As promised, I was able to get some Artifact time in. To start, there is a lot of different things going on in this game so this will be a pretty high-level overview.
Introduction
Artifact starts with a couple quick tutorial bot matches. It looks like there is a lot going on, but once you dig into it, it is pretty manageable. You get 10 packs to open to start and you can build decks right away if you like, otherwise there are some pre-made decks you can use. There are some featured decks you can play with to try them out, Solo Play again bots, Social play against friends, Casual matchmaking for Constructed and Draft, and then Expert/Ranked play. You can have fun and play solo and with friends without spending anything, but for Expert/Ranked play you’ll need event tickets. You get 5 event tickets with the game that can be used for Constructed, Draft, or Keeper Draft modes.
Gameplay
The gameplay itself is quite fun. Essentially, there are three lanes and you go through phases of actions back and forth for each lane individually before they resolve in the combat phase (when both players are finished and pass). Heroes are separated into four colors, and you can only play color coordinated cards in the lane if there is a Hero of that color. After you go through each lane, there is a buy stage where you can buy items to equip your heroes. After the buy stage, any dead Heroes (after a full turn) can be placed back into play. You get to choose that lane you want them in, and in addition you get creeps randomly added to lanes. You then draw two cards to your hand, which you keep throughout all the lanes. There is no card maximum for your hand, and no creep maximum in any lanes. There is obviously tons of strategy behind pushing lanes, defending, buying, etc. The objective is to destroy two of the other player’s three towers. Once your destroy a tower another tower (I forget the name) pops in it’s place. You can alternately win by destroying the 2nd tower, which has double the hit points as the original tower.
Marketplace
One super important topic to understand about Artifact is the marketplace. The Steam marketplace is built into the game to be able to easily buy and sell card with real money. You also have the option to trade in excess card for event tickets. If you are good and accrue 3+ wins before 2 losses in Expert/Ranked, you can win packs for more cards. If you lose 2 in a row, you’re going to be stuck playing casual games or invest real money to get back into the events. I’m not sure how well received this system will be since it doesn’t seem like there are any ways to grind out packs like some other card games.
Conclusion
I played a handful of bot matches and one casual global matchmaking game. I had fun in all of them, and I am a complete newb when it comes to these trading card games. I look forward to playing some of the bigger events where the wins actually matter, but I don’t expect to do well any time soon. Unfortunately that means I’ll either have to stick to casual or throw some money at it. All in all it is a polished game that is easy to play for beginners, but has tons (and tons) of strategy for someone that wants to invest their time (and potentially money) into it. It also feels great to get into a game like this early, when you know it will be around for years to come. For $20 I think you’ll definitely get your money’s worth.
Past Prime Gaming 