Glow
Why I rate it here
This is the backbone card. It gives the class a common-rarity engine instead of forcing the deck to pray for a rare.
Card text
Gain. Draw 2 cards.
Slay the Spire 2 Card Tier List
Updated March 2026 · Based on sts2.wiki tier list
This page is built as a fast Slay the Spire 2 card tier board. Pick a class and scan the board first; the guide notes and method sit below.
Tier board
Regent card tier list
High confidence · Regent cards ordered from the strongest clicks to the easiest cuts.
S – Run-Shaping
Big Bang
Why I rate it here
One of the strongest tempo spikes in the whole source set. This is exactly what a run-shaping Regent card looks like.
Card text
Draw 1 card. Gain. Gain. Forge 5. Exhaust.
Comet
Why I rate it here
Cheap, explosive, and the kind of payoff that actually ends fights once the Stars engine is online.
Card text
Deal 33 damage. Apply 3 Weak. Apply 3 Vulnerable.
Convergence
Why I rate it here
Retain is already premium in deckbuilders, and Regent turns it into real setup insurance instead of idle value.
Card text
Next turn, gain and. Retain your Hand this turn.
GUARDS!!!
Why I rate it here
Targeted exhaust plus block is the kind of setup card that turns greedy Regent turns into safe Regent turns.
Card text
Transform any number of cards in your Hand into Minion Sacrifice. Exhaust.
Hidden Cache
Why I rate it here
This is one of the cleanest ways to make the big payoffs live on time instead of one turn too late.
Card text
Gain. Next turn, gain.
Particle Wall
Why I rate it here
Excellent early stabilizer, excellent Stars payoff, and one of the best honest defensive cards in the class.
Card text
Gain 9 Block. Return this card to your Hand.
Reflect
Why I rate it here
This is not just defense. It turns enemy pressure into your own damage output, which matters a lot in a more AoE-heavy game.
Card text
Gain 17 Block. Block ed attack damage is reflected to your attacker this turn.
Shining Strike
Why I rate it here
One of the cards that makes the Stars shell feel truly online because it keeps the resource flow cycling.
Card text
Deal 8 damage. Gain. Put this card on top of your Draw Pile.
Void Form
Why I rate it here
Anything that bends turn economy this hard deserves to sit at the top of the class.
Card text
End your turn. The first 2 cards you play each turn are free to play.
Bombardment
Why I rate it here
A premium early stabilizer that also respects how important spread damage checks look in STS2.
Card text
Deal 18 damage. At the start of your turn, plays from the Exhaust Pile. Exhaust.
A – Premium
Gamma Blast
Why I rate it here
Excellent payoff with a clean rate, relevant debuffs, and enough ceiling to stay live deep into the run.
Card text
Deal 13 damage. Apply 2 Weak. Apply 2 Vulnerable.
BEGONE!
Why I rate it here
Good early damage, useful exhaust support, and exactly the sort of honest card Regent needs on bad floor sequences.
Card text
Deal 4 damage. Choose a card in your Hand to Transform into Minion Dive Bomb.
Gather Light
Why I rate it here
Block plus Stars is exactly what I want Regent commons and uncommons to be doing.
Card text
Gain 7 Block. Gain.
Genesis
Why I rate it here
This is the kind of card that turns almost-enough turns into real payoff turns.
Card text
At the start of your turn, gain.
Guiding Star
Why I rate it here
Still strong early because delayed draw is a real consistency tool, not just a value line.
Card text
Deal 12 damage. Next turn, draw 2 cards.
Foregone Conclusion
Why I rate it here
I rate this highly because it reduces failed setups and lets the class actually line up its important turns.
Card text
Next turn, put 2 cards from your Draw Pile into your Hand.
Knockout Blow
Why I rate it here
Big early damage matters more than a lot of STS1 instincts make players assume.
Card text
Deal 30 damage. If this kills an enemy, gain.
