Cards of the Spire
Since our game is a deck-building game, I thought it would be wise to explain a little of how you interact with cards in Slay the Spire. Keep in mind that any cards you see are subject to change as the game undergoes rigorous playtesting and re-balancing.
Obtaining Cards
While playing through the game, there are four ways to obtain cards:
- Character Selection: When you start the game, you begin with a predetermined set of starter cards based on your chosen character. Each starting deck is very different.
- Fighting Enemies: Defeating an enemy grants you the opportunity to select one out of three cards.
- Shops: Several merchants throughout the game will sell cards in exchange for gold.
- Events: Various events throughout the Spire can add, transform, and remove cards from your deck.
There is no limit to how many cards you can add to your deck, and it’s good to know that you don’t need to obtain a card every opportunity you get. Not all cards may play nice with the strategy you’re going for.
When a card is added to your deck, it will remain a part of your deck unless you find a way to permanently remove it (those are useful) or upon death. Once you die, you must start over from the bottom with your starter deck (this is a roguelike afterall). As you play and progress further into the game, you can unlock new cards with unique properties.
Card Types
There are several types of cards found within the Spire:
- Colored Cards: These are cards of a specific color that are tied to the current character you are playing as. Oh, did I mention that there is more than one color? Each color has their own associated characters and card pools. Since the character you pick at the start determines which color of cards you see, different characters can have wildly different decks and see new things every time.
- Colorless Cards: These cards are not specific to the character you are playing as, but can usually only be purchased at shops.
- Starter Cards: These are the color specific cards your character starts the game with. Though they get the job done at the beginning of the game, the effectiveness of these cards will quickly dwindle, forcing you to obtain stronger cards to build up your deck.
- Status Cards: Status cards are negative cards added to your hand or deck during combat and are removed after combat. They can range from deck diluters to cards that actively hurt you when they are in your hand.
- Curses: Nasty cards that are like amped up Status cards. Curses persist in your deck across combats until you can encounter a way to remove them.
Furthermore beneficial cards can be broken down into three card types: Attacks, Skills, Powers.
- Attacks: Offensive cards that you use to harm your enemies.
- Skills: Skills are the most versatile type of card in the game, these can often make up the core of your defense, but are also used to apply powerful buffs and debuffs.
- Powers: Cards that apply a permanent effect on you for the duration of the combat.
When it comes to cards in Slay the Spire there is plenty more to talk about, but I think that is a good stopping point for right now. If you have any questions at all please do not hesitate to ask!
