Godtear Shaper Champions Guide

Following on from our initial Godtear Guide, we’re going to look at each Godtear Champion in groups of champion types. This Godtear Shaper Champions guide will focus on Godtear Shaper Champions.

Who are Godtear Shaper Champions

Shapers are the most diverse of the Champions, have lots of control board manipulation options, and are much less about attacks and damage than the others. Shapers get a bonus slide on the tracker when they plant a banner during the plot phase.

Nia

Nia is slow, but can regularly gain three actions a turn and through her followers, can create objective hexes.

Nia’s Ultimate lets her choose any one of her followers that is alone on a hex, adjacent to an objective hex, and replace the follower with an objective hex. If it is within 2 hexes of Nia, she can make a claim action on the new objective hex. If her followers are positioned well, your opponent will never know which one will become the objective hex and be claimed. Nia’s passive is that as long as she has three followers when she activates, she gets three actions that turn.

Nia has three followers, the Quartzlings. Nia’s passive lets her activate three times if there are three of them on the board, so keeping them around is essential to keeping Nia active. Luckily, they’ve got 2 dodge and 4 armor, which is quite solid for followers. In the plot phase, much like Nia’s ultimate, one of them can turn into an objective hex if it is adjacent to an objective hex. Their passive is that if Nia’s banner is removed, including during the end phase, they get a recruit action for free. To maximize her activations, the sequencing of actions is very important for Nia, and making sure you recruit so there are 3 Quartzlings before Nia activates is always advised. In the plot phase, they have a range 2 skill that can give an enemy a -1 movement blight. The role is the same if there are two or three followers on the tile, so splitting them up doesn’t hamper their effectiveness. They have 2 movement in the plot phase and 0 movement in the clash. They do have the Rolling Stones skill, which lets them all move 3 hexes in a straight line. Their range 2 Stones Throw attack is better if all three are on the same hex, so if you can line them up so that the Rolling Stone action gets them all on the same hex, you can set up a ranged strike on your enemy, if you’re not using the followers to create objective hexes.

Nia is slow-moving, with 1 plot and 2 clash phase movement. She does have the March skill which lets her move 1 hex in the plot phase and if she has 3 activations, she won’t lose out too much. One movement and only 2 activations really hampers Nia’s mobility though, so a real focus on Quartzlings sequencing is essential.

In the plot phase, Nia can copy a boon on any model within 2 hexes, friend, or foe, and add it to a friendly model. In the clash phase, she can do the same with a blight to an enemy model. She can give an armor boon and an armor and accuracy blight and with her followers being able to give a movement blight, so she has plenty of options with her own toolset for throwing boons and blights around.

Nia’s strength is in her control, and her ability to create objective hexes. She gets the Shaper bonus for planting a banner and then gets a free recruit if your opponent removes the banner. She’s already got her bonus, so the free recruit can actually be more helpful than the banner sticking around. But if they don’t remove the banner, you score points in the end phase. It will force your opponent to make some difficult choices. Being able to throw similar boons and blights around can be very powerful if you have another Champion who can create them easily, as Nia doesn’t even have to roll to duplicate, she just needs to be in range.

Raith’Marid

Raith’Marid is a very mobile champion and can teleport around the board through their followers. Has some great movement control options.

Raith’Marid’s ultimate, Tsunami allows them to move to anywhere within 3 hexes and then move all enemies within 2 hexes, 2 hexes in any direction. This can be great for disrupting enemy control plans. Raith’Marid’s passive grants them a boon of your choice whenever one of their followers leaves the battlefield.

Raith’Marid has three followers, the Splashlings. They have 0 movement in both phases, but with the Tide skill, can be placed anywhere within 3 hexes, which gives them great mobility through enemies. They also have a passive in both phases that lets them gain a boon on Raith’Marid. They have the same attack in both the plot and clash phase, it doesn’t do any damage, but it can move an enemy back one hex. The Splashlings’ main role is to position themselves so that Raith’Marid can move.

In the plot phase, Raith’Marid can move an adjacent objective hex to another empty adjacent hex. Where Rath really shines is in movement. With only 1 movement in both the plot and the clash phase, Raith relies on the Ker-Splash skill which allows them to remove a Spashling within 3, and replace it with Raith’Marid. Jet allows Raith to move a Splashling within 2, up to 3 hexes,  for positioning for movement in the next phase. Raith’Marid has 2 clash-phase attacks. Headbutt, which moves the target 1 hex if it hits, and Lunging Strike, which allows Raith to move 1 hex towards the target before rolling for the attack.

Rattlebone

Rattlebone is entirely focused on dishing out boons and blights around the board but has a solid stat line to dish out some damage if required.

Rattlebone’s ultimate allows them to give a blight to each enemy champion within 2, for the number of followers within the same range, which means that with good placement, all five blights can be placed on all enemy champions within range. Rattlebone’s passive is a dice roll at the end of their activation. On a 1 or 2, you can remove a boon or blight from anyone within the number of hexes rolled on the dice, and give it to anyone else within the same range. This happens at the end of their plot and clash phase activation.

Rattlebone comes with five followers, the Hexlings. They are quite mobile with 2 movements in both phases. They also have a passive, where if a blank is rolled on Rattlebone’s passive, the Hexlings gain a boon of your choice. In the plot phase, they can gain a boon of choice for free and also have a range 2 attack. In the plot and clash phase, that deals no damage, but lets you give the target a blight of your choice. Their clash phase ability Pure Magic, allows you to move all boons and blights from them to any friendly model within 2 hexes.

Rattlebone has 3 plot phase and 2 clash phase movement, which can be boosted by all the boons they have access to. Their plot phase, Call Totems ability, removes all Hexlings from the map and places them within 2 of Rattlebone, so you don’t need to worry about movement during their own phase too much if Rattlebone is positioned well. In the plot phase, Grasping Curse can give an enemy within 2 a movement or dodge blight, and Deadly Curse in the clash phase, as well as dealing damage, can give an accuracy and damage blight. Rattlebone also has the Cursed Ground ability in the clash phase, which places 2 temporary objective hexes within 2 hexes, for some movement control of the enemy followers.

Check out the main Godtear guide to better learn how to play the base game with ease. 

The Godtear products used to produce this article were provided by Steamforged Games and Asmodee UK.