The Prophet
Previewing How Vaerix Has Changed in The Betrayer's War
Some scars take a long time to heal, and Vaerix’s wounds run deep. Despite their pain, Vaerix has found some dragon-hybrids that are open to their message of finding a new path for their people. Now, Vaerix has unlocked the potential of the Words of Creation within themself, and that path is full of more possibility than ever before.
In The Betrayer’s War, the second Act of Descent: Legends of the Dark, Vaerix manifests new abilities and continues to support their companions and devastate their foes alike. With powerful new skills that come at a cost, Vaerix can greatly impact the flow of battle and benefit any team.
Ever flexible, Vaerix enters Act 2 with increased stats and enhanced abilities. Their Font of Vigor ability can heal themself and another hero at the same time, while the ability on the flip side of their hero card , Every Scar a Lesson, can add a surge to their attack or defense. Their surge abilities are likewise just as flexible, with one allowing them to remove a condition from a hero and the other allowing them to doom an enemy.
The real stars of Vaerix’s new abilities, however, are their new Word skills. These skills have powerful effects, but they come at the cost of inflicting Vaerix with the new “stress” condition.
A stress token.
This condition can be tricky to work around, since any time any conditions are discarded from a stressed card, the affected hero must suffer a fatigue. This means that even trying to remove the stress condition itself will result in at least one fatigue suffered, which can ramp up fast if you aren’t careful.
The tradeoff is worth it, though. The Mend skill can be a powerful burst of healing and restoration, flipping to Calming Presence once used, while Shatter produces a powerful attack that can both doom and expose an enemy (its flip side, Ever Forward , can provide some valuable support as well). Perhaps most impressive of all, however, is the Shape skill, which allows Vaerix to transform any hero’s defense into a form that can best suit their needs, while its flip side Unyielding can aid Vaerix in clearing the stress they gained from their powerful Words. These new skills also combine well with one of Vaerix’s 3 XP skills, Speaker , which allows them to grant beneficial conditions to their allies for each Word they wield.
Outside of their new skill cards, the rest of Vaerix’s kit only serves to reinforce their flexibility. Their new Clarion Warbell allows them and their allies to discard conditions during Vaerix’s attack, a useful tool in countering stress buildup from their Word skills. Meanwhile, the Champion’s Spear synergizes well with Vaerix’s inherent ability to grant themself surges, and also combos well with their Dream Caller legend card. The counterpart of Dream Caller, Truth Teller , makes Vaerix more adept at frontline combat, while their 2 XP legends, Resilient Soul and Ancient Soul , both grant them different ways of handling their building fatigue. Remember: once you choose a legend, you lock out its counterpart for the rest of the campaign, so decide how best to shape Vaerix’s versatility for your playstyle!
Legends Only Grow
With the Words of Creation under their command, Vaerix’s power has grown a lot since Descent’s first Act, and their versatility remains unrivaled and makes them a valued member of the heroes’ party. Look forward to seeing how Vaerix shapes the battlefield when The Betrayer’s War arrives in just a few short weeks!
