The residents of Ankar had no idea that if the ecosystem of their islands was ever thrown off-balance, they would risk exposing an existential threat. For too long, the Joining War has raged, and now a voracious mega-organism known as the Graft has arrived to absorb everything in its wake.
The Graft’s Starting Hero, Nucleus, also acts as its mobile Fortress. To be successful with the Graft, you must be mindful of the links between the different elements of your Faction, using Nucleus’s Upgrades and positioning to bolster your spires and promote powerful units.
Set-Up
During island creation, after revealing and orienting your first facedown Isle, place Nucleus on any Valid Hex on that Isle that is on the perimeter of the Play Area. Place your Fortress in front of you, detached from the Play Area.
Minions Promotions And Spires
The Graft’s minions are Promoted by being recycled through spires. Some talents and advancements let you place units underneath Graft spires. These units are treated as [FORTIFICATION_UPGRADE] that only require 1 Damage to be removed. If an Opposing Faction removes a Graft Minion from a Spire, it returns to your Barracks on its Promoted Side. If it is removed for any other reason, it returns to your Barracks on its current side. Once a Minion is Promoted, that specific chip remains Promoted unless a specific effect would demote it.
Nucleus
Do not use the Fortress Gate Health tracker, and instead use the Motility Chip to track Nucleus’s Motility Reservoir, an expendable resource that gives Nucleus more mobility options. The Motility Reservoir starts the game set to 0 but increases by 4 at the start of each Wave. The Motility Reservoir has a maximum of 10. Nucleus does not count towards the Hero restriction and cannot be returned to the Fortress. Other Graft heroes that are Adjacent to Nucleus may optionally choose to return to the Fortress before or after their Movement.
The Graft Fortress is Nucleus, and Nucleus’s Health is considered the gate Health for The Graft Faction. When Nucleus is attacked by units, it retaliates like a Fortress Gate, retaliating for 1 Damage each time regardless of its Range and Attack Stat. If this Retaliation defeats an Opposing Unit, Nucleus may still Level Up. Nucleus is considered the Fortress Gate for all game effects and conditions, and therefore there must always be a Path connecting it to each other possible Mark. At the End of the Game, Nucleus’s Health counts as the Fortress Gate Health. Nucleus cannot gain Equipment. When Graft-controlled units are deployed, they deploy to a Valid Hex Adjacent to Nucleus. Nucleus only grants Spire Influence on the Hex Group it is occupying.
Due to its unfathomable horror, no conscious being would fight alongside The Graft. The Graft therefore cannot deploy Merc units (but may still purchase them from the Market).
