Artifact

Artifact
From left to right: "Achilleshield", "Labrys", "Beagalltach", "Moralltach", "Failnaught", "Caduceus" and "Aegis", in the artwork of "Artifact Sanctum".
Japanese	アーティファクト Ātifakuto (romanized)
Simplified Chinese	古遗物
French	Artéfact
German	Artefakt
Italian	Artefatto
Korean	아티팩트 Atipaekteu (romanized)
Portuguese	Artefato
Spanish	Artefacto
Sets Primal Origin Duelist Alliance Extreme Force TCG Primal Origin Sneak Peek Participation Card 2015 Mega-Tin Mega Pack OTS Tournament Pack 4 Maximum Crisis Battles of Legend: Light's Revenge OTS Tournament Pack 8 2018 Mega-Tin Mega Pack Battles of Legend: Hero's Revenge Battles of Legend: Armageddon Ghosts From the Past Structure Deck: Albaz Strike Structure Deck: Beware of Traptrix 25th Anniversary Rarity Collection OCG Primal Origin Booster Pack Guide promotional card Extra Pack: Knights of Order Dimension of Chaos 20th Anniversary Pack 2nd Wave Special Pack 20th Anniversary Edition Vol.6 LINK VRAINS Pack 3 Tournament Pack 2020 Vol.1 Structure Deck R: Lost Sanctuary Structure Deck: Forest of the Traptrix Rarity Collection Quarter Century Edition Korean Advanced Event Pack 2014 Vol.3 Extra Pack 2016 Advanced Event Pack 2017 Vol.1 Special Pack Vol.2
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"Artifact" (アーティファクト Ātifakuto) is an archetype of Level/Rank 5 LIGHT Attribute Fairy monsters based around artifacts and weapons of ancient history and mythology. They benefit from being destroyed by card effects, and their Main Deck members can be Set as Spell Cards.

Design

"Artifacts" are based on different types of ancient weapons (except "Beagalltach" and "Moralltach", which are a set of twin swords based on two related swords in the same myth, and "Durendal", which is the combined form of the two prior "Artifacts") with names based on mythological and historical weapons of the same design.

Artifact	Origin	ATK	Color
Aegis	Aegis	1200	Yellow
Mjollnir	Mjölnir	1300	Pink
Beagalltach	Beagalltach	1400	Red
Achilleshield	Shield of Achilles	1500	Indigo
Dagda	The Dagda	1500	Dark Yellow
Caduceus	Caduceus	1600	Orange
Lancea	Spear of Longinus	1700	Cyan
Vajra	Vajra	1800	Dark Blue
Chakram	Chakram	1900	Magenta
Failnaught	Fail-not	2000	Green
Moralltach	Moralltach	2100	Blue
Scythe	Scythe	2200	Black
Labrys	Labrys	2300	Violet
Durendal	Durendal	2400	Red and Blue

Visually, "Artifacts" share the same gold and silver coloration, with a steampunk-ish motif along with a dark black circle along the central vertical axis (two circles for the Xyz and Link) of the weapon and thick black lines engraved along the body and blade. When the monster is "active" (as seen in "Artifact Ignition"), the dark circle is replaced with a gear-like emblem shared among all the "Artifacts" with a colored glow unique to that artifact, with the black engravings sharing that color. Of note, all extra deck "Artifacts" have a number of circles equivalent to the number of materials needed to Summon them (2, in the case of both "Artifact Durendal" and "Artifact Dagda"). The colors of the glowing emblem and engravings follow the 7 colors of the rainbow and 4 colors of the CMYK color model (the exception being "Artifact Durendal," which combines "Artifact Beagalltach" and "Artifact Moralltach" colors). Along with that, a single colored glowing spirit sharing its color is holding the "Artifact" while activated. According to the Primal Origin Booster Pack Guide, these spirits are artificial wielders generated by the weapons based on their most powerful owners. These spirits bear a strong resemblance to Equip Spell Cards Summoned as monsters by Geko Tenma under the influence of "Armament Reincarnation".

Story

The "Artifacts" are ancient relics that once were used by heroes of other ages. They dwell in a "Treasure Vault" hidden beyond mountains. Using an energy source and their memories, they are able to manifest themselves in the form of those who wielded them in the past. However, it seems many of their memories are missing, and even without knowing why, they can merge together to work as one single "Artifact", one of those being the Memory-Severing Sword, Durendal, created with the power of "Beagalltach" and "Moralltach".

