Barnakelle
It's time to look at the next reanimator for the Shades. Oh, and she's a massive, musclebound troll as well!
How on Tauber does a Troll Become a Reanimator?
With a base energy of 2, a troll isn't a natural fit for a reanimator - a troll shouldn't normally be a healer either, but Knoll performs this admirably. In Knoll’s case, he is aided by a passive ability, a trait common to most trolls. Barnakelle is similar with her own 'Bedeviled Seas' ability, granting a bonus energy if she starts the turn near a Water Feature. This brings her up to 3 energy, perfect for using 'Reanimate'! Better yet, Barnakelle can reanimate characters at range, so long as they emerge from a nearby Water Feature.
The Benefits of Water Features
Ordinarily, being reanimated within a Water Feature would be far from preferable, meaning you were unable to jog or do anything. With Barnakelle's blessing, however, characters brought into play like this can jog over Water Features for the rest of the turn and gain an energy. For the Pirates, a bonus energy is amazingly useful, allowing them to fire their pistol as soon as they return.
Performance with Shades Spirits
“Blink and you’ll miss her mooooOOOOOOooooove!”
For Shades Spirits, 'Blink' from Marley costs 1 energy, which will allow newly reanimated Shades to reposition exceedingly quickly upon their return from the Deadlands. In addition to reanimation, Barnakelle can also help the Spirits with some much-needed muscle. With 12 Wds and +2 to Melee Impact Dmg, Barnakelle can happily hold her ground, especially compared to some of the flimsier Spirits. She can also utilise her signature move to keep threatening characters away from your more flimsy Spirits, or move enemies into the open.
Performance within Dominion
Within Dominion, she doesn't have the easy access to Water Features from the likes of Sen'Ara or Commodore Delahaye, so how does she operate? Mainly, she focuses on the ‘Troll’ keyword. Her final ability, 'Dead Trolls Finger', grants +X energy and -X arcane for a target Troll' or Pirate. This loss of arcane isn't particularly impactful for most Trolls, so practically it just grants extra energy.
“Did you just throw that junk into the water…?”
The best recipient of this ability is Bristlenose: for example, a Blue 3 gives you 3 extra melee attacks with the deadly slicing Troll! But that’s not the only option: some extra energy for Boulder can allow him to move into more inconvenient positions for the opponent, and extra energy for Knoll means you could end the turn with a bunch of 3" melee attacks. As previously mentioned, this ability can also target Pirates, so some of the more melee-focused Dominion ones (like Swash) can hugely benefit too.
If you're looking for a Pirate or Spirit to toughen up your troupe and lend some melee punch, both in herself and her support, you can't go wrong with Barnakelle!
