Silent
Silent Shiv deck guide (STS2)
How to build a Shiv-focused Silent deck in Slay the Spire 2: key commons, high-synergy uncommons, and the best relics to support your combo turns.
This guide covers a Shiv-focused Silent archetype in Slay the Spire 2: which commons to pick early, which uncommons and payoffs to prioritise, and which relics supercharge your multi-hit turns. The section below is a visual summary of the core cards and relics.
Related: Cards, Relics, Characters.
Shiv Deck
Generate, buff, and use as many Shiv cards as possible. This archetype focuses on multi-hit turns, artifact synergies and explosive single-turn damage.
Archetype
Shiv Deck
High APM turns · Poison / Draw / Discard synergies
Tips
Even if you are not fully committing to a Shiv deck, running one or two Shiv generators can be a solid way to enable the relics listed below.
- Use a small package of Leading Strike, Cloak and Dagger, Blade Dance to consistently trigger Nunchaku, Shuriken, Kunai, Ornamental Fan.
- Stack Accuracy and Knife Trap as your main damage payoffs on big Shiv turns.
- Remember that many Shivs Exhaust; this works well with Joss Paper for extra draw and deck quality.
Relics
Ninja Scroll
Great Shiv opener: starting each combat with multiple Shivs massively boosts turn-one damage and triggers.
Helical Dart
Solid defensive coverage so you can commit more card slots to Shivs and payoffs.
Iron Club
Attack-based scaling that naturally benefits from playing many Shivs each turn.
Nunchaku
Rewards you for chaining attacks; Shivs help cycle to the next Energy gain quickly.
Shuriken
Grants Strength as you play multiple attacks; Shivs make triggering this trivial.
Kunai
Grants Dexterity for playing many attacks in a turn; pairs perfectly with Shiv spam.
Ornamental Fan
Provides Block each time you play three attacks in a turn, helping cover defense.
Kusarigama
Another strong payoff for chaining attacks; Shivs make it easy to keep active.
Joss Paper
Extra card draw works well with Shivs that Exhaust, improving your overall card flow.
Key Cards
Early Commons
Leading Strike
Essentially a stronger Strike that also adds a Shiv to your hand, advancing both damage and trigger counts.
Cloak and Dagger
Effectively a Defend that comes with a free Shiv, providing both block and setup.
Blade Dance
Now Exhausts. At 3 Shivs it's at least 12 damage and a strong enabler for Shiv synergies.
Early Uncommons
Accuracy
A clear signal you should consider a Shiv deck. Doubles your Shiv damage; multiple copies stack extremely well.
Infinite Blades
Guarantees one Shiv every turn. Upgrading to Innate ensures it appears on turn one.
Hidden Daggers
Excellent with Sly cards such as Abrasive, Reflex, and Untouchable, giving you both triggers and value.
High Synergy
These cards have great ceiling but usually require deeper commitment to the Shiv archetype.
Fan of Knives
Reasonable in AoE fights but often not mandatory. 2 Energy is a real cost.
Knife Trap
An incredible finisher. In later turns it can easily play 15–20 Shivs and still trigger on-play effects.
Finisher
A strong payoff on turns where you blast out a large number of Shivs.
Afterimage
Extra Block every time you play a card, making high-APM Shiv turns much safer.
Serpent Form
Often overkill, but offers absurd synergy with Shivs and Knife Trap in very long fights.