I think the best overall common is Shrug, but I don't know if it's my favorite floor 1 common. I want that frontloaded damage in act 1, so I probably prefer Anger and Pommel Strike. I value them pretty similarly overall, but Anger definitely goes down in value in a Guardian act. Quite happy to see any of those 3 early, and probably Twin Strike is in 4th place.
Perfected strike is my favorite floor 1 card. Still have all 5 strikes at the start so P Strike does a lot. Pommel Strike probably 2nd because it's still a nice card to have late game for the card draw. 3rd I'd go twin strike.
Iron wave. Having 1 card that's both defend and strike(1 less attack) for half the cost of playing both makes the early game go smoother since you don't have to choose between doing damage and adding block as much. It also doesn't count as a skill which some things care about. I also know I'll grab a Juggernaut if I see one, so that gives it more weight in my runs as well.
Couple of interactions I like to add: Flex can be used with Limit Break to create permanent strength if you don’t have other permanent strength cards yet. Armaments works on continually upgrading Searing Blow in battle, so depending on the SB you have can upgrade a card for +7,8,9 dmg etc alongside the rest of the hand.
Probably the best, clearest explanation of any Slay the Spire content I have seen on RUclips, so thank you. Also "Invaluable" means extremely valuable ;)
Really great summary, well done. I did want to mention something about Perfected Strike that I didn't hear you say - one problem I always have with it is that it's often attractive as you progress to remove strike cards. My general goal is to have removed at least 2-3 by the end of the run, since they get worse and worse as the run progresses. I'd say this card is one of those you have to at least pay some attention to building your deck around - if you don't end up taking a Wild Strike or Twin Strike or Pommel Strike (maybe just due to being offered something better when they come up), then Perfected Strike will get worse as the run progresses (or, you have to saddle yourself with the undesirable basic strikes). I certainly take it if no other good damage cards are offered early, but always tend to keep a close eye on my strike count and consider removing it if I find myself at around 4 strikes or less (including the Perfected Strike).
I could pass from ascencion 5 thanks to your video. Understanding the real value of cards instead of chasing for a deck that's never gonna repeat again LOL. Thanks a lot!
Your educational content is unparalleled! Your insights are always super lucid and thoughtful, and moreover your attitude and approach is always warm and welcoming. Keep it up Baalor! Hope the YT takes off like it deserves :)
2 things I often think about in regards of Act 1 Sword Boomerang as well: - The random hits can be annoying on multi enemies, but it's often a benefit on lice if you have no AoE, as you can use 1 sword boomerang to proc multiple blocks and let them waste that ability. - This feels like both a good and a bad weapon on lagavulin. If you have strength + vulnerable, you can set up a lot of damage with this card. But if the lagavulin applies the strength debuff, the sword boomerang gets affected 3x as much. As for cards I'm most excited about to pick up on floor 1: I have a weak for cards that synergize well with Bash. Wild Strike and Anger hit the spot quite well for me, since they can be played easily in the same turn as Bash for a lot of damage. That just immediately makes me more confident against Nob and Lagavulin.
I was always most excited to add Iron Wave or Shrug It Off. But now I think I'll consider a few other cards above Iron Wave. I also seemed to overvalue Warcry. I liked upgraded Warcry as it's at the least net +1 card draw, and useful later in the game for card manipulation, but now I probably won't take that card in Act 1 anymore because it requires an upgrade, and it's also not very good in the boss fight who gains strength when you play a skill card.
i've been having a hard time figuring out ironclad(defect is my favorite character) and this video has really helped me figure out how some of his cards work that i wasnt aware of, tysm!
hi baalorlord. i want to thank you for this video. there were 3 cards i was sleeping on, that you changed my mind about. perfected strike, upgraded twin strike, wild strike. these are the three big damage cards i was really lacking. and i was really starting to dislike the game without having any big damage common cards. so thank you very much for teaching me. also you helped me realize that i can use headbutt to get thunderclap to remove artifacts faster. and you helped me realize that taking body slam in act 1 is not recommended thank you so much :D
Its a common confusion. "In-" still means "not", but in terms of not being able to be valued. Something is so valuable that the guy placing value cannot. Hence invaluable.
Re Anger - is it not worth considering the upgrade value in conjunction with its duplication.. ie every Anger will be an extra two, so the effect multiplies as the fight continues?
