SLAY THE SPIRE / MECHANICS

Poison

Damage-over-time debuff mostly associated with Silent; tick damage interacts with target turns.

QUICK REFERENCESlay the Spire 1Reviewed 2026-10-28Reference / noindex
Original schematic Volpedia category artwork
OVERVIEW

What is Poison?

Damage-over-time debuff mostly associated with Silent; tick damage interacts with target turns.

This reference covers gameplay decisions in the original Slay the Spire. Character-specific options and relic synergy can change how useful an item is, so consider your current deck, health, upcoming enemy and available resources before applying a strategy.

PRACTICAL STRATEGY

When and how to use it

Stack enough Poison for a boss while planning defense through the delay.

COMMON MISTAKES

What to avoid

Poison does not protect you from damage during its setup.

CONTINUE ON VOLPEDIA

Related topics and walkthroughs

GUIDESSilent Poison vs Shiv vs Discard

A practical original guide to silent poison vs shiv vs discard, organized around actual Slay the Spire 1 decisions and the threats those decisions must solve.

CARDSBouncing Flask

Randomly distributes Poison applications across enemies.

CARDSCatalyst

Multiplies existing Poison, making a committed Poison engine lethal quickly.

CARDSCorpse Explosion

Applies Poison and causes a defeated target to damage other enemies.

CARDSDeadly Poison

Stacks Poison on a target, bypassing the need for repeated direct attacks.

CARDSNoxious Fumes

Applies Poison over time to all enemies, creating slow but persistent scaling.

POTIONSPoison Potion

Applies Poison to one enemy, enabling damage over subsequent turns.

Back to Mechanics

Independent Volpedia editorial resource, not affiliated with Mega Crit. Original game (Slay the Spire 1), reviewed 2026-10-28. Slay the Spire 2 has separate rules, cards and characters and is not included here. Category graphics are original conceptual illustrations, not game screenshots or actual card artwork. Detailed numerical card costs, damage, upgrade effects and drop percentages are omitted where not individually checked. Editorial verification records are stored separately from public articles.