Hello guys!
I’ll be hosting contests every week on my blog to test your general Shadow Era knowledge and community knowledge!
This week’s questions:
1) What is the first guild I tried to apply to?
2)What was the first Krazy tournament called?
One entry per person. Reply to the thread on the shadow era forums with your answer or comment on this blog post.
The first to respond with right answers wins:
250 Shadow Crystals
500 Shadow Crystals (If you follow the blog!)
Hello guys!
I’ll be hosting contests every week on my blog to test your general Shadow Era knowledge and community knowledge!
This week’s question: Who were the first two ASSes (in correct order) and what does it stand for?
One entry per person. Reply to the thread on the shadow era forums with your answer or comment on this blog post.
The first to respond with right answers wins:
250 Shadow Crystals
500 Shadow Crystals (If you follow the blog!)
So since the new expansion: Dark Prophecies started, I’ve been using Zaladar all the time until I hit the 280 rating mark.
One day, I’ve lost 5 games in a row and I decided to make an Amber deck. I’ve used Amber a lot in the last season when it was only Cotc, and I said to myself, why not play her again!
After losing those games, I went down to 274 rating, after using my Amber deck I sky rocketed to 297 and got into the top 100!
I’ve always had this thrill in weapon based decks and this Amber brought back the adrenaline to me. Plus, her alternative art is really awesome.
It is probably the best shadow era deck I ever built and I’m having tons of fun with it!
Check out more on the deck here:
Chanson’s Down The Memory Lane
This is my first online game (and still is my only one).
I played MTG for a few years in highschool and really enjoyed it. I just played with friends and classmates, but nothing competitive. Then the friends moved away to college and the cards moved to the top shelf of the closet along with my old football and basketball cards.
In February last year, a friend of mine told me about this game for the iphone that he had seen on the Totally Rad Show. He said it was supposed to be like MTG and the show gave a very good review. I always had this itch for MTG that was never fully scratched, so I decided to give it a try. It was also cool that I had a friend who played as well so we could talk about how we were doing and what we were playing with.
My initial hero choice was Gwen. I thought about going with Nishaven because of the Wrath of God effect, but I just liked double attack damage (Gwen’s old ability was when she attacked her attack doubled) too much to resist the female hunter. My buddy played Eladwin. I can’t recall the version that I started in, but I know that Mind Control gave you complete control of the opponents ally for as long as it lived (super annoying), I don’t believe there were any weapons (kind of defeated the purpose of my hero choice), and Elementalis (different ability) + BS + Eternal Renewal was the 1.29 Darkclaw of its day. I think it was 1.24.
My buddy and I were racing to see who could get more gold and level up faster. I started lurking in the forums to find strategies. After reading strategies I decided to put 10 bucks into the game so I could get the cards I needed… my buddy didn’t… I started beating him hands down!
My first deck that I really fell in love with was a deck that N3rd4Christ posted. It was a Gwen that was extremely brutal and consistent (remember that this was still 30 cards min in pvp). Basically the strategy was T2 puwen, T3 Aldon, T4 BDB, T5 Night Prowler, T6 Rapid Fire, T7 Soul Seeker. You could pull this combo off 80% of the time, and the other 20% you drew good enough. This deck really helped my confidence in the game because I was consistently winning. Then Snow Sapphire came into fashion and with the lack of item destruction it was a near death sentence when the frost jacket came on the board.
This led me to my next favorite deck ever, Amber Rain. I can’t remember who I “borrowed” this strategy from, but it was nearly the same as the Gwen, but with an answer to her Achilles heel. T2 puwen, T3 Aldon, T4 Jewelers Dream+Blood Frenzy, T5 whatever allies or ally control…, T6 Aeon, T7 KP. Snow Sapphire? Just smash it. You could consistently hit for over 20 damage in a turn to finish off your opponent.
Then there was a new version coming out and people on the forum were crying out for 40 card pvp and creating 40 card leagues and ladders. I figured that I should probably get ready for 40 cards as well so when 1.27 came out I decided to only play 40 card decks. I also decided that I would try to use an underused hero in Ter Adun. After some testing and advise on the forums from Raphael Majere and others I decided to switch to Logan. He had a different ability in 1.27 where he could kill a damaged ally for 4 SE. This deck was my favorite even though it was not T1 by any means. It was my creation and it could beat a lot heroes or at least stand a chance and make it a good game.
Then Jet PM’d me about being in this guild he started. He called it Team Juggernauts. He said that Team sounds less nerdy than guild. True True lol. I was kind of freaking out about his tryouts because he wanted me to play Banebow and Zaladar who I had barely touched. Luckily he also wanted me to use Logan. I won the game where I used Logan and failed pretty hard when using Bane and Zal. Jet put me on the team as a “recruit” or something… I don’t remember the exact term. I was determined to remove that status so I started playing with different heroes and playing vs Jet and this other dude I didn’t really know named Rayzie.
I think at this time we really only had a couple “active” members. Our roster included a couple great people like Sam1903, Graphlem, and Giskard, but none of them were posting on our forum or really doing much for our team. I do feel that though they weren’t active on our forums that the fact that we could list them on our roster and that they claimed TJ in their sig probably attracted some of our other members to the guild so I appreciate that contribution. Really this guild was Jet, Me, Rayzie, B0Hater, Ace, Nickey, and Manbane for quite a while. There were probably more that I am just not thinking about right now so sorry guys.
Well enough of this walk down memory lane. I have grown a lot as a player and a team member, and TJ has grown a lot as well. We have some of the best players and best people in this game right now and I wouldn’t change that for anything.
Special thanks to Jet for completely changing my SE experience and allowing me the opportunity to be a part of TJ.
LIFE AS A TOURNAMENT ORGANIZER
When I organized my first tournament, I wanted everything to be perfect, it probably took me a week to set everything up. It was the First Guild Wars. I was so happy when all the guilds were interested in this, but then they showed me flaws in the rules and it took me 2 more days for the rules to be as clear as possible.
The tournament started. There were no brackets and I had nothing to do except being the referee. Every player from one guild had to play every player from another guild. It was hard to keep track of everything. Luckily for me, the participants were keen to help. E2E’s guild leader at that time, N3rd4Christ, built an excel sheet to keep track of everything.
The tournament ended up finishing almost a year later with A1 being the winners! I felt like my job as TO was horrible and i wanted to stop being one. There were some hiccups between some participants which made me not want to organize another tournament again. However, the participants told me I did a great job for my first time and for this kind of format. That simple sentence made me happy because I made other people happy. My life as a tournament organizer officially started.
I became kind of obsessed when it came to organizing tournaments. I wanted to organize a tournament every week, which is kind of impossible except if you’re doing pop-ups. Of course the great Raphael Majere was able to do so, but he’s an exception. I wanted my tournaments to be unique, fun and crazy. That was when the first Krazy Tournament was born.
I was honoured when some of the best and known forum members joined the tournament and thought it was a good idea. The tournament went smoothly compared to the Guild Wars and TJ Ace was the winner.
Later on, after I started Krazy 3 for new players, Gondorian posted a thread to announce that Wulven wants to sponsor your events! I was so happy, I had almost no more crystals left and the thread came at a perfect time. Because of this, I was able to make even more Krazy Tournaments sponsored by Wulven.
