Tinker Time Event Guide

What is Tinker Time?

Tinker Time is a unique event in Slay the Spire 2 where you encounter a scientist who helps you create a custom card tailored to your deck's needs.

Unlike random card rewards, Tinker Time lets you choose both the card type and effect, making it one of the most valuable events for optimizing your build.

How to Use Tinker Time

Step 1: Accept the Experiment

When you encounter the scientist, accept their offer to test a new device.

Step 2: Choose Card Type

Select what type of card you want to create:

⚡

Gadget→Power Card

Creates a Power card that provides ongoing effects

🛡️

Protector→Skill Card

Creates a Skill card focused on defense or utility

⚔️

Weapon→Attack Card

Creates an Attack card for dealing damage

Step 3: Choose Card Effect

Select the effect your custom card will have:

Chaos

Add a random card into your Hand. It costs 0 Energy this turn.

Best for: Flexibility and surprise value

Choking

Whenever you play a card this turn, the enemy loses 6 HP.

Best for: High card-volume decks

Curious

Powers cost 1 Energy less.

Best for: Power-heavy builds (Defect, Regent)

Energized

Gain 2 Energy.

Best for: Energy-hungry decks, big combo turns

Expertise

Gain 2 Strength. Gain 2 Dexterity.

Best for: Scaling builds that want both offense and defense

Improvement

At the end of combat, Upgrade a random card.

Best for: Long runs, deck improvement over time

Sapping

Apply 2 Weak. Apply 2 Vulnerable.

Best for: Debuff builds, Silent, Necrobinder

Violence

Hits 2 additional times.

Best for: Attack cards — massive damage multiplier

Wisdom

Draw 3 cards.

Best for: Combo decks, thin decks that need cycling

Step 4: Card Added to Deck

The custom card is immediately added to your deck.

Best Choices by Character

Ironclad

Weapon + Expertise or Weapon + Violence. Ironclad scales hard with Strength, and Violence on an Attack card is a massive damage multiplier.

Silent

Protector + Sapping or Gadget + Wisdom. Sapping applies Weak + Vulnerable which amplifies poison damage. Wisdom keeps Shiv combos flowing.

Defect

Gadget + Curious or Gadget + Energized. Defect's Powers are expensive — Curious (Powers cost 1 less) is exceptional value. Energized fuels orb-heavy turns.

Regent

Gadget + Curious or Weapon + Violence. Regent's Forge mechanic benefits from cheap Powers. Violence on a Forged Attack card can deal enormous damage.

Necrobinder

Protector + Sapping or Gadget + Improvement. Sapping synergizes with Doom stacking. Improvement auto-upgrades graveyard cards over time.

Pro Tips

▸Violence is the highest ceiling rider — but only on Attack cards. A Weapon + Violence can hit 3x and become a run-defining card.
▸Choking scales with how many cards you play per turn — in a thin, fast deck it can deal 30+ damage passively.
▸Energized (2 Energy) on any card type is almost always safe to take — energy is universally valuable.
▸Improvement is underrated in long runs — it quietly upgrades your deck every fight.
▸The custom card is added immediately — factor it into your next fight's strategy right away.

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