Slay the Spire: Watcher Guide

by Yaroslav Mokliak
UPDATED: Aug 26, 2024

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 Act 1, 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 Act 2, 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.)

Flurry of Blows Build

This build is very similar to Stance Changing Build, with one exception: we focus on Flurry of Blows cards. This is actually my favorite Watcher build, but I rarely get the cards I need for it.

To implement this build, we need to collect cards for changing the stance so that we can do it every turn, and potentially multiple times. Moreover, you also need to get several Flurry of Blows cards, and better to improve them.

This may not seem very powerful, but with at least 4 base level Flurry of Blows cards in the deck, you can potentially use them 8 times and deal 48 damage (go to rage, then to calm (32 + 16)), all for 0 energy.

If these cards are upgraded, you can do 72 damage already. If you change the stance to Wrath again during the turn, it can be 120 damage.

Moreover, you can boost this deck with relics that buff Watcher on the number of attacks played:

Flurry of Blows: Every 10th Attack you play deals double damage.
Shuriken: Every time you play 3 Attacks in a single turn, gain 1 Strength.
Nunchaku: Every time you play 10 Attacks, gain 1 Energy.
Kunai: Every time you play 3 Attacks in a single turn, gain 1 Dexterity.

If you played everything correctly, you can potentially gain +2-4 strength and dexterity per turn, as well as additional energy. After 2-3 such turns, if any of the enemies remain, they will no longer be a threat. This build is very similar to Build on Shivs for Silent.

The main thing is not to take too much Flurry of Blows. I've had situations when I had only these cards in my hand, and I couldn't even change my stance or defend myself.

Divinity Build

Divinity is another Watcher stance, when the hero deals triple damage to enemies and gains 3 additional energy. You can enter divinity by collecting 10 Mantra, or by using a potion.

Overall a pretty strong strategy, but definitely not the strongest. I've only had a few occasions to get a decent result with this strategy.

Divinity Build is a bit slow and implies that you'll be a few turns defending and accumulating mantra. Once you move into divinity, it's important to have attack cards in your hand, otherwise this stance will be useless. Or, alternatively, you can have a few extra cards in your deck, such as Scrawl, Wheel Kick, or Cut Through Fate, to draw some attacks.

It's also better to have Watcher in a calm state before going into Divinity mode. This will give you 5 energy at once, allowing you to play a lot of cards.

Best Cards for Stance Divinity Build

As for me, this build is more complicated than the previous ones, as you need to defend, have enough attacks in your hand, and still accumulate Mantra. However, among the main cards for this strategy, I emphasize the cards to accumulate Mantra, or which can help to accumulate Mantra faster:

Devotion: At the start of your turn, gain 2 Mantra.
Prostrate: Gain 2 Mantra. Gain 4 Block.
Pray: Gain 3 Mantra. Shuffle an Insight into your draw pile.
Worship: Gain 5 Mantra.
Brilliance: Deal 12 damage. Deals additional damage equal to Mantra gained this combat.
Omniscience: Choose a card in your draw pile. Play the chosen card twice and Exhaust it. Exhaust.

Relics for Stance Divinity Build

Among the relics for Divinity Build, a great add would be Damaru, which accumulates Mantra every turn, Violet Lotus for extra energy when entering Divinity state, and Teardrop Locket.

Pressure Points Build

Pressure Points Build is similar to Flurry of Blows Build, but this time you need to collect a large number of Pressure Points cards. I don't like this build in general, but some players gave me positive feedback about it.

The main point of this build for the Watcher is to play Pressure Points cards on enemies while defending yourself from the damage you may take. The more often you play Pressure Points cards, the faster you will win, so try to keep your deck small.

You can also remove all Frath cards from your deck, as this stance has no effect on Pressure Points cards damage.

Best Cards for Pressure Points Build

The build mostly plays around Pressure Points (Apply 8 Mark. All enemies lose HP equal to their Mark.), so pick them up and try to improve them. Among other useful cards for this build, you can pick up cards to draw or defense:

Inner Peace: If you are in Calm, draw 3 cards. Otherwise, enter Calm.
Like Water: At the end of your turn, if you are in Calm, gain 5 Block.
Meditate: Put a card from your discard pile into your hand and Retain it. Enter Calm. End your turn.
Sanctity: Gain 6 Block. If the last card played was a Skill, draw 2 cards.
Scrawl: Draw cards until your hand is full. Exhaust.
Evaluate: Gain 6 Block. Shuffle an Insight into your draw pile.

Alpha Build

This build reminds me a lot of the Defect card – Hyperbeam. Kind of strong, but not very playable really. I've picked up Alpha Build a couple of times, but more for fun than actually going through all the bosses.

Alpha is a central card that takes a lot of time to realize, as well as a lot of energy. First, you need to find it and play it for 1 energy. Next, you need to find the Beta card and play it for 2 mana. And finally, you need to find an Omega card in your deck and play it for 3 mana. Only then you'll activate the effect of this build.

As you can see, it will take you at least 3 turns to find and play all the cards, but in practice, it can be 5-6. That's quite a long time, considering that you also need to protect Watcher from damage. However, if you succeed, you'll get a powerful effect: you'll deal 50 damage to all enemies at the end of your turn.

Best Cards for Alpha Build

As with Pressure Points Build, you only need one card (Alpha) for the Alpha build, and otherwise, you have to defend.

However, among the interesting cards for this build is Omniscience. It will allow you to play the Omega card 2 times and deal not 50, but all 100 damage to enemies at the end of the turn.

By the way, the Duplication Potion will have a similar effect, so you should buy it in the store.

You can also use cards with the Scry effect, which will allow you to scroll through decks faster and find the cards you need.

Watcher Relics Ranked List

Like Ironclad, Silent, or Defect, Watcher has her class relics, but there are fewer of them. This is probably because the character has stronger cards overall. Below is a list of all of Watcher's relics (with descriptions), ranked from strongest relic to weakest:

Holy Water: Replaces Pure Water. At the start of each combat, add 3 Miracles into your hand.
Violet Lotus: Whenever you exit Calm, gain additional energy.
Pure Water: At the start of each combat, add a Miracle into your hand.
Cloak Clasp: At the end of your turn, gain 1 Block for each card in your hand.
Teardrop Locket: Start each combat in Calm.
Damaru: At the start of your turn, gain 1 Mantra.
Golden Eye: Whenever you Scry, Scry 2 additional cards.
Duality: Whenever you play an Attack, gain 1 temporary Dexterity.
Melange: Whenever you shuffle your draw pile, Scry 3.

Yaroslav Mokliak

CEO | Editor | Content Writer

With over 15 years of playing games and 5 years of writing articles, Yaroslav is a CEO and content creator at HermitGamer. Yaroslav regularly plays video games, creates useful guides, and writes reviews with his opinion on new and old titles. His main goal is to make HermitGamer a platform, where each gamer can find the answers.