Slay the Spire 2 players can't decide if they love or hate the Spectral Knight, who can break your deck, but whose "debuff will be more of a buff" once you understand the fight

Hundreds of thousands of players have been jumping into Slay the Spire 2 since the roguelike went into early access on March 5. As the community explores everything Mega Crit's sequel has to offer, opinions are starting to split on one of the Elites, because their effect can be a real nuisance in the wrong circumstances.

In Act 3, you'll face the Knight Trio; three knights, each dealing a distinct kind of menace. The Flail Knight is all about damage, while the Spectral Knight continuously turns your cards ethereal, and the Magi Knight downgrades your deck. Of them, it's the Spectral Knight players are obsessing over.

"I think we can all agree with this. Fuck Spectral Knight," writes an impassioned fan on Reddit. Turning cards ethereal forces you to discard them from your hand at the end of turn, making any kind of strategy more difficult. "Yeah he broke my deck the first time," another commenter says.

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There are more than a few who champion the ghostly adversary, however, viewing the ailment as a plus. "Sometimes getting rid of the cards you don't want to play is kind of a buff though," adds another Redditor. "One of the things I like about this fight is how different you approach it depending on your needs."

It's even a plus depending on your character, because Necrobinder can add ethereal cards into their hand during combat with the Big Hat relic. The Spectral Knight is somewhat comparable in this way to the Last Judge in Silksong. On the first try, it's a tricky fight, because the second phase is full of fire attacks that are hard to dodge. But if you get the Magma Bell, their damage is reduced, making it a much easier battle.

"The Spectral Knight feels terrible the first time you fight him but I think once people know what they are doing his debuff will be more of a buff for any character not reliant on retaining cards," explains a Slay the Spire 2 fan. Part of any roguelike is learning things the hard way, and the Knight Trio is one such encounter.

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