Slay the Spire - Northernlion Plays - Episode 355 [Awaited]

[@usagin0te]

[Awaited] LETS GO wait you literally rested at 71/111 HP im so mad

[@m-rots]

I think he looked at the bar and said "that's kinda low I should rest" without thinking about how much max HP he's actually gained.

[@Stand_By_For_Mind_Control]

"This is very good with spot weakness but I'm gonna..." GONNA WHAT? Take the fucking thing! That's a fantastic card to get early. At the very least explain what thought process told you to hold off.

[@RealMertar]

I immediately paused the video and went into the comment section.

[@marekkowalski1996]

Its NL thought process lul

[@marekkowalski1996]

And yeah everytime I see a misplay I go into the comments

[@Stand_By_For_Mind_Control]

The guy is just such a space cadet sometimes.

[@MehYam2112]

I know NL's not an anti-vaxxer, but plays like that make you wonder.

[@SpicyNuggies]

Y’all wondering why NL rested at 71 hp. It’s because he was tired duh

[@shift1109]

I can't understand why he rests instead of smithing/lifting when he's at 77 hp. He only notices precentige, not the fact that he's sitting at more hp then the starting amount.

[@sleepingisathing6598]

Well it seems that you do understand :p

[@ShyGuySquad]

Every time NL makes a misplay I'm like "cmon man what the heck are you doing?" Then I remember that I'm stuck on Ascension level three and should probably mind my own business. EDIT: HE'S DONE IT

[@mrminor9418]

I do the same.

[@lovofofo]

to be fair do you have 355 episodes in the game?

[@ShyGuySquad]

Well... I do have like 200 hours in the game. So I am probably just bad at it haha

[@humanaku9135]

just got on asc.10 and still don't understand how NL is at 18

[@DemyrNox]

@@humanaku9135 I feel like he just dies over and over again until the game gives him Dead Branch or Shuriken or caries him in some way

[@Shockalapagus]

39:31 "Your hair looks nice" our egg man is so wholesome Thanks for the company NL, so glad to see a win, always hyped for more spires

[@amaro6603]

23:10 THERE IS A SHOP ON THE 4th FLOOR

[@mongmanmarkyt2897]

to be honest if itwere any other curse, aside from maybe pain, i would have tried to get it out of there, seeing as a lot of the time he has a lot of dead cards in his hand, regret almost certainly would have dealt a lot of extra unnecessary damage to him

[@river7493]

I got chills on that final screen! Cliffhangers! Can't wait to see the art for the Silent and the Defect once you beat the 4th act!

[@Justin-xf6fe]

"This is a very good time to recall" he says at the first campfire. My egg, no it isn't.

[@2oflanh956]

is this a, dare I say, SPEED RUN? Oh wow, a race between who can deal the most damage.

[@Swirleo]

Video Tiltel: Awaited Jesus NL, spoilers

[@publicaccess9573]

