Ranking EVERY Relic in Slay the Spire! (Tier List) 

What's your all-time favorite relic? Comment below!

Best thing I can say for The Boot is that it still does 5 damage when the enemy is Intangible and I enjoy that.

My favorite non-boss relic to see is the shuriken or kunai. It doesn't always pop off if I don't have a million shivs, but getting that little stackable bonus for doing stuff I'd do anyway really activates the dopamine transmitters

Mummified Hand is my personal favorite. It is fun on most characters, but defect is one of my favorites, and it can get nutty with heat sinks.

Evaluating the poop relic with how it's acquired (same logic as bloom or circlet) I think it should be moved from D to at least C, curse removal is almost always correct (unless you have a weird Du-vu build going)

I think chemical X might be my favorite relic. Turning the X cost cards into capable giant effects for 0 mana gives so much flexibility. it is especially awesome on defect

Brimstone: "Comes with a big-ass downside" Does not get more accurate than that.

i think i really like how seriously you take the rarity of each item. it helps when judging like standard runs rather then being kinda exclusive to 'the dream run's

Tungsten Rod has saved me more times that I'd care to admit, it is without a doubt my favorite relic. Unceasing Top also gets an honorary mention.

Medkit is an absolute beast of a relic on ironclad, feel no pain, dark embrace and power through combo is incredibly powerful

One of my favorites is the membership card, because then I get even more relics :)

My favorite is probably Toxic egg cause I love having upgraded cards and most decks end up with more skills than powers and attacks. Also big fan of chemical X even tho it s more difficult to make it work , thanks for the video Baalor !

im just now getting really getting into spire, and your video catalog is a big reason why i really enjoy this game. this game is so addicting the more i start to understand it, and every time i get a chunk of knowledge from your channel im immediately chomping at the bit to apply it to a run of my own.

Thanks for the tierlist Baalor, great to hear your insights. Personal favorite is Runic Pyramid. There's just something so cozy about "retaining" cards from turn to turn.

I think Hand Drill is quite underrated for characters that don’t have vulnerable often, many enemies armor up and attack together, which gives you the opportunity to set up massive damage. Saved domes runs for me before.

Here are my humble opinions. Mummified Hand is easily an S-tier. You are going to play your talents anyways, and MH effectively makes 1-3 (sometimes even 4 or 5) energy for every talent you play, which is nuts. For Defect talent build this is even game breaking. Prayer Wheel is an S. I mean, it`s usually THREE more cards to choose from! Insane. Every single one matters a lot (that`s why ?-Card is good), and here are THREE. Ice Cream. I tnink it`s also an S. You don`t need to meet any conditions for that relic to be useful, and a single X card with Ice Cream launches your deck straight to the moon. I`ve never lost a run with Ice Cream, I believe. Remember those awkward moments when you have 1-2 energy left for one turn, and are lacking the SAME amount next turn. Ice Cream fixes that. Dead Branch is overrated. Sure, it generates a ton of random cards, but this can actually become an issue, because it ruins your deck`s consistency. You aren`t always able to play cards generated with the Dead Branch immideately. And you quite often need the space in your hand for a specific card rather than a random one. AND sometimes I don`t need to reshuffle my deck with this relic, but sometimes I do and then regret having a drawn hand full of garbage. Too many downsides for an S. A-tier, I tnink. Self-Forming Clay is A-tier. It`s only S when you have a specific build, and in other builds it`s like... okay, because you don`t always need than 3-9-whatever block the turn AFTER you`ve taken damage. Champion`s Belt is A. I mean, as Ironclad you have at least one attack which applies Vurnelable in your starting deck, and you are generally (with some exeptions maybe) add more. Champion Belt can be a life saver as often (and probably more often) than Lizard`s Tail. Ink Botle is B. B for Bottle. That card draw you occasionally receive can save you, but also can ruin your fight if you draw and then need to discard or exhaust something valuable (like Echo Form, Corruption/Barricade, Bullet Time etc.) Sometimes I should play than 10th card, but I`m too scared to do so, cuz I would have 0 energy when I draw that card, which is often bad. Pen Nib is A. Damage per attack you get from it values pretty much the same as from the Shuriken, if not higher. Considering that Pen Nib is common and adds value to EVERY SINGLE attack you play, I rate Pen Nib slightly higher than Shuriken.

