SantoriniPowerAtalanta

Introduction

As a huntress with skills surpassing most men, Atalanta can rush through the board all of a sudden. This may possibly allow her to steal victories from afar. However, is she really that strong all the time?

Hero Power

Once per game, your worker may move any number of times (but at least one) during moving.

Category

Player move

Game Strategies

Early Game

Atalanta should try to build next to already built squares, intending to extend the access to those builds. The more paths there are to a certain square, the easier it is for Atalanta to reach it. In that sense, central builds are usually more beneficial to Atalanta in the sense that they have more paths to it. However, this doesn’t mean that Atalanta should always build in the center.

Middle Game

It is still possible to employ another strategy which is to build several levels 3 and use the fact that Atalanta can easily climb to them in one move. For example, in the next position, Atalanta builds a level 1 in A3 and she will climb to the level 3 in the next move.

Late Game

If by any chance Atalanta still has her power at this stage, it will be very tough for the opponent to create threats which cannot be used by Atalanta (unless they “use” the domes). At this stage of the game (or even long before), there is a simple yet very useful way to use the power: move back to the initial square.

Specific Matchup

Achilles

Achilles is stronger in this matchup but Atalanta might still pose some problems. One good strategy in this matchup is to build over the blocks Achilles builds, trying to create levels 3 which only she can take advantage of.

Artemis

Both powers have high mobility so this is an interesting pair. Anyway, Atalanta’s strength is no match for Artemis’.

Bellerophon

This hero is very strong and Atalanta has low chances against him. In this case, levels 3 do not necessarily benefit Atalanta because Bellerophon can win by moving directly from a level 1 to a level 3.

Charybdis

Since Atalanta can, at most turns, reach any square of the board, it might be tricky for Charybdis to place the whirlpools. Nonetheless, a good player with Charybdis will give no chance to Atalanta.

Gaea

Gaea starts weak but once she reaches four workers, if Atalanta was not able to win by then or get a good position, the game will most likely be lost for her. For this reason, one of Gaea’s best tries might be to use her power early on with the intent of moving to a plateau of levels 2. Since Gaea is mostly a mortal, she will have a very hard time to move up and even a bunch of workers might not be useful by then.

Heracles

This is a fun matchup because Atalanta’s ability makes it trickier for Heracles to use his power. If Heracles is the first to use his power, Atalanta might be able to defend or even “pass a turn” by returning to the same square, which can leave Heracles in a tough spot.

Hypnus

It is tempting to choose Atalanta if you are offered this matchup but I would suggest that you pick Hypnus. Why is it so tempting to pick Atalanta you might ask? Normally, you need both workers to reach level 2 and only then can you win against Hypnus. This does not happen with Atalanta since she can move from the ground level to a level 3 in a single turn. However, if Hypnus moves up slowly and does not let Atalanta create many towers, he should have an easy game.

Jason

If you thought Jason was one of the weakest heroes, brace yourself because he is still stronger than Atalanta. Having three workers allows Jason to have a lot of board control and it won’t be easy for Atalanta to make progress.

Medea

Medea is stronger in general than Atalanta, but this matchup turns out to be playable and winnable for Atalanta. This happens because Atalanta doesn’t necessarily need to be high to generate threats and as a consequence, the plan for Atalanta is to keep all workers, including the opponent's if possible, on the ground by creating towers all across the board. Eventually, it will be impossible for Medea to prevent Atalanta from sneaking her way up to a level 3.

Nemesis

This is a good matchup for Atalanta. Since Nemesis is not a very attacking power, and Atalanta doesn’t have to be in a good position in order to win, Nemesis might not find a good use for her power. Nevertheless, Atalanta should try to stick close to Nemesis in order to give as little chances as possible to switch workers.

Odysseus

If you think “Odysseus pushes me to the corner but then I can just use my power to move to a corner and defend”, you couldn’t be more wrong. Well, maybe you are slightly right and are able to defend a single threat, but then your workers will still be in terrible positions and left with no power. I do not recommend this matchup.

Siren

Siren is a strong power, but it turns out Atalanta is a tough opponent for the sea creature. If Siren is too slow, this might give time for Atalanta to create a plateau of levels 1, or even levels 2 in the endgame. Once the board reaches that state, it will become very hard for Siren to even attempt to win. If you like to play with Atalanta, this matchup is indicated for you.

Theseus

Theseus is maybe the weakest hero and that’s why Atalanta vs Theseus is a sensible matchup (even better for Atalanta). Moreover, just as against Medea, Atalanta doesn’t have to be high to generate threats and this makes Theseus even weaker.

Conclusion

Unlike what it seems at first sight, moving any number of times for just one turn, is not that powerful. Sure, there is a lot Atalanta can try, but the most common situation is that Atalanta’s threats will be defended and she will eventually have to use her power to defend an opponent’s threat which will result in a game loss most of the time.

Tier ranking: C