Welcome back to the Arena! We have two previews for you today! The first, as seen above, is the Altar of Domination! This card is a game changer! Let's take a look at the stats.
Stats
Type: Conjuration
Subtype(s): Altar, Artifact
Mana Cost : 9
Casting Type : Quick Action
Range : 0-1
Target : Zone
Level : War 2
Defense : N/a
Channeling : N/a
Armor : 3
Health : 8
Traits : Zone Exclusive, Burnproof, Warlord Only, Epic.
Special Text : During the Upkeep Phase, if you control 3 or more outposts, place a Domination token on Altar of Domination. During the Deployment Phase, if there are 4 or more Domination tokens on Altar, you may retrieve Talos from your spellbook and Summon it to this zone at no mana cost. Then, destroy Altar.
Okay, that's cool, but it doesn't matter without knowing what Talos himself does. So, behold, Talos, servant of Akiro!
Stats
Type: Conjuration
Subtype(s): Altar, Artifact
Mana Cost : 9
Casting Type : Quick Action
Range : 0-1
Target : Zone
Level : War 2
Defense : N/a
Channeling : N/a
Armor : 3
Health : 8
Traits : Zone Exclusive, Burnproof, Warlord Only, Epic.
Special Text : During the Upkeep Phase, if you control 3 or more outposts, place a Domination token on Altar of Domination. During the Deployment Phase, if there are 4 or more Domination tokens on Altar, you may retrieve Talos from your spellbook and Summon it to this zone at no mana cost. Then, destroy Altar.
Okay, that's cool, but it doesn't matter without knowing what Talos himself does. So, behold, Talos, servant of Akiro!
Oh my! Where do I begin? With the stats, of course.
Stats
Type: Creature
Subtype(s): Statue
Mana Cost : 28 (it's really 0)
Casting Type : Full Action
Range : 0-0
Target : Zone
Level : War 7
Defense : N/a
Channeling : N/a
Armor : 5
Health : 16
Traits : Unstoppable, Burnproof, Psychic Immunity, Nonliving, Warlord Only, Epic
Special Text: Talos comes into play with his action marker ready. Talos may only be brought into play through the Altar of Domination. It costs no spellpoints to include Talos in your spellbook.
Attack
Type: Quick action melee
Dice: 6
Traits: Reach, Piercing +2
Wow. The Warlord just got the best creature in the game. If you can get him out. This guy is amazing, and he should be, because it is going to be very difficult to get him into the arena.
You have to have 3 outposts in the Arena for 4 turns. During that time, your opponent is either going to try destroying the Outposts, the Altar itself, or both. All Outposts have flame +2, so fire spells are going to destroy them easily. You could always play another one though.
The Altar itself is Epic, so if it gets destroyed, that's the end of that. You'll have to protect it pretty well. Expect Force Hammers to be included in every spellbook from now on to try to prevent this card from working. Your best bet is probably to hide it behind multiple Wall of Steel cards and/or protecting it with a creature that has Intercept.
This guy is like an Iron Golem (one of the best creatures in the game), but better! He has 5 armor, like the Golem, making him insanely hard to damage. And on top of that, he has 16 health! It's pretty pointless to even bother trying to kill him. He doesn't have Slow, so he can move and attack every turn! And he has a great attack. 6 dice with piercing +2 and Reach is one of the best quick attacks in the game. The Reach trait means he can hit flying creatures, so Talos will be able to deal with any and all threats.
Like Sardonyx, Talos has the Unstoppable trait, meaning that he cannot be hindered, and he has the Unmoveable and Uncontainable traits. He will come at you relentlessly and won't ever stop.
Also, when he comes into play, his action marker is ready. This means he can instantly act that turn instead of having to wait until next turn. So, your assault can begin immediately.
Talos is level 7, but costs no spellbook points to put into your spellbook. That means that you only have to pay for the Altar of Domination itself, which costs a measly 2 spellbook points. Because of that, I believe that the Altar will be included in every Warlord's spellbook. Even if your strategy does not revolve around getting out Talos, the Altar could serve as a huge distraction during your match. Your opponent HAS to destroy it or your outposts. And while they're doing that, you can start beating on them or building up your army.
This changes things. Once people see that you're playing a Warlord, they are going to be aware that you could get out Talos. And as a result of that, books are going to start including more Force Hammer attack cards to destroy the Altar, and more Fire attack spells to kill your Outposts. They can't afford to let you get him out. Otherwise it's gonna be over soon. What do you think of these two cards? Let me know in the comments below!
Stats
Type: Creature
Subtype(s): Statue
Mana Cost : 28 (it's really 0)
Casting Type : Full Action
Range : 0-0
Target : Zone
Level : War 7
Defense : N/a
Channeling : N/a
Armor : 5
Health : 16
Traits : Unstoppable, Burnproof, Psychic Immunity, Nonliving, Warlord Only, Epic
Special Text: Talos comes into play with his action marker ready. Talos may only be brought into play through the Altar of Domination. It costs no spellpoints to include Talos in your spellbook.
Attack
Type: Quick action melee
Dice: 6
Traits: Reach, Piercing +2
Wow. The Warlord just got the best creature in the game. If you can get him out. This guy is amazing, and he should be, because it is going to be very difficult to get him into the arena.
You have to have 3 outposts in the Arena for 4 turns. During that time, your opponent is either going to try destroying the Outposts, the Altar itself, or both. All Outposts have flame +2, so fire spells are going to destroy them easily. You could always play another one though.
The Altar itself is Epic, so if it gets destroyed, that's the end of that. You'll have to protect it pretty well. Expect Force Hammers to be included in every spellbook from now on to try to prevent this card from working. Your best bet is probably to hide it behind multiple Wall of Steel cards and/or protecting it with a creature that has Intercept.
This guy is like an Iron Golem (one of the best creatures in the game), but better! He has 5 armor, like the Golem, making him insanely hard to damage. And on top of that, he has 16 health! It's pretty pointless to even bother trying to kill him. He doesn't have Slow, so he can move and attack every turn! And he has a great attack. 6 dice with piercing +2 and Reach is one of the best quick attacks in the game. The Reach trait means he can hit flying creatures, so Talos will be able to deal with any and all threats.
Like Sardonyx, Talos has the Unstoppable trait, meaning that he cannot be hindered, and he has the Unmoveable and Uncontainable traits. He will come at you relentlessly and won't ever stop.
Also, when he comes into play, his action marker is ready. This means he can instantly act that turn instead of having to wait until next turn. So, your assault can begin immediately.
Talos is level 7, but costs no spellbook points to put into your spellbook. That means that you only have to pay for the Altar of Domination itself, which costs a measly 2 spellbook points. Because of that, I believe that the Altar will be included in every Warlord's spellbook. Even if your strategy does not revolve around getting out Talos, the Altar could serve as a huge distraction during your match. Your opponent HAS to destroy it or your outposts. And while they're doing that, you can start beating on them or building up your army.
This changes things. Once people see that you're playing a Warlord, they are going to be aware that you could get out Talos. And as a result of that, books are going to start including more Force Hammer attack cards to destroy the Altar, and more Fire attack spells to kill your Outposts. They can't afford to let you get him out. Otherwise it's gonna be over soon. What do you think of these two cards? Let me know in the comments below!