The way I see Matroyshka, Tiny Chest, and Shovel is this: instead of getting a different relic *now*, you are offered the *chance* to get a different relic *later*, and will be offered additional chances beyond that. In the short term they're all quite bad. It's like opening an empty chest: you get no immediate benefit. If you meet certain conditions (don't be in late act 3 for Matroyshka, willing to give up a rest for Shovel, willing (or required) to take four question rooms for Tiny Chest), you are "rewarded" with the equivalent value to that chest simply... not having been empty in the first place. If you are *very* lucky (in the case of Matroyshka) or dedicated (in the case of TC/Shovel), you can end up ahead in relics in the long run - but first you have to get past having opened an empty chest *and then* having "merely" gotten a replacement relic. Frankly I'm surprised you put any of these above "F" tier. I agree that Matroyshka is slightly better - you don't need to change anything about your pathing to get the "replacement" relic or its followup; maybe that's enough for a D - but it still is a bad relic.

Definitely Snecko Eye. Best relic and most fun for sure. Relics that change your run completely are the most fun for me.

Really liking tough bandages lately, since it basically reads "Don't worry about blocking for the rest of the run" if you find a calc gamble or two. Second is Orange pellets

Big fan of Ice Cream. Glad to see other tier lists being made!

Honestly, I would argue that Lizard Tail is S-tier regardless of whether it pops or not. It's just a good insurance policy to have. If you have potion belt with any bottled fairies, that's a near immortal build.

Personally I'd put Nilry's Codex in S tier. It's a bit inconsistent, but it provides great scaling and crucial cards, to the point I find it can carry entire runs, especially on Silent. I find it a lot better across 3/4 classes over Necronomicon, except on Ironclad, but it's still really good there.

Recently got the game and man does this rock! Playing magic the gathering for twenty years i really like the similarities. I'm still noob though and you sir provide an excellent step into the depths of the game.

Got the game 3 hours ago and finished my first run in STS with Ironclad, this will definitely be useful for further runs. Thx Baalor.

omg man, just started playing the game, and been watching your tier list and opinion videos on cards from months ago, and u just upload this, hahaha bless you man super good videos to learn and understand the game!!!

My favorite relic genuinely might be Art of War. I've had several runs where I got it early and actually managed to build around it, picking literally 0 attacks and also purging all my starting deck attacks. If you manage to accomplish that it essentially becomes as powerful as a boss energy relic, providing energy every single turn except turn 1. Which is downright insane power for a common relic if you manage to pull that off. Bonus points if you also find a Lantern to cover the turn 1 energy making you a true 4 energy deck every turn without even needing a single boss energy relic. It's extremely satisfying. In my experience this can be done with some niche builds on every class, like power/orb spam on Defect, pressure points on Watcher, or juggernaut block spams on Ironclad just to name a few, but can most consistently be accomplished on the Silent with poison builds as long as you avoid cards like poisoned stab and bane.

I once used the relic that allows you to play curses with a rupture and got a necromicon on ironclad. I played the bell over and over until I had 20 strength then played immolate twice. You can also create an infinite combo with the bell, with dark embrace and an upgraded true grit, and sun dial. Mix in juggernaut. Draw True grit over and over exhausting the bell, get infinite e Getty of sun dial.

Being new to the game (like I bought it a 5 days ago) and ironically, everytime I've won a run, Enchiridian (free power book turn 1) has legit been a win condition in 6 of the 7 wins I've had so far. 3-1-1-1 I ironically got my first win without it by spamming shivs after finding a boot. Stocked a ton of bursts with shiv dances and horde attack pots for bad boss fights.

Wristblades (especially as a swap) is definitely my favourite! Is it the best relic? No. Is it hilarious to go hard into shivs, accuracy, and then get a Phantasmal Killer so each of your shivs are hitting for 28+ damage? God yes 😂

Blue Candle should definitely draw you a card. I want a good curse deck.

My favorite relics are the ones that let you get more/better cards and relics over the run; question card, prayer wheel, all of the eggs (but especially toxic egg), and membership card are all insanely strong if you get them early in act 1 or from Neow. Imo even black star is one of the stronger boss relic swaps you can get, provided you manage to survive act 1

Caw Caw Helmet isn't S+ tier? Invalid list.

