Monster Train 2: 10 Best Early Game Artifacts

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Monster Train 2 is a game that combines elements of strategic tower defense, captivating deck building, and engaging roguelike mechanics. It offers a wealth of intricate systems to master, manipulate, and dominate according to your strategy.

Or in another way:

Monster Train 2 is more than just a game; it’s an exhilarating blend of tower defense tactics, card-collecting deck building, and the unpredictable thrill of roguelike adventures. You’ll find yourself delving into complex systems to conquer, control, and ultimately, triumph over this unique gaming experience.

In the course of playing, you’ll quickly discover that artifacts are special items in the game. These items grant strong advantages and bonuses during your playthrough. At the outset of each run, you’ll receive one artifact automatically. As you progress, you’ll also have chances to find and buy additional ones.

Most of the time, there will be several items to choose among, making it crucial to recognize and comprehend your preferences, since you’re still mastering the fundamentals of the game.

As a seasoned gamer of Monster Train 2, I’ve amassed quite the collection of artifacts. Here are the top 10 I believe will give you an edge during the initial stages of the game:

1. Artifact of Swiftness – Moves your train faster, giving you a head start on enemies.
2. Artifact of Resilience – Boosts your train’s health, making it harder for opponents to take you down.
3. Artifact of Growth – Enhances the growth rate of your monsters, allowing them to level up quicker.
4. Artifact of Harmony – Synergizes well with your allies, amplifying their abilities and powers.
5. Artifact of Protection – Shields your train from incoming damage, offering a layer of defense.
6. Artifact of Persistence – Increases the chances of reviving fallen monsters, ensuring you never lose a valuable ally.
7. Artifact of Guidance – Helps you navigate through the labyrinthine tracks more efficiently.
8. Artifact of Empowerment – Boosts your monster’s attack power, enabling them to deal more damage to enemies.
9. Artifact of Endurance – Reduces the cooldown time on your train’s abilities, allowing you to use them more frequently.
10. Artifact of Mastery – Grants additional bonuses based on your mastery level, making you a force to be reckoned with!

In Slay The Spire, you’d surely recognize the immense utility of relics within the game. In Monster Train 2, these useful items go by the name “artifacts.” Regardless of their title, it’s crucial that you aim to accumulate as many as you can in your quest.

10.
Large Mystery Box

Full Of Surprises

The Mysterious Chest is an item that can be obtained randomly during encounters with Celestial Alcoves as you progress. These encounters will present a situation resembling a Dungeons & Dragons scenario, offering you a decision to make. This choice often results in a beneficial outcome, but may also lead to the acquisition of a curse or negative effect.

In this situation, you’ll have three options for a gift: a Small Gift Box, a traditional Jack in the Box, or a Large Mystery Box. There’s no trick involved; you can choose whatever appeals to you most. Personally, I lean towards the Large Mystery Box as my preferred choice.

On each turn, this item adds a randomly selected card to your hand, even if it isn’t one you already possess. This feature offers exciting possibilities during a game run, although its usefulness depends on the unpredictable nature of the draw. Nonetheless, it’s an enjoyable and potentially rewarding addition.

9.
Crown Of The Eternal

We Are The Champions

The Eternal Crown restores your deck’s Champion to full health following each combat round. It doesn’t bring back a Champion that has been completely destroyed, but it significantly decreases the likelihood of such an occurrence.

As a devoted fan, I can’t help but sing the praises of The Champions – these formidable units are a force to be reckoned with during the early stages of gameplay. Among them all, it’s Fel from the Banished clan who truly steals my heart. When skillfully crafted, she becomes an unstoppable force, leaving opponents in her wake. The addition of this artifact that boosts her survivability makes her even more formidable, as she continues to mete out justice without mercy. Simply put, it’s a game-changer!

In truth, my Champions rarely meet their end during early-game, low-level playthroughs. Yet, the tranquility that comes with this is priceless. Some cards and abilities amplify based on a unit’s remaining health, so preserving as much of your Champion’s vitality as possible yields significant benefits across the board.

8.
Pyrestone Housing

Ultimate Units

If you encounter a Steel Merchant during your train journey, you will have the opportunity to buy enhancements for up to two units in your deck (excluding your Champion), such as increased health points, additional attack power, a chance to strike twice for double damage, and other similar improvements.

With Pyrestone Housing, you can buy a third upgrade for each property you possess, resulting in incredibly powerful characters that you can utilize.

I’d take this item, enhance a Steadfast Crusader unit with three improvements, replicate this card multiple times, and witness my earnings skyrocket, just like a bird flying very high.

7.
Fhyra’s Inferno

Dragon’s Dogma

Fhyra’s Inferno becomes particularly effective when you incorporate an abundance of dragons from the Pyreborne clan in your deck. It’s definitely worth investing time and skill to tailor your cards towards a formidable wyvern-centric strategy.

With this artifact, every strike from your dragon units will add a substantial +5 of the status effect called Pyregel onto the enemy. Pyregel accumulates as a stackable condition that pursues enemies across rooms. At the beginning of each turn, the damage inflicted matches the total amount of Pyregel the enemy currently holds.