Till this day, I have organized the first Guild Wars, 15 Krazy tournaments including a pop-up, a new format that everyone likes: Hero Frenzy and helped to run a wild-card pop-up qualifier for the World Championships. (I’m using this sentence to show off, because I don’t feel i do it often :P)
In those tournaments, there has always been complications. Two players that can’t manage to play, players thinking that his opponent cheated, players who are rude to me for no reason, etc. However, that is part of the journey of a TO. You can’t be a TO without passing through difficult times, that’s how you improve and learn from your mistakes to become an even better tournament organizer. Well, this has been my life as a TO so far, I hope you guys enjoyed the read!
All the credit for this article goes to Preybird. Thank you very much Mr. Preybird!
Preybird’s Ter Adun Breakdown
Intro
Ah Ter Adun, he’s one of those heroes that everyone seems to hate. Not because he’s hard to beat, but because it’s so hard to get a build that’s effective with him. I’m one of the few who have been his “champion” so to speak, experimenting with him a lot in CotC and DP, and I feel I know him better than most.
Overview
Okay the first thing we need to look at is Ter’s ability. It’s one of those abilities that looks awesome on paper but is lacking in the actual game, due to the tempo reliant nature of Shadow Era. Have a look at some of the most successful heroes in the current CotC meta, Eladwen, Majiya, Zaladar, Amber, Moonstalker. All of their abilities directly affect the early game state and provide massive tempo boosts by either killing allies, or in Moonstalker’s case, shielding the allies you do have. Ter’s ability does neither in many cases; in fact it’s a very niche ability probably second only to Jericho’s.
So what does this mean? Well simply put it means Ter is very strong against a few heroes, but weak against many others. There are times that his ability won’t see play at all, and other times where he won’t be able to keep up. This is what makes him so hard to build for, his ability lacks consistency.
In regards to his card pool, it’s neither amazingly impressive nor utterly terrible. The warrior pool in CotC has an incredible draw engine (Blood Frenzy), average ally control (Crippling Blow, Shield Bash), above average healing (Enrage, Rampage), weapon cycling (Reserve Weapon), and very average ally buff and protection (War Banner, Warrior Training, Valiant Defender). In DP, you also get some solid allies in Wild Berzerker, Yari Spearmen and Stalwart Battleguard, but not much in the way of solid new abilities (Smith Shop and Lythite Coating, really?). Most notably you are missing any kind of board wipe mechanism in the Warrior pool, so Warriors are very susceptible to swarm tactics.
So there’s not a huge amount that you can do with the Warrior pool. Many of the cards are stand alone in their design, and they’re very focused toward allies and healing. It lacks the versatility of the Priest and Elemental builds or the synergy of the Wulven pool. That being said, with careful preparation you can have some serious fun with the Warrior card pool.
Allies
Well in CotC there were not many allies that really helped Ter out, which was a main reason why he maintained his Tier 3 status. However with DP there are a lot more options with allies that can swing the board or just allies that are insanely difficult to kill.
Call of the Crystals
Infernal Gargoyle: He’s a tough little bugger that will help Ter with his weak early game. That being said his attack of 2 is not likely to do much without help, and in the early game it can be hard to combo up to 4 damage.
Bad Wolf/Medusil: Their higher attack means that they can be useful in a Ter deck, as combined with a DMT ping or a War Banner they can remove a lot more allies than Gargoyle. The trade-off of course is less survivability, and with that comes a lack of consistency.
Plasma Behemoth: A big ally that can control the board all by himself. This is the sort of thing an ally based Ter needs, a repeatable form of control, as he doesn’t have an ability to do that for him. Unfortunately the problem lies with making one of these stick around to do its job.
Dark Prophecies
Ironhide Karash: Very important for Ter, as it boosts his early game and gives him a decent early swing. Part of his early game issues in CotC revolved around the fact that he didn’t have enough damage potential in the first 5 turns. Brutalis couldn’t cut it without an insane amount of support, and Carniboar and Flayer are far too weak going second. Karash gives you a decent amount of survivability and an attack of two, so good news all round.
Morbid Acolyte: Survivability in spades plus his ability is ever so useful, so he’s got a spot here. Combined with Karash his two attack is much less of a problem than it used to be (this also applies to Gargoyle).
Disciple of Aldmor: Continuing the theme of survivable allies is this bad girl. Now you may be wondering why pick her over Stalwart Battleguard (also a solid choice). One reason, she is immune to shadow energy abilities. You may not think that’s a big deal, but on turn 4/5 many heroes have their offensive abilities charged and ready and Disciple prevents that, giving you a board presence and damaging your opponent’s tempo at the same time. Plus with 6 health she’s difficult to remove through conventional means.
Stalwart Battleguard: A monster if dropped onto an empty board, and forces an immediate response from your opponent. However he is vulnerable to hero abilities and if you’ve got nothing by turn 4 (thus giving him his ability boost) it’s easy for your opponent to combo up to lethal damage. Also a huge Mind Control target.
Wild Berzerker: Fantastic when your opponent has got 2 allies out to your none, giving you a chance to come back. However he will never give you an advantageous board position, he will at best even the playing field. This is because his haste trigger counts himself in the total, so if your opponent has one more ally than you at time of cast, he won’t gain haste as he’ll make the ally counts even.
Darkwood Wraith: Brilliant board controller, and something Ter so desperately needs. Can also bring your disabled, crippled, poisoned allies around for another pass. Still, has a weak attack.
Furrion Terror: Yay! Warriors get a board wipe, of sorts. This guy is a monster in solo builds, and almost singlehandedly elevates the style to the realms of viability. Not recommended for allied builds unless you’re using a lot of tough-as-nails allies. His low health means he rarely if ever sticks around, but that’s not a real problem because it’s his on-summon ability you want. Cycle him with Shadow Knights.
Abilities and Items
The majority of Ter’s useful abilities come from the CotC set, DP was a little disappointing in this regard, not helping warriors out a great deal. However there are a couple of things to help him out.
Call of the Crystals
Crippling Blow: The staple for a warrior build. Shut down allies on the cheap. However it has lost some of its potency in DP, as there are a lot of abilities that can shut it down (A Legend Rises, Spectral Sabre, Super Focus to name a few).
Reserve Weapon: For solo builds this is one of the most important cards you will carry. Boost your weapons up and chaining them together can net you 3 attack weapons off the bat. Very powerful in the right build.
War Banner: Ter desperately needs to be able to combine damage, and the War Banner is one way to do it. It’s basically an Aldo without the body, though it still affects your allies in your opponent’s turn. A big tempo loss early on, so a double edged sword for you as it can hurt you as much as help you.
Shield Bash: I actually think this is an auto-include in a Ter deck, as it will combo up with ally damage to take out your opponent’s early drops. Use it the same way a mage uses Fireballs going second, to level the playing field before attempting to assert dominance.
Evil Ascendant: The solo build card, most decks need this to win. Combines beautifully with Rampage to give you a steady heal source, though you usually have to supplement it with other damage sources to ensure you can kill allies of quickly enough. Far less effective against Shadow as they have Gargoyle and Bad Wolf.
