Greetings Yodhas!
The Heroes: Rediscovery update is upon us! Get ready for significant early-game impact, improved synergy between Heroes and Units, a superior Hero levelling experience and Legendary cards that truly impress.
Hero-Balancing And Passives
It was fun while it lasted, but Hero damage previously allowed players to ramp up to extraordinary values, reducing the effectiveness of Unit Cards, including coveted Legendary units. Battles were often reduced to a Hero brawl, and the strategic depth of Kurukshetra: Ascension often fell by the wayside.
We have now lowered Hero damage across the board while also removing the Soma cost for hero weapon attacks. Passives like ‘Rising Storm’ that buffed damage without a cap have been altered. Weapons, Cards, and Powers that provide damage buffs still exist but are now harder to obtain. While this may sound unpleasant at first glance, our testing has shown significantly greater Hero-Unit synergy and card impact. Your decks are powerful now and rightly so. We cannot wait to see what our players cook up.
The Early-Game Impact
“1-cost units are useless!”. We heard that feedback a lot and we agree! Hero damage and armour were too strong previously, and that brave Warrior’s damage was often blocked entirely. This was further backed by a lack of variety in low-cost units. Heroes were also able to ramp up damage very quickly in the early rounds, leaving starting Units in the dust.
Our solution is to remove Armour from Heroes, though some like Duryodhana and Surpanakha can still receive armour buffs from different cards in the mid-game. We’ve also significantly reduced Armour gain potential from our Ranged Heroes, as Row Protection was always meant to be a key strategic element in keeping them safe.
Finally, the starting player now begins with 2 Soma! Something our player base has been waiting to hear for a while. This opens up strategic depth right from round one, while also allowing low-cost units to influence the battle!
Hero Levelling
Hero cards weren’t being used to their full potential, with player feedback pointing to a difficulty in obtaining them being the root cause. Getting locked out of grabbing a specific Hero card just wasn't fun and limiting a Hero's true potential.
Hero Cards are back on the heroes individual progression track, with a few new ones being added along the way! These cards have also been removed from card packs, making it easier for you to snag the units you’ve been looking for. When you check your Hero track, you’ll also notice new avatars for these Hero-specific cards that you can proudly wear as a badge of honour.
Legendary Cards
Legendary Cards were powerful but often lacked utility or synergy with other units. Some were exceedingly dominant, while others saw far less use. We want players to be able to build decks around any Legendary in their inventory, instead of having to wait endlessly for that specific card.
To tackle this, we have completely overhauled Legendary Cards. They now synergize with far more properties and factions than before, along with the addition of new properties that bring depth to gameplay.
We’ve been playtesting these changes and having a blast! The late-game possibilities are endless, and we’re waiting for players to break the game with their unique decks and builds.
Now, let’s move on to discussing each hero and how we’re innovating their gameplay to new heights!
Arjuna
Arjuna’s might and prowess on the battlefield came from his bow, and of course the many Astras in his arsenal, we want our hero to reflect that. Along with other adjustments, Arjuna has a new passive, Gifted.
New Passive, Gifted: Draw a card when you cast a spell.
Base Stats: 1 Damage, 0 Armour, 20 Health
New Cards:
Brihannala: New Spell Card, Charm an enemy with 3 Health or less.
Ulupi: New Legendary Unit, Passive: All poison attacks reduce damage by 3.
Cards reworked:
Shock Archer: Is now a neutral card. Health increased to 3 from 2.
Savyasachi: Damage reduced to 2 from 3.
Snipe: Soma Cost increased to 4 from 3.
Gandiva: Now increases Heroes base damage by +2. No longer makes Arjuna Counter-Immune.
Execute: Soma cost reduced to 2 from 3.
Lightning Bolt: Damage reduced to 4 from 5.
Satyaki: Now gives Guard to all Legendary Units.
Abhimanyu: Now buffs the health of all other Humans by +3.
Shivas Doom: Soma cost reduced to 8 from 10.
