Character Profile
- Best Attack: Razor Ordnance
- Best Team Support: Infrared Eyepiece
- Best Personal Support: Impromptu Invention
- Primary Damage Type: Projectile
- Secondary Damage Type: Melee
- Worst Card: Combat Stance
- Nemesis: Spite
The Wraith uses her vast array of equipment-based powers to keep tight control over the villain, or simply shred the villain and his minions to death. Or both! She supplements this with powerful utility and card-drawing, and has excellent resources to keep her team alive. Wraith is one of the most versatile heroes, able to deftly switch between damage, control, and defense.
Attack
Wraith’s full attack routine is vicious. Using Utility Belt, she can fire off both Razor Ordnance and Throwing Knives. Damage from these is given a powerful boost by Micro Targeting Computer, allowing her to spread around an easy 14 damage every round, up to 8 of that to a single target. Her plentiful deck manipulation makes it easy to get and maintain this setup. Indeed, the only downside to this offensive is watching it go unused as Wraith activates her defense or control powers. More on those later.
Wraith’s Combat Stance provides retaliatory damage, but could cause problems in tandem with some heroes and villains, since you can’t turn it off. Micro Targeting Computer doesn’t boost it, so I tend to ignore it. It is Wraith’s only Ongoing card – potentially useful to protect against some environment cards.
Inventory Barrage can create a spectacular finishing move for 10-20 damage. Unfortunately, that is its only use. Once you throw away all your stuff, you’ve lost your awesome powers. It’s a good finisher, but has no versatility.
Defense
Wraith’s Stealth kicks off her defensive capabilities. This can extend her hit points by quite a bit, but is easily edged out by the plentiful powers in Wraith’s deck. It’s still good to use on occasion when Utility Belt is in play.
Stun Bolt is her best defensive power, simply reducing the damage of one target by one. It gets a nice boost from Micro Targeting Computer, but it doesn’t even have to break damage reduction or immunity(!) for the rider to apply. This can suitably replace either weapon in her attack routine if you need to devote attention to defense. Note that it’s not limited.
The hits keep coming with Smoke Bombs. What generally ends up happening with this card is that hero hit points tend to equalize. Once everybody has the same hit point total, the damage goes wherever you want, and is reduced by one. This combines especially well with heroes who have their own armor, or works especially well against villains who do damage one point at a time. This is a great defense for the heroes, even if the involuntary nature of the card sometimes poses an issue.
Mega Computer is good for reducing variance in the environment deck. In pretty much any environment except Megalopolis, you will notice the effects. The environment deals less damage to the villain as well, but that’s usually a tradeoff the heroes are willing to make. Not limited.
Suture Self is a great pun and an okay card. I don’t like spending my precious card plays just healing, but when you’re dangling at two hit points, it’s not just healing. Finally, Throat Jab is a very strong play. Shutting the villains up gives you more time to kill them.
Utility
Wraith’s Infrared Eyepiece is the pinnacle of villain control. Choosing which villain card to avoid is enormously powerful, especially against villains playing only one card a turn. You can avoid big attack cards, like Forced Deployment, or you can preserve hero setups from things like Devastating Aurora. If that’s not enough, you get to draw a card. The card is less effective when the villain plays several cards a turn (like the Matriarch) or in certain circumstances (like Ambuscade has set some traps). This is my go-to power for the Wraith.
Speaking of card drawing, Grappling Hook lets her kill something troublesome while replacing itself, and Trust Fund lets her comb through her deck to get to the really good stuff.
With so many good powers, Utility Belt is a must.
Impromptu Invention
Impromptu Invention is the crown jewel of Wraith’s deck. This is the reason she is so useful and resilient. The ability to get two things down in one turn, with one of them coming right from your deck, is unmatched in this game.
The most common question I hear players ask about Wraith is about this card. What are you supposed to get? The answer depends, of course, on what you have and who you’re fighting. I have had occasion to search for every piece of equipment in her deck at one point or another, but I tend to use this order.
- Infrared Eyepiece, if you’re looking for your first power.
- Utility Belt, if you have two awesome powers to use.
- The correct weapon. (Knives or Ordnance or Bolts, as the situation dictates.)
- Micro Targeting Computer, to turn on the damage.
Smoke Bombs and Mega Computer can be searched for on a case-by-case basis, when you recognize the circumstances in which they are lifesavers. Don’t be afraid to search out a card that’s already in your hand, if you still need to play a particular non-equipment card right now. (Grappling Hook comes to mind.)
RC Wraith trades Stealth for one more hit point and Sleuth. Stealth is able to save you much more than one hit point. So what does Sleuth bring to the table?
In short, uncertainty. The issue with the power is that it is the only one in the game where you do not know the outcome beforehand. You don’t get to put the card back and delay nastier environment cards. You could use it to flip a beneficial card into play to get some immediate advantage, sure. You can also use the power to avoid something mildly bad, and end up drawing your worst nightmare. For this reason, blindly using the power every turn is not worth it. Fortunately, you’re playing Wraith. She’s got plenty of powers to use.
This does not mean Sleuth is worthless – just very situational. Hastening Akash’Bhuta’s flip, fishing for Distortions in the Realm of Discord, or looking for the Volcanic Eruption with Ra on the team are the type of circumstances in which I’ve employed the ability successfully. I’ve used it looking for the Meteor Storm while trying for a Flawless Victory. (It worked.) This power requires far more finesse than any power in the game, but it has some value. Know the environment deck, and it can reward you. Ultimately, though, standard Wraith is a superior choice, since her base power is a known quantity.
This promo power is also a known quantity. Base damage powers will always be useful, allowing Wraith to get damage in without actually having any stuff handy. As with most base powers, this is eclipsed by the other powers in her deck. For it, she trades one hit point from her basic form. The damage from this attack does not synergize with the rest of her deck. For instance, it is not boosted with Micro Targeting Computer. If villains have armor, you're better off with another version of Wraith, but if you have allies that can boost you, this can be a terrifying base power to see in action. Remember, however, that Throwing Knives are always an Impromptu Invention away.
Weaknesses
Wraith is annoyed if something is eating her equipment, but she doesn’t buckle like some of the other stuff-reliant heroes. The main reasons for this are her villain deck control, her copious card-drawing, and Impromptu Inventions. The first can avoid equipment destruction, the cards give her options, and the Inventions can restore her stuff extremely quickly.
Her setup can be slow, but the Impromptu Inventions help you out yet again. Finally, Wraith doesn’t start with that many hit points, but she has many powers and cards that keep her and her allies alive.
Teamups
Wraith is a strong individual hero, not needing much assistance from others. Indeed, she has some visible anti-synergy with heroes, such as not appreciating Ra’s Imbued Fire when it nullifies the Micro Targeting Computer.
I have seen some cool combos, though. Smoke Bombs can put a total damage freeze out when combined with heroes that can achieve damage immunity like Legacy, Visionary, or Nightmist. It also works well with the Argent Adept’s Counterpoint Bulwark. Visionary and Nightmist, along with Tempest, have good control over the villain’s plays, and Wraith’s constant Infrared Eyepiece is the best tool in allowing a tandem lockdown.
