Fallen Phoenix: Sacrifice and Cults

Last week we revealed Immortal Elien, the Fallen Phoenix summoner who can spend magic to increase die results during any attack phase roll. Between ensuring that attacks hit, teleporting Warriors, conjuring Skeletons, and burning opponent magic, we saw a myriad of uses for Elien's Will.

This week we've got one more important piece to the Elien's Will puzzle. Introducing Immortal Elien's third common unit, the Fallen Phoenix Cultist:

This Cultist's ability is similar to the Cloak Slahser's Fatal Slash, but the extra wounds require wounds on the Cultist as well. (Note that due to the way the ability is worded, if a Cultist has two wounds on it at the time it rolls a 6, it can only add 1 extra wound to the target, then dies itself.) Elien's Will can ensure a Cursed Slash for the right price as long as at least a 3 is rolled.

But Elien's Will is just the beginning of the deck's Cultist synergy. Read on:

(Note, there is a small extra "it" on this card, that typo has been corrected for the actual printing.)

This event, which also works with Fallen Kingdom Cultists, makes going after a Fallen Phoenix Cultist a dangerous proposition. If you fail to destroy it, you risk the fate of either a Cursed Slash or a Forced Convert coming after a key target that you thought you had protected. And that convert will not miss its mark.

(For those who aren't aware, the PRECISE ability is a frequent Phoenix Elf ability that causes a unit to do damage equal to its attack value rather than rolling dice while attacking. A rules card will be included to clarify this for those who don't own any previous Phoenix Elf decks.)

Through Cultists and Forced Conversion, the old Fallen Kingdom sacrifice-for-power mechanism is coming through. Immortal Elien further embraces this theme with Purge:


Indeed, wounding a 2+ life common unit without finishing it off leaves one in a precarious spot. The 3 life points of the Cultist makes them especially apt for this kind of job, and this all works together to make the Cultist a capable, even feared unit. But I don't just consider the Fallen Phoenix Cultist a good card; it's one of my favorite cards in the whole Alliances set. And Helkar is the reason why:

I won't pontificate too much about Helkar; I'll let you work out the implications of the power she grants summoners, especially Immortal Elien. She rocks. (Yes, her ability works on Fallen Kingdom Cultists as well.)

Next week we wrap up the Sand Cloaks and Fallen Phoenix. I look forward to the chatter in the meantime!

Summoner Wars Alliance Previews:
Sand Cloaks: Part 1, Part 2
Fallen Phoenix: Part 1

Posted by Joe Ellis
Joe Ellis is a Plaid Hat Games news editor and the plaidhatgames.com webmaster.