Complete guide for all levels
THE SHADOW – V2.5
THE SHADOW – V2.5
(By OmbraTv)
The Shadow is currently the second best commander to counter the White Council meta and one of the best Damage Dealers of the evil faction.
At F2P and Mid spender level it is an excellent choice for every player of the evil faction and also for those who play nrp against the current meta, at kraken level it can be used in the counter meta team, as a Damage Dealer, but it requires a strong investment to really compete at a high level.
In this build I will show you how to use it in its most effective version, showing you how versatile and deadly The Shadow can become if well prepared.
SKILL BUILD R4
The first skill to unlock is “Undertaker” on which you will put 5 points to unlock the possibility, with your basic attack, to simultaneously hit 3 enemy formations every turn, causing 90% damage to each of them.
It is essential to immediately reach level 5 of this skill as it allows you to hit 3 formations instead of 2, increasing the effectiveness by 50%.
At this point you will have to place 10 points on “Shape of the Void”, the R5 skill, which will provide your commander with a 90% chance of earning “Follow Up” for the first 6 Rounds, the ability to attack the same Round twice.
This effect linked to the previous one will allow your commander to hit 6 times each Round, allowing him to cause enormous damage to the enemy and quickly cancel many of their limited-use defensive skills.
In addition, this skill will also provide you with an increase in the damage of the commander’s basic attacks by 15% and 10 in “Attack”, very useful for a commander who only launches basic attacks.
Now it’s time to go back to “Undertaker” and bring the skill to 10.
Each attack will now do 120% physical damage to each target and the commander’s “Attack” will increase by 5.
At this point your commander already has an offensive potential of 720% physical damage each turn and the possibility of eliminating 6 stacks from the troops and 6 from the commanders of each skill per use each turn.
Now it’s time to turn Shadow into a Hybrid damage commander by placing 6 points on “Black Numenorean”, a skill that deals an additional 72% Focus Damage each time Shadow attacks a target with his basic attack.
This increases his damage to 864% per turn and allows him to eliminate up to 8 stacks.
At Respect 4, The Shadow is perfectly capable of being used, obviously being legendary it will have a lower base damage than a mythic, but it will still have an enormous utility in reducing the use of enemy skills.
SKILL BUILD R10
Once you reach respect 10, you will have the ability to max out “Black Numenorean” to 10, bringing the damage to 180%, and gain the ability to reduce the defense and attack of the enemy hit by 10.
In this way, Shadow’s damage per round will reach its maximum of 1080%, which once ascended, will become deadly.
At this level, Shadow takes on the role of the main Damage Dealer of most formations and can afford to inflict 120K damage on average to the enemy even at Mid spender level.
FINAL SKILL BUILD
With the points you will get by bringing Shadow to the maximum level, you can finally invest in “Hunting Expert”, place all 6 of them, to get +6 attack every time you deal damage, up to a maximum of 8 times and +2 initiative up to a maximum of 8 times.
Already from the second turn you will have +48 Attack and +16 Initiative that will improve your damage and allow you to act before the others.
The Shadow is one of those commanders on which points are never wasted, investing in him is never wrong and his performances always improve with investments.
EQUIPMENT
The Shadow is a hybrid damage commander, requiring very specific equipment to perform at its full potential.
The Damage stat is the most important, but it also needs Attack, Focus, Command and Initiative, to become truly deadly.