Radiate
Why I rate it here
AoE raises this immediately, and it has enough upside to stay relevant beyond the first hallway fights.
Card text
Deal 3 damage to ALL enemies for each gained this turn.
Royal Gamble
Why I rate it here
Especially strong once upgraded because retain solves one of its biggest practical problems.
Card text
Gain 9. Exhaust.
The Sealed Throne
Why I rate it here
Harder to access than the cleaner Stars staples, but still obviously powerful when it is live.
Card text
Whenever you play a card, gain.
Photon Cut
Why I rate it here
Not flashy, just consistently useful. Those are often the cards that hold a real run together.
Card text
Deal 10 damage. Draw 1 card. Put 1 card from your Hand on top of your Draw Pile.
B – Playable
Astral Pulse
Why I rate it here
AoE gives it a real job, but it still feels more like support than a build signal.
Card text
Deal 14 damage to ALL enemies.
Cloak of Stars
Why I rate it here
Solid support card. Rarely my main reason to move into a Regent line.
Card text
Gain 7 Block.
Cosmic Indifference
Why I rate it here
The utility is real, especially when I need to shape very specific next turns.
Card text
Gain 6 Block. Put a card from your Discard Pile on top of your Draw Pile.
Devastate
Why I rate it here
The effect is acceptable, but the cost pattern is less clean than I want from a premium Regent click.
Card text
Deal 30 damage.
Hegemony
Why I rate it here
It can function, but it does not feel core to the strongest Regent plans.
Card text
Deal 15 damage. Next turn, gain.
Solar Strike
Why I rate it here
A good honest card that does its job, just not one I draft around.
Card text
Deal 8 damage. Gain.
Royalties
Why I rate it here
I am lower on this than some players will be because current shop pressure does not always feel game-breaking enough to justify the slot.
Card text
At the end of combat, gain 30 Gold.
C – Replaceable
Black Hole
Why I rate it here
Too slow for the impact I want out of a current Regent payoff card.
Card text
Whenever you spend or gain , deal 3 damage to ALL enemies.
Dying Star
Why I rate it here
Good in the right fight, but underwhelming for a rare and not the kind of payoff I want to trust.
Card text
Ethereal. Deal 9 damage to ALL enemies. ALL enemies lose 9 Strength this turn.
Glimmer
Why I rate it here
Useful on paper, but often a little too setup-heavy in actual run terms.
Card text
Draw 3 cards. Put 1 card from your Hand on top of your Draw Pile.
Resonance
Why I rate it here
I do not think Strength is currently Regent's cleanest or strongest direction.
Card text
Gain 1 Strength. ALL enemies lose 1 Strength.
D – Low Trust
Crescent Spear
Why I rate it here
Poor exchange rate on the resource the deck actually cares about.
Card text
Deal 6 damage. Deals 2 additional damage for ALL your cards that have a cost.
Heavenly Drill
Why I rate it here
High ceiling, unreliable reality. I do not trust this enough to click it early.
Card text
Deal 8 damage X times. Double X if it's 4 or more.
Heirloom Hammer
Why I rate it here
Too awkward for the reward.
Card text
Deal 17 damage. Choose a Colorless card in your Hand. Add a copy of that card into your Hand.
Kingly Kick
Why I rate it here
Too much effort for too little pressure.
Card text
Deal 24 damage. Whenever you draw this card, reduce its cost by 1.
Kingly Punch
Why I rate it here
Same problem as Kingly Kick: too much setup for not enough payoff.
Card text
Deal 8 damage. Whenever you draw this card, increase its damage by 3 this combat.
Lunar Blast
Why I rate it here
Too conditional for the cost.
Card text
Deal 4 damage for each Skill already played this turn.
Monarch's Gaze
Why I rate it here
It asks a lot and pays back too slowly.
Card text
Whenever you attack an enemy, it loses 1 Strength this turn.
Neutron Aegis
Why I rate it here
There is some theoretical upside here, but the real combat pacing still feels too clunky.
