Can you beat Slay the Spire while in

Wrath stance? Greetings, gentlemen and

ladies. Welcome to the new year. Today,

the Watcher doubles down on the

spotlight in a community challenge that

has well over 50 attempts. The rules are

simple. We can only play cards once

we're in Wrath Stance. That means the

first card we play must be one of these

four cards. And once we're in wrath

form, we can't leave it. No science

dancing today. Now, you might be asking

yourself, how is this even possible?

With the corrupt heart doing double

damage, won't we just die to its 120

attack? Wait, did you just say 100? With

16 concluding, wishful and uncommon

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. This week's video will have

references to every challenge I've

uploaded in 2025. See if you can spot

them all. Let's do this, guys. Today we

are presented with four choices.

Transform a card. Enemies in the next

three combats have one HP, two card

removals, or exchanging our relic with a

random boss one. I check the map. No

free boss this time around, but there

did show possibility for a free flaming

elite. And with how important a strong

start was in this challenge, once again,

look to lament. Greeting us to the

challenge was a couple of louses. Uh-oh.

We can't play any cards until we're in

Wrath form. So, we lose 12 health before

we can take them down. We get 13 gold.

And for the cards, Crescendo was a very

nice card to see so early in the run. We

then get welcomed into the first

merchants's domain. I expand his rug.

There weren't many good options here,

but a card removal on our vigilance

still left me a happy customer. Lament

fight number two was up next. And

because we had wrathful cards, the

jawworm simply leaves behind his spoils.

13 gold, a stunt potion. And for the

cards out of these options, there was

nothing here that I wanted to add. Our

first question mark encounter was the

scrap ooze event. I hadn't had the

greatest experience with this one so

far, but after a little health, we get

the relic teardrop locket. This starts

us off in calm every combat. And though

we couldn't play cards until entering

Wrath, we get a solid burst of energy

when we do. Talking of relics, our next

question mark event has us ambushed by

the legendary cow, Akabco.

Moving along, our final charge of Meow's

Lament was still intact for the Flaming

Elite. the Gremlin knob. He goes down

without issue. We get 28 gold, the mango

relic, and with only flying cives being

available for us here, I decline them

all. From strength to strength, floor 7

had the face trader event. It's one of

the few events that I let you guys have

complete control, and I'm glad you did.

We got the serpent head, giving us 50

gold every time we enter a question mark

room. Though, not the mask they were

hoping for, to be clear. Now for a few

combats, an area in which the watcher

does particularly well in for the early

acts. A cultist first crescendo and two

strikes bring him down to 12. He then

buffs for a future turn, but that will

never arrive. We get 16 gold and a

consideration protect. We had found this

to be a strong defensive card in

previous attempts. If it was upgraded,

I'd take it, but for now, I decide to

pass. The guaranteed relic chest of the

act was next. A legendary chest. It held

inside the toxic egg. Let's go. We then

had ourselves a couple of battles. I say

battles, but with how little health act

one enemies have, both these mushrooms

and this cultist and louse stood no

chance at all. I pick up their gold,

decline their ambrosia potions, though

we could have used them before entering

wrath for extra damage. Oops. And for

their cards, I say no to the shrooms,

but yes to the now upgraded protect. It

was now time for our first real fight

against the centuries. Our opening hand

was strong. I take aim at the front

floaty thing. Then eruption [music]

strike. Strike it down. One defend was

all that was left for us before they

deal 13 damage. Turn two. We only have

one strike. I send it into the middle

sentry. Then protect us to bring their

18 swing down to two. Our early

aggression pays off with three strikes

taking the middle one down. We take

eight damage next and finish the final

one off shortly after. They leave us

behind 32 gold, the Gremlin Horn Relic,

which is incredibly strong for

encounters that have multiple enemies.

And for the guards, an important pickup,

crush joints. Being able to apply both

vulnerable and weak in this challenge,

it's going to be of paramount

importance. Another question mark

encounter next means another 50 gold for

us. Two upgrades for a little bit of

health. It hits both our defend and

newly acquired crush joints. Very nice.