These are the best Items for The Shadow:
HAND RANKING
RANK
ITEM NAME
MIN DAMAGE
MAX DAMAGE
ATTACK
FOCUS
INITIATIVE
HP
DEFENCE
COMMAND
UNIT ATTACK
UNIT DEFENCE
MIN DAMAGE
14
MAX DAMAGE
30
ATTACK
48
FOCUS
INITIATIVE
HP
DEFENCE
6
COMMAND
UNIT ATTACK
UNIT DEFENCE
MIN DAMAGE
12
MAX DAMAGE
28
ATTACK
39
FOCUS
INITIATIVE
HP
DEFENCE
15
COMMAND
UNIT ATTACK
UNIT DEFENCE
MIN DAMAGE
10
MAX DAMAGE
30
ATTACK
27
FOCUS
27
INITIATIVE
HP
DEFENCE
COMMAND
UNIT ATTACK
UNIT DEFENCE
MIN DAMAGE
10
MAX DAMAGE
14
ATTACK
18
FOCUS
INITIATIVE
HP
DEFENCE
COMMAND
UNIT ATTACK
UNIT DEFENCE
6
ARMOUR RANKING
RANK
ITEM NAME
MIN DAMAGE
MAX DAMAGE
ATTACK
FOCUS
INITIATIVE
HP
DEFENCE
COMMAND
UNIT ATTACK
UNIT DEFENCE
MIN DAMAGE
MAX DAMAGE
ATTACK
FOCUS
48
INITIATIVE
HP
2200
DEFENCE
6
COMMAND
UNIT ATTACK
UNIT DEFENCE
MIN DAMAGE
MAX DAMAGE
ATTACK
24
FOCUS
12
INITIATIVE
6
HP
1800
DEFENCE
COMMAND
UNIT ATTACK
12
UNIT DEFENCE
MIN DAMAGE
MAX DAMAGE
ATTACK
15
FOCUS
INITIATIVE
HP
1200
DEFENCE
9
COMMAND
UNIT ATTACK
UNIT DEFENCE
HEAD RANKING
RANK
ITEM NAME
MIN DAMAGE
MAX DAMAGE
ATTACK
FOCUS
INITIATIVE
HP
DEFENCE
COMMAND
UNIT ATTACK
UNIT DEFENCE
MIN DAMAGE
MAX DAMAGE
ATTACK
FOCUS
18
INITIATIVE
6
HP
DEFENCE
COMMAND
100
UNIT ATTACK
15
UNIT DEFENCE
15
MIN DAMAGE
MAX DAMAGE
ATTACK
48
FOCUS
INITIATIVE
HP
1570
DEFENCE
6
COMMAND
UNIT ATTACK
UNIT DEFENCE
MIN DAMAGE
MAX DAMAGE
ATTACK
18
FOCUS
INITIATIVE
HP
860
DEFENCE
COMMAND
UNIT ATTACK
UNIT DEFENCE
6
ACCESSORY RANKING
RANK
ITEM NAME
MIN DAMAGE
MAX DAMAGE
ATTACK
FOCUS
INITIATIVE
HP
DEFENCE
COMMAND
UNIT ATTACK
UNIT DEFENCE
MIN DAMAGE
10
MAX DAMAGE
10
ATTACK
48
FOCUS
6
INITIATIVE
HP
DEFENCE
COMMAND
UNIT ATTACK
UNIT DEFENCE
MIN DAMAGE
10
MAX DAMAGE
10
ATTACK
FOCUS
48
INITIATIVE
HP
DEFENCE
6
COMMAND
UNIT ATTACK
UNIT DEFENCE
MIN DAMAGE
MAX DAMAGE
ATTACK
18
FOCUS
INITIATIVE
HP
860
DEFENCE
COMMAND
UNIT ATTACK
UNIT DEFENCE
6
WEAPON
Damage Dealer weapons are the most important piece and the one to invest in the most.
For The Shadow, the best choice is the “Axe Of Khazad-dum”, which provides 14-30 Damage and 48 Attack.
Alternatively, you can use the “Black Bow”, which provides 12-28 Damage and 39 “Attack”, for a slightly lower result.
As a last option, you can choose the “Blazing Tongue”, which provides 10-30 Damage, 28 “Attack” and 28 “Focus”, a great choice to increase both the physical and elemental damage of The Shadow.
At epic level, go for the “Battle Axe”, which provides 10-14 Damage and 18 “Attack”.
CHEST
As for armor, the best choice is the “Protection of Numenorean”, which provides 48 “Focus”.
Alternatively, you can use the “Berserker’s Raiment” which provides 24 “Attack”, 12 “Focus” and 6 “Initiative”.
At epic level, use the “Scale Mail” which provides 15 “Attack”.
HELMET
Speaking of helmets, the best choice for The Shadow is the “Caul Of The Forest”, which provides 18 “Focus”, 6 “Initiative”, 100 “Command” and 15 “Unit defense”.
With this helmet you will have the possibility to reach a command level sufficient to reduce the damage taken significantly, you will have more initiative, more elemental damage and also more defense, practically a perfect helmet.
Alternatively you can opt for a full damage helmet, the “Casque Of Pride” provides 48 “Attack” and is the best option for pure damage.
At epic level instead I suggest the “Full Helm”, which provides 18 “Attack”.
ACCESSORY
The best accessory is the “Palantir Of Orthanc” which provides 10-10 Damage, 48 “Attack” and 6 “Focus”.
Alternatively, if you have chosen all options that increase Attack on other pieces of equipment, you can opt for the “Fine Smoking Pipe” which provides 10-10 Damage and 48 “Focus”.
At epic level the best choice is to use the “Bone Talisman” which provides 18 “Attack”.
SET EFFECT
SET EFFECT RANKING
RANK
SET NAME
EFFECT
Might
[This Formation] Physical Damage dealt +5.0% (2-Piece Set) / +12.0% (4-Piece Set) .
