News from the Front: Scales Charges Forth!

As we conclude the first five days of our battle campaign, we thought we would dispatch the first of our weekly series of faction specific intel (deep dives) to you, champion! These dev blogs include not only lore on each of the factions, but faction specific tips and tricks from our battle tested QA team!! Read on to learn more.

Scales

Within the great valleys of Terrene Gall lie small farm villages that surround the glorious, stone citadel city of Paragon, consecrated by the divine Solanys. It is this land, all that remains of the once proud Warden Empire, that houses the nation of Scales. United under the banner of The Bard King, Wardens, Mercenaries, and Dwarven Forgers fight for balance, truth, honor... and perhaps a little coin along the way. Boasting long-range artillery, aerial superiority, and an agile supply chain, you will find the armies of Scales to be the most highly trained and fortified army in Terrene Gall. With these forces, it will take a miracle to stop the Bard King from manifesting his perfect world.

Champions

• AddedBromell , the Chief Engineer of Scales, is your first Champion within your DragonFrontAdventures experience. An excellent Champion for new players, Chief Bromell possesses Armor, allowing him to shrug off the first attack of each battle, no matter how high the damage of the attack would have been. He also synergizes with decks built around units with Armor, allowing you to pull them from your Deck using his Champion Ability and remove any Conditional Effects that might otherwise prevent you from playing them. Grab the Red Rock Anvil Relic if you can find it, and it will refresh all your allies’ Armor gems at the start of your defending turn – including Bromell’s.

• The Tower of Argos requires the player to use 25 Supply cards in battle to unlock, which can be quicky accomplished by always choosing a Supply card as your card reward after each battle. Once unlocked, the Tower will ensure that the enemy can’t break through your frontlines by using his Champion Ability to give all allies +2 Maximum Health. The Tower also has Union, giving him up to +3 Power on his attacks. All decks possess the Charge spell by default, which allows your Champion to attack outside of normal combat when played; with your frontlines full, this can create a massive opening in the enemy’s forces if you’re willing to let your Champion take the hit.

• Big Bertha is a force with which to be reckoned. You need to deal 80 Catapult damage to unlock her, but you will be rewarded with a Champion that possesses a Catapult gem of her own, allowing her to attack the Enemy Champion directly without fear of reprisal. While Catapult usually only activates once per deployment, Bertha’s ability will refresh this gem, then compel her to fire her cannon, letting her strike at the opposing Champion each time you play your Champion Ability. If you can find the Ark of the Fifth Relic in the realm of Silence, it will automatically add +1 Power to your Champion’s attack each round!

• Finally, the Bard King himself will join the fight after you’ve cleansed 75 cards. The Bard King has a very flexible “Choose One” Champion Ability that can either buff your allies by granting them +3 Power, or debuff of your enemies with –3 Power. If you can find the Druid Headdress Relic in the realm of Thorns, you won’t even need to choose – you'll be able to use both options from a single draw of your Champion Ability! The Bard Kings rules the realms of Scales, and your ultimate goal should be winning with this leader to show them how it’s done! Don’t tell me the King is dead.

  

Promotion Gems of Scales

Scales have four unique Gems that set them apart from the other factions.

• ARMOR – Prevents all incoming damage from one source. This allows Units to stay in the frontlines longer. Add this Gem to Units with passive abilities, such as card effects that activate on Start of Turn or End of Turn, where their Armor will increase their odds of letting their ability activate. Armor also blocks the Unit from negative status effects like Stun, Poison, and even Eclipse’s Deathstrike!

• UNION – Gain +1 Power for each other Ally Unit in play. This Gem potentially adds +2 Power to a Unit if positioned properly. Put units with Union in the front to ensure they’ll be at max power for their attack, as allies dying will reduce Union’s power bonus. If you can acquire an Overkill Gem from Thorns, attaching it to a Unit with Union can allow your first attack to clear a path to the Enemy Champion for your allies.

• CATAPULT – The first time this Unit attacks, it targets the Enemy Champion directly without taking damage. This Gem ensures that you deal direct damage to the opposing Champion, if played on your attack turn. To best capitalize on this free attack, pair this Gem with the Union Gem, or consider investing in cards that can increase the power of Units such as the Eclipse Spell “Empower” or the Scales Unit “Merc Scrapper”.

• CLEANSE – When played, remove all Status Conditional Effects from a random card in the owner’s hand. The Gem clears negative Status Effects such as Frozen, Burning, Sabotaged, and Chaotic from cards; but more importantly, it also removes conditional effects such as Lone Wolf, Careless, and Rash that makes cards more difficult to play. Cards with Conditionals tend to be very powerful, so a decent amount of Cleanse cards in your deck can allow you to reap the benefits of recruiting these Units.

Units of Note

• The Merc Scrapper grants +1 Power to the Unit behind him when he takes damage. Put him in the spot closest to your Champion to give that Power bonus to your Champions for that battle or place him in front of a Catapult unit for a greater strike against the Enemy Champion.

• Warden Veteran gives all Armored units in your draw pile +1 Power when he survives combat. While excellent for decks with a lot of Armor Units, consider carrying a Cleanse Unit or two as well, as the Warden Veteran’s “Lone Wolf” conditional means he can’t be deployed unless he’s the only Unit in your hand.

• The Warden Artillery is a perfect unit to place at the front of your ranks on your Attacking Turn. Not only does its Catapult Gem allow it to strike the Enemy Champion directly, but on the following Defense Turn, it will whittle down the health of the furthest Enemy Unit while it endures the Enemy’s attacks.

• The Dwarven Mecha only takes a single point of damage when defending, regardless of the incoming damage. Coupled with its Armor Gem, it will take a while to chew through this formidable Unit.

• A dragon of noble blood, Malice synergizes with Supply Cards in your deck, gaining +1 Power for each Supply Card you have in your Deck when he spawns.

  

Wrap Up

In general, Scales rewards players for playing cards on the Defense turn, which gets new players accustomed to saving cards past the Attack turn. The faction also has slightly higher health values across the board, more healing and protection spells, and synergy amongst Units of the Warden tribe. All these factors make it more difficult to clear them from the frontlines and deal direct damage to their Champion, allowing you to weather the storm should you find yourself in a war of attrition.