It’s interesting to see how Baalorlord’s view has developed over the cards in these years. If he was to reevaluate the common cards now, he would put heavy blade much higher, and put clothesline much lower.
My top 3 in no particular order for act 1 are Anger, Pommel Strike and Twin Strike. I used to pick Wild Strike a lot more but find the wound to be pretty detrimental against Hexaghost and Guardian and Act 2 in general. I have a soft spot for upgraded Iron Wave since my first A20 heart kill had 3 of them and Juggernaut but I wouldn't pick and spend an upgrade on one. Overall I pretty much agree with everything, though I've never really upgraded Thunderclap like ever lol.
For me, my favorite 3 are pommel strike, true grit, and headbutt as all 3 are healthy for late game decks. However im a big fan of Iron wave even though its not an amazing card. Getting defense off an attack is extremely handy vs all three of the elites (particularly the nob). I like it too for late game since it can scale for pretty strong defensive and strength decks, and even the exhaust decks giving some form of defense if all the skills are exhausted
I'm late to the game, your videos are very helpful. And I really enjoy your style in this video. The comfy chair and how you explain things is the perfect vibe to learn this awesome game.
I was a big fan of Armaments for a while but once it's fully used it becomes a dead card which can really screw up drawing that one card you need. Perhaps worth getting floor 1 then removing later down the line but then you're removing an upgraded card.
@@ArchitectGG once its fully used it... did its job. And removing it essentially de-upgrades half of your deck. Unless you've been able to upgrade over half your deck in the meantime, it doesn't sound like a good tradeoff
I love the Armaments upgrade when I either generate cards in combat, or I have a bunch of cards that I'd really like to upgrade, but don't have enough rest sites. The latter is kind of a stopgap until I can get them upgraded, but it's not like the upgrade is ever totally useless.
I think they should rework heavy blade.. make it a 1 cost card but make it 5 damage. Keep the x3 and upgraded x4 increase but make base damage 5. That’ll make it worth using in almost every instance. It’s a worse strike but wayyyy better if you have even a little strength. The card being 2 cost is brutal..
Clash should be “Can only be played if no card in your hand is a Skill or Power”, so that you can play Clash when you’re holding Status or Curse cards. That would make it much more consistent and fit in with many more decks
Honestly I really like flex in combo with multi hit cards whirlwind and cleave really boosts your aoe to another level agains like the three artifacts and keeps the bandit guy summoning more minions and trying to buff them I’ve cleaned him up several times without ever getting hit, also I like iron strike with the barricade build along side what’s it called rage or something +5 armor when playing an attack card when upgraded really good defensively
There are cards you want to take if you have others or certain relics so it was weird that entrench body slam wasnt mentioned but I do hear people say to not force archetypes a lot
Thank you for your education! I feel more clear to those cards and know when to take them. Have you considered to expand this series to uncommon and rare card?
Hello! First of all, thanks for the video. Great work!!! I have a question: have there been any major updates since you posted this video? I mean related to the cards. Thank you :)
Funnily enough that strategy is just how I got (and subsequently ended up dying) to the floor 50 boss on my very first run. Didn't know that was almost a cleared run until days later. 😋
@@samtnelis Spamming those two works really well! That's how I beat my Defect run too. :) The card that gives you some Block and 2 Frost and the one that makes your Lightning Orbs deal damage to everything and give two Lightning were sooooo good.
Gotta say, hard disagree on Heavy Blade. That is a god tier card that synergizes super well with several other cards like Spot Weakness, Flex, Inflame, Double Tap, etc... You run a Strength build on Ironclad and Heavy Blade will cut through encounters like a hot knife through butter. I understand this is a "Act 1" video, but then on the very next card Iron Wave you start discussing how it doesn't scale well through the end game, so... Maybe give a little scale consideration to Heavy Blade?
@@szelitzkyerick7456 It's not that much of an issue. Flexes are easy to come by, and your deck will be pretty small, so you will be drawing both a lot.
i dissagree about anger being a low priority upgrade, because it multiplies itself the damage on the upgrade stacks heaps when you're playing 10-20 angers in each combat.
Clash is trash versus all of the act bosses (maybe guardian is a case you could argue) and is practically a curse against sentries. I think with a goofy exhaust deck or blue candle/medkit it could be worked in though.
