{"id":948,"date":"2023-07-18T06:30:49","date_gmt":"2023-07-18T10:30:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fabrec.gg\/articles\/?p=948"},"modified":"2023-12-21T20:08:08","modified_gmt":"2023-12-22T00:08:08","slug":"knighted-in-the-light-warriors-new-groove","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fabrec.gg\/articles\/knighted-in-the-light-warriors-new-groove\/","title":{"rendered":"Knighted in the Light: Warrior’s New Groove"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

Dusk Till Dawn<\/em> delivered several additional options for Rathe’s favorite Light Warrior, Ser Boltyn, as well as a new specialization for Dorinthea and new equipment pieces for all Warriors. As a supplement to the Light and Shadow talents, this set provided much-needed reinforcements for the two Monarch heroes who have yet to see repeated success at the top tables — Boltyn and Levia.<\/p>\r\n

Equipment<\/h2>\r\n

Let’s start with the cards that any Warrior can use.<\/p>\r\n

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Ironsong Versus<\/a><\/span><\/span> is an immediate upgrade for some Boltyn and Dorinthea variants. While Temper is a bit of a downgrade from Bladeworn, it seems that equipment that doesn’t break itself is becoming increasingly more rare. These beautiful new gauntlets allow the Warrior class to punish their opponent for not blocking. A steady stream of Courage tokens gives Boltyn the fuel he needs to expend soul and create long combat chains. Resource-heavy Dorinthea decks may prefer Ironsong Versus to Braveforge Bracers<\/a><\/span><\/span> to add a hit effect to their first sword attack each turn.<\/p>\r\n

Bastion of Unity<\/a><\/span><\/span> is the first non-Guardian shield in the game. While most Warriors prefer to use both hands for their weapons, Bastion allows for a one-weapon Warrior that can block an incredible amount of physical damage. With the Unity keyword, this shield is meant to block with an additional card from your hand to cover up an attack with an awkward breaking point.<\/p>\r\n

Decimator Great Axe<\/a><\/span><\/span> is an exciting addition to the Warrior’s suite of weapons. Axe builds have received subtle support over the years, but can the archetype break through the wall and reach the top tables? Here’s a list<\/a> I threw together to test things out. There are some strong cards to pair with Decimator, like Cleave<\/a><\/span><\/span>, Spoils of War<\/a><\/span><\/span>, Felling Swing<\/a><\/span><\/span>, and Spill Blood<\/a><\/span><\/span>. The axe is heavy and requires plenty of resources to swing. But with Oldhim out of the picture, Dorinthea may just bring a new weapon to the battle for the dawn. The Decimator may become particularly useful after a new Ninja set when top decks may be running high amounts of cards that only block for two.<\/p>\r\n

Light Equipment<\/h3>\r\n
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Soulbond Resolve<\/a><\/span><\/span> joins the new class of chest pieces that challenge Fyendal’s Spring Tunic<\/a><\/span><\/span> for its spot in every deck’s inventory. Notably, Soulbond Resolve does not directly grant its bearer resources like the other chest pieces in the game do (Vestige of Sol<\/a><\/span><\/span>, Courage of Bladehold<\/a><\/span><\/span>, Redback Shroud<\/a><\/span><\/span>, Trench of Sunken Treasure<\/a><\/span><\/span>, etc.) Charging cards does provide later value to Boltyn, so while not quite resources, Soulbond still grants extra utility beyond its armor value. Its damage prevention is worth noting as well. The most straightforward use allows two additional points of defense from the card. For example, if the opponent’s first attack is for three, Boltyn can use Soulbond Resolve and charge a card from their hand to stop all the damage.<\/p>\r\n

Beaming Blade<\/a><\/span><\/span> is an interesting variation of the classic Raydn, Duskbane<\/a><\/span><\/span>. This new Light Warrior weapon demands two resources on its own and a yellow-pitch card to be placed into its wielder’s soul before it can attack for five. Assuming that Raydn is designed fairly, placing two new prerequisites on this weapon seems odd and requires resources equal to a pitched yellow card only to increase the attack by two.<\/p>\r\n

Light Warrior Cards<\/h2>\r\n

Let’s review and grade all the new Light Warrior cards. The following letter grades are on a curve specifically for Ser Boltyn, Breaker of Dawn<\/a><\/span><\/span>.<\/p>\r\n

I’m going to cover every card in its yellow-pitch iteration. For perspective, we’ll compare these cards to Wounding Blow yellow<\/a><\/span><\/span>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
<\/div><\/div><\/td>\r\n
Pitch<\/strong><\/span>

2<\/strong><\/span><\/td>\r\n		Cost<\/strong><\/span>

0<\/strong><\/span><\/td>\r\n		Attack<\/strong><\/span>

3<\/strong><\/span><\/td>\r\n		Defense<\/strong><\/span>

3<\/strong><\/span><\/td>\r\n		Effects<\/strong><\/span>

–<\/strong><\/span><\/td>\r\n		Value<\/strong><\/span>

8<\/strong><\/span><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n

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I’ll calculate “Value” as Pitch + Attack + Defense + Effects – Cost. Cards like Wounding Blow and Raging Onslaught<\/a><\/span><\/span> demonstrate how attack action cards typically have a total value of eight. The Value of each card will be the card’s average value, given the conditional and optional nature of Light Warrior cards.<\/p>\r\n

Card text effects grant various amounts of direct or conditional value. In general, here are some rules of thumb for certain common effects:<\/p>\r\n