July 19, 2018

Greetings Lightseekers,

Following on from Monday’s robotic rumblings, we’re going to be taking a look at the next Family – Machines!

The use of machines in our world has grown exponentially in recent years. Where once looking towards the sky you would be greeted by no more than clouds and wildlife; now they share their home with the great airships, each one of these amazing machines moving travelers or cargo to the furthest reaches of the land.  It’s funny to think that venturing across this land used to be a dangerous and timely affair, but now it can be done in hours! The day the airships took their maiden voyage, this world truly became smaller.

Of course, airships are not the only machinery to be found, not when you share your world with the tyrax. Their innate knowledge of all things mechanical is a delight to behold, it is as if the components speak to them, whispering how to release their hidden potential. That’s not to say their creations always go to plan, far from it. At this point, I’m not sure if even the tyrax themselves could recount the number of times Hammerdown has been rebuilt.  But they never let that hold them back. “All in the name of progress!” they shout, before starting the next experiment.

I, for one, can’t wait to see what they’ll think up next.

The Encyclopedia Tantosia

Now that we’re all up to speed on what Machines are; let’s take a look at our first spoiler, who themselves is not a Machine, but takes great advantage of their industrious nature; the Slipscale Racer:

Slipscale Racer is reminiscent of Bone Chewer from Lightseekers: Awakening, which rewards a player for giving it Mechanical cards to feed on. The Racer offers back the action used to play it, so long as you are following up a Machine card played earlier in the turn. Whilst there are a great many different Machines that you can use to meet the condition of Slipscale Racer; our personal favourite play is definitely using a Chrono Angler to fish out the Slipscale Racer from the bottom of the deck, and automatically meeting the condition to get the bonus action.

Our next spoiler is a crazy Machine, one that promises quite interesting plays if you manage to assemble a couple of them in play together; the Chain Reactor:

The first Chain Reactor that you get in play starts providing you with a small benefit, that is that your first damage each turn is increased by 1. Once you manage to get out a second Chain Reactor, they’re going to work together to increase all your damage done by 1. It is important to note that Chain Reactor is unique, so whilst you count the number that you control, you only get the effect from the leftmost one you have in play.

Keep your ear out for the distinctive whirring of Machinery as more spoilers come your way over the next couple of days. And of course be ready this weekend when we reveal our next Mythic rare Hero!

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July 16, 2018

Greetings Lightseekers,

For this week we’re going to be looking at the technological marvels of the Lightseekers: Kindred Tech deck; Robotic Rumble. Leading this band of madcap inventors and their crazy creations is the tyrax, Gatox the Reckless, who is exclusive to this deck:

With the average 30 starting Health, along with Superiority in the aggressive Tech Element of Explosive, Gatox is ready to start taking chunks out of your opponent’s Health. This is helped along by Gatox’s Ability which hits in for 3 damage, so long as you have the right invention in play to help him out, in this case a combo buff. Straight out of the box you’ll discover the bonus that Body Morph adds, allowing Gatox’s Ability to be used over the next 3 turns, as well as boosting its damage. There are plenty of great combo buffs that stick around in play, that can be added to the deck, to keep Gatox’s ability live, from the action granting Celerity to the damage boosting Combat Tech Fusion (which has the bonus of increasing Gatox’s Ability damage as well). There’s a couple of other great combos in Kindred that we’re sure will find their way into Gatox decks!

We also risked the lives of our Sages by sending them to Gatox’s weapon testing range to bring us back a tale:

