“Our voice is the howling gales, but we must be as calm as a morning breeze. Our power is an avalanche, but we must be as gentle as falling snow. To fight the Winter is to fuel the Winter, we shall do what we must and no more.” -The Cryomancer’s Creed
We are the conflux between man and the Winter, pillars of communities who regard us with wary eyes and readied blades. Without us, even the most rugged warrior would quickly succumb to the cold, but we work without thanks or respite. Good weather is praised as Vanoc’s blessing, but they don’t know that it was us who fended off the blizzard descending upon their village. We exist in strange circumstances: the more powerful we become, the more good we can do; but those of us who seek more power are ostracized and sometimes hunted down and slain out of fear. So, instead of dedicating ourselves to the study of Winter magic and all its benefits, we clear fields of snow so the common folk can harvest their crops, and some of the more powerful among our ranks stop untold disasters from befalling their ignorant communities. Our job is a necessary one, and most clans quickly learn to respect their village Cryomancer. The Winter is Vanoc’s test to separate the wheat from the chaff, and we turn this harsh test to our advantage every day.
This magic is not innate, at least not for those of us fortunate enough to have not been born marked with the telltale runes of a Winterborn. Mastery of the Winter requires time and dedication, and many Cryomancers leave their villages to train and return years later to serve. Most of us use our hands to focus our powers, gloved for protection against the elements we wield, and project or shape ice and crystal. If forced to fight, we prefer to stay at range, harrying our opponents with hailstorms and snow blasts in an attempt to freeze them into submission. A few of us prefer to fight in close quarters, and conjure blades of crystal; and a select few have carved focuses out of Winter Crystal, amplifying their powers to terrifying degrees and gaining near-perfect control of their magics. The most powerful Cryomancers join the Watchers, a secretive organization that serve as emissaries and diplomats between clans and command great respect from the common folk and nobles alike.
Unfortunately, some feel the urge to hone their powers more than their urge to serve their communities. These Cryomancers are hunted down and slain, their willingness to use Cryomancy to kill rightfully terrifying to those who cannot combat their power. There are rumors that some of these rogue Cryomancers are secretly recruited to serve as assassins for the Watchers, but these claims are based in the tall tales of Skalds more so than fact. It is a mighty responsibility to wield power capable of damning someone to the desolate Wintersea, and we are trained not to kill. Of course, there will always be those who think our nonlethal attacks are indicative of a lack of resolve, and those that will hunt us no matter our intent or repute. They would do well to remember:
Our voice is the howling gales, and our fury, the avalanche.
Cryomancers are a blue class, and are terrifying masters of ice and snow upon the battlefield, burying their foes with frozen power. Their cards are range 2, which means they are not the longest range characters, but not the shortest, either. They can keep enemies with a shorter range away, while keeping enemies that fight from further away in range with their array of cards that Slow.
Slowing enemies prevents them from moving or playing certain types of cards, greatly limiting their mobility during combat by encasing them in blocks of ice and ensnaring them in blizzards. Additionally, Cryomancers utilize Advantage. When a card has Advantage, if the player it is targeting is controlled in any way–Slow, Silence or Disarm, the card gains additional effects. Many Cryomancer cards apply control, and many more offer bonus Advantage effects.
The Cryomancer’s playstyle is controlling the battle in as many ways as possible, all the while chipping away at their opponent’s health until it is too late for the foe to avoid an icy death.
To a Cryomancer, defense and offense are seamlessly connected. Their defensive control directly fuels their offense, allowing them to change their strategy at a moment’s notice. Because of how well they are able to keep their opponent under control, they dictate the pace of the game and direct the flow of combat. As the battle progresses, Cryomancers deal more and more damage, all the while keeping their foe in check. The Class is capable of offering a steady stream of damage, or a set-up burst combination turn. Either way, escaping the grasp of a Cryomancer is a difficult task.
Many cards in Cryomancer are best played during the opponent’s turn. There are various options to counter, Slowing enemies at instant speed, preventing them from moving, or forcing them to pay extra resources to continue their turn. Because of this disruption, it is difficult to lock-down Cryomancers. They are very capable of defending themselves in many different situations, at close or medium range. With this strategy, Cryomancers wait for their opponent to over-extend their reach, answering with plentiful amounts of control. Then, when it comes to their turn, utilizing the control they hit the enemy with to deal massive amounts of extra damage and gain extra effects, closing out the game with a decisive burst of arcane might.
Control the howling winds and piercing ice as the Cryomancer!
Grab of copy of Winterstorm to play as this Class!