11 March 2026

Best Silent Cards & Builds

By newsgame

The Silent in Slay the Spire 2 is the ultimate combo-maker, with plenty of opportunities to draw extra cards and capitalize on low-cost attacks to whittle down opponents before they have a chance to react. Or, she can utilize her deadly poisons to choke enemies from afar, shedding their health away while ignoring shields. She’s the Rogue archetype of the bunch and, in this Slay the Spire 2 guide, we’ll go over The Silent’s best cards and builds and why they work together.

slay-the-spire-2-tips-tricks-beginners-feature-2

Slay the Spire 2: Tips and Tricks for Beginners

Become a master of the Spire with these helpful suggestions.

Best Cards and Builds for The Silent in Slay the Spire 2

Sly/Discard Build

Sly is a brand-new mechanic introduced in Slay the Spire 2 which causes cards to be played when they’re discarded. As the Silent is a master of both card draw and discarding, Sly cards work perfectly in her favor. You’ll want to search for cards, Relics, and potions which help you draw more cards or discard your hand, which in turn can set you up for effective combos for little to no energy cost.

Card	Type/Cost	Effect
Dagger Throw	Attack – 1	Deal 9 damage. Draw 1 card. Discard 1 card.
Backflip	Skill – 1	Gain 5 Block. Draw 2 cards.
Prepared	Skill – 0	Draw 1 card. Discard 1 card.
Acrobatics	Skill – 1	Draw 3 cards. Discard 1 card.
Memento Mori	Attack – 1	Deal 8 damage. Deals 4 additional damage for each card discarded this turn.
Strangle	Attack – 1	Deal 8 damage. Whenever you play a card this turn, the enemy loses 2 HP.
Calculated Gamble	Skill – 0	Discard your Hand, then draw that many cards. Exhaust.
Escape Plan	Skill – 0	Draw 1 card. If you draw a Skill, gain 3 Block.
Expertise	Skill – 1	Draw cards until your have 6 in your Hand.
Hand Trick	Skill – 1	Gain 7 Block. Add Sly to a Skill in your Hand this turn.
Shadow Step	Skill – 1	Discard your Hand. Next turn, Attacks deal double damage.
Tools of the Trade	Power – 1	At the start of your turn, draw 1 card and discard 1 card.
Flick-Flack	Attack – 1	Sly. Deal 7 damage to ALL enemies.
Untouchable	Skill – 2	Sly. Gain 9 Block.
Reflex	Skill – 3	Sly. Draw 2 cards.
Tactician	Skill – 3	Sly. Gain (1 Energy).
Abrasive	Power – 3	Sly. Gain 1 Dexterity. Gain 4 Thorns.

Poison Build

Poisons are unique to The Silent, offering an alternate method of disposing of your opposition. When using poisons, enemies take damage at the end of your turn equal to the amount of poison stacks they have, completely ignoring Block and any debuffs like Weakness that may be on the Silent. While it may take time to ramp up the damage, poisons offer the Silent plenty of opportunity to stack up on Block while still doing damage to her enemies.

Card	Type/Cost	Effect
Poisoned Stab	Attack – 1	Deal 6 damage. Apply 3 Poison.
Deflect	Skill – 0	Gain 4 Block.
Prepared	Skill – 0	Draw 1 card. Discard 1 card.
Deadly Poison	Skill – 1	Apply 5 Poison.
Snakebite	Skill – 2	Retain. Apply 7 Poison.
Calculated Gamble	Skill – 0	Discard your Hand, then draw that many cards. Exhaust.
Expose	Skill – 0	Remove all Artifact and Block from the enemy. Apply 2 Vulnerable. Exhaust.
Bubble Bubble	Skill – 1	If the enemy has Poison, apply 9 Poison.
Mirage	Skill – 1	Gain Block equal to Poison on ALL enemies. Exhaust.
Bouncing Flask	Skill – 2	Apply 3 Poison to a random enemy 3 times.
Haze	Skill – 3	Sly. Apply 4 Poison to ALL enemies.
Noxious Fumes	Power – 1	At the start of your turn, apply 2 Poison to ALL enemies.
Outbreak	Power – 1	Every 3 times you apply Poison, deal 11 damage to ALL enemies.
Corrosive Wave	Skill – 1	Whenever you draw a card this turn, apply 3 Poison to ALL enemies.
Accelerant	Power – 1	Poison is triggered 1 additional time.
Envenom	Power – 2	Whenever an Attack deals unblocked damage, apply 1 Poison.

