Just my thoughts and reviews of the new runes. Would love to hear everyone's suggestions. I am writing this before I have gotten to play any of them. Arroyo Eye. 8 Damage. 4-5 Range. Soultap, Detection and Replicate for 51/54 Nora. There is so much going on about this champion. Replicate basically doubles its damage output. I usually don't like Detection on ranged units, but this have Detection range equal to its range, which is really cool. Might be the best new SP rune this expansion. Cyclopean Boltcase. 35 Nora.... How? HOW?! I view this champ as a spell. A really annoying, super effecient spell. Will deal a large amount of damage over its course while also being a huge annoyance. Likely a 1x include in meta decks. Hyaenid Ascendant. Hard to evaluate for meta without testing, but for Hyaenids this champ is great. Sabotage gives permanent Decaying and Defiled. Disease can now hit shrines and relics. Be aware you can't use Death Sentence on champs that can't be cleansed. Looking forward to playing a lot with this champion. Scavenger Pack First time SP getting a rune like this I think. Very hard to evaluate. 3 units with 7 speed and 30 HP each is scary. Their base damage is low, but if boosted they will be a massive threat. Likely will be tested in Deep Wounds bgs, but it also might make SP/X Beast BGs viable. Hoping to hear other player's opinion about this champ. Stormbunny Another hard to evaluate champ. All of its 2nd upgrade abilities comboes with Portal Dancer. Its base stats are low, but it quickly improves both its offensive and defensive capabilities by itself. Its low cost, 1-3 range and its abilities makes it look quite harmless, but its scarier than it looks. It's also a beast for SP/X Beast BG. Arroyo Portal Creates DMZ for Arroyo Synergy. Also creates rift spirits the first time each turn your opponent deploys a champ. (7 DMG, 5 SPD, 1-1 RNG, 15 HP with Flying and loses 2 MAX HP at the end of its turn if it does not occupy DMZ.) If you play FF SP, apart from Riftlord and Shadestriker, I believe this is the only way to create DMZ for Arroyo. Synergies with Shadestriker, (Surge.) Riftlord, (Encouraged/Dictate) Riftwalker, (Riftwalker) Smokeform, (Domain: DMZ and Rift Nova) and Storm Orb (Dark Sanctuary) Paper Wings Gives surprise swoop. Similar to Suicidal Attack without having to sacrifice the champ at the end of turn. Also gives a small buff if it keeps its equipment and a debuff if destroyed. Might be useful in a SP/UD BG. Changed runes Not many runes had big changes in my opinion, so I'll just list the noteworthy ones. Zealotry Gives 3 AP and Bounty Hunter. (Now deals +2 Damage to hunted and receives -2 damage from hunted.) Basically Alacrity for 1 champ, giving it Bounty Hunter instead of an additional AP and losing 8 life. Keep in mind the extra AP can be used to capture fonts if needed. You don't need to trigger Bounty Hunter right away. It's quite expensive though so it might not be worth it. The Exile Lost 2 DMG and went down 4 Nora. Upgrade line 2 gained Foul Strike and Hunter Meek. Syngergies with Scavenger Pack for Deep Wounds BGs. Foul Strike and removal of Relic and Shrine resistance to disease might make some kind of FF SP or SP/FW Disease BG a thing. Feshcaller Mika Now only create Crested Fesh, making her less random. Heal Mass 3 moved to base and Secure Fonts moved to upgrades. Grant: Sonic Aura and Rally 1 moved to upgrade line instead of various ranks of Heal Mass. She seems way more streamlined and easy to grasp now than before. Can summon Fesh to fight for her, heal your team, grant Sonic Aura and use Soothing Serenade, all for just 68 Nora. She still have Abash making her hard to remove too. Love this change. Cyclops Artificer Removed Fire Bomb from upgrades, which have made him go from 80 Nora to 69 Nora. Both Shatter and Reclaim Materials moved to upgrades, also given 5 extra HP. Much more affordable to play now. All in all, I'd say this is a great expansion for Shattered Peaks.