Berzerker’s Edge: This is Ter’s weapon no doubt. In a solo build it can become a monster very quickly, able to take down Ravens and Ogloths in a single swing if set up properly. Can also find a place in an allied build as another damage source.
The King’s Pride: Huge late game play for Ter, and can make all those weak yet survivable allies a grave threat. While it is easily destroyed if your opponent expects it, it does instantly change the game state significantly, something not many armours can boast.
Dark Prophecies
Bloodthirsty: Can be used to boost allies up to give them a shot at killing allies, which makes them stronger which means they can kill more allies. Also gives you draw so there’s very little downside here, especially if you’re going first.
Dragon’s Tooth: Instakill those fat allies. Gives Ter a very viable method of regaining board control. Aeon shall worry you no more.
Punisher’s Gauntlets: While this card looks really good on paper for Ter, I just haven’t been able to get it to work for me. Human’s laugh in its face due to Aldon, and it comes out way too late to put a dent in a rush deck. Against Shadow however it’s very strong (except Wulven decks running Howlfang). It’s other major drawback is that it really requires Shadow Font as a supporting ability if you want to be able to use this AND your ability reliably.
Draw
Ter Adun, like all warriors, has access to the wondrous Blood Frenzy. However Blood Frenzy is a huge tempo drain on turn 3, when most like to play it. The thing is that while the other three warriors have a way of getting tempo back in turns 4/5 (their abilities), Ter does not. This means that Blood Frenzy on turn 3 is a liability in a lot of cases. As Ter has a hard time gaining dominance in early game as it is, missing the critical turn 3 can sink him then and there even with the extra draw. Generally I play Blood Frenzy in my Ter decks on turn 5, usually in conjunction with a 2cc ally or a Crippling Blow.
There are other ways of gaining draw, Bloodthirsty as mentioned earlier, the ubiquitous Bad Santa and Aldmor Conduit, which can be an interesting addition in certain builds, as it gives you an SE sink but may not be used every turn by your opponent.
Playstyles
Ok, once again before I talk about what Ter is good at and where he lacks, I’ll once again go over the styles of play. This is a direct copy paste from my Zaladar hero breakdown, so skip the list if you’ve read that article:
Aggro: Also what I refer to as beatdown. You’re the aggressor, the proactive player aiming to force responses from your opponent. You hit fast and often. This sort of playstyle generally uses a lot of allies and/or weapons/direct damage. Aggro is a style of play that relies heavily on maintaining tempo. Mess that up and chances are you can overrun an aggro deck.
Control: The flip side to aggro, control aims to win by being reactive, constantly having the right answer until it’s ready to produce threats of its own. Control doesn’t so much rely on the tempo play, it’s more reliant on card advantage for the majority of the game.
Stall/Mill: The ultimate slowdown. We all know the main culprit here (Millstalker), though there are other stall decks around of varying levels of effectiveness. While these decks claim to win by decking you out (milling) they’re actually stalling you, milling is just a by-product of that.
So here we go with some basic deck compositions:
Aggro: 5-6 2cc allies, 10-12 3cc allies, Blood Frenzy, Crippling Blow, Bloodlust, War Banner, Shield Bash, Bad Santa, Bloodthirsty.
Control: 5-6 2cc allies, 8-10 3cc allies, 3-4 4cc+ allies, Blood Frenzy, Crippling Blow, War Banner, Shield Bash, Bad Santa, Enrage, Bloodthirsty, King’s Pride
Stall/Mill: Weapons, Reserve Weapon, Evil Ascendant, Bad Santa, Aldmor Conduit/Bazaaricon, Furrion Terror, Snow Sapphire, Rain Delay, Shadow Knights
Now, Ter cannot really support a true aggro style of play, the deck suggestion I’ve put together isn’t a great idea, just an example for completions sake. He’s a slow burning hero; he takes time to grind your opponent down. That being said the Control suggestion has a lot of Aggro elements simply because you want to save your hero health by applying lots of pressure on the board. That doesn’t mean the games will be over quickly, it usually takes a King’s Pride to get an allied Ter Adun firing.
In regards to Stall/Mill, Semi-solo Ter Adun (like my Spartan deck) is definitely the way to go and I feel it’s a decent archetype, though it’s difficult to master. It doesn’t really mill, it’s really a stall/heavy control deck.
Basically a successful Ter Adun deck cannot be easily lumped into one category or the other, it tends to be a hybrid deck to compensate for his abilities’ lack of board control.
Matchups
Okay, time to go through the matchups. Now Ter has two wildly different ways to play, both viable to some extent. So I will list both a semi-solo stall and an allied aggro/control deck and make notes about each style. Both have differing matchup qualities.
Semi-solo Ter Adun:
3 x Shadow Knight
4 x Furrion Terror
2 x Braxnorian Veteran
3 x Reserve Weapon
2 x Enrage
4 x Crippling Blow
4 x Rampage
4 x Evil Ascendant
4 x Bad Santa
2 x Aldmor Conduit
3 x Snow Sapphire
4 x Berzerkers Edge
2 x Dragon’s Tooth
41 cards + hero
Allied Ter Adun:
2 x Brutalis
3 x Ironhide Karash
4 x Infernal Gargoyle
3 x Morbid Acolyte
3 x Disciple of Aldmor
3 x Darkwood Wraith
2 x Wild Berzerker
4 x Crippling Blow
4 x Shield Bash
2 x Enrage
4 x Blood Frenzy
2 x Bad Santa
2 x King’s Pride
2 x Dragon’s Tooth
40 cards + hero
Boris Skullcrusher
Semi solo:
Matchup Quality: Medium
Tactics: Generally Human allies are easier for the semi solo build as they aren’t as resilient, thus Furrion and EA can wipe them much easier. Watch out for an early rush and try and mitigate with CP. Always hold a Reserve Weapon or second BE as there is always the possibility of Smashing Blow. Also in DP watch for Artful Squire destroying your EA. Watch out for swarm tactics and save SE for the inevitable King’s Pride. Be warned Boris will outdraw you.
Allied:
Matchup Quality: Medium-Hard
Tactics: With an allied build Boris’ ability comes into effect and you really don’t like that. Disciple is very important here as it gives you a cheap-ish ally that’s immune to his ability. Shield Bash helps to off early allies. Rely on Darkwood and Berzerker as well to keep the peace and prevent him from targeting with abilities. Dragon’s Tooth is important to keep heavy allies down.
Amber Rain
Semi solo:
Matchup Quality: Easy
Tactics: Keep her weapons down and her allies out of the fight and Amber will not last long. Snow Sapphire combined with your ability makes it almost impossible for her to get damage in after turn 6, while you gain life off the stream of dying allies. Save a Dragon’s Tooth for Aeon/Sandworm.
Also all of the advice for Boris is applicable here.
Allied:
Matchup Quality: Medium
Tactics: Amber does like cheaper allies in many cases, and if you can survive her rush you should be set. Karash is not super useful as Amber’s JD’s go straight through him, so ensure you drop Brutalis if you can. Once you get board control you’re keeping it. Use Darkwood to bounce your crippled allies.
Victor Heartstriker
Semi solo:
Matchup Quality: Easy
Tactics: Victor focuses very heavily on allies, so not having many makes his life very difficult. Watch out for all the high health allies however, Victor loves to run them. Keep your Dragon’s Tooth in reserve.