2 minutes in and youve said nothing useful, body slam is probably the most overpowered in the game. You dont qualify as an expert because you put on a DJ voice
![[27.10.24] Stormgate: TheoRy (Infernals) vs msrm (Infernals) 【2 Games】](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/kOhufGZPuOI/mqdefault.jpg)
Which Ironclad common do you like to see most on Floor 1? Comment below!
I think the best overall common is Shrug, but I don't know if it's my favorite floor 1 common. I want that frontloaded damage in act 1, so I probably prefer Anger and Pommel Strike. I value them pretty similarly overall, but Anger definitely goes down in value in a Guardian act.
Quite happy to see any of those 3 early, and probably Twin Strike is in 4th place.
Perfected strike is my favorite floor 1 card. Still have all 5 strikes at the start so P Strike does a lot.
Pommel Strike probably 2nd because it's still a nice card to have late game for the card draw.
3rd I'd go twin strike.
Iron wave. Having 1 card that's both defend and strike(1 less attack) for half the cost of playing both makes the early game go smoother since you don't have to choose between doing damage and adding block as much. It also doesn't count as a skill which some things care about. I also know I'll grab a Juggernaut if I see one, so that gives it more weight in my runs as well.
Flex is probably my favorite early draft
Domo Arigato, Baalor-sama!
I really like Headbutt, as recursion will always become useful.
Couple of interactions I like to add:
Flex can be used with Limit Break to create permanent strength if you don’t have other permanent strength cards yet.
Armaments works on continually upgrading Searing Blow in battle, so depending on the SB you have can upgrade a card for +7,8,9 dmg etc alongside the rest of the hand.
Probably the best, clearest explanation of any Slay the Spire content I have seen on RUclips, so thank you. Also "Invaluable" means extremely valuable ;)
Really great summary, well done.
I did want to mention something about Perfected Strike that I didn't hear you say - one problem I always have with it is that it's often attractive as you progress to remove strike cards. My general goal is to have removed at least 2-3 by the end of the run, since they get worse and worse as the run progresses.
I'd say this card is one of those you have to at least pay some attention to building your deck around - if you don't end up taking a Wild Strike or Twin Strike or Pommel Strike (maybe just due to being offered something better when they come up), then Perfected Strike will get worse as the run progresses (or, you have to saddle yourself with the undesirable basic strikes).
I certainly take it if no other good damage cards are offered early, but always tend to keep a close eye on my strike count and consider removing it if I find myself at around 4 strikes or less (including the Perfected Strike).
nice take!
I could pass from ascencion 5 thanks to your video. Understanding the real value of cards instead of chasing for a deck that's never gonna repeat again LOL. Thanks a lot!
Your educational content is unparalleled! Your insights are always super lucid and thoughtful, and moreover your attitude and approach is always warm and welcoming. Keep it up Baalor! Hope the YT takes off like it deserves :)
2 things I often think about in regards of Act 1 Sword Boomerang as well:
- The random hits can be annoying on multi enemies, but it's often a benefit on lice if you have no AoE, as you can use 1 sword boomerang to proc multiple blocks and let them waste that ability.
- This feels like both a good and a bad weapon on lagavulin. If you have strength + vulnerable, you can set up a lot of damage with this card. But if the lagavulin applies the strength debuff, the sword boomerang gets affected 3x as much.
As for cards I'm most excited about to pick up on floor 1: I have a weak for cards that synergize well with Bash. Wild Strike and Anger hit the spot quite well for me, since they can be played easily in the same turn as Bash for a lot of damage. That just immediately makes me more confident against Nob and Lagavulin.
While Ironclad's block cards are not numerous, the quality of them, especially True Grit and Shrug It Off, is pretty good
Second wind + power through can go crazy if played right
I was always most excited to add Iron Wave or Shrug It Off. But now I think I'll consider a few other cards above Iron Wave. I also seemed to overvalue Warcry. I liked upgraded Warcry as it's at the least net +1 card draw, and useful later in the game for card manipulation, but now I probably won't take that card in Act 1 anymore because it requires an upgrade, and it's also not very good in the boss fight who gains strength when you play a skill card.
i've been having a hard time figuring out ironclad(defect is my favorite character) and this video has really helped me figure out how some of his cards work that i wasnt aware of, tysm!
hi baalorlord. i want to thank you for this video.
there were 3 cards i was sleeping on, that you changed my mind about. perfected strike, upgraded twin strike, wild strike. these are the three big damage cards i was really lacking. and i was really starting to dislike the game without having any big damage common cards. so thank you very much for teaching me.
also you helped me realize that i can use headbutt to get thunderclap to remove artifacts faster.
and you helped me realize that taking body slam in act 1 is not recommended
thank you so much :D
Just started playing Slay the Spire - thanks for all the useful tips! I learned so much, I didn't even think about before.
how was i supposed to know that invaluable meant valuable?!
