How to beat Vantom in Slay the Spire 2
In Act 1 of Slay the Spire 2, Vantom is the toughest of the three bosses you can encounter. It's a bit of a roadblock in your journey, particularly if you're a new player, but don't be tempted to rage-quit and restart your run when you see his icon on the top of your map!
With a little extra strategizing, you can defeat this inky-looking fella no problem. Here's a primer on how to beat Vantom in Slay the Spire 2.
Dealing with Vantom's Slippery effect
The main trouble you face when going head-to-head with Vantom is its Slippery status effect. In a standard single player run, Vantom begins combat with nine points of Slippery, meaning that the next nine times it takes damage, you'll only deal 1 HP damage to it.
Enemy stats (including status effects) scale up when you're in co-op, but you'll also have more opportunities to deal damage and erode its Slippery counter. Whether you're playing solo or with fellow spire-slayers, it's important to try to maximize the number of hits you're getting on Vantom, rather than how much damage you're dealing with each attack.
Vantom can be a particularly frustrating boss to go up against if you've constructed your deck around heavy-hitting attacks. Even if you go in all guns blazing, your first three turns will chip away virtually none of Vantom's HP. As you begin a run, check which boss you'll encounter at the end of the act and prepare your deck accordingly.
Some of the best cards to opt for early in your fight with Vantom are ones like Twin Strike, which allow you to deal multiple attacks for just one energy. Alternatively, you can opt for low-cost single attacks but that increases the number of turns Vantom has to take you down.
It's likely not worth using a Duplication potion unless you're in a particularly tough spot. It's best to save these for later in combat or even keep them for later acts. However, drinking an attack potion is a good fit for your game plan: not only will you get to play an attack for free that turn, but it'll stay in your deck to use later in the fight.
Defending against Vantom
Remember that as your encounter with Vantom progresses, its damage output does too. Its attacks work in cycles: starting with a measly seven damage, eventually increasing to almost 30 damage per turn, and then repeating. All the while, Vantom deals out Wound cards that clog up your hand and make it harder to draw useful cards.
Since you're at the end of an act (and will heal entirely before the next one), you can afford to let Vantom take a good chunk out of your health bar without it negatively affecting your run long-term. Still, pay close attention to where in the attack cycle you are on any given turn and be ready to switch to a more defensive play style when Vantom's spooky pointed tail starts creeping closer to your character.