Adiba is the only character who can produce and use Shields (blue tokens). Her ability allows her the OPTION of using those Shields to block damage. This can include using them in place of "spending" hit points to activate effects. Whenever she would lose hit points for ANY reason, she MAY spend any number of Shields she possesses to lower that would-be damage by that same number. Since this is tied to Adiba's ability, a character without that same ability cannot use Shields.
A player can't have more than 20 hit points, but Shields, in a way, get around this.
Ordinarily, a good defense makes for a lousy offense, and players playing in defensive fashion simply lose the game at a slower rate. However, Adiba's no wimp. Her deck packs 2 (count 'em!) TWO nukes that can, each on their own, swing for as much as lethal damage. These cards (Going Offensive and For the Fallen) require set-up, though. That's where the value of blocking damage and prolonging the game comes in.
That's not all, though. If it were, Adiba would prove a one-trick pony, and her opponents could too easily create reliable methods for defeating her. Adiba wields downright nasty tools for banishing cards (removing them from the game). With them, she can shave away her opponents' cards, reducing their decks to vapors, leaving them with few options. Why fight an army when you can take away their weapons?
Playing as Adiba, you'll want to pay close attention to which attributes your opponents raise. This will give you a good idea which of their cards you're aiming to banish.
Remember that every deck has 4 cards of each attribute. Also keep in mind that you may always look through a player's discard pile and ask how many cards they have in their hand (they must answer truthfully).
Half the cards in every deck are damage-dealers, and most decks have 1 card that destroys tokens. Pay close attention to which cards you banish and which are already in your opponents' discard piles. This will help you decide when you should use your Shields versus when you should hang onto them
Adiba's ability DOES cost an action to use, so carefully weigh your options when using it. It is nice, though, to always have an option if you don't know how else to spend your 2nd action.
Playing against Adiba means knowing which card(s) in your deck can wipe out her Shields. It also means knowing how to ensure you have it in hand when you need it.
When you play against Adiba, think twice about reloading and, if you do, which card you banish from your deck. Adiba's deck allows her to take advantage of cards sent to the banish pool.
Adiba discovered her telepathic abilities while living as a war orphan in the Burrow, headquarters for the Zenko Clan, the kitsunes of Rougarou Swamp.
There, she grew up under the care of Den Mother Sahmay.
As her powers developed to unimaginable levels, she soon could read minds, possess other people, and even create shields of psychic energy.
None of this would hold a candle compared to the day she technically died, and her ghost absorbed information concerning past, present, and all possible futures.
In nearly drove her mad.
At her peak, she telepathically controlled every drone (flying and man-shaped) in every army on Earth. All at once. That's not even mentioning the time she psychically bonded with the space ship, the Vognen.
Adiba is a 13-year-old force-fed centuries of wisdom.
She enjoys grilled cheese sandwiches with a hint of paprika.
Click the link below.
Play a Support from your hand at the cost of 1 action.
When you do, place the card face-up on your side of the field, above your character board.
This puts the card both "in play" and "under your control."
Next, place a number of Stamina tokens on that Support equal to the number of points
you have in Influence at that exact moment.
While on your side of the field, Supports offer continuous effects to aid you.
Unless the Support says otherwise, you do not need to spend an action to activate the effect(s) of a Support already in play (you spend an action to put it from your hand onto the field, but, once it's there, it's typically free to activate its effects).
At the start of your turn(s), remove 1 Stamina from every Support you control.
The instant a Support has no Stamina, destroy and send it to its discard pile.
Like Items, Supports have an orange trigger box above their text box and next to the label that tells you the card's "type" (Event, Support, or Item).
While this Support, Kyo, is on your side of the field, you may, at the end of each of your turns, banish 1 card from the top of ANY 1 player's deck.
Yes, you may target your own deck.
Yes, there are situations where you'll want to.
You do not get to peek at that card before banishing it.
You do it blindly and live with your choices.
When YOU banish a card from anywhere, at any time during the game, & Buthaynah is on your side of the field, you'll:
1) Deal 2 points of damage to an opponent's hit points.
2) Gain 1 point in 1 of your attributes.
You'll need a bit of set-up before this will pop off, but it can provide a metric mammoth amount of repetitive value.
If you end your turn with Sahmay is on your side of the field, you'll gain 1 Shield.
Really not much more to say here. Pretty straightforward.
If you don't know what to do with a Shield, check Adiba's ability on her board.
Spend 1 action to play an Event from your hand.
Do what the card says in the order it's written.
While an Event's effects resolve, that card does not exist anywhere.
It is considered, "in the aether," no longer in your hand, on the field, in a deck or discard pile, or on a hot date with your mom.
Only after its effects resolve, will a played Event enter its discard pile.
When you Play this Event, you'll lower an opponent's hit points by the number of points you have in Influence.
Afterwards, you MAY banish (remove from the game) 1 card from ANY 1 discard pile.
Remember that a played Event doesn't enter its discard pile until after its final effect resolves.
