This page will always show the latest Artifact Tier List for ranked competitive play, and is designed to rank Heroes in terms of their strength in the current meta. Although some Heroes are considered niche or balanced, those that aren't Tier S or A shouldn't be considered poor. While any match can be won with any Hero, this list is designed to present you with the strongest.
Updated: 7 January 2019
Tier List Descriptors
Tier S Overpowered. These Heroes are undeniably too strong, and can be placed in any deck and succeed.
Tier A - Balanced. These Heroes should see few if any changes and make up most core decks. Solid, safe picks.
Tier B - Slightly Underpowered. These Heroes while absolutely viable, require a skilled player, are niche or ever-so slightly undertuned.
Tier C - Underpowered. Considered poor, these Heroes can be picked and still see you win, but it'll be an uphill battle for the majority of any match. There are better alternatives based on attributes or base Abilities.
Tier D - Trash. Heroes that are rarely, if ever picked. Heroes to avoid due to low stats, poor Abilities or Signature cards.
Tier List Movement ⬆⬇
Moved Tinker to S Tier. His ability to disarm, combined with his wave clear - thanks to March of the Machines, makes him particularly potent versus blue only decks.
Moved Lycan to A Tier. Still great, just not quite top-tier.
Moved Bounty Hunter to A Tier. A brilliant Hero, but pushed down ever-so-slightly due to the fact his Signature Card only allows him to gain more gold. It has no greater utility.
Moved Luna to A Tier. To get the most out of her Ability, you need to be moving lanes multiple times in a turn. That said, Eclipse is still great.
Moved Zeus to A Tier. Purely because he's a mid to late game Hero, he drops one tier (low early attack).
Moved Prellex to C Tier. Pushed out by Kanna, she get stomped fairly easily by most Heroes - repeatedly.
Moves Skywrath Mage to C Tier. Mystic Flare is great, but his base stats are poor and he's fighting for a place against Kanna and Ogre Magi.
Moved Magnus B Tier. Brilliant base stats let down by no active ability.
Moved Venomancer to B Tier. A good Hero for pressuring lanes, but one eclipsed by Kanna.
Moved Earthshaker to B Tier. His active ability to stun all those around him is solid, especially late game when he needs to buy time.
S Tier
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A Tier
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B Tier
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C Tier
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D Tier
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Hero Descriptions and Quick Search Table
| S Tier |
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Axe: With a hefty price-tag from the marketplace, Axe is the king of Artifact. If you don't land lucky in lane against him, you can lose a Hero instantly. At which point he'll freely begin to lop health from your Tower. With Berserker's Call allowing him to force fights, the best hope of shutting him down is to bombard the lane with creeps to mitigate his pushing power. |
| Drow Ranger: A card that's not particularly cheap to buy, Drow Ranger is potent thanks to her Precision Aura ability. Granting +1 attack power to all other allies in lane is significant, and ensures weak Creeps have far greater pushing power. If you also combine it with Gust (her Signature card), she becomes incredibly strong. At a cost of just 4 mana, the opportunity to shut down an entire lane of Heroes is amazing. |
| Kanna: My favorite Hero and one that - on paper - doesn't look overly strong. However, her ability to sit in one lane and drag all your Creep spawns to it, frees up 4 other Heroes in your pool to boss the other two lanes. With a high health pool, and Prey on the Weak available to her, she can strangle a lane if she's left unattended. |
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Phantom Assassin: Phantom Assassin is instantly S Tier. By default her stats are great, but become even better the moment she's set to go toe to toe with a Hero. An early kill ensures an early Gold lead. Better still, her Signature card, Coup de Grace, gaurentees the removal of a Hero. Amazing. |
| Legion Commander: With brilliant base stats, Legion Commander is an amazing card. Not only does she gain +2 retaliation, but she can also force fights thanks to her Duel. Combined with Axe, in seperate lanes, the pair are incredibly tough to deal with early game. In most instances, she can comfortably clear opponents very early on, and when she begins to gain items, can snowball heavily mid-game. |
