noun

Clever or cunning devices or expedients, especially as used to trick or deceive others.

the style is not free from the artifices of the period

trickery,deviousness,deceit,deception,dishonesty,cheating,duplicity,guile,cunning,artfulness,wiliness,craft,craftiness,evasion,slyness,chicanery,intrigue,subterfuge,strategy,bluff,pretence