Pepper

## Summary

***"Her Fireball burns and stuns all in its blast"***

## Ability: Fireball

**On Attack:** Tosses a Fireball that deals damage in a small radius near an enemy. This does have travel time and can miss if the enemy is moving.

**On Defense:** The Fireball can be placed to strike a large radius on the map.

## Upgrades

**Level 7: Scorched Earth**

Defense only - Pepper's Fireball continues to burn for a few seconds after impact.

**L evel 17: Knockdown Blast**

Units in the Fireball's blast are knocked down.

**Level 23: Greater Firebolts**

Pepper's basc ranged ttacks deal more damage.

**Level 32: Shelling From Sea**

Turtles remain on the beach for longer, firing no approaching enemy units before retreating.

**Level 57: Early Fireball**

On Defense, Pepper can set her Fireball to explode sooner.

## Strategy & Synergies

### **On Defense:**

Pepper on Defense enjoys being partnered with Freya due to her nature to steer players away from certain locations. This makes the Fireball easier to hit with on Defense. She also appreciates Grimm's zombies, as any body blockers benefit her naturally high ranged damage (further increased by "Greater Firebolts"). Taigar can also summon her Stag on the area hit by the Fireball after it lands to help "clean up" anybody who was caught in the blast. Iriel with her Falcon watching over Pepper is appreciated for the extra body blockers.

**Strong**:

* Archers sharing Pepper's range make them a natural choice. While there isn't much inherent synergy, a well placed Fireball can allow this squad to completely dominate anything caught in the blast.
* Brutes immunity to stun effects make them exceptional with Pepper. While being hit by the Fireball isn't exactly good news, even if they *are* hit they can keep attacking while enemies are recovering from the blast. They also make excellent body blockers thanks to their incredible Health and Armor, though they do lack in squad number.

**Good**:

* Soldiers are similar to Brutes with their high Health, Armor, and Attack stats. They're less effective though if accidentally caught in the Fireball's blast radius. They do provide more bodies to block with, however, still making this a more than acceptable choice.

**Fair**:

* Serfs provide a good meat shield for Pepper to hurl firebolts from behind.

**Poor**:

* Sentries can benefit well going up against weakened enemies from the Fireball thanks to their high damage paired with their ability to ignore enemies' armor. Difficult to execute however, and barring the damage from Fireball isn't a great squad by itself.

**Bad**:

* Knights Offer no worthwhile synergy with Pepper. The low squad size paired with moderate defensive stats don't give Pepper much to hide behind, and the additional speed allows no special effects or benefits to take place.

### **On Attack:**

Pepper on Attack allows for some aggressive playstyle, thanks to her on demand stun that hits anywhere on the map. This pairs well with attackers such as Wesley or Cladwall who can often be caught far away from your other squads and need a bit of assistance. They also set up offensive pushes against heavily armored troops, so your allied Sentries have time to get into place and do some damage.

The Fireball can also punish hidden defenders such as Baba or Sassan trying to re-capture a crystal.

**Strong**:

* Soldiers allow Pepper to initiate combat well and give plenty of breathing room for Pepper to attack from a distance. Paired with Soldier's naturally high damage output, the entire squad can capitalize naturally on a downed enemy from Pepper's stun or hold their own well enough without.
* Archers share the same range as Pepper, as well as capitalize on a Fireball tossed to an enemy squad in range by raining arrows down on them. This is particularly brutal on low armored targets.
* Sentries allow Pepper's squad to be an absolute powerhouse with proper supporting squads. After initiating combat, the Fireball can be tossed to maximize Sentries' uptime and damage output. If the targets are highly armored units, the Sentries can shred through them quickly.

**Good**:

* Serfs also give good breathing room for Pepper and other nearby potential high damage squads. Their lack of armor and damage make them less optimal than Soldiers, but still an acceptable choice.

**Fair**:

* Brutes are useable, however they don't benefit from Pepper's Fireball as they do on Defense, nor as other troops on Attack.
* Knights have a bit more utility on Attack thanks to Pepper's Fireball being on demand and can be helpful anywhere, leaving this squad capable of flanking while still providing support for other squads.