A Call to Arms: No Half Measures

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You and Cryptic Darkenmage, the legionnaire captain turned rebel, convinced Eternan Brune to join the rebellion. But there's a price to be paid. Isn't there always? The Drybone Sultan wants something from you in return...

The Quest

Executioner Kraan ended the anarchists who spurned the empire's rule. Among them, the sultan's son. Eternan Brune wants you to exact vengeance.

You set off from Stonetown, traverse the Drybone Badlands, and make your way through the rainforests of the Endless Valley (where you defend the Kha'zi tribe from a company of legionnaires on the hunt for rebels) to the last known location of Executioner Kraan: the serpentine city-state of New Sskah City. Here, you stop at a local tavern and ask about the executioner's whereabouts.

The Coiled Chalice

Brewmaster Abraxas, proprietor of the Coiled Chalice, uses his knowledge of herbalism and the arcane to craft bold, alcoholic concoctions as multifarious as New Sskah City's labyrinthine tunnels. After the fall of Sskah Den to the Chaos Empire, the drudges of the city came to his tavern to drown their sorrows. After a long day of sanitation work, tunnel maintenance, or some other menial, low-wage task, they found solace at the bottom of a mug of spirits. Perhaps someday soon, they'll find the courage to stand against the empire and take back what is theirs.

Lysansera Syltheras is the tavern's beguiling barmaid. She serves up potent spirits to the drudges who come seeking a reprieve from the Chaos Empire's tyranny. She does what she can for them, even if it's only to top off their drinks or lend a sympathetic ear.

But, day by day, animosity toward the empire grows. Conspiratorial whispers have escalated to plots and plans of sedition. Lysansera listens and quietly dreams of a New Ssah City liberated from the shackles of its oppressors.

It's no wonder that, when you show up asking about the whereabouts of Executioner Kraan, the drudges mistake you for a Chaos Empire sympathizer and get hostile. Fortunately, you're able to fend them off using your cards and elemental manifestations without causing any permanent damage to them.

Once they realize you intend to end the executioner, Abraxas informs you that Kraan has been dispatched to Incaendium to do what he does best: make heads roll. In this case, it's the head of one of the last vizier's of the city-state's Torch, which oversaw governance before the Chaos Empire came along and conquered it all.

As Abraxas speaks, a drudge notice a squirrel peering into the tavern and, as you set off for Incaendium, you spot another squirrel trailing after you. Or is it the same one?

Executioner Kraan

Executioner Kraan is the man the Chaos Empire calls when examples must be made. He rides into town on his horned ursidae, swings his scythe, and the streets run with blood.

No one knows the face behind the helm. No one knows the weight he carries.

Once you arrive in Incaendium, you track down Kraan and use your elemental manifestations to defeat him. It is only then you realize he is an elani, a celestial of the upper planes, whose wings have been torn from his back and whose soul has been corrupted by the dark arts. Trapped within his own mind, he could only watch in horror as his hands lifted the executioner's blade and brought it down again and again upon the necks of those who defied the empire.

But the damage done by your manifestations broke the enthrallment that bound Kraan. He's not to blame for his actions, and you spare his life. He wants vengeance against the man that stole his will, and you agree to help him get it. But first, the two of you have a vizier to rescue.

Prison Break

The jailers of the Chaos Empire oversee and maintain order within the empire's prisons. For the most part, that means making sure the cell doors are locked, the prisoners aren't trying to escape, and the jailer isn't dozing when someone of senior rank makes a visit. If a lackey happens to bring some slop and water for the prisoners, great. If not… well, it's called prison for a reason.

These jailers have had it pretty easy. But lately, the cells have become more and more crowded, and the prisoners aren't as docile. There's talk of a storm brewing, and it's not the kind that brings puddles and rainbows.

This storm brings you and Kraan... and, curiously, that squirrel again, perched in a window and watching you make short work of the jailer. You relieve the orc of his keys and use them to open the cells and free the vizer that Kraan would have executed had it not been for your intervention.

Lady Zafira was an influential vizier of the Executus Infernum, the executive arm of the Torch that oversees the governance of Incaendium. But after the legions of Chaos laid siege to the city-state and it fell, the kalament of Medorgazar found dealing with the Torch and its sultan troublesome. They refused to simply accept their place as vassals, instead making ridiculous demands for Incaendium's efreet: things like health, safety, and happiness. As if the Chaos Empire owed them anything. And so, the kalament ordered the sultan and the Torch's viziers put to death.

Zafira was one of the few forewarned. She and those loyal to her fled from her estate, taking only what they could carry. They lived on the streets, helping the efreet of Incaendium survive and ensuring their will remained unbroken. Their true identities, however, they concealed. For if the empire's goons were to discover that a vizier of the Torch still drew breath, Zafira and her attendants would find themselves on their knees beneath the executioner's scythe.

And that is exactly what (almost) happened. When lady Zafira was captured, most of her assistants fled. One one myrmidon stood by her side: the cinder elf Laur'tireth Nar'ignas. He'd gladly give his life for her; and he would give her his heart as well if he could muster the courage.

You free Lady Zafira and her myrmidon, as well as the rest of the prisoners. And it's chaos. They storm from the prison and attack the nearest Chaos legionnaire patrol. The locals joins in. The bedlam spreads. Soon, the efreet of Incaendeum are in full-scale revolt.

You'd love to stick around and see it to its end, but you and Kraan have business to attend to in Fireboro. You set off once again. And once again, that squirrel follows.

