Finding the best artifacts in Monster Train asks a different question than a card list. Relics change the rules of a run, so the same relic can carry one deck and do nothing in another.
The ranks here follow decision value. The criteria are how much an artifact changes your plan, how often it helps, and how little support it needs.
How this tier list is ranked
An artifact rises when it improves an average turn without asking for new cards. It rises further when the bonus compounds, such as a discount that pays out at every shop.
An artifact falls when its payoff depends on a deck you may not build. A relic that sits unused is a missed offer, because you passed on one that would have worked.
Fit comes before rarity. A plain relic that fits your plan beats a dramatic relic that pulls the deck somewhere else.
S-tier artifacts
Forever Flame is the simplest pick on the list. Cheaper units mean more plays each turn, and the discount applies in every battle.
Guild Marker pays out at every shop. A lower price on upgrades and removals turns the same gold into a stronger deck.
Sketches of Salvation adds free units on every floor the turn after deployment. The pick is random, so a thin deck of heavy hitters keeps the result useful.
Grrrg’s Goad gives Demons multistrike, which multiplies every point of rage and attack you add later.
Immortality Potion returns units after they die. The best body in the deck keeps arriving, so a single carry can hold a floor all run.
A-tier artifacts
Founding Seal makes Incant trigger one extra time. In a spell-heavy deck that doubles the scaling from every routine spell.
Flicker’s Liquor turns repeated unit plays into free cards. A clan that keeps throwing down cheap bodies converts that into a steady flow of Ember.
Pyrestone Housing adds an upgrade slot to every unit. One more upgrade on a carry is often the difference between holding a floor and losing it.
Hell’s Banners refunds Ember when a second unit arrives in the same turn. The bonus rewards a wide board and pays for a longer turn.
Cracked Helmet gives damage spells piercing. Armored waves stop being a problem you have to solve with upgrade slots.
Fossilized Fangs makes Gorge trigger an extra time, so every morsel an Umbra unit eats counts twice.
The Monster Train artifact tier list
| Tier | Artifact | Why it ranks there |
|---|---|---|
| S | Forever Flame | Cheaper units mean more plays every turn, and the discount applies all run |
| S | Guild Marker | Discounts every merchant visit, turning the same gold into more upgrades |
| S | Sketches of Salvation | Free deployment on every floor, strong when the deck holds only heavy units |
| S | Grrrg’s Goad | Multistrike on every Demon multiplies all the rage and attack you add later |
| S | Immortality Potion | Units return after death, so the best body never leaves the fight |
| A | Founding Seal | Incant fires an extra time, doubling the scaling from every routine spell |
| A | Flicker’s Liquor | Repeated unit plays turn random cards free, an engine for looping decks |
| A | Pyrestone Housing | One more upgrade slot on a carry often decides a floor |
| A | Hell’s Banners | Ember back on the second summon each turn rewards a wide board |
| A | Cracked Helmet | Piercing damage spells answer armored waves without spending upgrades |
| A | Fossilized Fangs | An extra Gorge trigger makes every morsel an Umbra unit eats count twice |
| B | Ashes of the Fallen | Summon abilities fire twice, which speeds up a board built on arrivals |
| B | Thornfruit | A free Sting spell each turn keeps Awoken spell payoffs flowing |
| B | Imp-cicle | A random Imp each turn widens the board for free |
| B | Memorial Fund | Gold from friendly deaths funds the upgrades a reform deck needs |
| B | Sinner’s Salve | Free Blights and Scourges remove the tax that curses put on a turn |
| B | Refined Void | Friendly units enter with lifesteal, which keeps a front line standing |
| B | Sap Tap | The first heal each turn draws a card, so sustain also finds your answers |
| C | Cursed Vines | Randomly swaps enemy positions, which helps only when the wave order matters |
| C | Sigiled Seaweed | A chance to silence an arriving enemy, useful only against caster waves |
| C | Icicle Fracture | Freezes one of your own cards each turn, slowing the turns it should speed up |
| C | Mine Jacks | Extra capacity on one floor, narrow unless the whole plan lives there |
Best artifacts for beginners
Beginners should take relics that work without a plan. Forever Flame, Guild Marker, and Pyrestone Housing help a deck you are still learning to build.
Leave the clan relics until you know the clan. They are the strongest picks in the game once the deck matches them.
Artifacts that need a specific deck
Some relics are engines rather than support. Founding Seal does little in a deck with thin spells, and Flicker’s Liquor needs repeated unit plays to matter.
Read the condition before you take the relic. If your deck already does the thing, the relic is a large upgrade. If it does not, the relic is a blank.
Artifacts to skip
Skip relics that ask you to pivot. Skip relics whose benefit arrives after the fight is decided. Skip relics that punish the way your deck already plays.
Icicle Fracture is the clearest example. It freezes your own card at the end of the turn, which slows the hand you are trying to speed up.
A skipped relic is not a loss. A wrong relic is, because it hides the offer you should have taken.
Turning a relic into a plan
Once you know the best artifacts in Monster Train, the next step is fitting one to a plan. A relic that supports your deck beats a relic that outranks it on paper.
Next: Card tier list. For the deck-wide plan a relic should serve, read the clan tier list.