Can you beat Slay the Spire with only

colorless cards? Greetings, gentlemen

and ladies. Welcome back. Today, the

ironclad exumes back the spotlight in a

community challenge that has well over

60 attempts. The rules are simple. We

are only allowed to play colorless

cards. That means no strikes, no

defense, no anything else. Only cards of

the colorless origin are allowed. And

because I wanted to make this challenge

even harder, we're taking this all the

way to the corrupt heart as well. Now,

you might be asking yourself, how is

this even possible? Even with Allstar

giving us five random colorless cards

and this allowing a tiny chance to see

them, won't our lack of defense just

disintegrate us into a slime? Well, with

14 unthinkable, extraordinary, and

inconceivable challenges behind us, this

one really is a lot trickier than you

might first think. So, sit back, get

yourself comfortable for it's time to

climb. Climb time.

Before we get into this week's video, I

just wanted to come on and say thank you

so much for 10,000 subscribers. It means

the absolute world. I hope you enjoy the

video.

Let's do this, guys. Our five playable

cards are solid. Panic Button, Dramatic

Entrance, The Bomb, Transmutation, and

Dark Shackles. And with these four

choices, uh, this upgrading a card is a

little temperamental. You see, the

Always Now mod has a field day with the

custom runs. So, we really don't know

what we're going to get. Thankfully, it

was a duplication, which although I

would preferred it on the bomb, was

still a good gift to receive. Checking

the map, I highlight the left side,

prioritizing question mark events and

safety. Before we begin our ascent with

a couple of slimes, I make a dramatic

entrance, then a mistake. Straight out

of the gate, I play transmutation

instead of the bomb. And let me tell

you, this won't be the last time either.

I scuffle together defense, defeat the

front slime, and then after taking 16

damage, finish them off. We get 15 gold

and a card that would become this

story's unsuspected hero, finesse. Next

up was a single cultist. I start with

our transmutation where a free bomb gets

added. I follow it up dramatically. We

then shackle his attack on turn two and

let our bomb get its redemption from the

fight just before. 18 gold, a weak

potion, and no car rewards this time

around. The first question mark event of

the challenge has a note wedged in the

wall. It was a watcher defend.

Naturally, I accept this incredible

offer. Swapping places with a defend of

our own. Commerce and trade were now

upon us, and whilst we couldn't afford

much, good instincts would be a solid

card to obtain with our inability to

gain reliable block. A relic just then

hijacked our question mark encounter

with mummified hand. Now all we needed

was a trusty panache. At the rest site,

I prietized upgrading our bomb for 10

extra damage. Then it was time for a

fight against the jawworm. A solid

opening hand bomb, good instincts, and a

dramatic entrance, mitigating our damage

taken to five. Panic attack blocks out

his next attack. Then boom, 12 gold. a

swift potion and no cards that could be

added. Now, whilst the rest site here

was highlighted, we have 77 health and

an upgraded bomb. So, with the corrupt

heart in mind, we step into the flaming

elite of act one, the centuries. We

couldn't have asked for a better elite.

Our opening hand wasn't great. I drink

our draw potion. Finesse dramatic, then

transmutate, picking up another dramatic

and a magnetism. I forought back our

panic button. Shackles an artifact, then

end our turn, taking nine damage. No

bomb again. Transmutation at least gives

us a block card, but this wasn't looking

good. I add the weak potion to the front

century for another 13 damage gets

through. Then 11 more and 19 here,

bringing us all the way down to 25

health. This fight was brutal, and this

challenge was only just beginning. For

the rewards, we get 34 gold. The smiling

mask relic, which is an absolutely

fantastic addition here. A regen potion

and no cards to note. Piping away the

sweat from my brow, an uncommon relic

chest greeted us next with another

welcome relic indeed. Dream Catcher.

This gives us a slither of a Sneakers's

chance to pick up a colorless card from

resting. And as you know, that's all we

need. Let's put it to use. We get

purity. The ability to exhaust cards

midfight is exactly what we needed. I

choose the safe route next. The

adventure event. I always let you guys

vote on this option. So, let's see what

you decided. Search once. Okay, we got

gold. Nice. Then search again. Nothing.

Surely we leave now, right?

But as luck would have it, not only was

it the sententuries again, but we drew

our bomb on turn one. I then play our

transmutation, which pulls an

apotheiois, allowing us to fully defend

their attack. Turn two, we only manage

to find block with our finesse, taking

14 damage in return for the bomb.

