Focused Strike Attack

Is Focused Strike good in Slay the Spire 2?

Focused Strike is a common Defect attack in Slay the Spire 2. In combat it resolves as: Deal 9 damage. Gain 1 Focus this turn. It currently underperforms most alternatives, sitting at D tier in our Slay the Spire 2 card rankings.

Across 538 recorded runs, decks running it win 15.8% of the time, comfortably clear of the 13.8% average, by 1.9%. It’s a more selective pick, turning up in just 2.6% of decks that could run it. Offer data is close to a wash — 12.8% of offers taken, 15.2% for runs that picked it against 15.6% for runs that skipped, a pick lift of just -0.4% over 448 decided runs. Defect players keep it in 11.7% of their runs, so it’s a familiar sight in those decks. On average it shows up 1.3 times in the decks that take it.

It performs best next to Machine Learning — together they post a +18.0% swing in win rate. It also has strong chemistry with the relic Cloak Clasp, which moves its win rate by +26.5%. At 1 energy, it’s upgraded in 31.2% of runs and usually joins the deck around floor 12.

Upgraded, it gains +2 Damage, which is why so many decks invest a rest-site upgrade in it. That’s 84 wins, 449 deaths, and 5 abandoned runs with it in the deck. The encounter that most often ends a run carrying it is Kaiser Crab Boss, which closes out 7.2% of its appearances. Read on for Focused Strike’s complete synergy, class, and threat breakdown to decide whether it earns a slot in your Defect run.

Pick or Skip: Focused Strike

Out of 4205 recorded offers Focused Strike is taken 12.8% of the time, and taking it is worth -0.4% in pick lift — 15.2% for runs that picked it against 15.6% for runs that skipped, across 448 decided runs.

Taken 540 times out of 4205 offers.

Pick rate when offered counts offers, not runs: out of every time the game put this in front of a player, how often it was taken. It is not the same number as the share of runs that end up containing it.

Pick lift is the sample-adjusted gap between runs that took the option and runs that passed on it. It is the fair way to rank choices, because raw win rates put the smallest samples on top.

When to Pick Up Focused Strike

Focused Strike is strongest when it joins the deck in Act 3, where runs win 50.0% across 40 runs — one of 4 recorded pickup windows.

Win rate of runs by the act Focused Strike entered the deck. Acts that have not reached the sample floor show their run count only.

Best Cards to Pair with Focused Strike

Ranked by win-rate lift, Focused Strike performs best alongside Machine Learning (+18.0%), Genetic Algorithm (+17.4%), and Energy Surge (+16.6%).

Machine Learning+18.0%49 runsGenetic Algorithm+17.4%47 runsEnergy Surge+16.6%32 runsMad Science+16.6%32 runsCreative AI+14.0%39 runsSupercritical+13.8%64 runs

Based on small co-occurring samples — treat these as early signals, not final verdicts.

Focused Strike Win Rate by Class

Focused Strike is drafted only by the Defect, where it holds a 15.8% win rate across 536 runs.

The Defectappears in 11.7% of its runs (536 tracked)

Best Relics for Focused Strike

Focused Strike pairs best with the relics Cloak Clasp (+26.5%), Prayer Wheel (+23.4%), and Data Disk (+22.1%), ranked by win-rate lift.

Cloak Clasp+26.5%16 runsPrayer Wheel+23.4%18 runsData Disk+22.1%48 runsUnsettling Lamp+22.0%18 runsKunai+21.1%17 runsMiniature Tent+20.2%25 runs

Based on small co-occurring samples — treat these as early signals, not final verdicts.

Focused Strike Card Details

Focused Strike is a common attack costing 1 energy; it’s upgraded in 31.2% of runs and usually picked up by floor 12.

Deal 9 damage. Gain 1 Focus this turn.

Upgrade: +2 Damage

What Ends Runs with Focused Strike

Focused Strike’s most common run-enders are Kaiser Crab Boss (7.2%), Queen Boss (5.8%), and Knowledge Demon Boss (5.6%).

• Kaiser Crab Boss7.2% of runs
• Queen Boss5.8% of runs
• Knowledge Demon Boss5.6% of runs
• The Insatiable Boss5.6% of runs
• Test Subject Boss4.6% of runs

See Also

Compare Focused Strike with the rest of the best Slay the Spire 2 cards, relics, and classes below.