Slay the Spire 2 Relics Tier List | Best Relics for Each Character [Early Access]

Updated on March 11, 2026: Slay the Spire 2 launched on Steam Early Access on March 5, 2026. This relics tier list covers the best universal relics, all character-specific picks, and a full Shop Relics ranking based on current Early Access meta data. Rankings will be updated as Mega Crit patches the game.

Slay the Spire 2 is the highly anticipated sequel to the genre-defining roguelike deckbuilder, and it launched into Early Access with over 250 relics across Starter, Common, Uncommon, Rare, Shop, Ancient, and Event rarities — and knowing which relics to take, which to skip, and which will silently ruin a run is one of the most important skills in the game. The wrong relic can brick an otherwise strong deck; the right one can turn a mediocre draft into a run-winner.

This Slay the Spire 2 relics tier list breaks down the best universal picks, every character's best starting relic, new mechanics like Durability, Wax Relics, Corrosion, and Pierce that change how you evaluate relics in STS2, and a full shop relic ranking from S to C so you always know whether a purchase is worth your gold. If you're still deciding which character to run, check out our Slay the Spire 2 Character Tier List first.

Best Relics in Slay the Spire 2

With over 250 relics in the current Early Access build, spanning Starter, Common, Uncommon, Rare, Shop, Ancient, and Event rarities, picking the right ones can make or break a run. Below, I've broken down the universal top picks you should prioritize regardless of character, followed by the standout character-specific relics for each class.

Note on the Durability mechanic: Several relics in STS2 now have limited uses per combat (Durability), meaning they can't fire indefinitely in a single fight. Always factor this in when evaluating relics that look powerful on paper. A relic with 1 or 2 Durability may do much less work against a boss than it did against hallway enemies.

Note on Wax Relics: STS2 introduces a new type of temporary relic called Wax Relics, obtained from Tezcatara's Toy Box in Act 2. They function like normal relics but degrade over time: every 3 combats, the leftmost Wax Relic melts away permanently. When choosing from the Toy Box, pick your weakest desired relic first — it will melt soonest, so save your best pick for the rightmost slot where it will last the longest. Never build your deck around card synergies that depend on a Wax Relic surviving into Act 3.

New STS2 Mechanics That Change How You Value Relics

Slay the Spire 2 introduces four mechanics that directly affect which relics are worth picking up — and which ones that looked strong in STS1 are now traps. If you're coming from the original game, understanding these before you evaluate any relic is essential.

Best Universal Relics (Any Character)

These relics are strong picks regardless of your character or deck direction. When you see them, you should be taking them almost every time:

Relic	Evaluation
Ice Cream Rare	Unspent energy carries over to the next turn. One of the most powerful relics in the game, enabling huge combo turns and forgiving misplays in energy-tight fights.
Mummified Hand Rare	Whenever you play a Power card, a random card in your hand costs 0 that turn. Makes Power-heavy builds dramatically more explosive.
Anchor Common	Start each combat with 10 Block. A deceptively strong universal defensive relic that smooths out early turns across every character.
Bag of Preparation Common	Draw 2 additional cards at the start of each combat. Increases opening hand consistency. It's almost always good regardless of archetype.
Ornamental Fan Uncommon	After playing 3 Attacks in a turn, gain 4 Block. Rewards attack-heavy turns with passive defense, and most decks naturally trigger it.
Membership Card Shop	Shop items cost 50% less. One of the best shop relics in the game. Buying it early pays for itself in gold savings multiple times over.
Gambling Chip Rare	At the start of each combat, discard any number of cards then draw that many. Effectively gives you a free mulligan every fight. It's one of the most consistently powerful relics in the game, regardless of character or archetype, because a bad opening hand is often all that separates a clean fight from a messy one.

Relic Trap Picks to Avoid

Not every relic that sounds powerful is worth picking up. These are the relics that end promising runs or create problems, their upside doesn't justify:

Velvet Choker — Caps you at 6 card plays per turn. Completely bricks combo-heavy decks and Silent discard builds. Almost never worth it unless your deck is 90% Powers.

Brimstone — You gain 2 Strength per turn, but every enemy also gains 1 Strength. Only safe if you can end fights fast. Skip it entirely on Necrobinder, whose 66 HP can't survive the accelerating enemy damage output.

Calling Bell — Gives 3 relics alongside a unique Curse. Only worth picking if you're specifically building around curse synergies. Otherwise you're carrying a liability into every fight. When in doubt, a bad relic is worse than no relic.