Where only moments ago a tired and rusted sentinel had stood, there was now little more than flaming scraps of metal and a large crater carved into the sand.
“Now that’s what I’m talking about!” Gatox wildly proclaimed, dropping the still smoking Ion-Blaster to his waist, excitement flowing through the energetic lieutenant.
“Another month or so of trials and I think it’ll be about ready for battlefront testing,” a wide-eyed scientist shouted, as he removed a thick pair of noise defenders from his head.
“A month! She’s ready to go now,” Gatox proclaimed as he pulled the blaster back to his shoulder, locking it into place.
“But Gatox, sir, we haven’t even tried pushing the output coupling beyond 10 percent, doing so could prove to be… unpredictable.”
Bringing a clawed hand up to the side of the cannon, Gatox twisted a large mechanical dial, the hum of the prototype weapon growing exponentially, as a digital readout flickered quickly from a dull ten percent to a blindingly bright ninety percent.
“No time like the present!” Gatox yelled, his voice drowned out by the cannon’s roar.
“Sir, I must advise you that this could be seriously dangerous,” the already nervous doctor beginning to hop from foot to foot, with a mixture of frustration and terror.
Gatox, caught in the moment, could see the mouth of his worried companion flapping ferociously, but the fragile words did little to cut through the racket of his latest invention.
Turning his attention back to the junkyard that had become their unofficial testing grounds, Gatox squinted as he searched for a target. A highly stacked tower of decommissioned military paraphernalia, instantly catching his attention.
Gently squeezing on the trigger, he could hardly hold back his glee as the cannon oscillated with life.
“Boom,” he whispered, as the trigger reached full compression.
The wave of energy that erupted from the blaster sent Gatox crashing across the desert sand, as it flew uncontrollably off of its trajectory, missing the desired target and tearing through the central support column of a giant crane. For a moment, the crane stood silently in place. Then with a deep groan, the remaining struts began to snap and buckle under its tremendous weight, sending the crane’s boom tumbling towards the floor. The impact creating a shockwave of sand and dust that billowed into the air for miles around.
“Another month or so of trials and I think it’ll be about ready for battlefront testing,” Gatox announced, brushing himself down before turning to leave.
“Oh, and doctor,” he leaned towards his distraught companion, “you really should be more careful with such dangerous equipment, what if it got into the hands of a madman!”

We’ve also managed to get our hands on one of the Robots that dwells within Gatox’s collection; one that shows a stark contrast to the destruction that usually surrounds Gatox: it’s the Repair Bot!

The Repair Bot starts out small, ticking along for just single points of healing, but if given the chance to finish out its programming, it will bring a big boost of 5 healing on its final corner. It definitely fits in well with the Mechanical Elements emphasis on tight, defensive play. It is of course a Robot card as well, meaning it’s got some cool interactions with some other cards that are coming later this week (or even later today)!

Included here is the decklist for Robotic Rumble – we’ll have more Robot (and some Machine!) spoilers coming over the remainder of the week.

Hero
Gatox the Reckless

Combo
Body Morph
Nitro Heal
Nuke
Contra Bubble
Smart Bomb

Explosive
3x Crazed Bomber
2x Tyrax Mercenary
1x Leaking Generator
2x Scatter Bot
2x Bombling

Mechanical
2x Tyrax Fixer
2x Ramparts
2x Unstable Scavenger
2x Repair Bot
2x Robot Factory

Time
1x Time Worm
2x Clockwork Construct
2x Chrono Moth
2x C25 Combat Warper
1x Blast-Fuelled Battery

Unaligned
1x Umbron Barkeep
1x Shield Wall

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July 13, 2018

Greetings Lightseekers!

Today we have some great news for you regarding Comprehensive Rules.

After the recent newspost highlighting some of the changes that we are making to the game, today we have the updated rules document that will go into more detail on those changes.

This update will also encompass the inclusion of the Family mechanic to Lightseekers, as well as some wording changes to make things easier to understand.

In addition to this, we have a few more changes that we will be making, the important ones of which are summarised as follows:

1. If a card does not specify what card is being moved (e.g. move the ‘top card of the deck’) it does not need to be revealed to all other players. (For examples, cards such as Hurricane Spirit and Tempuz)

2. Both players’ Discard Piles are now ‘Public Knowledge’. What this means is that either player can view any Discard Pile at any time.

The full list of changes/additions are as follows (as referenced in the Comprehensive Rules document):

2.3: New Title
2.3.4: New Section
2.4.2.2f​: Updated
2.4.2.2k: New Rule
2.5.3.9f: New Rule
2.5.3.9i: New Rule
2.5.4.7​: Updated
2.5.4.9​: Updated
2.8.2.2: Updated
2.8.2.3: New Rule
2.8.3: New Section (The old 2.8.3 is now 2.8.4)
2.9.4: New Rule
3.2.3.2c: Updated
3.2.3.4b: Updated
4.1.1.1: New Rule

As with the other rulings, bans and erratas, these changes will come into effect on August 7th with the release of Kindred.

