Can you beat Slay the Spire without

using orbs? Greetings, gentlemen and

ladies. Welcome back. Today, the defect

claws back the spotlight, making history

in our first ever Ascension 20

challenge. The rules are simple. We must

complete a full Ascension 20 run without

using a single orb. That means no

lightning, no frost, no darkness, and

the other one, too. You better be ready

because we are taking this all the way

to the corrupt heart as well. Both off

and on stream. We have over 52 attempts.

It's been wounding. Yeah. With 13

transcendent astronomical and

intergalactic challenges behind us. This

one really is going to take absolutely

everything we've got. So sit back, get

yourself comfortable for it's time to

climb. Climb time. I am doing another

slow the spy 2 giveaway. Details at the

end of the video. Let's do this guys.

Today we are presented with only one

option that we can select. Swapping our

starter relic for a random boss one,

black star. This causes elites to drop

an additional relic when we defeat them.

I check the map and select the left path

with these elite encounters in mind.

Greeting us to the challenge was a

couple of lice. I split our strikes

first, taking seven damage in return,

then fully defend their next 15 attack.

After a few more strikes, the lice eye

go down. They drop us 16 gold. And for

the cards, a choice, rip and tear or

rebound. With the future combos it could

create, I choose rebound. An early

merchant opens his doors for us next.

And whilst his wares were slightly

underwhelming, a go for the eyes would

be a solid addition indeed. Back to

battles with an eager cultist this time.

I start with rebounding our strike, then

play it again with our go for the eyes

and defend. Turn three. I choose to play

aggressively with our strikes in hopes

of taking him down the following turn.

Ah, I defend for 10, finishing him off

shortly after. We get 12 gold, a fire

potion, and for the cards, one that I am

always happy to see. Equilibrium.

Walking into our first question mark

event, it was ran with. I reach into our

pockets and hand him the 53 gold he

needed. In exchange, we get mango, a

fantastic relic, increasing our max

health by 14. Let's go. The next

question mark event has us ambushed by a

couple of slimes. Our equilibrium allows

us a full defense on the opening attack.

Rebound defeating the front slime on

turn two. Then an amada of strikes

finish them off. For the rewards, 15

gold and three solid card options.

Another equilibrium charge battery or

FTL. After going back and forth, I

settle on the FTL, adding yet another

combo piece to the puzzle. For the rest

site, I utilized my smithing pastime on

our go for the eyes, adding an

additional week before it was time for

an elite. The gremlin knob. Not a fun

fight in the slightest. My game plan was

to get him within fire potion range as

soon as possible. I rebound the strike

first, then weaken and play it again.

Turn three, I play our FTL and strike 1

2 3, bringing him down to 41 health. We

take 18 damage. He now has a 24 attack

aimed at us. We have three strikes. And

unfortunately, it just wasn't enough. I

play two, then check the draw pile and

do some calculations. I decide to play a

defend and mitigate one damage. Still

being brought down to 6 HP. Thankfully,

rebound showed next. And with our fire

potion, we just managed to take him

down. That was brutal. If it wasn't for

Darwin's Mango, this run would be over.

He drops us 26 gold, bag of marbles for

vulnerable application, and the boot.

Okay, it's a usable relic, I guess. I

also pick up a self-repair for the card.

Now, two relic chests back to back.

Incense burner in the first one. This

gives us intangible every six turns.

Then the legendary cow aka Beco stops

by. A relic that synergizes very well

with our bag of marbles. Moving forward,

we make a quick stop by the rest site,

healing up to 31 health. Boy, it was

time for a blue slaver. The cow and

marbles enable our go for the eyes to

deal 18 damage. FTL draws a strike and

he's already down to 14 health. We

defend his attack. Then as quickly as we

entered the combat, we take our leave. I

pick up 14 gold and a beam cell in the

process. Now floor 12 had a scary

encounter for us. The five slimes. We

don't have AoE. Thanks to the marble

cow, FTL removes the middle slime.

