Independent fan-made editors and data maintainers. This is not an official Slay the Spire 2 or Mega Crit property.
Editorial Hub
STS2 Calculator Blog
Use the blog when the run question is bigger than one lookup: patch consequences, deck diagnosis, tool boundaries, route mistakes, and the places where raw data still needs a real judgment layered on top.
20Live articles
9Featured reads
19Active formats
19Revised recently
Start By The Actual Problem
- Open tool explainers when the number looks clean but the model boundary does not.
- Open deck clinics when the run keeps dying before the payoff cards matter.
- Open patch pieces when a live change may have invalidated an old rule of thumb.
Tool boundariesPatch falloutDeck clinicsRoute mistakes
Maintenance Signals
Who Maintains This Page
Maintenance Signals
Who Maintains This Page
Core hub pages should not look anonymous. These signals show who curates the hub, when it was reviewed, and where the real source page lives when you need more than a summary.
Final site operator and responsible editor. Final contact for corrections, rights notices, and maintenance triage via shwuhen@gmail.com.
Visible copy, links, and page-level signals were checked in the latest review pass.
If a patch moves the numbers, wording, or assumptions behind this page, the page gets revised, narrowed, or rechecked again.
Hub pages point you toward the maintained leaf pages instead of pretending one overview can carry every edge case.
Summaries help you navigate. The linked tool, guide, or database page remains the canonical page for the underlying calculation or note.
Editorial standardsRead the site-wide source boundary, patch workflow, correction path, and desk ownership rules.Patch workflowRead how the site rechecks data and editorial layers after a live update.Report stale dataUse the contact page or email the site operator when a number, rule, editorial note, or rights boundary looks wrong.
Recent Revisions
Start With The Latest Rechecks
If a patch moved the game or one of the tools changed shape, these are the articles most likely to reflect the current live assumptions.
How to Use the Event EV Calculator Without Faking Precision
An EV tool is useful when it sharpens a close decision. It becomes dangerous the moment you feed it fake confidence, bad route assumptions, or a run state you have not described honestly.
How We Built the Slay the Spire 2 Early Access Data Station
A practical look at how STS2 Calculator turns early-access patch churn into usable tools, cleaner reference pages, and original editorial work instead of recycled database sludge.
How We Verify STS2 Data After Every Patch
Our patch workflow for Slay the Spire 2: find what changed, isolate the assumptions those changes break, update the source data, and only then refresh the editorial layers and tools.
Input Assumptions Behind Every Tool on This Site
Every calculator makes assumptions. This page spells out what ours do, where the models are intentionally strict, and where results can drift from a real run if the input state is incomplete.
Start Here
Featured Reads
These are the pieces that explain how the site thinks, where the tools are useful, and which decision patterns matter most in current STS2 runs.
Editorial MethodBuild NotesFeatured
How We Built the Slay the Spire 2 Early Access Data Station
A practical look at how STS2 Calculator turns early-access patch churn into usable tools, cleaner reference pages, and original editorial work instead of recycled database sludge.
- We design tools around decisions, not around showing off raw tables.
- Every reference page is tied back to a real route, combat, or deck-building question.
Field NoteChecklist
Read articleEditorial MethodVerification WorkflowFeatured
How We Verify STS2 Data After Every Patch
Our patch workflow for Slay the Spire 2: find what changed, isolate the assumptions those changes break, update the source data, and only then refresh the editorial layers and tools.
- We verify the rule first, then the data row, then every tool or guide derived from it.
- Patch notes are a lead, not a final source of truth.
Field NoteWalkthrough
Read articleSite NotesMethodology NoteFeatured
Input Assumptions Behind Every Tool on This Site
Every calculator makes assumptions. This page spells out what ours do, where the models are intentionally strict, and where results can drift from a real run if the input state is incomplete.
- Our tools model the variables that most often change the decision, not every decorative edge case.
- If an input is missing, the result is only as honest as the assumption replacing it.
Field NoteChecklist
Read articlePatch AnalysisPatch DiffFeatured
Patch 0.3.18 Changed Elite Thresholds More Than Any Tier List
The biggest consequence of patch 0.3.18 is not a shuffled card ranking. It is that several elite and boss lines now punish loose threshold math much harder than before.
- Patch review starts with changed thresholds, not changed aesthetics.
- If a patch alters setup speed or enemy durability, route and rest decisions move immediately.
Field NotePatch Diff
Read articlePick By Question
Use The Narrower Lane When The Feed Is Too Wide
These four lanes are the fastest way to cut the feed down to the kind of answer you actually need.
Full Index
All Articles
Strategy pages, editorial process notes, tool tutorials, and patch-method articles in one feed.
Tool Tutorial
How to Use the Event EV Calculator Without Faking Precision
An EV tool is useful when it sharpens a close decision. It becomes dangerous the moment you feed it fake confidence, bad route assumptions, or a run state you have not described honestly.
