This format brings a whole new approach to Palette-building & how to play Achroma!
From the start - instead of the restrictions of Canvas format where you have to make a 30 card Palette with only 1 Legendary and 4 unique Rares - in Heroes you make a 40 card Palette with any number (maximum of 2 copies of each) of cards between Rares, Uncommons and Commons then you’re allowed any number of Legendary cards but only 1 of each. The rule that all cards must be from the same realm does still apply to this format though. Link below will take you to the Formats page of the main site for more details if you want to read more, as well as the full info on how Canvas format works as well;
https://www.achroma.cards/formats
Ontop of this there’s a slight tweak to the start, set-up & win conditions of the game as well; to begin with you will choose an Avatar from the app (you can scan your legendary cards to unlock them but other cards require you to unlock them via spending shards), that is also in your Palette, to act as your Hero. They each have an ability that will be in effect for the entire game whilst you are in it. Each player starts with 15 shards, so you have more to spend on all those bigger & rarer cards you have access to, and to achieve a Chroma win you must hit 40 shards instead of the usual 30. For an Achrom win the goal is the still the same, drain all your opponents to 0, however the higher starting total coupled with everyone having access to bigger cards to play means it’s automatically a bigger challenge especially when you look at 3 players or more!
This format really breaths a whole new life to certain cards that are otherwise overshadowed by others in their rarity slot - a prime example being Eldoris of Culuda.
In Canvas format, where people normally build around the Legendary card of their Palette, she just doesn’t quite match up to the power of cards like Hex Clunker, Countess Issadora Curdle, Conjourer Otrix or Asa. However, in Heroes, since you can play multiple Legendary cards she can now be a good board wipe on a body for great value since she also Steals 2 in the Resolve! You can even take it a step further and focus on permanent cards with Blue or Cyan shards so you’ll still have a decent Canvas left after Eldoris hits the board whilst knocking your opponents back pretty harshly!
There are multiple examples, from all the Realms, that are in a similar position to Eldoris, she was just a stand-out one for me that I’ve always wanted to use but struggled to find a place for in any Canvas Palette I’ve built.
In terms of Palette building, one way of approaching this format which I’m experimenting with is looking at your favourite Canvas Palettes and getting 10 cards that you can add in to turn it into a Heroes one. For example - I have an occultist Palette which I have had great fun playing so why not go ahead and add 10 cards to transform into a Heroes palette! The current Canvas list looks like this, with the cards I’d add to it below it;
My chosen avatar would be Otrix, Siren Returned as her ability allows my Occultists and Sea Witches to all benefit from the same things; both Occultist Den and The Bay of Mysteries can recur them and Sorcerer Pifarius’ resolve is boosted by all of them. I’ve also added Hex Clunker to give me the ability to find & recur my 2 copies of Cintimani Stone or Corrupted Muon Trap as well as my Achrom Converter.
You could easily adjust this to go a different route such as using Release the Kraken over Sorcerer Pifarius or the Achrom Corruptor and Hex Clunker and lean more into the Curse aspect of the Palette, whilst also swapping the Canvas legendary from Conjurer Otrix to Pearl of Culuda (I may well try to fit this in just thinking about it!) and this is the beauty of Heroes format - similar Palettes have a lot more directions they can go due to the wider options of Rares & Legendaries you can play!
This is literally just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the potential of Heroes format, but I figured it was a good start point for anyone that was curious about it. I hope that, in time and with a bit more exposure, as the Achroma community grows, we might see the Heroes format branch into its own entity within the game equal to that of Canvas format.
That’s all from me for now guys. Hope to see many of you toying around with some Heroes stuff soon! There is a dedicated channel and forum for posting your Palette lists and discussing Heroes Palettes in the Achroma discord, linked below.
If you do wish to purchase product from the Achroma website I’ve now set up an affiliate link that will get you 5% off your purchases. Simply follow the link below or use the code ‘antinomy93’ when you checkout.
Comments
Post a Comment