The final merchant of the act greets us

and our serpent head with open arms.

There were some tasty offers here.

Signature move for damage. Swivel for

defense. Heck, even the prismatic shard

was of consideration here. The sashwe

was obviously coming with us for its

weak application. But what wasn't so

obvious was the choice that I made next.

I buy the meal ticket. With us naturally

navigating towards merchants, plus the

volatility in our health, a 15 HP

recovery could come in handy. I also

pick up a block potion on the way out.

The final rest site was now here. We

heal up to 47 health. Well, it was time

for the boss of act one, the guardian.

We get a strong opening hand. Crescendo

gets us into wrath form. Crush joints

and aabekco puts him into defense mode.

Uh, Sash Whip does four. Turn two, we

can only protect and strike, taking five

ourselves. But with 32 damage now

shoving, this wasn't looking good. I

decided to save our block potion for

later. Playing out all of our defense,

we get blessed with a strong hand next,

giving us just enough damage to delay

that 40 swing. More defending turns for

us, more attacking turns for him. Now

only six health remains, but thanks to

our vulnerable application, two strikes

and a sash whip were just enough to keep

our head above water. I then sashwip

carefully defend the thorns before

striking. And with three health

remaining, we just take him down.

That was close. We really needed to find

some defense and find it soon.

Reward-wise, we get 95 gold. And for the

cards, lesson learned was a very nice

sight to see. Having access to upgrades

will allow us to fully utilize rest

sites for their appealing nature. Now

for the relics, Velvet Choker, Blackar,

or Sacred Bark. All paths here had valid

consideration cuz we aren't stunt

dancing. Velvet Choker adding additional

energy is a solid choice here. Sacred

Bark offers double potion effects and

Black Star offers death. with how potent

potions could be in the fights to come.

Once again, decide to call on an old

friend. Come on, Buck. Let's go on an

adventure into act two city. Assessing

the map, I wanted to find a route that

maximized rest sites and merchants for

healing was my top priority here.

Greeting us to the act was the shelled

parasite. Eruption in our opening hand

lets us [music] get started. I play our

sash whip for weak application, then

defend twice to partially mitigate his

first attack. A crush joints shows up

next, and with vulnerable now active, we

have the ability to defeat him. Or we

could wait a couple of turns to play our

lesson learned. The greed takes over. We

lose four health here, then another 11

here. Whether or not it was worth it,

I'll let you guys decide. We get 15

gold, and once again, no good card

choices. Sporadic Seduction then takes a

hold with the cursed tome event. At

least two of the three books here are

solid. So I read losing one health, two

3 10. We get Necronomicon.

We might not have any expensive attacks

right now. And I didn't exactly love the

curse, but we will surely pick up at

least one wallup this run. Surely. The

merchant opens his doors for us next. If

only. There were solid cards here. Sands

of time for damage, cut through fate for

scry, an upgraded panic button. Just

remember, every card we add reduces our

ability to enter wrath in the opening

turn. So I settle with embracing my

inner Susan, taking the sands of time.

Back to battles against a flock of

birds. Crescendo and striking twice

allow us to get started. We take five

damage in return. Turn two. 46 damage

was now showing, but our hand was

strong. Double lesson learned. removes

the front one. Sash whip, crush joints,

and strike knock the middle one down. We

finish him off next. Protect and defend

against the 26 attack. Then our sands of

time finishes the fight. We get 15 gold,

an attack potion, and for the cards, I

decline them all, keeping close eye on

the size of our deck. A warm meal heals

us 15 at the following merchant. And

though I didn't expect us to be able to

afford much here, an upgraded crescendo

was a welcome sight to see. With very

little gold now remaining, we could just

give it to this group of masked bandits.

But they have low health and we have

high damage, so we fight. Our opening

hand was graced by Olympus herself.

Crescendo gets us into Wrath. The

legendary cow assists striking Pointy

Down. Then, thanks to our gremlin horn

drawing sands of time, take bear down,

too. The following turn has a cool

interaction. Regardless if it's the

original copy or the necro version,

taking an enemy down with either lesson

learned will still apply its upgrade.

