Artifact Guides - Building a Deck

There are three types of basic deck-building strategies in Artifact one can choose from: Aggro, Midrange, and Control. These are the three basic archetypes that will help you build the best possible decks in Artifact.

Building an Aggro Deck

Aggro decks mostly rely on creeps that cost only a few mana and some spells to remove the unwanted enemy heroes and creeps from the board. An aggressive deck has to be proactive from the very beginning of the game it’ll lose its power as time goes by. This is especially true against Control decks that dominate late game matchups. So as much as possible, Aggro decks want to end the game quickly by putting a ton of early pressure. You build out the board and eliminate your opponent’s towers before they can even properly set things up for their big finishing cards.

The three most aggressive colors in Artifact are Black, Green, and Red. However, there are a few notable Blue cards in this regard as well. In any case, it is highly advisable to play in two colors, or even just one, to increase your chances of being able to play your best cards early.

First, you need to choose heroes that will either buff your creeps or gain a lot of attack power. Drow Ranger is an optimal choice for Aggro decks that wish to go wide since her buff will increase your creeps’ attacking capabilities. Lycan is another great hero that buffs adjacent creeps and summons another one that grows each turn. For black decks, Sorla Khan is perfect if you want to go all out. She comes with 8 attack points and gets four more when going after a tower for a total of 12 points. Her signature card, Assault Ladders, adds another two additional attack points to her when attacking a tower, dealing a massive amount of damage early on in the game.

Having creeps early is essential for an Aggro deck, so try to include the cheap creeps on your list. Creeps like the Vhoul Martyr, Untested Grunt, and Disciple of Nevermore are fine examples of such creeps. It only takes a short time until they quickly gain control over at least one lane if you have them in your opening hand.

Should you decide to include spells into your Aggro deck, be sure to put only the ones that are absolutely necessary! They should also be cheap since you’ll have no time to cast anything else except your creeps. A great example would be a green spell called Arm the Rebellion which buffs all your creeps for an ultimate attack. In case you need to remove an enemy creep, you can use Slay or Coup de Grace if there’s an enemy hero standing your way.

Building a Midrange Deck

While Aggro decks seek to end the game early, midrange decks want to use beefy units to take over midgame. The midrange archetype is the most balanced one of all as it relies on an equal number of both spells and creeps. This type of deck tries to control the early game by removing creeps, all the while buffing your heroes for a strong mid to late game push.

Midrange heroes must not only have a significant health pool to survive until late in the game, but also enough attack points to put pressure on your opponent. Legion Commander is probably your best bet here because of his decent stats. If you’re looking for a healer, Omniknight will keep your other units alive. This is an important thing when it comes to fighting against Aggro decks, so take note.

Depending on your gameplan, a Midrange deck includes cheap and expensive but powerful creeps for all stages of the game. Bronze Legionnaire and Rebel Decoy are cheap but excellent drops that are effective in the early stages of the game. Powerful creeps like Emissary of the Quorum might cost 8 points of mana, but it’ll buff your allies with +2 attack and health, plus it’ll survive even in the late game due to its considerable health.

As for spells, they should mostly serve the needs of your heroes. Fight Through the Pain and Defend the Weak are both great spells for keeping your heroes alive, and they only cost one and two mana points respectively! Steal Strength and Divine Intervention, on the other hand, are slightly more expensive but make your allies immune and should be used during the particularly intense mid-game phase.

Building a Control Deck

While similar to a Midrange deck, a Control deck emphasizes more on late game surges; there is a large reliance on spells, such as removals, board clears, and tower defenses. The goal is to survive early and withstand your enemy’s midgame assaults so as to make it to the late game and eventually win the game. Blue cards are the best color if you’re looking to build a Control deck as it has the best number of heroes and spells that revolve around keeping your lanes safe.

For heroes, Luna who builds towards Eclipse is considered to be one of the best control heroes along with Zeus. Along with Luna and Zeus, Ogre Magi is also a must-have for any Control deck that utilizes blue cards, as it has the chance of putting copies of your spells back in your hand—a highly valuable ability especially for long and winding game sessions.

Unlike Aggro and Midrange decks, creeps are not particularly important here. However, you need to have a few that are game-changing. An example of which is the Incarnation of Selemene, a creep that restores your mana every time you play a card. However, it’s still best to rely on spells.

The heart and soul of any Control deck are removal spells and board clears. The best blue spells to use are At Any Cost and Annihilation, and you should have three each of these cards in your deck. To stall opponents, Buying Time and Lost in Time are the right cards to use. Lastly, Time of Triumph is perhaps the finishing blow to your enemy as it modifies all stats of your heroes with an additional 4 points, including Attack, Armor, Health, and basically everything!

Now, are you ready to create a powerful deck of your own? Try it on our sleek deck builder tool.