Why Mage Artifacts Still Dominate the Meta
In Call of Dragons, mages continue to be a favorite troop type thanks to their high skill damage and flexible synergy. As the game has evolved, so has the role of artifacts. With recent updates making even artifacts contribute to merits, understanding which ones work best for your mage setups is now more important than ever.
Whether you're a seasoned PvP warrior or a free-to-play strategist, knowing how each artifact performs—both offensively and defensively—can give you a clear edge in battle.
Phoenix Eye: The Best Starter Artifact for Mages
Phoenix Eye is arguably the most free-to-play-friendly legendary artifact available for mage players. You can pull it using normal keys, making it accessible early in your journey.
Its stats are straightforward yet powerful—magic unit attack, legion attack, increased damage dealt, and reduced damage taken. At max star, it boosts your burst potential by delivering area damage to up to five legions. With level 5 Burst Strike, you're looking at roughly 4,000 damage to each enemy—ideal for big wars.
Universal Fit: Phoenix Eye Works on Nearly Every Mage
One reason Phoenix Eye ranks so high is its flexibility. You can pair it with nearly every magic hero combo in Call of Dragons—Wellin, Fandolin, Thalia, Lilia, even Bertrand and Dohar.
Unless you're working with exclusive artifacts, this one does the job reliably across all setups. As you collect universal artifact companions and level it up over time, its value only grows.
Tier of Arbon: Underrated, but Powerful Support Tool
Compared to Phoenix Eye, Tier of Arbon leans more into the defensive and support roles. Also obtainable from normal keys, it offers magic unit and legion defense boosts. While not offensive, its real power lies in its Divine Mercy skill.
This ability heals up to four allied legions in a circle over an eight-second window. In hectic fights, that kind of area healing can shift momentum fast—especially during prolonged field battles.
Strong Pairings: When Tier of Arbon Truly Shines
Though not as broadly applicable as Phoenix Eye, Tier of Arbon is gold when used with the right heroes. It fits well with Magrat and Zida, boosting their survivability and syncing with their defensive mechanics.
It also works well in more tactical roles—think Desentara or Musang support styles, where keeping your lines healthy is key. Not everyone appreciates how good this artifact is, but it's proven effective in sustained fights and support-heavy setups.
Infernal Flame: High-Risk, High-Reward for Lilia Mains
Infernal Flame is a legendary artifact that divides opinions. It’s powerful, but only if you have the right setup—specifically an awakened Lilia.
The key to maximizing this item lies in triggering Scorch, a status effect that boosts your magic damage through the Terrifying Inferno ability. You’ll deal extra magic damage for a short time while boosting your legion's magic attack by 50% if Scorch is active.
Why Scorch and Lilia Are the Core Combo
Here’s the catch: Lilia is the only mage hero in Call of Dragons who can apply Scorch. Without her awakened, Infernal Flame’s full potential is wasted.
But if you do have an awakened Lilia? Infernal Flame transforms her into arguably the strongest mage hero in the current meta. The synergy between Lilia’s status effects and the artifact’s scaling damage can devastate enemy legions.
Nightmare's Requiem: Burst Damage King
When Nightmare’s Requiem first landed, it was overpowered to the point of being nerfed. Even after the adjustments, it remains one of the highest-damage artifacts for mages.
The core skill strikes a primary target and then hits nearby legions with diffuse damage. At level 5, it deals 6,000 damage to the target and 2,000 to two nearby enemies. Plus, it can add a 27% bonus to skill damage through buff stacking.
Optimizing Buff Stacks for More Output
To unlock the artifact’s bonus damage, you need heroes that apply buffs through their skills. Good examples include Bertrand and Tohar, who grant consistent buffs after casting rage skills.
Another viable combo is with Thalia, whose rampage buff increases damage dealt, or Thunder heroes who provide periodic boosts. The more buffs your legion cycles through, the stronger the artifact becomes in combat.
