Eight Summoner Wars Second Summoner decks are now up for pre-order in the PlaidHatGames.com store! You can buy them all separately, OR for a limited time, if you pre-order all eight together, get them for $59.95, $20 off the MSRP! Pre-order today!

Eight weeks ago, we met Shiva and her puppets. Shiva has mastered the art of controlling the movements of others, and the world is her puppet show. Four weeks ago, we learned about the Sirens who take after Shiva, as well as Haku who adds some surprising survivability to the Benders.

This is our last Benders preview, and our first unit offers both control and heft.

If the Shifter was just a 1/3 for 2 with no ability, they would be... well, just ok. The 3-life can be useful as a blocker for the low-life Bender/Deep Bender summoners, but there are other options. Add in Body Swap, though, and... wow!

Shiva definitely loves to take your Fire Beasts, your Rhinos, your Savagers, and other expensive commons with Body Swap. But even for a cheaper common, Body Swap is worth it when you can do something creative with your newly recruited unit. And having the base unit stats as a back-up when there's no decent target is nice too. Especially when you've got Wither in-hand for some creative tricks.

Wither works on all Shifters, no matter who controls them. So you could use them to wound enemies adjacent to your own Shifters and then get some of your investment back, or, even better, trade for your opponent's commons, then immediately destory what you gave them. It's the Settlers of Catan Monopoly card in Summoner Wars form.

And it works on Parasites. So there's that. Here's a link to Parasites since you forgot they exist. ;) Ok it's kind of funny, but I do love the way Frank and the others who developed these decks worked hard to create synergy with old stuff, especially neglected units like Parasites.

And finally, for those of you who have done your best to set up a Summoner Wars win and have been cursed by the dice, Lem feels your pain.

Wow, those are some awesome stats. But that downside is legit. Lem will not last long, but summoned at just the right time, he'll take some big guys down with him. If he's close to death, he may just give you a magic back when he would've otherwise been magic fodder for your opponent. After all, a 1-life Lem still throws 5 dice before he dies.

And so that's Shiva! This is a REALLY fun deck and a really cool design. I am so excited for these 8 decks. If you haven't pre-ordered the 8 new second summoners, be sure to do so today! Later today Frank wraps up Little Meda, and next week we finish the previews!

Eight Summoner Wars Second Summoner decks are now up for pre-order in the PlaidHatGames.com store! You can buy them all separately, OR for a limited time, if you pre-order all eight together, get them for $59.95, $20 off the MSRP! Pre-order today!

Second Summoner Previews:

Kynstri's Mission

Saturos: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Natazga: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Malenatar: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Scraven: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Little Meda: Part 1, Part 2

Shiva: Part 1, Part 2

Brath: Part 1, Part 2

Farrah: Part 1, Part 2