Diāo Chán 貂蝉

Translated description:

"The Dancer with Unrivaled Beauty 绝世的舞姬 (jué shì dè wǔ jì)"

Wikipedia link: Diao Chan Wiki

Who is she:

Regarded as one of the 4 great beauties of ancient China, Diao Chan is one of the classic examples of the "Beautiful Maiden Ploy 美人计". The willing pawn of Wang Yun 王允 in his grand scheme to destroy the tyrannical Dong Zhuo 董卓, Diao Chan flirted with Lu Bu 吕布 while submitting herself to Dong Zhuo as his concubine. In doing so, she pitted godfather against godson, causing severe dissension and distrust amongst them. Dong Zhuo relents that he needs the incredible combat skills of Lu Bu to maintain his power, but the mercenarial Lu Bu had little to lose. Wang Yun further convinces Lu Bu to murder Dong Zhuo and take Diao Chan for himself, which he eventually does. In some versions of the story, Diao Chan is said to have truly loved Lu Bu but became distraught on knowing Wang Yun's scheme. The original version, however, seems to state that Diao Chan knowingly wanted to kill Dong Zhuo and participated actively in Wang Yun's ploy.

Character ability 1: "Seed of Animosity 离间 (lí jiān)"

During your action phase, you can discard one card (either on-hand or equipped) and select two male characters to undergo DUEL 决斗 with each other. This ability cannot be neutralized using NEGATE 无懈可击. Limited to one use per turn.

Note that Diao Chan must select one of the male characters to be the first to use ATTACK 杀 on the other male character. If this first character does not or is unable to use ATTACK, he will suffer 1 unit of damage and the ability ends (the other male character need not use ATTACK).

Character ability 2: "Envious Moon 闭月 (bì yuè)"

In the end of your turn, you can draw one additional card from the deck.

Ability's relation to story:

"Seed of Animosity" is one of the best matched ability to the story in the entire game. This ability completely embodies Diao Chan's persona in the story, which is simply using her beauty to cause two men to fight each other. "Envious Moon" comes from a longer proverb used to describe the 4 great beauties of ancient China.

"沉鱼落雁, 闭月羞花" which means the fish stare at them till they forget to swim and sink to the bottom, the geese forget to flap their wings and fall to earth, the moon hides behind the clouds in envy, and the flowers slink low and bow the petals in shame. Why does Diao Chan get to take one extra card for being beautiful? The same reason Zhou Yu 周瑜 gets one more card for being handsome!

Additional info based on story:

1. Most famous achievement - Causing Lu Bu to kill Dong Zhuo and, thus, ridding the world of a super tyrant. To be blunt, Diao Chan is hardly known for anything else other than this achievement and her beauty.

2. Cause of death - Unknown!! Many versions abound with regards to the fate of Diao Chan after Dong Zhuo's death. Some say she was killed while Lu Bu escaped, some said she died with Lu Bu after he was executed by Cao Cao 曹操. More extreme versions claim she was presented as a gift to Guan Yu 关羽 from Cao Cao for his temporary allegiance to the Wei Kingdom.

FAQ and Disambiguation

1. Would Diao Chan be a source of attack or is the player whom Diao Chan appointed to Duel with another player, the source?

Ans: The other player whom she appoints will become the source. Therefore it is very useful for pitting Ruler against Loyalist. Hopefully Loyalist die and Ruler discards everything.


2. Can Diao Chan make Zhu Ge Liang and somebody else Duel when Zhuge has no cards on hand?

Ans: Nope. Elder Zhu Ge Liang cannot become the target of Duel even if it is her ability.


3. If Diao Chan uses Seed of Animosity on Cao Cao and Cao Cao has no 'sha' (he is selected to attack first), then does Cao Cao takes the discard card as a source of damage?

Ans: The discard is simply to trigger the ability.It is not the source of damage so Cao Cao does not get the card.