English is dumb as fuck.
- An Englishman
Dictionary
Its a common confusion. "In-" still means "not", but in terms of not being able to be valued. Something is so valuable that the guy placing value cannot. Hence invaluable.
Lol I thought you were making a Simpson reference
“Inflammable means flammable?”
Don't you just love English
Re Anger - is it not worth considering the upgrade value in conjunction with its duplication.. ie every Anger will be an extra two, so the effect multiplies as the fight continues?
It’s interesting to see how Baalorlord’s view has developed over the cards in these years. If he was to reevaluate the common cards now, he would put heavy blade much higher, and put clothesline much lower.
My top 3 in no particular order for act 1 are Anger, Pommel Strike and Twin Strike. I used to pick Wild Strike a lot more but find the wound to be pretty detrimental against Hexaghost and Guardian and Act 2 in general. I have a soft spot for upgraded Iron Wave since my first A20 heart kill had 3 of them and Juggernaut but I wouldn't pick and spend an upgrade on one. Overall I pretty much agree with everything, though I've never really upgraded Thunderclap like ever lol.
Great educational content. Simple, nicely edited, summarized information on the fly. Thank you!
Glad you liked it!
Glad I found these videos. The information is detailed and easy to digest. Excellent work!
Awesome, thank you!
For me, my favorite 3 are pommel strike, true grit, and headbutt as all 3 are healthy for late game decks. However im a big fan of Iron wave even though its not an amazing card. Getting defense off an attack is extremely handy vs all three of the elites (particularly the nob). I like it too for late game since it can scale for pretty strong defensive and strength decks, and even the exhaust decks giving some form of defense if all the skills are exhausted
I'm late to the game, your videos are very helpful. And I really enjoy your style in this video. The comfy chair and how you explain things is the perfect vibe to learn this awesome game.
About armaments: you should/could have mentioned its upgrade goes up in value when you have body slam specifically or other zeros.
I was a big fan of Armaments for a while but once it's fully used it becomes a dead card which can really screw up drawing that one card you need.
Perhaps worth getting floor 1 then removing later down the line but then you're removing an upgraded card.
@@ArchitectGG once its fully used it... did its job. And removing it essentially de-upgrades half of your deck. Unless you've been able to upgrade over half your deck in the meantime, it doesn't sound like a good tradeoff
I love the Armaments upgrade when I either generate cards in combat, or I have a bunch of cards that I'd really like to upgrade, but don't have enough rest sites. The latter is kind of a stopgap until I can get them upgraded, but it's not like the upgrade is ever totally useless.
Really great analysis. Thanks for this vid.
Glad you liked it!
@@Baalorlord I'm literally watching your Ironclad searing blow run as we speak. And I've watched all your card analysis videos.
I feel like I'm offered Havoc more than any other card in the game, and it's the card I'm always least interested in taking.
If Havoc exhausted itself, I'd pick it more often.
@@to3jamm I'm surprised that wasnt how its upgrade chain worked.
It’s always havoc or warcry! Ugh!
I think they should rework heavy blade.. make it a 1 cost card but make it 5 damage. Keep the x3 and upgraded x4 increase but make base damage 5. That’ll make it worth using in almost every instance. It’s a worse strike but wayyyy better if you have even a little strength. The card being 2 cost is brutal..
I like having at least 1 upgraded anger at all times, 8 free damage is always good.
Also headbutt is probably the best common card for ironclad.
I'm fond of Iron Wave specificaly because it's an attack that gives block, rather than a skill (hi, gremlinob)
I think it’s fun with spiked armor builds !
I really like anger as my first pick. The action economy in act 1 really helps.
