Shiv
Bsilent
Generate many small Shiv attacks (4 base damage each), scale their damage with Accuracy (+4 per stack), and generate Block from Afterimage. A fun burst-damage archetype that underperforms without its specific scaling tools.
Silent starts with 12 cards (5 Strikes, 5 Defends, Survivor, Neutralize) — more than any other character. Aggressive deck thinning through card removal at shops and events is critical for all Silent builds. The Shiv archetype sits at B-tier not because the mechanic is weak, but because it is uniquely dependent on finding Accuracy early enough for the scaling to matter. Shivs deal 4 damage each without Accuracy — low in a game where Act 2 enemies have 120 HP. With one Accuracy copy they deal 8 each, and with two they deal 12. The difference between zero and two Accuracy is the difference between a mediocre and a competitive damage dealer. When Accuracy appears in Act 1 rewards, Shiv becomes one of the most exciting archetypes to pilot; when it does not, Shiv is a liability that punishes you for the lack of a single card. Blade Dance is the archetype's primary play pattern. One energy generates three Shivs (each dealing 4 base damage), and with Afterimage active, those three Shiv plays generate 4 Block — 3 from the Shivs and 1 from Blade Dance itself. The math compounds across a full turn: Blade Dance, Blade Dance, Cloak and Dagger, Storm of Steel with a 4-card remaining hand produces 11 card plays and 11 Afterimage Block, while dealing substantial Shiv damage throughout. When it works, this is one of the highest card-play-volume turns in the entire game, generating both offense and defense simultaneously. The B-tier consistency rating reflects the binary nature of the archetype's early game. Commit to Shiv in Act 1 by picking up Blade Dance, and you are locked into finding Accuracy within the next two acts or your damage will be insufficient. The pivot options — Poison and Sly/Discard — share enough of the Silent's defensive infrastructure (Neutralize, Survivor, defensive power cards) that switching is low-cost if you have not already filled your deck with dead-weight Shiv cards. The ideal Shiv run picks up Blade Dance in Act 1, finds Accuracy by the Act 1 boss or Act 2 reward 1, adds Afterimage in Act 2, and ends Act 2 with two Accuracy stacks (each Shiv dealing 12) and a deck of 10 or fewer cards. That is achievable, but it requires the run to cooperate in specific ways that Poison and Sly/Discard do not.
Card Tier List
Synergy Map
Accuracy + Blade Dance
Build DefiningWith one Accuracy active, each Shiv deals 8 damage (4 base + 4); Blade Dance generates 3 Shivs for 24 total damage at 1 energy cost. With two Accuracy stacks, each Shiv deals 12 and Blade Dance delivers 36 — competitive with S-tier attack cards. The archetype is playable at one Accuracy and excellent at two.
Afterimage + Shiv Volume
StrongAfterimage converts every card play into 1 Block. Blade Dance generates 3 Shivs (3 card plays); Storm of Steel with 4 cards in hand generates 4 Shivs (4 card plays). A turn with Blade Dance and Storm of Steel generates 7 Shiv plays plus the two cards themselves — roughly 9 Block from Afterimage alone, before counting Block cards.
Storm of Steel + Discard Synergy
Nice to HaveStorm of Steel discards your hand for Shivs — in a hybrid deck, this also triggers Sly cards and Reflex/Tactician while generating damage. A Storm of Steel into a Sly-heavy hand is simultaneously an attack and a value-generating discard play.
Priority Picks
Act 1
Act 1 for Shiv is the most difficult window — Shivs without Accuracy deal only 4 damage each, which is low for scaling. Blade Dance for 12 total damage is acceptable filler but not the powerful engine it becomes later. Pick up Blade Dance and any Accuracy copies that appear, and supplement with Neutralize and Survivor's Block for survival.
Priorities
- 1.Blade Dance is the core pickup — take it in Act 1 even without Accuracy present.
- 2.Accuracy is the highest priority single card in the entire archetype — take every copy offered.
- 3.Afterimage is worth picking if offered before Accuracy — the Block generation is valuable at any stage.
- 4.Avoid over-committing to Shiv before finding at least one Accuracy.
Card Picks
Key Decisions
Offered Accuracy vs. Blade Dance in Act 1 as first pick
Take Accuracy.
Accuracy scales all Shivs generated by cards you already have and all future Blade Dances. One Accuracy immediately makes any Shiv source deal 8 instead of 4. Blade Dance without Accuracy is mediocre; Blade Dance with Accuracy is excellent.
No Accuracy or Blade Dance in first three rewards
Pick defensive cards and consider pivoting to Poison.
A Shiv deck without Accuracy is simply a bad deck. If Act 1 rewards have not provided either core card by the first elite, shift toward Poison pickups — Noxious Fumes and Deadly Poison work with the same Silent defensive kit.
Act 2
Act 2 is about completing the Shiv scaling — find two Accuracy copies and Afterimage if not yet held, then add Storm of Steel for burst turns. With two Accuracy stacks and Blade Dance, the archetype begins to deal competitive damage.
Priorities
- 1.Second Accuracy copy is the top Act 2 priority — two stacks take each Shiv from 8 to 12 damage.
- 2.Afterimage is critical for Block generation — with high card play volume, it provides significant defense.
- 3.Storm of Steel adds a burst option that complements Blade Dance's consistent Shiv generation.
- 4.Card removal at shops — a lean deck improves the frequency of drawing Blade Dance and Accuracy together.
Card Picks
Key Decisions
Offered a second Accuracy vs. a first Storm of Steel
Take second Accuracy.
