Sirius:
Challenge Level:
MEDIUM
Backstory:
Sirius was part of the first generation of Super Snipers—back when they were still designed to be immortal. Cut off from his anti-aging drug regimen, Sirius is beginning to feel his age of 145 years. No other living Super Sniper has as much experience or as many confirmed kills. Sirius is the definition of “cool under pressure.” Securing the city is a priority for him, as the abandoned Military Compound there likely still has a stash of the anti-aging drug he so desperately needs.
Basic Ability: Composure
This power requires both set-up and sacrifice to use. You must first earn the Concentrate Bonus to use this ability. This ability is used instead of the normal Concentrate power. Remove the Innocent from the board when covering their space. If the space later becomes uncovered, the Innocent must be returned.
Adrenaline Ability: Breath Control
Active Focus refers to the Focus that you are placing this turn (typically the left-most Focus in the LOS). This power allows you to take Breath Focus (gray) out of sequence from your own LOS or anywhere from your opponent’s LOS. You may still use a Clear to discard a Focus taken this way. During clean-up between rounds, return any Focus belonging to your opponent.
Sirius’ Basic Ability allows them to isolate an innocent with a single Focus. This can be very powerful. But it requires at least two Time Focus to take advantage of; and focusing on it too much may mean missing out on more efficient plays that would skip earning the Concentrate Bonus all together, or using it normally. Stay flexible and use the power only when it will put you ahead. You can also look for opportunities to use your Recalibrate to steal a Time Focus and activate this ability.
Sirius’ Adrenaline Ability should be thought of in much the same way. Use it when it is to your advantage, but don’t grab every Breath Focus just because you can. This ability can also serve to really mess with your opponent’s plans. Let them get a single Breath Focus on their Target Grid and then deny them the opportunity to chain it by stealing future ones from their LOS.
Strategy When Playing as Sirius:
Strategy When Playing against Sirius
Sirius is dependent on Time Focus for his Basic Ability so using a Recalibrate to steal one from his LOS while he is in the Target Phase can potentially hamper him a lot.
While he has Adrenaline, even if you aren’t playing Quickdraw Mode, be quick about picking up Breath Focus from the front of your LOS at the start of your turn. He can’t steal a Focus you are actively placing, and you don’t want to give him time to consider whether he wants it or not.
AI (Solo):
Challenge Level:
HARD
AI Basic Ability: Composure
Sirius’ Basic Ability is an alternate win condition that can trigger regardless of the Target Grid Level you are hiding on.
AI Adrenaline Ability: Breath Control
Sirius’ Adrenaline Ability activates when a Breath Focus is added to either his Target or Surveillance piles. Place that Focus and then immediately play the next one in the LOS. This ability can be triggered a max of once per AI turn.
Sirius is a very tough AI opponent. You won’t have control over what Focus type he draws and plays for Surveillance and you may want to be purposeful about letting the AI find you first to limit your exposure to bad luck (depending on what’s in his LOS, of course). Once in the Target Phase, you will likely want to save your Recalibrate to take a Time Focus and slow down or prevent his Basic Ability from triggering before you can get the Kill.
When the AI has Adrenaline, the Locate Phase becomes even more dangerous as 2 of the 3 Focus types that might be revealed will interact with his abilities. During the Target Phase, you’ll have to make a choice with your Recalibrate whether to intercept a Breath or a Time Focus. When there are two Breath Focus in a row in his LOS, you may as well let the first trigger, as the second will be the one played by the ability and won’t trigger again. In a really tough situation, stealing a Focus just to put 2 Breath Focus together in their LOS can be an option. Good luck!