Dragons of Legend releases this Friday, but it’s not the only huge impending release! Primal Origin is following close behind, so today we’re previewing the brand new “Artifact” monsters – ancient weapons that are inhabited by the spirits of those who wielded them in the past! Read on for your first look at these awesome new monsters!

The Artifact monsters are Level 5 LIGHT Fairy-type monsters which all share 2 abilities. The Artifacts can be Set in your Spell & Trap Card Zone as a Spell Card, and if they’re destroyed as Spell Cards during your opponent’s turn, you Special Summon them! It doesn’t matter what kind of card effect destroys them – they’ll be Special Summoned if your opponent destroys them, or if you use a card effect to destroy them. In addition, most Artifacts have a unique effect that activates when it’s Special Summoned during your opponent’s turn, which range from powerful destruction effects to more defensive tactics. Generally, you won’t actually be Normal Summoning a lot of monsters – most of your Summons will be during your opponent’s turn, by using your Artifacts to catch your opponent by surprise!



There are 2 Artifact monsters with destructive effects, but both have very different uses. Artifact Moralltach will destroy any opposing face-up card when Special Summoned during your opponent’s turn, which can take care of anything from a monster to a card like Fiendish Chain. Artifact Beagalltach is at the opposite end of the spectrum, destroying 1 or 2 of your face-down cards when Special Summoned. This is great for when you need to flood your field full of Artifact monsters to use their effects or launch a counterattack on your turn!



Artifact Failnaught allows you to Set an Artifact monster from your Graveyard as a Spell Card, and Artifact Caduceus allows you to draw 1 card whenever an Artifact monster is Special Summoned during your opponent’s turn. These 2 monsters will give you the cards you need to keep Summoning more Artifacts! If you can protect Caduceus for long enough, you can keep drawing cards just by Summoning your monsters!



There are 3 more Artifact monsters that apply effects when they’re Summoned. They don’t destroy cards or give you extra cards, but they’re all extremely helpful. Artifact Achilleshield protects your Artifacts from being attacked during the turn, and Artifact Aegis shields your Artifacts from being destroyed or targeted by card effects that turn. Artifact Scythe, Primal Origin’s Sneak Peek promo card, prevents your opponent from Special Summoning monsters from their Extra Deck during the turn its Summoned. You’ll likely use a small handful of these monsters and search for them when you need them.



The Artifact Spells and Traps have awesome effects, plus a nasty surprise for your opponent if they destroy them. Artifact Ignition works just like Mystical Space Typhoon, except instead of just destroying a Spell or Trap, you can also Set 1 Artifact monster from your Deck as a Spell Card! If your opponent attempts to destroy Ignition, you can activate it to destroy a card and Set an Artifact, plus you’ll also force your opponent to skip their next Battle Phase! Artifact Sanctum allows you to access your entire Artifact armory, and Special Summon any Artifact Monster from your Deck. Since it’s a Trap, you can (and usually should!) use it on your opponent’s turn to get the bonus effect of your Artifact! You can activate it during your own turn if you need to, but you cannot attack during the turn it’s activated. In addition, if your opponent destroys it you’ll be able to destroy any card on the field! Plus, if you Chain Sanctum to whatever card is going to destroy it, you can also claim an Artifact effect while you’re at it! Ignition and Sanctum allow you to both search for the Artifacts you need and Special Summon them without using up cards, giving you an easy way to use their effects and put monsters onto the field to use for Xyz Summons!

Since they’re all Level 5, Artifacts are prime candidates for Xyz Summoning. And they’ve even got their own Xyz Monster to lead the charge – Artifact Durendal!



Artifact Durendal requires 2 Level 5 monsters to be Summoned, and you can use 1 of its 2 effects once during either player’s turn. By detaching a Xyz Material you can have every player with a hand shuffle and redraw their hand from their Deck, which is great when your opponent uses a card like Fire Formation – Tenki or Reinforcement of the Army to search for what they need. Durendal’s other effect allows you to change the effect of any Normal Spell/Trap Card or a monster effect activated on the field to “Destroy 1 Spell/Trap Card your opponent controls”. This lets you change powerful 1-off cards like Dark Hole into Mystical Space Typhoon, giving you even more ways to trigger your Artifact monsters’ effects!

The Artifact monsters give you an awesome new way to Summon monsters, while causing opposing Spell & Trap destruction to totally backfire. Check back later when we’ll talk more about the powerful interaction between Artifact Sanctum and Artifact Moralltach and why this is one monster theme you just can’t afford to ignore!

You can attend a Primal Origin Sneak Peek on May 10th or 11th. Primal Origin launches in stores on May 16th.