The face that gives you 50 gold every time you go into a random question room, because I love question rooms and I love money

Solid list, with only three disagreements ... and two of the three are basically jokes: Mummified Hand should be S-tier, as it's sometimes stronger than an energy relic Cultist Mask should be D-tier, as it's only good for memes, has no in-game effect Spirit Poop should be F-tier, as all it does is lower your score by 1 point (useless)

Just completed my first run with paper crane and it immediately became a personal favourite. Being able to immediately reduce damage by 40% is insane.

unceasing top will always hold a special place in my heart for my first ever infinite deck on defect with a bunch of 0 cost cards and like 3 1 cost cards that exhausted or were powers

ice cream in B, gremlin horn in A.... ice cream gives you energy maybe 3-10 times a fight, more on bosses and pairs with X cards and any type of retain or draw decks so you can have a turn that finishes the fight, gremlin horn gives you energy maybe twice on average. Gremlin horn is B, ice cream is S

Ice cream in B tier is the *coldest* take here.

Ah yes Ped Nib. The relic i always end up wasting by accident.

I think gambling chip is my favourite. I really love draw engine decks with the silent. Gambling chip just adds so mich consistency. There are some decks that can otk most enemies with the right card combo, but if you brick your starting hand you can get killed pretty fast.

I think my favorite relic is the 3 thorns one (bronze scales?), crazy strong.

Drill in F tier is very harsh… it’s come in clutch for me quite often…

Normally Mummified Hand is my favorite but lately Dead Branch and Necronomicon have been climbing up there.

I have to say that the most fun I've had with a relic is dead branch

My favorite relic is the turnip cause I hate being frail :(

Lizard tail is a little high in my eyes. It seems strong, but just doesn't do enough. Either you don't need it and it just sits there accumulating dust. Or it does trigger and then the next fight you die anyways.

My personal favorite relic is Akabeko! I'm surprised Omamori found itself so low on the list - I feel like it's money machine or enables a cursed key quite nicely!

Membership card. Its the best relic in the game hands down.

31:00 orichalcum is a C even though it saved my life vs the heart lmao

I really love THE BOOT because if you have pummel and boomerang it really comes in clutch especially pummel cause it's a free 25 or 30 damage to the enemy

a spire channel and his voice has the timbre and cadence of an sunday afternoon baseball broadcaster...AND he's not alt right!! i'm in heaven... 😍

Hey man where'd you get that lordran poster in the background? it's sick as fuck, I'd love to get one

If you ever do another tier list like this, can you please do a little more explaining what each relic does before you rank it? Not every single person knows exactly what every relic does at a half seconds glance. Really wanted to try and learn from this video, but it's obviously not meant to be for beginners of the game :/

Honestly. Medical kit is easy A tier to me. Book of stabbing, hexaflame, the heart... Plus it synergizes so well with some decks. Admittedly much better for an ironclad due to cards like power through, but still can straight win a hard fight.

2 exhausts+strange spoon allows you to exhume as many times as you would like. Just keep exhuming your exhume until one dumps in the discard, then exhume the card you actually want. Particularly notable with dead branch, exhaust based decks, and strong exhaust cards, like feed or reaper, and many others

My fav is kunai. I love building around dex scaling.

On Silent, I had starter relic, bag of prep, and a gambling chip. Very strong

I just can't believe that you put prayer wheel not in s

Personally I prefer tungsha and touch bandage. I already like discard archetype and the way they interact is pretty dang cool And the best is tori imo. Combined it with tungsten rod, and u can stand 14 turn in the heart fight

Ive gone semi-infinite with strange spoon before, 3 offerings, 2 exhumes, iron rod and apparition. It was so goofy.

is the talking bird head being S tier a troll move? and the poop in D? Theyre both F right?

I get boot not being high but D tier feels bad. There’s so many times where it’s useful, acting as free strength on some cards, shivs, hitting through weakness, nemesis in act 3, birds and so on

Prismatic shard is so absolutely fun, even if you lose because of it xD

I love all the ninja relics, especially together. Play three attacks, get an effect, is just amusing to me.

I once took handdrill. I really liked it, I thought it did a lot. Then I realized that I just liked vulnerable...

I'm surprised he glossed over the Medkit, I swear it auto wins you the run on ironclad if you have a dark embrace and feel no pain

I've liked using the dead branch before I started playing slay the spire, so of course it's my favorite.

I knew you were a person of class when you put Cultist Face in S-Tier.

Tingsha and Charon’s Ashes are very fun when you get them

sacred bark. if you have three helpful potions going into a boss, EZ win

Is the list available online? Can you put a link in the description?

