Super-Evolution

To commemorate the release of Set 16: New World Genesis, Shadowverse Evolve has also adopted the Super-Evolution mechanic. It comes with a card with rules text as below:

That’s a good amount of text, so let’s break it down a bit.

When can I Super-Evolve?

Super-Evolution can be performed starting on your 6th turn going second or 7th turn going first (and yes that does mean that there is a very unfortunate mnemonic you can use for this). When you use an Evolution ability (and only an Evolution ability with this specific icon) on the appropriate turn, you may spend your Super-Evolution Point (henceforth known as SEP). Once you have spent your SEP, that's it, no more Super-Evolution for you. Note that the SEP is not a play-point substitution mechanic the way that the Evolution Point is, but rather an optional payment for a bonus effect. It does not replace the usage of Evolution Points.

Now you may ask what you get for spending this resource, which leads to our next section

Super-Evolution? What is it good for?

At base, Super-Evolution gives the Super-Evolving follower an additional +1/+1. Also, starting in Set 16, some followers will have an “On Super-Evolve” effect in addition to their “On Evolve” effects. When you perform Super-Evolution, both of these effects trigger, in whatever order and timing window as the active player would like. An appendix below will explain some intricacies with concrete examples.

Ask your Doctor if Super-Evolution is right for your followers

So now we can get into the meat of the matter - who and when should we be Super-Evolving? This is a pretty deep and complex strategic subject, so this section will merely aim to provide a framework of how to evaluate using this game mechanic.

For starters, “On Super-Evolve” effects are good consideration. These effects tend to be on cards that point you toward specific archetypes. Some examples are for Fairy Forest, for 7-cost Dragon, and for Departed Abyss. These On Super-Evolve effects apply a massive boost toward what their respective strategies are trying to do. If your deck is a little more midrange and less linear, is an option for a more value-oriented Super-Evolve effect.

But who's to say you have to play “On Super Evolve” effects at all? An extra point of Storm damage is nothing to scoff at, and notably, the extra health can help dodge quick removal. Here is a quick non-exhaustive list of followers who can Storm and Evolve:

• 
• 
• and
• 
• 
• 
• when granted Storm by

For a lot of these followers the extra attack is valuable but the extra defense is nothing to scoff at either. Quick spells exist at very specific damage breakpoints and dodging those can decide the outcome of the game. Storm isn't the only combat keyword to consider, Drain also benefits here, such as on .

The last but definitely not least important consideration is strategic statline Super-Evolves and this is mostly covering when the benefits are more abstract than immediate. Since removal is often based on specific damage values, super-evolving to get to a specific defense value on your follower can determine whether or not you can win the game from that spot. An example would be . He's such an important part of the Festive strategy that it usually ends the game if he survived a turn. Therefore, it can be worth the investment of your SEP to try to keep him alive, since that would immediately win the game.

It's the most innovative mechanic we've played with in years

I think it is no exaggeration to say that Super-Evolution will have a major impact on how Shadowverse Evolve plays after its release. Decision points in TCGs are always a good way to leverage your skill or feel like you have some agency and it's important to understand how best to use your SEP in every matchup and game state, you'll certainly have more fun by doing so.

Appendix: Some Examples of Super-Evolution

Below are some Super-Evolution examples, and huge thanks to prominent community members and judges BoatsDon’tSink and Wibbs for explaining these interactions:

Case 1: The Wasteland of Dr. Mukan

A little bit of a preface here, you can have “dodge” her own banish effect when her Fanfare is simultaneously triggered with an effect that would trigger her Last Words in the same window, for example, by being buried by the Fanfare of . I’ll show how this happens in practice using Mukan’s Super-Evolution, to show that both the effects can happen at the same time:

Setup: We have our initial reanimation targets and follow-up reanimation targets and the ability to Super-Evolve. , another new card from BP16, is the ideal tertial reanimation target, although other Wasteland followers that cost 3 or less would fit the bill.

We perform our Super-Evolution. Since we intend for Illganeau to be buried here, we’ll target Greatpick Corpse with Mukan's On Super-Evolve effect so that it gains Assail.

After all our effects resolve, we are left with half of our turn left and a lot of effects having fired. Mukan triggered 3 times off of these summons and with Gold Rush Ghost’s fanfare that’s a total of 4 healing. If we have another Gold Rush Ghost to target, we can heal for a total of 7 with 4 pp + 1 evo spent.

Case 2: Some Just Want to Watch the World Burnite

I’ll present this one in the form of a lethal puzzle, if you want to test yourself, don’t scroll down too fast.

We’re in a bit of a bind here but we can actually win the game here, given our ability to Super Evolve.

If only we could safely deploy our without losing to the Last Words effect of . Also, this is your warning to stop scrolling here if you don't want to spoil yourself!

The trick here is to NOT immediately shoot the would-be lethal rabbit on fanfare, since the cost makes this effect optional. As we heal using Burnite’s On Super-Evolve effect, we should be able to safely dispatch the deadly rabbit with Burnite's On-Evolve Effect. What will actually happen here is that both of Burnite’s effects here will resolve before any Last Words happen.

Call an ambulance, but not for us! Dispatching Rabbit Necromancer puts our opponent in range of Burnite’s End of Turn effect, which is also now active due to discarding the seventh card to activate. Note: Do not actually burn your opponent’s cards.

That concludes the example appendices for Super-Evolution!