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July 12, 2018

Hi Lightseekers,

This week we’ve got a double feature on, not only did we look at the Lightseekers: Kindred Insectoid Infestation deck on Monday, we’re also going to be taking a look at the Storm pre-constructed deck; Beastly Brawl. Presiding over the hordes is Navigator Scuttle, exclusive to this deck:

Despite a slightly lower 29 Health, Scuttle has Superior access to the Water Element, giving her all the opportunity she needs to take advantage of the Storm Order’s best defensive cards. Like all Mari, and as her Superior Element might suggest, Navigator has a very strong affinity for Water, something that her Trait reinforces; rewarding you with a card whenever a Combo that has 2 or more Water Elements in its cost is played. Combos such as Murky Waters, Cold Snap and Nimbus Crash are a perfect fit for a Navigator Scuttle deck and can be found in the deck, ready to go out of the box. If you are looking to expand it, then Flood is a powerful Awakening Combo that can allow you to jump back into the game with it’s 11 healing; other than that, there are a couple of new Combos in Kindred that also fulfil the condition of Scuttle’s trait that will be great additions to the deck!

As has become tradition, we’ve sent for the Sages to deliver a story of Scuttle:

“There she blows! Off the starboard side.” Yelled the relentlessly upbeat Scuttle from her perch upon the crow’s nest.
“That’s the port side” Came the flat call of Driftwood; the aged, oakthorn pirate, without looking up from the ragged map that sat awkwardly on the tiny, wooden stool.
“There she blows! Off the port side.” She screamed again, undeterred by Driftwood’s lack of interest.
Far below the crew of the Soaring Behemoth, the peak of a mountain broke through the dense layer of clouds; its knife-edge ridge covered in a fresh blanket of snow.
Hopping with excitement, Captain Jolti tugged on a rope running towards the tiny airship’s blimp, a worn fabric panel peeled away from its surface sending hot air flowing out of the balloon, instantly sending the ship into a nosedive.
What started out as the thin peak of a mountain quickly revealed itself to be far larger; spreading out into a tremendous, jagged mound.
“Pull up!” Came the delighted squeal of the young navigator, as the delicate ship brushed against the edge of the rocky surface, sending splinters of wood in all directions.
With lightning-fast reactions, Jolti released the line and pulled on a large bronze lever. A blast of the ship’s ignition refilled the balloon, breaking the wild descent and bringing it to rest softly at the foot of the mountain.
“How many times do we have to go through this, that is not how you land a ship!” Driftwood’s usually soft tone, now clearly charged with frustration.
“It was fast though!” The wicked enthusiasm of Captain Jolti was too much to even entertain Driftwood’s concerns.
Sliding down the crow’s nest, before landing nimbly on the deck Scuttle gazed open-mouthed across the scene laid out in front of her. Ancient ruins ran as far as the eye could see; a thick tangle of vines and other plant life growing in and around the structures that had stood undisturbed for hundreds of years.
“We’ve really found it this time!” Scuttle gasped.
“The home of The Ancient.”

We’ve managed to also wrangle up one of the Beasts that makes its home in Scuttle’s varied menagerie; one who is sure to help out with all the Combos that you will be playing in your Storm decks, the Greedy Gasbag:

Greedy Gasbag takes a little while to get warmed up, but when it does, it allows you to get back all the Combos that have made their way into your Discard Pile (Combos with Burn excepted of course). If you aren’t too eager to wait until it runs its course on its own, consider pairing it with the Hero, Cloud King Kashi and use his Ability to ensure you get the Greedy Gasbag’s effect the turn after it is played. Another great way to speed up the Gasbag is to take advantage of Royal Wind Runner (check the card gallery here) with it’s enters play effect; and you get to disrupt any of your opponents’ Beasts and Insectoids as a bonus! Of course there is nothing to say that you have to use Greedy Gasbag in a strictly Storm deck, there are plenty of decks that would love to be able to reuse their Combos…

Included here is the decklist for Beastly Brawl – Keep your eyes out for more beastly spoilers during the remainder of the week. And be ready this weekend for an extra special, bonus spoiler…

Hero
Navigator Scuttle

Combo
Murky Waters
Storm Wall
Cold Snap
Rolling Thunder
Nimbus Crash

Lightning
2x Spark Wisp
2x Living Cloud
2x Vortex Charger
1x Thunder Brewer
1x Supercharged Twister

Water
2x Bubble Fish
2x Impressed Sludgefin
2x Broken Dam
1x Turbine Waste
2x Heroic Starfish
1x Raging River
1x Safety Crab

Air
3x Thunder Slug
1x Mari Bard
2x Wild Wind Runner
1x Vortex Plains
1x Dust King
1x Greedy Gasbag

Unaligned
1x Umbron Barkeep
1x Crushing Charger

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July 9, 2018

Greetings Lightseekers,

This week we’re going to be taking a look at the Insectoid Infestation pre-constructed deck. At the forefront of this swarm is the powerful Hiveking Ixxa, exclusive to this deck, who, when threatened, summons his Insectoid allies to battle!

