Slay The Spire

Do you mean help for STS1 or STS2? I think it differs b/t the two.

Some general rules of thumb I've picked up from Baalor...

Neow bonus should help you get past the first elite. e.g. if there's no merchant before the first elite, don't take the 150 gold (as an example).

For STS2: Underdocks, prioritize defense, Overgrowth prioritize damage.

For STS1: Take card rewards that help you beat the first elite. Namely, prioritize damage over skils for G-Nob. Also AoE, in general, for lower level floors to help get past sentries and other normal fights that have multiple enemies. And "big" block cards in lower level floors, like Equilibrium.

Try to avoid taking multiple high-cost cards in the early floors, unless you happened to have taken a Neow bonus that gives you extra energy.

It really depends on what you're dying to. Even top level players will die to Gremlin Nob and Lagavulin in STS1 if they don't get enough damage early on and Skulking Colony or Effigy in STS2 if they don't get enough block consistency. And the higher you climb, the more RNG will start to affect your early game.

It sounds like you have a good general plan already. In general, in Act 1 you want to prioritize getting a damage plan in place, especially for Ironclad and Watcher in STS1 and Ironclad and Regent in STS2. If you can kill enemies on turn one or two, you don't have to worry about block as much. Combats are more valuable if you can end them quickly because you get to see three cards, get some money, and possibly get a potion. If you see one or two good block cards, grab them for act 2.

Act 2 is generally a mixture of AOE fights, damage checks, and block checks. Slavers and Gremlin Leader in STS1, Decimillipede and Entomancer in STS2. Try to look for solutions to these in your card rewards. Draw is almost always valuable and can mitigate card draw RNG.

Act 3 is usually a scaling check. Can your deck scale fast enough to kill the boss before it kills you? In STS1, you usually want to aim for a 20-25 card deck that has consistency, in STS2, it's not unusual to end with a 30-35 card deck that's more versatile. These are just suggestions, not hard rules, if you can make a consistent fifty card deck or a versatile five card deck, go for it.

On the turn to turn level, always take a moment to check your draw pile before doing anything else. Turn off fast mode if you're playing too fast. Check for lethal before you play cards (I lost a Regent run recently because I could have killed but missed it). Check your relics for slow plays before you end combat (like setting up Pen Nib or Nunchaku). After that it's just making choices. Do you want to get weak or vuln in place or do a bunch of damage? Do you want to play a strike over a defend to trade health or try to greed out a few HP?

Baalorlord, FrostPrime, and jorbs are my go-to YouTube channels. I've heard good things about Xecnar and Japanese Exports as well.