Slay The Spire

This took me several tries and I finally got it done with the Ironclad, but any class should work. RNG is a huge factor since you need enough events to remove cards plus you need to be able to assemble a five card deck that's good enough to complete the game.

This was the results screen from my successful run: You want to hit as many ? rooms and merchants as possible, hoping that ? rooms give you the option to remove cards and that you have enough gold to buy the card removal service from the merchant.

Some notes on my run:
I took an early Carnage thinking it would be strong at the end, but it turned out to not be a good choice and I was lucky that I was able to remove it and still get down to 5 total cards.

I got Pandora's Box from the Act 1 boss which I used to transform all Blocks and Strikes (I had six left at this point) into Shrug it Off, Dual Wield, Clash, Metallicize, Anger, and Inflame. An event then transformed Metallicize into Brutality.

I ended up adding three cards directly: Carnage, Shrug it Off, and Flex.

I ended up removing eight cards: Defend, Strike, Defend, Brutality, Anger, Inflame, Carnage, and Flex.

Carnage was a big help early. I removed it in Act 3 at an event that gave me the option to remove it specifically, so that was lucky as it would have been terrible against the Act 3 boss.

You start with 10 cards so you need a net loss of five to end up with five or less. I added three, then removed eight (which was pretty lucky since most runs have far fewer removal events). Two of the eight that I removed were cards I added directly.

I probably would have been better off with Flex than with Bash. I could never play Bash and Carnage together since I only had three energy for most of the run.

You need some luck with Relics, too. I had two that were particularly helpful: one that reduced vendor prices 20% (from a ? floor) and one that gave me an extra energy each turn (from the Act 2 boss). With only three energy, I don't think I could have completed the game.

Here's my Act 3 boss battle: I could have killed the boss before he recharged if I used the Energy Potion to play Bash on turn 1, but I still was able to beat him (with the help of other potions).

Good luck. You'll need it.

There is no step by step guide for any achievement in this game as everything depends on the choices you make. The choices you get are randomly generated. The best you can get is people telling you stuff that you can think about and incorporate into your game.

The way I went for this achievement was trying to set up an infinite deck when I got the chance. I was actually going for the 999 block achievement or the relic-less run depending on the choices I was given. It turned out differently as my I got 4 cards removed within the first 5 floors. Please note that I have around 40 failed run trying for stuff like this in around 120 hours played. It isn't just given to you if you follow a guide. You'll need to get lucky and be persistent.

This guide is good to read through. I didn't really understand it though until I played a run which actually gave me an infinite loop. Read the guide then come back here:

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=15238...

My final deck was madness+x2, bash, Dropkick and shrug it off. Standard combat against 1 enemy was like this: Bash (1 energy left). Madness, madness, (now both shrug it off and Dropkick are 0 energy. You now have 2 cards that draw. That means you are guaranteed to get both cards back. So it's a loop. That means any single enemy that doesn't have artifact is dead turn 1.

Enemies with artifact are tricky. Buy all status potions you can find in the shops. If you can't remove the status with a potion you'll need to use bash to do so. That means spending turns (and thus getting damaged probably.)

For card removal focus eavily on question marks inb act 1 and 3 (/' there aren't so many removal events in act 2.

For survival in act 1 work out which card is most efficient to upgrade on your way up to the boss and which order you should play your cards to minimize fight times. Sometimes taking a hit at the start is good if means the fight ends quicker. Surviving act 1 is hard without upgrading damage output through extra cards so you have to think a bit and get lucky a bit.

The hardest part of this achievement is getting through hallway fights. The smaller your deck the more you'll cycle back to your defends, bash and Dropkick. An early shrug is key. You'll want to balance removing strike and defends from your deck to be able to output enough damage without losing too much health. I went for act 1 elites but skipped elites in act 2. In act 3 I don't care as my infinite was set up roughly.

Here's how a not quite infnite played out before I had madness: Bash (1 energy left), Dropkick (1 energy left due to vulnerable) Shrug it off, turn end with enemy damaged and 11 block. Next turn, Dropkick, shrug, Dropkick, shrug, Dropkick, shrug, turn end (42 damage from Dropkick and 33 defend from shrug) . Next turn same as last. Turn after same as first turn. So you have great block and decent damage due to tiny deck. Only time eater and certain elites can really mess you about when you have a Deck like this.