Sporting 30 Health, and Superiority in the Animal Element, which is perfect for all the Insectoid cards you will need to take advantage of Ixxa’s Trait. When you take 6 or more damage in a single blow, perhaps from a Magma Spitter or Looper, or even a Combo like Electrified Deluge or Vine Lash; Ixxa will allow you to drop in an Insect Swarm or Mantix Hatchlings at the start of your turn. With the order in which effects trigger, the aforementioned Insect Swarm or Hatchlings will land just in time to trigger their own effects immediately!

Though many of them are fearful of insects, the wise Sages have brought us a tale of Hiveking Ixxa:

I see it, Vela; that glint in your eyes, a hunger to understand the unknown. It has driven our people for generations, but tonight I fear your quest for knowledge will result in little more than stern words from your father.

       Oh, child, already you know how to get your way, you know this old lady loves to share a tale or two. Very well then, one last story before you sleep.

       Maybe you’ve heard it at night when the world is at peace. The scratching that comes from deep within the earth. Or perhaps you’ve felt the ground moving, shifting like the tide, if only for a moment?

       Earthquakes? Oh no, child, those tremors are not caused by anything as simple as the world’s breath; it is the march of the swarm.

       Yes, the mantix. Once they would break through the soil in small packs, hunting for food. Now the earth teems with their presence. Versatile and deadly, the mantix have long found ways to adapt themselves to whatever environment they find themselves in, but now they move as part of a greater whole.

       But what has brought about this change? Well, that is simple, their king has stirred. Do not look at me like that young lady, I may be long in years, but my mind is as quick as a corvid. I would not have believed it either, had I not gazed upon him myself, and what a creature he is!

       He towers far above his subjects, wielding a blade as long as a tree, his crest home to a crown of horns. The mantix follow his every command without the need to utter a word. His eyes, glowing with the energy of the Rift. But that is not the most terrifying part of this story.

       I have heard tales of entire villages, many no smaller than this, left deserted. Men, women, and children missing, but not a single object out of place; as if the very ground swallowed them up as they dreamed.

       All of this leaves me with one uneasy thought: is the king truly the leader of this swarm or does something else lurk in those tunnels?

       Wait, what is that I hear? Oh, I’m sure it’s nothing. Sweet dreams, granddaughter.

Grandmother Cassini

We’ve got another card to show off as well – one that will ensure that you have just the right Insectoid in hand to use with Hiveking Ixxa’s Trait. Introducing the Location card; Egg Chamber:

It takes a few turns to see what will hatch from the Egg Chamber – luckily when it does hit that final corner you will be able to choose from any of the Insectoid cards amongst your deck, and add two of them to your hand. Of course, there is no reason that Egg Chamber can only be used with Hiveking Ixxa; perhaps you will prefer to pair it with Great Daku and take advantage of their Hero Ability to get to the Egg Chamber’s payoff even sooner! Or maybe adding in a bit of the Lightning Element to your nature deck so that you can dig for your Zapper Bugs & Mantix Volters is more the speed. Whatever your Insectoid strategy ends up being, there is plenty that Egg Chamber has to offer.

Included here is the decklist for Insectoid Infestation – keep your wits about you as more skittering Insectoid spoilers await this week!

Hero
Hive King Ixxa

Combo
Spiritual Turmoil
Vine Lash
Treetop Tribunal
Beast Within
Territorial Dominance

Animal
2x Mantix Tunneler
2x Mantix Hatchlings
1x Hungry Behemoth
1x Spineback Forager
1x Insect Swarm
1x Feasting Skeetos
2x Vicious Scalefang
1x Ashwood Nurturer

Forest
2x Mossridge Defender
2x Stumpdrift Shaman
1x Bloomback Draga
2x Canopy Creeper
1x Invigorating Stinkcap

Soul
3x Reckless Spirit
1x Fungal Medium
1x Spectral Mantix
2x Spirit Mob
2x Egg Chamber

Unaligned
1x Umbron Barkeep
1x Crushing Charger

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July 6, 2018

Greetings Lightseekers,

Just like we did with Lightseekers: Mythical we are going to be doing some updates to the comprehensive rules, and updating the banlist for tournament play.

