Artifact monopoly

Artifact monopoly is an unofficial term that describes the status of the turn's first human player of every month. Since all Artifact Merchants carry the same stock, the human player who is first in turn gets the first choice of artifacts to buy every month. This can be a huge advantage during multiplayer game as the computers always act after the human players.

If playing with Shadow of Death expansion, a solid strategy is to buy every combination artifact piece they can afford at the first round of the month. After a few months, and with some luck in adventuring, the first player with artifact monopoly may combine few of the easier combination artifacts like Bow of the Sharpshooter, Cloak of the Undead King or Wizard's Well - all quite powerful.