The Leader
Voridus as a leader focuses on aggression and effective rush strategies. The main way he mixes up combat is by using Infusion which is a dangerous plasma gel unique to Voridus that damages and slows ground units. The key to victory with Voridus is understanding and utilizing Infusion to your advantage. All of his new units make use of Infusion in some way and most of his abilities are built around the new mechanic as well.
Infusion can be used in a variety of ways and makes great combo pieces both with new units and abilities working in tandem. It can be used to give you an extra edge in battle and is great for area denial due to the fact that it stays on the map for a long time. Voridus rewards aggressive early expansion and attacks but Infusion remains effective in mid and late game engagements as well. The only problem with Infusion is getting it on the battlefield but making good use of new units is the best way to solve this problem.
New Units
Voridus: The new hero unit is Voridus himself. Initially, a little disappointing as he behaves in the same way as the hero unit for Decimus. Armed with a standard gravity hammer makes Voridus fairly useless without upgrades but as you upgrade him he becomes one of the most useful ways to spread Infusion. His first upgrade creates pools of infusion with each strike of his hammer making him a great unit to utilize to decimate early game infantry engagements and the pools of Infusion this can create around enemy bases can be particularly devastating and annoying for your opponent. Another great way to spread infusion with Voridus is to make use of his special ability which when used will cause a damaging shockwave around him great for using on clustered units in addition to the initial damage Voridus will leave a trail of Infusion behind him for a period of time, so send him on walkabouts to cover the combat area in Infusion.
Furthur upgrades will increase his health and damage and the effectiveness of his Infusion. His final upgrade will stealth him whenever he's in a pool of Infusion that combined with his special ability increases your chances of being able to spread Infusion where it's needed most. Naturally, he has no anti-air capabilities but he is very effective against infantry, vehicles and buildings. Voridus remains useful throughout the match as one of the easiest ways to make use of Infusion.
Brute Grenadiers: These specialist Brute units replace the suicide grunts in the barracks. They are durable units that deal decent splash damage and are effective against infantry but not effective against air, vehicles or buildings. At 230 resources and 0 energy and not requiring tech level makes them extremely effective rush units. A bulk of them can easily be built up in the early game to counter rushes from your opponents. Combining Brute Grenadiers with Jump Pack Brutes has proven to be an extremly effective tactic to use. Simply focus on gaining resources and you'll be able to build up an effective early game army, with the Brute Grenadiers dealing with enemies allowing the Jump Pack Brutes to decimate bases. Throw in Voridus for increased support and some Infusion pools and you could be winning matches in under 15 minutes. This tactic combined with combat spoils passive ability which gives you more resources when attacking enemy buildings means that even unsuccessful attacks reap you some reward and allows you to quickly replace lost units for a quick follow-up attack.
Brute Grenadiers have some other bonuses as well, upon death, they explode causing damage to nearby units in addition to this they leave behind a pool of Infusion upon detonation. They also have a special ability that allows them to soak up pools of Infusion to increase their speed, damage and armour. They deploy in pairs so you can use the Infusion produced by the dead brute to buff the survivor. This means that the death of a bunch of this unit can easily cover an area in Infusion and wipe out your adversary's units making them great for suicide missions to harass your opponent. They remain effective units throughout the game thanks to some additional upgrades, their first upgrade increases their damage against vehicles and structures again making them extremely effective rush units especially in support of Jump Pack Brutes. A further upgrade increases their range and the impact of their grenades will create shortly lived Infusion pools.
Infused Engineer: This unit replaces the standard Engineer available to other Banished leaders. The only difference is that they are slightly tougher and instead of the bubble shield special ability they instead lob a glob of Infusion at targeted areas dealing damage on impact and leaving behind a large pool of long-lasting Infusion.
Naturally, they still focus on their ability to heal your units as the special ability has a big cooldown meaning they are still primarily a support unit. Again with a focus on resources it's very easy to mass produce these in the early game, they make an excellent addition to the Brute Grenadier and Jump Pack Brute combo mentioned above by providing healing allowing for sustained attacks, whilst their special ability is great for dealing extra damage and covering an area in Infusion which can easily wipe out infantry units and soften up vehicles.
A bunch of Infused Engineers lobbing Infusion across the battlefield is one of the easiest and most fun ways to make use of the leader powers Invigorating Frenzy and Cataclysm, more on those later.
