Maeoni: All That Glitters

Ashes: Maeoni Week at PlaidHatGames.com continues! Each week, all week long, we’ll take a look at a different Phoenixborn and their suggested deck builds. The goal of these articles will be to introduce you to the cards found in the base game, and to give you a basic understanding of the strategy of each of the pre-built decks.

Ashes is available for pre-order at the PlaidHatGames.com store. Pre-order today from our site and get $15 off the retail price! Order from PlaidHatGames.com and get a free Dimona Odinstar promo Phoenixborn, along with her exclusive Rayward Knight ally!

Are you ready to take a look at the first half of Maeoni’s suggested deck build, The Snakes in Silver? I know I’m excited to talk about it! Today we’ll take a look at Maeoni’s other unit, the Gilder, and the other spells she uses to make her presence felt on the battlefield. If you didn’t catch it yesterday, read Maeoni's first preview, The Queen in Silver and Gold. Some of the things I am talking about today will reference cards and powers discussed in that article.

Times a wasting, so let’s dive right in.

Ah, isn’t he adorable? This little guy brings quite a bit to the table besides his adorable face. The Gilder has two abilities that both synergize with Maeoni’s other unit, the Silver Snake. It’s like they were made for each other!

Unit Guard allows the Gilder to jump in front of another unit being attacked, letting you choose which unit your opponent is attacking. This is great for protecting those snazzy Silver Snakes!

The Gilder's second ability, Inheritance, allows you to place a status token on another unit when he meets his demise, a unit such as that Silver Snake over there, you know, the one that gets a bigger when you place a status token on it.

If all Summon Gilder did was place a Gilder on your battlefield it would be well worth it, but it also deals 1 damage to a unit when you activate it. That’s right, you get to place an awesome unit into play and damage with an opponent's unit for a single main action and 1 . Now that’s efficiency!

This is another piece of the puzzle for protecting your precious pets. The flavor text says it all: “No.” Quite simply, Golden Veil stops your opponent from messing with a unit you control. This card deals with everything except attacking units, which the Gilder and Maeoni already have under control.

Let’s talk about placing wounds. Some cards in ashes prevent damage, but this card places wounds. So when you really need to deal with a unit, but your opponent has their shields up, Molten Gold is made to order!

Not to mention, it can place wounds on a Phoenixborn as well! So if you’re having trouble getting the last few wounds on your opponent's Phoenixborn, use some Gold to secure your victory!

So how do you optimize a smaller battlefield? Simple, you play awesome units, make sure they stick around, and then use those units over and over. Nothing feels better than attacking with a huge Silver Snake that you’ve spent time and effort growing to epic proportions, and then doing it again by using Refresh!

This card is great because it’s so versatile. You can use it to move an exhaustion token to a unit you're having trouble dealing with or to place the last wound on that unit instead (perhaps growing your snake in the process). Or you can use it to place a status token on a unit that has no use for it. And that’s just when you target your opponents units.

When targeting your own units, it can work like another refresh, or help keep your snake around by taking a wound token off of it. This card provides so many options.

Well, that’s all for today. Tune in tomorrow to see how Maeoni shows off her superior technique!

Thanks for reading!

Bob

Game Overview Previews: Phases of Play, Attacking/Defending, Placement, Card Types, Dice Powers, Multiplayer and Drafting
Maeoni Previews: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4
Coal Previews: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4
Saria Previews: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4
Noah Previews: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4
Jessa Previews: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4
Aradel Previews: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

Click here to pre-order Ashes: Rise of the Phoenixborn and get a $15 pre-order discount as well as the Dimona Odinstar Promo Pack.

Written by Bob Klotz
Bob Klotz is the Lead Playtester for Ashes.