Quick dagger
24 to 34 damage in contact, and 35% more if the target is poisoned. It is the only reason to go into melee with this class: on a target under Venom, two Daggers do far more than a Lifesteal, for one AP less each.
The Shade
The Shade never wins a straight exchange. They vanish, they poison, and they turn the ground into a minefield the opponent cannot see. Their typical win does not look like a fight: it is a run of turns where the other player loses health without ever having anyone to hit.
In short
- Role — the Shade is the traps and poison class of Solwaris: they vanish, they poison, they mine the ground.
- Stats — the Shade has 700 health, 12 AP and 7 MP — one tile of movement more than the game’s norm — with 40% resistance to AP steal and MP steal alike.
- Passive — their Dodge entirely cancels, in 12% of cases, a spell aimed at them: no damage, no effect.
- Traps — their three traps cost 4 AP, reach 6 tiles, last 8 turns and have no cooldown: blades (42 to 63 damage), hooks (29 to 42) and venom (17 to 25 then damage over time of 15 to 24 per turn for 2 turns).
- Invisibility — Shadow veil costs 4 AP, has a 5-turn cooldown, makes the Shade invisible until their next turn and gives them 2 MP immediately; attacking, or ending the turn next to an enemy, reveals them.
- Weakness — the Shade sets off their own traps, and an area spell cast on an empty tile hits them even while invisible.
- 700health
- 12action points
- 7movement points
- 40%resistance to AP steal
- 40%resistance to MP steal
Seven movement points: one tile more than the norm, every turn. It is not a passive bonus, it is a class stat — and over a whole match that extra tile is worth more than any spell.
The passive: Dodge
Dodge
12% chance to dodge entirely a spell aimed at you: no damage, no effect, nothing.
Twelve per cent cannot be planned for. It is a passive that hands you a turn now and then, and that must never enter a calculation: play as if it did not exist, and treat every dodge as a turn won. Note all the same that it cancels the effect too, not only the damage — a dodge can cancel an AP steal, a push, a pull.
The Shade’s eight spells
Lifesteal
28 to 41 damage at range, and you get half of it back as health. Your only heal. Five AP is expensive for the Shade: keep this spell for the turns when you are already hurt, not for opening turns.
Creeping venom
No immediate damage: the target loses 19 to 27 health at the start of each of its next 2 turns. Its peculiarity is worth the spell on its own — the damage over time does not break your invisibility. It is the only way to deal damage without ever reappearing.
Poison trap
17 to 25 immediate damage to whoever walks into it, then damage over time of 15 to 24 per turn for 2 turns. Damage over time from several traps stacks: two poison traps set off one after the other hurt for a long time. It lasts 8 turns, and you set it off too.
Blade trap
42 to 63 damage, and the victim is pushed one tile away from the centre — 12 extra collision damage if it hits an obstacle. The most brutal trap in the game. Placed against a wall, the push becomes guaranteed damage.
Hook trap
29 to 42 damage, and the victim is pulled one tile towards the centre of the trap. Less damage than the Blades, but it moves inwards: it is the piece that links two traps together, by bringing your opponent onto the next cross.
Fear
Cast from contact: aim at a free tile in a straight line behind the entity adjacent to you, it flees all the way there and sets off every trap on its path. If an obstacle cuts its flight, it takes 12 collision damage per missing tile. Three AP that turn a row of traps into an execution.
Shadow veil
You become invisible until your next turn and gain 2 MP right away. Your opponent no longer sees you and can no longer target you — but an area spell cast on an empty tile can still hit you. Attacking, or ending the turn next to an enemy, reveals you. Five-turn cooldown: it is once every five opportunities, not a play style.
Three combos
The placement turn (12 AP)
- Hook trap (4 AP) on a tile people walk through.
- Blade trap (4 AP) on a tile adjacent to the first.
- Poison trap (4 AP) to close the triangle.
Each of the three traps is placed once a turn, but none of them has a cooldown: a single turn is enough to mine a crossroads. The hooks pull towards the centre, and so towards the other two crosses. An opponent who walks into that area rarely leaves it without setting off two traps.
Poison, then vanish (8 AP)
- Creeping venom (4 AP) at 6 tiles.
- Shadow veil (4 AP): invisible, and +2 MP straight away — 9 MP for this turn.
- All your MP, far from your last known position.
Your opponent starts their turn losing 19 to 27 health, with no target to hit and no idea which side to look for you on. Watch the order: cast Venom before the Veil, otherwise the attack reveals you immediately.
Fear does the work (11 AP)
- Blade trap (4 AP) and Poison trap (4 AP), lined up behind your opponent.
- Get right next to them with your MP.
- Fear (3 AP), aiming at a free tile at the end of that line.
They cross both crosses as they flee. If an obstacle stops them on the way, they pay another 12 damage per tile not travelled. It is the most profitable combo in the class, and the one that takes the most preparation.
Their weaknesses
What beats a Shade
- Area spells cast on an empty tile. The Arcanist’s Blast and Comet, the Brute’s Quake, the Artificer’s charges: invisibility does not protect you from what aims at nobody.
- Your own traps. You set them off like everybody else. A Shade who backs off in a panic into their own mined area loses the match on their own.
- Time. Their traps last 8 turns, their poisons 2. An opponent who refuses to enter the mined area and attacks from far away forces you out — and outside your traps, you hit the softest in the game.
- Melee taken. 700 health and no shield. Ending a turn next to a Warrior or a Brute means losing half your bar.
Who you face, and how
Against the Warrior and the Brute, mine the path rather than the destination: they advance in a straight line and both have a long-range closing spell. The Blade trap placed against a wall punishes them twice, with the damage and then with the collision.
Against the Arcanist, the Shade is at ease: 7 MP and one Veil are enough to cross the gap, and they have nothing to push you away. Against the Artificer, beware of Shove — it sends you onto your own traps just as readily as onto their charges. Against the Clockmaker, your 40% resistance to AP steal is your best asset: yours is the class that takes their Hourglass best.
Frequently asked questions
How do you play the Shade in Solwaris?
The Shade is played by preparing the ground before striking: place the traps on the tiles people walk through, poison from range, then vanish. Their three traps cost 4 AP each, are placed once a turn and have no cooldown, so a single turn is enough to mine a crossroads. Creeping venom is the only spell that deals damage without breaking invisibility.
How much HP does the Shade have?
The Shade has 700 health, 12 action points and 7 movement points. That seventh MP is a class stat and not a passive bonus: it is one tile more than every other class, every turn.
How does the Shade’s invisibility work?
Shadow veil costs 4 AP, makes the Shade invisible until their next turn and gives them 2 MP immediately. Your opponent can no longer target them, but an area spell cast on an empty tile can still hit them. Attacking, or ending the turn next to an enemy, reveals them — and the spell has a 5-turn cooldown.
What is the Shade’s best trap?
The Blade trap: 42 to 63 damage, plus a one-tile push away from the centre that adds 12 collision damage if the victim hits an obstacle. The Hook trap pulls one tile towards the centre instead, which serves to bring your opponent onto another cross. All three traps cost 4 AP, last 8 turns and go off under your own feet too.
How do you beat a Shade?
With area spells aimed at an empty tile, which hit without needing to see it: the Arcanist’s Blast and Comet, the Brute’s Quake, the Artificer’s charges. Refusing to enter the mined area works too: an opponent who attacks from far away forces the Shade to leave the ground they prepared.
The Shade rewards patient players: their best turns are the ones where they deal no damage at all.
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