Clash should be “Can only be played if no card in your hand is a Skill or Power”, so that you can play Clash when you’re holding Status or Curse cards. That would make it much more consistent and fit in with many more decks
ik this is a year old but i think it's cuz ironclad has lots of exhaust options
You should do one of these for the DEfect hands down my worse class.
Nice job Baalor!
Honestly I really like flex in combo with multi hit cards whirlwind and cleave really boosts your aoe to another level agains like the three artifacts and keeps the bandit guy summoning more minions and trying to buff them I’ve cleaned him up several times without ever getting hit, also I like iron strike with the barricade build along side what’s it called rage or something +5 armor when playing an attack card when upgraded really good defensively
Iron wave is also great against gremlin nob because it lets you block without increasing his strength
I like to upgrade Armaments in Act 1 in case I get Runic Hammer as my boss relic
Runic hammer? Close enough
There are cards you want to take if you have others or certain relics so it was weird that entrench body slam wasnt mentioned but I do hear people say to not force archetypes a lot
The duplication of Anger means that on the 2nd draw it’s 4 damage. I like adding anger and keeping my deck small.
Thank you for your education! I feel more clear to those cards and know when to take them. Have you considered to expand this series to uncommon and rare card?
Hello! First of all, thanks for the video. Great work!!! I have a question: have there been any major updates since you posted this video? I mean related to the cards. Thank you :)
Awesome videos man, thank you. I agree with your assessments overall
Thanks bro awesome vid
Hey, thanks for making this dude. Do you have a discord community?
amazing topic
Great idea for a video btw
pommel strike and true grit are my favorites
With "Perfected Strike", I always fall into the trap of giving myself no defense 'cause i take a strike card every chance I get
Funnily enough that strategy is just how I got (and subsequently ended up dying) to the floor 50 boss on my very first run. Didn't know that was almost a cleared run until days later. 😋
@@Yuzuki1337 i did it with the defective the other day, super easy took me two attempts and all I did was rely on frost and electricity orbs
@@samtnelis Spamming those two works really well! That's how I beat my Defect run too. :) The card that gives you some Block and 2 Frost and the one that makes your Lightning Orbs deal damage to everything and give two Lightning were sooooo good.
21:12 Valuable and invaluable mean the same thing.
Gotta say, hard disagree on Heavy Blade. That is a god tier card that synergizes super well with several other cards like Spot Weakness, Flex, Inflame, Double Tap, etc... You run a Strength build on Ironclad and Heavy Blade will cut through encounters like a hot knife through butter. I understand this is a "Act 1" video, but then on the very next card Iron Wave you start discussing how it doesn't scale well through the end game, so... Maybe give a little scale consideration to Heavy Blade?
Iron Wave at least is good in act one, heavy blade is worst in act 1 when you need frontloaded damage.
@@szelitzkyerick7456 It's not that much of an issue. Flexes are easy to come by, and your deck will be pretty small, so you will be drawing both a lot.
@@rukysgream .. useless.
@@szelitzkyerick7456 hey, don't say that about yourself.
I'm sure you have some kind of useful skill.
@@rukysgream sad
i dissagree about anger being a low priority upgrade, because it multiplies itself the damage on the upgrade stacks heaps when you're playing 10-20 angers in each combat.
Clash is trash versus all of the act bosses (maybe guardian is a case you could argue) and is practically a curse against sentries. I think with a goofy exhaust deck or blue candle/medkit it could be worked in though.
for me anger is an staple hard to pass
Anger is a good addition candidate in act 1 and a great removal candidate as soon as you're out of act 1
Hey bro what's the model of the big comfy chair?
Who is Leg Violin?
Thanks
Comment for the algorithm . All hail the algorithm.
"if you like this video"... I FUCKING LOVED IT
is there an ever an anger deck?
What is an anger deck?
Your voice reminds me of a sports announcer from yesteryear for whatever reason. Slightly pretentious, but non-threatening at the same time.
I don’t like this video, I love it looove it loooooooove it oh oh!
Havoc all the way
I hate cleave because im only taking it out of necessity if whirlwind hasn't appeared and then as soon as it does its redundant.
Better yet, immolate
You talk… like William Shatner… the way you pause… and speak slow… thenspeakfast
:-)
2 minutes in and youve said nothing useful, body slam is probably the most overpowered in the game. You dont qualify as an expert because you put on a DJ voice
terrible take
this guy talks so slow its a requirement to watch on 1.5 speed