Starting Relics for Every Character

Every character begins each run with a unique starting relic that defines their early-game identity and tells you exactly how to draft in Act 1. Understanding what your starting relic does and doesn't do is the foundation of every run. Below you'll find the best relics for each character in STS2, but let's first explain starting relics.

The Ironclad Best Relics

Relic	Evaluation
Demon Tongue Rare	Tier: S – The first time you lose HP on your turn, heal HP equal to the amount lost. Synergizes perfectly with Ironclad's self-damage cards (Hemokinesis, Breakthrough), turning a weakness into a healing engine.
Self-Forming Clay Uncommon	Tier: S – Whenever you lose HP in combat, gain 3 Block next turn. Ironclad's self-damage playstyle makes this excellent. Every HP loss becomes a defensive buffer.
Ruined Helmet Rare	Tier: A – The first time you gain Strength each combat, double the amount gained. Multiplicatively strong with Inflame and the Strength-scaling archetype.
Charon's Ashes Rare	Tier: B – Whenever you Exhaust a card, deal 3 damage to all enemies. Defines the Exhaust build archetype and turns deck-thinning into a legitimate damage source.
Paper Phrog Uncommon	Tier: B – Enemies with Vulnerable take 75% more damage instead of 50%. A significant damage multiplier if you're consistently applying Vulnerable through Uppercut or Taunt.

The Silent Best Relics

Relic	Evaluation
Tingsha Uncommon	Tier: EX – Whenever you discard a card during your turn, deal 3 damage to a random enemy per card discarded. In a discard-heavy Silent deck, this is one of the most broken relics in Early Access. It turns every discard into a damage proc.
Tough Bandages Rare	Tier: EX – Whenever you discard a card during your turn, gain 3 Block. Pairs with Tingsha to make discard builds essentially unkillable while also dealing damage. The relic synergy between these two is among the best in the game.
Helical Dart Rare	Tier: S – Whenever you play a Shiv, gain 1 Dexterity this turn. Stacks rapidly in Shiv-spam decks and turns Blade Dance and Hidden Daggers into defensive powerhouses.
Snecko Skull Common	Tier: A – Whenever you apply Poison, apply 1 additional Poison. Straightforward Poison amplifier that doubles your Poison stacking rate effectively.
Twisted Funnel Uncommon	Tier: B – Apply 4 Poison to all enemies at the start of each combat. Free Poison before you even play a card. Excellent in Poison builds, mediocre otherwise.

The Defect Best Relics

Relic	Evaluation
Data Disk Common	Tier: S – Start each combat with 1 Focus. Passively improves every Orb's trigger value without requiring any setup. Arguably the Defect's single most impactful relic.
Runic Capacitor Shop	Tier: S – Start each combat with 3 additional Orb slots. More Orbs means more passive triggers per turn and dramatically widens the Defect's action economy.
Metronome Rare	Tier: A – The first time you Channel 7 Orbs in a combat, deal 30 damage to all enemies. A milestone bonus that rewards the Orb-heavy playstyle and can swing boss fights.
Symbiotic Virus Uncommon	Tier: A – Start each combat by channeling 1 Dark. Free Dark Orb every fight. Dark scales its execute damage with each trigger, so a free starting Orb compounds throughout long fights.
Gold-Plated Cables Uncommon	Tier: B – Your rightmost Orb triggers its passive an additional time. Doubles the value of whichever Orb is in your rightmost slot. Position your strongest Orb type accordingly.

The Regent Best Relics

The Regent's best relics either accelerate his Stars economy, amplify his Forge/Minion archetypes, or extend his survivability through Act 1 before his deck comes online:

