Iyslander is Back!

Iyslander is Back!

Chilling cold has befallen our lands, despite the fact we’re in the middle of summer. Iysalnder may not be brand new, but oh boy does she get some exciting toys to play with! Our beloved Elemental Wizard arrived in Everfest as a young hero, but with Uprising has received the full treatment. Today we’re looking at the core mechanics you need to be familiar with if you are brave enough to wield her icy prowess into battle.

First of all, we have the hero herself, receiving brand new art, as well as her signature weapon, Waning Moon. Her abilities incentivize you to play on your opponent’s turn, as any self respecting wizard should, and are focused on slowing your opponent down enough so that you may take the upper hand via difficult to block arcane damage.

If you’re not sure what this Elemental business is about, you may not be familiar with this talent first introduced in Tales of Aria. Elemental heroes have specific essences, giving them access to specific elements (such as Ice, Lightning & Earth). Iyslander has access to Ice and Elemental traited cards in addition to Wizard and Generic cards. A core mechanic for Elemental cards is that they fuse with whatever element they reference, such as Icebind. You can play it normally, to deal 3 arcane damage, but if you reveal an Ice card such as Ice Bolt, you also get the bonus effect listed. In this case, freezing a card in their arsenal until your next turn.

This brings us nicely into the new mechanic of Freeze. A frozen object cannot be played or activated. This is extremely helpful when you’re locking down you opponents arsenal, equipment, hero card and more! 

Finally, a new type of cards are afflictions. We can see an example of this with Frost Hex. Afflictions enter the arena under an opposing hero’s control. They generally are detrimental to their plans and as of now have few ways of being removed. 

One hero left before we wrap up this release, but keep your eyes peeled for another exciting announcement coming soon as Skirmish season returns!

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