Volatile Scarab: Put simply the Volatile Scarab is exactly the same as the standard Scarab but with the added bonus that its powerful beam attack leaves behind pools of Infusion. It costs the same as other Scarabs so fielding it does have an advantage over its standard counterparts. As with all super units, they can be the deciding factor in many battles and allow you to push through for that final win, with the added bonus of Infusion making them more effective at doing this. However, a good opponent will always know how to effectively counter a Scarab so make sure to support it with Infused engineers for healing and the appropriate units to counter your enemies which will allow the Scarab to decimate units and bases and spread vast amounts of Infusion. Spread a bunch of Infusion about with your Scarab and then use Cataclysm for a truly devastating and powerful combo piece.
New Abilities
Success with Voridus requires some careful use of his new abilities.
Infused Mine: Drops a single powerful mine on the battlefield which when detonated leaves behind a large pool of Infusion. A recent balance update improved the effectiveness of all mine leader powers but I still find that the initial ability point is better spent elsewhere.
Combat Spoils: A very interesting passive ability which as mentioned above gives you resources when attacking enemy bases. Perfect for early game rushes allowing you to get a significant lead in resources over your opponents to allow for a quick and easy follow-up attack. Harassment and scouting of enemy bases also benefit from trickling in some more resources. Can be upgraded an additional time to improve its effectiveness.
Grenadier Drop: Drops in one pair of veteran level one Brute Grenadiers. The initial impact of the drop will damage units and also has the added bonus of leaving behind a pool of Infusion. Drop them into the middle of your opponents forces to wreak some serious havoc particularly if the brutes die. If they survive you could choose to make use of the infusion pool and the Brute Grenadiers special ability to buff them. The ability cannot be upgraded further but it remains useful throughout the game to deal damage and reinforce your troops on the fly.
Infusion Wake: Creates a swirling vortex that can be controlled by the player that damages units and buildings and leaves behind a trail of Infusion, allowing you to effectively paint desired areas with Infusion. Is short-lived but is cheap and has a quick cooldown, can be upgraded a further two times. A great combo piece to be used with Invigorating Frenzy and Cataclysm.
Invigorating Frenzy: Activating this ability causes all Infusion on the battlefield to provide healing to your troops as well as boost their speed and damage. Of course, its effectiveness depends on how much Infusion you have on the battlefield and whether your troops are close enough to benefit from this. This problem can be easily overcome with some creative use of your assets such as using Infusion Wake to paint your own troops, Using the Voridus hero unit special ability around your troops and using the infused engineer special ability to target your own troops as well. Can be upgraded a further two times increasing its effectiveness and duration.
Infusion Tech: A passive ability that increases the damage of all Infusion and as an added bonus reduces the cost of Infused Engineers and Brute Grenadiers again allowing for easy follow-up attacks. Spending another ability point further increases the effectiveness of Infusion as well as upgrading the Wraith's Scorch mortar attack and Blisterback artillery rounds to spawn Infusion.
Voridus Pack Assault: At level one this will spawn an infused engineer and a Maurader from a spirit dropship as well as cover the drop zone in Infusion. At level two it is significantly upgraded and will instead drop off an Infused Engineer, Wraith and Blisterback. It's expensive but as with all reinforcement abilities its use is varied and remains very versatile.
Maelstrom: Sucks nearby units to its centre diminishing their ability to move or escape. Great for halting enemy advances by its self but its best used in tandem with splash dealing weaponry and of course pools of Infusion. Maelstrom and the Voridus hero unit special ability or a volley of infused engineers Infusion globs make for a great combo especially when used in conjunction with Cataclysm…
Cataclysm: Upon activation, this ultimate ability ignites all Infusion on the map causing a massive spike in damage and allows Infusion to damage air units and buildings. Like Invigorating Frenzy it depends on how much Infusion you have on the battlefield but used effectively this can absolutely devastate and destroy entire armies and bases and at 600 resources and 600 energy, it's not particularly expensive to use particularly as it's a late game ultimate ability. Combo it with all the new units and Infusion abilities to absolutely decimate the late game.
Blitz Mode
Unique cards avaliable for use in Blitz mode:
Voridus 230 energy
Terror Wraith 150 energy
Infusion Wake 100 energy
Cataclysm 80 energy
Infused Engineer 60 energy
Invigorating Frenzy 60 energy
Scarred Grenadiers 50 energy
Infusion Mine 40 energy
Naturally, Infusion is brilliant for defending and harassing capture zones. Unlike standard multiplayer however its very hard to make use of it and get lots of it present on the battlefield. Your combo pieces can be rendered extremely ineffective should you miss place or miss time their use. Voridus is an easy way to get lots of Infusion present but as a melee unit he is not super useful in Blitz and can be easily killed.
Overall Voridus and his unique cards do not play that well at all compared to other leaders. Overall I would avoid using him in blitz as its extremely challenging to use the available cards to any great effect.
