The Priest

The Priest is an excellent support unit with more ability than meets the eye.

'''His sermon attack does 0 damage but curses the target, causing any attack the cursed unit tries to initiate to be delayed by 2 turns. The curse also lowers its target’s attack by 1.''' The effects of the curse action lasts for either 4 turns or if the target is attacked. Remember that only attack actions are delayed. Cursed units may still move and use defensive actions without delay.

'''The Priest’s defensive ability, pray, places a protective white orb around 1 of the target’s beads of health. This orb will absorb up to 1 damage from any incoming attack.''' The orb lasts for either 6 turns or until the unit is attacked. It’s important to note the Priest’s defensive ability also cures poison. Oddly enough, you will also want to keep in mind that a 0 damage attack can break the orb too. This holds true even if the 0 attack is used on a Shieldmaiden in defensive stance. The 0 attack will break the shield stance and orb in one action.

When using Priests, keeping your King/Queen close to them can take this piece from being a mere harasser to being a downright nightmare. A Priest’s attack, boosted by the King’s/Queen’s defense becomes a very nasty thing dealing 1 damage and interrupting your enemy’s ability to retaliate. Also, with Priests, using them in pairs or even triplicate can be very useful though it is not a recommended strategy for newer players. Aside from that you should keep in mind that cursing an already cursed target will reset them if they have a delayed attack building. In this way, you can keep the target in a state of perpetual delay if they keep trying to launch the same attack without altering something else in their strategy.

When playing against a Priest, consider attacking your cursed unit so as to remove the curse at the cost of 1 health, allowing your previously cursed unit to attack the enemy earlier than expected. Plague Doctors are great counters to Priests because their defensive ability is a secondary attack and, since it is technically a defensive action, a cursed Plague Doctor is still free to use it with no delay. When dealing with multiple Priests, try your best to split the priests up so they can’t support each other. It is also wise to try and get the Priests separated from the King/Queen so they cannot boost his attack.