Description
Board Position is where you set a unit down before the fight starts.
Read moreShow less about Board Position
Each player's half of the board is four rows deep and seven hexes wide. The row nearest the enemy is the front row. Some effects call it the first row. The row furthest from the enemy is the back row.
A champion attacks whichever enemy is closest to it. So the front row is where a tough unit soaks the hits. The back row is where a fragile damage dealer is left alone the longest.
A whole family of effects reads the row a unit stands in:
- Some pay out for every ally in the front row.
- Some pay out only for the back rows.
- Some pay out only for a unit standing alone in its row.
- A few reach across and weaken whoever is in the enemy's first two rows.
Note: Nearly all of them are measured at the moment combat starts. What counts is where you put the unit, not where it walks to afterwards.
What benefits from Board Position (13)
Emblems that benefit from Board Position (1)
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- +30 Armor
- +30 MR
The holder gains the Defender trait. Combat Start: Gain 6% Attack Speed for every ally that starts in the front row.
Your team gains 12 Armor and Magic Resist. Defenders gain more.
- 2
- 25
- 4
- 60
- 6
- 115
Augments that benefit from Board Position (9)
Prismatic (1)
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Hold the Line Prismatic Champions in your back 2 rows gain 11% Ability Power and 11% Attack Damage for each champion that starts combat in your front row.
Gold (3)
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Glass Cannon II Gold Allies that start combat in the back row begin combat at 80% Health but gain 25% Damage Amp.
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Infinity Protection Gold Gain 3 gold now. On Stage 3-7, gain an Infinity Force. Infinity Force gives allies in the same row a 12% Health shield. Monsters Attack Championship, 2023
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Solo Plate Gold Gain a Gargoyle Stoneplate. Allies holding Gargoyle Stoneplate gain 17% max Health if they start combat alone in their row.
Silver (5)
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Boxing Lessons Silver Your team gains 30 Health for each champion that starts combat in the front row.
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Corrosion Silver Enemies in the first two rows lose 4 Armor and Magic Resist every 2 seconds.
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Find Your Center Silver Your champion that starts combat in the center of the front row gains 15% Damage Amp and 25% max Health.
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Glass Cannon I Silver Allies that start combat in the back row begin combat at 80% Health but gain 16% Damage Amp.
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Twin Guardians Silver If you have exactly 2 allies in your first row, grant them 100 Health, 35 Armor, and 35 Magic Resist.
Wisps that benefit from Board Position (3)
- Backrow Star Combat
A random back row champion gains 100% Attack Speed for 7 seconds.
- Iron Core Combat
Your front center champion gains 6% Max Health per front-row unit.
- Stand Alone Combat
Champions alone in their row gain 15% Health and 15% Damage Amp.
See also
Frequently asked questions
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How many rows do I have, and which one is the front row?
You have four rows. The front row is the row nearest the enemy.
- Your half of the board is four rows deep and seven hexes wide, 28 hexes in all.
- A team size cap limits how many you fill.
- Rows are numbered from the fighting line outward.
- The row nearest the enemy is your front row, the one card text also calls the first row.
- The farthest row is your back row.
So "the first two rows" are the two nearest the enemy, and "the back 2 rows" are the two farthest.
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Is "same row" the same thing as "adjacent"?
No. A row is a whole line of seven hexes, so two allies share a row while standing far apart and never touching.
Adjacent means their hexes touch.
- It is the ring around a unit, at most six hexes.
- The ring reaches sideways and into the rows in front and behind.
- That ring is also a melee unit's reach: one attack range hits only adjacent hexes.
Note: Row wording cares about the line, adjacency about contact. Check which word the card uses.
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My unit walked forward out of its row during the fight — did it lose the row bonus?
No. Ally row effects are written "starts combat in" that row. The check is read once as the fight opens, and the bonus stays.
- You arrange units before the round begins.
- Once it starts they move and fight on their own.
- Melee ones walk forward because they can only hit adjacent hexes.
- What counts is the hex you left it on.
Note: Effects on a repeating timer are the exception. They keep re-applying. See combat start.
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Which units count toward a front-row or back-row count?
Only the champions standing on the battlefield when the round begins.
- The bench holds champions you have bought but not fielded.
- A benched one never fights, so it cannot add to a row count.
Your board is four rows deep. The two rows facing the enemy are the front rows, and the two behind them are the back rows.
Note: A team size cap, set by your player level, limits how many you can field at once.
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What does "alone in their row" actually mean?
No other ally of yours in that line of hexes when combat starts.
- Each side sets up on its own half of the board, so at that instant only your own units can share your row.
- It is a start-of-combat read.
- What matters is where you set units down, not where they walk afterwards.
Note: The payout needs a lone unit, so these effects pull you toward spreading out. That is the opposite of what adjacency bonuses reward.
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An effect hits "the first two rows" — whose rows are those, and does it follow units as they move?
Whichever side the card names. The live wording of this kind names enemy champions, so it reaches the enemy's first two rows. That is the row nearest the fight and the one behind it, not their back row.
Timing follows the wording too:
- "Starts combat in" is read once at the opening.
- This effect ticks on a repeating timer, so it re-checks and keeps applying as units move.
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Which front-row unit actually gets attacked first — the one in the middle or the one in the corner?
Neither by default. Reach decides, not toughness.
- When combat begins each unit targets the closest enemy.
- Whichever champion the enemy advance reaches first is engaged first.
- That depends on where their units start.
- Attack range is measured in hexes.
- A champion with 1 range can only hit enemies in adjacent hexes.
Note: A corner is not reliably safe. Some abilities carry their own targeting, picking the furthest unit or the lowest-Health one in range.
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Is loading up the front row ever a trap?
Yes, in two ways.
The first trap is chasing a per-front-row-ally payout. Effects that pay per front-row ally reward a wide front line, but every extra body there is one the enemy reaches first. Reach decides who is attacked. So pushing a fragile damage dealer up for one more stack can cost more than it pays.
Note: The mirror trap is treating the back row as safe. It is the farthest row, not unreachable. Some abilities target the furthest unit instead of the nearest.
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How am I supposed to position against an opponent I have not seen yet?
You scout. Between rounds you can open other players' boards and read their units, items and how they are set up. So your own setup is an informed choice rather than a guess.
Scout before the moments that matter:
- A big roll.
- A level-up.
- An item slam.
Note: Re-check as boards change, because what the lobby is running shifts round to round.