Allied:
Matchup Quality: Medium-Hard
Tactics: Victor is also difficult as he shuts down what little board control you can muster. Even King’s Pride won’t keep your guys in the fight, so you have to play it one of two ways, either slowly grind him down by putting out a couple of threats at a time, or attempt to overwhelm him with allies. If you get one ally to stick for a turn it suddenly gets much easier to get a second to stick.
Gwenneth Truesight
Semi solo:
Matchup Quality: Easy
Tactics: Solo or not, Gwen is usually little problem. Your build is very heavily geared towards dealing with weapons and preventing damage, and Snow Sapphire will keep Gwen frozen for large chunks of the game. Always hold spare Snow Sapphires, if she gets a turn or two of her ability off it’s a big problem.
Allied:
Matchup Quality: Medium-Hard
Tactics: You can keep blowing her bows up, but with Feathered Longbow in DP she can assert board control ridiculously quickly (especially going second) and you won’t have your ability charged to counter. If you can keep her weapons down you’re home free, if not she will overrun you.
Nishaven
Semi solo:
Matchup Quality: Hard
Tactics: As with all mages, they can give you real trouble. A smart mage player will not use allies once they see Rampage, and if you can’t kill the existing ones off quickly they’ll get too much damage in and your opponent will be able to finish you with burn. Enrage is a must, and if you can sit over 30 life post-Enrage when there are no allies left you’re usually doing ok. Also Shadow Knight loops can draw burn away from your face at this point.
Allied:
Matchup Quality: Medium
Tactics: With allies as meatshields the mages get easier. Outdraw them and overwhelm them, but don’t swarm as you will make yourself susceptible to Nova. Disciple of Aldmor is your VIP here, immune to abilities and combined with Shield Bash should be good to remove most mage allies.
Eladwen Frostmire
Semi solo:
Matchup Quality: Hard
Tactics: The advice for Eladwen is identical to the advice for Nishaven.
Allied:
Matchup Quality: Medium
Tactics: Once again, the advice for Eladwen is identical to Nishaven.
Jericho Spellbane
Semi solo:
Matchup Quality: Very Hard-Auto-Loss
Tactics: I have only beaten Jericho once with a semi solo build, and it was an experimental attachment build. He can remove Rampage and Crippling Blow, thus negating large chunks of your strategy, plus with ample Item Destruction he can wipe your EA and weapons. Keep as many backups as possible and go for the throat.
Allied:
Matchup Quality: Very Hard
Tactics: At least with allies you have a shot at taking Jericho down, despite the fact he can remove your Blood Frenzy and Crippling Blows. Shield Bash is very important to kill allies outright. Do not use Enrage at all, it’s a dead drop here. Don’t swarm the board due to the prevalence of Tidal Waveicon, and try and keep a Morbid Acolyte on the field to bypass Aeon’s protector.
Zhanna Mist
Semi solo:
Matchup Quality: Very Hard-Auto-Loss
Tactics: Much like Jericho, Zhanna is near unbeatable, but for different reasons. Simply put she will outheal you. Your damage output isn’t that high, even when you get your weapons going. Your best bet here is to try to outlast her, which is possible as she MUST cast allies; they’re her only real damage source. Focus on the board and once you’ve decked out then start looping SK.
Allied:
Matchup Quality: Medium-Hard
Tactics: Zhanna is easier than Jericho, but for control you should focus on your Crippling Blows, as if you can’t kill outright with Shield Bash she will simply heal the damage. Constantly apply pressure, but don’t swarm and always keep a King’s Pride spare as she will have Focused Prayer. Once again Morbid Acolyte is extremely useful, and remember it can prevent Raven’s ability too.
Lance Shadowstalker
Semi solo:
Matchup Quality: Medium-Hard
Tactics: Lance can prove bothersome with Stop Thief and if he runs Vozitian Orders it must be a priority for destruction as it will prevent you healing off his allies. Get yourself set up and always hold backup items (particularly EA and SS), because Lance will be targeting them. I’ve actually found cycling Dragon’s Tooth to be very useful as Lance loves his fat allies.
Allied:
Matchup Quality: Easy-Medium
Tactics: Lots of allies, Acolyte to remove Lance’s ability, and infinite item destruction mean you have a good shot at this one. Do not underestimate Lance however, he can still stage great comebacks, and even with your item destruction those Anklebreakers will still get one shot in. Disciple is less important here, though she is still a tank, and likely to survive anything Lance can throw at her. For a while at least.
Serena Thoughtripper
Semi solo:
Matchup Quality: Medium
Tactics: As Serena relies more heavily on weapons you have an advantage here, HOWEVER… her discard can be problematic, so hold onto your Bad Santas and/or ensure you have an Aldmor Conduit. The last thing you want is to be top-decking.
Allied:
Matchup Quality: Easy-Medium
Tactics: The lack of hasted allies helps you here, buffed Anklebreakers do not. However the discard effect means little to you due to the draw power of Blood Frenzy. Remember Rogues have no permanent board wipes (Though they have Smoke Screen), so don’t be afraid to drop your horde.
Watch out for Fan of Blades, that thing is epic. However you have a lot of 5 and higher health allies, so they’re sure to get some damage in.
Ter Adun
Semi solo:
Matchup Quality: Hard-Very Hard
Tactics: The mirror match is evil. He can kill your items off as quickly as you can destroy his, so plan and bait with less important items. Aldmor can work in your favour if he uses it here, because it means that’s one more turn an item survives. Do not expect these matches to be easy.
Allied:
Matchup Quality: Medium-Hard
Tactics: He can blow up your King’s Prides, but remember he has the same board control issues you do. If it’s a solo build you are still in for a tough time, even though he’s in for a hard fight too. Focus on weapons and armour as priority targets.
Logan Stonebreaker
Semi solo:
Matchup Quality: Medium
Tactics: Gargoyles and Bad Wolves are immune to EA, so they are targets for destruction/crippling. Also any Plasma Behemoths/Molten Destroyers must be dealt with as soon as possible, as they can bypass Snow Sapphire (PB with his blast, MD with his ping).
Allied:
Matchup Quality: Medium
Tactics: Flood the board. One thing is that Disciple is immune to Logan’s instant death hit (though she will take the +1 damage), so keep her as a priority ally. Darkwood Wraith is once again good at bouncing crippled allies, and as always King’s Pride is the finisher.
Banebow
Semi solo:
Matchup Quality: Easy-Medium
Tactics: Once again target those allies that are immune to EA as a matter of priority. Ensure that Banebow doesn’t get a chance to heal off any allies you do cast with Soul Seeker and keep beating away at him. If he swaps to a solo route all the better.
Allied:
Matchup Quality: Medium
Tactics: You have a lot of high health allies, but he does have A Perfect Shot now, so expect some of them to die easily. Once again, no board wipes mean you can swarm, and should do so. Blow up his draw engines as priority, as without draw to keep dropping threats Banebow is dead in the water.
Baduruu
Semi solo:
Matchup Quality: Medium-Hard
Tactics: Resource Destruction Baduruu can be a real pest as semi-solo Ter needs to get to 5 resources to start to take control. EA and CB are priority until such time as Baduruu runs out of Res D, then you can steamroll him. Your ability lines up with his, so make sure you blow those bows up.
