Ilyanna, once a proud elven guardian tasked with protecting the sacred glades, is now known only as the Seed of Sorrow. Her name, once a symbol of peace and reverence, has become a curse. In her desperation to protect her home, she has become what she fought against for so long. Ilyanna, the guardian of the glades, is no more. Now, only sorrow reigns.
Ilyanna, the Seed of Sorrow, on the tabletop
While Morgath, the first essence weaver of the Bloodthorne, prefers to keep his enemies at range and strike with a dazzling array of spears from unexpected angles, Ilyanna is far less subtle.
The Bloodthorne have shaped her into a relentless monster, focused solely on crushing opponents in melee and harvesting their essence to fuel her never-ending rage.
Her leadership has a strong impact on army list creation, as she favors units that excel in close combat. This means every model in Ilyanna's army can have devastating melee activations - provided the right board state.
Ilyanna herself, in particular, can have incredibly impactful activations, destroying large portions of your opponent’s army. However, be aware that only units with an Infested token will trigger her leadership effect.
While lists including Ilyanna perform exceptionally well against multiple enemies with lower HP values, they may struggle against armies consisting of fewer but high-HP models.
With great power comes ...
This powerful leadership ability comes at a cost. While Ilyanna can destroy her fair share of enemies on her own, she offers little direct support for her army. This means her forces will often pay a price in blood (or, more likely, sap) when advancing on entrenched enemy lines.
Additionally, Ilyanna’s gameplay heavily depends on choosing the right moment to commit to melee. With her active essence ability, Forest Walk, she is extremely mobile - but once she engages, disengaging can be difficult. And while she boasts a solid defensive profile, she is far from unkillable.
Synergies
Ilyanna favors melee units, particularly RAZORLEAF units. So much so that while she is on the battlefield, friendly RAZORLEAF units gain her passive ability, Cruel Advance, making them even deadlier when combined with her leadership.
However, RAZORLEAF units are outclassed by the Bloodoak Juggernaut, which serves as a prime enabler for her essence ability, Forest Walk. With its active essence ability, Unnatural Growth, it creates a portable forest, ready to be Forest Walked into.
Ilyanna, the Seed of Sorrow, is now live in the Shroudfall Shop:
Looking forward to seeing your first list ideas in the Shroudfall Discord. And as always ... break the game!