| Lich: I'm placing Lich in S Tier just because he's such a solid early pick. Condemn has lots of value, as the sacrifice on a creep that's about to die ensures you can draw vital cards, while Chain Frost is ridiculously strong. It's more than capable of wiping multiple Heroes/Creeps at once, ensuring your lane is clear. His base attributes are solid to. |
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Tinker: A card that colleagues here love. Tinker has high base attack damage, and a not too shabby health pool (5). His Laser (3 phase active ability) takes a while to charge, but does ensure he can lop off a huge amount of health when it's ready. As for his Signature, it's amazing for clearing entire lanes, especially if you drop all 3 charges. |
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A Tier |
| Bristle Back: Quite easily pushing for an S Tier spot, his base stats are brilliant and his ability, Barroom Brawler, ensures he can gain armor quickly and easily in the early game if he snags a few Creep kills. His Signature ability (Viscious Nasal Goo) isn't amazing, but the -2 armor has its uses against a Hero who's trying to bunker down. |
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Bounty Hunter: Out of the gates, Bounty Hunter is incredibly strong and arguably the strongest Black Hero. A base attack of 7, rising to 11 if he lands lucky on Jinda ensures he can topple most Heroes with incredible ease. Depending on your deck, his early power also allows you to maximize your gold gain. |
| Enchantress: Truly frustrating to deal with if you can't kill her instantly, Enchantress has high value due to the fact she and her allied neighbours gain +2 regeneration. This mitigates early creep damage, and soft Heroes who don't hit hard. Her Signature card might not look amazing, but the +1 armor - combined with her regeneration - provides amazing lane sustain. |
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Lion: Poor base stats don't help Lion (compared to his peers), while Finger of Death has a huge recharge time (4 phases) and still only deals 8 damage. Even his Signature card, Mana Drain, doesn't provide any huge advantage when you need to push and/or clear lane. |
| Luna: Heavily used in my own deck, Luna's strength is in her pairing with Lucent Beam and Eclipse. With Lucent Beam attacking for 1 each round, it feeds charges to Eclipse, allowing her to quickly bombard enemies with rapid, high damage. Mid to late game, this is more than enough to wipe an entire Lane and if she's itemised, her base stats ensure she's tough to bring down. |
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Lycan: A solid, aggressive pick, Lycan is considered top-tier right now thanks to his passive +2 attack to those around him. Having the ability to continuously grant boosted damage to his neighbours, combined with Drow Ranger, ensures that between them both, they're sat on +3 attack for their team. For early game bullying, it's amazing. If you also throw in his Signature, Savage Wolf, he can quickly dominate a lane. |
| Ogre Magi: While his attributes aren't amazing, it's Ogre Magi's Signature card that's particularly potent. Stacked on multiple lanes, the bombardment of 1 piercing damage is brilliant for softening up Heroes and creeps. If you also factor in his Multicast ability, he's a staple Hero that can comfortably maintain your hand. |
| Omniknight: A favorite of mine from the Green deck, Omniknight has amazing levels of sustain with not too shabby attributes. His heal only needs two phases to charge, and his base health ensures he can survive an early ass kicking. Having the ability to mitigate incoming damage on a specific target provides some much needed control in combat. |
| Sniper: Solid attributes and a powerful ability in Headshot (deals 5 damage to a unit) ensures he can shut down low health Heroes quickly. Although its charge time is fairly hefty (3 phases) it brings a lot of value when you begin to reduce the opponents Hero pool. Assassinate also ensures that even the toughest Hero you can bring down in an instant, across any lane. |
| Sorla Khan: With high opening damage, and the ability to instantly hit a Tower for 4 additional damage thanks to Warmonger, Sorla Khan can do exceptionally well if she has a clear route. If you also factor in Assault Ladders, her value in threatening the heart of a lane is significant and unless she's blocked quickly, her damage can soon add up. |
| Treant Protector: Providing +2 armor to all nearby allies, and starting out with 10 health, Treant Protector is a brilliant sponge for nearby Creeps and early game survivability. His Signature card, Roseleaf Druid, is also pretty solid for reaching cards just out of reach, one round early. |
