Roguelike games are not for the faint of heart, especially Slay the Spire. In this game, you need to use all your skills to win, especially when playing as the Watcher, which is one of the most difficult characters in the game.
Watcher is the fourth and last of all available characters in Slay the Spire, which was added after the release. Watcher is a monk who uses 3 stances (Wrath, Calm, Divinity) during battle and has several unique mechanics. At the first level of Ascension, Watcher starts the run with 72 HP and a deck of 10 cards.
It's not an easy task to use all her stances in combat correctly. Frankly speaking, I haven't gotten through all 20 Ascension levels on Watcher yet (now I'm at level 18). However, I've played over 50 runs on it already and tested lots of interesting strategies.
Therefore, in this guide, I will tell about the most successful and strongest builds for Watcher, the strategy of playing on it, the best cards, and relics.
Strategy to Play on the Watcher
Playing Watcher is mostly based on changing stances, as well as long term planning. She is very powerful in combat, but only if you have a properly balanced deck.
Watcher's main weapon is a Wrath stance, in which she does double damage. However, she also takes double damage from enemies. Before going into Wrath, it's always worth to plan your turn and calculate your damage output to make sure you can take down all enemies that plan to attack. If not, make sure that you can switch Watcher to calm at the end of the round. Otherwise, it's better not to go into Wrath at all, but to defend yourself.
Watcher also has a strong Scry mechanic that allows you to plan your next turn or even several. I highly suggest to pick up a few cards with the Scry effect. It will allow you to understand what cards you will get in the next turn, and discard unnecessary ones, as well as unplayable statuses.
Moreover, use cards with Retain mechanics such as Tranquility, Crescendo, Windmill Strike, or Protect (preferably improved versions) as a safety net. This will allow you to change your stance, deal damage, or defend yourself in situations where the game has not given you the best cards.
I should also mention that most Watcher strategies are based on a small number of cards in the deck, so don't overdo it by adding new cards.
How To Build a Deck on Watcher
The basic principle of creating strong decks in Slay the Spire is to work with what the game gives you. Watcher is no exception in this regard. She has too many different mechanics and potential strategies to focus on any one thing.
During the first act, take all of the strongest and most versatile cards for Watcher that the game gives you. These can be either attack cards, defense cards, or for changing stances. Starting from the second act, you can build a specific build based on the existing cards and discard unnecessary cards.
It is important not to accumulate too many unnecessary cards. Do not be afraid to skip adding a new card, if you did not fit any of them. Furthermore, don't forget to remove unnecessary cards from the deck in the store or at question marks. The fewer cards you have - the more often the strongest cards will come into your hand.
Stance Changing Build
Stance Changing is the most classic build for Watcher. It is not difficult to build and easy to implement. This build implies that Watcher is always in control between Calm and Wrath, which allows her to deal a lot of damage, as well as to defend herself in time. The main point is to collect enough cards to switch stances so that you don't take too much damage from enemies, while still can kill them as quickly as possible.
In general, it looks like this: you start your turn in Calm, switch to Wrath, and try to deal as much damage as possible to your enemies. At the end of the turn, you return to Calm and use at least one card to defend Watcher.
Best Cards for Stance Changing Build
Below you can find the main cards to change the stance of Watcher, that can be used in this build:
- Eruption: Deal 9 damage. Enter Wrath.
- Tantrum: Deal 3 damage 3 times. Enter Wrath. Shuffle this card into your draw pile.
- Indignation: If you are in Wrath, apply 3 Vulnerable to ALL enemies, otherwise enter Wrath.
- Simmering Fury: At the start of your next turn, enter Wrath and draw 2 cards.
- Inner Peace: If you are in Calm, draw 3 cards. Otherwise, enter Calm.
- Fear No Evil: Deal 8 damage. If the enemy intends to Attack, enter Calm.
- Vigilance: Gain 8 Block. Enter Calm.
- Meditate: Put a card from your discard pile into your hand and Retain it. Enter Calm. End your turn.
You can take each of these cards to your deck several pieces (not counting the basic ones), and it is better to improve them if possible. The main thing is to make sure that you always have enough energy when you need to go into Calm.
Keep in mind that Watcher gets 2 extra energy when leaving Calm, which can be used for expensive and powerful attacks, or to switch back to calm at the end of the turn.
Other cards that play well in this build on the Watcher include the following:
- Rushdown: Whenever you enter Wrath, draw 2 cards. (A great way to draw cards from a deck.)
- Sands of Time: Retain. Deal 20 damage. When Retained, lower its cost by 1 this combat. (A strong card for dealing a lot of damage at the right time, especially if the opponent has a vulnerability.)
- Establishment: Whenever a card is Retained, reduce its cost by 1 this combat. (Watcher uses a lot of cards with the Retained mechanic in this build, so Establishment can be a great addition to your deck.)
- Flurry Of Blows: Deal 4 damage. Whenever you change stances, return this from the discard pile to your hand. (Weak attack, but with frequent changes of stances it can become a strong weapon.)
- Mental Fortress: Whenever you change Stances, gain 4 Block.
- Talk to the Hand: Deal 5 damage. Whenever you attack this enemy, gain 2 Block. Exhaust. (Especially good against bosses)
- Halt: Gain 3 Block. If you are in Wrath, gain 9 additional Block.
- Empty Body: Gain 7 Block. Exit your Stance. (A good card if you don't have enough ways to get into Calm.)
- Empty Fist: Deal 9 damage. Exit your Stance. (Likewise, with the Empty Body card, it can be a good end-of-turn card.)
- Empty Mind: Draw 2 cards. Exit your Stance.
- Vault: Take an extra turn after this one. End your turn. Exhaust. (An emergency card if you don’t have enough damage to finish off the enemy, or there is no way to switch to Calm.)
