Making the Most of Your Minions In Hex Gambit: Respawned
Whether you’re competing online or trying to outsmart the campaign’s AI, Hex Gambit’s diverse cast of minions bring plenty of tricks to get the job done. Here’s a few tips to make the most of their awfully short lives.
Soldier
These are your most flexible fighters. If you Stab from a distance, most units have to spend two Action Points to move beside you and retaliate. If the opportunity presents itself, you can get more bang for your buck by stabbing through two minions at once.
Multislash is NOT just for dealing three damage instead of two. Consider your targets. This attack can knock off Inspiration with a single strike, pick off a weak enemy while hitting someone new, or set up several characters’ HPs for another attack.
Runner
Runners can reach just about anything, and they’ll just barely survive the game’s numerous 2 HP damage attacks. You do have to watch out for a few one-hit kills, though. Attacks like the Soldier's Multislash, the Sniper's Airstrike and the splash damage from the Brute's Wrecker will all wipe your Runners out instantly - but each of those attacks also has a cooldown period in which your Runner is safe.
Don’t forget her free Scratch! This 1 HP damage attack can add up and save you some Action Points down the road.
Defender
Back Off deals no friendly fire damage, so you can use it to nudge your friends into range. When using it against an enemy, consider their destination. You might push them into position for another attack or cover their spawn space, forcing them to move if they want reinforcements.
Blockade costs NOTHING, and it can save lives. It’s great for blocking a crowdsurfing path, denying enemy spawns, and holding toggle spaces (though it won’t capture them).
Motivator
Backing up a pillar tapping push with your Motivator’s Inspire can net you more Victory Points, or at least cost your opponent more Action Points to dismantle. It’s also not a bad idea to park a Motivator next to your spawn space. They can Inspire new troops while providing a little crowdsurf boost.
Be on the lookout for enemies in a circle around a single, open space. Jump in the middle and Intimidate them all! Intimidated foes take double damage, and the status is tricky to remove without taking the hit. If you have a Punk in your loadout, be sure to check out his section below for a must-know follow-up attack.
Sniper
The Sniper is vulnerable to the same one-hit kills as the Runner, and is the game’s slowest character. You’ll want to find tiles with good line of sight (in the form of straight hex paths), and be cautious of crowdsurfing paths that can reach you. The Motivator’s Inspire and Defender’s Blockade can extend a Sniper’s lifespan.
Airstrike has a long cooldown and can’t hit any enemies directly beside the Sniper. That said, this is a one-hit kill for Runners and other Snipers that’s very hard to hide from. It also deals a brutal 6 HP damage to Intimidated characters.
Pacifist
What good is a character that doesn’t fight? Park a Pacifist next to an enemy pillar and find out! Pacifists and Brutes have the game’s highest HP values.
Her healing Sprinkle affects all surrounding units, so you’ll want to pre-position the Pacifist beside your attackers, or keep them within reach. The goal is to heal as many characters as possible with each use, preferably without having to move a lot.
Watch enemy cooldowns for a good opportunity to Pacify, which is a free ability. Pacified targets can only move, so you can use it to stall powerful attacks like the Brute’s Wrecker or to neutralize a pesky pillar tapper for one round.
Punk
The Punk’s Roll is another move that won’t damage your allies, but can chain through a line of enemies the same way crowdsurfing does. You can position your friends to bridge enemies together, creating longer rolling paths for more damage. If an enemy is standing on a toggle space and you defeat them with a Roll, you’ll take control of the space! And if you’re looking to avoid getting Rolled over yourself, remember that Punks can’t use it without an open spot to land.
Split Strike halves a target’s health, so you don’t want to spend it on targets with 4 HP or less unless you have a good reason. It’s a crucial attack for the Campaign’s crowned minion battles, since the crowned version of each minion has 2-3x their normal HP.
This move combos particularly well with the Motivator’s Intimidate, which doubles incoming attack damage. Split Striking ANY Intimidated unit is a one-hit kill.
Brute
They’re scary looking, but they need a few turns to charge their super-punishing Wrecker attack. Using the Wrecker, you may want to focus on clearing the most enemies or Inspirations from the board, rather than dealing the most damage possible. You might also hold over an Action Point for your Wrecking turn, since it’s the game’s only 2 AP move.
Defending against the Wrecker, pay attention to the Brutes' cooldowns! If a Wrecker is ready, spread out as much as possible to minimize the splash damage.
On the majority of turns when Wrecker isn’t ready, Swat is a subtle but useful tool in your arsenal. It’s another ‘no friendly fire’ move that can launch allies across the map for surprise attacks. It’s also great for sending enemies home, or clearing out a foe that’s clinging to 1 HP.
Master the unique skillsets of each of your minions, to menace your competitors and dominate the boards!