Tarot cards are among the most powerful effects available to the Fool in Slay the Spire 2. These temporary cards can grant extra turns, generate enormous amounts of Energy, and even defeat enemies instantly. Here's how to obtain all 22 Tarot cards and make the most of their effects.
All 22 Tarot Cards and Effects
Best Tarot Cards
How to Use Tarot Cards Effectively
Should You Upgrade Mythic Form?
How to Get Tarot Cards in Slay the Spire 2 for The Fool
To get Tarot cards in Slay the Spire 2, play as the Fool and obtain Mythic Form, a Rare Power card costing 3 Energy. Once Mythic Form is active, it adds a random Tarot card to your hand at the beginning of each turn.
Mythic Form is currently the only card that generates Tarot cards. There are 22 possible results, each offering a different effect.
Every Tarot card costs 0 Energy and Exhausts after use. That means you can activate its effect without spending Energy, but the card won't remain available throughout the fight after being played.
Upgrading Mythic Form changes the cards it generates. Instead of receiving regular Tarot cards, you'll receive their upgraded versions.
All 22 Tarot Cards in Slay the Spire 2
The Fool's Tarot collection includes offensive cards, defensive effects, resource generation, and several unusual abilities that can completely change a turn.
The following table includes every Tarot card, its normal effect, and what changes when upgraded. All 22 cards cost 0 Energy and Exhaust when played.
| Tarot Card | Normal Effect | Upgraded Effect |
|---|---|---|
| The Emperor | Gain 7 Energy. | Gain 9 Energy. |
| The Hanged Man | Lose 6 HP and take an additional turn. | HP cost decreases to 3. |
| Wheel of Fortune | Discard your hand and draw 7 cards. | Draw 9 cards instead. |
| The World | Return 5 random cards from your discard pile to your hand. | Return 7 cards. |
| The Star | Next turn, gain 3 Energy and draw 3 cards. | Gain 4 Energy and draw 4 cards. |
| The High Priestess | Retain. Draw 4 cards. | Draw 5 cards. |
| The Sun | Draw 2 cards, gain 2 Energy, and add a Soot to your discard pile. | Draw 3 cards and gain 3 Energy. Still adds Soot. |
| The Chariot | Deal 25 damage to all enemies. | Deal 30 damage. |
| Justice | Deal 30 damage to one enemy. | Deal 35 damage. |
| The Tower | Deal 2 damage for every floor traveled. | Deal 3 damage per floor. |
| Judgement | Set an enemy's HP to 0 if it has 30 or less remaining. | Threshold increases to 40 HP. |
| Death | Apply 75 Doom. | Apply 99 Doom. |
| Strength | Gain 4 Strength. | Gain 5 Strength. |
| Temperance | Gain 30 Block. | Gain 35 Block. |
| The Empress | Apply 3 Weak and 3 Vulnerable. | Apply 4 of each. |
| The Hermit | Discard a card and draw 2. Discarded Curses are Exhausted. | Draw 3 cards. |
| The Hierophant | Add 3 random Colorless cards to your hand. They cost 1 less Energy this turn. | Add 4 Colorless cards. |
| The Lovers | Fill your hand with random cards from other characters. | The generated cards are upgraded. |
| The Magician | Gain 3 Orb Slots and Channel 3 random Orbs. | Gain 4 Orb Slots and Channel 4 Orbs. |
| The Moon | Fill your hand with Shivs. | Generate upgraded Shivs. |
| The Devil | Exhaust your hand and play the top card of your draw pile for each card Exhausted. | Cards played through this effect are upgraded first. |
| The Fool | Play 2 random cards from your hand. | Play 3 random cards. |
Unlike ordinary card rewards, Tarot cards aren't selected individually while building your deck. Mythic Form generates a random card each turn, so their strength comes from adapting to whatever appears.
Best Tarot Cards in Slay the Spire 2
The most valuable Tarot cards are those that either solve an immediate combat problem or provide enough resources to dramatically change your turn.
Several effects stand out, although their usefulness depends on the situation.
The Hanged Man: Best for Extra Turns
The Hanged Man is one of the strongest Tarot cards because it grants an entire additional turn for an HP cost.
The normal version costs 6 HP, while the upgraded version costs only 3 HP. An additional turn provides another opportunity to draw cards, generate Energy, attack, and defend.
Unlike a simple damage bonus, this can give you the resources needed to finish an encounter before an enemy's next attack.