A new version of the Lightseekers Comprehensive Rules will be made available in the near future, though they will not take effect for tournament play until the official release of Lightseekers: Kindred on the 7th of August, 2018. Any bans or erratas to cards will also take effect on this date, so notably there will be no change before the US National Championship event at Gen Con.

If you have any feedback on the following please feel free to reach out to us on Facebook, Twitter, or via email at contact@lightseekers.cards

Major Rules Changes

There have been a number of clarifications made to the rules document in different sections in order to make the working out of corner cases easier.

Burn & ‘Store’ Effects

Moving forward with Lightseekers: Kindred, the keyword for Burn has been updated to have the following effect:

Cards labelled with this keyword cannot be moved out of the discard pile or stored under other cards. If a card attempts to move a card labelled as Burn out of the discard pile, this effect fails. These cards are still kept in the Discard Pile once they move there.

Cards are given the Burn keyword when we are concerned about them being recurred and played multiple times – in keeping with this, the ‘loophole’ of catching them with storing effects has been removed.

Hand Reveal Effects

Moving forward with Kindred, we will be reverting the hand reveal rules for proving card effects to what it was Pre-Mythical. So players will only have to reveal what information is absolutely necessary for proving card effects. Having now run events with both sets of rules, we’ve determined that less information being provided is the direction we would like to go forward with.

We’ll also have an update in the Tournament Rules document specifically that covers this situation with examples.

As well as this for all future sets, we will be looking at ways that we can alleviate this rule, by moving away from cards that require proof for their effects.

Ban & Errata Changes

The following cards have either seen an errata or been added to the banlist. As with all cards on the banlist, there is no guarantee that they will remain on there forever, and they will be periodically reviewed to see if they can return to the game. If you have any feedback that you would like to share on these changes, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us via our social media or by emailing us at contact@lightseekers.cards

Dolo the Mighty (Errata)

Frequently taking up more than its fair share of the meta in events, and forcing other Mountain Heroes out as viable choices, Dolo the Mighty has been on our watchlist for the past few months. In order to not prevent players whose only access to the Mountain Order is through the Mountain Starter deck Dolo will be receiving the following errata for use in both Basic & Advanced Constructed tournaments:

Previous: Ability: Take 2 damage. Draw 2 cards.
New: Ability: Take 3 damage. Draw 2 cards.

Spirit Gate, Time Worm, and Reality Rift (Errata)

A constant concern in terms of the overall power level of Lightseekers is the effectiveness of cards that can return other cards from the Discard Pile. While we were quite relaxed on these effects in Awakening, it’s becoming more of an issue as new cards come into the game and more possibilities become available. In order to shut down some of the more straightforward and less interactive ways of “looping” cards, we have applied the ‘Burn’ keyword to the following cards:

Spirit Gate
Time Worm
Reality Rift

Wind Controller (Errata)

In combination with the errata mentioned above, we are also making a slight adjustment to Wind Controller; it can no longer move back ‘Burn’ cards.

Previous: [Played] Attack and Defend combos and [Expired] Buff combos are immediately moved back into your hand (after applying their effects).
New: [Played] Attack and Defend combos and [Expired] Buff combos are immediately moved back into your hand (after applying their effects). This does not apply to [Burn] cards.

Tantosian Blacksmith (Errata)

There has been a relatively minor change done to Tantosian Blacksmith, which you will also see on the reprinted version of the card. Moving an item into play is now optional.

Previous: Move 1 Item card from your hand or deck into play. Gain 1 additional action.
New: You may move 1 Item card from your hand or deck into play. Gain 1 additional action.

Flynamo (Ban)

Whilst a seemingly innocuous card by itself, Flynamo has proven to be quite the enabler in a number of highly competitive strategies, whilst also being a difficult card for all players to reasonably access. Lightseekers: Kindred also features new Item cards for all Elements, and we don’t want a new Time Item to be immediately invalidated because it doesn’t measure up to a card that is known to be too good nor did we want to make the new Time Item to be better and cause power creep. In order to increase diversity in Item choices & bring certain decks power levels into a more reasonable balance Flynamo will be banned with the release of Lightseekers: Kindred.

