Diao Chan 貂蝉 (*SP002)

Translated Description:
"The Malevolent Puppeteer 暗黑的傀儡师 (àn hēi dè kuǐ lěi shī)"

Who is she:
There is only so much I need to say about Diao Chan. She's probably one of the top 10 most famous people in ROTK, as well as in SGS! In the previous version, the artwork is more kiddy, wide-eyed, bambi-like.

Not anymore.

Meet the succubus of ancient China. If looks alone couldn't kill, she can easily seduce another man that gladly will. Personal opinion? I prefer matured, crafty, sadistic women. This Diao Chan... I like.

Why is she an SP character?
Technically speaking, Diao Chan is already over-exposed in SGS. Her 2011 SP version created quite a stir, as so many wanted a glimpse of her fresh out of the shower. Her original ability "Seed of Animosity 离间" was perfect as well. Do we really need another Diao Chan?

Well if you read into her new ability in this evil version, it is just absolute evil and merciless. It kind of makes the male victim seem like a useless empty shell really. The closest example I can think of to describe what I feel about the new Diao Chan are the "Mermaids" in Pirates of the Carribean: Fountain of Youth. Beautiful, seductive, and absolutely deadly. Oh I love it!

Character Ability 1: Soul Surrender 离魂 (lí hún)
In the action phase, you can discard one card and flip over your character card. If you do so, you can acquire all the on-hand cards of one male character. At the end of the action phase, you must return that male character one card for every remaining health unit that he has.

Limited to one use per turn.

Character ability 2: Envious Moon 闭月 (bì yuè)
At the end of your turn, you can draw one card from the deck.

Additional Info based on changes:
Her new ability is dangerous both towards her enemy and herself. She can 'focus' her charm towards a male character, claiming their "soul" (ie: his on-hand cards) and leaving him totally vulnerable. If you can injure him heavily, or even kill him, good for you. This ability is especially powerful when she gains damaging cards like DUEL 决斗, BARBARIANS 南蛮入侵, RAINING ARROWS 万箭齐发, etc.

And let's not forget the carnage she can unleash with the Ancient Scimitar 古锭刀 equipped.

However, this ability comes at a cost. Discard one is no big deal since she can easily take over her victim's cards, but flipping her character card will cost her one full turn. "Envious Moon" will grant her some extra defense, but one extra card for one turn lost can only do so much.

How to obtain this character:
Purchase the 13th issue of Zhuo You Zhi magazine to get this limited character card as a free gift!

Feng Sheng 风声 - The Message

It's definitely not the first time you have heard of this game, but Feng Sheng absolutely rocks!! I completely love it!

Too bad I can't find enough people to like the game as much as I do so that I can play it more often. SGS always takes precedence.

Since I have gotten this blog going, I thought I could get a similar one started as well for Feng Sheng. Thus unveiling the latest add-on to my collection of blogs...

The "Feng Sheng English Blog"...

... as you can tell, I have absolutely run out of creative names.

Nonetheless, I truly hope that the Feng Sheng blog could give you a better idea of why I like the game so much. Perhaps you would grow to like it too!

Visit the Feng Sheng blog here!

Till my next post, have fun and continue to 杀 in the meantime!

Mǎ Chāo 马超 (SP011)

Translated Description:
"The Lion of the West 西凉的猛狮"

Who is he?
Cao Cao 曹操 once said: “If Ma Chao does not die, I am going to meet a terrible end.” That gives you an idea of how strong Ma Chao was. He was one of the Five Tigers in Shu Kingdom in fiction, which was pretty close to factual history. Prior to that, Ma Chao was extremely aggressive fighting against his nemesis, the man who slew his entire family: Cao Cao. That explains why he eventually decided to join Liu Bei’s campaign.

Why is he an SP character?
He used to be one of the biggest warlords in west and had a strong reputation even before he met Liu Bei. Thus for completing the whole world of Three Kingdoms in SGS, YOKA released this "younger" version of Ma Chao.

Character ability1: “Horsemanship 马术 (mǎ shù)” [Enforced ability] 
You will always be -1 distance in any range calculations.

Character ability2: “Iron Calvary 铁骑(tiě jì)”
Whenever you use ATTACK 杀 on any target player, you can choose to flip over one judgement card from the deck. If the judgement card is of a red-suit (hearts and diamonds), the ATTACK cannot be evaded with DODGE闪.

Additional info based on changes:
Nothing changed but his drawing, just like most other SP characters. Too bad about the Magneto-looking helmet though.

Wiki Links:
- Ma Chao Wiki

How to obtain this character?
He isn’t available on SGS online so far! For obtaining a card, purchase ZYZ magazine issue #11 (November 2011).