Hey Adventurers and Patrons!
We have a new update coming soon, so we wanted to start sharing some of the new and updated cards coming in patch 1.2!
The first set of cards we want to share will address a deck type that you have all been asking for changes to for YEARS: Assassin's Strike. While a very different and fun way to get a win, it's also survived as one of the most difficult. Assassin's Strikes have been consistently hard to get into your opponent's deck, and once there, seem to always languish out of reach. These changes are aimed at addressing this while also setting the stage for some creative space in the future.
Assassin's Strike Rebalance
All outlined rebalances are subject to change before release. Nothing listed is final.
Wanted Notice
While in theory, Wanted Notice has the highest cap to how many Assassin's Strikes it can place in a deck. In practice, it became one of the worst options. Since so many other cards have Enhance abilities that you must use to stay in the game long enough to make your Assassin's Strikes work, losing all of your coins was too expensive. This change aims to make Wanted Notice one of the most reliable and best-valued ways to pump Assassin's Strikes into your opponent's deck in bulk, turning this ugly duckling into the bell of the ball for Assassin's Strike.
Old:
Gain a coin. Randomly place an Assassin's Strike in your opponent’s deck for each coin you have. Lose all your coins.
New:
Randomly place 3 Assassin's Strikes in your opponent's deck. Enhance: Randomly place 6 instead for 2 coins.
Spymaster of the Guild
*Spymaster was always intended to be the champion of Assassin's Strikes, and we plan to keep it that way. With Wanted Notice becoming a large influx of Assassin's Strike for your opponent to deal with, it left Spymaster feeling a bit left out. This change aims to make Spymaster less of a "drop and bounce" and more of a unit you want to keep on board. The longer Spymaster is alive, the more Assassin Strikes will build, dealing more damage and making Spymaster much more threatening than before.*
Old:
Entrance: Randomly place 5 Assassin's Strikes into your opponent's deck. Enhance: Gain "Assassin's Strike deals +1 damage." for 2 coins
New:
Banes deals +1 damage. Prepare: Randomly place an Assassin's Strike into your opponent's deck for each Bane your opponent drew last turn.
Garngian Cutthroat
Garngian Cutthroat needed little in the way of changes. The effect of getting an Assassin's Strike when it died was valuable outside Assassin's Strike and the enhance just made it that much better inside. Increasing the number of Assassin's Strikes it would provide per Last Word or Deathblow when enhanced should allow it to stay in pace with the rest of the squad with this update.
Old:
Last Word: Randomly place an Assassin's Strike into your opponent's deck Enhance: Last Word/Deathblow instead for 1 coin
New:
Last Word: Randomly place 3 Assassin's Strike into your opponent's deck Enhance: Last Word/Deathblow instead for 1 coin
Passanian Liquidator
Passanian Liquidator has been the king of Assassin's Strike since it's inception and will likely continue to be a powerhouse in the deck after these changes. As with Cutthroat, Liquidator needed little in the way of changes outside increasing it's effectiveness to keep up with the new pace of Assassin's Strikes
Old:
When you take direct damage, randomly place an Assassin's Strike into your opponent's deck. Enhance: Randomly place 2 instead for 3 coins.
New:
When you take direct damage, randomly place an Assassin's Strike into your opponent's deck. Enhance: Randomly place 3 instead for 2 coins.
Assassin's Strike
The center of the Assassin's Strike decks is seeing no changes to the numbers or effect. The feeling and effectiveness of your opponent drawing into that dagger has always been satisfying, so there is no need to fix what it's broken. Instead, Assassin's Strikes will be the first in a new card type called "Bane Spells." These spells activate a negative effect when drawn. The addition of this new sub-type will widen the space the team has to play with these cards, as seen in the new cards in the Assassin's Strike tool bag.
Old:
Card Type: Spell
New:
Card Type: Bane Spell
Meager Misdeed
The first of the new cards is pulling double duty. Meager Misdeed acts as a form of mill for anyone looking to disrupt their opponent's plans or just shrink their deck down a bit, but when Enhanced, it clears out any non-Bane cards that may be in the way of that next tick of damage. Did your opponent just set up a pair of Endless Merc Bands for the next turn? Not any more. Been a few turns since they drew into an Assassin's Strike? Speed that up. This card brings value to just about any deck it finds it's way into.
New:
3 Mana Spell.
Your opponent discards the top 2 cards from their deck. Enhance: Top 2 Innate cards instead for 1 coin.
Cunning Snaremaster
Cunning Snaremaster is about getting your Bane Spells closer to the top of your opponent's deck to mess up that next draw. With each Activate, your opponent is closer and closer to pulling an Assassin's Strike. Pair this with the new Spymaster and you can more rapidly get to those major damage combos. But be careful, in the mirror match, this card does put you closer to damage as well.
New:
3 Mana 1 Attack 4 Health Creature.
Activate: All Bane Spells move up 1 position in all decks for 1 coin. Enhance: 2 positions instead for 1 coin.
As you can see, Assassin's Strike will be a formidable deck type with these changes. With Wanted Notice getting you rolling early, Spymaster boosting the strength and quantity of Assassin's Strikes, Cutthroat and Liquidator being as strong as they have been, along with Snaremaster and Meager Misdeed helping get those Assassin's Strikes closer to the top, you will have players questioning every card draw.