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Meet the new Dota heroes from Artifact
Artifact is finally here, bringing with it some new faces into the world of Dota lore. We take a deep dive into how some of these new heroes would look in Valve's MOBA.
The somewhat underwhelming reveal of Valve's new card game, Artifact, at The International 2017 may still be fresh in our memories as one of the lower TI moments in recent years, but well over a year on, Artifact is finally out and it's shut down the naysayers. It's quite good if you ask us.
Artifact is quite a different game than Dota, but the one thing that remains consistent between the two is the lore. Heroes from Dota, along with creeps and items, are some of the cards you can play with in Artifact, and for the most part they act just like their MOBA counterparts. Chen can take control of creeps, Dark Seer can Surge people into another lane, and Tidehunter can still hit a massive, game-changing Ravage.
But as you look down the list of heroes in Artifact. there are a few new faces. The likes of Rix, Kanna, and many others have never been seen in the world of Dota, instead making their collective debut in Artifact. Many fans have speculated that at least some of these new heroes will eventually make their way to Dota so now seems like as good a time as any to get to know these new faces, and speculate on how they could work in the world of Dota.
New cards, new heroes
© Valve
Sorla Khan
Sorla Kahn, who's actually referenced in Dota 2 through a Pangolier voice line directed at Axe, is all about taking down towers. She has a passive ability that does four bonus damage whenever she attacks a tower, and a card that drops an improvement in a lane that provides all allies with two extra bonus damage whenever they attack a tower.
In the world of Dota, this kind of thing could be difficult to balance, but someone that buffs tower damage for the whole team could work with some other kind of utility abilities. In Artifact, Sorla Kahn can turn a lost lane into a winning one with just one tower hit, and is fairly strong all round – definitely someone who could add an extra element in Valve's MOBA.
Debbi the Cunning
Debbi is pretty similar to Sorla, but instead of only getting extra damage when attacking a tower, Debbi's continuous effect also works against heroes, giving a nice +2 buff to attacks. Debbi's signature card is just a simple three damage nuke to a single opponent, which could easily transfer to Dota, but the Kobold Saboteur's passive is where things could get interesting. Perhaps a mechanic similar to Troll Warlord's, where you can toggle between a weapon that does more damage to heroes and towers, and a weapon that does more damage to creeps and neutrals, could work here.
Prellex
If you're a fan of creeps, then Prellex is for you. Every deployment phase, a melee creep will be added to the lane that Prellex is in, and the same effect can be achieved with the improvement from Prellex's hero card. If your deck is all about having a lot of allies on the board at once, then Prellex is a great addition, and this could work in Dota as well. A passive that deploys an extra melee creep in the lane Prellex is closest to, along with an ultimate that adds double siege creeps to every lane, could make for an interesting hero – and make games even more strategic.
Kanna
Kanna is probably what you would expect if you combined Prellex with Lycan. All allied melee creeps will spawn in Kanna's lane thanks to the Bringer of Conquest passive, and her hero card will summon a Hound of War for every damaged unit, which that means three damaged units equals three new hounds to play with. Her use is very similar to Prellex, and, as the Dire version of her, you could combine both into one hero that's exactly the same in Dota, except for the visuals that depend on which side you play on. If on Dire you see Kanna, and if on Radiant you see Prellex, we'll take that credit.
J'Muy the Wise
It's pretty difficult to see how J'Muy the Wise could work in Dota to be perfectly honest. His ability draws a card from your deck – something that doesn't translate to Dota at all – and his hero card allows him to choose a unit, and then choose which foe it attacks, which again would be pretty useless in Dota. If you can come up with a way to translate J'Muy from card form over to Dota, then let us know. Until then, we think this is one hero that will remain an Artifact exclusive. That being said, he can be pretty useful in the right deck, and we've been using him a lot in the early days of Artifact.
Who would you pick?
© Valve
Rix
Ah Rix, just imagine if he actually made it into Dota with his passive intact. His ability basically gives him an instant respawn should he die, which would be ridiculous in Dota, especially after the recent Bloodstone changes. While this would be super OP in Dota, in Artifact it mostly feels underwhelming, and so does Rix as a whole. However, his hero card is a pretty solid silence so with some other good utility options, and maybe a long cooldown ultimate that allows him to instantly respawn, he could be a realistic addition to Dota.
Farvhan the Dreamer
This guy might look a little familiar, and that's because he's basically already in Dota in the form of the Ancient Prowlers. In Artifact however he's a proper hero that gives his neighbors +1 armour, and his hero card is a creep that offers the same boost. Despite armour being a little underwhelming in Artifact, he's actually pretty useful in decks that are about keeping your creeps and heroes alive, but in Dota, this skill set, combined with the fact Prowlers already exist, would make for a very disappointing hero addition.
Mazzie
Mazzie has no ability, but does have three base armour so is certainly one of the tankier cards in Artifact, and would obviously fulfill that role if the hero was to make the move across to Dota. With a signature card that gives your tower +1 armour, Mazzie could fill a role that's all about keeping buildings alive, and as the founder of the Society of Likeminded Keenfolk, that tidbit of lore could be turned into something in-game that could buff up other heroes as well.
Keefe the Bold
Keefe the Bold is another hero with no ability, but a bit of base armor, who'll only ever be known as 'Big Keefe' from now on. Keefe is actually already in Dota – you'll see him essentially as one those generic Ogre Bruisers in the medium camp so he's unlikely to transition across, especially when he has such a similar role to Mazzie. His hero card simply adds one attack and one armor to a red hero, and permanent buffs are not something you want to easily hand out in the world of Dota. Still, what an absolute unit.
