Intro
Well Zaladar has really been the talk of the town in Shattered Fates, since the nerf to Aetherborn Wisp (for those of you following the discussions) he’s been the number one poster child for overpowered. I’m not going to enter that debate but he certainly is strong, and right now one of the heroes to beat.
Overview
As many of you are probably aware, Zaladar is an incredibly flexible hero, which is the primary reason I love him so much. This is in no small part due to his ability. Unlike every other ability in this game bar Banebow, it can directly target the hero, an ally, hero + ally, or two allies, and is completely unconditional (does not require a weapon, ally, etc) besides the SE cost. That in itself puts Zaladar head and shoulders above pretty much all others in terms of flexibility.
However, Zaladar also has access to the Elemental card pool which is widely regarded (in CotC at least) as one of the best in the game. He has access to reliable single creature removal (Mind Control), a board wipe (Energy Discharge), healing (Conversion, Soul Reaper), buffing (Life Infusion, Shard of Power), and resource manipulation (Feedback). Factor in Dark Prophecies and you also have access to mill (Temporal Disturbance), a plethora of allies (Flare, Zantonite, Xar Modulator, Crystal Titan), SE manipulation (Interference, Crystal Titan), and most importantly a draw engine (Antimatter). Shattered Fates added a lot of versatility to Zaladar’s pool with discard mechanics (Reactorary), more ally control (Wave Collapse, Energy Extraction), a huge ally buff (Exaltation) and some more mill (Reverberate). Basically with the Elemental and by extension the Shadow card pools there is nothing Zaladar cannot do with some degree of effectiveness.
Allies
Zaladar, in addition to his Elemental class allies, also has access to the Shadow pool of allies. This provides some excellent choices for Zaladar, as many of these allies promise high durability, which is useful so that allies can survive to combine with Zaladar’s ability. I’ve highlighted some of the core choices that usually make themselves home in a Zaladar deck:
Call of the Crystals
- Infernal Gargoyle: Even now there is no 3cc with greater survivability, even though others are definitely aiming for the crown. Gargoyle is almost always guaranteed to stick around for at least a turn, most times two, and that is a massive boon for Zaladar.
- Death Mage Thaddeus: Like the others, he is used to combine damage sources. However he does not need to survive at all to be useful. A fantastic tool for taking back the board. However he also suffers from the Brutalis syndrome in DP, sometimes not being enough to deal the final ping.
Dark Prophecies
- Ironhide Karash: Karash’s damage reduction makes him insanely dangerous to some heroes, though his low health means he’s vulnerable to others. Most importantly however is that he has 2 attack, meaning he can combine with Zaladar for 5 damage. This is very important in the current meta as I have mentioned before.
- Morbid Acolyte: This card is made for Zaladar. Not only is he 5 health and thus has massive survivability, his ability means that Zaladar’s number one nemesis, the pesky Gargoyle, is a threat no longer. The alternate 3cc drop for sure, and adding 2 or 3 of these to your deck will mean you have an incredibly consistent opening.
- Death Collector: Another solid alternate 3cc, this card has the ability to become a beast if left alone for a couple of turns. However he has more uses than that as his ability equates to graveyard manipulation, which means he can really put the hurt on Gravebone, shut down Shadow Knight loops, hurt other Death Collectors and Rotlings. Not to mention he can also shut down abilities like Soul Reaper and Infinity Core, or at least render them less effective.
- Darkwood Wraith: The Wraith is control, and is another way to deal with the deadly Gargoyle. He also provides Shadow with a Retreat effect, something they were sorely lacking in CotC. But his real benefit is flexibility. Wraith can also be used on your allies, bouncing back damaged, crippled or disabled allies, or allies with effects (like DMT, and even Twisted Familiar). He can also be used in concert with cards like Super Focus and Synchronicity.
- Furrion Terror: His on summon ability means that combined with Zaladar’s ability two allies on the board can take 5 damage, enough to kill most things in this game. Not to mention the Terror has a capable attack by himself. However his true strength is his board wiping ability.
- Disciple of Aldmor: The Disciple is starting to show up more and more in Zaladar's as a direct counter to Banebow, one of his worst matchups. That being said the Disciple is good value vs a lot of heroes, and her low attack means little when combined with Zaladar's ability.
Shattered Fates
- Frostmare: HASTE! YAHOO! Seriously this is the one thing that Shadow was lacking. Now Zaladar’s ability is even more dangerous, even with an empty board. Plus Frostmare is cheap as chips when you are behind, his ability meaning he only costs 1.
- Rampant Krygon: The best haste ally of the three in the Shadow pool, Krygon has a home in most Shadow decks. Plus his ability is super useful with Zaladar, as you can reduce the health of many allies (using Krygon’s ability) to bring them into kill range with Zaladar while using Krygon’s attack to finish off a second.
- Falseblood Cultist: An alternate draw engine and body all in one, this guy works exceptionally well with discard trigger allies (Brimstone Devourer, Reactorary) as well as allowing you to filter your hand (by removing tech cards you don’t need etc.).
- Brimstone Devourer: A core component of most Zaladar decks out there right now, he works well either as an ally or as discard fodder. He basically mitigates the loss of a card, providing a level of board control if he is discarded.
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