Playing style

All Main Deck "Artifact" monsters are capable of setting themselves as Spell Cards during your Main Phase. They also share an effect that Summons them after being destroyed during your opponent's turn by either player's card effects. Finally, all Main Deck "Artifact" monsters share an effect that triggers during your opponent's turn when it is Special Summoned by any means (except "Artifact Caduceus" , which triggers when ANY "Artifact" is Summoned during your opponent's turn), and by utilizing these effects, Artifact decks can generate massive field presences, disrupting your opponent's moves and turning the tides very quickly thanks to "Artifact Caduceus", "Artifact Failnaught" and "Artifact Moralltach". They can also protect those field presences thanks to "Artifact Aegis" and "Artifact Achilleshield", allowing you to mount massive comeback next turn. Cards like "Malevolent Catastrophe" and "Absorbing Jar" can provide a huge advantage, as they can can speed up the Summoning and triggering of the effects of the "Artifacts", upon being activated during your opponent's turn. "Shining Angel" and "Nova Summoner" are great cards to run to allow the Summoning of "Artifact Aegis" (as a strong defense) or "Artifact Beagalltach" (to destroy and Special Summon more "Artifacts"). Many decks have included a small suite of Artifact cards (usually consists of "Artifact Scythe" and "Artifact Sanctum", but can include "Artifact Lancea" and "Artifact Ignition" as well) to provide powerful disruption power and access to Rank 5 Xyz Monsters such as "Constellar Pleiades" and "Number 61: Volcasaurus", since those cards are already proven dangerous on their own. These kind of practices is commonly found in Trap-heavy decks to punish their opponent and possibly deter them from using backrow destruction cards. You could use them in a "Superheavy Samurai" deck, as they are monsters. When they are in the Graveyard they aren't Spell cards, so it won't hurt the effects of "Superheavy Samurai" monsters. Additionally, they can be used for a Synchro Summon or as Tribute fodder for high-level "Superheavy Samurai" monsters.

Recommended cards

Recommended cards

Main Deck Monster Cards Effect Monsters Archlord Kristya Artifact Achilleshield Artifact Aegis Artifact Beagalltach Artifact Caduceus Artifact Chakram Artifact Failnaught Artifact Lancea Artifact Mjollnir Artifact Moralltach Artifact Scythe Artifact Vajra Absorbing Jar Fairy Tail - Luna Galaxy Soldier Ghost Ship Herald of Purple Light Honest Shining Angel Tethys, Goddess of Light Victorica, Angel of Bravery E Stranger Big Bang Overlay Booster Toy Tank Power Angel Valkyria (w/ "F.A. Dawn Dragster") Tuner monsters Diviner of the Herald Herald of Orange Light Assault Synchron Spell Cards Normal Spells Transmodify Instant Fusion/Ready Fusion Continuous Spells Quiet Life Quick-Play Spells Artifact Ignition Artifacts Unleashed Celestial Transformation Double Cyclone Hidden Fangs of Revenge Mystical Space Typhoon/Twin Twisters Emergency Provisions Trap Cards Normal Traps Artifact Sanctum Chain Whirlwind Heavy Storm Duster Malevolent Catastrophe Waking the Dragon Continuous Traps Angel Statue - Azurune Call of the Haunted Conquistador of the Golden Land Huaquero of the Golden Land Miraculous Descent World Legacy's Secret Grave of the Super Ancient Organism Extra Deck Fusion Monsters Allvain the Essence of Vanity Diplexer Chimera Giltia the D. Knight Panzer Dragon Sea Monster of Theseus Time Wizard of Tomorrow Synchro Monsters F.A. Dawn Dragster Samurai Destroyer Xyz Monsters Artifact Durendal Chronomaly Vimana Constellar Pleiades Full Armored Crystalzero Lancer Gaia Dragon, the Thunder Charger Tornado Dragon Valiant Shark Lancer Imperial Princess Quinquery Cyber Dragon Nova (with "Galaxy Soldier") Cyber Dragon Infinity D/D/D Marksman King Tell D/D/D Deviser King Deus Machinex Link Monsters Artifact Dagda Bujinki Ahashima Herald of Mirage Lights Hip Hoshiningen Lyna the Light Charmer, Lustrous

Weaknesses

Despite the fact that "Artifacts" can hastily unleash game-changing plays from within their unorthodox, Spell/Trap Card Zones, they are not impeccable as far as weaknesses go. In fact, "Dark Simorgh" or "Denko Sekka", combined with any of the following, such as "Soul Drain", "Silent Graveyard" and "Light-Imprisoning Mirror" will completely shut down these Decks as the said cards combined will inhibit both their Setting and return from the Graveyard. A similarly total disabling can be achieved with combining Macro tactics (i.e. "Macro Cosmos") with anti-Special Summoning cards (i.e. "Archlord Kristya", "Evilswarm Ophion", "Majesty's Fiend", "Vanity's Emptiness", etc.) to impede them from Special Summoning themselves from the Graveyard and keeping them off the Field and their secondary effects as well. "Summon Limit" may also limit their returns, if there are any, albeit much less efficiently. "Skill Drain" and "Angel O7" can also counteract Artifacts because even if they can and do get Special Summoned, their secondary effects won't trigger once they hit the field. "El Shaddoll Winda" can also prove catastrophic for this deck, since she's not only limiting your Special Summons, but also cannot be destroyed by your card effects, rendering "Artifact Moralltach" useless. Finally, most "Artifact" monsters are without their effects, mediocre stat-wise for a Swarm-type deck. While many of them boast above-average stats (compared to Decks like Chronomaly), they can still be easily beaten in battle by many other superior Decks of their type (i.e. "Hieratics" and "Atlanteans".) Plus, in the event that "Artifact" monsters cannot be Set, all of the non-Xyz "Artifact" monsters are Level 5, making them a very impractical and expendable Normal Summon, if things come down to such.

Trivia

• The archetype's artworks are similar to those of "Fire Fist", as they both feature corporeal and spectral figures fighting together.