Shiv Build

Shivs are the Silent’s bread and butter, allowing her to send a barrage of low-damage attacks toward her enemies for very little energy cost. While Shivs only deal 4 damage normally, each individual Shiv is free to play, only requiring that you pay the energy cost to play the cards which add them to your hand. On their own, their damage is low – but play several in succession, and the damage starts to stack up. Couple a Shiv build with certain combo cards, and the Silent has the potential for insane damage output.

Card	Type/Cost	Effect
Slice	Attack – 0	Deal 6 damage.
Dagger Throw	Attack – 1	Deal 9 damage. Draw 1 card. Discard 1 card.
Leading Strike	Attack – 1	Deal 7 damage. Add 1 Shiv into your Hand.
Prepared	Skill – 0	Draw 1 card. Discard 1 card.
Blade Dance	Skill – 1	Add 3 Shivs into your Hand. Exhaust.
Cloak and Dagger	Skill – 1	Gain 6 Block. Add 1 Shiv into your Hand.
Backstab	Attack – 0	Innate. Deal 11 damage. Exhaust.
Finisher	Attack – 1	Deal 6 damage for each Attack already played this turn.
Flechettes	Attack – 1	Deal 5 damage for each Skill in your Hand.
Strangle	Attack – 1	Deal 8 damage. Whenever you play a card this turn, the enemy loses 2 HP.
Calculated Gamble	Skill – 0	Discard your Hand, then draw that many cards. Exhaust.
Up My Sleeve	Skill – 2	Add 3 Shivs into your Hand. Reduce this card’s cost by 1.
Accuracy	Power – 1	Shivs deal 4 additional damage.
Infinite Blades	Power – 1	At the start of your turn, add 1 Shiv into your Hand.
Assassinate	Attack – 0	Innate. Deal 10 damage. Apply 1 Vulnerable. Exhaust.
Echoing Slash	Attack – 1	Deal 10 damage to ALL enemies. Repeat this effect for each enemy killed.
Burst	Skill – 1	This turn, your next Skill is played an extra time.
Shadow Step	Skill – 1	Discard your Hand. Next turn, Attacks deal double damage.
Storm of Steel	Skill – 1	Discard your Hand. Add 1 Shiv into your Hand for each card discarded.
Knife Trap	Skill – 2	Play every Shiv in your Exhaust Pile on the enemy.
Afterimage	Power – 1	Whenever you play a card, gain 1 Block.
Fan of Knives	Power – 2	Shivs now hit ALL enemies. Add 4 Shivs into your Hand.
Tracking	Power – 2	Weak enemies take double damage from Attacks.
Serpent Form	Power – 3	Whenever you play a card, deal 4 damage to a random enemy.
Suppress	Attack – 0	Innate. Deal 11 damage. Apply 3 Weak.

Best Relics to Use with Silent in Slay the Spire 2

You can’t always choose the Relics you obtain in a run. When you can, though, it’s best to utilize the Silent’s low-cost cards and chaining potential to your advantage. As such, some of the best Relics you can use with the Silent provide bonuses when multiple cards of the same type are played within a turn.

Bag of Preparation: At the start of combat, draw 2 additional cards.
Kusarigama: Every time you play 3 Attacks in a single turn, deal 6 damage to a random enemy.
Letter Opener: Every time you play 3 Skills in a single turn, deal 5 damage to ALL enemies.
Nunchaku: Every time you play 10 Attacks, gain (1 Energy).
Ornamental Fan: Every time you play 3 Attacks in a single turn, gain 4 Block.
Pen Nib: Every 10th Attack you play deals double damage.
Tingsha: Whenever you discard a card during your turn, deal 3 damage to a random enemy for each card discarded.
Kunai: Every time you play 3 Attacks in a single turn, gain 1 Dexterity.
Shuriken: Every time you play 3 Attacks in a single turn, gain 1 Strength.

Despite her lower max HP, the Silent is incredibly capable of dishing out massive damage to her foes using endless chains and debilitating poisons. She’s a wonderful addition to any Slay the Spire 2 multiplayer co-op team as well. If you’re new to the roguelike deckbuilding genre, the Silent is easily one of the best characters to start with in Slay the Spire 2.