Relic	Evaluation
Lunar Pastry Rare	Tier: S – At the end of your turn, gain 1 Star. Passive Stars generation every single turn without spending energy or cards is exactly what the Regent wants. Over a long fight this stacks into a devastating late-turn payoff.
Mini Regent Rare	Tier: S – The first time you spend a Star each turn, gain 1 Strength. Free Strength every turn you activate your Stars economy is as strong as it sounds. Pairs with Lunar Pastry to turn the Regent into a scaling powerhouse.
Vitruvian Minion Shop	Tier: S (Forge builds only) – Cards containing "Minion" deal double damage and gain double Block. If you're building a Forge archetype, this relic is a run-winner. Doubles the value of the entire card synergy chain the Regent's Minion deck is built around. Narrow but potentially broken in a dedicated Minion-creation build.
Ice Cream Rare	Tier: S – Unspent energy carries over to the next turn. Exceptional on the Regent specifically because he already operates on a secondary resource pool. Carrying over normal energy on top of accumulating Stars means his snowball turns arrive faster and hit harder than with any other character.
Fencing Manual Common	Tier: A – At the start of each combat, Forge 10. Free enchantment value on your cards before you've even played one. Forge ensures your attack cards are permanently improved throughout the run.
Ringing Triangle Shop	Tier: A – Retain your entire hand on the first turn of combat. Strong for the Regent because his Act 1 turns are often awkward setup turns. Knowing exactly what you'll draw on Turn 1 lets you pre-plan your Stars spend and avoid wasted card plays.
Gambling Chip Rare	Tier: A – Free mulligan at the start of each combat. Particularly valuable in the Regent's early Acts before his deck is shaped, where a bad opening hand can completely stall his Stars accumulation for the entire fight.
Galactic Dust Uncommon	Tier: A – For every 10 Stars spent, gain 10 Block. Turns the Regent's core spending mechanic into a parallel defensive engine. In a well-built Stars deck, this solves the Regent's main weakness of being fragile.
Regalite Uncommon	Tier: B – Whenever you create a Colorless card, gain 2 Block. Solid passive Block generation if you're running Orange Dough or a Forge-heavy build that regularly produces Colorless cards.
Orange Dough Rare	Tier: B – At the start of each combat, add 2 random Colorless cards into your Hand. Randomness holds this back, but it adds immediate pressure. Best combined with Regalite to guarantee passive Block.

The Necrobinder Best Relics

The Necrobinder's best relics either amplify Osty's companion scaling, support the Doom execution win condition, or shore up her critical HP vulnerability. Here are the confirmed standouts:

Relic	Evaluation
Undying Sigil Shop	Tier: S – Enemies with at least as much Doom as their current HP deal 50% less damage. For a character with only 66 base HP, cutting incoming damage in half from condemned enemies is enormous. A must-buy whenever you see it in the shop as Necrobinder.
Funerary Mask Uncommon	Tier: S – At the start of each combat, add 3 Souls into your Draw Pile. Souls are the Necrobinder's secondary resource; a consistent free supply removes the setup variance that makes early acts awkward.
Anchor Common	Tier: S (Necrobinder) – Start each combat with 10 Block. Universally strong, but particularly valuable here because that free Block on turn 1 buys time for Osty to build HP before taking his first hit. Smooths out the Necrobinder's fragile opening turns more than it does for any other character.
Book Repair Knife Uncommon	Tier: A – Whenever a non-Minion enemy dies to Doom, heal 3 HP. The Necrobinder needs healing wherever she can find it, and this triggers constantly to offset chip damage.
Bone Flute Common	Tier: A – Whenever Osty attacks, gain 2 Block. Osty attacks every turn he's alive, providing free Block without spending energy. This rewards keeping your companion active.
Bag of Preparation Common	Tier: A – Draw 2 extra cards at combat start. The Necrobinder's action economy lives and dies by seeing her 0-cost and Soul-reducing cards early. Extra card draw at combat start dramatically improves how often she can chain her opening plays.
Ivory Tile Rare	Tier: B – Whenever you play a card that costs a Soul or more, gain 1 Soul. Creates a self-sustaining Soul economy that rewards higher-cost plays rather than depleting resources.
Bookmark Rare	Tier: B – At the end of each turn, lower the cost of a random Retained card by 1 until played. Strong in Retain-heavy builds, though randomness limits its reliability in most standard runs.
Lee's Waffle Shop	Tier: B – Upon pickup, raise Max HP by 7 and heal to full. More impactful on Necrobinder than almost any other character due to her 66 HP floor. A full heal plus a permanent HP increase is significant when every hit matters.
Big Hat Rare	Tier: C – At the start of each combat, add 2 random Ethereal cards into your Hand. Too inconsistent for a low-HP character; you risk cluttering your opening hand with cards that may not be useful.

Best Event Relics in Slay the Spire 2

Event relics come from specific map encounters rather than combat drops or shops. Because you can't reliably route for them the way you can for a shop visit, their value is often underestimated. The confirmed Event relics in the current Early Access build are listed below — note that many relics players associate with specific characters (Bone Flute, Funerary Mask, Galactic Dust, Lunar Pastry, and others) are actually obtainable as regular Common, Uncommon, or Rare drops, not Event-locked.

