
The Far Ranger
Previewing How Galaden Has Changed in The Betrayer's War
After months of relentless searching, Galaden finally discovered the name of the demon that murdered his friends and family: Baelziffar. But this knowledge alone is not enough; Baelziffar is dangerous and elusive prey, and the demon’s connection to the ravaging Uthuk hordes is just one part of his centuries-long machinations. All of Galaden’s training—as a hunter and as a diplomat—will be put to the test as he continues on the trail of his deadliest foe.
In The Betrayer’s War, the second Act of Descent: Legends of the Dark, Galaden once again combines adaptability with exceptional tactical skill to aid his allies and hinder his enemies. With a new condition and a new status at his disposal, Galaden excels even more at controlling the battlefield and manipulating things in his party’s favor.
Ever calm, composed, and competent, Galaden slips into the battlefield with raised stats and his signature balance of offense and utility. With his new Silent Signals ability, he can allow any hero to prepare a card, or allow them to utilize the new “shroud” condition. Like other conditions, a shroud token can be placed on any of a hero’s cards in order to “shroud” that card. Whenever an enemy activates, each hero may discard a shroud token from one of their cards to exclude themself from being targeted by that enemy for that activation, which can come in handy if a hero is wounded and needs to avoid enemy attention. Just keep in mind that, if a hero uses a shroud token in this way, the affected enemy is also not Impeded by that hero, so you’ll have to make sure you don’t let an important target slip away!
A shroud token.
Galaden’s new abilities extend beyond the use of the shroud condition. On the flip side of his hero card , his Bewilder ability lets him “confuse” an enemy. This is a new status that messes with that enemy’s activations, causing the enemy to perform one of a variety of alternate actions, such as canceling its attack or even causing it to attack another enemy. Just like with shroud, this status helps give the heroes a bit of breathing room by keeping enemies’ attention elsewhere.
Of course, Galaden still has access to his offensive support as well. His Unwavering skill allows heroes to focus and prepare several cards at once, while Twin-Bloom Venom can both confuse and expose an enemy in the same attack. Seize the Moment allows Galaden to follow up on his ally’s attack with a strike of his own, while its flip side, Hunter’s Instinct , gives him some beneficial conditions and a large fatigue value to keep his momentum going. With Controlled Breathing , Galaden can move fatigue and condition tokens off of his other cards, and once he has done so, he can wallop an enemy with Pinpoint Targeting and then use its second ability to flip both cards at once!
Galaden’s other cards also contribute to his expanded utility. One of his new weapons, the Dancing Blades , synergizes extremely well with cards like Hunter’s Instinct and Controlled Breathing due to their high fatigue values. Meanwhile, the Howling Bow plays to Galaden’s support tendencies by granting a shroud token to an ally or helping them clear some fatigue of their own. His Long-Strider legend increases his speed to a whopping 5 along with some extra health, while its flip side, Far-Strider , makes his fatigue-costing abilities a lot more efficient. Tireless Ghost continues that efficiency by letting him discard fatigue and conditions whenever he flips a card, while its counterpart Vengeful Ghost lets him slam an enemy with statuses whenever he rerolls a die. As always, keep in mind that once you gain a legend, its other side is locked out for the rest of the campaign, so you’ll have to carefully choose what path you want Galaden to walk.
Legends Only Grow
With access to both offensive and defensive support, Galaden has only grown more dangerous since Descent’s first Act. Look forward to walking with Galaden and trying out his new abilities when The Betrayer’s War arrives in August!