This time, it was our eruption. We get

31 gold. The red mask relic and no cards

that I wanted to add. Our deck was

finding good synergies. Just look at

this turn one against Neko. The problem

we had was our defense. We can't beat

act three bosses in our current state,

nor could we even contemplate the heart.

Sneeko upgrades our sashwip's weak

application, but leaves us no further

reward. We then give a defend to a

beggar, pick up the sapphire key, reject

the innate curse from the mucaleum, and

because we were healthy, upgrade our

sands of time before we get ambushed by

a legendary chest. Stone calendar. A

fantastic relic, though. Us living seven

turns into a combat without being able

to leave Wrath form will be few and far

between. Now, it was time for the

Centurion and his um chiropractor. Our

opening hand wasn't strong. With no way

of entering Wrath, we have to pass.

Taking nine damage as consequence. Turn

two. We were back in business. I

crescendo eruption. Then decide to drink

our attack potion, finding not just one

but two bowling bashes. I use them both,

taking down the knight. We then wait and

defend the next couple of turns before

our lesson learned gets the final blow.

For the rewards, we get 18 gold and a

potion that will become this story's

unsuspecting hero. One fight remains

before the boss. It was the chosen and

the cultist. A crescendo strike down the

cultist. Gremlin Horn then finds us a

defense for the chosen deals six. Turn

two. I hold off on our sands of time

instead striking to look for upgrade.

Next, I apply weak with sashwip protect

for full defense and debuff her with our

crush joints. But with 40 damage now

showing, not even I was that greedy. I

play our sand of time before we get

rewarded with one of the greatest

potions that we could have asked for. A

fairy in a bottle. I have died so many

times to the automaton's hyperbeam, so

this was a very pleasant sight to see. I

also add the bowling bash offering as it

proved quite potent against the

centurion. Walking into the final rest

site, I knew this was going to be tough.

We recuperate our health once again.

Thought it was time for the boss of act

two, the automaton. Crescendo enables

our start. Strike and sashwip take off

an artifact. The minions arrive. I check

the draw pile. Identify that our sand

will be taken by the front minion, so

split the damage, sending our bowling

bash to the boss and our strikes to the

orb. The block potion keeps us healthy.

Turn three. We managed to draw just

enough damage to get it back. Our

gremlin horn then procs, which I follow

with a strike and defend. Take eight

further damage. Time was ticking. 40

damage now showed. I continue our line

of aggression. That hyperbeam was no

joke. Necronomicon doubles our sands of

time to deal over 100 damage. Miracle

then adds our crush joints for 20. They

respond in kind. Get brought down to 28

health. But we aren't stopping here. I

bowling bash the boss then strike.

Strike. The 102 hyperbeam was now here,

but so were we. And with only 12 health

remaining, I play out our sands of time

to take him down. Now that felt good.

The aggressive line paid off and it

saved our fairy. I was feeling on top of

the world. I was feeling

for the rewards. We get 98 gold, a

strength potion, and no cards that we

should consider. But with a mixture of

greed, and blind confidence having now

taken hold, I couldn't stop myself

taking the wish. It's not like this card

will single-handedly stop us entering

wrath form in multiple act three

combats. Right. Moving on the relics. We

get Violet Lotus, Slaver's Collar, or

Holy Water. We weren't going back into

calm, so that's a no to lotus. Holy

water was good for a more controlled

burst of energy. Or Slaver's Collar. The

consistency it would bring to bosses,

not to mention act four had me

convinced. Come on, Color. Let's bring

this one home. As we enter act three,

the beyond. This was where many runs had

fallen previously, and with a severe

lack of defense, my goal was all but the

same, finding safe passage through these

treacherous lands. As our downfall began

with a trio of darklings, there wasn't a

way to enter Wrath in our opening turn,

nor was there one for our second. Yeah,

we're really taking 44 damage here. At

the very least, our turn three was

solid. Sands of Time removes the front

blob. Bowling Bash and Strike remove the

back one. Eruption takes a chunk off the

final gloop for our lesson learned.