- The tool helps when the input state is concrete and the next decision is real.
- It lies when the player buries route risk, survivability, or hidden preferences under fake neutral numbers.
- Use EV to compare plausible lines, not to excuse the line you already wanted.
WalkthroughChartChecklist
Read articleEditorial MethodBuild NotesFeatured
How We Built the Slay the Spire 2 Early Access Data Station
A practical look at how STS2 Calculator turns early-access patch churn into usable tools, cleaner reference pages, and original editorial work instead of recycled database sludge.
- We design tools around decisions, not around showing off raw tables.
- Every reference page is tied back to a real route, combat, or deck-building question.
- Patch churn is handled by re-checking assumptions first and rebuilding derived content second.
Field NoteChecklistLongform
Read articleEditorial MethodVerification WorkflowFeatured
How We Verify STS2 Data After Every Patch
Our patch workflow for Slay the Spire 2: find what changed, isolate the assumptions those changes break, update the source data, and only then refresh the editorial layers and tools.
- We verify the rule first, then the data row, then every tool or guide derived from it.
- Patch notes are a lead, not a final source of truth.
- A timestamp means nothing if the underlying assumptions were not rechecked.
Field NoteWalkthroughChecklist
Read articleSite NotesMethodology NoteFeatured
Input Assumptions Behind Every Tool on This Site
Every calculator makes assumptions. This page spells out what ours do, where the models are intentionally strict, and where results can drift from a real run if the input state is incomplete.
- Our tools model the variables that most often change the decision, not every decorative edge case.
- If an input is missing, the result is only as honest as the assumption replacing it.
- We would rather explain a limitation clearly than pretend a model is universal.
Field NoteChecklistCompare
Read articleStrategyDraft Review
Ironclad Act 1 Drafting Mistakes That Ruin Good Starts
Ironclad Act 1 is less about chasing a dream build and more about refusing the picks that make your early fights slower, clunkier, and harder to convert into clean elite wins.
- Act 1 drafting is about tempo and reliability, not about collecting theme pieces.
- The first reshuffle matters more than players admit.
- A pick that is strong later can still be wrong if it weakens the next three fights.
Field NoteChecklistCompare
Read articleNew Player MistakesMistake Audit
New Player Shop Mistakes That Create Act 1 Debt
Most bad Act 1 shops do not lose the run on the spot. They quietly create debt by solving the wrong problem, leaving the deck weaker against the next elite, campfire, or forced hallway.
- A bad shop buys excitement now and hands the route the bill later.
- Removing the wrong card or buying the wrong payoff often matters more than spending too much gold.
- If a purchase does not change the next set of rooms, it is probably cosmetic.
ChecklistCompareLongform
Read articlePatch AnalysisPatch DiffFeatured
Patch 0.3.18 Changed Elite Thresholds More Than Any Tier List
The biggest consequence of patch 0.3.18 is not a shuffled card ranking. It is that several elite and boss lines now punish loose threshold math much harder than before.
- Patch review starts with changed thresholds, not changed aesthetics.
- If a patch alters setup speed or enemy durability, route and rest decisions move immediately.
- The fastest way to lie to yourself after a patch is to keep using old kill checks with new numbers.
Field NotePatch DiffChart
Read articleDeck ClinicFeatured
Poison Decks Do Not Need More Poison. They Need a Faster Turn Two.
Weak poison decks rarely fail because their eventual damage ceiling is too low. They fail because the first two turns are too soft, too slow, or too busy pretending the payoff cards are the real problem.
- Bad poison decks are usually setup failures disguised as damage complaints.
- Turn-two quality matters more than another payoff card when the opener is unstable.
- If the deck cannot buy time for poison to matter, more poison text will not save it.
ChartLongformCompare
Read articleStrategyArchetype SplitFeatured
Silent Poison vs Shiv: The Split That Actually Decides the Run
The Poison versus Shiv question is not an archetype quiz. It is a speed, scaling, and enemy-cycle question tied to what your current deck is already good at presenting.
- Poison wants enough time and protection to let scaling matter.
- Shiv wants cleaner sequencing, draw access, and payoff density.
- The split should follow the deck's speed and support pieces, not the player's favorite end state.
Field NoteCompareChecklist
Read articleRoute PlanningRoute ReviewFeatured
Three Route Branches That Should Change Your Rest Site Plan
The map can tell you the right campfire decision before you ever click the node. Players miss that because they treat rest-versus-smith as a deck-only question when it is really a route question.
- Rest site choices should change when the branch changes, even if the deck list does not.
- A route with dense elites asks a different question from a branch with a store and hallway buffer.
- The mistake is not resting or smithing by itself. The mistake is pretending the map has no opinion.
WalkthroughCompareCase Study
Read articleTool TutorialTool Audit
When the Combo Damage Calculator Is Helpful, and When It Lies to You
The combo tool is useful for checking whether a specific line clears a real threshold. It becomes fiction when players use it to price a perfect hand that the deck almost never presents on time.