Finishes them off. We get 32 gold and a

brilliant relic. Phantoraph. This heals

us 25 health. We enter a boss fight.

Something that is sure to come in handy

for the battles yet to begin. A surprise

merchant then halts us from advancing

next. And upon browsing, I find a very

fun relic, the toolbox. It might not be

the best for consistency, I know, but it

was fun. So, I pick it up and remove our

bash from the deck. Floor 13 had a blue

slaver awaiting. I choose violence to

thin out the deck, then finesse,

dramatic, and shackle, only taking one

damage in return. We set up the bomb

next, playing our panic button to

mitigate the attack. Take seven damage

from this one, then let the bomb do all

the talking. The spoils of victory give

us 14 gold, another regen potion. Nice.

and no cards. Once again, the final

question mark event of the act has us

ambushed by a snappy boy and his louse.

A good turn one has our bomb activated,

and our toolbox's panic button allows us

to defend the attack. Transmutation then

gives us a swift strike, allowing us to

save seven health from the lousy boy for

the bomb sends them on their way. 18

gold, and we actually get two options

here. Master of strategy or another good

instincts. This was a tough choice. We

need block badly, but the three draw

could get us out of a pinch. So, I pick

up the strategy with our phantoraph

relic attached. The warm embers of this

rest site can be used to forge us an

upgrade. I decide on the transmutation.

Now, it was time. Time for slime. Slime

time. Toolbox kicks things off with

three good choices. Mathematically and

logically here, it was best to pick Hand

of Greed because I like gold. We make a

dramatic entrance, playing it, bringing

the slime boss down to 112 health. Turn

two. Finesse draws our bomb.

Transmutation continues the drama. 35

damage was now inbound. I play our

master first, then transmutation for

disappointment, then shackle and panic

button, allowing us to completely

mitigate his big swinging attack. Phew.

Another bomb gets stacked as I remember

to keep talking. So, we didn't explode.

And whilst our hand of greed didn't get

the value I had hoped, this marked the

first boss victory in the challenge. We

get 100 gold, a blessing of the forge

potion, and then three colorless card

offerings. Wo! Naturally, apotheiois

gets acquired. Now, for the relics,

Astrolabe, Sacred Bark, or Blackar. All

three options here had promise. Astro

could change up three colorless cards,

though upgrading wasn't as important

anymore. Sacred Bark would stack our

regen as well as future potions. Or

Blackar if I was feeling loco. Maybe it

was nostalgia hitting me here, but it's

been far too long, my friend. Come on,

Bark. Let's take this one home as we

venture into act two, the city.

Exploring through the map, I identified

the safest route, highlighting merchants

for our shining mask removals. Before we

begin with the shelled parasite, one of

the hardest enemies we could have been

greeted by. To start, I play our

apotheiois, then the toolboxes. Thinking

ahead, dark shackles, purity, and our

dramatic entrance.

Turn two. Transmutation brings us some

great cards. Sadistic nature, blind for

weak, then shackles for defense. Finesse

finds our bomb. Then a few turns go by

and thanks to our weak plus lucky

defense, we only take 10 damage from the

fight. We get 11 gold and no cards this

time. Now, if that encounter looked like

we were in a strong position, the

Spheric Guardian was ready to bring that

reality crashing down. Not the greatest

offerings from the toolbox and not the

greatest opening hand either. I dramatic

remove an artifact and purify the rest.

Turn two. I make one of the biggest

misplays in all of my previous attempts.

I I don't use the bomb. What were you

hoping to find here? We take 10 damage

as expected. Thankfully, our panic

button was here. I use our transmutation

first though, giving us practically

unplayable cards, removing an artifact

before bunkering up for defense. Master

of strategy and finesse gets our bomb

started before we take a montage of

damage. 10 here, then 20 4 20 6 200

20 regen and sacred saved us big time

here. Okay, let's take a deep breath

before we move on. Our first question

mark event of the act was the library

and whilst a card is usually the play,

we needed that heal, recovering us up to

49 health. Next, the pleading vagrant

wanted an equivalent exchange, which I

happily accept, giving us the art of war

relic, a solid addition indeed. Floor 22

had a cultist and chosen combo. Little

box gives us a good start with the bomb.

Get your mouse off that apotheiois. I

play the bomb, learning from that

painful lesson just gone. We then

dramatic and shackles off the damage. I

decide against deep breathing as with my

luck, the bomb was most definitely the

next card in the deck.