The jump from one to two Accuracy (+4 damage per Shiv) is the largest marginal power increase in the archetype. Storm of Steel's damage scales with Accuracy — taking second Accuracy first makes Storm of Steel better when you find it.
No Afterimage by late Act 2
Check the shop; it appears consistently enough to buy.
Without Afterimage, your Block comes only from Cloak and Dagger and base Defends. High Shiv volume without Block generation leads to taking heavy damage against Act 3 enemies. Afterimage is the defensive backbone.
Act 3
Act 3 focuses on deck tightening and adding Infinite Blades for passive Shiv generation if it has not been picked up. Remove all remaining Strikes to maximize how often Blade Dance and Accuracy appear in the same hand.
Priorities
- 1.Remove all remaining Strikes.
- 2.Add Infinite Blades if not yet present for passive Shiv generation.
- 3.Consider one defensive power for Act 3 boss survivability.
Card Picks
Key Decisions
Offered a Poison card like Noxious Fumes in Act 3
Skip unless your damage is clearly insufficient.
Noxious Fumes without Accelerant or Outbreak is too slow for Act 3 boss HP. Trust your Shiv scaling.
Act 3 boss uses Barricade-equivalent (Block persists)
Shiv damage is unaffected — ignore Block-stacking behaviors and deal pure damage.
Shivs deal damage directly without needing to bypass Block the same way Poison does. High Shiv volume into a Block-stacking boss just requires dealing enough damage to punch through the Block total each turn.
Pilot Walkthrough
Overview
Act 1 for Shiv is the most difficult window — Shivs without Accuracy deal only 4 damage each, which is low for scaling. Blade Dance for 12 total damage is acceptable filler but not the powerful engine it becomes later. Pick up Blade Dance and any Accuracy copies that appear, and supplement with Neutralize and Survivor's Block for survival.
Priorities
- 1Blade Dance is the core pickup — take it in Act 1 even without Accuracy present.
- 2Accuracy is the highest priority single card in the entire archetype — take every copy offered.
- 3Afterimage is worth picking if offered before Accuracy — the Block generation is valuable at any stage.
- 4Avoid over-committing to Shiv before finding at least one Accuracy.
Card Picks
Card Removals
Relic Priorities
Decision Points
Offered Accuracy vs. Blade Dance in Act 1 as first pick
Take Accuracy.
Accuracy scales all Shivs generated by cards you already have and all future Blade Dances. One Accuracy immediately makes any Shiv source deal 8 instead of 4. Blade Dance without Accuracy is mediocre; Blade Dance with Accuracy is excellent.
No Accuracy or Blade Dance in first three rewards
Pick defensive cards and consider pivoting to Poison.
A Shiv deck without Accuracy is simply a bad deck. If Act 1 rewards have not provided either core card by the first elite, shift toward Poison pickups — Noxious Fumes and Deadly Poison work with the same Silent defensive kit.
Elite Strategy
Act 1 elites are difficult without Accuracy. Use Neutralize's Weak debuff to reduce incoming damage, block with Survivor and base Defends, and deal whatever Shiv damage you have available. Do not skip elites — the card rewards are needed to find Accuracy.
Boss Strategy
Without Accuracy, Act 1 bosses require direct damage from your starting Strikes and Neutralize. Afterimage reduces damage taken significantly if it is already in the deck. Accept that this boss fight will be harder than Poison or Sly/Discard would manage.
Bad RNG Fallback
Bad RNG Fallback
Without Accuracy by mid-Act 2, Shivs deal only 4 damage each and the archetype is too weak for Act 3 scaling. Pivot to Poison immediately if Noxious Fumes is available. The defensive cards accumulated (Afterimage, Cloak and Dagger) remain useful in any Silent archetype, making the pivot low-cost.
If you don't see:
Consider pivoting to:
- →poison
- →sly-discard
Multiplayer Tips
Shiv damage is flat per Shiv (base 4 + Accuracy bonus), making it proportionally weaker against MP-scaled enemy HP. A Blade Dance dealing 36 damage (two Accuracy) is 18% of a 200-HP solo enemy but only 10% of a 350-HP MP enemy. Shiv is the weakest Silent archetype in MP — prioritize finding two Accuracy copies and thinning your deck aggressively to maximize Shiv volume per turn.
Each Shiv deals a fixed amount regardless of enemy HP. In MP, the higher HP pools mean you need significantly more Shiv plays per fight to kill. Without the infinite potential of Sly/Discard, the Shiv archetype's damage ceiling is hard-capped by deck cycling speed and energy.
Afterimage generates Block for you only, not teammates. It is still valuable in MP because you personally need to survive longer fights, but do not overestimate its team value. Prioritize finding Afterimage early since the Silent's 70 HP is fragile against scaled MP enemy damage.
Block is self-only in STS2 multiplayer. Afterimage's 1 Block per card play helps the Silent survive through longer MP fights, but your teammates get no benefit from it. Your team contribution is damage output via Shivs, not tanking.
Ask a teammate to apply Vulnerable before your Shiv burst turns — with two Accuracy stacks, each Shiv deals 12 * 1.5 = 18 damage on a Vulnerable target. Blade Dance goes from 36 to 54 damage, a 50% increase from one debuff application.
Vulnerable is a percentage multiplier that applies to every Shiv hit individually. Since Shivs are many small hits, the 50% bonus compounds across all of them. This is the single largest damage boost available to the Shiv archetype in MP and costs your teammate only one debuff card.