Sun Beacon (Ban)

In the overall balancing of the game, Sun Beacon stands above many other options in not just Astral but all Orders as providing far too much value in a single card with negligible downside. Seen as an automatic 3-of in Astral decks in tournaments over the past few months and pulling double duty as both efficient healing and damage. In order to create more variety in deckbuilding choices for the Astral Order, Sun Beacon will be banned with the release of Lightseekers: Kindred.

Tyrax Engineer (Ban)

In much the same way as Sun Beacon, Tyrax Engineer provides far too much value in a single card with a restriction to deckbuilding choices that only gets easier as more and more Mechanical cards get printed. As it is also a primarily defensive card, it serves to draw games out for longer, causing an issue in timed rounds at tournaments; for these reasons it will be banned on the release of Lightseekers: Kindred.

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July 5, 2018

Greetings Lightseekers,

Today we’re going to be talking about perhaps the fiercest of all the Families on Tantos – no, we’re not talking about the Beasts that roam the many locales but the warlike Umbron.

One day there was peace, and the next, there was umbron. Or so many would have you believe. It is true that for as long as even the everok can recall, these beasts have never been seen before. However, sometimes things become lost to the seasons, and history does have a funny way of repeating itself.  For those who have spent time listening to tales of old, and studying fragments of ancient texts, it does not take long to find mention of a war-hungry horde. Demons, cutting their way across the land in an unstoppable rage. Perhaps these are just as it seems, tales told to children and the superstitions of a less educated people, or maybe this is the return of something very old and very dangerous. If that is the case, what has brought about this sudden return and what does it mean for Tantos? Who knows, if we don’t do something to stop them now, maybe this will serve as another tale of superstition upon their next arrival?

The Encyclopedia Tantosia.

Let us take a look at our first card reveal of the day: Watchrest Traitor.

Many of the Umbron find themselves drawn to the dark magics of the Dread Order, and Watchrest Traitor is a noxin who has thrown their lot in with the Umbron and in doing so rewards you for playing those Umbron cards. Tacking on a couple of extra points of damage, and a card draw just for playing your Umbron Thief or Umbron Brute is great, and Watchrest Traitor has the advantage of being clunky, so you know it’s going to be in play at the right time for you to pair it with an Umbron. The other benefit of it being clunky is that it will sit in play, and Dread has plenty of cards that care about having more buffs in play, such as Defiler or Shadow Supplier. Along with the Sacrificial Pit card that was revealed earlier this week, Watchrest Traitor can be part of the core of a Dread deck that revolves around getting extra value out of Umbron cards.

If we’re talking about Umbron cards that generate great value, we should look no further than today’s second card reveal: Umbron Barkeep.

Joining the family of Umbron that help you out when you get behind such as Umbron Informant or Umbron Thief; Umbron Barkeep offers a way to refuel on both health and cards. It also has the bonus of triggering any of your card effects that are looking for an Umbron, such as the previously mentioned Watchrest Traitor and Sacrifical Pit. Being an Unaligned card, I’m sure we’ll see Umbron Barkeep popping up in both main and side decks in tournaments once Kindred releases on August 7th.

Make sure to be on guard for more Umbron spoilers over the next couple of days – and we’ll catch you on Monday when we talk the Kindred Nature deck.

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July 2, 2018

Hi Lightseekers,

For our second week of Kindred reveals we’re going to be taking a look at next pre-constructed deck: Undead Uprising. This deck is helmed by the Hero, Deathshifter Zaleen, exclusive to this nefarious deck who has a couple of nifty synergies with the Undead Family of cards, present in great numbers within this deck.

Deathshifter Zaleen posts a much higher than average health of 32, Superiority in the Death Element (Perfect for Undead cards!) and an Ability that allows you to get a bit of extra oomph out of your Buffs once you’ve benefited from their effects. Once a Bone Reaper or Shambler has finished delivering their damage (and healing in the case of the Reaper) feel free to throw them into Zaleen’s ability. Even better, lay down a Soul Trader for the great healing on the first corner, then before it has a chance to start causing harm, Zaleen can turn it into damage!

Let’s see what the great Sages have to say about Zaleen’s history:

“To wear the mantle of Deathshifter is to be plucked from the herd.” The voice echoed around the temples high ceilings, dissipating into the deep-set alcoves that made up the delicate yet bold structure.

The orange glow of candles licked softly against the thick, blood red robes of the twelve masked individuals that gathered around the central altar, of this holy place, sending distorted shadows stretching across the room.