Chakra: Now increases Heroes base damage by +1. No longer has Concealed Weapon. Soma cost reduced to 2 from 3.
Airavat: Soma cost increased to 9 from 8. Health increased to 9 from 7. Now gains +1 damage for each enemy Stunned during the game and is Spell Immune.
Elite Army: Soma cost reduced to 2. Now draws a Legendary card from your deck and reduces its cost by 2.
Indra's Shot: Soma cost reduced to 1 from 3.
Focused Shot: Damage reduced to 3 from 4. Soma cost reduced to 2 from 4. Can now only attack the enemy Hero.
Divine Student: Increased Soma cost reduction of spells from 1 to 2.
Divine Double: Changed to Rapid Assault: If a Spell kills an enemy, create a free copy in hand
Devadatta Conch: Now gives +2 damage to all Ranged Units for one turn.
Eager Students: Changed to Flawless: Arjuna becomes counter-immune.
Guard Me Changed to Piercing Attacks: All allies have Pierces.
Removed Cards:
Lightning Tips, Discharge, Piercing Arrows, Manavastra and Vritra’s Bane.
Sugriva
Sugriva was perhaps capable of the highest damage ramp-up, with the Shikari Gada and Tribe making his playstyle very one-dimensional and focused only on Hero to Hero attacks, we’re tackling that by adjusting his passive along with a few other tweaks.
New Passive, Flanks: Sugriva now Flanks.
Base Stats: 2 Attack, 0 Armour, 30 Health.
Cards reworked:
Angada: Now deals 4 damage and has 4 Health. Soma cost reduced by 1 per Vaanar deployed.
Nila: Gains +2 dmg/ +2 Health when opponent casts a spell. Damage and Health increased by 1.
Nala: Weapons cost -2 Soma.
Golden Vaanar: Soma cost increased to 5 from 4.
Sushena: Soma cost increased to 8 from 7. Now Silences all enemy Units on Deploy.
Sanjeevani changed to: Grant a Unit +3 Health. Soma cost increased to 2 from 1.
Hanuman's Aid: Heal all friendly Units fully; Vaanars and Beasts gain Self-Revive.
Frenzied Tail: Damage reduced to 2 from 3.
Rama's Shot: Now deals piercing damage equal to your current Soma.
Forest Cover: Now also has draws a card.
Shikari Gada: Now increases Heroes base damage by +1. Ability removed. Now Poisons.
Kaumodaki: Now increases Heroes base damage by +2.
Flaming Sabotage renamed to Sabotage: Now has Draw 2 cards.
Forest Mantra: Cost reduction increased to -2 from -1.
Camouflage changed to Healer's Grove: All healing increased by 2.
Removed Cards:
Leap, Mighty Leap and Surya’s Blessing.
Bhishma
Bhishma, in his previous avatar, was too dependent on the opponent deploying units to build damage, not just limiting his own playstyle, but also the opponents. His new passive allows him freedom to attack anyone on the battlefield without fear of retaliation!
New Passive, Pitamah: Bhishma is now counter immune.
Base Stats: 1 Damage, 0 Armour, 20 Health
New Cards:
Ganga's Disciple: New Legendary Unit, +2 to all healing effects.
Sarala: New Legendary Unit, On Deploy: Charm any Unit till death; Charms last 1 turn longer.
Sentinel: New Legendary Unit, Guards and Spell-Immune.
Pauravi: New Legendary Unit, Ranged units cost -2 Soma.
Cards reworked:
Kankastra: Now only smashes 1 armour.
Bhishma's Boon: Soma cost reduced to 2. Health buff increased from 4 to 5.
Cheat Death: Soma cost reduced to 6 from 7.
Apsara: Renamed to Court Apsasra: Charm threshold increased to 5 health from 4. Health increased to 6 from 5.
Gangaputra: Soma cost increased to 6 from 5.
River of Arrows: Soma cost increased to 8 from 7.