Finishes it off. For the rewards, we get

16 gold. And I choose to skip on both

potion and card offering. We then make a

quick stop by the purifier next. This

allows us to strike a card from our deck

before we get challenged by a single orb

walker. And as if a mirror to the fight

just before, we managed to take this

Orbee boy out on our opening turn. Only

12 gold was left for us. I didn't value

the thorns exchange, nor any of these

card offerings. Talking of things I

didn't want, madness befell us in the

winding hallways, causing us to lose

four max health. We then get challenged

by one of the worst enemies we could

have asked for, the transient. A

rattless start again. No, we can't. I

consume the strength potion, then drink

our entropic and holy smackaroni in the

pepperoni, a fire potion and a stunt

potion. I don't hesitate in entering

wrath form. Then with our four strength

now present, we defend every single and

this one attack. Man, that felt good. A

swivel did show itself in the car

rewards here, but with our necro being

paramount to victory, I decide to leave

it behind. What I don't leave behind is

the red key. Was this rest site the best

place to get it? No. No, it wasn't. But

for me, it was definitely the right one.

Now, it was time to enter the first of

three merchants. We take the heal. And

though we have a lot of gold, it's

important to not get carried away here.

There were a few solid offerings.

Tantrum, anchor, a card removal.

Ultimately, I choose to buy only the

tantrum and remove a defense from our

deck. The next battle has us face the

shapes. Multiple enemies are a lovely

sight to see. Our aabeco tantrum combo

deals 33 damage. Lesson learned then

upgrades itself, which gives us money.

And thanks to these shapes having very

little health. Double sand of time was

enough to finish them off. After picking

up the 12 gold, I looking back make a

small misplay. I decide to pick up

another tantrum. It should have been the

crescendo here. Getting into Wrath is

one thing, but having our draw pile

consistently blocked by two cards, that

wasn't. The guaranteed relic chest was

up next, awarding us the strike dummy.

Cool. Back to the merchant with 556

gold. This time, his offerings were much

more appealing. I look to the on sale

Ragnarok. It wasn't a smart choice by

any means, but it was one that could be

fun. I then pick up my grandfather's

Millennium Puzzle for draw power,

leaving behind both the duplication

potion and card removal. You have this

comment to thank for what's about to

happen.

It was now time to jewel. I start by

playing our tantrum, putting us in

attack mode. Then I send our miracle to

the graveyard to play both our crush

joints and call upon Sliper, the

executive producer, taking his life

points down to 97. I then choose to hold

back to proc our pot of greed. This lets

me draw three cards in exchange for 10

health, which grants us gold. Then time

wizard sends him back to the beginning

of time. We get 13 gold, a skill potion,

and and [clears throat] I uh I skip the

cards. Moving on, we enter the last of

the three merchants. Still not a single

walop. At the very least, dark shackles

would aid us in our defensive venture,

as would this wheat potion, which by

exchange for one of ours. Keeping the

rest of our money for act 4, I

cautiously move forward into further

battles. The Darklings Return. Oh, how

different this time would be. Eruption

gets us into Wrath form. Then Ragnarok

plays two times. Wow. Gremlin procs for

strike, then again for our lesson

learned, which didn't proc twice.

Whoops. I say face with wishes gold,

then miracle to strike victorious. And

though we didn't get an upgrade, we did

get a flex potion. Just think about the

Ragnarok. I pick it up, pass the cards,

and move on to our final enemy, the

half-cooked ramen monster. No wrath in

our opening hand again. 15 damage gets

sent into us. We get a three draw from

our puzzle. Then it was our turn to

attack. Crescendo into Sands of Time

takes it down to 43 health. We then

apply our weak and because I didn't want

to risk a curse, protect and lose six.

Lesson learned shows up next and gets

our Ragnarok fully upgraded. We get 20

gold and I say no to both the potion and

card rewards. The final rest site was

now here. I was nervous. With us having

such little block, can we really survive

against the time eater? Now fully

rested, it was time to find out. This

wasn't a good opening hand. And this

wasn't how we start this blast. Let's

try that again. It was now time. Time

for time. Time. This still wasn't a good

opening hand. And this means we have to

pass. The snail shields himself for 20.

