New Troop: Lady Ironbeard

After saving the life of the Dwarf King’s, and being named as his personal bodyguard, Lord Kegni Ironbeard set out to revitalize his clan (recently renamed from the Stonebottoms to the Ironbeards). As part of his plan, Kegni decided to take a wife.

Now Kegni was the talk of the Dwarven Halls, and he courted many beautiful highborn Dwarven ladies, with beards almost as thick and lush as his own, but none of them stirred his blood. One night, sitting alone in a tavern deep within Karak Khaziel, having drowned his sorrows at the inability to find a wife, he was awoken from his stupor by an ugly lass with barely any fuzz on her face.

“What do ye want?” burped Kegni.
“I’m wonderin’ why ye’re so unhappy, ye miserable great oaf,” she replied.
“Ye wouldn’t understand, girl” he said.
“Try me!” the girl responded. “And me name’s Brakha, not ‘girl’.”
“Do ye even ken who I am?” he slurred. “I’m Lord Kegni Ironbeard. And I’m havin’ a wee drink, ‘cos I canna find a wife.”
“Well it’s nay wonder with that sour look on yer ugly face” she quipped.
Kegni was Furious!
“Ugly face?” he cried, lurching unsteadily to his feet. “That’s a bit rich comin’ from a homely lass with nary a beard hair on her OWN face!”

That was when Brakha hit him square in the nose with his own shield.
When Kegni woke up, he was smitten.
And the rest, as they say, is history.

Troop Balance Changes

Draakulis
* Mana cost reduced from 22 to 20
* Spell Base damage increased from 3 to 5

Emperor Khorvash
* Stoneskin trait changed to Armored
* Mana cost increased from 14 to 15

Hydra
* Mana cost reduced from 17 to 16
* Spell Base damage increased from 5 to 8

Keeper of Souls
* Mana cost reduced from 16 to 15

Moloch
* Boost Ratio increased from 2:1 to x1

Orion
* Changed random damage to scale at both ends by magic. This means that the lower damage amount will also scale with Magic, not just the high damage amount.
(Like the change last year to Berserker’s spell)

Psion
* Spell Base damage increased from 4 to 6
* Mana Drain to all enemies increased from 5 to 7

Ranger
* Boost Ratio reduced from x5 to x4

Shadow Dragon
* Boost Ratio increased from 3:1 to 2:1

The Silent One
* Mana cost reduced from 16 to 14

Venoxia
* Spell Base damage increased from 2 to 4

Planned Troop Changes coming in the Future
We had two other balance changes we wanted to make today, but they’re both going to need to wait for the next game client update.

Bone Dragon
Bone Dragon is going to get a change where the maximum armor he can strip is limited to a certain value. He’s the ONLY troop in the game whose gem creation has no limit, and we NEED to place a limit on him now, as numbers in the game evolve and grow larger. This change is aimed at leaving him extremely useful to low-to-mid-level players, while stopping the board simply filling with skulls at higher levels. He may also get a 1 point spell cost increase. We’re still testing the numbers.

Gloom Leaf
Gloom Leaf is getting a buff, which will make him quite a dangerous tank. However, we don’t want to relase the buff until Bone Dragon’s change is live, because they synergize together a little too well.

Troop Refunds

The following troops will be available for refund until next week’s event:
* Emperor Khorvash
* Ranger