I then play said bomb, but this would be

90 damage and we need 91 for the chosen

with this transmutation. Give us the

card we needed to achieve this. Ha. Nah.

Shay. Doing 14 damage every time we play

five cards. 1 2 3 4 and five. Well, this

deck was certainly something. I felt

like I was in casino with RNG, though.

We get 19 gold and a full metal potion.

Stop by a rest site next, recovering up

to 73 health and getting another card

here, too. Jack of all trades. It might

not be the most logical decision, but it

was definitely the one that would be

fun. Now, it was time for the Centuran

Alons and his mystic Elrich. I play the

Panache first, then Apotheiois, Jack of

all trades, purity, and pass on using

the dramatic for future Panache

activations. We take eight damage. Turn

two, it was time to draw twice. Then

transmutation for another panache. We

take another 11 damage in return. I then

play our bomb and wait patiently. Now

everything was set up. I play one more

transmutation and holy smackaroni in the

pepperoni. Another panache. And here's a

fun fact. It doesn't reset the stack. It

just adds to it. Meaning if we play

three more cards, we deal 38 damage to

them both. This is crazy. Two shackles

coming up for the couple I mean

brothers. Then bomb magnetism and

finally card destruction. This is

exactly why I have continued attempting

this challenge. It can be so much fun.

We get 14 gold and no cards as usual.

Next, we were taken down the dark alley

and gently asked for our wallet, but

they have less than 50 health. And we

have an upgraded bomb. Our bomb graced

us in the opening hand. So all we needed

to do was pass it. Or was it? On turn

two, I played transmutation into a hand

of greed. And though it might not have

been the most calculated play, I I I

drink our forge potion and get the 25

gold for the merchant that fast

approached. Then we get 29 gold. The red

mask relic, which I totally did this

for. And no cards to note. The

guaranteed relic chest of act two had us

a bottled flame, which I actually

decided against. We don't have any

attacks, so I choose the key instead. As

we climbed into the next combat, I was

beginning to realize something. This

dramatic entrance is a big hindrance for

us, both in hand draw and energy from

Art of War. Talking of hindrances, this

is not a great opening hand. I simply

draw and pass, taking six damage. Turn

two, I, Jack, and master play our bomb,

then purity away the strikes and

shackles the bird. Turn three, our

transmutation finds another upgraded

bomb, which after playing the other

creations means only one thing. Tick,

tick, boom. We get but a humble 15 gold

for the rewards. Now we have a choice.

Do we continue with the merchant or heal

up at the rest site? With 179 gold, I

choose to go towards the merchant and

his wares left much to be desired. At

the very least, we use our 50 gold

removal on a defend and pass on the

potion offerings. A tough battle was now

upon us with the avocado and shroom boy.

Red mask assists us with a turn one

defense. A strikingly bad hand then

showed up, threatening us with a 12

attack. I did some calculations. One

bomb wasn't enough and we would be

taking serious damage this combat. With

this in mind, I drink our regen potion.

Turn three, we get options with multiple

draws first defense with shackles, then

a transmutation.

At least we could apply weak. The

following turns allow a beautiful hand

of greed to be played with our bomb

taking the final glory on the parasite.

The spoils of war show us 13 gold and

fruit juice paired with sacred bark.

This gives us 10 extra health. Fantastic

potion to see. Moving ahead, we pass on

the cursed tome vent for a

transmmorifier allows us to finally get

rid of our dramatic entrance. And boy oh

boy, did we get a great substitution,

master of strategy. The final warmth of

a rest site allows us to upgrade our

apotheiois before we take on the boss of

act two, the automaton. This fight is

going to be scary. His hyperbeam and our

lack of defense is not a good

combination. I drink our fruit juice

straight away, then play some cards.

Finesse and strategy draw us foris

upgrades, then jack of all trades, and

again trip, transmutation, mind blast,

swift strike, violence, and finish with

purity, removing every single strike in

our deck. Now that's a turn one. Turn

two, I consider a few lines and settle

with only playing the bomb. We can't

lose it to the stasis here. I play some

attacks and remove the artifact next,

which came in very handy for the

following turn, enabling this dark

shackles to defend us completely. We

play a few more random attacks and

another bomb here before it was the

boss's buff turn. After this, Hyperbeam

was coming and this draw pile was not

going to cut it. I spend the turn

manipulating the deck as best I can,

even playing our transmutation to assist

in the matter. Okay, this was looking a

lot better now. 51 damage was now

showing, but our hand was strong. A

secret finesse into another bomb. Deep

breath. Whoops. Then good instincts and

panic button to fully defend once more.