Allied:
Matchup Quality: Medium
Tactics: With allies your resource curve is lower than that of the semi-solo build, so you can keep up the threats. And with Blood Frenzy you will have plenty of resource fodder. Just don’t sacrifice all your fat allies, he will run out of Item D eventually. In fact, Dragon’s Tooth is a good resource choice here because there is little chance he will be running 5 cost allies. Ping him down slowly and keep a grip on the board at all times, your high health allies will cause him problems.
Majiya
Semi solo:
Matchup Quality: Medium-Hard
Tactics: Majiya is probably one of the easier mages, simply because she relies less on burn and more on allies to lead her to victory. Take care of Portals and force her to cast those allies without haste. Enrage is a must here, as is Snow Sapphire. Furrion Terror is an excellent choice here, as he is immune to her ability, as well as much of her burn.
Allied:
Matchup Quality: Medium-Hard
Tactics: Focus on killing her Portals, as even without her Tome she will still draw off your allies. Disciple is important as she can’t target it for draw and it will delay her. The problem is that you can’t just sit back and slowly grind Majiya down, eventually she’ll cast a Portal you can’t kill and then you’ll have more targets than you know what to do with. Not to mention she can still control you with burn, though with so many strong allies it’s not as easy as she’d hope.
Gravebone
Semi solo:
Matchup Quality: Hard
Tactics: While Gravebone relies heavily on allies, the fact that he can keep bringing them back is problematic, forcing you to respond to them over and over again. Use Crippling Blows like they’re going out of fashion and ensure you keep some Brax Veterans to cycle them when his allies do finally die. Remember with Gravebone (And Majiya), every point of health they lose they will NEVER get back.
Allied:
Matchup Quality: Hard
Tactics: Gravebone’s ability is a pest here, nothing dies permanently and he will keep the board under contention the whole match. Crippling Blow where possible and make sure you hurt him as soon as you can.
Elementalis
Semi solo:
Matchup Quality: Hard-Very Hard
Tactics: Elementalis is a pain because he can keep buffing allies out of EA’s range, and can make those Gargoyles unstoppable. Focus on them as priority with Crippling Blow, and slowly chip away at him whenever you get an opportunity.
Allied:
Matchup Quality: Medium-Hard
Tactics: With allies to combine damage sources, this matchup is easier but far from a walk in the park. Acolyte is very useful as Elementalis likes allies with passive abilities (Karash, Gargoyle, Wulven Savage), and he just makes them so much easier to deal with. Darkwood Wraith is also your best friend at this point.
Zaladar
Semi solo:
Matchup Quality: Medium
Tactics: Concentrate on the board and grind him down. He can’t kill you with weapons and his ability alone, he requires allies to finish you off. Ensure you have Snow Sapphire out before dropping allies, to reduce the damage from the inevitable Mind Controls. Focus on destroying Infinity Cores and Arthyle’s Crypt if he runs them.
Allied:
Matchup Quality: Medium
Tactics: You have a few tricks to deal with Zaladar, but your main ones are the fact you have Gargoyles and Disciples, both of which provide no end of headaches for Lightning Boy. Beat him at his own game, grind him down in the attrition war.
Darkclaw
Semi solo:
Matchup Quality: Easy
Tactics: Most Darkclaw are semi solo, running Rain Delay, Lightning Hunter etc. Easy prey, hold your Snow Sapphire and keep him at arms-length. You don’t even have to destroy WBT as priority as he will freeze when he attacks you (though you may want to do it to preserve SS durability when he’s defending), but instead focus on his draw. Blood Moon and WotF if he’s running allies.
Allied:
Matchup Quality: Medium
Tactics: Not as easy as the solo version because you don’t have Snow Sapphire, so it’s much harder to keep Claw down. However you still have the definite advantage and if you keep spamming allies and dealing with his weapons he’ll run out of responses eventually.
Moonstalker
Semi solo:
Matchup Quality: Hard/Very Hard
Tactics: Moonstalker is tricky, as you will have a hard time killing his allies off. Once again Snow Sapphire is important, and hold your Dragon’s Teeth so you can one shot a fatty during those rare opportunities. For Millstalker, once again rely on Snow Sapphire, and wipe his Bazaar as priority. If you can choke his draw you choke his stall, and you can beat down.
Allied:
Matchup Quality: Medium/Hard
Tactics: Acolyte Acolyte Acolyte. I cannot stress how important this ally is. He will go straight through Moonstalker’s stealth with his ability and allow you to deal with all those allies that give you trouble. Blow up draw engines and keep on him. Cripple what you can’t get to and recycle any disabled Acolytes with Wraith. King’s Pride for the glorious finish.
Bear in mind Acolyte cannot remove stealth from Moon himself.
Conclusion
So that’s my take on Ter Adun. He’s not an easy hero to master, but highly rewarding (at least in my opinion). He may not be Tier 1, but he’s certainly no longer the bottom of the barrel and with a little finesse and skill you can make him shine.
All the credit for this article goes to Preybird. Thank you very much Mr. Preybird!
Preybird’s Zaladar Breakdown
Intro
Well, as the title suggests, this is a breakdown of the strengths, weaknesses and abilities of my favourite hero in the game, Zaladar. This isn’t going to be a quick overview and run down of cards, this is going to be an in-depth strategic look at how to best use Zaladar and the core concepts behind him. I will be referencing Call of the Crystals [CotC] and Dark Prophecies [DP] in this article and strategies for each. So without further ado let’s get started.
Overview
As many of you are probably aware, Zaladar is an incredibly flexible hero, which is the primary reason I love him so much. This is in no small part due to his ability. Unlike every other ability in this game bar Banebow, it can directly target the hero, an ally, hero + ally, or two allies, and is completely unconditional (does not require a weapon, ally, etc) besides the SE cost. That in itself puts Zaladar head and shoulders above pretty much all others in terms of flexibility.
However, Zaladar also has access to the Elemental card pool which is widely regarded (in CotC at least) as one of the best in the game. He has access to reliable single creature removal (Mind Control), a board wipe (Energy Discharge), healing (Conversion, Soul Reaper), buffing (Life Infusion, Shard of Power), and resource manipulation (Feedback). Factor in Dark Prophecies and you also have access to mill (Temporal Disturbance), a plethora of allies (Flare, Zantonite, Xar Modulator, Crystal Titan), SE manipulation (Interference, Crystal Titan), and most importantly a draw engine (Antimatter). Basically with the Elemental and by extension the Shadow card pools there is nothing Zaladar cannot do with some degree of effectiveness.
Allies
Zaladar, in addition to his Elemental class allies, also has access to the Shadow pool of allies. This provides some excellent choices for Zaladar, as many of these allies promise high durability, which is useful so that allies can survive to combine with Zaladar’s ability. I’ve highlighted some of the core choices that usually make themselves home in a Zaladar deck:
Call of the Crystals
Infernal Gargoyle: The 4 x auto-include. Even after Dark Prophecies there is no 3cc with greater survivability, even though others are definitely aiming for the crown. Gargoyle is almost always guaranteed to stick around for at least a turn, most times two, and that is a massive boon for Zaladar.