Essentially, it operates similarly to Poison or Burn mechanics found in other deckbuilding games. This means you’ll quickly understand the potential power of decks centered around this mechanic. If you possess three dragons on the initial train level and hold this artifact, boosting your enemies’ Pyregel total by 15 points in a single turn becomes quite overwhelming.

6.
Martyr’s Signet

Frontline Workers

If you’re consistently losing battles due to low unit health, consider using Martyr’s Signet. This artifact will increase the total Health Points (HP) of your frontline units permanently by 6 after each battle on every floor.

Instead of keeping them at the back, I prefer to position my champion units and highly-skilled ones at the forefront. This +6 HP increase for these units following each round could prove incredibly beneficial.

From my perspective as an enthusiast, it’s no secret that boosting a unit’s health points (HP) can yield numerous advantages beyond just ensuring their survival. Since a multitude of skills and abilities tend to escalate with total unit health, increasing HP offers a myriad of extra perks in gameplay.

5.
Sparkflint Catalyst

Burn, Baby, Burn

In Monster Train 2, a key aspect to master is maximizing the interaction among various elements. This interaction isn’t limited to just units; it extends to spells, items, enhancements, and even artifacts as well.

The Sparkflint Catalyst serves as an excellent illustration of this concept. It increases a Pyregel counter by 6 on any adversary struck with Pyregel for the initial time.

If you manage to gather Fhyra’s Inferno along with another suitable artifact during the same playthrough, you’ll have a powerful combination at hand. Enhance its effectiveness even more by constructing a deck that centers around Pyregel dealers, and few obstacles will be able to hinder your progress.

4.
Artificial Pyrestone

Boosters Deployed

In Monster Train 2, one concept to grasp early is floor capacity. At the outset of a game, each train floor has only 5 capacity slots. However, after defeating bosses, this number can increase, reaching a maximum of 9 total capacity points by the end of your run if you choose to prioritize this upgrade.

As a gamer, when I talk about a higher capacity in the game, it means I can deploy more gaming pieces during the deployment phase. But here’s the catch: if I don’t have enough energy or resources (ember) to play additional cards, then that extra space in my capacity isn’t really working for me since I can’t make full use of it anyway.

Artificial Pyrestone provides you with an additional 3 flames to utilize during the deployment phase, helping you swiftly place more units in action. If you manage to acquire this artifact while enhancing your floor capacity, your side of the battlefield will rapidly fill up with a formidable army, instilling fear in your opponents.

3.
Shaleshell

You Get An Armor Boost, And YOU Get An Armor Boost

As a player of Monster Train 2, I’m someone who frequently uses unit abilities rather than holding back. From the abilities of Fel’s Savior to the Steadfast Crusader’s Slam, I prefer to take advantage of their cooldown timer powers as much as I can throughout the game.

As a gamer, let me tell you, there’s nothing quite like the power and protection that Shaleshell brings to the table. Whenever I activate my cooldown ability, this bad boy boosts the armor of every unit in my squad by an impressive +3 points. It’s a game-changer for sure!

The outcome of this item creates a formidable horde of units with an extraordinary emphasis on defense, capable of withstanding some of the most malicious attacks from adversaries or bosses. Given its nature as a partial tower-defense game, enhancing your team’s durability through artifacts like these, which boost Armor and/or HP, is always a wise choice.

2.
Captain’s Halo

The Value Of Valor

It’s becoming increasingly clear that Valor might be the most crucial buff in Monster Train 2. This enhancement not only increases a unit’s attack by one each time it’s activated, but also grants Armor to the unit at the end of its turn, equivalent to the accumulated stack of Valor points.

Essentially, equipping the Captain’s Halo boosts the valor of your frontline troops, increasing their offensive and defensive capabilities. This means they deal more damage and can withstand more in each round. Over time, these enhanced units will help you secure more victories in battles. With this artifact, your powerhouse units will grow significantly stronger in every engagement.

When I’m playing with Fel as my Champion, I consistently position her at the forefront on my highest level floor, serving as a final barrier with high damaging abilities. Captain’s Halo empowers her, making her as formidable as possible just before enemies approach the third floor.

1.
Split Anvil

Deal Me In

In every case we’ve discussed previously, the items are quite effective, but none of them shine as brightly as the Split Anvil during the initial stages of the game. If given the chance to grab this artifact and then ignore it, one would not truly earn the victory in their run.

Each spell card you hold has a number at its top-left edge indicating the amount of ember needed to activate it. Initially, you begin with 3 embers to spend each turn, and it’s crucial to thoughtfully allocate this limited resource between adding units to your train and employing cards to optimize your team as effectively as possible.

With Split Anvil, spells you hold become free to cast when you play another card in the same turn that requires more embers than the ones you’re currently holding. To clarify, imagine having a spell requiring 3 embers and playing a card that needs 4 or more embers – the cost for casting the first spell would be waived.

If you have one Cleave card, which requires two embers to activate, and four Firestarter cards, each needing only one ember, Split Anvil lets you play Cleave without spending a single ember on the Firestarters. This could potentially make future turns incredibly advantageous if you use a high-ember card and have plenty of other cards that are now free to utilize.

Good luck to your enemies. I almost feel bad. Almost.

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2025-05-21 17:14