⇓ MUST-PICK RELICS ⇓

S

Membership Card

Orrery

Ringing Triangle

Runic Capacitor

⇓ STRONG RELICS ⇓

A

Chemical X

Miniature Tent

Dolly's Mirror

Dragon Fruit

Gnarled Hammer

Lava Lamp

The Abacus

Brimstone

⇓ SITUATIONAL RELICS ⇓

B

Burning Sticks

Kifuda

Royal Stamp

Lee's Waffle

Cauldron

Ghost Seed

Sling of Courage

Ninja Scroll

Wing Charm

Punch Dagger

Mystic Lighter

⇓ AVOID / NICHE RELICS ⇓

C

Bread

Belt Buckle

Screaming Flagon

Dingy Rug

Toolbox

Undying Sigil

Vitruvian Minion

Shop relics are the only relics you can reliably plan for. You know a shop is coming, and you know you'll have gold to spend. That makes evaluating them differently from combat drops important: a shop relic needs to justify its gold cost in addition to being strong in a vacuum. Some are universally worth buying the moment you see them; others only make sense if your deck is already pointing in a specific direction. Here's how every current shop relic ranks.

S Tier Shop Relics

These are near-auto-buys regardless of deck archetype. The gold cost pays off across the rest of the run, often multiple times over.

Relic	Description	Pros & Cons
Membership Card	50% discount on all shop products.	Pays for itself the moment you buy another item in the same shop. Makes previously unaffordable relics and card removals accessible. Costs gold upfront, so timing matters. Don't buy it on your last shop visit.
Orrery	Upon pickup, gain 5 card rewards to choose from.	Massive immediate deck building power spike. Five free card picks is enormous. Works equally well for any character and any archetype. High gold cost; weaker if your deck already has direction.
Ringing Triangle	Retain your entire hand on the first turn of combat.	Lets you plan around your exact opening hand every fight and eliminates bad-hand variance. Especially strong for bosses where knowing your first turn in advance is huge. No ongoing effect past the first turn; weaker for fast-cycling decks.
Runic Capacitor	Start each combat with 3 additional Orb slots. (Defect only)	Dramatically increases Defect's passive damage and Block output per turn. One of the core relics that makes Defect a competitive pick in Early Access. Effectively dead for every other character; only buy as Defect.

A Tier Shop Relics

Strong pickups that provide sustained value across a run, though some require your deck to be pointing in a specific direction to get full mileage.

Relic	Description	Pros & Cons
Chemical X	The effects of your X-cost cards are increased by 2.	Turns already strong X-cost cards like Whirlwind into run-winners. Passive buff with no ongoing cost. Completely dead if your deck has no X-cost cards; check before buying.
Miniature Tent	You may choose any number of options at Rest Sites.	Unlocks healing, upgrading, card removal, and relic digging all at the same rest stop. Incredible flexibility for runs where you need everything at once. No immediate impact on combat; purely a planning tool.
Dolly's Mirror	Upon pickup, obtain an additional copy of a card in your Deck.	Doubles your best combo piece or run-defining card immediately. Works best with powerful rares or your key build enabler. Value is tied to having a card worth copying; mediocre in unfocused decks.
Dragon Fruit	Whenever you gain Gold, raise your Max HP by 1.	Scales HP passively throughout the run; can add 15-30+ Max HP in gold-heavy routes. Especially powerful early in the run where more gold events are ahead. Weaker if purchased late; diminishing returns as fewer gold sources remain.
Gnarled Hammer	Upon pickup, Enchant up to 3 Attacks with Sharp 3 (+3 damage permanently).	Immediate damage boost to three attacks at no energy cost ever again. Works best with attacks you play every turn. One-time pickup effect; doesn't scale with future additions.
Lava Lamp	At the end of combat, Upgrade all card rewards if you took no damage.	Upgraded card rewards are significantly stronger than base versions. Incentivizes a defensive playstyle that many decks want to pursue anyway. Requires no-damage clears, which is impossible in many elite and boss fights.
The Abacus	Whenever you shuffle your Draw Pile, gain 6 Block.	Free Block every cycle with zero card investment. It adds up across long fights. Particularly strong in thin decks that shuffle more frequently. Nearly useless in large, slow-cycling decks that rarely reshuffle.
Brimstone	At the start of your turn, gain 2 Strength. ALL enemies also gain 1 Strength.	Two free Strength every turn is enormous scaling for Strength builds. Enemies getting stronger every turn is a real cost; fights get lethal fast. Avoid entirely on fragile characters like Necrobinder.

RELATED: Slay the Spire 2 Character Tier List – Best Characters Ranked

B Tier Shop Relics

Situationally useful relics that can be excellent in the right deck but don't belong in every shopping cart. Evaluate these based on your current build direction.