| Ursa: Another powerful Red card, Ursa has high base stats with a solid attack (7) and defence (10). Its continued ability to reduce an opponents are by 1, thanks to Fury Swipes. His value however is in Enrage, which allows him to grant a Red Hero +4 attack and armor for a round. For a 1 v 1 fight, it's incredibly strong. |
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Zeus: The last of the powerful Blue Heroes, Zeus is a late game monster. With the ability to deal 1 damage to neighbours everytime you use a Blue card, his potency isn't just in softening up Creeps, but also clearing out Heroes across all lanes. At 7 mana, Thundergod's Wrath strikes all Heroes in all lanes, through armor, for 4 damage. That might not seem a huge amount, but even against Red giants like Axe, it can be enough to topple them when you really need the defence. |
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B Tier |
| Beastmaster: Largely in B Tier because he's an inferior Axe, Beastmaster can perform well but tends to get pushed down the Tier List just because so many Red Heroes are strong. Call of the Wild allows him to bully a lane, while his high health pool makes him a solid damage sponge. Primal Roar is also great, as the stun/displacement can prove invaluable, but at 7 mana it's a late-game item. |
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Bloodseeker: Like every Black card, his damage is high and he can instantly topple some Heroes. What limits his potential is the fact Blood Rage isn't amazing and his ability only works if he can clear out an opponent. There are better Black alternatives, but |
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Earthshaker: Similarly to Chen, Earthshaker isn't bad, but Fissure (his Active Ability) needs 4 phases, while Echo Slam - despite being brilliant for clearing a packed lane - again needs 7 mana. He's too much of a late game Hero to bring real value. |
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Magnus: With brilliant base stats, Magnus is a boss for the Green deck. His Signature card (Empower) granting +3 attack and cleave ensures he can deal high damage, while surviving plenty of punishment (it only has a 4 mana cost). If you can gain Restoration effects on him, he can be incredibly difficult to bring down. Let down purely by no active ability. |
| Mazzie: Despite great attributes (6/6 and 3 doses of armor), she has no Abilities, limiting her potency. Early game if she lands lucky she can quickly control a lane, but if you've any of the S or A Tier Red Heroes, she just gets pushed out due to their value. Further let down by the fact Steel Reinforcement is rather poor. |
| Sven: There's nothing uniquely wrong with Sven, but compared to many of the Red Heroes, it's inevitable that he falls further down the pecking order. Sven needs late game items in order to maximize his abilities (Great Cleave), though he's redeemed due to the power of God's Strength. |
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Tidehunter: One of the few Heroes that instantly causes me to roll my eyes, Tidehunter is an enormous damage sponge that does little more than soak shots. His ability, Kraken, has a lengthy period to charge (4 phases), but does have value late game. However, Kraken Shell has a lot of uses - especially early - as the +1 armor to a Red Hero ensures they're even tougher to bring down. |
| Timbersaw: A high health Hero that's capable of gaining significant armor when under attack from multiple foes, the value of his armor gain is - at times - limited. Whirling Death however does bring some value, as the ability to choose where an allied Red Hero deals damage, while lowering armor, is great for softening up Creeps. |
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Venomancer: A Hero similar to Kanna in the sense he's designed to overwhelm a lane, Venomancer can be oppressive if left to sit idle. His base attack is poor at 2, and his health pool isn't great (6). However, Venenmous Nature allows him to flood a lane with a Plague Ward every turn, alongside Sow Venom, ensures he really can bully a lane even after just two turns. |
| Winter Wyvern: With stats of 6/6 to start with, Winter Wyvern is pretty well placed to survive some early punishment. Although he'll instantly die to many Red's, most Blue and Green's don't cause him issues. That said, Winter's Curse isn't incredible, but he's redemeed Arctic Burn, which can give him a clean shot on a Tower or a heavy hit on any minion daft enough to be placed in his way. |
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C Tier |
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Abaddon: Abaddon is great if you're looking for pure sustain, as his Borrowed Time grants him a heal and immunity after 2 phases. He's only let down by the fact Winter's Curse isn't amazing, and his base attack at 4 will see him struggle to topple most Red and Black Heroes. |