“To wear the mantle of Deathshifter is to put the whole, before the self.” The tall, slender man at the head of the pack called again, as he raised the chalice of dark black liquid above his head.

A young noxin woman lay motionless upon the marble altar. Her relaxed demeanor betrayed by a sudden sharp inhalation of breath, and the beads of sweat gathering upon her exposed navel.

Slowly the pack leader lowered the vessel towards the woman’s face. Without prompting the girl opened her mouth, and the tar-like substance poured from the old cup.

For a moment all was still, then without warning it began, writhing with unnatural force, her hands clasping to the sides of the altar as every muscle in her body contracted. Her head jolted frantically from side to side, as the black substance ran from her clenched teeth. Her thrashing, growing more and more erratic like her body could break at any moment. Then as quickly as it had begun, it was over.

Silence filled the room, even the faintest whisper of the girls breathing, now lost. For a moment they all stood, bathed in silence; as one by one the congregation blew out their candles, darkness enveloping the room.

“To wear the mantle of Deathshifter is to accept one’s end.” his voice pierced the constricting darkness.

With the sudden striking of a match, a single candle returned to life. The girl who laid upon the altar, now crouched upon its gleaming surface; the black substance that at one point poured from her mouth now flowing through the veins of her arms and hands, towards fingers that were now sharp like blades. Darkness swirled in the girl’s eyes and a wicked toothed grin spread across her face as she jerked her knees towards her midriff like a beast preparing to pounce.  

“To wear the mantle of Deathshifter is to embrace one’s new beginning.”

Just like last week, we’re not going to leave you with just the Hero card – we’re also going to show you a new Undead Family card, Covetous Shade:

Taking a little while to get going, Covetous Shade it truly a double threat, not only bringing with it the promise of some damage, but also refueling your hand by drawing two new cards. It is also great in conjunction with a Combo like Amplification Hex to amp up either the card draw or the damage. Perhaps there will be a few other cards in Kindred that have interesting synergies with Covetous Shade and its Undead tag.

Included here is the decklist for Undead Uprising – make sure to keep an eye out for other Undead spoilers over the next couple of days. Keep things spooky!

Hero
Deathshifter Zaleen

Combo
Rigor Mortis
Horrific Manifestation
Toxic Haunt
Drain Life
Devour Soul

Poison
2x Corrupted Spirit
2x Gurgling Ooze
2x Crude Exterminator
2x Covetous Shade
1x Spectral Widow

Death
2x Bone Reaper
2x Wall of Bones
1x Stalking Cipid
2x Shambler
1x Sacrificial Pit
1x Skeletal Rider
1x Fallen Guardian

Shadow
3x Shadow Puppet
2x Shadow Supplier
1x Shadowy Grave
1x Fortune Master
1x Bloodpact Redeemer
1x Umbron Necrolord

Unaligned
2x Umbron Barkeep

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June 28, 2018

Hi Lightseekers,

Today we’re going to be discussing a Family of cards that’s about as far from the feathered Chimchu as possible; that’s right, we’re talking Kreebal.

The kreebal truly are one of Tantos’ most interesting creatures. Though inherently low in intelligence they have still managed to master the basic principles of war. Maybe the fact that they have such a keen grasp of this concept, and so few others, is the reason they declare it on a near daily basis. In the last ten years alone there have been over two thousand recorded incidents of these excitable creatures declaring war on someone. The funny thing is that their attempts to do so are almost always met with instantaneous defeat! Luckily for their race, they breed at a shockingly high rate; replenishing their numbers after a particularly hard fought battle in a matter of months! Amusingly if they stopped with their insatiable need for hostility for two or three years they would without a doubt swell to a high enough population to overrun the entire continent! Of course this irony is lost on even the most quick witted of their people.
The Encyclopedia Tantosia

Now that we’ve learned a bit about what the Kreebal are, let’s have a look at our first card reveal; the Vilebrew Hexer.

 

Showing allegiance to the Dread Order this Kreebal provides a powerful deterrent to decks that are looking to prolong their own lives by turning a healing effect into something far deadlier. Whilst it doesn’t provide it’s benefit immediately, the cunning player will be able to time the use of Vilebrew Hexer to catch a big heal from an opponent’s buff such as Guard Snail or deter the activation of a Lunar Offering Ability. Of course, you can also just play it out whilst dealing lots of damage to make sure that your opponent doesn’t have a chance to get back into the game!

Our other reveal today goes to show how the Kreebal aren’t particularly picky with which Order they throw themselves in with; here’s the Volt Vandal.

