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Spells and Relics

By ScotUpdated

Tactical Quick Answer

Patch 15 added 18 spells and Patch 16 added Battle Cry, so there are 19: 12 combat and 7 city. You start each run with two, a combat spell set by your Hero and a city spell set by your Kingdom, and your first cast each run is free. Relics and Items are separate systems: relics apply run-wide and are gated behind owning a specific unit, while Items are equipped per unit. The Wizard and Scientist let you pay coins in the Throne Room to start future runs holding a chosen relic and unit.

The spell system and relic loop are the two mechanics that separate players who hit a wall at Curse Level 3 from players who push past it. Both systems reward long-term investment across multiple runs.

The Spell System​

Introduced in Patch 15 with 18 spells, the system now carries 19 after Patch 16 added Battle Cry. They split into 12 combat spells and 7 city spells.

How Spells Work​

You always start a run with two spells:

  • Combat spell: Determined by your chosen Hero.
  • City spell: Determined by your chosen Kingdom. The Human default is Hauling and the Undead default is Skeleton.

Spells are cast using the C key by default, and the binding can be changed in input settings.

Two availability rules look strange until you separate them. Your first run has no spells at all, and they become available from your second run onward. Since Patch 16 you also no longer need the Church to cast them, which reversed Patch 15's original rule. Your first cast each run is free.

After that, spells cost Faith, between 4 and 10 per cast, and each carries its own cooldown. Battle Cry costs 5 Faith on a 10 second cooldown, Revival costs 10 Faith, and Productivity sits on a 30 second cooldown. A worker praying at the Church generates Faith during the day, and that is why the Church still matters even though it no longer gates casting.

Changing Your Spells​

You are not locked into your two defaults. Patch 15 added a spell shop as a world building, offering a choice of two random spells to replace one of yours, plus a world event that turns up spell scrolls from other kingdoms. That is the entire spell build-crafting layer, and it is easy to miss because it lives out on the map and not in your city.

tip

Hero Rickard's combat spell became Battle Cry in Patch 16, replacing his old Targeting spell. It makes all units attack 20% faster for the spell's duration, at 5 Faith on a 10 second cooldown. That makes it a burst window and not a passive, so hold it for a wave crest instead of casting it on sight.

Relics Are Not Items​

This is the distinction that trips up most build planning, and getting it backwards makes half the advice online unusable.

  • Relics are run-wide modifiers. You never equip them to anyone. A relic applies to every unit it qualifies for, and most are gated behind owning a specific unit, which is the real planning constraint. They come from bosses, the Armory outpost, dungeons, provoke spots, Amaya for economy relics, and the Black Market for other kingdoms' relics.
  • Items are the per-unit equippables: Sword, Armor, Cooldown, Piercing, Thorns, and the nine targeting items. There are 45 of them across four categories, and they only ever affect the unit carrying them.

The unit gating on relics matters more than anything else in relic strategy. You cannot chase Frost Arrows without owning a Halfling, or Hourglass without a Lich, or Sky Shield without a Paladin. Plan your relic targets around the units you actually have.

Item Slots​

Targeting items arrived in Patch 13, not Patch 15, and they used to consume a normal item slot. Patch 15 gave them a dedicated slot of their own, so a targeting item no longer costs you a combat item. The nine are Furthest, Least HP, Most HP, Nearest, Random, Special, Strongest, Unaffected, and Weakest, and since Patch 14 they have their own shop.

The one documented equip restriction is by stat: a unit can only take items that affect something it actually uses. You cannot put an Overshield on a unit with no shield, or a Rejuvenate on a mana user.

