Shadow is the faction of ambition and vision; hidden paths lead to dangerous secrets.
Shadow is one of the five basic Factions in Eternal. It is themed around sabotaging the enemy and interacting with the void.
Mechanics[]
Stealing cards[]
Shadow has various card-stealing effects, such as stealing units with Madness, drawing the opponents cards with Pilfer, and redirecting enemy spells with Corrupt.
Forcing discard[]
Cards such as Shakedownand Sabotage disrupt the enemy's game plan by forcing them to discard from their hand. Others, like Dreamsnatcher and Solitude, have mill effects, discarding cards from the enemy deck and potentially winning through depleting the deck entirely.
Decreasing unit strength/health[]
Many Shadow spells and curses, such as Affliction and Devouring Shadow, reduce the strength (
) and health (
) of units.
Swapping Stats[]
Shadow has cards with various "stat swapping" effects, where one stat is exchanged with another. Some, like Scare, swap the strength and health of one unit. Others, like Withering Touch and Vicious Rejuvenation, swap stats between different cards or players.
Void Interactions[]
Shadow has many ways to return units from the void, such as Dark Return and Soulbringer. Other cards like Xenan Cultist and Void Drummer can be combined with these to make the revived units more powerful.
Self damage[]
Shadow has several cards that deal damage to you in exchange for a positive effect. Some examples are Jack's Knife and Fenris Nightshade.
Unblockable[]
The Unblockable keyword is only found cards that include some Shadow influence. Units like Cabal Rogue and spells like Ghostform make use of this to get past enemy defenses. Relic weapons with that Battle Skill like Spectral Scythe allow your avatar to attack the enemy player directly even if they have units in play.
Forced Sacrifice[]
Shadow can force the enemy player to sacrifice some of their cards in play. Units chosen this way will die even if they have an Aegis while units that "can't die" can't be chosen to sacrifice in the first place. Cards like Succumb force the opponent to kill their own units while cards like Wildlands Scavenging can make them get rid of their relics, which is the only way mono-Shadow deck can deal with attachments.
Unit Types[]
Faction Combinations[]
Two-faction Alliances[]
Three-faction Alliances[]
- Auralian (Time/Primal/Shadow
) - Winchest (Fire/Justice/Shadow )
- Kerendon (Time/Justice/Shadow )
- Destruction (Fire/Time/Shadow )
- Menace (Fire/Primal/Shadow )
- Purpose (Justice/Primal/Shadow )
Lore[]
Scion[]
Vara is the scion of Shadow. The only true-born daughter of Caiphus and Eilyn, she gave up the throne and went to the Shadowlands with Azindel after her father's death.