Shops are one of the most exciting and critical components of any Slay the Spire run. Whether you’re saving up for a key relic, hunting for that perfect power card, or trying to trim your deck down to elite-slaying perfection, the Merchant can make or break your build. But beneath the surface, the shop isn’t just a random collection of goodies—it follows structured mechanics. Knowing how it works gives you a serious edge. This guide will show you exactly what to expect and how to get the most value every time you visit.

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Shop Layout Breakdown

Every shop offers the same layout of purchasable items:

• 5 Class-Specific Cards
• 2 Colorless Cards
• 3 Relics
• 3 Potions
• 1 Card Removal Option

Let’s dig into what each of those sections means and how you can use that knowledge to plan smarter purchases.

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Card Selection

Each shop gives you five cards from your current class:

• The two leftmost cards will always be attacks.
• The middle two cards are skills.
• The rightmost card is always a power.

Card rarity is randomly selected, and prices scale accordingly, but one of the five cards will always be on sale at 50% off. This discounted card is randomly chosen, and it’s one of the easiest ways to snag value if it fits your deck.

Important Interactions:

• The Courier (a shop relic) replaces a purchased card with another of the same type—attack for attack, skill for skill, power for power. It doesn’t reshuffle the entire pool.
• Even with Prismatic Shard, which lets you find off-class cards in combat rewards, shops will still only offer cards from your current class.

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Colorless Cards

Every shop also includes two colorless cards:

• One is always uncommon.
• The other is always rare.

They’re priced according to rarity, but if you’re hunting niche utilities like Panacea, Apotheosis, or Hand of Greed, this is where you’ll find them—if you can afford them.

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Relics: Know What You’re Looking At

Each shop displays three relics:

1. Two random relics from your current seed’s relic pool.
2. One relic that is always a shop-exclusive relic.

Here are the price ranges:

• Common relics: ~150 gold
• Uncommon relics: ~250 gold
• Rare relics: ~300 gold
• Shop relics are their own category

These relics are powerful and many can only be obtained in shops, so learning to identify and prioritize them is huge. The rightmost relic slot in every shop is always from this exclusive list. Let’s highlight some of the most impactful ones:

• Membership Card: 50% off all shop items. This stacks with The Courier. Buy it immediately if you see it.
• Orange Pellets: If you play an attack, a skill, and a power in the same turn, all debuffs on you are cleared. It’s game-changing with cards like Wraith Form, Biased Cognition, or Ritual Dagger.
• Chemical X: Boosts X-cost cards by triggering their effect two additional times. Don’t buy it unless you already have—or plan to build around—X-cost cards like Whirlwind, Meteor Strike, or Skewer.
• Clockwork Souvenir: Grants one artifact at the start of combat, letting you negate the first debuff. It’s especially valuable in debuff-heavy fights or with synergy cards like Biased Cognition or Wraith Form.

Because shop relics don’t appear anywhere else, it’s often better to path toward another shop later in the act if you don’t have the gold for the relic you really want.

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Potion Selection

You’ll always see three potions per shop. Each slot is independently randomized and can be:

• Common
• Uncommon
• Rare

Prices vary slightly, but you can absolutely find lifesaving tools here. Rare potions like Entropic Brew, Ghost in a Jar, or Fairy in a Bottle can be run-savers—if you’re willing to invest.

Note: It’s possible (though very unlikely) to see duplicates of the same potion or relic type in a single shop.

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Card Removal: A Silent MVP

Each shop includes one card removal option, and it is always worth considering. The first removal costs 75 gold, and each subsequent removal increases the cost by 25 gold.

Key removal targets:

• Curses (especially those without upside)
• Strikes and Defends after early game
• Synergy-breaking cards that no longer fit your deck

If you’ve found the relic Smiling Mask, card removals will always cost 50 gold, regardless of whether you have the Membership Card or The Courier—Smiling Mask overrides both.

Removing even a single card that doesn’t fit your game plan can drastically improve your consistency and win rate. Don’t ignore this tool.

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Fun Trivia: The Merchant Speaks in References

The Merchant is more than a salesman—he’s a gamer. Some of his voice lines reference classic games:

• “It’s dangerous to go alone!” – A nod to The Legend of Zelda
• “I used to be like you…” – A playful line echoing Skyrim’s infamous guard quotes
• “Stay a while and listen” – A direct pull from Diablo I

It’s a small detail, but a charming one. The Merchant has more personality than meets the eye.

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Final Tips for Shop Mastery

• Always plan your gold spending across the act. Don’t impulse buy unless the card or relic truly upgrades your run.
• Path into shops if you’ve got extra gold, curse removals, or specific relics in mind.
• Don’t forget to check the discounted card—even if it’s not flashy, 50% off is a steep value.
• Learn your deck’s direction before shopping. Buying for synergy > buying for novelty.

The Merchant is mysterious, but his rules are not. Study his patterns, build with intent, and you’ll start to see shops not as RNG-fueled chaos, but as a strategic upgrade station.

Now go forth and shop like a Slayer. Kaka!