Lore of the Arcane
[This Formation] Burn, Poison, and Focus Damage dealt +5.0%. (2-Piece Set) / +12.0% (4-Piece Set)
Fortitude
[This Formation] Physical Damage received by the commander's formation -5.0% (2-Piece Set) / -12.0% (4-Piece Set) .
Divide and Conquer
[This Formation] Damage received -1.0% (2-Piece Set) / -2.0% (4-Piece Set) each round.
The best offensive effects for Shadow are Might and Lore Of The Arcane, both of which boost damage by 10%, the first one boosts physical damage and the second one boosts elemental damage.
They are definitely the best to use if you want to aim to inflict the highest amount of damage possible with this commander.
Don’t fall into the trap of using War Cry, its damage on The Shadow will not be relevant at all in the current meta.
As alternatives there are two very useful defensive bonuses, namely Fortitude, which provides 10% additional physical damage reduction and Divide and Conquer, which provides a 2% reduction to damage taken for each round up to a maximum of 20%.
Again, Evasive action that might seem like a good choice, is not recommended because on a fast commander like The Shadow, it will protect you for only 3 rounds, then becoming useless.
RELIC “UNIQUE”
Stat 1
[Commander] HP +180
Stat 2
[Commander] Attack +6
Stat 3
[Commander] Focus +5
Stat 4
[Unit] Defense +4
The Shadow’s Relic is the “Doom-Forged Maces” and on a statistical level it provides Attack and Focus, two useful stats but for which I do not recommend anyone who is not a whale to invest items.
As for the special rule, it allows shadow to reduce the first damage taken each turn by 36% if there are Trolls in the formation, which can be useful, but certainly not worth the investment in mithril necessary to refine it to the maximum.
My advice is to unlock the item to receive the free stats and the 6% damage reduction and not strengthen or refine the item, except if you are a kraken with infinite resources.
TROOPS SELECTION
In the current meta the counter system is very impactful and it is therefore necessary to provide an option for The shadow for each type of size.
The first unit that I suggest is the Marauder, a medium-sized T2 cavalry, equipped with a notable amount of HP and a good basic defense.
This unit fits perfectly into the meta dominated by medium units, and its cost being T2 is also very low.
As a second option I want to propose the Cave Troll, a large T2 unit, which is perfect for countering the medium unit meta, providing a 20% bonus damage to Shadow and at the same time has a notable amount of HP, Physical Defense and Damage Reduction.
Obviously this unit is more expensive than the previous one and also slower in movement.
Lastly, I suggest the Berserker, a small T3 unit, they also have an excellent HP and defense value.
Their cost is quite low for a T3 unit, but being small in size they could suffer from the counter system in a meta composed mainly of medium units.
There are other valid options for The shadow, but all inferior to those mentioned.
COMMANDERS SUGGESTED
Saruman is the perfect partner for The Shadow, in combination with him they can eliminate the White Council in a few turns even in the worst situations.
Their combined damage value represents one of the best possible combinations for the evil faction against the meta.
Another great choice in combination with The Shadow to take out the White Council, it is not as effective as Saruman, but it provides protection with its evasion to the allied commanders, giving some support to the team and healing them to restore the damage taken.
Great choice as a utility tank against the White Council.
Cestaro is also great for eliminating the White Council, especially against units with protection, which completely block The Shadow in the early turns, as Cestaro does not use basic attacks and therefore is not countered by this type of unit.
Let’s say that it partially compensates for The Shadow’s main counter.
The “Horn of Harad” skill will increase The Shadow’s “Attack” by 40 for the first 5 rounds, decreasing every turn, giving him a good boost at the start to unleash as many dps as possible on the enemy.
If you decide to use Evilman units, the “Haradrim” skill will also provide a valid bonus of 15 “Defense” for the entire battle.
COMMANDERS THAT COUNTER
This commander is one of the best possible counters for The Shadow’s damage as it will grant “Evasion” to 3 formations for the first 2 Rounds.
Since The Shadow is very fast, the skill will also last for The Shadow’s third round, which will therefore have a 75% chance of missing on each attack for the first 3 rounds.
Unfortunately there is no way to play against this counter, it is simply created specifically to nullify the Early Game burst damage.
Excellent for reducing The Shadow’s damage with his “The Enemy” skill.
Very annoying with his “Gorthaur” skill which can stun The Shadow for two turns, making him lose 3 of his 6 Rounds in which he can attack 2 times and 6 of his 10 total.
Definitely devastating if he were to unleash Madness on The Shadow who will repeatedly attack his own formations in an area, destroying himself and his allies.
CONCLUSION
I hope this guide can help anyone compete better with their commander in this meta. It is probably one of the best DPS in the game and one of the best investments to make for a player who craves to dominate the field.
For any questions, I invite you to join my discord and follow me on YouTube!