Emberward relics: starting kits & best synergies
Updated September 23, 2026 — 35+ relics documented at 1.0 launch
Relics are passive run-definers in Emberward — some are character starting gear, some drop during runs, and several exist only to supercharge one specific tower. The full pool is large (the community wiki lists 35+ confirmed relics); this guide covers the ones with confirmed effects, grouped by how you'd actually build around them.
Still being catalogued: relics shown in the wiki with names but no published effect text (Flash Freeze Device, Wealth Vault, Sacrificial Pact, Chaos Transmuter, Time Saving Device, Ice Storm variants, Craftsman's Luck Charm, Academy Certificate, Adventurer's Legacy, Microtransactions, Flamekeeper's Manuel and more) will be added here as their effects are confirmed in-game. Found one? The in-game tooltip is the source of truth.
Character starting relics
Four characters come pre-equipped — these define their whole playstyle:
| Relic | Granted by | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Blessed Chisel | Chunk the Builder | Companion to Chunk's 2×2-focused kit (starting hand always contains a 2×2 tower). |
| Golden Roulette | Silas the Merchant | Silas's economy engine — pairs with his 10%-interest passive (max 150 gold carried between rounds). |
| Royal Command | Belloc the Pyroguard | Belloc's royal kit alongside Royal Barrier (permanent +50% damage & malfunction immunity on a tower). |
| Tome of Endless | Tiny the Bot | Tiny's card engine — draws more block cards, at the cost of doubled draw cost. |
Scrap Tower relic set — makes C-tier into a strategy
Scrap Towers self-destruct when their ammo (30) runs out. Three relics rewrite that sentence:
| Relic | Effect |
|---|---|
| Scrap Master's Note | +50% ammo (30 → 45 shots per tower). |
| Scrap Master's Wrench | When a Scrap Tower is destroyed, restore 5 ammo to adjacent Scrap Towers — chains them into each other. |
| Scrap Master's Boots | When a Scrap Tower is destroyed, it explodes and applies Burn to nearby monsters for 5 seconds — death becomes Fire damage. |
Build note: Wrench + a tight Scrap cluster = amortized ammo pooling; Boots converts the whole thing into a Burn engine. Any two of the three and Scrap jumps out of C tier on our tier list.
Dice relic set
| Relic | Targets | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Remote Dice | Dice Tower | All Dice Towers showing a 1 are rerolled automatically at battle start — removes the floor of bad rolls. |
| Elemental Dice | Dice Tower | Die value determines damage element: 1–2 Ice (Chill), 3 Poison, 4 Electric, 5 Fire, 6 Arcane. A 1×1 that covers three elements' worth of status effects. |
| Golden Roulette | Giant Dice / economy | Silas's starter — see table above. |
Element-synergy relics (the build-around tier)
These are the relics that decide runs. Full mechanics live in the elements guide — here's the shortlist by which combo they enable:
| Relic | Combo | Why it's good |
|---|---|---|
| Elemental Blueprint | 1 tower × 5 elements | +10% damage to ALL towers — cheapest global multiplier in the game. |
| Unstable Mixture | Burn + Chill + ≥50% Charge | Consume all three statuses for 15% max-HP Arcane burst (3% vs bosses) — turns mixed-element boards into an execute button. |
| Volatile Poison | Poison + Fire | Poison becomes a 25% AoE explosion when Fire hits. |
| Amplify Poison | Poison + Electric | Doubles poison tick rate for 3s and builds Charge — both engines on one hit. |
| Cryo Conductor | Ice + Electric | Electric hit consumes Chill for double Charge — freeze then stun-loop. |
| Spark Amplifier | Electric + Fire | Extends Burn duration when shocked — one tick's worth extra per hit, per monster. |
| Ring of Shattered Ice | Arcane + Ice | Arcane hits on Chilled targets deal +30% Ice split across 3 tiles. |
| Scepter of the Elements | Arcane crits | Crits randomly apply Burn, Chill, Poison or Charge — a dice-roll of statuses. |
| Forbidden Grimoire | Arcane rework | Moves auto-crit from 80%+ HP to under 40% HP — converts Arcane from opener damage to execute damage. |
| Frost Venom | Poison + Ice | Poison applies Chill — poison mazes slow themselves clean. |
| Wildfire Sigil | Fire chain | Burning kills spread Burn to everything within 3 tiles. |
| Voodoo Doll | Crit + Arcane | Every crit from any tower splashes 50% as Arcane to the highest-HP monster within 10 tiles. |
Fire, Ice and Electric solo relics
| Relic | Element | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Phoenix Feather | Fire | +5% crit for Fire towers; Fire crits apply Burn for 5s. |
| Lava Bucket | Fire | Fire may leave magma puddles (4 DPS to monsters standing in them). |
| Frostfire | Fire | Trade: Fire attack speed −20%… but Fire damage now Chills. |
| Permafrost Gem | Ice | Chill lasts twice as long. |
| Ice Storm | Ice | Chilled deaths spread Chill to nearby monsters. |
| Black Ice Shard | Ice | Ice hit on Chilled target consumes Chill to guarantee the next hit crits. |
| Lightning Conductor | Electric | 20% chance on Electric hit to call a 3-damage lightning strike. |
| Overcharged Battery | Electric | Full-charge releases chain lightning: 3 damage to up to 3 monsters. |
| Static Shocker | Electric | Stun release also deals 10% current HP as Electric (3% vs bosses, 5s CD). |
| Weakspot Radar | Electric | 100% crit rate against stunned monsters. Pair with Charge builds. |
| Resonant Poison | Poison | +5% crit vs poisoned targets; those crits deal 200%. |
| Magic Dust | Arcane | Monsters hit by Arcane take +20% Arcane on the next hit. |
| Elemental Blueprint | all | Repeat offender: +10% everything with one tower of each element. |
How to prioritize relics mid-run
- Elemental Blueprint if you can field five elements cheaply — it's unconditional global damage.
- Your character's starting relic payoff — lean into what you were given (Silas rerolls economy relics; Chunk wants anything that amplifies 2×2s).
- One cross-element fusion relic matching your board (Volatile Poison if you're Fire+Poison, Cryo Conductor if Ice+Electric…).
- Scrap Master / Dice pieces only if you own those towers — dead relics are worse than mediocre ones.
- Fire solo relics (Phoenix Feather, Wildfire) when you're already Fire-heavy — burn on burn.