The Emperor: Best for Energy Generation
The Emperor instantly provides 7 Energy, increasing to 9 when upgraded.
This is especially powerful when your hand contains expensive cards that you wouldn't normally be able to play together.
However, there's an important distinction between having Energy and having cards worth spending it on. If your hand is nearly empty, The Emperor may provide far more Energy than you can actually use.
Combining it with additional card draw makes the effect considerably more valuable.
Wheel of Fortune: Best for Rebuilding a Weak Hand
Wheel of Fortune discards your current hand and replaces it with seven new cards, or nine when upgraded.
That makes it particularly useful when your hand contains few playable options or you're searching for a specific answer during combat.
It's less appealing when you're already holding the cards you need. Play valuable cards first whenever possible, then use Wheel of Fortune to refill your options.
Temperance: Best Immediate Defense
Temperance provides 30 Block for zero Energy, or 35 when upgraded.
This makes it a useful emergency defensive option, particularly when your hand is focused on dealing damage rather than preventing it.
Unlike cards requiring a particular Melody or Arrow condition, Temperance provides its defensive benefit immediately.
The Tower: Best Scaling Damage
The Tower has an unusual damage calculation. Instead of dealing a fixed amount, it deals damage based on the number of floors you've traveled.
Its normal version deals 2 damage per floor, while the upgraded version deals 3.
For example, after traveling 30 floors, The Tower deals 60 damage normally or 90 when upgraded.
This makes The Tower progressively more dangerous as a run continues, giving it a higher damage ceiling in later encounters than many fixed-damage Tarot cards.
How to Use Tarot Cards Effectively
The biggest mistake with Tarot cards is treating every generated effect as equally valuable. Their zero-Energy cost makes them easy to play, but the order in which you use them still matters.
Use Draw Effects Before Spending Extra Energy
The Emperor provides a large amount of Energy, but you still need cards to spend it on.
If another effect gives you additional card draw, consider using it before committing the rest of your turn. The High Priestess and Wheel of Fortune can provide additional options, while The World retrieves cards from your discard pile.
Wheel of Fortune is particularly useful after you've played the most important cards already in your hand.
Don't Waste Hand-Dependent Effects
Several Tarot cards depend on the current contents of your hand or draw pile.
- The Devil becomes more impactful when your hand contains several cards to Exhaust and your draw pile contains useful replacements.
- The Fool plays random cards from your hand, so reducing the number of unwanted options can improve the result.
- The World retrieves cards from your discard pile, making it more useful after you've already played several important cards.
- The Moon fills your hand with Shivs, so available hand space affects how many can be added.
These interactions are why Tarot cards aren't automatically at their best the moment they appear. Sometimes the correct play is to use your existing cards first.
Know When the Random Effect Is Worth the Risk
The Devil and The Fool can generate significant value, but neither gives you complete control over the cards played.
The Devil is particularly risky because it Exhausts your current hand before playing cards from your draw pile. Using it carelessly can remove cards you wanted to keep.
The Hanged Man introduces a different tradeoff. An extra turn is extremely powerful, but you still lose HP to activate it. That cost matters when your remaining health is low.
By contrast, Justice, The Chariot, and Temperance are straightforward effects that don't require complicated setups.
Should You Upgrade Mythic Form?
Upgrading Mythic Form is a strong choice when you're building around recurring Tarot effects. The Power still costs 3 Energy, but every random Tarot card it generates arrives upgraded.
That matters because the upgrade affects every future Tarot card generated by the Power, rather than improving only one card.
The benefits vary significantly depending on what appears:
- The Emperor increases its Energy generation from 7 to 9.
- The Hanged Man reduces its HP cost from 6 to 3.
- The Tower increases its damage from 2 to 3 per floor traveled.
- Wheel of Fortune draws nine cards instead of seven.
- The Devil upgrades the cards played through its effect.
In a longer fight, these improvements can accumulate across multiple turns. The upgrade doesn't guarantee a particular Tarot card, but it improves the possible results.
The main investment is still getting Mythic Form into play. At 3 Energy, activating it can consume your entire starting Energy supply for a turn, so consider whether you can afford the setup against the enemies you're facing.
Once active, Mythic Form provides an entirely new source of cards without requiring you to add them individually to your deck. The strongest Tarot strategies take advantage of that flexibility, adapting to the random effects rather than depending on one particular draw.
These effects reflect the Slay the Spire 2 public beta and may change through future balance updates.