| Centaur Warrunner: Largely fine, Centaur is simply pushed out by bigger and better Red Heroes, who hit harder from the get-go. His retaliation from his ability is fine (+2) and Double Edge can also work at clearing out a lane. Unfortunately for Centaur, you might as well just grab Legion Commander or Sven. So much stronger. |
| Chen: On paper Chen is brilliant, he is incredibly slow to bring value. Holy Persuasion - to convert an enemy unit to your cause - takes 4 phases, while Hand of God needs 7 mana (seriously late game). If Holy Persuasion had a lower timeframe, he'd be far stronger. |
| Debbi the Cunning: Like most Black Heroes her base attack is high, and Meticulous Planner isn't even that bad (it lets her deal +2 damage to a Hero or Tower). However, No Accident isn't amazing with it only dealing 3 damage, and there's far stronger Black Heroes. |
| Farvhan the Dreamer: Paired with Enchantress, Farvhan can perform well. His limitation however is the fact his base attack damage is so low (despite his armor and health). Most Red and Black Heroes can eat him up, while Prowler Vanguard only buys very limited time. |
| J'Muy the Wise: J'Muy served me well during my first hours in Artifact, but she's limited by the fact her Ability to draw a card takes 4 phases, while Battlefield Control is pretty poor: there's many other cards that offer such taunt utility. |
| Keefe the Bold: Solid base attack, a single dose of armor, and high health. Unfortunately he has no ability, meaning he relies solely on a Signature card. |
| Necrophos: Distinctly average attributes, combined with an Ability which only grants him +1 health when an ally dies, doesn't give him much sustain or burst damage potential. Unless you're intentionally sacrificing your lane cards to boost his health, he doesn't bring much value, although Heartstopper Aura somewhat redeems him. |
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Prellex: If she can survive where she's dealt in the first round, Prellex - combined with Kanna and Venomancer - can flood multiple lanes. Having the ability to summon a Creep every round, combined with Barracks which also summons a Creep in her lane, ensures she can boss it quickly. If she gets itemised, you're in trouble. |
| Pugna: His ability to condemn enemy improvements is largely fine, but requiring 3 phases is painful, especially if you need to get rid of them quickly. Unfortunately his Signature Ability is poor, and his base damage - compared to his peers - just doesn't compete when you need to boss a lane early. |
| Rix: Despite his rapid deployment, Rix just brings too little. His base damage is poor, so he won't typically kill anyone on spawn, but he'll die the second round. Act of Defiance can have some valued use, but there's plenty of cards that Silence. |
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Skywrath Mage: His attributes aren't amazing, and his ability - Concussive Shot - not a game changer. However, he's redeemed by the fact Mystic Flare has so much value. Dealing 12 damage to neighbouring allies is a fair amount of damage and can often clear a Creep push, or finish off low health Heroes. |
| Viper: Lots of health, but poor damage output. If he can survive for a long period he'll eventually reduce an opponents damage to zero thanks to Corrosive Skin. However, this only has value against weak Heroes, or those with already low attack power (such as Kanna). Sadly, reducing the damage of Heroes like Kanna to zero doesn't stop them bringing continuous reinforcements (see Venomancer). Viper Strike does ensure he isn't D Tier. |
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D Tier |
| Crystal Maiden: Truely terrible attributes, with Abilities and a Signature card that are also awful. Even Frostbite, which can disarm and deal two damage, feels poor compared to many other cards. Definitely one to avoid. |
| Meepo: Meepo has the potential to be a really strong card, but his base attributes combined with a 2 phase active Ability, it's difficult for him to even get going and maintain his mirror images. |
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Outworld Devourer: With attributes that aren't amazing, Outworld is a right-off from the get go. A bad Ability and Signature card ensures he absolutely isn't worth a draft. |
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Storm Spirit: Weak stats, and with a kit that's not particularly great. Overload is only great if you can flood a lane with Black cards. Even his Signature ability, Ball Lightning, is available in many other card forms. He's a Hero that's worth avoiding. |
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