Thunderous Elegy: The Silence Artifact That Controls the Fight
Thunderous Elegy is a unique addition to the mage artifact pool because it adds control mechanics rather than raw damage. It deals consistent diffuse damage to five enemy legions and silences them, preventing rage skills for five seconds.
Legions under its effect also can’t move out of the circle, making it a trap zone in PvP. That alone makes it a favorite for large-scale war gameplay where crowd control matters.
Triggering Numbness for Bonus Resistance
To activate Thunderous Elegy’s secondary effect—damage resistance via Numbness—you’ll need to pair it with a hero like Thunderolin. His lightning summons inflict Numbness and help trigger the artifact’s passive boost to damage resistance and tankiness.
Without Thunderolin, this artifact loses half its power, so if you plan to use it, investing in the correct hero synergy is critical.
Breath of the Gargantis: Huge Debuff Utility for PvP
One of the best support artifacts in Call of Dragons, Breath of the Gargantis can hit up to 10 enemy legions with a defense break debuff, reducing their defense by 60% for 20 seconds.
It’s a support artifact, but all of its stats are offensive—magic unit attack and legion attack—making it a great pick for both mages and even archer players looking for a defense-breaking setup.
Creative Usage with Archer-Mage Mixes
This artifact doesn’t have to sit with your primary mage march. You can run four archer legions and one mage legion with Breath of the Gargantis to weaken enemies, then have your archers deal massive damage.
This tactic works well in open-field PvP, where grouped enemies are common and defense break impacts a wide area of combat.
Staff of the Prophet: Strategic Teleportation Tool
Unlike the others, Staff of the Prophet isn’t built for raw power or healing—it’s for mobility. This artifact lets you teleport your legion and five nearby friendly legions to a specific point on the map.
The catch? That location needs to be occupied by a friendly unit or ally legion. With a 7-hour cooldown, it’s not spam-friendly, but when used strategically, it can completely change battle positioning.
Best Use Cases for Staff of the Prophet
Staff of the Prophet shines in siege repositioning, emergency retreats, or deep dives during PvP. It’s not often seen in random field fights due to the cooldown, but coordinated groups can gain a tactical edge by using it to flank or rescue groups under threat.
Even having just one of these in your alliance roster can open up high-level plays.
How to Use Artifacts Without Exclusive Combos
Not everyone has awakened heroes or high-level artifacts, especially for free-to-play users. The good news is that Phoenix Eye, Tier of Arbon, Breath of the Gargantis, and Nightmare’s Requiem all function well across most mage hero pairings.
These artifacts don't rely on strict triggers or hero effects to perform—making them safer long-term investments.
Artifact Synergy is More Important Than Rarity
It’s tempting to chase rare or flashy artifacts, but in Call of Dragons, synergy with your hero’s skills and troop types often matters more. Make sure your artifact matches the playstyle and buff/debuff mechanics of your mage pair.
Scaling Artifacts with Hero Progression
As your hero roster grows and evolves, so should your artifact strategy. Some legendary mage artifacts only show their full strength at higher star levels or when paired with awakened heroes.
For example, Infernal Flame needs an awakened Lilia to function at its highest damage potential, while others like Nightmare’s Requiem increase significantly in damage output with every level gained.
Understanding the Artifact Roles: Assault, Support, Control
Mage artifacts can be broken down into three major categories:
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Assault Artifacts focus on raw skill damage (e.g., Phoenix Eye, Infernal Flame)
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Support Artifacts assist through healing or debuffs (e.g., Tier of Arbon, Breath of the Gargantis)
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Control Artifacts offer CC or terrain control effects (e.g., Thunderous Elegy)
Each has a place depending on whether you're focusing on PvE farming, open-field PvP, or Alliance Wars. Knowing which role your artifact falls under makes it easier to build your march around it.