Pushpa Dhanu: Now increases Heroes base damage by +1. On attack: Reduces enemy damage by 2.
Kaundinya: Now increases Heroes base damage by +2. Is no longer counter-immune. Soma cost reduced from 7 to 6.
Freezing Arrow: Renamed to Ice Arrow.
Ganga's Embrace: Health buff reduced from 5 to 3. Soma cost reduced to 2 from 3.
Commander: Unit cost reduction is now -1 per turn instead of -2.
Healing Waters: Healing reduced to 2 from 4.
Deep Freeze: No longer increases damage on frozen enemies. Now frozen enemies are stunned when damaged.
White Warrior changed to Spirit Warrior: Bhishma gains lifesteal.
Cleanse changed to Daze: Target has -2 Damage this turn.
Ranged Dominance: Damage increase reduced to +2 damage from +4 damage. Note: With this passive players won't be able to deploy melee Units as was intended earlier. (This might be changed in the upcoming balance patch.)
Pitamaha changed to Devavrata: Bhishma becomes Spell-Immune.
Removed Cards:
Scarlet Streams, Praswapastra, Divine Light, Ayurveda, Resolve, Flash Flood, Ice Weapons and Icy Breath.
Duryodhana
With lower soma cost units receiving significant tweaks, Duryodhana’s current passive puts him in a great place as we’ve balanced the Balachita as well. Previously Balachita’s damage bonus when an ally died lasted the entire match, we’ve adjusted this to only last during the turn the unit dies. This balance change still adds value to the playstyle of sacrificing units to buff Duryodhana, while also keeping him in tune with the new update.
Base Stats: 2 Damage, 0 Armour, 25 Health
New Cards:
Mir: New Unit, Assassinates.
Cards Reworked:
Balarama's Rage: Does not break armour anymore. Now causes your opponent to discard all Spell cards in their hand.
Blitz: Damage reduced to 2 from 3.
Durmukha: Health increased to 5 from 4.
Dushasana: Armour increased to 2 from 1. Health increased to 6 from 5. Soma cost increased to 6 from 5. No longer gains health when an ally dies.
Envy: Soma cost increased to 2 from 1.
Vikarna: Damage increased to 4 from 3. No longer gains damage on losing health. Now has Commands.
Laxman: Now has Poisons.
Vengeful Archer: Damage increased to 6 from 4.
Ekasha: Now increases Heroes base damage by +2. No longer has Smashes 2.
Balachita: Now increases Heroes base damage by +1. Damage gained when an ally dies now lasts only for that turn.
Susharma: Is now a neutral card. Damage increased to 5 from 4. Health increased to 6 from 5.
Gandhari's Blessing: Armour gain reduced to +1 from +2.
Royal Armoury: Is now a neutral card. Soma cost reduced to 2 from 3.
Protection: Is now a neutral card. Soma cost reduced to 2 from 5. Health gain increased to +5 from +4.
Alambusha: Now has 4 Damage, 2 Armour and 3 Health. Soma cost reduced to 5 from 7. No longer has Guards. Now has Disruptor.
Revenge: Soma cost increased to 5. Can now damage any target. Costs 1 less soma for each ally that died this turn.
Kaurava Numbers changed to Reinforcements: Deploy 1 Kaurava Brothers end of turn.
Blitzkrieg: Now First Strike applies to units costing 5 or less.
Battle-Ready: Armour grant reduced to 1 from 2.
Reinforced Steel changed to Supply Lines: When you draw a card, gain 3 health.
Turtle Formation: Now grants all Units +1 Armour on Deploy.
Vengeance changed to Ethereal Army: Deployed units gain Ephemeral for 2 turns, but lose other properties.
Removed Cards:
Whirlwind, Bodyguard, and Scavenger.
Bheem
Bheem’s units and army now reflect his “savage” nature a little better. His spells and units have been balanced and tweaked to focus on buffing and building better synergy between the Rakshasa and Beast factions when playing Bheem. So now is the time to go wild on the battlefield!
Base Stats: 2 Damage, 0 Armour, 20 Health.
New Cards:
War Paint: New Spell, Grant a Unit +2 Damage.
Beastmaster: New Unit, When you cast a spell, summon a 1-4 cost Beast.
Hidimbi: New Unit, When a friendly Rakshasa dies, spawn a copy.
Cards reworked:
Mace Throw: Now smashes only 1 armour.
Battle Stomp: Now damages all Units. Soma cost reduced to 2 from 4.
Vrigodharam: Now increases Heroes base damage by +3.
Roar: Soma cost increased to 9 from 8. Now All enemy units return to deck and Bheem gains +1 Health per enemy.
Sutasoma: Damage increased to 5 from 4. No longer has Smash. New passive: Allies with Charge also gain Living Shield.
Ghatotkacha: Damage increased to 8 from 7. Health increased to 9 from 8. Ability has been removed. Now costs -1 for each dead Unit this turn.
Modaki: Now increases Heroes base damage by +1. No longer gains +2 Health on a kill. Soma cost reduced to 3 from 4.
Two-handed Stance: Soma cost reduced to 5 from 6.
Unfettered: Removed the weapon cost component as it is now redundant. Soma cost reduced to 5 from 7.
Call of the Wild: Now Summons a random Beast or Rakshasa unit. Soma cost increased to 5 from 4.
Paundra Conch: Now all Rakshasas and Beasts gain +3 Health. Soma cost reduced to 3 from 5.
Hard Punch changed to Energise: Power Upgrade: Gain +2 Health.
Savage changed to Passive: Bheem gains +1 Health when a friendly dies.
Bhimasena changed to Passive: Spawned units gain Living Shield.
Death March changed to Passive: All friendly units gain Swift.
Removed Cards:
Charge and Alpha.
Surpanakha
Surpanakha’s ability to ramp up her damage was truly a terror on the battlefield, but integral to her core playstyle. To combat this we’ve made a few adjustments to when she can increase her damage, without lowering the numbers significantly. We’ve also worked on making strategic player choices during Night Mode integral to unlocking her full potential.
Base Stats: 1 Damage, 0 Armour, 25 Health.
Cards Reworked:
Dushana: Now gives your Hero Feeds.
Scale Armour: Soma cost increased to 3 from 1.
Demonic Shriek: Damage increased to 3 from 2.
Blood Sacrifice: Soma cost reduced to 0 from 2.
Blood Feast: Soma cost reduced to 5 from 6.
Minor Charm renamed to Quick Charm: Soma cost increased to 3 from 2.
Betrayal changed to: A random card from the opponent's hand is discarded. Soma cost increased to 2 from 0.
Charm: Soma cost increased to 6 from 5.
Subahu: Now Grants Mirage to all Allied Units. No longer has Feeds. Soma cost reduced to 7 from 8.
Lash Out: Soma cost reduced to 5 from 6.
Assassinate: Kill any enemy unit; If you have an assassin, costs -3 soma. Soma cost increased to 7 from 5.
Blood Rain: Now also Buffs the health of rakshasa Units by 2. Soma cost reduced to 3 from 4.
Art of Seduction changed to Trickery: A random card is discarded from the opponent's hand
Stay A While: Charms now last one turn longer.
Meenakshi: Units with Mirage have Charge.
Selfish Drain: Drain amount reduced to 1 from 2. Soma cost reduced to 1 from 2.
Removed Cards:
Lover’s Spat, Convert, Claws and Experiment.
We will put out a full changelog for neutral cards soon. We are also monitoring feedback extensively over the next two weeks, and balancing further to keep the game fresh and fun! We thank you for your patience in waiting for this large update, and the insights we’ve received to help us make these changes.
If you’d like to get involved with our community and look for early updates, here are our links: Discord, Instagram, and YouTube.
See you on the battlefield!
Studio Sirah