Equilibrium defends the attack. And even

though we were weakened strikes doing

four damage, this beam still only doing

two. Well, the boot enters the chat and

boy does it shine, helping us take all

of them down while only losing four

health ourselves. Great job, boot for

the rewards. We get 11 gold, a cultist

potion, and out of these three card

choices. I really wanted the hologram.

The red slaver was up next. And just

like his blue counterpart, thanks to

equilibrium and hologram working

together, it goes down without issue. 13

gold, a potion we couldn't play, and

another hologram gets added to the deck.

The final enemy encounter of the act was

against an assortment of gremlins.

Incense burner activated intangible. I

got to work removing the back gremlin.

Turn two showed our hologram, allowing

us to take care of the front gremlin

next. And for the rest of the turns, we

played them slowly. You see, we want our

incense burner to activate on Hexag's

big attack. With this in mind, I

controlled my fiery rage and finished

the fight with the incense stack on

four. Reward-wise, 12 gold, an explosive

potion, and for the cuts, we get given

another chance at streamline, which I

don't let slip away. With our defense

somewhat guaranteed, I choose to upgrade

our streamline at the rest site before

it was time for the boss of act one,

Hexagost. I kick things off with

drinking our cultist potion. Come on.

then get to work with our attacks,

keeping its vulnerable application

active. Next, Pier's big 30 multiattack

was brought down to just six thanks to

our earlier prep. A play hologram for

FTL, then rebound it back for the

following turn. Streamline and weak get

played next. Then more weak and even

more with two strikes to boot.

Equilibrium continues to defend us. We

continue to core and just before its

second big attack, send this floating

rock back to whence it came. The spoils

are 77 gold, a block potion, and for the

cards, one that's spanning every single

attempt so far we hadn't come across.

All for one, a brilliant card for the

combos I was eyeing up here. Now for the

relics, Slaver's Collar, Busted Crown,

and Sacred Bark. Busted Crown was

completely off the table as we needed

guards. Sacred Bark held a rather soft

spot in my heart, but with Blackar and

our energy needs, I think Slaver's

Collar would be just the right fit for

us. Woof. Act two into the city. I check

the map, looking out for crossroads,

merchants, and elites before we get

welcomed by the Spheric Guardian. We

start simple with FTL and equilibrium.

Then clear its artifact with beam cell

and go for the eyes. I follow with

hologramming it back to get our weak

application on to fully defend the

incoming attack. Turn three. 16 damage

was aimed at us. I hologram back the

equilibrium for defense. And with all

for one in full swing, our victory was

all but a short here. It leaves us 13

gold, an explosive potion we don't

acquire. And for the cards, another beam

cell. Don't mind if we do. Next up was a

lonely chosen. And thanks to beautiful

hands like these and equilibrium putting

in some heavy lifting, we only take

three damage. 17 gold. And another

imperative piece of the puzzle showed

up. Reprogram. This card gives us

scaling strength and dexterity. And

talking of scaling, we are now presented

the risky offer jacks. Normally I

wouldn't consider it as we have

reprogrammed now. But all for one

bringing it back. Incense burner

blocking the damage. Yeah, let's do

this. With 239 gold in hand, a friendly

merchant welcomed us next. Whilst the

cards and relics here left much to be

desired, it was in the corner of my eye

where I saw it. A berry in a bottle.

This is an absolute blessing to see an

extra life. To finish, I remove our zap.

Floor 22's question mark event gave us

an opportunity to upgrade. I scan

through our cards and identify two that

I wanted. Hologram and reprogram, which

thanks to the rest site immediately

after, we get to fulfill. Now was time

for the centurion and his tax return

officer. We get self-repair activated.

Two beam cells on the knights for

vulnerable continuation and a couple of

defense to mitigate the strike. Turn two

was their buff time. I strike cancel the

second one and instead equilibrium to

keep go for the eyes for turn three. I

then FTL Jax and hologram the

equilibrium to fully defend the attack.

