Call to Arms by Valve hints at themes for The International 2019

Mar 19, 2019

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Valve is calling on artists for submissions for The International 2019 Collector’s Cache.

The announcement also paved the way to the possible theme of The International 2019: overgrown and enchanted jungle ruins. This means that the Dota 2 community might see another TI event highlighted by a lot of green.

If so, this will be the third TI event focused on a green theme. TI3 saw the first green motif while last year’s TI8 had a subterranean visual aesthetic with a green primary color.

This would also be the first TI to have the same theme color consecutively. The first TI theme was red, and was followed by blue, green, purple, and gold. The pattern repeated in TI6, and some fans had expected TI9 to follow suit with a purple-themed event.

Valve also announced a slight change to this year’s Call to Arms. The developer will still consider high quality designs that are outside of the overgrown jungle ruins motif. This will allow artists to submit designs that they’ve already worked on prior to Valve’s thematic announcement.

Since 2015, the Collector’s Cache has been accessible to The International compendium and battle pass owners. All sets from these purchasable passes are neither marketable nor tradable, and can only be gifted once.

The Collector’s Caches from TI5‘s compendium and TI6’s battle pass were well received and the associated items are highly valuable today. These sets can be traded for one to two Arcanas, and have a price range of $25-$50.

Many players believe that Phantom Assassin’s Creeping Shadow from the TI6 Collector’s Cache best suits her Manifold Paradox Arcana. This created a demand for that particular set, which resulted in higher asking prices from sellers and one of the more expensive Collector’s Cache items.

The Collector’s Cache selection process includes fans votes, and Valve has encouraged players to cast their votes through the game’s workshop section. For artists, the deadline for Collector’s Cache 2019 submissions will be on May 12.