How Does Innate Work in Slay the Spire

It's a deceptively simple mechanic.

Want to know how does Innate work in Slay the Spire? Yeah, you and everyone else. You’re going to have a bad time figuring this one out on your own. The game isn’t exactly generous with its description of the keyword, so we’re here to clear up any of the confusion.

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We’ll be explaining exactly what Innate does in Slay the Spire – down to the technicalities. When you walk away from this, you should know how the mechanic works inside, and out.

Slay the Spire – How Does Innate Work

How does innate work in Slay the Spire? Innate on card.
Image via Mega Crit Games

Figuring out how Innate works in Slay the Spire is pretty simple. It’s a keyword that forces a card to always be in your starting hand at the beginning of a game. Great, right? Well, not exactly. Innate cards are typically overlooked by top-tier players, and here’s why:

Related: 10 Best Potions in Slay the Spire

In Slay the Spire, Innate doesn’t actually put the card into your starting hand as the Bottled Relics do. Instead, it simply puts the card at the top of your deck – guaranteeing you always draw into it in your opening hand.

However, this does take up one of your initial draws. What’s more, every Innate card you have stacks this way – so if you have two Innate cards, only three of the five cards in your starting hand are actually randomly drawn from the deck.

If you have more Innate cards than your starting hand allows, it works the same way – it sits on top of your deck until you draw into it.

Ultimately, all Innate does is force a card to be at the top of your deck when you start a game – no more, and no less.


Slay the Spire isn’t the only game that misleads its players in how it words its mechanics. Follow Gamer Journalist on Facebook, and we’ll make sure something like this never stumps you again.

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