Iris & Hellebore
Iris & Hellebore lead the charge in our new Dark Deeds boxset!
“Hellebore, would you like to do the honours?”
“Oh no, no - Iris, you feel free to finish off the little squirt.”
So naturally this Faerie is like all the others, 6 wds, -2 evade, and 5 energy, right? No, no, and no! Iris & Hellebore have some unusual stats for a Faerie and a comparatively odd playstyle. With 7 Wds the pair are slightly tougher than the average Faerie but at -1 Evade they are also slightly easier to hit. Like other Faerie Nobility, they also have slightly reduced energy, meaning they have only 4 energy to dedicate to their actions. However, unlike Diana, they aren't festooned with a bunch of arcane abilities and instead just have one active ability.
‘Perplex’ and Passive Abilities
'Perplex' is a relatively simple active ability. It simply steals one energy from an enemy, or possibly a friendly character, and redistributes it to a Faerie near the target. Whilst this is useful for both simultaneously slowing an enemy and energising a Faerie, this isn't Iris & Hellebore’s main use. For their main utility in the game though, look no further than their passive abilities. Firstly there's the traditional 'Weakling' for Faeries, then 'Storm of Fae Blades' to bump their Slicing and Piercing melee damage up. This is all very standard for a Faerie and a melee character though, so what lies beyond that?
‘Dance in Concert’
'Dance in Concert' allows for some brand new strategies and tactics involving the Faerie’s normal plan to rely on reaction steps to avoid potentially lethal combats. Now, when a faerie is engaged in melee, Iris & Hellebore can spend the energy instead of the engaged Faerie. On the face of it, this may not seem too powerful - just allowing a different Faerie to spend energy when reaction stepping. In practice, this means a lot of Faeries can now be far more aggressive and risky with their positioning and allow Iris & Hellebore to bail them out of danger.
“I knew your special training would come in useful.”
Queen Diana can now move quite aggressively close to the enemy troupe and use all her energy to do damage. Iris & Hellebore can save, then spend their energy to reaction step Diana as soon as an enemy jogs in to engage and attack her (she is their mother after all!).
Alternatively, a melee threat such as The Fencer could also do the same trick, spending all her energy on a melee attack and letting Iris & Hellebore reaction step her afterwards.
‘Perfect Form’
“Keep me alive and I promise you won’t regret it.”
With the release of Iris & Hellebore, there is one more thing now that faeries can do with leftover energy, and that is to utilise 'Perfect Form'. Once per game, 'Perfect Form' allows Iris & Hellebore, or another Faerie within 6", to discard an energy and then swap their melee card. In the right circumstances, this can massively turn the tides of an entire game! A bad hand played by The Fencer could suddenly turn from her death into her opponent’s death. Fraya can swap a Sweeping Cut she may have played for the Low Guard she has in hand, saving her life from an enemy’s Rising Attack.
Now, more than ever, it's a huge boon for Faeries to finish their activation with an energy left to react and defend themselves from aggressors. In combination with 'Dance in Concert', Faeries won't even have to spend their own energy to reaction step to safety, allowing them to reserve their energy for a potential 'Perfect Form'.
Dodge, Duck, Dip, and Dive
With Iris & Hellebore, Faerie troupes can be even more mobile and evasive than ever. Although they may often stay near the back, saving their energy for other faeries, Iris & Hellebore’s ability to move other faeries around and manipulate melee cards will be greatly felt. Near the end of the game though, or against enemies coming too close, they can utilise their great damage bonuses and melee 5 to run in and do considerable damage. They can even rely on their signature to get them to safety, playing multiple criticals to move up to a potential 6"s afterwards with 3x Rising Attack and 3x Falling Swings. Dodge, duck, dip, and dive out of the way of all your opponent’s attacks and strike back with massive melee hands and deadly damage!