Artifact Damage Types: Direct vs. Diffuse
Another key concept in Call of Dragons is the distinction between direct damage (like that from Nightmare’s Requiem) and diffuse or AoE damage (like Phoenix Eye’s Burst Strike).
Direct hits are stronger but typically target fewer enemies. Diffuse damage, while lower per target, can hit multiple legions, making it more effective in chaotic battles or field fights where numbers matter.
Making the Most of Artifact Skill Timings
Knowing when to trigger your artifact's active skill is just as crucial as having it equipped. For example, using Breath of the Gargantis right before your DPS marches launch their rage skills can maximize defense break effects.
Or activating Thunderous Elegy during an enemy push can disrupt key rage skill cycles and lock legions in place for your allies to finish off.
Long-Term Artifact Goals for Free-to-Play Players
If you’re not spending money in the game, your best bet is to focus on versatile artifacts like Phoenix Eye or Tier of Arbon, which you can get through regular pulls using normal keys.
They’re not just easier to acquire—they’re also viable across a range of hero pairs, making them ideal investments if you’re not building around awakened heroes.
When to Invest in Universal Artifact Companions
Universal artifact companions are incredibly valuable—but limited. Only invest them in artifacts you know you'll use across multiple marches or heroes.
Phoenix Eye, Nightmare’s Requiem, and Infernal Flame are top candidates depending on your roster. If you're building around control or support roles, Thunderous Elegy and Breath of the Gargantis are smart long-term bets too.
PvP vs. PvE: Picking the Right Artifact Setup
In PvE farming, your goal is consistent and high damage over time—Phoenix Eye and Infernal Flame excel here. For PvP, utility and control matter more, which gives the edge to Thunderous Elegy and Breath of the Gargantis.
Artifacts like Staff of the Prophet rarely appear in PvE but can be game-changing in PvP flanks and repositioning plays.
The Importance of Hero Skill Synergy
Artifacts that rely on buffs (like Nightmare’s Requiem) or debuffs (like Infernal Flame) must be paired with the right heroes. Without those, you're just holding back their potential.
So before equipping an artifact, always check your hero’s passives, rage skills, and synergy traits. If they don’t align, you won’t get the damage or effects you’re aiming for.
Mage Artifact Flexibility and the Meta
One of the biggest advantages of mage artifacts in Call of Dragons is their adaptability. Several of them, including Phoenix Eye, Tier of Arbon, and Breath of the Gargantis, work with nearly every mage setup in the game.
This flexibility makes mages a great option for players who want performance without constantly re-rolling for new combinations.
Final Thoughts: Mage Artifacts Offer Versatility and Power
Mage artifacts in Call of Dragons provide a wide range of effects—from burst damage and healing to crowd control and debuffs. Whether you're building around free-to-play accessible items like Phoenix Eye or working toward exclusive pairings like Infernal Flame with Lilia, there’s an artifact setup for nearly every player type.
The flexibility of mage gear means you don't need every hero maxed out to succeed. What matters most is understanding each artifact’s function and matching it to the right playstyle and hero pair. With the right combination, mage builds can deliver unmatched results in both PvP and PvE environments.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: Which mage artifact is best for free-to-play players?
A: Phoenix Eye and Tier of Arbon are both strong picks, obtainable through normal keys, and work across multiple hero combinations.
Q: Do I need an awakened Lilia to use Infernal Flame effectively?
A: Yes, without Lilia’s Scorch skill, Infernal Flame won’t reach its full damage potential.
Q: What’s the top mage artifact for PvP?
A: Thunderous Elegy is excellent for PvP due to its silence and immobilization, followed by Breath of the Gargantis for defense break.
Q: Can archers benefit from mage artifacts like Breath of the Gargantis?
A: Absolutely. The defense break effect benefits any DPS legion, including archers.
Q: What’s the best all-around mage artifact?
A: Phoenix Eye stands out as the most universal, offering reliable damage and compatibility with nearly all mage heroes.
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