Next, our goal is to have them both

buffing again before we send our

attacks. So, I repeat the hologram

defense. The buffs then start. Our

damage now begins. I play rebound into

streamline. Then, thanks to a lucky

rebuff, we get to play it again.

Reprogram gives us just enough to end

the tin man before we send the tax

return officer on her merry way.

Reward-wise, we get 15 gold and a

fantastic card, Steam Barrier. This

injects defense into our all for one

cycle. Okay, it was time for the act two

elite. Stabby McStavverson turn one. I

play Streamline, then hologram to play

it again, taking him down to 94 health.

Next, we gain strength with Jax. Play

all for one, then beam cell, streamline,

steam barrier, defend, and drink our

block potion to fully mitigate his

multiple stabs. We do take 10 damage

here as 28 is very difficult to

organically defend. Then instead of

taking the win here, I choose to

self-repair and pass for an extra stack

of our incense burner. Our patience was

rewarded with an incredible relic.

Nunchaku. Talk about synergy with all

for one. Not you, emotion chip. We also

get an energy potion and no cards to

note. For the guaranteed relic chest of

the act, we pick up my grandfather's

centennial puzzle. A wellrespected relic

indeed. But just when things were going

well, this question mark event would

prove troublesome with us ambushed by a

trio of cultists. The first couple of

turns I cycle our all for one the best I

can, but their scaling was a problem and

we take 14 damage here. I have to drink

our energy potion to secure the fight

and I wasn't even able to play our

self-repair here. A reminder that this

difficulty is not messing around. The

birds leave behind 14 gold and I pass

again on the cards. Moving forward, we

have a cultist and chosen combo. Not

much to note here. A few turns of

cycling, we take nine damage. managed to

defeat them with relative ease. The

rewards though, 20 gold, an essence of

steel potion, and a hyperbeam. Do we

need it? Maybe not, but it is fun, so I

pick it up. A crackling of wood and

warmth welcome us next, bandaging our

wounds up nicely. Floor 30 had the

transmog fire event in which I transform

our jewel cast into another self-repair.

A great result. Then the final question

mark event which we get ambushed once

again. I start with playing our jacks to

proc our puzzle relic. Then take down

the sentry with streamline. I follow it

up with removing an artifact from the

sphere and smartly hold off on striking

to keep unending chaku stacks. It pays

off with a beautiful combo next

hologramming into streamline making it

zero. Then all for one to bring it back.

We take eight damage in the meantime.

Finally, I choose to delay our victory

by two more turns, bringing up anaku to

nine. Outside of the gold, we get no

rewards to note. Moving into the final

rest site, I don't hesitate in healing

before it was time for the boss of act

two, the collector. Our opening hand was

solid. I play our hyperbeam first, then

thanks to our smart naku management,

hologram to play it again, dealing 90

damage straight off the bat. Turn two,

her minions join the fry. I weaken her

with go for the eyes, defend, steam

barrier, and use our streamline on a

minion, making sure to drink our essence

of steel before we end. Turn three

wasn't looking good. Knowing damage was

coming anyway, I rebound our reprogram

jacks and defeat the middle torch,

taking 19 damage in return. I then make

a massive mistake. Instead of getting

back the streamline to make it zero, I

decide instead to hold on to hyperbeam.

Okay, new hand. I play our beam cell and

FTL. Then barrier hyperbeam rebound our

all for one and get our defense up to a

measly 12. That's not close to being

enough. The big attack, leaving us at

death's door. Another 31 damage was now

incoming. A fairy in a bottle. No, not

yet. I all for one FTL and find go for

the eyes weakening her attack down to

23. Steam barrier gives us five defense.

Equilibrium puts us to 17, saving our

fairy in a bottle. And thanks to our

streamline showing up next, we managed

to hold on another turn for incense and

two extra stacks of nunchaku. Then take

her down. This ascension 20 challenge

was no joke. One small mistake can

literally cost us the run. Here we pick

up 77 gold, a strength potion, and I

decline the additional hyperbeam offer.