Key Interactions​

  • Piercing and Thorns on the Vampire. Both are Items, not relics. The Vampire's Feasting passive really does overheal on its own hits, and Thorns triggers when the Vampire is hit, so these are two separate engines and not one loop. Its own relic is Fangs, giving +30% Power to Minions, which pairs with the minions its Bat Swarm active summons. That is the actual Vampire payoff.
  • Cooldown reduction on the Marksman. The mechanism works, but the generic source is the Cooldown item, not a relic. The two real cooldown relics are Cover Fire (Tank units, requires Gremlin) and Hourglass (Magic units, requires Lich), and the Marksman is a physical Damage unit, so neither touches it.
  • Cooldown reduction on the Druid. This one does not work the way the guide once described. Since Patch 15, cooldown reduction only affects active abilities, and the Druid's heal is its passive. What you actually speed up is Animal Barrage, which applies Radiance to strip 20% magical defense off the wave. Take it as a damage multiplier, not as sustain. The Druid is a Magic unit, so Hourglass does work on it, and its own relic Enlightenment stacks the Radiance effect further.

The Wizard and Scientist Loop​

This is the most important meta-progression system in the game, and most players do not discover it until they have already hit a progression wall.

Both NPCs have to be unlocked before any of this works. The Wizard wants to be spoken to across several cycles, then charges 100 shards to repair his tower. The Scientist first sends you off to face your fears, meaning unlock Curse, then asks 10 shards.

The Wizard​

The Wizard asks to study one of your relics, which removes it from your inventory entirely. In exchange, you can start future cycles holding that relic for a coin cost set per relic. Once unlocked he appears on day 23, and you can also flag him down on the map to book him as an end-of-week visitor.

The Scientist​

The Scientist does the same for units: he researches one of your units, removing it from your roster, and afterward you can start future cycles with it for coins. He appears on day 26 once unlocked.

One restriction the loop depends on: the Scientist refuses units belonging to the kingdom you are currently playing, since you would start with them anyway.

Where the Unlocks Live​

Both selectors sit in the Throne Room, not the Castle. The Castle is an ordinary city building you repair and upgrade during a run. The Throne Room is the between-runs hub, and it is also where the Armory researches starting items for Super Metal.

Why This Matters​

At high Curse levels you cannot lean on random drops. The loop lets you open a run holding a relic and a unit you chose.

  1. Run a normal game and find a strong relic or unit.
  2. Hand it to the Wizard or Scientist, which consumes it.
  3. Pay coins in the Throne Room to start future runs holding it.
  4. Repeat as your coin budget allows.
warning

The turn-in destroys the relic or unit for the current run. Do not hand over your best relic on Day 3 if you still need it to survive the week. Note also that your Throne Room start is coin-budgeted and priced per relic, so this is a chosen opening and not a full pre-built loadout.

There is a competing relic source worth knowing about: the Faith upgrade tree sells a guaranteed powerful relic for 750 Faith, which is deterministic in a way the Wizard loop is not.

Frequently Asked Questions​

How many spells are in Super Fantasy Kingdom?

Nineteen. Patch 15 introduced the system with 18 and Patch 16 added Battle Cry. They split into 12 combat spells and 7 city spells. You begin each run with two, a combat spell set by your Hero and a city spell set by your Kingdom.

How do you cast spells and do you need the Church?

Spells are cast with the C key by default. Your first run has no spells at all, and from the second run onward they work without the Church, which changed in Patch 16. Your first cast each run is free, and after that spells cost between 4 and 10 Faith. A worker praying at the Church generates that Faith.

What is the difference between relics and items?

Relics are run-wide and are never equipped, applying to every unit that qualifies, and most are gated behind owning a specific unit. Items are per-unit equippables that only affect the unit carrying them. Most build advice online mixes the two up, so check which one a guide actually means.

Which relics should go on the Marksman?

None of the cooldown ones. The two real cooldown relics are Cover Fire for Tank units and Hourglass for Magic units, and the Marksman is a physical Damage unit, so neither applies. Use the Cooldown item instead, and remember that since Patch 15 cooldown reduction only affects active abilities.

What is the Wizard and Scientist loop?

The Wizard studies one of your relics and the Scientist researches one of your units, destroying it in both cases. Afterward you can pay coins in the Throne Room to start future runs holding it. Unlocking them costs 100 shards for the Wizard's tower and 10 for the Scientist, and the Scientist refuses units from the kingdom you are playing.