We get debuffed with the bad stuff. Turn

two. Things weren't improving. I play

our weak potion. Crescendo into wrath

form. Then tantrum to deal 64. Protect

and defend provide us weak protection

while I exhaust our lesson learned from

the deck. We take 24. On the next turn,

I make a very interesting decision. He

could play out all of our attacks here

and proc his clock, but I don't decide

to do that. I sashwip and pass. This was

not a good decision. We have no defense

in this hand, and he shows 58. Even with

us playing the best we can, it wasn't

enough. The high pressure of us getting

this far was causing the cracks to show.

Thankfully, 66 damage was a very easy

number for us to achieve with our wish

providing us the strength to take him

down. One small mistake really does

spell out the end for us here. But as it

stands, even if we play perfectly

against the hearts, we currently held no

combination of cards that would win. Is

this it? Act four, the finale. One

upgrade, one merchant, one elite. We

need a walop. But first, upgrade. Well,

that was a easy choice. Okay, now walop,

please. I had never been so disappointed

by a merchant in my entire life. Prey,

foresight, magnetism. The faint glimpse

of hope began to fade. But I wasn't

ready to give up. Not yet. I pick up

every single potion. I even pick up the

blind. Then with our heads held up high,

I charge us into the final elite, the

shield and spear. No wrath on turn one.

No problem. We may lose over a third of

our health. We may get gifted two burns,

but my mind was open as this would

probably be our last fight. I enter a

flow state and from this hand I find

lethal. Tantrum enters us into wrath.

Miracle allows us to play our wish for

strength. Then we watch a lightning

strike down from the heavens. There was

nothing more satisfying. Our trusty

gremlin horn then procs and thanks to

our strike dummy, we had exactly perfect

damage to take them down. For the

rewards, we get the oddly smooth stone

and a fear potion. But who was I

kidding? I knew this was the end. That

was until the final card reward.

Dude,

this single card gives us a slither of a

survivor's chance. And as you know,

that's all we need. With Walop in hand,

it was now time for the final boss of

the spire, the corrupt heart. We have to

play this perfectly. Not even a small

mistake can be allowed. A solid opening

hand presents itself. Crescendo gets us

into wrath form. The beat of the drum

draws us three. I get our vulnerable

potion online, then get us started

together. Tantrum and our cow deal 132

damage. I then defend. Strike and

sashwip to continue the week. Eruption

and strike finish our incredible opening

turn. But now was the hearts. Days,

slime, wound, burn, and void all get

added to the deck. Turn two. Not good

news. We draw the walop. This was our

answer to its 120 attack. It was over.

No, not yet. We just need to deal 489

damage in 1 and 1/2 turns. Right.

Ragnarok deals nine damage per hit. 13

with vulnerable. And if we necro, it

hits 12 times. Okay, let's include the

flex potion accounting for wrath,

vulnerable, and weak. This makes

Ragnarok deal 36 damage per hit. Uh 36 *

6, uh 216. Walop now deals 50 * 2,

that's 316. We can still hit the damage

cap and get fully defended. The beats of

the drum come flying at us, but it was

now or never.

dude, we did it.

[music]

Yes,

we did it, dude. Oh my god.

Oh my god.

Let's go.

Thank you so much for watching the

video. I can't believe we got this one.

I mean, come on. Wall up as the final

card reward. You can't script this. And

if you think this month's video was

crazy, there is an incredible one coming

next. Now, the giveaway results. Over

the Christmas streams, I gave away three

copies of Slay the Spire 2. I also had a

random number generator choose a comment

in the last video. It is an absolute

honor to award this month's copy to Mew.

Well done, MW. You truly deserve it. I

also want to say a special thank you to

everyone who is supporting me on

Patreon. Broccoli emoji, Dr. Mew, Bill,

Datish, Roju, Lee's Waffle, Maths,

Splashed, Pokémon trainer, Mike, Mom,

and Dad. Thank you all from the bottom

of my heart. With the weather only

getting colder, remember to keep

yourselves warm. And as always, stay

hydrated.