Those Things Do Not Obey the Laws of Physics

Where most of the Apprentice Blacksmiths tend to focus mainly either on scoring goals or taking out enemy players, Cast is something of an allrounder. She has a good average MOV attribute of [5”/8”] and a notably accurate KICK of [4/6”]. Where we start to see Cast’s identity truly revealed is when we look at her Playbook. A Momentous [2] damage on the second column is always a strong, reliable result, and from there her damage spikes up almost as high as Iron and Sledge, finishing with a Momentous [6] on her sixth and final column. Additionally, a Push-Dodge Playbook result on the third column could be very handy for shifting enemy players around into more friendly melee zones for the Ganging Up bonus, or escaping melee through the use of a Counter Attack.

We really start to see Cast’s unique skills with her bladed shields shine through when we look at her Character Plays. Shield Glare is a brand-new Character Play that can be used multiple times each turn and only triggers from Cast’s Playbook, Momentously on the third column and non-Momentously on the fifth along with a Push-Dodge. Shield Glare is yet another way for the Blacksmiths to modify the defensive attributes of their opponents, and it also doubles as a defensive increase for the Blacksmiths themselves, as Shield Glare reduces the affected enemy’s TAC. This is a very useful ability to increase the chances of hitting enemies with high DEF attributes, or reduce the offensive potential of an enemy player that has yet to activate. Someone like Rage or Fillet never wants to see their TAC attribute being reduced!

Shield Throw is another brand-new Character Play that can either be triggered from Cast’s Playbook, or can be used by paying its [2] Influence cost. As well as causing [2] damage, Shield Throw represents another method of the Blacksmiths being able to manipulate the ball from range, as it forces an enemy player that is in possession of the ball, to immediately lose possession. This is a brilliant ability to use against enemies that are normally very difficult to retrieve the ball from. For example, Velocity under the effects of Nimble has DEF [6+] and Close Control, meaning that you normally need to Tackle Velocity twice to retrieve the ball; a very difficult task considering Velocity’s incredible DEF attribute. If Cast triggers Shield Throw from her Playbook she could choose to automatically hit Velocity and cause the ball to scatter, allowing either Cast or another player to pick it up instead. Or perhaps Cinder or Burnish will later on use Kill the Ball to reposition the ball completely.