BECOME SOMETHING GREATER TO CREATE SOMETHING GREATER

“A different kind of power lies in the shadows. One that utilizes stealth, ambush and curses to cripple an oncoming army. Moonshadow generals will get achieve victory by focusing assassinations and well placed ranged attacks on high point units. They can also evade and ignore various ranged and spell attacks making them difficult to hit. The Moonshadow units are equipped to deal with enemies on the ground, but the units that patrol the skies will struggle against the winged soldiers and flying beasts of other factions. Moonshadow is a great faction for players who like unconventional ambush style attacks and playing the odds by attempting bold and dangerous manuevers.”-Website gameplay description

The Mishnari obtain their strength through knowledge of the world. They go on covert missions to learn about other factions and bring that information back to better their society. When needed they wage war in the shadows, they prefer to be felt, not seen. Most of all, it is their ‘blood magic’ technique that has made them terrifying. Mixing mana into their blood to perpetually increase their abilities and experimenting with mana to create hybrid-like monsters is a threat to all factions. The Mishnari goal is to become something greater to create something greater and this has resulted in the last faction on our list. – Jason Crayton, Director of Graviterrus Lore

MrBoardGamer- Moonshadow Strategy Video

MOONSHADOW KEYS TO VICTORY:

• Use assassins to lurk round the outside of the battle and strike when the time is right, eliminating your opponents most
  powerful warriors and monsters with specialized attacks.

• Weaken enemies by going after their attack skill using Poison Orbs or Piercing Sting, rendering them to be harmless foes.

• Set your Terrain Tiles to provide plenty of opportunities for diagonal attacks, using Swiftstriker to rip through enemy lines.

5 Spells and Abilities that make Moonshadow dangerous:

SWIFTSTRIKER: This unit does double damage on melee attacks to diagonal spaces. (Winjaru Villagestalker, Ahool Nightstalker, Jabari Warlord)

JOUST: This unit can melee attack an enemy and continue movement using its remaining movement points. (Jabari Shadow Knight)

EVADE: Your opponent must roll a 6-sided die when this unit is targeted by any non-melee attack. If the roll is less than or equal to the Evade number, the attack or spell has no effect. (Mishnari Bladethrower, Jabari Warlord, Assassin Squad)

POISON ORB: Remove 2 from the attack attribute of an enemy within a range of 2 spaces. (Malicious Hantu, Moonshadow Hantu)

LIGHTNING STORM: 4 damage to all enemy units within a range of 2 spaces. (Jabari Stormchief)

Battle Plan A: Spread, Speed, Strike

6 key units:

Moonshadow has a lot of units that have either a 3+ Movement, a 3+ Rank, a ranged attack, or a combination of the 3. Mobility and isolating enemies is the name of the game. Jabari Shadow Knight has blazing speed, with 4 movement, and Joust allows it to attack an enemy and retreat to safety. Jabari Warlord and Elite Spearfighter have high powered ranged attacks, while Assassin Squad and Mishnari Bladethrower have effective ranged attacks with good rank. With Evade, the Jabari Warlord, Assassin Squad, and Mishnari Bladethrower can dodge spells and opposing ranged volleys while the Elite Spearfighter’s Skirmish serves as a deterrent for melee attackers. Avoid bunching units in the middle tiles and spaces and spread them out to both sides of the board. These Moonshadow units are equipped to strike suddenly and deliver big damage, and then move back to their isolated positions to do it all over again! Getting multiple skilled units on the board will require a lot of gold, so the Vukazi Scout is a necessary recruit to grab resource centers.

Battle Plan B: Weaken and Wither

6 key units:

With spells and abilities like Poison Orb and the Savage Manticore’s Piercing Sting, Moonshadow can utilize the tactic of weakening enemy unit’s Attack attributes. This unique feature of the Moonshadow strategy opens the door to control the flow of battle. Weakened enemies will have no choice but to press forward in order to make attacks while they still can deal some damage. If they don’t, the Ancient Winjaru and Deteriorate can pick them apart from all over the board, as weakened units count as being wounded. Mishnari Soldier is a very affordable unit with a cheap melee attack and above average Rank, great for picking off wounded enemies without investing too much gold. Where you want to spend your resources with this battle plan is with the Jabari Stormchief. Destroy entire ranks of weathered enemy units with Lightning Storm– one of the most powerful finishing spells in the game.

Underrated Unit: AHOOL NIGHTSTALKER

The Ahool Nightstalker is an excellent aggressive unit- the only Aerial unit with Swiftstriker. It has a 3 movement, so it is mobile enough to navigate terrain to take advantage of those diagonal opportunities. The Ahool is a great value for 5 gold, and the fact it generates gold itself is a helpful bonus. Immunity to Range is a really overlooked ability in the Ahool’s case, because it can land to deliver Swiftstriker damage to isolated enemies and not be hit from ranged attacks prior to returning to the air.

Underrated Spell or Ability: LIGHTNING BOLT: 3 damage to an enemy unit within a range of 3 Spaces.

It is really easy to overlook Lightning Bolt for the more powerful, more exhilarating Lightning Storm. However, Lightning Bolt is usually the more efficient use of mana, as it has above average damage and range. Moonshadow really shines when they are spread out and isolate enemies, and Lightning Bolt is a cost-effective, powerful way to eliminate singular enemies from distance. Don’t wait for the possibility to use Lightning Storm (a possibility that might not become a reality in some battles!) when a Lightning Bolt will do the trick for less mana.

What are some of your war stories with Moonshadow??