Phew. We both take a turn to breathe,

but time was running out. I continue

cycling the best we can, making sure to

play our attacks where possible. He

brings us down to 49. His empowered 57

hyperbeam was next. But thanks to our

bombs and this swift strike, it would be

our functions that would activate first.

Okay, but how are we supposed to beat

the corrupt heart with this? We get 105

gold, another essence of steel potion,

and for the cards, I decide against

another transmutation. Now, the relics.

Pandora's box, Slaver's Collar, or Empty

Cage. Pandora's box was useless here, as

cards cannot be transformed into ones of

the opposite color. Slaver's Collar

would be good considering our

transmutation costs, and Empty Cage

would also be solid here. I go back and

forth between them for finally deciding

on consistency, removing two defense

from our deck. Okay, act three, the

Beyond. With us having two of the three

keys we needed, safety was the top

priority. I identify the elites and

merchants, then hone in on the safest

ascent. For we're greeted by a trio of

darklings. Getting them down evenly was

imperative here. I play our draws first,

showing an entire hand of strikes.

Transmutation gifts us a purity plus.

And man, exhausting them like this is

such a feeling. And then magnetism and

pass. Next, our bomb greets us. A draw

first and upgrade our cards. Then defend

and shackle to end the turn. Another

draw finds this perfectly timed bomb. I

smartly decide against using panic

button. Instead, playing good instincts,

blind and deep breath to bring back our

defense as we only had two cards in the

discard pile. Huh. Anyway, this enables

us to fully mitigate the damage. And

with two bombs active, it's yoga. We get

12 gold, an elixir, and no cards.

Guiding us forward, we encounter the

sensory stone. A fantastic event for a

cuddleless only run. I don't hesitate in

gifting our health. The first selection

of cards wasn't great, and honestly,

neither was the second. I spent a few

moments figuring out the best choices,

in particular, because our boss was the

time eater. Ultimately, I chose the

panacea and good instincts for

additional block. Confirming the map

route for the merchant removal, we move

ahead to floor 38 where we're greeted by

the shapes. They have less than 40

health. So, we just need to find our

bomb. Not here. Not over there. Got it.

3 2 1 Boom. The only reward to mention

was a measly 10 gold. Now we have a

nasty encounter against a pile of dirty

laundry. Without the ability to attack,

we were in danger. Not just from a

potential curse, but from the big

swinging attacks it could do. I start by

exhausting our strikes from hand. Then

bomb and good instincts, leaving this

panacea for a future turn. We take eight

damage in response. Turn two. Apotheiois

upgrades our deck and deep breath brings

back our bomb. I then jack of all

trades. Dark shackles for defense and

transmutation for our trusty panache.

The next couple of turns, I focus on

defending its big attacks. Nearly get

cursed for playing greedy before

cleaning up this mess I promised to 3

weeks ago. Collecting our 11 gold

allowance. Moving forward, I pick up the

ruby key at the rest site. Remove a

strike. Upgrade our deep breath. Then

two strikes from the guaranteed relic

chest. Wow. What's next? Akabco, you've

got to be kidding me. The riding mass

was up next. Our search for panacea

begins. I start our hunt with the master

of strategy into apotheiois. Consider

the line and draw four more. Then

another with finesse. If you don't know,

us having artifact completely negates

the constriction debuff, meaning this

fight was pretty much over. See, we pick

up the yet again measly 10 gold. But

just as I was moaning about how little

gold we were getting this run, Tomb of

Red Mask shows and gives us 222

gold. And that's not all. It's not. It's

not. A surprise merchant greets us next.

Holy. With our newly acquired gold, we

enter. And whilst the cards weren't

great, a crazy line gets presented with

speed potion. I'll show you this power

later in the run. We also remove a

strike, then save the rest of our gold

for the merchant in act four. Our last

question mark encounter sees us enter an

ambush from three low health shapes.

Bomb in our opening hand means these

exploders weren't exploding. Good

instincts and dark shackles protects us

fully and purity removes the clutter.

Then instead of just passing to victory,

I play out our defense into this random

metamorphosis which creates a hand of

greed. Truly a lesson in playing our

hands fully even when victory is

assured. We get 20 gold from the hand

and 10 from the shapes. A deck potion. I

decide to leave. And for our last card

reward, we actually get something.