- Use the combo calculator for threshold checks, not for fantasy drafting.
- If the deck rarely assembles the line on time, the number is trivia, not guidance.
- The best calculator users keep asking whether the line survives contact with the actual fight.
Field NoteChecklistChart
Read articleMechanic Deep DiveMechanic Note
Ethereal Is a Hand Timer, Not a Free Exhaust Outlet
Players keep reading Ethereal like a generic self-cleaning exhaust clause. That is wrong, and the wrong read causes misplays in draw planning, retain decisions, and turn-end sequencing.
- Ethereal is about hand state at end of turn, not about rewarding lazy deck cleaning.
- Confusing Ethereal with Exhaust or Retain creates bad lines because each keyword asks a different timing question.
- If you read the zone and timing correctly, many surprise interactions stop being surprising.
Field NoteCompareWalkthrough
Read articleCard ReviewCard Recheck
Particle Wall Is a Tempo Card First, and an Engine Card Second
Players keep reading Particle Wall like a cute recursion toy. The more practical read is that it buys turn structure first, and only later becomes part of something prettier.
- Particle Wall earns its slot by preserving tempo and hand function before it ever looks elegant.
- When players over-draft for the imagined engine, they turn a stabilizer into dead weight.
- A card that returns is not automatically an engine card. Ask what job it solves first.
LongformChartCompare
Read articleStrategyThreshold GuideFeatured
When Necrobinder Doom Math Matters, and When You Should Stop Calculating
The clean rule for Necrobinder players: calculate when the threshold changes the line, stop calculating when the room is really about survival, draw smoothing, or setup speed.
- Doom math matters when one threshold changes lethal, relic timing, or card ordering.
- It does not matter when the room is asking whether you survive long enough to cash the stack.
- The best Necrobinder lines protect the setup turn first and optimize the kill turn second.
CompareChecklistField Note
Read articleRelic ReviewRelic Compare
Which Relics Fix Bad Opening Hands Faster Than Raw Scaling
A relic that improves turn one can be worth more than a relic with a much higher ceiling. Players miss that because the rescue value is subtle and the scaling screenshot is louder.
- Opening-hand stability is often worth more than theoretical late-fight ceiling.
- Relics should be judged by which failure point they remove first, not by their maximum story.
- When a deck keeps losing turn one, more scaling is usually an alibi, not a cure.
CompareChartLongform
Read articleStrategyUpgrade Audit
Five Card Upgrades Slay the Spire 2 Players Misjudge Most Often
The upgrade mistakes we see most often are not flashy. They come from valuing raw numbers over speed, role compression, and the rooms that actually punish the deck next.
- Players overrate upgrades that look explosive and underrate upgrades that remove friction.
- An upgrade that changes cost, targeting, or sequencing is usually more valuable than a small damage bump.
- Campfire choices should be tied to upcoming rooms, not to abstract tier lists.
Field NoteChecklistWalkthrough
Read articleStrategyTempo GuideFeatured
When to Spend Regent Stars, and When to Bank Them
Regent Stars are strongest when they compress a real window, not when they simply create a prettier future turn on paper. This is the rule set we use to judge that trade.
- Spend Stars when they secure tempo, lethal pressure, or a safe setup window.
- Bank Stars when the room is already stable and the next breakpoint is meaningfully larger.
- The right Stars decision is about turn economy, not about hoarding or spending by habit.
Field NoteCompareCase Study
Read articleStrategyDeck Clinic
Most Defect Losses Are Setup Failures, Not Damage Failures
Defect runs usually die before the big numbers matter. The deck loses because it cannot stabilize early turns, present focus or orb tools on time, or survive long enough for scaling to cash.
- Defect scaling only matters if the shell survives its own opening turns.
- Focus, orb payoff, and late damage are often blamed for losses they did not cause.
- If the deck starts slowly, fix presentation speed before adding more ceiling.
Field NoteChecklistLongform
Read articleCo-opCo-op Handoff Review
Which Co-op Relics Are Actually Worth Handing Off
In co-op, a relic transfer is good only when the receiving player converts it better than the sender and the team loses less tempo than it gains. Anything softer than that is sentimentality.
- A good handoff creates a larger total team gain than keeping the relic in place.
- Transfer decisions should be judged by tempo, role fit, and survivability, not by novelty.
- The best handoffs are obvious because one teammate clearly converts the relic better.
ChecklistCompareField Note
Read articleEditorialEditorial Note
Why Editorial Pages Matter on a Data-Heavy Slay the Spire 2 Site
A short manifesto for why a site full of tables and calculators still needs opinionated editorial pages that show judgment, not just storage capacity.
- Editorial pages prove the site can judge, not just collect.
- They tie databases and tools back to real player decisions.
- Original commentary is what makes users return after the first lookup.
Field NoteCompareCase Study
Read article