Baalorlord I'm like 40 hours in and I literally can't win once with Defect, any advice?

Why is dig so low - don't we generally value relics over upgrades, since elites are more important than campfires usually? Digging and finding vajra is basically equivalent to lifting, so the fact that dig is 2 tiers lower than girya means that you think the average relic is significantly worse than vajra. Is that true? Worth noting that I don't disagree that dig is a bad relic - it takes a lot of time to provide value, and that value is at the cost of upgrades or heals - but the same argument applies to the other fire relics too. I wouldn't have thought that removes and strength are *so* much better than getting relics to justify having them 2 entire tiers higher.

Had some money left over at final shop and decided to buy Brimstone rather than let it go to waste. Big mistake. Heart swung for a gazillion damage on Turn 5.

If you could make your own relic for slay the spire, what would be be and what would it do Aunts chili- heal 12 HP and gains 3 strength after leaving rest spot " A steaming hot pot of chili, labeled aunts famous chili, nobody knows who truly made it, but its smell amazing, Rarity-uncommon.

My favorite is Dead branch. Because it is fun. Unless it throws a run. I will play Dead branch and find all exhaust. Especially at shiv deck

I think bottled flame is a bit harsh its carried me through act 1 and helped with act 2 by throwing a immolate or whatever its called in it

Du vu du doll with ironclad is my favourite to go with curses and make them possitive

When you're putting up the info about the card you're talking about, could you please leave that up until you're done talking about it? I'm often watching these while I play, and by the time I look over, the detail panel is gone but you're still on it, so I have to go back to see it

I got the branch really early and it annoyed me more than anything tbh, shivs bloating my deck with random things. What makes it good?

This man is always bouncing back and forth in videos

Why the sound is cut every second??

Nice points but ya really need to leave the item descriptions up the whole time until you move to the next item. You take away the descriptions really quickly (just leaving the spot blank) and I spent about half the vid scrolling back to see the details you started discussing.

Does magic flower improve the gain healing from feed? Like feed gives you 5 max health and 5 immediate healing. Does that immediate healing increase or does it not count?

Nilrys codex saved my 1st try minimalist run

Id argue spirit poop is more of a low c tier. Its a garaunteed curse removal if you have it

I personally think Cracked Core is a little low because as a starting relic, giving you 1 lightning orb with no setup in act 1 is kind of bonkers. Dualcasting without using an energy on a Zap gets through a lot of the act 1 fights with that 16 damage. Even in the early fights that you can't just dualcast turn 1 or 2 to win, you simply don't dualcast and you get a good chunk of passive damage for longer fights like Sentries. I can see it being lower due to how it begins to fall off later if the deck isn't orientated around lightning or evoking. But certainly an act 1 killer. Now as for my favorite it's between Prismatic and Pellets. Prismatic is just fun, but as a Defect player at heart, the existence of Pellets releases all the dopamine because of Biased Cognition.

I have a soft spot for girya. It makes physical damage way more fun

I think Chem X shoudl be A or S simply for the fact that it allows you to play cost-x for FREE and still get value, like that's crazy.

Mummified hand is definitely S tier. Run-defining quite often. Maybe my fav relic. Also very fun to play with Hand Drill is very good against several common mobs - especially act two, such as Armored Parasite and that centurion-duo, as well as all mallable mobs. And gremlin boss with shielding gremlin minions. And donu/deca. And Time Eater. So half of the act 2/3 bosses! Why is this in F?? I wouldn't buy it, but it definitely helps damage output.

the boot combos with envenom so well it should be mandatory

Maybe it was different when the video was posted a year back but the Juzu Bracelet prevents ? events from being combats, it doesnt turn combats into events

The potential of Snecko Eye to rescue a poor run or propel an average run to the next level is unmatched. Also love Ice Cream.

Honestly an amazing list. Agree with just about near everything except maybe like Persevered Insect being s-tier.

picked up the game last week. made it to act 3 a few times but havent won yet ;(

6:13 I think I tend to end my fights on turn 7 or later more often than not 😅

Literal poop above hand drill 😭 help

Please someone tell me there’s a link to his list so I can reference it about a million times easier than squinting at a video…

Hand drill literally was the deciding factor in my first ascension 20 watcher win against the heart.. it's fucking amazing on Watcher dude. The silent also has trouble making characters vulnerable but I've found it's not nearly as useful as her.

Had to rewind to wtf a second time at 25:33