Synopsis: Rescue from Shieldhaven Prison is a level 5 module in the online game Card Hunter that adds a new type of enemy to the mix. Certain enemies in this module are not worth stars when you kill them, thus defeating them does not directly help you complete the scenario. Sometimes this means it is best to ignore them and sometimes you will be all but required to defeat them anyway.
Enemies in Module:
Servants – Servants are one of the types of enemies that are not worth stars when defeated. They have 5 hit points, a normal move speed of run (3 squares), and primarily don’t attack. They tend to use cards that let all other enemies move or let all other enemies draw a card.
Men at Arms – Men at arms are minions and like all minions in Card Hunter, can only attack once per round, unless they are the only enemy in a group. They have 10 hit points, a standard move speed of run, and attack with moderate damage attacks. They have solid armor that can block 3 damage 50% of the time and a lot of parries that will block melee attacks and let them draw another card. They have drawbacks as well and tend to reveal their hands or discard cards.
Guard Dogs – Guard dogs are minions when in a group of more than one. They have 10 hit points, a normal move speed of dash (4 squares), three and four damage attacks that can hit from range, and an attack that deals 10 damage when it hits from behind. They also have defensive cards that let them move when attacked. Luckily, they have a cowardly card in their deck that can strip them of all attack cards for a turn.
Dog Boy – The dog boy is nearly identical to a servant and similarly is not worth stars when defeated.
Warden Gorald – This enemy is nearly identical to men at arms, but he has 20 hit points and is never a minion.
Scar – Scar is a much tougher variant of a guard dog. He has 15 hit points, a standard move speed of run, and all of his attacks let him move 1 or 2 squares before dealing 3-7 damage in melee. He has armor cards that protect against 2 or 3 damage and extra move cards that ignore enemy adjacency and difficult terrain. His most dangerous card lets him draw up to 2 more attack cards. Luckily he has two handicaps, one which makes him discard all attack cards and the other which slows his speed.
First Scenario – Prison Break-In:
Setup – You will start the first Rescue from Shieldhaven Prison mission at the right side of a twisty hallway. There are four victory squares near the end of the twisty hallway. A man at arms is stationed about halfway down the hallway and near the very end. Servants are placed near the beginning, at about the 1/3rd mark and at about the 2/3rd mark.
Enemies – Servants (3), Men at Arms (2)
Strategy – The victory squares are so far away that there is no way for you to take advantage of them. Basically they act as a timer for this mission. You have six rounds to win and that decreases by two each time you lose a character. You can not afford to lose any characters in this scenario. Thankfully, all you need to do to win is defeat both men at arms.
Since you don’t have spare time, you can’t afford to be defensive. From the start move forward and attack as quickly as possible. You might be tempted to run past servants, but this is the wrong tactic. Defeat them first and then move on. This decreases the number of cards in the hands of the men at arms. In order to beat the men at arms, you need ranged attacks and forced discards. This is a good mission to use Wavering Faith. Forcing the men at arms to discard a Parry is much better than cycling it with your melee attacks. Thankfully the men at arms are minions, so even if they do block everything you throw at them, you can’t get hurt much in return. Once you make it about halfway down the hall, the other men at arm will engage. Kill him and you win, no matter how many servants are left.
Second Scenario – Prison Guardhouse:
Setup – You will start the second Slub Gut’s Sanctum mission on the middle of a large room with nooks in the upper right, upper left, and lower left. The upper right nook holds a man at arms, the upper right one holds two guard dogs, and along the bottom of the map there are three servants.
Enemies – Guard Dogs (2), Man at Arms (1), Servants (3)
Strategy – While you won’t get any stars from them, those servants need to die as quickly as possible. If you don’t kill them quickly the man at arms becomes lethal. Use whatever firepower you have at your disposal to take them out, but be wary that they will usually run away from melee characters. Your wizard is probably your best bet here and Entangling Roots is great if your cleric has it.
While killing servants, beware the dogs. If one touches one of your characters, check to see if it is in the front or back arc of your character. If it is in the back, move away before doing anything else. The Cowardly Attack of the dogs will deal 10 damage from behind, which is nearly an instant kill at this level. Also keep in mind that the man at arms can attack multiple times a round. Once you have defeated the servants, hit the dogs with melee attacks and use ranged attacks on the man at arms. The simplest way to avoid Cowardly Attack is to put your characters’ backs to a wall and not move after that.
Third Scenario – Prison Dog Yard:
Setup – Card Hunter is fond of battles where terrain favors the enemy and this is definitely one of those battles. You will start this scenario in the middle of a nearly empty room that has only a few spots of difficult terrain. You are surrounded by guard dogs and there is a dog boy in the lower left corner of the room.
Enemies – Guard Dogs (3), Dog Boy (1)
Strategy – Fill your deck with as much armor as possible. No matter what you do on the first turn there is no way to prevent the dogs from moving into back arcs of at least two of your heroes. That practically assures you will be hit by a Cowardly Attack for 10 damage. Armor will mitigate this and since the dogs are minions, you should be able to prevent a second one. Load up on big damage attacks. You do not want to spend multiple turns attacking the dogs. Take them out in one or two hits at most. If exactly one dog is in a character’s back arc after moving, move that character away or attack that dog with that character. If more than one is, just attack and see which dog becomes useless for the turn. Unless you get unlucky on armor rolls, you should be able to outlast the enemy.
Fourth Scenario – Prison Warden:
Setup – You start this scenario at the bottom of a tight room. The warden stands in the middle, Scar is 4 squares left of the warden, and a servant is 2 squares up from the warden. Terrain is mostly meaningless, but the tight quarters prevent a lot movement.
Enemies – Scar (1), Warden Gorald (1), Servant (1)
Strategy – Both Scar and Warden Gorald have good armor that can be annoying. Use Wavering Faith and Boil Armor, if you have it, to take away that advantage. Scar has fewer hit points, more threatening attacks, and no block or parries, so take him out first. A few spells before he gets close and a few melee attacks should do the job. The warden can’t attack at range, so you might as well kite him. Use stab attacks and ranged attacks and simply move away whichever character he moves next to. Simply ignore the servant. He is annoying but not worth the time to kill when killing the other two enemies will finish the fight immediately.