I wrote up the whole thing and then accidentally clicked on a different video... I'll just try and get down what I remembered. Anyways, is this the long-[Awaited] Heart Kill? TL;DR: Run Strength Asc 0, Tactics 4/10, Strategy 6/10. It's worth noting that the run was exceptionally straightforward even for Asc 0, the early relics and cards supporting a clear, linear, and effective strategy. Still, though, NL finally did it. > NL is fairly bad at relative card values - Juggernaut wasn't worth much at all in a deck that does the majority of its damage by building huge strength, but he still prioritized playing it in several fights. Lots of cards fluctuate wildly in value depending on deck type, fight length, and specific enemy mechanics. > Again, slow your roll with the Keys. Early upgrades are incredibly important for getting out ahead of Elites and snowballing, and sometimes the flaming elite is in a bad spot and shouldn't be hunted. > Still needs to be less afraid about not being at maximum HP - the only hit point that matters is the last one. > The game has a lot of mechanics that punish thin decks specifically, which results in a generic thin deck typically being weaker than a generic thin deck. > I would like NL to succeed with less linear decks - it seems as if he hasn't ever really done great with more mismatched decks, which become more and more necessary as immediate survival becomes harder and harder. Act 1: - Early Feed is probably one of the strongest starts in the game for facetanking. - There's pretty much no reason not to grab that Whirlwind - as NL himself noted, it scales well with Strength and is much needed AoE. - Paper Phrog is actually one of the Ironclad's best relics, since Vulnerable is one of the strongest things the Ironclad does. - This is a very bad time to Recall. - Hemo would be better than removal, since NL's facing a Flaming elite. Regenerating Lavagulin is extremely, extremely dangerous. - Actually a good Sapphire Key take. - NL still disrespecting Clothesline. - Battle Trance + Armaments+ is very good, and it also digs for Spot Weaknesses and hopefully Limit Breaks. Drawing trash cards is a value in of itself, although it's not worth more than 0 energy. - Honestly, another Feed would be best. Juggernaut doesn't fit with any of the things NL's deck is doing and isn't particularly flexable as a card, whereas Feed is just even more max HP. I think Runic Pyramid would have been the pick to enable Exhaust shenanigans, big Armaments plays, and more reliable Feeding, but Black Blood is totally fine. Act 2: - Cleave+ would be a great pick. NL still needs AoE, has a relatively thin deck, and it's already upgraded. - Jax is actually a good pick since NL has so much HP to throw around. - Chosen is one of the biggest reasons super thin decks aren't actually good unless they're extremely polished. As soon as you're hexed, you basically need to either have Evolve+, a non-card block engine, or just kill the chosen, before your deck is swamped by Dazes, and the thinner your deck is the more swamped you get. - Resting at 71 is extremely bad. There's no inherent value in being at full HP - after all, the only hit point that matters is the last one. - Limit Break is absolutely huge. - Playing Juggernaut is pretty much worthless. The Strength gain is much more valuable. - Reaper is an autotake, but I don't think NL will ever play 7 cards in one turn, so Choker has essentially no downside. Act 3: - Warcry+ isn't precisely free, since Time Eater and the Heart punish playing cards, but it's very good for enabling Headbutt combos. - I think 2 campfires is worth having a curse for, since there's a shop in act 4 and NL has so much max HP. - Purity isn't a good take. 2x True Grit does most of that work and Evolve would do the rest, even turning the statuses into draw engines to draw for more Limit Breaks. - Definitely should have gone for the 3 cards since he has so much max HP. - As NL noted, his matchup is extremely good against this guy. He really should have held the power potion for the Heart. - I think NL should have kept the Artifact potion over the Power Potion, since he could use it for 10 permanent strength (Steroid > Steroid > Artifact) or to block Vulnerable on the triple debuff. Act 4: - Despite some... questionable plays on the elite, NL has a very good chance at winning. Good mental math on the Backstab, too. - NL finally acknowledges the power of Weak against late game enemies. Hopefully this trickles to card evaluation too. - He forgot about the Steroid Potions, but he's still gonna win easily. 120 Max HP goes a long way. - It's the most Ryan thing ever to have an uncut interruption by his wife giving him food in the middle of his first Heart kill.

[@anonon898]

Wanted to acknowledge your effort here. Good analysis. I play Isaac bc of NL, and was always frustrated by how difficult it was to learn even when watching him play (without explaining items/choices). These kinds of comments make starting a game much more approachable

[@joelbennett0629]

