Shadow of Merlion

Shadow of Merlion
Scenario information
Size	Medium
Difficulty	Expert
Type	Campaign
Campaign	Opposites Attract
Initial heroes	Kozuss
Objectives	Lay siege to the fortress city of Jelrith and defeat the Shadow Mage, Suldrin, who possesses the Necklace of Balance.
Loss condition	Lose all towns and armies.
Lore
Factions	Kozuss Merlion's forces Barbarian Rebellion
Player identity	Kozuss
Previous scenario	Fire and Ice
Maps
Surface map

"Having laid claim to the Ice Scales, Kozuss sets sail with a small fleet of ships toward the heart of the kingdom that surrounds the Merlion Sea. The final artifact of his quest, the Necklace of Balance, is in the possession of the kingdom's most powerful magician, a shadow mage named Suldrin. Kozuss will need to tap all his skills if he hopes to defeat this enemy and return victorious to his companions at Devonshire."

Shadow of Merlion is the fourth and final scenario in the Opposites Attract campaign in The Gathering Storm.

Information

"Gather your forces and strike deep into the heart of the kingdom of Merlion, seeking out the Shadow Mage, Suldrin, who possesses the final artifact of your quest, the Necklace of Balance."

After fighting his way through Merlion's defenders and a Barbarian rebellion, Kozuss stands face to face with the Shadow Mage Suldrin. Defeating the powerful magician, Kozuss claims the Necklace of Balance for himself, completing the artifact set.

Strategy

Kozuss has a single Academy town and a tenth-level Warlord, and is facing four Academies, a Stronghold, and a powerful Shadow Mage. The teal Barbarian will fight against both the Academies and Kozuss.

A day or two north-east of the starting town, Kozuss can find a Dragon Cave that he should visit immediately, as it will join him when he moves close enough, and Black dragons will make great reinforcements.

The warlord ally can gather a few troops and capture mines while Kozuss and his black dragons move west, taking out the blue towns, green town, and teal town. With the most of the map under his control, he can take out the last town, Jelrith, completing that part of the mission.

The hero Suldrin is standing outside Jelrith, but will not move too far, allowing Kozuss to prepare his armies. If Kozuss isn't strong enough to fight the army on his own, there are a couple ways to deal with the powerful hero:

1. Use Kozuss and the black dragons, a few Armageddons (or other powerful Chaos magic spells), then Town Gate away when Kozuss is damaged. Repeat.
2. Fill Kozuss's army with Academy creatures, then face him one on one - both Kozuss and his creatures will have terrible morale, but his boosting spells can greatly improve their fighting prowess.
3. Give the Academy creatures to an Academy hero (like the warlord), send him in to fight Suldrin. The hero and his creatures will most likely die, but Suldrin's forces will be weakened, allowing Kozuss to finish him off.

Once the Necklace is in Kozuss's possession, the campaign ends.