Brutalis: The most survivable 2 drop in the majority of cases. I say this because now it has a competitor, Ironhide Karash. Versus mages, Zaladar mirror and Banebow, Brutalis is definitely the stronger of the two, however Karash can really make his presence felt against ally based decks. Use Brut much like Gargoyle, ping damage combined with Zaladar’s ability. Unfortunately his measly attack damage of 1 is somewhat of a deficiency in the fledgling DP meta, more 5 health allies roaming around means he can’t combo up to lethal damage. But he is still a core addition to Zaladar.
Death Mage Thaddeus: Like the others, he is used to combine damage sources. However he does not need to survive at all to be useful. A fantastic tool for taking back the board. However he also suffers from the Brutalis syndrome in DP, sometimes not being enough to deal the final ping.
Dark Prophecies
Ironhide Karash: The rookie card, the first draft pick from the new set for Shadow heroes. Karash’s damage reduction makes him insanely dangerous to some heroes, though his low health means he’s vulnerable to others. Most importantly however is that he has 2 attack, meaning he can combine with Zaladar for 5 damage. This is very important in the DP meta as I have mentioned before.
Morbid Acolyte: This card is made for Zaladar. Not only is he 5 health and thus has massive survivability, his ability means that Zaladar’s number one nemesis, the pesky Gargoyle, is a threat no longer. The alternate 3cc drop for sure, and adding 2 or 3 of these to your deck will mean you have an incredibly consistent opening.
Death Collector: Another solid alternate 3cc, this card has the ability to become a beast if left alone for a couple of turns. However he has more uses than that as his ability equates to graveyard manipulation, which means he can really put the hurt on Gravebone, shut down Shadow Knight loops, hurt other Death Collectors and Rotlings. Not to mention he can also shut down abilities like Soul Reaper and Infinity Core, or at least render them less effective.
Darkwood Wraith: The Wraith is control, and is another way to deal with the deadly Gargoyle. He also provides Shadow with a Retreat effect, something they were sorely lacking in CotC. But his real benefit is flexibility. Wraith can also be used on your allies, bouncing back damaged, crippled or disabled allies, or allies with effects (like DMT, and even Twisted Familiar). He can also be used in concert with cards like Super Focus and Synchronicity.
Furrion Terror: His on summon ability means that combined with Zaladar’s ability two allies on the board can take 5 damage, enough to kill most things in this game. Not to mention the Terror has a capable attack by himself. However his true strength is his board wiping ability.
Abilities and Items
So many choices here and so many that can swing a game in your favour. There are also so many options for catering to different playstyles. Here are some cards that have tremendous synergy with Zaladar:
Call of the Crystals
Shadow Font: The NUMBER ONE ability for Zaladar. In his hands this is no different to the mage card Lightning Strike, and we all know how powerful that is. Honestly I can never think of a time when this is not a useful card.
Mind Control: Probably the most feared card in the Elemental pool, and with good reason. No ally is safe from this card. However this card has drawbacks that most people are not aware of. First thing is that it is 5cc to kill a single ally, which means it’s usually the only card played in a turn until late game, which costs huge amounts of tempo and means if you’re behind it won’t help you get control of the game back. (I will quite often bait Elemental players with a juicy MC target to put them behind on the tempo game.) Secondly is that in terms of resources it’s almost always a negative trade or even at best, unless you’re targeting a 6 cost ally. This is a card to help you keep board control. Also the psychological aspects of this card cannot be ignored.
Here Be Monsters: Made famous by Fou DeLile in his Here Be Zaladar deck, HBM allows you to keep your opponent down for a turn or two, and forces them to resource more than you, generating card advantage and resource advantage. It also counters the major weakness of Elementals, draw, by forcing your opponent to use up their cards and get them closer to the dreaded “top-decking” state. It also doesn’t cost you a lot of tempo, because you have Zaladar’s ability to control the board in early game.
Soul Reaper: Quite a useful card to keep you in the game until you can deal those last few points of damage, especially if you are running an aggro beatdown Zaladar with lots of small cheap allies as they will provide a great deal of fuel for Soul Reaper. Play Eternal Renewal after this to get back all your powerful abilities and weapons without diluting the mix with cheap allies.
Dimension Ripper: Zaladar’s number one weapon and one of the main reasons mages fear him so. This allows him to boost his damage potential significantly, and steal cards from your opponent. Sure you give away a card as well, but it’s best to think in terms of what you stand to gain, rather than what you’ve lost. You can also mitigate this loss with clever use of Bad Santa. Also do not forget an important part of this card, disruption. By stealing your opponents cards you’re disrupting their strategy, whereas you are able to build your deck around the expectation you will be giving cards away.
Dark Prophecies
Super Focus: This card is incredible, and the bane of Warriors and Wulven everywhere. This thing not only boosts your allies, it shuts down crippling effects and allows them to get back in the fight. This card encourages lots of dirty tricks and synergizes well with cards like Darkwood Wraith, Sacrifical Lamb, Conversion and Synchronicity just to name a few. While I feel it’s probably more Elementalis’ domain, this card is still very much at home with Zaladar.
Infinity Core: Of all Zaladar’s new toys, this is probably the one that’s getting the most exposure. It’s an anti-milling, graveyard manipulating, healing powerhouse, and all for 2 resources. A very powerful card that is offset by the tempo loss of casting it and using its ability. It has some synergy with Antimatter, but is a very expensive combo to pull off.
Contaminated Water: Reducing enemy allies by 1 health is a big thing for Zaladar, putting a lot of allies into kill range with his ability alone. It also makes Gargoyle more manageable. The downside of it is that your opponent can destroy it by spending 3SE. But truthfully, that’s not much of a downside as you’ve just delayed their ability by 3 turns.
Interference: An alternate Shadow Font that carries considerable risk, yet amazing reward. It can be fantastic against some heroes, yet useless against many others (3SE heroes mostly). It also loses a lot of potency if you go first. However it does work beautifully in concert with the next card….
Shadowvein: This thing is a beast. An alternative to Ripper and it actually makes semi-solo Zaladar viable. This card can cause you to gain SE at a phenomenal rate, and combined with Interference can delay your opponent from reaping the benefits. But there are some heroes you should not use this on, the number one in this case is Zhanna (she will out heal your damage) followed closely by Moonstalker (You won’t get to attack him ever again). Banebow is also a definite no-no unless you’ve stopped casting allies.
Morphic Armor: This card is Zaladar’s ace in the hole. You may be wondering why, it’s a huge SE sink and prevents you from maximizing your ability. The reason is simple; it is the bane of Zaladar’s bad matchups. Think about who gives him real trouble, Amber, Gwen, Darkclaw, Banebow. Three of those four rely on attachments to carry the day. Morphic Armor changes all that, stealing them away for good. Now you might think Sever Ties is a good alternative, but ST doesn’t give YOU the benefit of said attachments. Think Shadowvein with Rapid Fire or Speedstrike, or the draw of Blood Frenzy and the health of Enrage or Lone Wolf, or crippling your opponent’s allies while simultaneously freeing up your own (HUGE TEMPO SWING). That alone makes it worth including. And with the increased prevalence of attachments in DP there are a lot more strategies you can disrupt with this card.