Another panic button. The final rest

site was now upon us. And for our

upgrade, we go with Panacea with our

trusty speed potion in mind. Now it was

time for the boss of act three. Time

eater toolbox kicks us off with

sorry let's try that again. It was now

time time for time.

I keep myself away from the magnetism

bait as our hand opens. Bomb

transmutation purity and two plated

armor potions. I am not taking any risks

here. Apotheiois then shows. Would you

look at that? Hand of greed returns once

again. I shackle off the 21 attack and

play our greed for damage. Turn three. I

want to get as many bombs active as we

can. So, bind one with our master of

strategy, then double good instincts and

end our turn. Fully defending thanks to

our 16 Placed armor. We then hand of

greed and find panic button. Bomb, lose

12 health, more greed and defense. Then,

uh-oh, he doesn't face at half. No

problem. Panic Button defends us. Then

while he sits buffing, so do we with two

bombs to boot. And if two bombs wasn't

enough, how about four? While I math out

our greed finale, our sacred bart gets a

pat on the back for the 16 plated armor

truly did give us the time we needed.

Things were going well. And although we

wouldn't have those potions to rely on

in the upcoming combats, was feeling

optimistic as we open the doors to act

four, the finale. Four floors, four

choices, one goal. Upgrade first. Master

of strategy gets chosen to help find

Apotheiois. Merchant second. 242 gold at

our disposal for some fantastic

offerings. Bomb bag of preparation.

Solid potions and a removal all at our

fingertips. Memory gets added first,

then blood potion for a 40% heal before

we finish removing a strike. Two more

encounters. First up, the act 4 elite

shield and spear toolbox gives us the

ability to switch direction with flash

of steel. Something that would be

absolutely unnecessary for now it was

time for the real hero of our story to

be introduced. Turn one, I play

apotheiois, master of strategy. Panacea,

good instincts, deep breath, bomb

master, remove transmutation, good

instincts, flash to change direction,

jack of all trades, purity, then end

turn two. by finesse and purity away all

of our hand. Then I play another bomb,

both dark shackles and our last panic

button before finally after all of these

challenges, every single attempt that

led to this moment, we find it we find

infinity. Vaness flash of steel finesse.

Flash of steel. Venise steal a flash. It

was even more special because it was

live. We did it together. A truly

memorable moment in time. After about a

couple more deck cycles, we take both

the shield and spear to the beyond. The

only reward we picked up was the

champion's belt relic.

Now, there was only but one encounter

remaining. The final boss of the spire,

the corrupt heart. Secret weapon gets

picked from our last toolbox. And now

the battle begins. First a good

instincts for protection. Then

transmutation for a welcome friend in

the darkness. Panache. I clear our

weapon and transmutation before passing.

Turn two. Deep breath shows a strategy

which I play after defending. We then

get apotheiois and a perfect purity. And

that felt good. But what didn't was us

taking 36 damage here. Now it was aiming

60, but everything was coming together.

You remember that speed potion from

earlier? Well, with panacea, that 10

dexterity is here to stay. Good

instincts defense for 14. Then master of

strategy finds what we need. Finesse

bomb jack. We heal to 88 with blood

potion, then panic and exhaust our

technique. We take seven damage and have

seven cards left in our draw pile. Good

instincts. Two bombs and transmutation

finds another finesse. Okay, next we

bomb, block, and exhaust, taking another

13 damage. The heart then shows a 44

attack, but we have 10 dexterity, so try

again. 72 damage, right? Finesse, good

instincts, deep breath. And again,

bringing us up to 61 block. 13 still

gets through. The beat of the drum was

now hit for a second time. And we don't

scale. But we don't need to scale. We

just need to play cards. This liquid

memory brings them back. Two finesses.

Deep breath. And then we find it. Not

the bomb. Not deep breath. Not even

finesse. It was panache

because we could continue drawing. This

panache would eventually take the

corrupt part down. Wow. Whilst this is

happening in the background, I will say

thank you so much for watching this

video. Man, talk about an emotional

roller coaster ride and one that will

live on as one of the craziest endings

to a challenge we have ever achieved.

Now, the giveaway results. I used a

random number generator to pick the

winners. The lucky winning comment was

made by Bob Smith7066.

Congratulations. And the Waffle member

winner is Quagra to you both. Thank you

for your support. If you send me an

email or DM me on Discord, I will gift

you both your copies of Slay the Spy 2

when it releases. And with the heart

finally defeated, all that's left to do

is remember to, as always, stay

hydrated.