Sculpting Strike•Attack

Is Sculpting Strike good in Slay the Spire 2?

Sculpting Strike is a common Necrobinder attack in Slay the Spire 2. In combat it resolves as: Deal 9 damage. Add Ethereal to a card in your Hand. It currently underperforms most alternatives, sitting at D tier in our Slay the Spire 2 card rankings.

Across 134 recorded runs, decks running it win 19.9% of the time, comfortably clear of the 14.0% average, by 5.9%. It’s a more selective pick, turning up in just 1.2% of decks that could run it. Taken in 8.7% of its offers, it still trails on the pick-versus-skip split: 19.6% for runs that took it against 25.1% for runs that left it, a -5.0% pick lift over 112 decided runs. Necrobinder players keep it in 5.8% of their runs, so it’s a familiar sight in those decks. On average it shows up 1.2 times in the decks that take it.

It performs best next to Sleight of Flesh — together they post a +21.5% swing in win rate. It also has strong chemistry with the relic Anchor, which moves its win rate by +26.8%. At 1 energy, it’s upgraded in 25.9% of runs and usually joins the deck around floor 12.

Upgraded, it gains +3 Damage, which is why so many decks invest a rest-site upgrade in it. That’s 26 wins, 105 deaths, and 3 abandoned runs with it in the deck. The encounter that most often ends a run carrying it is Knowledge Demon Boss, which closes out 6.7% of its appearances. Read on for Sculpting Strike’s complete synergy, class, and threat breakdown to decide whether it earns a slot in your Necrobinder run.

Pick or Skip: Sculpting Strike

Out of 1480 recorded offers Sculpting Strike is taken 8.7% of the time, and taking it is worth -5.0% in pick lift — 19.6% for runs that picked it against 25.1% for runs that skipped, across 112 decided runs.

Taken 129 times out of 1480 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 Sculpting Strike

Sculpting Strike is strongest when it joins the deck in Act 2, where runs win 30.6% across 36 runs — one of 3 recorded pickup windows.

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

Best Cards to Pair with Sculpting Strike

Ranked by win-rate lift, Sculpting Strike performs best alongside Sleight of Flesh (+21.5%), Neurosurge (+21.5%), and Pagestorm (+16.9%).

Sleight of Flesh+21.5%20 runsNeurosurge+21.5%21 runsPagestorm+16.9%28 runsDemesne+16.5%23 runsUndeath+14.7%16 runsCleanse+14.6%19 runs

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

Sculpting Strike Win Rate by Class

Sculpting Strike is drafted only by the Necrobinder, where it holds a 20.0% win rate across 128 runs.

The Necrobinderappears in 5.8% of its runs (128 tracked)

Best Relics for Sculpting Strike

Sculpting Strike pairs best with the relics Anchor (+26.8%), Horn Cleat (+20.1%), and Bag of Preparation (+20.1%), ranked by win-rate lift.

Anchor+26.8%21 runsHorn Cleat+20.1%15 runsBag of Preparation+20.1%15 runsPotion Belt+17.9%27 runsWhetstone+17.1%17 runsVenerable Tea Set+13.4%22 runs

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

Sculpting Strike Card Details

Sculpting Strike is a common attack costing 1 energy; it’s upgraded in 25.9% of runs and usually picked up by floor 12.

Deal 9 damage. Add Ethereal to a card in your Hand.

Upgrade: +3 Damage

What Ends Runs with Sculpting Strike

Sculpting Strike’s most common run-enders are Knowledge Demon Boss (6.7%), Decimillipede Elite (5.2%), and Kaiser Crab Boss (4.5%).

• Knowledge Demon Boss6.7% of runs
• Decimillipede Elite5.2% of runs
• Kaiser Crab Boss4.5% of runs
• Infested Prisms Elite3.0% of runs
• Entomancer Elite3.0% of runs

See Also

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