Pan's Shadow

**Pan's Shadow** is a hero card. When it reaches level 4, level 2 and 3 characters no longer appear in their shop.

## Strategy

**Pan's Shadow** is a late-game hero, having no power until level 4. On levels 2 and 3, aggressively try to preserve your Health rather than worry too much about the long term. Humpty Dumpty, Tiny, Good Witch of the North, Wicked Witch of the West, and other "tempo" characters are very much ideal.

Note that **Pan's Shadow**'s ability can actually be a detriment in the early game. Beware taking level 2 and 3 characters with the idea of tripling them - particularly Blind Mouse - as once you hit level 4, it becomes almost impossible to triple your level 2 and 3 characters. You should not pursue strategies that rely on level 2 and 3 treasures like "HatBall" as you cannot reliably obtain those treasures. Dwarves also tend to be a poor choice of game plan since they usually want to be picking up level 2 and 3 characters later in the game. If Royals are of interest, take Romeo proactively. Quest characters like Cinder-Ella and Brave Princess can be handy however, as they aren't time-limited by **Pan's Shadow**'s ability. If you do happen to get a level 3 treasure, look out for Treasure Map, as it can be quite strong once you hit level 4.

Once you hit level 4, you can start building your strategy in earnest. **Pan's Shadow** finds level 4 combos more easily than any other hero - examples include Riverwish Mermaid + Lightning Dragon, Lady of the Lake + The Nutcracker, Heartwood Guardian + The Nutcracker, and more. You will also be able to triple level 4 characters more easily than any other hero, which is why having a Treasure Map heading into level 4 is awesome, as this will often result in you having a level 6 treasure early.

Since you have relatively little Gold heading into level 4 relative to the cost of characters, and generally want to replace your board at that point seeing as your existing characters have little hope to Upgrade, you cannot afford to roll the shop on level 4 with **Pan's Shadow** very much, though seeing just level 4 characters means you're likely to see something good anyway. Fool's Gold, conveniently on level 4, is awesome with **Pan's Shadow**, turbocharging your economy during the crucial level 4 and 5 turns (and you really do not want to be spending Gold on Spells on level 4 on **Pan's Shadow** anyway).

Make it to the late-game, and **Pan's Shadow** is quite strong - as you would expect if you have played with Staff of the Old Toad on other heroes. **Pan's Shadow** can find the key pieces of late game boards like Good Boy and Ashwood Elm more efficiently than most other heroes.

All in all, **Pan's Shadow** can be quite strong, and really hits its stride on level 4. The tricky part is to get there with enough Health to take advantage of it.

## Notes

* **Pan's Shadow** was changed on March 3, 2022 because it "Was one of the least popular Heroes, so we are trying a different take on it. Instead of making Evil characters cheaper, it now gives you a stronger selection of characters later in the game."
* Notably, his design is an inverse of Peter Pants.
* **Pan's Shadow** can never find Staff of the Old Toad.

## History

 June 18, 2021 | Released in *Storybook Brawl's* Early Access launch.