These dev blogs include not only lore on each of the factions, but faction specific tips and tricks from our battle tested dev team!! Read on to learn more. Here’s your first look at our upcoming addition to the game:
Aegis
A hole ripped open the sky, the rich aether of another dimension pouring over Terrene Gall like prismatic rays dancing through the clouds. The first beings descended, some made of pure light and others angelic, devoid of mercy or doubt. Some called them gods, but those that knew better prepared for a prophesized reconstruction. Flowing with power, they sought to remake the world in their image. The Omegas cursed and destroyed, while the Alphas rebuilt through sanctimonious blessing. Eventually, the entire world would be converted into refined perfection.
Champions
The first champion in Aegis is Eos Alpha who centers around the BLESSED mechanic, and requires you to gather 150 Champion Fragments to unlock. Blessing a tile provides an extra layer of armor when your champion is damaged; on top of the benefit that certain cards receive for being placed on Blessed tiles. While it may be tempting to flood the board with as many units as possible; Eos Alpha's high attack and ability to BLESS tiles makes Her formidable to clear out enemies alone. Her ability applies Blessed to all Ally battle points and any currently on a blessed tile receive +1/+1; this provides opportunities where having a full board or empty board can be equally beneficial; tanking damage to keep the units in your hand safe and playing them on a fully blessed board to make them unstoppable. Uniquely; Eos Alpha's champion tile is also Blessed which provides an innate resistance to damage, making up for Her lower health pool. Keep your Genesis Scouts going as you bless your tiles for stronger units or a powerful defense against any enemy.
Immortal Banner becomes available to you after triggering Respawn effects 80 times. Several factions make use of these effects, so keep an eye out for them as you play! This champion is unique within the Aegis faction in that your gameplay requires patience and planning. Your Champion Ability will give +1/+1 to all units in your hand, which pairs well with Benediction Of Meditation (grants a random unit in your hand +2/+2) for building massively powerful units before unleashing them on the battlefield. Be mindful of placing units with the Evolve gem if you are trying to buff your hand, as Evolve will pull a unit directly from your hand into battle immediately on death, but it bypasses conditional requirements of cards like the Sphinx Ward- which requires you to kill several units before it can be played.
Playing 50 Benediction spells may require some patience, or spending some time grinding in the new Geometric Altar battle mutator, but doing so will unlock the next champion- Host Immaculate! The starting deck leans towards the new Curse mechanic, which places Curse cards into the enemy's hand and does 4 damage directly to the enemy champion if they end up with 4 curse cards (Fear not! We've included a tracker that clearly indicates how many are in their hand). Host Immaculate's champion ability gives you a random Benediction spell and give the enemy a Curse card, but doing direct Curse damage requires finesse early on. Try looking out for units such as the Shepherd or Rumor Lich, or the Hex spell to stack it quickly, but you can also pivot to being a spell slinger once your Fragment bar starts filling up quickly as you progress!
The Coal Raker becomes yours after retrieving 40 Cards from your discard pile. He is equipped with the Steelward Gem, which provides the first unit played after the gem is active with +1/+1; a easy way to ensure your weaker units can start off stronger in any battle. His synergy comes into play with his ability to refresh all Steelward gems of his allies, including his own! Having multiple Steelward Gem units in play can help you optimally buff specific units to be powerhouses as soon as they come into play; plan for units that benefit from being in play longer such as "Sanguis Archer" to receive those Steelward boosts to help with strong attack patterns. On top of refreshing Gems, Coal raker also returns a random unit from the discard pile for each Gem he refreshes; guaranteeing a single unit to be returned if needed but when stacked with other Steelward units, the momentum can easily outpace enemies unable to produce buffed units!
Promotion Gems of Aegis
Aegis has four unique gems that set them apart from the other factions.
CURSE- When played, this gem adds a CURSE card to the opponent’s hand. When the opponent has four Curse cards, all Curse cards are removed and their Champion takes 4 damage. The opposing Champion may discard 2 Champion Fragments to banish a Curse card. Because of this, it is most effective to stack multiple Curse gems or limit their ability to gather Champion Fragments. Using FREEZE gems can prevent opponents from removing Curse cards. Similarly, Delirium’s DRAIN gem makes it harder to collect enough Champion Fragments to pay the cost. BLIGHT can also remove unit gems, achieving a similar effect.
EVOLVE- When a unit with EVOLVE is destroyed, it spawns a random unit from its owner’s hand. This requires having units available in hand, but it provides a strong way to maintain a defensive presence on the battlefield. EVOLVE pairs especially well with conditional units such as REAPER and LONE WOLF, as it allows them to enter play without meeting their usual requirements. It also bypasses negative effects such as Frozen, Burning, Sabotaged, or Chaos.
BLESS- A core mechanic of Aegis, a BLESS gem triggers when its unit is deployed, blessing that battlefield position if it is not already blessed. Blessed positions synergize with many Aegis units and are beneficial to all factions. When your Champion takes damage, a number of blessed positions equal to the incoming damage are removed, preventing that damage. BLESS gems are highly effective against CATAPULT and can provide up to 3 points of damage prevention when used strategically (4 if you are using the Eos Alpha Champion).
STEELWARD- Units with the STEELWARD gem grant +1|+1 to the next unit you deploy. This makes deployment order important, as you will generally want to play STEELWARD units first to maximize their effect. STEELWARD works especially well with RUSH, allowing you to buff both the STEELWARD unit and the next deployed unit. It is also essential in Aegis decks for strengthening lower-health units that require time to stabilize, such as Sacred Mystic and Genesis Scouts.
Units of Note
Sacred Mystic is a basic Aegis unit, which may seem underwhelming as a 1|1 grunt, but can grow out of control if played properly as it gains +1/+1 at the start of each turn if it is standing on a Blessed tile. Try playing it on the back battle point on your Defense turn with some high health units running point, or give it an ARMOR gem to help it survive.
Solar Footman's ability refreshes Ally's gems when he survives an attack, which makes him a strong unit no matter what faction you play as. This effect is not limited to units, as any refreshable gem equipped to your Champion benefits from this ability! Combine with Coal Raker's STEELWARD gem, Big Bertha's CATAPULT, or Valeria of Crown's ARMOR/STEAL for maximum effect.
Rumor Lich is a powerful card to synergize with the Host Immaculate champion- equipped with a CURSE gem and the ability on death to draw cards for each Curse card in the opponent's hand. With high health it may be more difficult to trigger the death ability when first dropping Rumor Lich on the battlefield, but optimize a turn for his sacrifice when you can utilize your Champion ability multiple times to maximize the amount of curses in the enemies hand for strong momentum.
Basilisk Of Babylon starts with 0 attack and Slow, but gains +1 power at the start of each turn while in your hand. While keeping units in your hand for multiple turns may not be optimal for all champions; it certainly is for champions like Immortal Banner. Save your Basilisk longer than any other unit as you utilize Immortal Banner's ability giving +1/+1 to units in your hand; with the extra power earned and a RANGED gem you may very well set yourself up to play Basilisk with enough attack to destroy the enemy Champion in a single turn!
There is some assembly required on the Fettered Shadow, who spawns in poisoned due to his cursed existence. But if you invest gems like REGEN, ECHO, and DOUBLE STRIKE onto this unit, you may see the true potential on offer. Regen will remove the poison if he survives the first turn, Echo will grant your cloned unit the same health and power since it scales off equipped Promotion gems, and Double Strike offers your opposing army something to truly fear.
Wrap Up
Aegis introduces its own flavor of new abilities, offering you a wide breadth of gameplay styles. The Evolve gem slots in well with any of the current factions and allows you to bypass those pesky limits placed on powerful cards. You may also lean into Cursing your enemy, preventing them from using their own champion abilities as they struggle to remove Curse cards from their hand to prevent the onslaught of their leader. Show the armies of Terrene Gall true power by deconstructing their very essence and building it back in a more perfect and pure (if slightly painful) form!