Card text
Gain 8 Plating.
Orbit
Why I rate it here
Possible combo piece, but underwhelming most of the time.
Card text
Every 4 you spend, gain.
Pillar of Creation
Why I rate it here
I do not trust the random creation shell enough to value this highly.
Card text
Whenever you create a card, gain 3 Block.
Prophesize
Why I rate it here
Two-energy draw is hard to justify in a class that is already fighting for clean turn economy.
Card text
Draw 6 cards.
Guide notes
Quick reads per class: Regent — Stars are the best plan; value Stars before Forge. Ironclad — Simple, brutal fundamentals and Vulnerable payoff. Silent — Discard, Sly, and Shiv shell is promising. Necrobinder — Doom is the best scalable identity. Defect — Left pending until more data is available.
How I rank cards on this board
- Real-run standard: Whether a card helps build reliable runs right now, not whether it looks fun or theoretically broken in a vacuum.
- Weighted sources: Repeated real-run notes carry more weight than preview-era projection; speculative highs got pushed down where needed.
- Confidence split: High confidence: Regent. Medium: Ironclad, Silent, Necrobinder, Colorless. Low: Defect.
What matters most right now
- AoE matters more — STS2 is harsher on decks that only solve one target at a time.
- Small engines win — Cheap loops, retain, deck-thinning, and resource conversion look better than slow dream combos.
- Rare bait is risky — Shells that stand on commons and uncommons first are trusted more.
- Stars beat Forge — Regent's Stars package looks clearly more reliable than Forge.
- Doom is real — Necrobinder's Doom shell is the class's best scalable identity.
- Debuffs overperform — Weak, Vulnerable, retain support, and defense-into-tempo look better in a more tempo-sensitive game.
Best archetypes right now
- S — Regent Stars Loop / Retain Control: Best-supported package; clean resource generation, defense conversion, and payoff turns.
- S — Necrobinder Doom: Clearest route to scaling and kill pressure in the class.
- A — Silent Discard / Sly / Shiv: Fast, synergistic, explosive once hand quality tools stack.
- A — Ironclad Vulnerable Payoff: Straightforward, brutal, better-supported than greedier Ironclad lines.
- B — Necrobinder Souls support: Playable and useful, less self-sufficient than Doom.
- B — Regent pure Forge: Can work, but less reliable than Stars.
- C — Regent random colorless creation: Too expensive and awkward compared with better Regent shells.
What I would tell most players right now
- Ironclad still rewards simple, brutal fundamentals.
- Silent's discard, Sly, and Shiv shell looks genuinely promising.
- Doom looks like Necrobinder's best current identity.
- Build around common and uncommon engines first.
- Respect AoE more than your STS1 instincts tell you.
- Play Regent through Stars, not Forge.
Questions players usually ask before trusting a tier list
Is Slay the Spire 2 in Early Access?
Yes. Slay the Spire 2 launched in Steam Early Access on March 5, 2026, and the game is still in an active balance-and-content phase.
What is the best class in Slay the Spire 2 right now?
From the current material, Regent has the strongest and clearest high-confidence shell because the Stars package looks both efficient and reliable. That does not mean Regent will stay on top after future patches.
What is the best archetype in Slay the Spire 2 right now?
Right now Regent Stars Loop / Retain Control is at the top for consistency, defense, payoff, and practical real-run structure.
Why is Defect missing from the main board?
There is not enough complete, trustworthy Defect information in the current source set yet. It is left pending rather than publishing fake certainty.
What should I draft early in Slay the Spire 2?
Across the current boards, early cards that fix economy, improve hand quality, stabilize setup turns, or turn a synergy shell into a real win condition. In practice: Glow, Hidden Cache, Shining Strike, Gather Light, Convergence, Foregone Conclusion, GUARDS!!!, Particle Wall, Reflect, Death's Door, Grapple, and similar staples.