Draw, and the Problems Therein
Alright, now we come to the main problem that Elementals have had since day one which has now only been partially addressed in Dark Prophecies, the issues around reliable draw. Currently in CotC Elemental decks have had to cobble together an effective draw mechanic through one-shot cards (Bad Santa, Sacrificial Lamb) and cantrips (Here Be Monsters, Ley Line Nexus). Truthfully this isn’t so bad at all, and at least one of my DP decks still does this simply because it doesn’t cost you much tempo and played properly you can still generate significant card advantage. However there is a shiny new tool, Antimatter. So let’s take a look at it.
Antimatter costs 2 to put into play and 3 to use, drawing two cards. But here’s the kicker, you have to discard one of the two cards you draw. Some people say that’s awesome and allows lots of neat tricks, some people (like myself) see it as a drawback that needs to be mitigated with graveyard retrieval, which means you start to build your deck around the concept of making your draw engine work, where it should be the other way around (draw should power the deck, not deck power the draw). You can ignore the discard, and in many cases it’s not a difficult decision to choose what to lose, but what happens if you get two Mind Controls? Or a Mind Control and a Shadow Font? That being said, it is a constant draw engine, just a very costly one, and you need to be acutely aware of it at all times.
Playstyles
Okay, now that we’ve looked at some of the cards Zaladar has access to (not all, there are just too many to go through), let’s start looking at the ways to play him. To do that we need to look at archetypes in general firstly, so we should all know that there are three main playstyles available in Shadow Era currently:
Aggro: Also what I refer to as beatdown. You’re the aggressor, the proactive player aiming to force responses from your opponent. You hit fast and often. This sort of playstyle generally uses a lot of allies and/or weapons/direct damage. Aggro is a style of play that relies heavily on maintaining tempo. Mess that up and chances are you can overrun an aggro deck.
Control: The flip side to aggro, control aims to win by being reactive, constantly having the right answer until it’s ready to produce threats of its own. Control doesn’t so much rely on the tempo play, it’s more reliant on card advantage for the majority of the game.
Stall/Mill: The ultimate slowdown. We all know the main culprit here (Millstalker), though there are other stall decks around of varying levels of effectiveness. While these decks claim to win by decking you out (milling) they’re actually stalling you, milling is just a by-product of that.
Now what category does Zaladar fit into? Well, he can do all three, but he is most effective in the aggro/beatdown role, and most decks are built to exploit this. However he can be used in the other styles with varying degrees of effectiveness. Some of the card choices for each style could be:
Aggro: 4-6 2cc allies, 7-10 3cc allies, 2-3 5cc+ allies, Shadow Font, Mind Control, Weapon, Interference, Bad Santa, Super Focus
Control: 4 2cc allies, 6-8 3cc allies, 4-6 5cc+ allies, Shadow Font, Interference, Mind Control, Energy Discharge, Infinity Core, Eternal Renewal, Soul Reaper, Armor of Ages, Morphic Armor, Synchronicity, Antimatter
Stall/Mill: Bazaar, Bad Santa, Temporal Disturbance, Evil Ascendant, Contaminated Water, Furrion Terror, Shadow Knight, Infinity Core, Soul Reaper, Armor of Ages, Shadow Font, Interference, Mind Control
Bear in mind these are hardly exhaustive and are created considering my own personal preferences.
Matchups
Okay, this is the meat and potatoes of this article, going through the heroes and discussing the quality of matchup and what needs to be done to beat them, based on current meta decks. For the purposes of this article I will be using a traditional Zaladar beatdown as a base deck, nothing special here:
1 x Zaladar
4 x Brutalis
4 x Gargoyle
2 x Bad Wolf
4 x Death Mage Thaddeus
3 x Plasma Behemoth
4 x Mind Control
2 x Shriek
4 x Shadow Font
3 x Sacrificial Lamb
4 x Bad Santa
2 x Ley Line Nexus
3 x Dimension Ripper
Total 39 cards + Hero
Some of you may recognise this as my Crystal Miner deck. There are no DP cards in it; however I will be discussing DP options as we go through.
Boris Skullcrusher
Matchup Quality: Medium
Tactics: Boris likes his fat allies, so hold onto your Mind Controls. Keep the board locked down at all times, because he will be outdrawing you and if you let him get down some allies you can’t deal with it’s all over. His ability is very annoying but if you can get a Behemoth to stick you should be fine. Hold onto a Ley Line Nexus for the inevitable King’s Pride.
Amber Rain
Matchup Quality: Hard-Very Hard
Tactics: Ugh. Weapons. Zaladar hates weapons, because they’re a damage source he has trouble controlling. Coupled with the draw power of a Warrior and you’re in for a hard fight. Behemoth mitigates this matchup somewhat, but other options are obviously Sever Ties and Morphic Armor if you hit a lot of Ambers. She is beatable, but not an easy win by any stretch.
Do not be afraid to use Bad Santas as often as you can because with Blood Frenzy, there’s a very good chance you’ll gain more cards than she will (this applies to all warriors).
Spam allies as rapidly as you can to overwhelm her. If you can get three uncrippled allies on the board you’ve got the match in many cases.
Victor Heartstriker
Matchup Quality: Medium
Tactics: Victor is annoying but most certainly beatable, even if it doesn’t feel like it. He’s much easier to take down in DP with the inclusion of Shadowvein, as you can get him down to about 12 life then swap to a solo route and use the power of Shadowvein to ensure you’re constantly blasting away. Don’t expect any heavy allies to live long, concentrate instead on streams of cheap allies to overwhelm his defences. Victor likes high health allies for survivability, so you will have to combine damage sources to take them out.
Gwenneth Truesight
Matchup Quality: Very Hard
Tactics: This is as close to auto-loss as Zaladar gets. There is no easy route to defeating a tuned Gwen deck. Your best bet is distraction tactics. Drop as many allies with more than 4 health as possible (This includes Gargoyle) to keep her busy and counteract her Rapid Fire. Obviously Sever Ties and Morphic Armor will work wonders here to remove Rapid Fire and slow her down significantly. Also if you pack Armor of Ages you’ll prevent 24 damage and you can even use Infinity Core to try and keep up with her heal.
Nishaven
Matchup Quality: Easy-Medium
Tactics: With a built in board wipe that doesn’t hurt him, Nish is tougher than his feminine counterpart. However just keep up with the Gargoyles and the ability, and use Dimension Ripper whenever possible and he will fall just like Eladwen.
Watch out for Voltar’s Ring, it will ruin you if you don’t deal with it.
Eladwen Frostmire
Matchup Quality: Easy
Tactics: Honestly, I love facing Eladwen rush with Zaladar. Once you get past the first 3 turns you’re usually on top of it (even going second), unless she gets the God rush (Kris, Puwen, PotL, Aldon, etc). And once Dimension Ripper comes out you’re basically home free. An interesting thing with this matchup is that Mind Control is not really important, you should be fine with Shadow Font as Eladwen rush runs very few allies with more than 4 health.
Do hold a couple of Mind Control just in case there are some late game fatties (like Sandworms and Aeons).
