We’ve had many different deck-building roguelites in the years since, butSlay the Spireremains one of the best examples of this particular niche. WhileSlay the Spire‘s cards are obviously crucial for the game’s longevity, Relics are crucial as well, and I’ve finally gotten them properly ranked.
Slay the Spire‘s Relics are unique and permanent upgrades that you may or may not come across as you ascend the titular Spire. Most of them are quite helpful, albeit also fairly situational. Some, in particular, are outright problematic in that they incur substantial penalties for effectively no gains at all. Examples include the Gremlin Visage, for example, which simply has you start each encounter with 1 Weak applied. This is obviously a problematic Relic and will, as such, not be included in this tier list.
Note that I’m also not going to reference “flavor” items here, such as the Cultist Headpiece. It should be immediately apparent that the Cultist Headpiece is the single best Relic in the game due to it exclusively making your character caw often and loud. Nowthat‘s a meta item if I’ve ever seen one.
Ranking Slay the Spire’s Relics
As of version 2.3,Slay the Spirefeatures almost 200 unique Relics in total. Discussing each of these at length is obviously out of the question, and so I’m focusing mainly on the “S” and “A” tiers for the purposes of this article. Below you’ll find the best of the best Slay the Spire Relics discussed properly, with all the other ones simply ranked according to their performance.
Before getting into the practical nitty-gritty of how each Relic helps or hinders your build, note that not all of these are totally random drops from random events. Quite the opposite, in fact, asSlay the Spire‘s Relics are actually separated into the following categories:
While I won’t be going into the specifics of how each and every lower-ranked Relic is earned, as that’s a wholly different can of worms, this is important because it illustrates that different Relics are found in different ways. For some of them, you’ll need to have a whole lot of luck. Others may just drop into your hands willy-nilly.
Note, too, that all the Relics within a single tier are roughly equally useful, though personal preferences and your current Deck build play into this equation as well. No ranking within a particular tier, then.
Preserved Insect
Enemies in Elite rooms have 25% less HP.
Though not everyone might agree, having Preserved Insect around while hunting down Elites for more Relics is a must-have, I find. Carving out a quarter of their health by default is just a joy.
Bottled Flame
Upon pick up, choose an Attack card. That card is now in your hand at the start of a combat encounter.
Combine this with a favored Attack card and you’ll find yourself winning many an encounter on turn one. It’s a powerhouse.
Bottled Lightning
Upon pick up, choose a Skill card. That card is now in your hand at the start of a combat encounter.
This is similar to the Bottled Flame Relic, except this one allows you to start things off with powerful Skill cards, instead.
Bottled Tornado
Upon pick up, choose a Power card. That card is now in your hand at the start of a combat encounter.
The importance of having good, fight-defining cards in your hand on turn one cannot be overstated. Bottled Tornado’s Power card feature is immensely useful in most Decks.
Fossilized Helix
Prevents your first loss of HP in combat.
When you’re running a glass cannon build that cannot easily survive powerful early-game attacks, the Fossilized Helix is your best buddy. Otherwise, it’s “only” ridiculously useful.
Gambling Chip
At the start of a combat encounter, discard any number of cards in your hand and then draw the same number of fresh cards from your Deck.
Oh hey, ifSlay the Spiregives you lemons, the Gambling Chip Relic lets you trade those lemons away for sweet, sweet candy. And it usually works out in your favor, too.
Stone Calendar
Deals 52 damage to all enemies at the end of Turn 7.
Stone Calendar has saved many of my runs when my Decks just couldn’t keep up with the enemy. 52 damage to all targets on the field is alot, and you’ll always know it’s coming. Just gotta hang in there for seven-odd turns, though.
Ice Cream
Retains Energy between turns.
If I had to pick the single most useful Relic that should be prioritized over any otherSlay the Spireitem, it would probably be the Ice Cream Relic. Infinitely useful and it allows for turn-stacking when the combat turns slow and plodding.
Incense Burner
Grants 1 Intangible every 6 Turns.
Intangible is a phenomenal decaying Buff that reduces all HP loss to 1 if you have it active. Having something that powerful turn up on a set schedule is just incredible.
A-rank Slay the Spire Relics
A-tierSlay the Spire Relicsare still extremely useful in almost all situations, but they are usually way more situational than any of the ones featured in the S-tier. You’ll find you’ll probably want to prioritize these over anything from B-rank and below, of course, but the odds are good that at least some of these just won’t be a good fit for every single Deck. With that in mind, while grabbing S-rank Relics is a real no-brainer, these might give you something to think about.
B-rank Slay the Spire Relics
B-rankSlay the SpireRelics are situational and handy, but they’re not likely to define your entire Deck-building process and/or strategizing on a grander scale. Expect handy buffs that are, in select cases, a tad punishing and annoying but still very much workable.
C-rank Slay the Spire Relics
C-rankSlay the SpireRelics are on the lower end of the usefulness spectrum. Although still situationally handy, there’s a whole bunch of better Relics you could be chasing instead. C-rank also features unexciting and uninteresting Relics, as they’re hardly even worth discussing when there’s something fancier about.
D-rank Slay the Spire Relics
Slay the Spire‘s D-rank Relics can be a pain to work with. While still useful in some cases, they’re either situational or come with an egregious downside that you’ll be better off without. Still, sometimes they’ll be your only option, and they do give you features that could work in your favor.
F-rank Slay the Spire Relics
F-rankSlay the SpireRelics will be a bad pick in many, if not most cases. Ranging from shoddy to outright useless, these Relics either don’t help your build at all, or they do so in the most roundabout way possible. They’re okay if you’re getting them for free, sure, but that’s about all there is to them.