For the relics, we get philosopher

stone, runic dome, and coffee dripper.

Extra strength on enemies was not going

to happen. And though go for the eyes

would help with runic dome intentions, I

simply wasn't confident enough to risk

it. So, coffee dripper, did you see your

health just now? Jokes aside, we do have

two self-repairs, so this extra energy

might just end up being a smart idea. As

we move into act three, the beyond.

Checking through the map, one thing we

had to take on was the flaming elite.

Thankfully, the path had a load of

question mark events for our safety.

Giving us a warm reception to the act

was the shapes. We start strong with our

bag marbles in full effect, helping us

take down the explos. We then dance

around with all for one before finishing

them off. They drop 15 gold and another

beam cell gets offered. If we had more

card drop, I would consider it, but our

hand space was too important right now.

The next combat encounter had us face

the Darklings. Our opening hand here was

beautiful. After drinking our strength

potion, I play Streamline into hologram

into Streamline again. Turn two. The

Darklings have 59 damage aimed straight

at us. But thanks to All for One

bringing back our zerocost cards, we

take down the multi-attackers, reducing

the incoming damage to 10. Then although

we could gamble for self-repairs, that

was a little too risky. So we get 19

gold, a gambler's brew, and for the

cards, a yet again decline. A tasty

offering. The first question mark event

of the act has us ambushed again by a

group of shapes. Outside of this

spiker's first attack, we absolutely

demolish them, fully utilizing our

incense banner before taking down the

final shape. Another 11 gold gets

pocketed and for the cards, we get an

upgraded steam barrier. A fantastic

defensive addition to our deck. Coming

off of a couple of strong winds, my

confidence started to grow, which

coincided with the double orb walkers.

Oh boy. Right, this opening hand was not

good. Thankfully, we have a gamblers's

brew, which I drink, keeping the

hyperbeam and discarding the rest. We're

still going to take some damage here.

Well, at the very least, let's deal some

back. I reprogram, then rebound the

Hyperbeam, hitting them for 42 each. We

take 22 in return. Next, we had no

block. Come on, FTL. A defend. Hyperbeam

clears the back one and go for the ice

weakens the one who remained. I then

defend and double self-repair, taking

five damage. Next, we beam cell check

the map and decide to delay another turn

for incense because I was feeling

frisky.

Hologram shows and if it didn't, we

would have lost here. I take a moment to

reconstruct my ego and collect the

rewards. The rare relic we get is thread

and needle. This gives us four-plated

armor every combat. A good relic to have

in our pocket. Moving forward, we begin

to fool. The options of removal here

weren't great. Defend, go for the eyes,

or a self-repair. The fact we couldn't

heal at a rest site had me worried, so I

choose to remove the defend instead. I

then choose the warmth of a rest site

over an elite, upgrading our hologram to

give us consistent options. As we get

closer to the flames of death, a welcome

sensory stone acknowledged our presence.

Cuddless cards had a very high value

with orbs not allowed. For that reason,

I'm in. Noting down the offerings for

the first two selections, I contemplate

our choices on the third. It was tough,

but ultimately I decide on Master of

Strategy for draw, Apotheiois for

upgrades, then purity for reducing the

deck. Three solid cards, but could we

really finish act three off with 44

health? I don't think we can. So, I

couldn't believe the event we were about

to see. The bonfire spirits. I make one

of the smartest decisions in all my

challenge history. I choose to donate

our hyperbeam. This not only gives us a

full heal, but an additional 10 max

health, too. I'll raise a waffle to

that. Next, we had to refuse the

preserved insect for our heart key.

Absolutely destroy this spy growth,

picking up a completely useless potion

before once again we get ambushed this

time by a half-cooked ramen monster.

This fight is dangerous. Like really

dangerous. Not being able to know its

next attack, we would have to play

carefully. With this in mind, I start

with FTL to find equilibrium. Hologram

brings it back, fully defending its

first attack. Next, the triple 9 swing.

