Sassan

## Summary

***"Creates illusions to trick his enemies."***

**On Attack:** Sassan summons an Illusory Squad.

**On Defense:** Starts the battle with an Illusory Squad to trick opponents.

On Attack, the Illusory Squad is a small squad of melee troops, capable of dealing & receiving damage. The number of troops in the Illusory Squad can be upgraded as Sassan gains levels.

On Defense, the Illusory Squad is placed anywhere on the map. This squad can be made to look like any combination of hero & troop type during the plan's editing process. This illusion cannot move and does no damage. These illusions also have 1 HP and dissipate upon being hit by any source of damage. Additionally, the number of troops the Illusory Squad has is based on Sassan's troop numbers, not the hero you're disguising the troop as.

## Upgrades

**Level 7: Blurry Squad**

Adds armor to all Squad units.

**Level 17: Invisibility (Defense only)**

Becomes invisible for 30 seconds.

**Level 23: Illusionist I**

Attack only - Additional Illusions.

**Level 32: Illusionist II**

Attack only - Additional Illusions (Stacks with **Illusionist I**).

**Level 57: Sturdy**

Sassan gains Armor.

## Strategy

Sassan's place on attack and defense are very different as his active ability functions very differently on each.

### **On Defense:**

Sassan's defensive presence isn't extremely effective as a direct approach, but rather by catching the opponent off guard. With the opponent expecting another hero in a crucial spot, they may avoid that and walk directly into Sassan's superior position that's capable of dealing a great amount of damage. With this in mind, Sassan works well in an unconventional way - as an alternative battle plan with all the positions the same except one key squad (Duplicate the battle plan, exchange a member with Sassan, then place "Illusory Squad" over the original position and Sassan in another location). Sassan's best asset is his ability to trick opponents into thinking they are safe to go where *you* want them to be.

**Strong:**

* Archers share a ranged attack with Sassan, allowing the full squad to attack with him. The additional armor gained from Sassan's "Blurry Squad" allows him to trade more effectively against enemy archers. Additionally, if an enemy trigger's Sassan's squad to attack before the 30 seconds of his "Invisibility" wears off, the Archers can assist him in combat, as opposed to other squads being melee attackers.
* Brutes can be a terrifying opponent to suddenly come out and have to face, especially when they aren't expected due to Sassan's "Invisibility".

**Good:**

* Soldiers provide a decently sized squad to protect allied troops with while not sacrificing damage or durability. The extra armor from "Blurry Squad" allows them to take more punishment than other knights as well.
* Sentries being aided by Sassan's "Invisibility" and positioned to help another squad from the back lines can completely take an enemy off guard and win an encounter.

**Fair:**

* Serfs give an alternative method of a surprise squad that is meant to guard for other squads. While they don't have high damage or armor, they allow other squads to dish out damage thanks to their incredible health stat and squad size.
* Knights can be an efficient flanker on Defensive plans thanks to the "Invisibility" Sassan grants. They can also take back points early to cause enemy squads to break apart to re-capture these.

#### **Sassan's Hero illusions:**

Sassan on Defense can create an illusion of any hero. However, some heroes are better than others for illusions, due to the illusion hero's own abilities being shown or not. This list will show the strengths & weaknesses of each illusory hero.

**Strong:**

* Pepper as an illusion is possibly the best. Pepper is usually positioned in an out of the way place, and the active ability is triggered by a timer and not by enemy contact. This means enemies are less likely to figure out the illusion is in place until all other squads have moved. Additionally, players tend to try to avoid movement until the Fireball has been used, and may be too late before they realize the fireball will *never* come.
* Ozzy is another hero whose active ability is active by a timer, making him a strong illusion choice. Additionally, players may attempt to attack Ozzy first as if he's dead, he can't teleport. Illusions cannot teleport though, which means you have baited the enemy into the spot you wanted them.

**Good:**

* Wesley is a force that enemies try to avoid, as he can take on any opposing squad 1v1 with little trouble thanks to his ability. This will often pressure enemies to leave the area as long as he is well placed to be easily avoided.

**Fair:**

* Balthor's stun gives enemies pause and can re-route enemies who don't have a way to deal with this to another place on the map. However, Balthor is a typical target for Taigar's Mystical Stag.

* Dyna's planted Beaker Bomb is invisible normally, making her a worthwhile choice for scaring opponents to other spots. However, Dyna is a typical target for Taigar's Mystical Stag.

**Poor:**

* Taigar can be a good choice of illusion, as her active ability is on a timer and not on enemy contact. However, this illusion is more limited in where it can be placed; if the Illusory Squad is in a forest, the green cover from Taigar's "Forest's Boon" does *not* show up, it only appears as blue.
* Mason is less limited on where he can be placed than Taigar, but still cannot be placed on Crystal Nodes as the illusion cannot place the Crystal Ward. This is a common strategy for Mason as well on some maps as well. However Mason's presence doesn't encourage or dissuade attackers, making it more difficult to predict enemy reactions to this Illusory Squad.
* Iriel doesn't give herself away from any abilities. However she has no pressuring abilities to encourage or dissuade attackers, making it more difficult to predict enemy reactions to this Illusory Squad.
* Cladwall's Blessings show up in Sassan's Illusory Squad, unlike other abilities. However, Cladwall doesn't encourage or dissuade attackers, making it more difficult to predict enemy reactions to this Illusory Squad.

**Bad:**

* Baba's shows up, making the squad an obvious illusion.
* Grimm's Tombstone doesn't show up, making it an obvious illusion.
* Freya's Icy Clutches ability doesn't show up, making it an obvious illusion (On earlier plans this can be fine, as this ability isn't unlocked until later on).

### **On Attack:**

Sassan's Squad has natural additional armor, paired with his "Illusory Squad" to aid his team in combat, soak up damage, or even force opposing stuns out from heroes such as Dyna or Balthor before they want them to be used. This means Sassan's Squad can be an exceptionally high number of bodies to deal with, a number of which are irrelevant as they are illusions.

**Strong:**

* Brutes deal incredible damage and can take absurd punishment from enemies. Their biggest issue is lack of squad size with a maximum of two per squad. Sassan provides additional troops to help soak up damage from enemies with "Illusory Squad", allowing Brutes more time to do their job effectively without taking as much damage.
* Archers fire from the same range as Sassan does, allowing the whole squad to attack in unison. They can take on enemy Archer squads more effectively than others thanks to the "Blurry Squad" upgrade. Additionally, "Illusory Squad" can be used to absorb some incoming damage, or if a flank is incoming Sassan can prepare for it with this ability allowing his squad to continue firing from range while keeping enemies at bay.

**Good:**

* Soldiers are strong squad with high attack & armor, and allow Sassan to lead the charge effectively. The "Illusory Squad" can be used to break expected stuns or freezes from enemy traps laid on the field.
* Sentries are an aggressive option that Sassan can use well as his squad can be protected from enemy ranged attacks or flanks with his "Illusory Squad", providing a bit of extra cover while the squad itself pushes out high damage. The additional armor from "Blurry Squad" gives them a touch more survivability as well.

**Fair:**

* Serfs provide the maximum squad size for the most possible cover for allied squads; in combination with a fully upgraded "Illusory Squad", Sassan can provide cover with *fifteen* troops for allies to hide behind. While serfs have no innate armor, "Blurry Squad" provides them with some damage reduction to allow them to stay in the fight that much longer.
* Knights can allow Sassan to provide a moderately sized flanking squad at speed. The issue Knights typically have is with their squad size; a maximum size of four makes it difficult to overwhelm, but the "Illusory Squad" boosts those numbers significantly.