Special Tiles can be a player's strongest asset in the game - but only if you use them correctly. Often times, it is easy to use the tile immediately, but if you look at some opportune moments, these can be quite beneficial to you.

First, if you know you are about to get eaten by a dinosaur and have special tiles in hand - use them or lose them. You lose all held special tiles when a dino gets you.

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1. New Orders - This is one of the most powerful late game cards and it has four different options for you to choose from. Here are some strong scenarios for each use:

- Draw a second relic card. This is one of my "go-to" uses. The second card stays with you the entire time (even if you return a relic) and if you get this card and use this same option, again, you can be hunting for 3 different relics at once. I like to use this one when I am ahead and the relic in my orders hasn't been excavated, yet.

- Opponents reveal their relic card. This is good if your opponent has one relic left to turn in and you don't have any. Keeping track of the opponent let's you know when to play defensive instead of offensive.

- Opponents trade out their relic card for a new one. This is helpful if an opponent has a relic card in hand and is making their way back to their start square.

- All players (including yourself) trade out their relic cards for new ones. This is good for the same scenario as above, but the relic you are hunting hasn't been found, yet.

Note - There are two of each type of Relic Card available. This means that there is a chance that you might not actually swap out your card, or you can carry two of the same relic if you drew the second one. There's always a little risk with this card.

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2. Giant Bone - This card only works if you don't have a dinosaur already. I use this to change back into an offensive posture if my opponent is chasing me down with a dino. They won't want to get too close to you if you can snag their dino. Also, if their dino eats yours, you can get close enough while it sleeps and use it to steal theirs.

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3. Tapped Resources - I prefer to use this when there are exactly three specials in the discard pile and using the option to get two at random. Even if you are specifically wanting only one of those, the odds of you getting it are 2/3. I may take the less risky route if Giant Bone is in there and I already have a dino.

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4. Oasis - I think the strongest use of this special is when you have found your relic and now have to make the journey back to your start square. It is a very quick way to get to where you want to be.

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5. Re-Structure - I love this one. I will wait to use this until as many dig sites are on the board as possible. I'll then use it to move all dig sites to block off as much of the opponent's starting square as possible, either forcing them to bury a direction tile to get back in or leaving them only one specific route back. Very strong card if everyone is using their dig sites in game.

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6. Mirage - Mirage is best used in the early game when there is a lot of excavating to go, yet. Place it on a sand square as far away from your opponent as you can. This will give you 2 or 3 turns of extra digging and higher odds setting up the board in your favor.

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7. Sandstorm - This is especially good if you need to get rid of some direction tiles or re-hide a relic that you know your opponent needs to get. Aside from that standard use, the "stun" feature of this card (opponents caught in a sandstorm lose their next turn) is amazing. I use it if their dino is getting too close to me (it doesn't impact the dino - you need to use it on the player), if they are about to return a relic, or you are on the way back with yours and want an extra turn buffer.

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8. Quicksand - I love to use this card to arrange direction tiles around an opponent's base to make entry difficult. Remember, the best layout for direction tiles is one that leads as direct back to your start square as possible, so if you point them all away from an opponent's start square, it gets really frustrating for them.

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Feel free to share any tips that you've found when it comes to using special cards. The Relic Rush community is a relatively new one and we are all learning together!

Happy digging!