Slay the Spire 2 · Strategy
Slay the Spire 2: why zero-cost Clash cannot be played
Clash costs zero Energy, but its play condition still matters: every card in your hand must be an Attack. A Skill left in hand can block it even when you have spare Energy. Inspect the hand before assuming the card or the Energy display is broken.
Reviewed 2026-10-15 · Slay the Spire 2 public card reference; availability and card text may change during development
Read type, not the job a card performs
The STS2 reference lists Clash as an Event Attack with a hand-wide condition. Read each remaining card’s actual type. A useful defensive effect does not stop a card being a Skill, and zero cost does not remove a separate play restriction.
Work through the hand before committing
Illustrative hand: Clash, two other Attacks and one Skill. If you can legally play the Skill, check the remaining hand again afterward. If an unplayable non-Attack remains and you have no way to remove it from hand, spending more Energy on unrelated cards does not solve the condition.
Compare damage with the whole turn
Before clearing the last non-Attack, check the enemy intent and what that card would do. Enabling one attack is not automatically worth giving up a necessary defensive action. After any draw or hand-changing effect, inspect again instead of relying on the hand you saw earlier.
When your plan breaks
| What happens | What to change |
|---|---|
| Clash is disabled despite spare Energy | Inspect the types of all cards still in hand. |
| The hand was valid before a draw | Recheck the cards added afterward. |
| You enabled Clash but took an avoidable hit | Plan defense and the hand condition together before committing. |
Quick answers
Is this the Slay the Spire 1 card pool?
No. The linked reference is for STS2; this guide makes no ordinary Ironclad reward-pool claim.
Does zero cost mean unrestricted play?
No. The written hand condition still applies.
Sources & version notes
Reviewed against the STS2 fan reference’s displayed card data. The example is illustrative; no seed, relic combination or damage benchmark was played.
- Slay the Spire 2 reference — Clash ↗
Displayed STS2 card type, cost and every-card-in-hand Attack requirement.