I'm not finding myself in accord with the feed pick. We obviously see eye to eye on Juggernaut being a waste, but to me I think I would have skipped this rare. Feed was the best option to take, but for me I would have just skipped it. Because his win condition SHOULD end up being massive strength gain with Spot Weakness, I would have taken the cage. I thought he took the whirlwind so the cleave would be needless, but no...he didn't.... The thing about the chosen is that his best counter IS the Ironclad. I detest evolve, but it does help in this fight. An even better card, and one more agnostic, would be feel no pain. I think it's worth noting that most people assume if you're not running an extreme exhaust deck, that you should just avoid exhaust synergies at all cost. It also allows for a thinner deck without paying as much of a cost. I know this is passed where you wrong about jax, but because he already had spot weakness Jax becomes incredibly less attractive. it's cost is extremely offset by black blood and a reaper if he finds it, it's still a dilution to a basically free spot weakness. When you say Juggernaut was worthless to play, do you mean on the boss? Surely not because it removes it from the cycle in a longer fight. Worth pointing out that NL has a curse known as jax in his deck right now and he played it for basically no gain. At 15 strength, limit break is the only strength card to prioritize. Nothing is ever an auto take. But yes Reaper was better than the other two options. You're not pointing out his acquisition of a second true grit, despite the fact that he was offered WW+. Being that his only form of AoE is an un-upgraded Sword Boomerang he really needed that more than the second true grit. My favorite card in the game is Sword Boomerang. I feel like you're not stressing this enough. But discarding that Artifact potion and keeping a power potion was a monstrous misplay that would have literally killed him on asc 20. Even though it would have only been +5 strength in a20. It's paramount to learn these kind of synergies, like artifact steroid/speed pots, after 355 damn episodes. That will almost always win you a fight just by itself. Agreed he should have taken the 3 colorless option, but also he was offered weakness. Which he only has one of in his deck right now. If Armaments hit that it would have paid dividends in the spire guardian fight, As would the whirlwind that I brought up earlier by the way. Really bad upgrade on the jax at the end, Spot weakness or Sword Boomerang was the better play. Spot weakness for the better strength scaling, sword boomerang for the increased amount of strength dump. A slight nit pick, but he could have fed off the time eater It actually really irks me that he's never once edited out an interruption of his videos. I know it makes them seem more authentic, but to me it just seems like he doesn't care. I also want to point out this is another one of those situations where the game basically handed him the victory in the first act.

[@simdecog]

these comments teach me so much ^^

[@joelbennett0629]

Shelby140 wat

[@jayg9283]

You, for slay the spire, as well as Dani F for darkest dungeon, are the reasons I love NL’s comment section. If only he looked here more, eh boys?

[@stanhedonia]

14:52 When you got sick from simultaneous salmonella and campylobacter but you recover enough to feel comfortable with your own body again

[@xtrinoxx]

the amount of bad choices and plays after 355 episodes is fucking amazing

[@domotoroOfficial]

Have you seen the isaac series?

[@DysnomiaATX]

It seems like K8 has brought NL tasty food in every one of his videos recently. K8, you're awesome.

[@ryanphillips5483]

If Neow isn't the FINAL final boss I'm gonna lose it.

[@derekanhalt3417]

I dont think it will be. Just like isaac, the heart was only mom. But you still have to face an even greater threat. I think you will eventually be able to do 5 floors total and fight one final boss at the top of the spire. The heart symbolizes the spire itself.

[@OrchidAlloy]

I think the fourth floor is very final, but I'd find it awesome if you somehow could fight Neow for your freedom after beating the game a bunch of times.

[@ExemplarKyle]

28:00 Buying Evolve would've been a much better get. In a deck dedicated to drawing Limit Break/Spot Weakness/Headbutt, Evolve+ is an absolutely amazing card. It essentially eliminates the negatives to drawing status cards by accelerating when you draw your key cards. Also works very well with any cards that add status cards to the deck such as Immolate or Power Through.

[@AlanMru]

Congrarulations on beating normal slay the spire NL! I knew you could do it!

[@66Kusmu]

6:27 NL turns momentarily into a cat

[@Cloudchaser_K]

Here's a classic example of egg's stunted "objective good/bad items only" mentality, second floor boss relic in a deck that likes to play cards but only ever on average plays about 3-4 cards a turn takes cursed key instead of velvet choker. Cursed key may be fantastic a lot of the time but also velvet choker would have had almost no downside in the deck you were running and also wouldn't have put trash in your deck you have to waste resources getting rid of. Slow things down and think on a case by case basis eggman and you could be fantastic. fuck i should really tweet this if i want genuine change oh well

[@Cloudchaser_K]

he won anyways but in the future it could make the difference

[@mohamedkoblawi4175]

The madman has done it

[@morphman86]

Is it weird that the most exiting part of this very exiting video was finding out what food used to be NL's favourite at their old place?

