Previous entry: League of Legends: Wild Rift

Remember auto chess? This genre suddenly sprouted from a Dota 2 mod, to a point where I was watching streamers load up the game, who had never even played a single match of the Valve monolith. Eventually, the genre became a craze that took over the zeitgeist from battle royales; that's how obsessed people were about this. The original mod creators went out to make their own version, while Valve adapted their property into Dota Underlords. Developer Riot made their version as well, like they steal any Valve game, with the creation of Teamfight Tactics (TFT).

For me, Dota Underlords was the perfect balance between the three iterations. The original didn't have a strong hook and TFT had that compounding League of Legends complexity that I just don't gel with. Underlords is straightforward, it has recognizable characters and its layers are easy to understand. Being on Steam is likely also a big advantage, though I've played more of the mobile port than anything. I've since attained the highest rank in the game and can call myself Lord of White Spire. That's probably a Dota thing; I don't know, I also have not played the original. In any case, I'm a big deal!

Well, to be frank, I'm only a Lord in the baby mode, Knockout. This version is a sped up distillation from the main game. There's a reason for that. If you've answered "no" to my previous question of remembering auto chess, then you are probably in the majority of people who have gotten the genre to dry up as quick as it landed. Underlords is a dead game, technically, which makes achieving great heights a little easier. It's not that you can't find a game; queues still pop in the fast mode, every minute or two. Rather, Valve has put the game on life support, like any of the company's projects that slither out, before Gabe goes back to printing money with Steam. Think of that what you will with the upcoming Steam Deck in mind.

There hasn't been an update in forever, which makes the meta just what it is now. Some compositions are strong, some are useless and there's no movement in that. This is mainly why the regular mode has a low player count. No one wants to spend over half an hour trying to build a team with units that are objectively worse, as everyone sucks up the limited pool of prime choices. Still, where Underlords has been left to die is kind of a nice place. It's like a hospice, but nature is really beautiful outside of its windows with no escape. It beats the view of a literal graveyard that my grandfather had, but I digress. There are a lot of good combinations that, with a bit of luck and some good item choices, can stop a fully upgraded Slark with a Mask of Madness. That's what's called an "S-tier" unit. Yes, there's a meta, but it's pretty wide and that's more than can be said for several other franchises.

So, how is the game played? Well, everyone starts with some gold and a bench that can hold a few units. Getting multiples of the same Dota hero will upgrade them to two and three stars, with its final form receiving an added bonus. There are two main layers on top of that. One comes from choosing increasingly better items that can be held by units, like the aforementioned Slark. Alternate things that are possible with items are increasing a certain alliance, which boosts multiple pieces at once, or obstructions that can be placed on the board. The other layer is managing an economy with a set of rules, like getting a bigger bonus every ten gold or receiving a pittance from a lost round. Oh, as the name implies, you're also given one of four overlords that have a specific theme. These special characters sort of funnel you to play a certain way, by granting the team a powerful boon.

A standard tactic in Underlords is trying to get to three star units as soon as possible, since their stats are just a lot better. Getting a finished Alchemist that burns down the entire enemy board will offer a lot of leeway for your dudes who haven't really popped yet. Another strategy is making sure that alliances are synergetic. Most units have several allegiances, which can be fit into a symbiotic group of bonuses. It's really fun to comprise a plan for which alliances are going to get the most out of the team, like a mini puzzle game within a game. On top of that, some of the openness that comes from building a team makes it possible to react to enemies. If someone is crushing your damage-heavy squad with magic, you can get scaly friends that resist those attacks, while also stunning the crap out of foes. Like any game, a healthy dose of crowd control goes a long way. Slark has both of those as well, by the way. Slark is very cool.

As a match advances, units that cost more gold will appear in the slot reels. A late game pick is a lot more powerful, but it's a lot more expensive, appears rarely and it's unlikely to grow. This push and pull of ramping choices is how the meta is created, as the bulk of the game is won earlier on. Usually, the big hitters are Beastmaster, Lycan, Omniknight or, of course, Slark. All of those cost three gold, which is the sweet spot between getting someone early and them being beefy. Still, a common late entry is Faceless Void; an assassin for five gold that freezes a large chunk of the playing field, while other members keep hacking away. Assassins are the best alliance, as they're highly mobile and do tons of damage. Spirits are kinda similar to that, but with a magical area of effect, which makes them a strong second.

Yet, Underlords really shines in how minimal these advantages are. Demons are glass cannons that are tough to maintain, but their damage can delete any board instantly. Regular old brawlers melt in the late game, but getting a lot of them early can overwhelm opponents before they can get there. Almost any combination, except one or two, has a fighting chance, if you know what you're doing. It'll take a while to really get a grasp of every part of the huge Underlords glossary, but even that has a lot of leniency. Since the depth comes in all these little steps, you can just mix and match alliances first, then figure out what abilities complement those choices, then figure out three star stuff and so on. When I first started, I didn't know a single late game ability and still managed to create teams that could win games. As long as stuff hits, it hits! That's the beauty of the game.

Dota Underlords is worth a whirl, considering the entry barrier is low and it's even possible to play against artificial opponents. The game is self-evident, it's elegant and it's versatile. And hey, since it's also in its death throes, just imagine how good you could be. You, too, could become a Lord of White Spire, since that's a lot more like a time investment than it is a skill barrier, at this point. If anything, the auto chess genre is just a clever spin on an active puzzle game, with a ton of replayability on top of that. There's a special joy to watching troops you've commandeered, but have no control over, duke it out and come out on top. That's the kinda stuff that makes you feel smart; you did that!

I'm sure Valve will update it any day now. Any day...