Our hand was full of options. Steam

barrier drops our hand size, so Jax can

draw three. Then, beam cell, streamline,

all for one, steam barrier, FTL, and

finally defend. Once again, fully

mitigating the attack. Next, our incense

propped. Then Apotheiois and Reprogram

gave us some luck. A few more turns of

being careful, then a flawless victory

gets awarded to us. The spoils were 15

gold, a colorless potion. And for the

cards, at this point, we really didn't

need any of them, so I pass. Now it was

the moment that I feared the most. The

act three, blaming elite. It's the head.

Phew. This is a good result. I start by

immediately drinking our colorless

potion, foreshadowing our next challenge

video. Ch shows us both rebound and

reprogram. Talk about a perfect turn

one. We then play every card in our

hand, rebounding the reprogram at the

end. Turn two. Apotheiois shows we're

all for one. Wow. I mix them together

with reprogram, then jacks and beams to

finish our turn. The head begins

preparing his attacks. We prepare the

stacks of snail. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 and

nine stacks dealing a total of 201

damage. Then even with his 33 attack,

yeah, we had two holograms, which you

get the idea. All for one cycle purity

explosion, we get 30 gold, two pretty

useless relics, a dex potion, and I

avoid the bait from scrape. With 453

gold, it was the merchant that we would

meet up with next. The offerings were

not the greatest. At first, I remove a

strike and although it's very costly, I

pick up the master of strategy for

options. Then finally, an exchange of

potions with us acquiring the liquid

memories. One final question mark event.

One exchange for a relic that's red. A

recall at the rest site before it was

time. Time for time. Uh time. This

wasn't an ideal boss for our cycling

deck. And this wasn't an ideal opening

hand. At the very least, we upgrade the

deck, taking 14 damage from his weakened

attacks. Turn two, we are gifted

options. I play our jacks first to allow

master of strategy, then get to work

playing eight cards, ending with us

neutralizing his attack. With him

shielding next, we get to catch our

breath with a reprogram, but make a

small mistake with playing strike here.

Next, our instant spider reminded us it

was here to support. I smartly hold off

on FTL considering we have no draw pile.

Bringing back all for one first, then go

for the eyes. All for one. And oh my

cards. Beam cell. Beam cell. Go for the

eyes. Then jacks. Whoops. And

self-repair to finish the turn off.

Enough messing around. 27 damage was

coming our way. But even without a

discard pile, we defend for 10. Rebound

the hollow. Then another 10 defense

completely mitigates the snail strikes.

We defend one more turn. Then with our

18 strength, all for one finishes him

off. Well, next turn. With the slug

defeated, it was the weasel's turn next.

Our red mask weakens his entrance Jax

provides us opportunity. These cultists

need to go down first. I FTL the front

one, draw into reprogram, then all for

one, Jax, and take it down. We then

strike the middle one and play

equilibrium. Turn two. 38 damage is on

its way, but our shield is strong. I

rebound the hologram, reprogram and beam

cell, then block up with two steam

barriers and a defend, fully mitigating

the attack. Apotheiois and another

hologram now show. I send our beam cell

and all for one into the weasel, then

defeat the lone cultist. Master of

strategy draws our reprogram. Two

strikes deal 72 damage. Two self-repairs

remove the bloat. Incense protects us

from the dangerous multiattack. Next,

while Jax continues our scaling growth,

we knock him down with a double

streamline before all the puzzle pieces

finally come together. Beam cell, beam

cell, hologram, all for one. Oh my. Go

for the eyes. FTL, beam cell,

streamline, steam barrier, and again

rebound equilibrium. And on the

following turn, we take this weasel

down.

Oh man, our deck's identity was here. We

just needed to execute it correctly. We

slot in all three keys, then walk

through the door into act four, the

finale. Upgrading was the first port of

call, reducing Apotheiois' cost to one.