[@ShadowEmoCat]

"Bag of prep is good early!" - is on floor 44. Either facetious master, or just bad lol

[@EpicNade]

yo the animation on the heart is sick

[@nathanp.3206]

He’s ascended.

[@marioparnass6152]

I think is pretty impressive how little he has progress in 6 months, I started watching his videos again after taking a break from them and he is basically on the same level skill wise.

[@biri0101]

He seemingly memory wipes everything he’s learned each time he plays

[@thecreaterXY]

the god damn whirlwind skip for no apparent reason... HE DIDNT EVEN HAVE A GOOD ATTACK CARD, WHY WOULD YOU ****EVER**** SKIP WHIRLWIND EARLY with no better archetype than "base strike + feed" ... the egg has cracked

[@Rookums]

NL: *has spot weakness, see a whirlwind* this is very good with spot weakness... but I'm gonna stay away" NOT 4 FUCKING MINUTES LATER NL: We could use some crowd control (a phrase NL mistakes for the meaning of AOE)

[@slayer19838]

The thing at the end isnt a spider it's the whale at the beginning of your runs!

[@kingmole8591]

i love that the egg doesnt edit no matter what. one of these days hes going to fall asleep while playing one vid and leave it in

[@yaa4796]

Did ya’all see Narancia sweet dance. I’ve heard rumors of it (as an anime only), but damn is it better than I expected.

[@i_am_ergo]

3:22 Can anyone explain why he didn't use two Blocks here? I don't play StS.

[@Combat_Ineffective]

Every skill you play against that enemy gives it strength, so playing defenses really actually costs you hp in the long run.

[@i_am_ergo]

@@Combat_Ineffective Gotcha! Thanks!

[@odedharshefer2487]

NL has 1037 videos in his Binding of Isaac AFTERBIRTH+ playlist, 34 of them were a mini series of the last booster pack, and NL has done some mistakes naming the episodes, which means that episode 1000 was episode 995!

[@ChampReaper]

he's done it. the poached egg. the eggs bennie the GOAT egg has become a god

[@BC_Outside]

This makes me so happy

[@tomaszprzyby784]

Congratulations! You have finally did it!

[@brandonr2906]

Dude just beat the freaking 4th floor, and all the comments are whining. Yeah he didn't play perfectly, and I hated the undervaluing of paper phrog, but I sure as hell haven't beaten the 4th floor yet. Just enjoy it, geez.

[@trevormcclaughry7883]

I yelled LETS GO at the top of my lungs. Shot out if my chair knocking over the bowl of Mac and cheese grabbed the Canadian flag and waved around the room singing the national anthem.

[@gokuburnett5483]

41:38 r/unexpectedthanos

[@OathRunner122]

“Some crowd control wouldn’t be the worst idea either” *skips whirlwind*

[@TwiztedEU]

You underestimate the bites when you have this deck, my hard boiled hero.

[@shift1109]

Congratulations on the victory my dude!

[@emeraldralts]

[Awaited] HE HAS DONE IT

[@maxmach4361]

Tbh, fuck progress, the longer this series lasts the better. It's my daily source of salt.

[@qaliqo]

-=+> w00t

[@DGroovin]

[Awaited] more like awaited all day by me

[@sebway123]

Yo next time you haave upgraded armaments and battle trance you should use battle trance first so more cards get upgraded at once.

[@theviewerofart]

Aw, you passed up on vampirism with a deck that has both Max HP gain and JAX. I'm not saying that's a misplay per se, it would've thickened your deck a fair bit and that's always a double-edged sword, but it seemed like if ever there was a good case for vampirism, this was it, plus it would've been fun. Anyway, enough of my whining though. Great job with this run NL!

[@lenny2945]

Considering the heal from Bites don't scale with your damage, I think it was a good idea to stay away from it.

