With patch 1.3.0 almost within reach, SEMC has already started hyping up the next hero (or animal?) to be unleashed on the Fold in patch 1.4.0. Welcome Corpus, the Nightmare Goat! In this installment we’re going to break down why Corpus isn’t just a good fit in the lore, but also how to utilize him in the jungle, as well as how best to close out games.

The mentions of goats in the lore didn’t fall on deaf ears. There was buzz on Twitter, the official Vainglory forums and reddit about how many times goats were awkwardly brought up.

When I first started playing Vainglory I thought that Petal was the Queen of Crystal. The Crystal Power ratios on her ultimate, Yay, Pets!, and munion auto attacks were all so high, I figured no one would ever take her post as best CP hero. Then Skaarf and Celeste happened. They both brought unique and diverse abilities that let Crystal Power builds shine. After Corpus is released, every Crystal Power hero is in for a bleating.

Corpus is a mage tank jungler who focuses on surprise attacks and crowd controlling multiple members of the enemy team. While best utilized by zoning an enemy target, do not underestimate the damage of this tank. His spells are best used in tandem, much like Skaarf combining Spitfire and Goop, but work towards activating his Heroic Perk.

Heroic Perk:

Because of Corpus’ ridiculously high EHP, heroes will probably spend more time running away from him than trying to fight him. Try to stay within 7.0 units of enemies for 5 seconds and you’ll stick them in a dreaming trance for 2 seconds. “Dreaming Trance” is not a stun. This was clarified with SEMC. Rather, “Dreaming Trance” is a debuff on the enemy hero, slowing them for 75% and removing their ability to cast spells or auto attack.

A Skill:

Bleating Shriek is the laces that keep the shoes on. Without it, you could escape the “Dreaming Trance” debuff. Luckily, the radius on this ability is very short. Try not to get caught in his trance, or be too close to him. Activating this does refresh the duration of the trance, so make sure to trigger it before the trance expires.

This ability is the highest Crystal Power ratio on any non-ultimate ability. These numbers might not make it to live, but currently the Bleating Shriek is at a staggering 3.5 Crystal Power ratio with only a 6 second cooldown.

B Skill:

Rather than a gap closer, the goat hero instead has the ability (Horror Spiral) to stick with key targets that have good escape moves. If he is within melee auto attack range he can activate Horror Spiral to attach to an enemy target for 2.2 seconds, following their every movement. In development trials this made Corpus extra efficient at keeping up with a charging Catherine, jumping a wall with Ardan’s Gauntlet, leaping boundaries with Glaive’s Afterburn, etc. While 2.2 seconds may seem short on paper, it feels like a lifetime if you’re trying to escape his perk from triggering. This is another very short-ranged ability. Try to keep your distance and poke the goat as best you can. He won’t have the courage or life total to try to gouge you or your ally if he is close to death.

Ultimate:

Arguably the strongest ultimate in the game, this has been used in some of the cleverest of ways. Superevildoer actually triggered this when the enemy team was about to finish Kraken, giving his team 3 seconds to finish Kraken and watch as the enemy team destroyed each other.

My gut feeling was this was implemented to get rid of the stale meta of grouping as 3 people from 10 minutes until the end of the game. Now you’re a threat to your team and you need to keep your distance. Reflex Block can be activated during the 3 seconds to mitigate some of the damage, but it can’t be used to avoid the loss of control.

General Strategy:

Corpus is best played in the jungle. The element of surprise that he can bring from the combination of all of his skills is game-ending. Try to position yourself near an enemy where they won’t notice you applying your perk (usually a bush near a jungle camp). If possible, stay within range without ever showing yourself. If needed, activate Horror Spiral when you’ve already completed at least 2.8 seconds of the perk time to guarantee one target will be tranced. Once they are tranced, cast Bleating Shriek to keep them debuffed and watch their health bars get reduced to nothing.

If you’re ever caught by two or three members of the enemy team, use your ultimate. Either it will buy you enough time to escape during the 3 seconds, or it will let you turn the battle in your favor and allow your allies to join up with you in the Fold. Be careful not to always be with your allies, because with the development numbers on Corpus, I could easily see one on each team in every game.