Cards Valve Dota

Artifact - Valve

Explore all known Artifact cards using our Card Database. Search and filter cards by type, cost, and color. Find game and market trends to keep your Artifact strategies up to date.

There are five types of cards. Creep cards, Spell cards, Improvement cards, Item cards, and Hero cards. Each of these are played differently and interact with the game state in their own ways.

The Mana Cost of all cards can be located in the top left of the frame, followed by the card’s Name. Underneath the Mana Cost and name, you will see an icon indicating what type of card the card is.

Creep cards, such as Disciple of Nevermore, will have their own Attack and Health values, and occasionally come with Armor. A creep card is played into a lane as a physical unit, which can do battle with the opponent, damage their tower, or kill their Heroes. Some Heroes have effects or Activated Abilities, be sure to read them very carefully!

Spell cards, such as Wrath of Gold, are cards that have an immediate effect on the board, sometimes dealing damage to units, sometimes healing a unit, or something else entirely, each spell is unique! Some of the most powerful cards in Artifact are Spells, one example is a card that costs 10 Mana to cast, making it the highest Mana cost card in the game! Bolt of Damocles!

Improvement cards, such as Mist of Avernus, are cards that “Upgrade” a Lane’s strength, permanently. Some Improvements will give your tower more Mana, increase the attack of your units, or even deal damage to enemy units every turn! There are also some Improvement cards that will effect both the player's side and the opponent's side of the Lane, Glyph of Confusion. If you notice in the top left, around the Mana cost of the card, you see a left and right arrow. This means that the card can be played in one lane, but sent to another lane. For instance, if I have a Green Hero in Lane one, I can activate Mist of Avernus, but send it to Lane Three!

Item cards, such as Short Sword, are bought with gold, which you earn from killing enemy units. With Item cards, you equip them to your Heroes to upgrade their stats and sometimes give them interesting bonus effects. Some item cards are Consumables, granting one of your Heroes a one-time use effect. Healing Salve.

Hero cards, such as Axe, are the most important part of playing Artifact! Whenever a Hero is in your deck, you are automatically forced to play 3 copies of that Hero’s Signature card. Axe's signature card is Berserker's Call, a Spell card. Signature cards can be Creeps, Spells, or Improvements. Wouldn’t it be interesting if a Hero had 3 Items as their Signature card?

All cards, other than Items, are assigned to a Color. When you want to play a card in a lane, a Hero of the same color must be present. For example, if you have a Mist of Avernus in your hand when you are on Lane One, you can only play that card if a Green Hero is in Lane One. This is just another example of why Heroes are so important!