Then we give a high five to the

traveling merchant with our final elite

being the shield and the spear. Both bag

of marbles and red mask remove their

artifacts with 39 damage already aimed

at us. I defend cycle the best we can

but still end up taking 17 damage. Two

burns were gifted to us. My master of

strategy for options and with hologram

in hand play out the all for one line

getting back purity to exhaust the

gifts. Our trusty boots continues to

lend a foot. The steam barrier and

master of strategy help to mitigate the

majority of their attack. Incense

protects us next. Then 40 damage shows.

Poiosis adds the whipped cream to our

hot chocolate. And with all of our cards

in the discard pile, it was time for

liquid memories. I bring back all for

one. Jacks, go for the eyes. Beam cell.

Beam cell again. FTL. No. Equilibrium.

Yes. Defend twice and end our turn. Two

unavoidable burns show up. But thanks to

our FTL, so does a streamline. Bye-bye

spear. And well, it becomes pretty

simple after that. Scaling for us. A fun

hologram cycle and a 14 heal from

self-repair finishes the encounter.

Thanks to Blackar, we get two relics

here. Art of war first, which was

unlikely to see value, but pair 10 more

health for the corrupt heart. Yes,

please. We get our liquid memories back

and a card that we actually decide to

add. Reinforced body. With all of our

failed attempts behind us, we could

definitely be proud of how far we've

come. It was now time for the final

boss, the corrupt heart. Our opening

hand was incredible. I see the rebound

streamline and hologram line, but I was

so nervous here and I mess it up. Not

only do I rebound the hologram before I

play the streamline, but I forget about

the beat of the drum procking our

puzzle. We could have cycled the

reprogram. I don't let it phase me.

Rebounding the reprogram to end our

turn. Another chance presented itself.

And thanks to our incense burner, we can

do it. We can scale. I reprogram, then

hologram, then reprogram, then hologram,

then reprogram one more time, bringing

our strength and dexterity up to eight.

Our protection was now gone. 45 damage

was coming our way. I play our steam

barriers first, then go for the eyes

brings the damage down to 30. I consider

my options with liquid memories. And

after removing the slime, I drink it.

Bringing back our awful one. Two more

weak. Two more barriers. Then three

draws and three more. Purity removes the

wound. Void and a strike. We take six

damage and lose our plated armor. Its

buffing turn was next. So was ours.

Apotheiois and vulnerable application. A

single defend now blocks 16, which was

great, but not if we only had one. I

play out damage here, but we lose 27

health. Another bad hand shows with two

status cards. Thankfully, our defend and

equilibrium brought us to 36 block

dropping that to 34, causing us to lose

11 more health. Buffing from the heart

and protection for us allows some damage

to be thrown its way. And even though 49

damage was incoming, our ham was strong.

I FTL lose three health. All for one,

lose three more. Why haven't I played

the reprogram yet? Steam barrier FTL

nonchaku steam barrier now reprogram

beam cell beam cell streamline hologram

steam barrier and defend

nice more buffs for the heart more buffs

and debuffs from us we can do this wait

what 8 * 15 what even is that number the

fairy was procking here there's nothing

we can do about it unless we draw into

pol

for one brings us back the hand go for

the eyes reduces the damage and thanks

to hologram now being here I return the

defend and equilibrium for 69 nice

defense we get brought down to 15 health

but that's okay I defend FTL for 31 beam

cell for 28 and again then with this

streamline we pierce the corrupt heart's

core and take it down

oh man what a challenge thank Thank you

so much for watching my very first

Ascension 20 challenge. Side note,

quickly, you might have seen a treadmill

in the thumbnail, and there'll be a

stream highlight video coming out soon

which explains that. Now, for the

giveaway, I am giving away two more

copies of Slay the Despire 2 for its

release in March. All you need to do is

drop a comment on this video and that's

it. The second copy will be awarded to a

random waffle member as a small thanks

for your support. Both winners will be

announced in October 4th's video. All

that's left to say is remember to, as

always, stay hydrated.

[Music]