Artifact: A Beginner's Guide Want to get started with Artifact but are scared off by its complexity? Here is our guide to learn all about the main mechanics of the game.
Artifact is Valve's new card game. Based on the Dota2 universe, it uses many mechanics such as Lanes, heroes or creeps. At first glance the game may seem overloaded and difficult to access, but once you have mastered certain basics it becomes much more accessible. Here's what you need to know before jumping into the deep end.
Basics of the game
Unlike other card games, Artifact's board is divided into 3 parts, called Lanes. Each Lane has:
→ Its own play area
→ A tower (40 VP) for each player
→ A mana pool, starting at 3 and increasing by 1 each turn
The Artifact board
It will therefore be necessary to play not on 1 but 3 boards per turn. To win, a player must destroy two opposing towers or one tower and one Ancient. An Ancient appears in place of a tower when the latter is destroyed, and has 80 HP.
At the start of the game, a Hero from each player is summoned to each Lane, as well as 3 creeps that fill the board. Each player draws 5 cards, and the Radiant (Green) side starts the game.
Course of a round
Players draw 2 cards at the start of each turn. Then they will play each board one after the other, from left to right. In turn, a player can play a card from their hand - Spell, Creep, Item - or choose to perform no action. When both players consecutively decide not to perform any action, the turn ends on this board. The combats are resolved, the damage being applied simultaneously. Play then proceeds to the next Lane. The first player to pass wins the Initiative and plays first on the next Lane.
Once all the Lanes have been played, the store appears. Each player can spend their earned gold here or keep it for the next turn. Then, the Heroes are re-summoned, Creeps appear and a new turn begins.
Decks
A player has 2 decks in Artifact. Its main deck, as well as an Item deck.
The Object deck consists of 9 Objects.
The main deck contains Heroes, Spells, and Creeps. He must have at least 40 cards and 5 Heroes, but has no upper limit. Heroes are not taken into account in the number of cards in the deck. This is however the case for their Signature cards, cards that are automatically added to the deck with the Hero.
Objects and Store
Items are obtained from the Store and purchased with Gold. A player gets 1 Gold when he kills a Creep, and 5 Gold when he kills an enemy Hero.
The Store always contains 3 Items: 1 consumable, 1 Item taken randomly from the player's Item deck, and 1 random item that cannot be a consumable. When an Item is purchased, it is automatically replaced in the Store with a new one.
Color restrictions
There are 4 colors in Artifact: Red, Black, Green and Blue. To play a card of one color, you must have a Hero of the same color on the Lane and enough Mana. Some cards can influence the whole board, but you still need to have a Hero of the right color on the active Lane to be able to play them.
The fights
Artifact battles are handled automatically. A Hero or a Creep will directly attack the unit in front of him at the end of the turn. If he has no enemy in front of him, he will then attack the Lane tower.
Between each game turn, units that have no enemy in front of them are dealt arrow cards. These cards decide their target for the next turn. The direction of a unit's next attack is then represented by a small black arrow at the top of the map.
The arrows determine the targets of the units in the next turn.
Types of cards
The cards are divided into 5 categories:
→ The Heroes
→ The Spells
→ The Creeps
→ Improvements
→ Objects
Each type of card has its own peculiarities and restrictions. Check out our in-depth guides on each category to fully master the basics and you'll be all set to get started in Artifact.
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