Time to rob some wins with Shekhtur Lenmore, an assassin warden with dangerous pay-outs!

Backstory

"Whatever this power—this curse—may be, I won't let it consume me."

An orphan living in the undercity of the eastern capital of Empyreal City, Shekhtur grew up stealing and grifting to feed her ‘family’ of misfits. The course of her destiny was changed when she accepted a contract to steal a cursed artifact from a sacred vault. When she seized the Left Claw of Malephaise, it bonded to her and allowed her to tap into malevolent, supernatural powers.

Unwilling to let such a power consume her, Shekhtur set out on a quest to find some way to separate herself from the claw. Pursued by an ancient order intent on containing her power at any cost, her skills as a thief have proved invaluable at keeping her ahead of danger so far.

Pros

• Excellent point-control capability from her unique ability.
• Brings significant card advantage to a team.
• Ability to surprise attack from across the map and safely opt out of losing strikes.

Cons

• Limited mobility and low range make Shekhtur a dedicated melee combatant.
• Relies on winning speed to be effective, making her less useful on defense.

Gameplay

Shekhtur is a disruptor-type fighter who generates strategic and tactical advantages for the rest of her team. Her cards generate hand advantage by stealing cards from the opponent, providing a strategic advantage, while her unique ability—substituting bonus damage from an assist with a push—can create tactical advantages.

Shekhtur’s push assist is no joke. In addition to usually generating the +2 power anyway (by pushing her target into terrain), it can effectively clear control points even in combats that her team loses. If she pushes a squishier warden like an assassin or supporter into a group of her allies, it’s basically game over for them.

Team Role

As a Bruiser, Shekhtur’s role is to win fights with other wardens and create advantages for the rest of her team. She plays a bit more like a hybrid Bruiser/assassin (she brings significant damage to a team), but she is classified as a Bruiser because she’s capable in so many different situations.

Shekhtur performs well in the front lines of a team, but she doesn’t necessarily want to be the first one on the battlefield. Pulling up a tank first, then bringing in Shekhtur to go on offense while another ally covers her defense is a solid strategy.

Card Preview

Mug

Mug is a rude attack that is especially effective on the lowest-power warden on the enemy team. If you bring this out against a tank, the tank will likely be playing high numbers too, so it’s hard to win. But if you bring it against a softer target, you have a good chance to fish out a higher-power card that your opponent is actually able to play against you.

Gambler’s Badge, contrary to its name, can be used rather safely. If your opponent passes on defense, thinking they don’t have a winning play, you can press your win even further and get a huge tempo advantage.

Spiral Claw

The huge advance on this move means that Shekhtur can use it to threaten the whole board at once from a central position. When used at long range, it’s fairly telegraphed, so beware of slower defenders who can out-damage it with a slow strike. Shekhtur can also use it as an option select in melee. If she’s faster, she can decide to confirm the strike if she’s going to win or slip past the opponent to get out of their range if she’s going to lose.

Robber’s Glove further presses a tempo advantage, and continues Shekhtur’s theme of artifacts that carry some risk to their use.

Reave

An infuriating hit-and-run type strike that can give you surprise control of a point or dodge away from slower retaliation. Advantage lets Shekhtur’s team take the next turn, and thus prioritizes the use of this move on the attack (if you were defending, you would take the next turn anyway).

Desperation Badge can correct a lapse in positioning that might otherwise allow the opponent an easy win. It can also be used as a trap—after all, if your opponent strikes thinking they have 2 or 3 assists, they might lose out on power when those advantages are pulled away.

Rip (Normal)

Rip is a solid melee normal that can win on its high power, even when outflanked. It adds reliable damage to Shekhtur’s kit, plus tempo advantage when it lands. Most of Shekhtur’s attacks are fast with medium damage, so a slow, high-damage strike can allow her (or anyone else on your team) to win a duel when the moment comes.

Magician’s Glove is a technical artifact. It allows an attacker to option-select out of a move that gets countered by a specific artifact or response. Are you in a 50-50 where you’re counting on your opponent not to react with a certain warden? Are your plans spoiled by an artifact that moves your target behind some cover? Magician’s Glove allows you to adapt to those situations and adjust your strategy once you have a little more information.

Conclusion

Shekhtur is a capable heroine who brings a significant boost to offense to any team she joins. Her balance of speed, strength, and tempo advantage allow her to slot comfortably into many team compositions and provide great value wherever she is placed on the field.

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