Hopefully this read will help you grasp the concept. If you are thinking about voting negatively because it isn't a definitive guide please remember that this is a rng dependant game that you can influence by making the right choices. This guide is written to help you understand the choices you make a little better.

The hardest part about getting this achievement isn't buliding a good five card deck- its removing enough cards to have only a five card deck by the final boss. With that in mind I wouldn't even attempt this achievement on a playthrough unless my first boost from that wale-thing has the option to remove 2 cards from my deck- which it seems to have for each character, randomly.

Additionally, you want to save your gold for removing cards via the merchant and the cleric, and avoid using it for anything else if possible. Also, its a good idea pick a path with plenty of "?" and merchant rooms for these opportunities and other random "?" encounters that have a remove card option- there are several. This is a general strategy, but even following it, its going to take some luck and at least a few tries to size down to a five card deck by the final boss.

As far as a recommended deck, I got my achievement just recently playing the Watcher using the upgraded versions of Eruption and Vigilance (both of which the Watcher starts with), Flurry of Blows (a common- easy to get from early basic enemies), Prostrate (also a common), and Study (an uncommon- but I found it comes up often enough).

You may have noticed this deck has two starting cards, no rares, and in fact only one card that's not common. This is intentional, and important to deck building for this achievement. Using starting cards means less that need to be removed, and common cards are more easily obtained by definition, meaning you can plan for them in a playthrough with some assurance you'll get them. This preplaning is essential for five card decks to be any good, unlike say, a twenty card deck where you have more room for variation.

Anyway the strategy for this deck is simple but effective. In fact, you'll likely be playing the same cards in the same order almost every turn. One nice thing about this deck is you only ever need three energy except for the first turn, where you can use the Watcher's free miracle card for the needed fourth energy for that turn only. These cards all need to be upgraded for the deck to function properly, but that's easy to do with just five cards.

Basically first turn I recommend playing these cards in the following order: Miracle, Study, Flurry of Blows, Prostrate, Eruption, Flurry of Blows, Vigilance, and finally Flurry of Blows again. Every other turn nearly without exception you will want to play play Flurry of Blows, Prostrate, Insight, Flurry of Blows, Prostrate, Eruption, Flurry of Blows, Vigilance, and finally Flurry of Blows, in that order. If all else fails, make sure to end the turn in the stance gained from Vigilance.

Esentially what your doing here with this deck is changing stances 2-3 times per turn and damaging enemies with flurry of blows every time. Its more powerful than it sounds, especially with the frequent Divine Stance doing 18 damage with Flurry and 27 damage with Eruption- which is only part of the damage you'll be doing every turn. Defense also goes up every turn with the multiple Prostrate and Vigilance.

There's suprisingly little relics needed for this deck. No more than the three starting energy is needed. Any relics or potions that boosts defense is great. Defense is fine for basic enemies with this deck but you will take damage in boss fights. Make sure to be as healed as possible 1st. It may be possible to get the single relic achievement with this same deck/playthrough- but I haven't tested this. Good Luck!

You need more luck than skill. I did it with simple solution with Ironclad. You need just obtain 2-3 "common" cards, + important one (already in deck) and remove soon as possible other remains. You don't need any relics or upgrades (but it is easier with them). So you need:

1x Bash (or Thunderclap but bash i enough and it is already in package from start)
1x Dropkick (in combination with bash or Thunderclap)

And best way it is obtain 1x Dual Wield to "clone" drop kick. If you have enough small package you will have infinite dropkicks

I did it with "Draw card" abbility card like Pommel Strike card in combination with Madness card. My deck was so small in the end than I can use Madness exactly for Dropkicks or Pommel Strike.

Also there are other 2 cards which can be used:

1x Finesse
1x Flash of Steel

It is up to you and also up to situaction and luck. Also with Final boss Time Eater I don't know if it is possible. Also I recomended plan you way through shops, Question marks and sometimes avoid elites. Also you can use transformation cards relics or remove cards relics after boss fight or in shop. And if you going to die, before it just pause the game. Turn it off, on and try it again.

I just finished this one using Ironclad on Ascension 1 for the extra bosses. I managed to get Searing Blow early on and prioritized campfires and shops as best as I could. My Searing Blow reached +11 by the end. I managed to remove cards down to 4 in my deck so I picked up Armament as well so I could continue to upgrade Searing Blow each turn. Ended up dealing roughly 150 damage consistently every turn.