League of Villains Character Highlight – Shigaraki
Welcome to the first of many articles highlighting the various Characters within Set 4 of the My Hero Academia Collectible Card Game: League of Villains!
We’re starting out on a high note with the infamous leader of the League of Villains, Tomura Shigaraki!
Shigaraki returns once more at full strength, brandishing a new, incredibly powerful kit!
This third version of Shigaraki picks up a new Symbol: Order. The Order symbol grants Shigaraki access to new strategies, notably picking up Iida’s “Kick” strategies and Shoto Todoroki’s powerful “Stun” cards allowing players to try more aggressive strategies for Shigaraki!
Shigaraki III is designed to force your opponent to make some tough choices – forcing your opponent to commit their resources with your Enhance . To complicate things further for Shigaraki’s opponents, his supporting cards from Set 4, such as Decaying Palm Slam (featured below) force your opponent to decide between committing their foundations or giving your attacks huge bonuses.
Forcing your opponent to make checks with your Enhance is a very subtle tax, but it can be brutal both offensively and defensively – slowly wither their resources away, and by the time they notice, they’ve already turned to dust.
Everyone knows how bad it feels when your opponent has the exact amount of resources to launch the attack that defeats you, or they manage a block you thought they had no business succeeding with. Shigaraki’s III’s Response lets you tilt the odds in your favor by reducing your opponent’s checks when they need the resources the most.
When your opponent finally lets their guard down, use your Once Per Game ability to break through their defenses and secure the win!
Decaying Palm Slam is a devastating top-end attack used to tax your opponent’s resources via its two Enhance effects, as well as being a potential finisher due to having “Powerful: 2”. Low attacks tend to be difficult to block well, and paying a momentum to pin down three of their foundations can be overpowering alongside Shigaraki’s ability – if they can’t pay up, you’re just going to keep drawing cards and winning games.
On top of that, the second Enhance on Decaying Palm Slam is outstanding – your opponent is going to be hard-pressed to pass a six difficulty check after having three of their foundations restricted, meaning this attack will consistently remove itself from the card pool. Well worth the 6 Difficulty, if you ask us!
Vile Seizing is another powerful option within Shigaraki’s arsenal, and follows up on the “Resource restriction / check modification theme from his previous two versions.
It’s not just damage and cards that your opponent will need to be afraid of though, as Vile Seizing is great on the block as well. With a Block Modifier of +1 High and Breaker: 1, this card can play a pivotal role in the battle no matter whose turn it is.
The Deadlock Enhance on Vile Seizing also provides players an alternate win-condition for Shigaraki into Foundation-based Control matchups. If you stack up enough negative check modifiers on your opponent, you can break through any defensive character’s guard. Scary stuff!
Featuring all of your favorite Villains for the first time – My Hero Academia: League of Villains lets players join the League of Villains and show those Heroes what they are capable of!
My Hero Academia: League of Villains can be seen for the first time at the Hero League Championship this month, but if you can’t make it make sure to attend a Pre-Release at a Local Game Store near you!
We can’t wait to see what kinds of interesting and exciting combos you have in store for these cards. Stay tuned — there are many more Set 4 previews to come!