Commander Slade and Captain Blackthorn

Once an influential overlord in the Belurocian Empire’s military, Slade was quick to forsake his oath and swear a new one to Silus of the Rift and the Chaos Empire. With his military acumen and knowledge of Belurocian strategy, he proved decidedly effective at crushing his former compatriots. His brutality and mercilessness were rewarded with a promotion to commander and an assignment as the puppet-chancellor of the Republic of Fireboro, where his battalion of legionnaires enforces his decrees without compromise or compunction.

It is said that Commander Slade can use the dark arts to corrupt one’s soul, twisting even the most noble to serve his nefarious will.

It is he who twisted Executioner Kraan, and when you arrive in Fireboro, Kraan heads straight for Slade's estate. He crashes through the front door swinging his scythe. One last execution.

But Slade is no pushover, and he fells Kraan. Before he can finish the elani off, you draw your cards and summon your manifestations. However, the commander has allies, too. Captain Blackthorn and Slade's emberguard come to his aid.

The sorceress Zeddica Blackthorn was an underlord in the Belurocian military who served in Overlord Slade's command. When the Chaos Empire began its conquest of the Splinterlands, she joined Slade in his betrayal and led her forces against New Beluroc.

After the capital's fall, Slade hand-picked Zeddica to be one of his captains. She and her company of legionnaires help to ensure the citizens of Fireboro remain subdued. Her tactics are cruel and ruthless, and she enjoys dolling out reminders of the price of defiance—whether warranted or not.

You face off against them. But there are too many. They cut through your manifestations with steel and spell until it is just you holding a satchel filled with cards you're too spent to use. This is where your journey ends.

But then a squirrel leaps from the wall and lands on Slade's face. It scratches and claws. The commander screams, blood running from the sockets of his eyes. He's blind. Zeddica and the emberguard whirl about, stunned. Before they can react, the squirrel raises a paw and lets loose with a blast of magic.

That squirrel is none other than your next legendary summoner.

Risqruel Drath

Risqruel Drath, spent his early years among the trees of the Great Lowlands’ Endless Valley. He was renowned for his swift hands and an insatiable appetite for luxurious treats and shiny trinkets, and his adventures were the stuff of legend—well, at least in his own mind. They often involved liberating the choicest nuts and baubles from wealthy forest dwellers, which he rationalized as “redistributing excessive wealth” to himself.

Risqruel’s curiosity and wandering paws landed him in a whole heap of trouble the night he tried to steal a powerful fey rune etched into the bark of a sacred tree by the brownie sorcerer, Mossog. believing it to be a treasure map to the greatest cache of nuts ever hoarded away, Risqruel snuck past the dozing brownie and attempted to liberate the rune.

But it activated, and its fey magic surged into Risqruel, awakening within him an intellect and magical prowess that were beyond those of a mere squirrel. Unfortunately, it also awakened Mossog, who attempted to strip the Risqruel of the rune’s powers—a process that involved the loss of a great deal of blood and the removal of entrails.

Preferring to keep his entrails inside of him, thank you very much, Risqruel fled into the rainforest. However, with his newfound intelligence came an awareness that life amounted to more than collecting nuts and trinkets. And with the legions of Chaos destroying his beloved forest by the hectares in their hunt for rebels, he found a new purpose.

Risqruel began conducting raids on the empire’s patrols and outposts using his spells, claws, and teeth. And when he spotted a lone battle mage who used magic cards to protect the Kha’zi and spoke of rising up and breaking the chains of tyranny, Risqruel’s ears perked and whiskered twitch. At last, he’d found someone with the audacity to make a difference.

And so Risqruel Drath surreptitiously follows the battle mage out of the rainforest and into the Wastes of the East. He watches his unwitting companion from a distance as they make for New Sskah City. And he waits for his chance to strike a mortal wound against the heart of the Chaos Empire.

Risqruel is the Rebellion set's Fire/earth legendary Tactics summoner. With his team-wide Flying ability and +1 Ranged, he's a must have not only for the Earthquake ruleset, but to increase your evasion and light up your opponent with some extra oomph behind your ranged attacks.

And then you have his Tactics.

On one side, its Taunt and Redemption to one unit. A savvy player might even use the Taunt on their opponent. Sure, you'll take Redemption to the face, but that's a small price to pay to take out that camouflaged unit or pesky rezzer or healer hiding near the back.

On the other side, two units get True Strike and... what is that? A foot? I don't remember any abilities with a foot icon. Lemme check my notes. Oh! That's right. It's another new ability!

Impede

-1 to target's speed after each successful attack.

Similar to Cripple, but it reduces Speed, and it can be cleansed. Try it out with Scattershot and slow down your opponent's entire team, making yours practically unhittable, while you rejoice in True Strike's conquest of the RNG gods.

Not only does Risqruel change everything you thought you knew about Taunt, but his Impede and True Strike combo will definitely prove to be a game changer. Nevermind his team-wide abilities. Grab some Rebellion cards, stake them in the Conflict, and let's get squirrelly!

By the Numbers

Like the previous Conflicts, 4,000 copies of Risqruel Drath will be airdropped to participating players based on their total Reward Chances when the Conflict ends. But this go-round, it will take 350 Reward Chances to guarantee a copy of the card.

For a refresher on how Conflicts work and the math behind Contribution and Reward Chances, be sure to review our previous posts: