Xiahou Yuan
Xiahou Yuan 夏侯渊
Running Cheetah 急行的猎豹

Godspeed 神速
During his turn, Xiahou Yuan can exercise either or both of the following options to attack any character regardless of their distance from him:

1.) Skip his judgement and drawing phases.
2.) Skip his action phase and discard any equipment card.
Clarification:
  • Xiahou Yuan can choose to exercise both options of "Godspeed" to attack twice.
  • The equipment card that must be discarded for the second option of "Godspeed" can be either equipped or in his hand.
  • If Xiahou Yuan skips his judgement phase for option one, he does not need to flip judgement cards for his pending judgment cards, but these cards are not removed from his judgement area. As a result, they will remain there until Xiahou Yuan chooses to not exercise option one or another character removes these cards from his judgement area.
  • Xiahou Yuan can choose to use the ability of an equipped weapon when using "Godspeed" unless he discards this weapon to exercise option two.
  • When Xiahou Yuan uses "Godspeed," his attack is considered to be colorless (not stopped by Black Shield) and has no elemental attribute.

Strengths Weaknesses
  • Xiahou Yuan's "Godspeed" can allow him to attack anybody regardless of how far away they are from him. This is particularly useful if eight or more people are playing and there is a weak enemy on the other side of the table. 
  • Xiahou Yuan can quickly finish off a weak character without worrying about drawing Attack cards from the deck.
  • "Godspeed" can be used to avoid a pending judgement card if he exercises. This is helpful if Lightning is in play and an opponent is using Sima Yi or Zhang Jiao, as he can give his entire team a reprieve. However, this cannot be used as a pernament solution because Xiahou Yuan must forfeit drawing cards to do this each turn he does not want to flip judgement cards.
  • "Godspeed" can be very costly to Xiahou Yuan. Using either option more than once or twice in a row can be leave Xiahou Yuan weak. 
  • Killing a rebel with the second option of "Godspeed" is bittersweet because Xiahou Yuan can draw three cards, but his action phase is skipped. He then proceeds to the discard phase, and the most if not all of the bounty for killing the rebel is discarded.

Notable Combinations:
  • Zhang Jiao - Xiahou Yuan can use "Godspeed" to attack Zhang Jiao and allow him to activate his judgement-based ability. This option is available to Xiahou Yuan even if he is on the opposite side of the table. 
  • Liu Bei/Guo Jia/Lu Su - These characters can help Xiahou Yuan by replenishing the hand cards that he forfeited by using "Godspeed."
  • Chen Gong/Zhang He/Zhang Zhao & Zhang Hong - These characters have abilities that allow them to give equipment cards to other characters. This is helpful for Xiahou Yuan when he is trying to activate option 2 of "Godspeed."
  • Liu Shan/Zhen Ji/Zhao Yun/Younger Zhuge Liang - These characters have abilities that provide them with defenses against Attacks. This is Xiahou Yuan's primary method of damaging other characters.
  • Xiahou Dun/Fa Zheng/Sima Yi - These characters have retaliatory abilities that are are activated on a 'per-instance' basis, so it is very expensive for Xiahou Yuan to activate "Godspeed" on these characters.
 King There is no reason for a king to choose Xiahou Yuan. 
 Loyalist
Xiahou Yuan can be a decent loyalist. He can barrage weak rebels with "Godspeed" and kill them quickly.
 RebelXiahou Yuan can be a good rebel. He can use "Godspeed" to attack the king even if he is on the other side of the table.
 SpyXiahou Yuan is probably not the best choice as a spy. His power does not lend itself well to keeping a low profile and surviving for a long period of time.

Final Remarks:
Xiahou Yuan is the type of character that preys on the weak. There is no character that is particularly weak to his strategies unless they cannot escape his attacks. Pay attention to find out when your enemies do not have Escape cards and capitalize on their weakness. If your goal is to finish off a rebel, try to do so with option 1 so you can enjoy the three card bounty during your action phase.   

Comments