(Half)-new idea.
Relics work like "card-boxes": you can "open" it for 1,500 g [3,000 g if upgraded] and you'll gat a random rare card. [Upgraded if the relic itself was upgraded too]. In most cases, the relic will turn to a weapon, less often to a Shard - both outcome means that you lost the money you risked, in practice. However, in really-really rare cases, you'll get a Mark or a Nymph...