![slay the spire vs book of demons slay the spire vs book of demons](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/oNkb-yCDGoo/hqdefault.jpg)
The furthest I've gotten is 2/3 to the second boss, using a Lightning/Power build that regularly used the X-Block card to block big attacks while my powers and Lightnings put in work. With the fact that the cards you get are randomized, it seems like an uphill battle trying to make a coherent deck. The Defect just seems to have so many branches of ways to play, between focusing on one of his 4 orbs, focusing on attacks, focusing on powers, focusing on blocking. I can't get halfway to the second boss without getting creamed, as I usually am having to resort to healing at every campfire and end up with a deck of fairly useless cards. The Defect: Easily my hardest character to play. If you guys have any suggestions for high level play, please let me know. A lot of it is about pacing yourself, and improving your next turn when you can afford it. I think I understand fully how the Silent is supposed to be played, using combos, discard effects, and high block values appropriately. Also, 2 Adrenalines and an upgraded Backstab didn't hurt either. This one was my first (and only) clear, once I started doing the random events to collect relics/gold for curses, then using discard effects on the curses to reduce how powerful they were.
![slay the spire vs book of demons slay the spire vs book of demons](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/TwVghpan8yk/hqdefault.jpg)
![slay the spire vs book of demons slay the spire vs book of demons](https://pm1.narvii.com/6053/fbab565918852b21d5a9afd3a0fd32e9aaebf165_hq.jpg)
Not sure where the synergies in the builds are, though, as I feel he's a lot less specialized than the other two. Iron Tide was a favorite of mine, as the low damage with block did great with maintaining lethality while getting some defense. I generally resorted to using that one power that gave him Strength every turn, then just mowing people away with attack spams. Was a little hard early on as I was learning the ropes, but I feel comfortable with him. The Defiant: Once I figured out the value of blocking, the game got a bit easier. Gaining inspiration from a recent thread, I decided to ask about Slay the Spire for some specific tips and suggestions to kill that stupid tower.