 

Whilst itself being a Lightning Element card, the Volt Vandal is powered by the number of Water buffs you have in play – water being quite conductive to electricity of course. The Water Element has plenty of different ‘permanent’ buffs that stay in play for quite a while, from the healing oriented Turbine Wastes, to the disruptive Suspicious Squid, or even the heavy hitting Wave Crusher. All of which lend an extra bit of oomph to the effect of Volt Vandal.

Keep an eye out for more Kreebal spoilers over the coming days – and rejoin us on Monday as we discuss the nefarious Dread deck!

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June 25, 2018

Greetings Lightseekers!

This week, we’re going to be kicking off the Kindred reveals season with a look at the first of our new pre-constructed decks, ‘Chimchu Conflict’. Led by the new hero, Star Tamer Calak, who is only available within this deck, it features a whole range of Chimchu cards both old and new.

First let’s take a look at Star Tamer Calak:

With a high starting health total, Superior access to the Gravity Element, and an interesting new Ability; Star Tamer Calak is a powerful new tool in the arsenal of any Astral deckbuilder. At a cursory glance the benefits of an Ability like Calak’s; if you are unhappy with the cards in your hand you have the chance (one per game) to put them back and try again. When you start to dig deeper though, there are other synergies this Ability offers; such as putting back your Yikona Archaeologist’s to have another chance at drawing them and re-triggering their effect. Perhaps you want to draw a number of cards at once to have a greater chance to triggering the effect of your Flying Fortress whilst simultaneously adding back Defend cards to your deck for it. These are just a couple of the ways that you can find a little bit of extra kick from your use of Calak’s Ability.

We also took the time to consult the Sages and see if there was any lore that they could dig up on Star Tamer Calak. The journey was harrowing but we managed to make it back with this fragment to share:

No star in all of the heavens shone as brightly as Solis. A guiding light for sailors during long and arduous voyages, she protected her people and in turn they worshipped her as a goddess.

As time passed, Solis became distanced from her followers; where once the song of their adoration was greeted with humble joy, pride slowly grew as she craved their worship.
Those who prayed the loudest would be blessed with safe travel; while others whose offerings she found wanting would be left as little more than broken timber upon the shore.
As tears fell for those lost men, Calak found life; a spirit of noble cause, drawn to Solis to see her answer for traitorous deeds.

Upon their meeting, a battle like no other tore across the skies. Oceans raged and swelled, thunder crashed and lightning dug great trenches through the earth.
Days turned to weeks in a battle that seemed to have no end. Realising he could never defeat one that had grown so powerful, Calak drove his mighty axe into the goddess’s chest before thrusting himself upon her blade, in that moment binding the pair in an inseparable embrace.

To this day the pair remain locked in that endless duel, their light guiding all who look upon them.

We’ve got one more card that we’re going to show off in this post today; we couldn’t leave without showing one of the new Chimchu cards. Presenting the Chimchu Commander:

Coming in with a small hit of damage, as well as an exciting effect that rewards you for playing Chimchu cards, the Chimchu Commander is surely a centrepiece of any deck planning on running the Chimchu family. With Chimchu Commander on its third corner, Chimchu Infiltrator allows you to not only get back a card from the Discard Pile but then use the free action to play that card immediately or with Chimchu Lookout you can immediately play one of the cards that it draws you. There’s also a few new Chimchu that we’re sure the Chimchu Commander can… command coming in Kindred.

We’re also going to include the decklist for the deck – a lot of the cards are going to be familiar coming from Awakening and Mythical, but the others… you’re just going to have to wait and see for those! We’ll have more Kindred spoilers here over the coming days – as well as from the community, so make sure to keep an eye out.

Hero
Star Tamer Calak

Combos
Black Hole
Gravity Bubble
Lunar Alignment
Planetary Alignment
Tidal Shift

Solar
2x Chimchu Commander
2x Chimchu Militant
2x Impatient Scholar
1x Sunplain Charger

Lunar
2x Dusk Feeder
2x Guard Howler
2x Telesta Protector
2x Yikona Oracle
1x Chimchu Farseer
1x Lunar Offering

Gravity
3x Pathfinder
2x Anti-Gravity Snail
2x Chimchu Infiltrator
2x Telestan Priest
1x Spectral Guide
1x Zeppelin Scout

Unaligned
1x Battering Ram
1x Umbron Barkeep

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