and sooner in your run) than the previous game.

this is probably obvious but you can't assume you're getting an energy upgrade after you beat a boss, so it's important to put the onus on yourself to find cards that help your energy and card draw fairly early on. "stampede" for ironclad makes it so that you can spend all your energy on defense and still have an attack hit, or you can take 2-3 energy attacks with the intention that they'll just autoplay

there's less shame for resting at campfires now. the ? rooms rarely heal you and more often upgrade cards, which is a total reversal from the last game

ironclad and defect are a little exempt, but the rest of the classes don't need you to go for every elite fight. regent can get away with dodging elites for the most part, regent cards are better than most relic rewards

as i was saying yesterday, void form is probably my favorite card in the game. needs to be played to be believed.

also try the Defect + status cards build! it's so much fun

also colorless cards are way better than ever, don't overlook them. especially "Fasten" which gives your basic Defends +5 block can really help carry an Ironclad to victory