The best relics in Slay the Spire 2 ranked by universal value, with character-specific picks, trap relics to avoid, and the Wax Relic melting strategy.
Official relic and potion preview from Neowsletter #13.
Slay the Spire 2 has over 150 relics across seven categories. The biggest structural change from the original: Boss Relics no longer exist. Instead, Ancients — NPCs at the start of each act — offer blessings that fill the same role.
The best relics do at least one of three things: generate energy, scale passively without card plays, or protect against new status effects like Corrosion and Afflictions.
Verification note
Cross-validated across 7+ independent sources including GAMES.GG, sts2.wiki, SlashSkill, and community guides. Rankings reflect early-access consensus.
Fast takeaway
This guide is built around one practical question, so you can use it during a run instead of digging through a broad overview.
If the answer depends on a mechanic, a character system, or a recent patch, the related links show you what to open next.
Use this when you want a direct answer instead of a broad overview.
Follow the related links if this decision depends on a mechanic, character system, or co-op rule.
Check the update pages whenever balance changes might shift the recommendation.
Ironclad: (+3 Strength below 50% HP) fits his self-damage playstyle. grants Block when taking damage, converting his weakness into defense.
Silent: amplifies Poison application. applies Poison to all enemies at combat start for free. and reward her natural multi-attack turns.
Defect: raw Energy-generation relics matter more now that permanent Focus stacking was removed in STS2. In high-card-volume decks, those relics become even better because they let support cards like convert every extra play into AoE pressure.
Necrobinder: Soul generation relics synergize with (6 damage per Soul played). Exhaust-cycling relics fuel the Doom engine.
Regent: gives passive Star generation per turn, powering the Stars engine. provides Strength scaling for Forge builds.
Glass Cannon doubles your incoming damage. In STS2, Pierce attacks ignore Block entirely — so doubling incoming damage is nearly always fatal. Only viable if you have guaranteed Intangible access, which is extremely rare.
Ancients replace STS1's Boss Relics. They are NPCs at the start of each act offering blessings. Tezcatara (Act 2) offers Wax Relics, which melt in order from left to right, one every 3 combats.
Wax Relic strategy: Place your weakest Wax Relic on the far left (melts first) and your strongest on the far right (lasts longest). Evaluate blessings based on your current deck state — losing runs want the safe floor of Wax Relics, while strong runs can take higher-ceiling blessings like Golden Path.
Ironclad starts with (heal 6 HP after every combat). Silent starts with (draw 2 extra cards on turn 1). Defect starts with (orb-related starter). Necrobinder and Regent have character-specific starters tied to their unique resources.
Boss Relics were replaced by the Ancients system. Ancients are NPCs at the start of each act that offer blessings — some are relic-like effects, others modify your run structure.
Is Ice Cream really the best relic?
Multiple independent tier lists rank it #1. Energy banking enables burst turns that trivialize hard fights. It is universally strong on every character.
What are Wax Relics and how do they work?
Wax Relics come from the Tezcatara Ancient. They melt in order from left to right, one every 3 combats. Place your weakest one leftmost so it melts first.
Should I always take Glass Cannon?
Almost never. Pierce attacks in STS2 ignore Block, so doubling incoming damage is usually fatal. Only consider it with guaranteed Intangible.
