Master the Claw build with our breakdown of key cards, relics, and loop strategies in Slay the Spire 2.
The Claw build is one of the three core strategies for The Defect in Slay the Spire 2. It ignores elemental Orbs to stack 0-Energy physical attacks that grow stronger each time you play them.
A single Claw card deals modest damage at first. But every copy empowers all other Claws for the rest of the fight, leading to insane scaling if you draft the right synergy.
In this guide we’ll cover the core cards, relics, and advanced combos that turn a handful of Claws into a blender.
The Claw card and how it scales
Claw is a 0-Energy Common Attack. It deals 3 damage (4 if Upgraded) and increases the damage of all Claw cards by 2 (3 Upgraded) for the remainder of combat. The damage is not affected by Strength, but the card does benefit from enemy Vulnerable.
Because Claw boosts every other copy, your damage output scales directly with how many copies you have and how often you can play them. The goal is to cycle through your deck as fast as possible.
Essential synergy cards for cycling Claws
These are the cards that let you replay Claw multiple times per turn or refill your hand with zero-cost attacks.
- Feral (Uncommon Power): The first 0-Energy Attack you play each turn returns to your hand.
- All for One (Rare Attack): Deals 10 damage and puts all 0-Energy cards from your discard pile into your hand.
- Hologram (Common Skill): Blocks and fetches any card from your discard. Upgraded, it loses Exhaust.
- Scrape (Uncommon Attack): Deals 7 damage and draws 4 cards, discarding any that don’t cost 0 Energy.
- Reboot (Rare Skill): Shuffles hand and discard into draw pile, then draws 4 cards (6 Upgraded).
Support cards and debuffs
Zero-cost attacks that apply debuffs keep the chain going while softening enemies.
- Beam Cell: Applies Vulnerable (1 stack, 2 Upgraded). The Defect’s main way to boost Claw output.
- Go for the Eyes: Applies Weak if the enemy intends to attack, mitigating damage without breaking your flow.
- FTL: Draws a card if you’ve played fewer than 3 cards this turn.
Relic synergies
Relics that trigger on card play or manipulate zero-cost draws supercharge the engine.
- Power Cell (Rare): At combat start, adds 2 zero-cost cards from your draw pile to your hand.
- Iron Club (Ancient): Draw a card for every 4 cards you play.
- Ornamental Fan (Uncommon): Grants 4 Block each time you play 3 Attacks in a turn.
- Shuriken: Gain 1 Strength for every 3 Attacks played in a turn. Kunai does the same for Dexterity.
- Unceasing Top (Rare): When your hand is empty, draw a card. In thin decks, this enables infinite loops.
Advanced enchantments and the clone strategy
Claw is a prime target for enchantments because you play it so often.
- Kifuda: Adds 3 Block to the card, shoring up your defense.
- Punch Dagger: Adds Momentum 5, increasing damage each time the card is played that combat.
- Perfect Fit: Whenever the card is shuffled into your draw pile, it goes on top for maximum frequency.
Interacting with the Ancient Pael the Melting Dragon can grant the Clone enchantment. This lets you duplicate the enchanted card at Rest Sites. While most decks stay compact, a Clone Claw deck can balloon to over 100 copies, overwhelming enemies with sheer volume.
Strategic tips for success
- Keep your deck slim (10–20 cards) to redraw scaled Claws every 1–2 turns.
- Remove basic Strikes and Defends using the Merchant or the Meat Cleaver relic. Strikes don’t scale with Claw.
- Set up Frost Orbs for passive Block while you focus Energy on cycling attacks.
- Against the Doormaker, save 0-cost Claws for the end of your turn to dodge the energy-taxing mechanic.
The Claw build is just one of several high-impact strategies for The Defect. For setups focused on lightning, darkness, or boss counters, the full hub of Slay the Spire 2 guides on Solo Jugadores has you covered.