Relic	Description	Pros & Cons
Burning Sticks	The first time each combat you Exhaust a Skill, add a copy of it to your Hand.	Strong in Exhaust-heavy Ironclad builds; recovers your best Skill for free once per fight. Works well with high-value Skills like Inflame or Taunt. Only triggers once per combat; weak if you rarely exhaust Skills.
Kifuda	Upon pickup, Enchant up to 3 cards with Adroit (draw an extra card when played).	Free card draw on three cards permanently boosts deck cycling rate. Apply to your most-played cards for maximum value. One-time effect; doesn't scale with future deck additions.
Royal Stamp	Upon pickup, Enchant one Attack or Skill in your Deck with Royally Approved.	Permanently enhances one key combo piece or high-impact card. Single-target effect; impact depends entirely on the card and enchant choice.
Lee's Waffle	Upon pickup, raise your Max HP by 7 and heal to full HP.	Full heal on pickup makes it a lifesaver when running low mid-run. Max HP bonus provides permanent value. Weak proactively if already at full HP; mostly emergency value.
Cauldron	Upon pickup, brew 5 random potions.	Five potions provide a massive immediate resource burst for tough fights. Potions are random, potentially resulting in low-value options. One-time pickup effect with no ongoing benefits.
Ghost Seed	Strikes and Defends gain Ethereal (disappear after being drawn if not played).	Effectively thins your deck of starter cards without using a removal slot. Free deck quality improvement over time. Starter cards occasionally have value; losing them can hurt in short fights.
Sling of Courage	Start each Elite combat with 2 Strength.	Free Strength in Elite fights where you need it most. Stacks with other Strength sources for massive scaling. Only applies to Elite combats, not bosses or regular hallway fights.
Ninja Scroll	At the start of each combat, add 3 Shivs into your Hand.	Excellent synergy with Helical Dart for dedicated Silent Shiv builds. Entirely useless for every character except The Silent.
Wing Charm	A random card in each card reward is Enchanted with Swift 1 (costs 1 less Energy once).	Free enchant on one card every reward; slow but consistent value. Random targeting; Swift 1 is a mild enchant with gradual impact.
Punch Dagger	Upon pickup, Enchant one Attack in your Deck with Momentum 5.	Momentum 5 builds power on a key Attack every time it's played. Single card enchant; effect is narrow but strong with the right target.
Mystic Lighter	Enchanted Attacks deal 9 additional damage.	Huge damage bonus if your deck has multiple Enchanted Attacks. Completely dead without Enchanted Attacks; always check your deck before buying.

C Tier Shop Relics

These relics have narrow use cases, high conditional requirements, or are so character-specific that they're only worth considering in very specific run states.

Relic	Description	Pro / Con
Bread	Lose 2 Energy on your first turn. Gain 1 Colorless Energy at the start of all other turns.	Technically a net positive in long combats (profit from turn 4 onwards). First turn Energy loss can be fatal in critical fights where setup is everything. Unpredictable value makes it a very risky purchase.
Belt Buckle	While you have no potions, you have 2 additional Dexterity.	Free Dexterity is highly valuable for defensive scaling, especially for Silent. Bonus disappears immediately the moment you pick up or brew any potion. Requires actively avoiding a core game mechanic (potions) to maintain.
Screaming Flagon	If you end your turn with no cards in your Hand, deal 20 damage to ALL enemies.	20 AoE damage is a massive free proc if you can trigger it consistently. Playing your entire hand every turn is difficult for most non-exhaust decks. Unreliable trigger condition makes it hard to build a strategy around.
Dingy Rug	Card rewards can now contain Colorless cards.	Access to run-defining Colorless cards like Apparition or Bi-Modal Bomb. Value is entirely dependent on RNG; you might never see the card you need. Dilutes card reward pools if you already have a focused character build.
Toolbox	At the start of each combat, add 1 of 3 random Colorless cards into your Hand.	Consistent utility access every fight (Discover mechanic). Randomly generated cards may not be relevant to your specific situation. Takes up hand space on Turn 1, which is often your most crowded turn.
Undying Sigil	Enemies with at least as much Doom as HP deal 50% less damage.	Effectively halves incoming damage — massive survivability for Necrobinder. Zero value for other characters; strictly a Necrobinder-specific buy. Requires substantial Doom setup before the defensive benefit kicks in.
Vitruvian Minion	Cards containing "Minion" deal double damage and gain double Block.	Doubles the power of the Regent's core mechanic; essential for Forge builds. Completely useless for characters other than The Regent. Only scales with specific "Minion" cards, making it narrow in utility.

Slay the Spire 2 Relics Tier List FAQ

Not sure which character to run with these relics? Our Slay the Spire 2 Character Tier List covers all five characters, their deck archetypes, best cards, and full unlock order.