Merge Tactics Season 8 Update – Grand Warden, New Troops & Shield Modifiers
Season 8 brings the Grand Warden ruler with Shield Sponsor ability, four returning troops (Executioner, Royal Ghost, Bandit, Princess), new shield modifiers, +1 Elixir per round, and expanded trait synergies.
Credit: ReTaik
Merge Tactics Season 8: Everything You Need to Know
Season 8 is here with the biggest content drop yet: a brand new ruler, four returning troops, eight new modifiers, and a fundamental change to elixir economy. Here's the full breakdown.
New Ruler: Grand Warden
The Grand Warden is a bookworm with great knowledge of the mighty shield. His ability, Shield Sponsor, grants a random shield to the ally with the lowest HP percentage at 5 seconds and 15 seconds into combat. The second shield impacts a 3-tile radius upon breaking.
What makes the Grand Warden unique is that the type of shield changes every game, adding a layer of randomness. The four shield types are:
| Shield | Effect |
|---|---|
| Rage Shield | Shield breaks: troop and surrounding allies gain +50% bonus Hit and Movement Speed for 8s |
| Slowdown Shield | Shield breaks: troop slows surrounding enemies' Hit and Movement Speed by -35% for 8s |
| Star Shield | Shield breaks: troop and surrounding allies level up |
| Lava Shield | Shield breaks: troop deals DOT to surrounding enemies for 8s (-10% max HP/second) |
Early impressions: The shield provides a solid HP buffer and the break effects can swing fights. The Lava Shield's damage-over-time and the Star Shield's level-up effect seem particularly strong. Positioning matters: you want the shield on a frontline unit so surrounding allies benefit from the break effect.
Returning Troops
No troops are leaving the pool this season: four fan-favorites are making a comeback instead!
3-Elixir Troops
-
Executioner: Ace & Hinder: Throws his boomerang axe at the nearest target across several hexes -
Royal Ghost: Assassin & Undead: Becomes invisible for 3s every few seconds
4-Elixir Troops
-
Bandit: Ace & Assassin: Dashes to the farthest enemy in 3 Hexes after certain hits, dealing damage and stunning all in her path for 1s -
Princess: Noble & Hinder: Fires flaming arrows at the farthest enemy, dealing damage in a 2-Hex Radius
Elixir Economy Change
To support the larger troop pool, every ruler now grants +1 Elixir per round. You'll get 5 Elixir every round instead of 4. This means Elixir Loong now grants 6 Elixir per round with his ruler ability.
This change benefits all rulers but particularly boosts:
- Elixir Loong: 6 Elixir allows faster upgrades
- Spirit Empress: Extra Elixir means faster merges
- Echo Sage / Dagger Duchess: More flexibility to use abilities without falling behind in economy
Expanded Trait Synergies
With the larger troop pool, several traits now support higher-tier buffs:
- Ace, Assassin & Hinder traits now support a 4-troop Trait buff
- Noble & Undead traits with Ultimate Origins modifier now support a 6-troop Trait buff
This opens up far more composition flexibility and rewards creative deckbuilding.
New Modifiers
Season 8 introduces several new modifiers alongside the shield modifiers:
| Modifier | League | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Winners Gonna Win | Bronze II | Winning grants +2 Elixir |
| 3-Star Fantasy | Silver I | 3-Star troops gain +100% HP and +50% damage |
| Trait Gift | Silver II | Round End: Each active Trait grants +1 Elixir |
| We are the Champions | Gold I | 5-Elixir troops gain +50% HP and +30% damage |
| Rage Shield | Bronze III | Shield breaks: +50% Hit and Movement Speed for 8s |
| Slowdown Shield | Silver II | Shield breaks: -35% enemy Hit and Movement Speed for 8s |
| Star Shield | Gold II | Shield breaks: troop and surrounding allies level up |
| Lava Shield | Diamond | Shield breaks: DOT to surrounding enemies (-10% max HP/s for 8s) |
Trait Gift stands out as particularly interesting: it incentivizes building comps with many active traits rather than stacking one or two, rewarding diversity in your builds.
Trophy Reset & Season Rewards
As with every new season, trophies have been reset. Make sure to climb the ladder to unlock all the new modifiers and earn the Grand Warden skins:
- Dark Warden: Reward Track
- Gilded Warden: Reward Track
- Bubblin' Warden: Shop (available at season start)
- Looney Loong: Elixir Loong skin (coming in May)
TL;DR
- Grand Warden: New ruler: Shield Sponsor grants random shields at 5s and 15s to lowest HP% ally
- 4 returning troops: Executioner, Royal Ghost, Bandit, Princess (no troops removed)
- +1 Elixir per round for all rulers (5 base, 6 with Elixir Loong)
- 8 new modifiers including shield-based and economy modifiers
- Expanded traits: Ace, Assassin, Hinder now reach 4-troop synergy; Noble, Undead reach 6-troop with Ultimate Origins
- Trophy reset with new skins and rewards
Related Guides
- Season 7 Balance Changes: Previous balance update
- Troops Wiki: Updated card stats and costs
- Traits Wiki: Breakpoint bonuses
- Tier List: Current card rankings