Hero cards are undoubtedly the most important and powerful cards in all Artifact decks. That is why Valve limited the number of heroes in one deck to five.
Currently, there are 48 hero cards in the game, 12 for each of the four colors: blue, black, green, and red. It is hard to say which color is the most powerful or which hero is the most OP. They all have their own strengths and weaknesses that need to be accounted for when creating a deck in Artifact.
However, there are a number of hero cards that are universally acclaimed and considered top-tier material. Let's look at the 11 best Artifact heroes and their signature cards for the current meta.
Axe
- Signature card: Berserker's Call
- Ability: N/A
Brute force has always been a reliable tactic in many CCGs and TCGs. That is why cards like Axe are always welcome on the board, even if they have no passive or active abilities, as in the case here.
Its signature card, Berserker's Call, a six-mana spell, allows Axe to fight its neighboring enemies (up to three), which can shift the entire game in your favor. That is why it is important to position Axe in a way that would influence the maximum number of enemy cards.
Axe is a universal choice and the card would be a welcome addition into any red deck. It works great with many other hero cards, and especially with Legion Commander.
Bounty Hunter
- Signature card: Track
- Ability: Jinada
If you think that 7 attack points are a lot, then how about 11? That's exactly how many attack points Bounty Hunter can have because of his passive ability Jinada. But it doesn't happen every time, as the chance of getting that extra +4 attack is reduced to 50%. Still, you can have the buff every second turn, which is simply great.
His Track card does not influence his power directly, but it gives him +10 Bounty until he dies. This means that you could potentially get 15 gold for killing an enemy hero and 11 gold for killing a creep.
The best part is that Track is stackable, which means that if you keep Bounty Hunter live long enough, you could stack up a significant amount of gold for your shopping phases.
Drow Ranger
- Signature card: Gust
- Ability: Precision Aura
What makes Drow Ranger one of the strongest green heroes is her passive ability Precision Aura, which gives all your creeps +1 attack on all lanes! That is really powerful and this may even allow you to put your creeps against enemy heroes.
The Gust signature card isn't bad either and the ability it uses may be familiar to Hearthstone players. In this case, Gust is equal to Silence effect, which prevents enemy heroes from activating their abilities, except passive ones.
On top of that, if you've cast Gust on a hero of a certain color, then that player will not be able to cast cards of that color until the end of turn.
Kanna
- Signature card: Prey on the Weak
- Ability: Bringer of Conquest
Kanna may not look like a power hero, but with the help of her passive ability, she can go really wide by summoning melee creeps and using her signature card. In this case, Kanna will summon an additional 2/1 Hound for each damaged card, including those of her opponents.
This deadly combination will result in a wall of creeps both protecting and attacking the towers. Kanna herself has a low power stat, but her health pool is so huge that she can survive a series of attacks and still keep pushing her creeps to the frontline.
If you're planning on playing blue color in your decks, then take advantage of Kanna's abilities.
Legion Commander
- Signature card: Duel
- Ability: Moment of Courage
Although this hero's ability is quite good with +2 Retaliate, the Duel card is what really makes Legion Commander a staple hero card in Artifact. It costs only two mana to cast and it allows you to hit any target enemy with one of your allied red heroes.
This is the reason why Legion Commander is perfect for a deck that also utilizes Axe, who can hit up to three enemies at once. With the help of Duel, you don't even have to think where to put Axe, as it will still be able to deal maximum damage on board.
Luna
- Signature card: Eclipse
- Ability: Lucent Beam
There is probably no other Hero in Artifact whose signature card and ability synergize so well. Luna's Lucent Beam deals 1 piercing damage to a random enemy unit and charges her Eclipse cards, wherein it doesn't matter if they're in your hand or still in the deck.
These charge counters are really important because for each of them, Luna's Eclipse card will deal 3 piercing damage to a random enemy. The more charges you get, the more damage you deal.
In Draft, this synergy is especially valuable as you can have more than one Luna in your deck -- unlike Constructed. But it's still a very powerful combo in either case.
Lycan
- Signature card: Savage Wolf
- Ability: Feral Impulse
Just like Axe, Lycan is considered to be one of the strongest hero cards in Artifact. His attack power isn't that high, but if he spawns with two creeps to his sides, they will get immediately buffed with +2 attack.
His signature card is a creep with starting stats of 3/3, which isn't that impressive. But if it survives at least one turn, it will gain +1/+2 after each combat phase and keep growing until it dies.
If you put all of these numbers together, it's obvious that Lycan is a powerhouse of a hero, and it will be really hard to deal with him due to his huge health pool.
Phantom Assassin
- Signature card: Coup de Grace
- Ability: Efficient Killer
Phantom Assassin is arguably the most terrifying hero in Artifact because of Coup de Grace, a signature card that can destroy any other hero no matter what. On top of that, due to its Efficient Killer ability, this hero has +4 attack against other heroes, which makes it a hero-destroying machine.
Phantom Assassin is the sole reason why Artifact players hate six-mana turns, as Coup de Grace costs exactly that much. It means that one of their heroes dies and they can't do anything about it.
If you need any more proof, then just test this hero out and see why it's a top-tier choice for your black decks.
Sniper
- Signature card: Assassinate
- Ability: Headshot
Sniper's ability is good for dealing 5 damage to an enemy unit, but a bit slow due to a cooldown timer. Assassinate, on the other hand, is exactly the reason why Sniper is a must-have hero. It deals 10 piercing damage to any enemy unit on any of the three lanes.
Sniper synergizes with other burst damage cards, such as Pick Off and Hip Fire. Of course, this hero is a bit vulnerable and requires protection. But if you put him in the same deck with Red heroes, such as Axe and Legion Commander, Sniper will definitely have the chance to show its full potential.
Treant Protector
- Signature card: Roseleaf Druid
- Ability: Branches of Iron
Treant Protector is a mirror reflection of Lycan. It also buffs adjacent creeps. But instead of attack power, it gives them +2 armor. His Roseleaf Druid creep has 2/6 stats and it ramps your tower by one mana, which is pretty good.
All this will serve as a catalyst for your ramp-based deck. Try to include other ramp cards in it like Stars Align and Selemene's Favor, and you will quickly overpower your opponent just by the sheer amount of mana in your pool.
Zeus
- Signature card: Thundergod's Wrath
- Ability: Static Field
This blue hero may not have the best stats, but its ability and signature card make it one of the most worthy blue heroes in Artifact. Static Field is a pinging ability that deals 1 damage to each neighboring enemy every time you cast a blue spell, which can be enough to kill annoying creeps that block you from hitting a tower.
His signature card is a 7-mana AoE that deals 4 damage to each enemy hero on all lanes. This could easily finish any match-up on its own and 7-mana isn't such a big cost. So be prepared to face Zeus wrath at the late stages of the game, or just put this card in your own deck and be happy.
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Which hero cards do you personally consider to be the best in Artifact? What heroes would you like to combine in the same deck? Let us know in the comments below.
