With Tide of the Dragon currently on Indiegogo, we want to take a closer look at some of the new fighters and enemies you'll encounter within! This is the first of many articles showcasing these great new characters!
Oh, side note: if you're interested in learning more about the new Terrain elements in Tide of the Dragon, you can click here!
Jirou
Click to enlarge
Jirou’s fighter deck focuses on his ability to improvise in the middle of sticky situations. He’s known for his ability to think on the fly and outside the box, and this shines through as he bounces around a fight using any nearby items as weapons or defensive assets.
See that mop there? He can use that. How about that ladder? Why not! Oh, an office chair? The baddies won’t see it coming until it’s rolled across the floor and knocked them off their feet.
This uncanny knack for making the best of any situation is represented by Jirou’s “Improvise” mechanic, which allows him to discard cards from his hand to power up other cards. Doing this properly is a balancing act, knowing that boosting certain cards too much might come at the expense of options later down the road. Don’t worry, though; Jirou has ways of making sure he doesn’t get stuck in a corner.
When the going gets tough, Jirou gets going!
Phoenix
Click to enlarge
Phoenix is proficient in tai chi, and as a result her playstyle is very much about patience and timing. While she can attack her opponents when needed like other fighters, her strengths lie in waiting for them to make the first move.
Each Tactic in Phoenix’s deck features a “Reversal” effect that can be triggered after an opponent attacks. These can result in various effects such as gaining defense tokens, dealing direct damage to the attacker, or even being able to play an Attack card out of turn with additional dice!
In order to truly maximize the potential of these Reversal effects, each Tactic card is non-unique, meaning you could potentially have all 9 in your play area at once! What's more: each Tactic also features an Exhaust ability that can grant her additional movement, defense or healing! Ever wanted to exhaust 9 cards on your turn (or even out of turn)? Phoenix can make it happen.
Oh, did we mention she has ways of getting discarded Tactics back in play quickly too?
Phoenix is definitely a blast to play and will have you constantly teaching those pesky evildoers that patience is indeed a virtue!
The All-Heaven Gang
The All-Heaven Gang is a formidable enemy, led by an even more formidable boss! What makes them tick?
Let’s find out!
Reina
Click to enlarge
Anyone who has played the Street Masters base game will remember the walking headache that is Wan Bo, the resilient muscle of The Golden Dragons who is equipped with a far reaching staff. Thankfully, there are only 3 copies of him in that deck.
Reina, while not as resilient, is just as skilled with her staff, and there are 5 copies of her in The All-Heaven Gang enemy deck! You might be able to get one or two of her off the board quickly, but once you’ve got 3 to 5 clones of her nearby… yeesh!
Big Dragon
Click to enlarge
While his name might make you think he’s the toughest of the bunch, Big Dragon is actually the least resilient of the All-Haven Gang minions. This doesn’t mean he’s a pushover, though! On the contrary, he strikes pretty hard. In fact, he strikes so hard that if the fighters are clustered together, they’re all going to feel the weight of his attacks.
Goliath
Click to enlarge
Uh-oh. This behemoth is going to make your life difficult! Not only does he prevent you from attacking anyone else while he’s engaged with you, he also does his job as Train's personal bodyguard by following him around. That means you'll need to get through him if you hope to even touch the boss!
Alright, and how about the big bad boss himself, Train Wong?
Train
Click to enlarge
As a former monk, Train has perfected the art of turning his body into both the ultimate weapon and the ultimate armor.
He begins the game with his “Inhuman Resolve” Tactic card in play, which not only lets him steel himself with defense tokens, but also lets him unleash a powerful attack. Powerful attacks are his specialty, actually, and all fighters will need to be ready for him to punish any mistakes they make when his Event cards are revealed. That said, he also has 2 other very scary Tactic cards which can make him even more powerful, so any fight against him is surely to be one for the ages!
Here are a few teasers (don't mind the white "art" as that's just placeholder for now while we await art revisions):
--
That's it for this update! We'll be back soon with another preview full of character showcases!