Cygames will release Shadowverse: Worlds Beyond’s new card set Blossoming Fate on December 29. Ahead of launch, AUTOMATON got an exclusive sneak peek at Emperor of Elements, a Runecraft class card set to release as part of Blossoming Fate. Here’s everything we know about the upcoming card.
Emperor of Elements is a Gold-rarity Runecraft follower card. It costs 7 play points and has 4/4 attack and defense. Its Fanfare summons two Guardian Golems, and it also has an ability that allows you to evolve Golem followers via Earth Rite (1). The card is voiced by Michael Schwalbe. Below is the official card text:
Fanfare: Summon 2 copies of Guardian Golem.
Whenever an allied Golem follower enters the field, Earth Rite (1) – Evolve it.
Let’s first take a look at Emperor of Elements itself. Costing 7 points to play, it allows you to put a 4/4 follower into play alongside two 3/3 Ward Guardian Golems all with a single card. If you have at least two earth sigils, you can consume them to automatically evolve both Guardian Golems.
If your opponent’s board isn’t looking particularly strong, you can apply significant pressure on them by lining up two 5/5 guardians and the 4/4 follower without spending an evolution point. Since Guardian Golems evolve automatically as long as Earth Rite is available, you can deal with opposing followers while also holding on to your evolution points.
Used effectively, you can consume earth sigils to evolve and then clear two enemy followers without spending an evolution point, and still end up with two Ward followers plus a 4/4 follower on board. Even if you don’t have Earth Rite available, simply being able to put down a 4/4 plus two 3/3 Wards is pretty noteworthy.
Emperor of Elements seems in some ways similar to Mireille & Risette, Pentinent Duo, a card used in the currently very powerful Earth Rite Runecraft deck archetype. It does cost more compared to Mireille & Risette, but in exchange, it comes with a Ward and, effectively, three cards in one.
With two mid-sized Ward followers, it can stop same-cost threats such as Odin, Twilit Fate’s Storm, for example. Additionally, once evolved, the Guardian Golems have 5 defense, making them a counter to cards like Albert, Levin Stormsaber. When you look at it that way, as a Ward-equipped Runecraft card, Emperor of Elements enables lines of play similar to using Norman, Adamant Alchemist and deploying two Guardian Golems – a widely employed tactic among players.
Of course, Norman offers healing, card draws, and even versatile effect selection, which Emperor of Elements can’t compare to. That said, like Mireille & Risette, Emperor of Elements has the advantage of automatic evolution through Earth Rite, allowing you to preserve evolution points while staying on top of your opponent’s board.
With Earth Rite alone, you can easily establish your Ward, clear enemy followers, and apply pressure while working towards an evolution-based winning path. Its strength lies in how much it accomplishes with a single, self-contained effect, making it a very easy card to use. As a player who frequently faces Runecraft decks, the idea of the class gaining yet another reliable midgame Ward is a bit disheartening. Regarding the Golem evolution ability, since the pool of Golem cards is still limited, we’ll have to look forward to the next set and future expansions to see how much this potential expands.
So, is Emperor of Elements going to be strong in the meta? While other details of the upcoming expansion are still under wraps, the card clearly synergizes well with Earth Rite Runecraft, one of the strongest decks in Shadowverse Worlds Beyond’s current meta.
With Skybound Dragons, the game’s fourth card set, this deck already possesses multiple winning paths. Like Mireille & Risette, Emperor of Elements applies board pressure, evolves followers, and helps open for finishers such as Sandalphon, Primarch Successor. Although it requires a considerable amount of earth sigils, adding Emperor of Elements to the deck and applying pressure with Mireille & Risette on turn 5, Norman on turn 6, and Emperor of Elements on turn 7 may do a good job of exhausting your opponent’s resources.
There are also bound to be matchups where rapidly evolving followers or having Wards makes a decisive difference. Although the cost is quite high, in a meta where Ward and board pressure matter, this card could further solidify Earth Rite Runecraft as a top-tier deck choice.
Shadowverse: Worlds Beyond is available for PC (Steam/Epic Games Store), iOS, and Android. The new card set Blossoming Fate is scheduled to release on December 29, with additional card information set to be unveiled via official channels and media outlets.
