Eight items under 20 materials that win the early waves

The first six waves decide whether a run has an economy. These commons cost 20 materials or less and earn their price back fast. Every number comes from our item data.

1. Fertilizer (15) — +8 Harvesting, −1 Melee Damage. Harvesting compounds 5% per wave, so this is the cheapest long-term income in the game. Skip it on melee builds that need every point.
2. Coupon (15) — −5% Items Price. Pays for itself after about 300 materials of shopping, which most runs pass by wave 8.
3. Bag (15) — +15 materials from every crate. Crates show up early and often. The −1% Speed hardly matters.
4. Alien Worm (15) — +3 Max HP and +2 HP Regeneration. The cheapest real sustain in the shop. Consumables heal 1 less, which you won't notice.
5. Helmet (15) — +1 Armor for −2% Speed. Armor is the stat that keeps paying in waves 15–20.
6. Coffee (20) — +10% Attack Speed for −2% Damage. A good trade for nearly every weapon, best on fast ones.
7. Injection (20) — +7% Damage, −2 Max HP. Strong on characters with HP to spare, risky on Wounded or anyone already fragile.
8. Glasses (20) — +20 Range. Ranged builds hit enemies before they arrive, and melee builds with spears or sticks reach further than you'd think.

What to skip early

Lens (+1 Ranged Damage, −5 Range) and Cake (+3 Max HP, −1% Damage) look cheap but give little per material. Tree only pays if you're Cryptid or holding Lumberjack Shirt.