[@akuro6470]

@@lenny2945 I'd tend to agree that it's right to skip the bites here. The thin deck helped his important cards circulate much faster, and he was able to get the big heal from reaper much more reliably with a thinner pool to draw from.

[@theviewerofart]

@Lenny @WRLD? That's definitely very valid. Did he have Reaper yet when he was offered vampirism though? I don't recall, and I'm having trouble finding it in the video. Either way, like I said, I'm not saying that passing up on vampirism was a misplay. Just that it was less interesting.

[@damon180]

Playing armaments+ before playing battle trance... over and over...nails on a chalk board man.

[@Arza022]

That whirlwind.. I actually kinda hate you, my egg father

[@Riguez-yu1lj]

You never said what your favorite food was just that it's from some bakery... the lies! Lol Gg egg.

[@dasporal]

HE'S DONE IT

[@anailater]

HES A GOD

[@claudiomonteverdi847]

He did it!

[@94doodle]

Under what circumstances do you not take the first whirlwind offered -.-

[@perfectworldbeholder]

HE HAS DONE IT LET'S GOH

[@TheEnglishQuail]

8:35 wow NL just called his wife a jester

[@mitjonen]

Gratz man, and thx for the entertaining content.

[@DoctorShroom]

29:36 WHY WOULDN'T YOU TAKE A FREE MADNESS?!

[@Mozumin]

HE'S DONE IT Two more characters to go

[@DemyrNox]

Why not take the Apparitions at 114hp and with a Feed?

[@SilvaaFabio]

Highly blessed run?

[@lenny2945]

I'm so triggered he skipped two whirlwinds on a strength build

[@OKOK-uu5gj]

he goddamn did it

[@MrPranz103]

Still an egg from losing to vanilla runs... I still don’t know how this guy made it close to ascension 20

[@What-sf5ey]

Taking juggernaut over a second feed hurt me :( Good job winning though

[@jaja-2740]

Holy shit at not taking the bites with over 100 hp!!!!!!!!!!

A 2 hp heal doesn't matter much when you heal for 40 at campsites and 25 before the boss. He had removed a strike already, and adding that back lowers his draw chances of the other cards... I would *definitely* have kept the HP and skipped the bites as well.

[@003SOK]

would you rest with 71/80 health? then why would you rest with 71/111 health???

[@UrFriendXD]

It's not a spider it's a whale :P

[@magebomba318]

Good shit my ninja!

[@mp3545]

Taking Battle Trance vs. Flash of Steel with only three energy makes zero sense. And he doesn’t take cleave when it’s actually good. And doesn’t take a second Sword Boomerang in a strength deck Limit Break.

[@s0uI1]

Hey NL , any plans on playing Artifact ?

[@michaels5375]

Well done Nl proud of you also paper frog just ok ? gotta disagree on this one vulnerable being 50% better is just op

[@Captaindragonfire]

[Played slightly better than garbage]

[@dimitarmatanski3712]

since when did dazes becoms voids? O_O

[@ChiliTomatoNoodle]

dae async

[@RiotMakerT9]

Choker.

[@TheQats]

defend on the final boss fight first you egg!

[@ShrekNoScpe_NoOnions]

LETS GO

[@pwnzork]

I love how at the point of having to choose a card he gets hit with the Kate question and starts wondering about that. Yeah, I'm simple.

[@JohnyMCness]

yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

[@MattFellin]

NL please, I know, I know, you got there, but just SLOW DOWN. Think about your choices, and think them through, don't just go with the first argument for/against it you think of and move on. I think that's been the key issue lately.

[@spirtjam]

Best character 😂😂😂

[@Markm8]

Why use feed on every combat and not upgrade it, only at act 2.5 right now but doseint look like he will. That’s so much wasted hp

[@mardaniel-qj1vd]

Likes video before watching it

[@cppilgram]

NL please. Please! Stop playing upgraded armaments before battle trance! You miss so many chances to upgrade your cards early.

[@harrysarso]

explain yourself more plz

[@acid_rainbow6935]

15th

[@bethbeth5132]

Second

[@randomguy7340]

First

[@sonofhades57]

HE'S DONE IT