Jericho Spellbane
Matchup Quality: Easy-Medium
Tactics: Zhanna without the heal. Get in early and hit hard, but don’t overextend. Keep three allies maximum on the board. Wait until the first Tidal Wave before you drop a heavier ally. Hold onto your mind controls to deal with the waves of Ravens and Aeons that all half decent Jericho decks should have. Kill his draw engine wherever possible. Even Plague builds aren’t that much trouble as most Zaladar builds can function quite happily on 3 resources, constantly dropping threats.
Zhanna Mist
Matchup Quality: Medium-Hard
Tactics: Basically your tactics are identical to Jericho, except you have a more difficult time because Zhanna can heal 3 damage every 3 turns. You really need to keep the pressure up and kill her before she gets a foothold. Believe me, Zaladar will run out of steam before Zhanna will, even with additional healing cards.
Lance Shadowstalker
Matchup Quality: Easy
Tactics: Zaladar is the perfect counter to a standard Lance strategy, mid game control and ramp up. Your early game is an order of magnitude better than his, and by the time the first Raven comes out you should be waiting with a Mind Control. Use Sac Lamb here for unilateral draw, as you WILL have crippled allies floating around. It’s not uncommon for me to walk away with wins while on 20+ health.
Canny opponents however can give you a tough time if they put out more weenies than you can handle (if you don’t have Energy Discharge). Priest of the Light is also very annoying in Lance builds.
Serena Thoughtripper
Matchup Quality: Easy-Medium
Tactics: Slightly more difficult than Lance, as she has the discard and the weapon based strategy. However she still has those squishy human allies and the weak early rogue game. Just hold onto Bad Santas and keep your hand as full as possible. Every extra card in your hand hurts the probability of you losing the one card you need significantly.
One: 100%
Two: 50%
Three: 33%
Four: 25%
Five: 20%
And so forth.
Ter Adun
Matchup Quality: Easy
Tactics: Well in CotC Ter is generally a walk in the park. Solo strategies can give you trouble if they get a foothold, so don’t let that happen. In DP Ter is significantly stronger and will be able to fight for board from turn 5 onwards. So don’t give him the chance.
Logan Stonebreaker
Matchup Quality: Easy
Tactics: Basically your tactics here are identical to dealing with Ter Adun. However you will be losing an ally every four turns due to his ability, so be ready with more in your hand. Throw out lots of allies to beat down the weapon and to give him too many targets.
Banebow
Matchup Quality: Very Hard
Tactics: Banebow is the only hero with a better early game than you, and it hurts you bad. He would be the second toughest matchup for Zaladar behind Gwen, as he also has a good later game with Soul Seeker. And now with A Perfect Shot you can’t even fatty roll him reliably anymore. The best way to defeat him is to get in as much early damage as possible then switch to a solo route to prevent him from healing. Use Mind Control and Shadow Font like they’re going out of fashion, and ensure you’re constantly beating down with either Shadowvein or Dimension Ripper. He is winnable, but it’s not easy.
Baduruu
Matchup Quality: Medium
Tactics: Most Baduruu’s out there at the moment are Resource Destruction Baduruus and like I said versus a Plague priest deck, Zaladar can function at low resources if he has to. The problem with Baduruu is that he has Soul Seeker, and can really cause you problems because Ley Line Nexus is 5 resources, well beyond what he’ll let you get to. Gargoyles are the order of the day here, and Morbid Acolytes. If you can get a Death Collector to stick for a turn or two he will end Baduruu, so if you have them they should be a priority.
Majiya
Matchup Quality: Medium-Hard
Tactics: Normally mages don’t give you much trouble but Majiya is an exception, and it’s because she can spam Gargoyles and she has plenty of removal power and draw in the form of her ability. In addition, canny Majiya players will not be throwing out fat allies, they’ll be using lots of 3cc allies, and throwing them through Portals. A Gargoyle and a Bad Wolf do 5 damage for 6 resources, not much less efficient than a Shadow Knight and three times as difficult to remove. Dimension Ripper should be your primary focus here, because you want to disrupt her as much as possible. Also focus on having 2 Gargoyles out by Turn 4 if possible, to prevent her from wiping your board at that point. Always have two allies on the field if possible because she will have trouble keeping up without resorting to Supernova.
Gravebone
Matchup Quality: Easy
Tactics: What does Gravebone like? Fat allies. What does Zaladar like? Killing fat allies. Like the other mages, get in early and hit hard. Focus on Dimension Ripper if using it, if not Shadowvein is also an admirable choice, especially with Gravebone. Because you WANT him to keep bringing those big allies back, so you can keep Mind Controlling them. Watch out for Gargoyles as usual.
Elementalis
Matchup Quality: Medium
Tactics: Surprisingly Elementalis can give you problems in CotC. Without access to retreat those super buffed Gargoyles can really threaten you and you need to get in as much damage as quickly as possible to win it. In DP however, Darkwood Wraith is your best friend, and makes this matchup much easier. Do watch out for Energy Discharge, many Elementalis’ run it as they don’t have Zaladar’s control abilities.
Zaladar
Matchup Quality: Medium
Tactics: Mirror matches are all about who gets the most Gargoyles out. If you can get more than your opponent, they’ll stick longer and they’ll do more damage. Don’t be afraid to use Dimension Ripper, it’s almost like drawing from your own deck. Grind them down one point of damage at a time, but always concentrate on the board. Remember Zaladar is not great at staging comebacks, so if you can get him down you’re looking good. Likewise if you find yourself in a losing position you’re in trouble.
Darkclaw
Matchup Quality: Hard-Very Hard
Tactics: Solo Darkclaw is very tough for Zaladar to overcome. Hold your Shrieks, but only use one on What Big Teeth, save the other for the Full Moon or Rain Delay, build up your forces as best you can and go for the omega strike. Once again Sever Ties and Morphic Armor will win you games here.
Allied Claw is easier but still a difficult fight, particularly if they have Blood Moon.
Moonstalker
Matchup Quality: Medium-Hard
Tactics: Moon is one of those heroes that ramps up. You may look like you’re going strong, but then he’ll hide for four-five turns and before long you’re looking squarely at defeat. DO NOT SACRIFICE MIND CONTROL EVER. Hold them as you can be sure there will be a stream of fat allies from turn 5 onward. Use Zaladar’s ability on the hero at all times. Rely on DMT and Plasma Behemoth to do most of the damage, and try and use DMT to draw out the Captured Preys if possible.
Stupidly, Millstalker is easier. One DMT will counteract Lone Wolf completely, Plasma Behemoth will really bring the hurt. Also Molten Destroyer is a very good prospect as each one is good for 5 guaranteed damage when EA is out. Build up your forces and Shriek that Full Moon for the final blow.
Nasty trick for Millstalker, when he goes into the SK loop, don’t kill them outright, but use your ability to drop the Knight to 1. EA will take him out on the Millstalker’s turn AND it’ll negate the Lone Wolf heal, because SK was alive at the beginning of the turn.
Conclusion
So that concludes this epic post. I hope it helped all you aspiring Zaladar players out there get a feel for this incredibly flexible and dangerous hero. If you’re not a Zaladar player, you’ve just gotten an insight into what a Zaladar player is thinking when he comes up against your favourite hero.
The secrets you need to know about Shadow Era 