Slay the Spire 2 Defect Card Tier List

S-tier is led by Rolling Boulder, which dominates the meta with a 100.0% win rate on a 0.5% pick rate. They are followed by Slice (66.7%), Apotheosis (66.7%), Mayhem (60.0%), Prolong (54.5%), Fasten (54.5%), Production (54.5%), and Believe in You (50.0%). The remaining 16 cards in this tier average a 43.7% win rate. These cards define the current meta and are the safest, highest-impact picks. In terms of popularity, Echo Form is the crowd favourite here at a 8.1% pick rate, while Rolling Boulder is slept on at just 0.5% — a strong S-tier pick flying under the radar.

B-tier is led by Ice Lance, which struggles with a 36.4% win rate on a 4.6% pick rate. They are followed by Neow's Fury (36.4%), Skim (36.2%), Compact (35.1%), Trash to Treasure (35.0%), Hailstorm (34.6%), Creative AI (34.1%), and Rocket Punch (34.0%). The remaining 16 cards in this tier average a 32.8% win rate. These cards are balanced and fully viable with solid execution. In terms of popularity, Overclock is the crowd favourite here at a 11.5% pick rate, while Know Thy Place is slept on at just 0.5% — a strong B-tier pick flying under the radar.

C-tier is led by Signal Boost, which struggles with a 30.9% win rate on a 8.4% pick rate. They are followed by Buffer (30.8%), Smokestack (30.0%), Subroutine (29.9%), Modded (29.6%), Hologram (29.5%), Synchronize (29.4%), and Exterminate (29.4%). The remaining 24 cards in this tier average a 26.9% win rate. These cards are situational and need favourable matchups or team comps to shine. Despite the low ranking, Capacitor stays popular at a 27.1% pick rate, meaning players overvalue it relative to its C-tier results, while Dark Shackles (1.4%) is more rightly avoided.

D-tier is led by Maul, which struggles with a 25.0% win rate on a 0.9% pick rate. They are followed by Toric Toughness (25.0%), Biased Cognition (25.0%), Stratagem (25.0%), Leap (24.6%), Rainbow (24.3%), Compile Driver (24.1%), and Clumsy (23.9%). The remaining 32 cards in this tier average a 19.8% win rate. These cards underperform against the current meta and take extra effort to win with. Despite the low ranking, Dualcast stays popular at a 95.2% pick rate, meaning players overvalue it relative to its D-tier results, while Biased Cognition (0.7%) is more rightly avoided.

F-tier is led by Beam Cell, which struggles with a 15.4% win rate on a 27.4% pick rate. They are followed by Boot Sequence (15.2%), Tesla Coil (14.9%), Sweeping Beam (14.9%), Zap (14.8%), Gunk Up (14.7%), Defend (14.7%), and Refract (14.3%). The remaining 33 cards in this tier average a 3.8% win rate. These cards are the weakest options this patch and are best avoided in ranked. Despite the low ranking, Zap stays popular at a 98.3% pick rate, meaning players overvalue it relative to its F-tier results, while Catastrophe (0.5%) is more rightly avoided.