That means Vognen isn't in your discard pile while its effects are resolving--MEANING you can't use Vognen to banish Vognen.
This is a great card for targeting a card in your opponent's discard pile you don't want to deal with a 2nd time.
It's also a great card to use on your own discard pile, especially with Adiba's Knowledge Event, Burrow.
Spend 1 action to play an Item from your hand.
To do this, you'll need a number of points in Knowledge equal to or greater than the Item's level.
When you play an Item, place it face-up on your side of the field above your character board.
It's now considered "under Your control" and "in play."
While on your side of the field, Items offer continuous effects to aid you.
Unless an Item already in play says otherwise, you do not need to spend any actions to activate its effect(s).
Like Supports, Items have an orange trigger box above their text box and next to the label that tells you the card's "type" (Event, Support, or Item).
Items and Supports rarely ask you to spend actions to activate them once their on your side of the field (you only pay an action to play it, putting it onto the field from your hand).
Teleportation Pad proves an exception to this rule.
While this Level 3 Item is on your side of the field, you may spend 2 actions to play a banished Event (regardless of whose deck it was banished from or who actually banished it).
In this case, the banished event in question is considered still in the banish pool until its effects finish resolving.
Afterwards, send that Event to its discard pile (un-banishing it).
There are so many crazy uses for this, not the least of which being a sneaky, out-of-nowhere finishing move.
Teleportation Pad basically adds the banish pool to your hand!
That's insane card selection not fit for civilized society.
However, this Item requires you to spend actions to activate it.
TWO of them!
This means you'll need to spend an action to play it from your hand (thus placing it on the field), and you'll need ANOTHER 2 actions to actually use it.
That makes this a powerful but slow card.
Before using this card, you'll want to consider the likelihood that your opponent holds, or will soon draw, a card capable of blowing it up, as that would put you behind tempo-wise.
While you this Level 4 Item is on you side of the field, you can spend your shields to block twice as much damage as Adiba's ability usually allows.
While this Level 5 Item is on your side of the field, you'll enjoy 2 extra actions during each of your turns.
That's DOUBLE the moves!
You're opponents will feel like they're moving in slow-motion, like that scene in that X-Men movie.
You know the one.
Remember: you always lose unspent actions at the end of your turn.
When you play this Event, you'll swing at an opponent's hit points for an amount equal to your Knowledge.
Aaaaand that's it.
Pretty lackluster, huh?
EXCEPT this card does something special WHILE BANISHED.
Note Burrow's passive effect (in the box).
While banished, Burrow gives Adiba (yes, specifically Adiba, regardless of who banished Burrow) a Shield at the end of each of her turns.
This is such an occasion where Adiba would want to banish her own cards with something like Vognen.
Since this card works from the banish pool, it is very hard, often impossible, for your opponents to deal with.
Passive, unstoppable effects are a big deal.
When you Play this Event, you'll hit an opponent's hit points with damage equal to your Combat PLUS the number of Shields you have.
So, it might be worthwhile to eat some damage, rather than use your Shields to block it.
Such decisions rest on how well you know your opponents' decks.
Are they likely to play token destruction anytime soon?
If not, saving your Shields and taking the damage will help you power-up Going Offensive, perhaps for a game-ending swing.
However, if you have an opponent who hasn't played any token destruction, and their token-destroying card(s) aren't banished, you might decide to go ahead and use your Shields before your opponent wipes them off the face of the Earth.
Math, yo.
This is the nastiest weapon in Adiba's arsenal, but you have to set the table before you can serve it.
When you play this Event, you'll target an opponent, who'll afterwards lose hit points equal to the number of points you possess in Combat PLUS the number of ALL banished cards (even other players')!
If you find yourself swallowing lethal damage when Adiba uses this card against you, know it's probably payback for some terrible misdeed from your past.
Be better.
Nearly every deck offers at least 1 "removal" card for Items, and at least 1 removal card for tokens (which often makes them removal for Supports, as those are destroyed as soon as they have no Stamina tokens).
Adiba's deck rolls these two forms of removal into a single slap . . . a Psychic Slap.
When you play this Event, EITHER destroy a number (up to the number of points you have in Combat) of cards on the field . . .
OR destroy up to that many tokens.
Remember that when you destroy tokens, you can mix and match the types you're destroying.
For example, if you could destroy 5 tokens, you could target 2 Stamina, 1 Bleed, and 2 Relics.
The upside here is flexibility.
The downsize is that all of Adiba's removal rests in a single card.
However, Adiba's talent for banishing cards serves as a form of repetitive removal on its own.
Options are great!
When you play this Event, you get a choice of 3 different effects.
You could:
1) Draw up to 2 cards
2) Gain an attribute
or 3) Gain a number of Shields equal to your Combat.
Card draw and ramp are always good, and Forbidden Find offers either regardless of how many points you've invested in Combat.
In a tough spot, though, you'll really want those Shields to protect yourself.
It's also possible that you'll want those Shields to power-up Going Offensive.