Unmatched
SInbad
Overview
Sinbad the Sailor is a middle eastern hero who embarked on seven wondrous voyages throughout the seas. He shares his tales with a porter of the same name, detailing his adventures through magical lands and encounters with supernatural monsters. There have been many book, TV, and film adaptations over the years. The most popular being the DreamWorks 2003 animated film Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas.
Sinbad is a brave and resourceful globe-trotting adventurer. During his many voyages he has used his cunning to survive encounters with magical beings, mythical beasts, and terrifying monsters. In Unmatched, Sinbad focuses on his movement and Voyages to make him more powerful as the game progresses.
Sinbad is included in Unmatched: Battle of Legends Vol. 1
Hero Stats
Health: 15 / Attack: Melee / Movement: 2
Special Ability
When you maneuver, you may move your fighters +1 space for each VOYAGE card in your discard pile.
Sidekick: The Porter
Health: 6 / Attack: Melee / x1
Strategies and Tips
Sinbad is a character who starts the game weak but grows stronger as he uses his Voyage cards. The primary objective is to protect him as he grows in strength and go through his deck as quickly as possible. Burning through the deck may seem counterintuitive since running out of cards will put him in an exhausted state, making both fighters take two points of damage for every required card draw; however, it is more important for Sinbad to have his Voyage cards than it is for him to avoid exhaustion.
Sinbad’s ability allows him to gain +1 movement for every discarded Voyage card. It is best to create a separate discard pile for these cards to make it easier to keep track of. On top of the extra movement, each Voyage card gains a +1 attack boost for every Voyage card in the discard pile. While the risk of running out of cards exists, Sinbad can easily overcome the disadvantages with his boosted movement and attacks.
Primary Strengths
High card draw
Late game movement
Late game attack power
Primary Weaknesses
Early game movement
Early game attack power
Heroes with many ways to cancel card effects (e.g. Bigfoot)
Tip #1: Survival of the fittest
In the early game, Sinbad’s strategy is simple: Survive. You should be focused on actively maneuvering away from your opponent and using or discarding your Voyage cards to build strength. Yes, we do recommend discarding certain voyage cards along the way. If you want to see which to conserve and which are safe to discard, see tip #2.
Toil and Danger is a versatile card with a value of 3 that allows you to move Sinbad up to 3 spaces. This is great for creating distance in a pinch.
Leap Away is a versatile card with a value of 4 that allows you to choose one of the fighters in combat and move them up to 4 spaces after combat if you won the combat. This is best used on defense since the value is high and it allows you to escape.
Riches Beyond Compare is a scheme that allows you to draw 3 cards. As previously stated, this allows you to go through your deck even quicker to search for your Voyage cards.
The Porter is very important to this strategy. Use him to distract your opponent from Sinbad and block pathways to keep them from reaching him.
By Fortune and Fate is the Porter’s only exclusive card. This attack has a value of 3 and allows you to draw 2 cards after combat. This is a solid card draw tool, and since your opponent is likely to save their Feint cards for when Sinbad attacks, this is almost a guaranteed 2 card draw.
After you go through some of your deck, your opponent will likely be waiting for you to attack with your voyage cards Here are some solid cards to attack with to bait out their Feint cards:
Commanding Impact is an attack with a value of 5 that allows you to draw 1 card after combat. The attack value is really good, so if they block with a Feint then not drawing a card is worth it for the 3 damage in my opinion.
Exploit is a versatile card with a value of 4 that allows you to draw 1 card after combat. 4 is a solid attack value, and if you successfully bait your opponent, 2 damage is a good trade for not being able to draw a card.
Tip #2: The seven voyages of sinbad
While collectively Sinbad’s Voyage cards have potential to grow in attack power, each card also has a unique after combat effect. Knowing what these effects can do and when to use them are critical to survival in the early and mid-game.
- VOYAGE TO THE CANNIBALS WITH THE ROOT OF MADNESS
This card allows Sinbad to move up to 2 spaces. This ability is more beneficial in the early game since Sinbad’s movement is still low. This is a safe card to discard, and it also doesn’t hurt for this card to go against a Feint.
- VOYAGE TO THE CITY OF THE KING OF SERENDIB
This card allows you to draw one card after combat. The effect may not seem like much, but every extra card drawn is one card closer to another Voyage. We recommend saving this card for mid to late game and avoiding the Feint, but it certainly will not hurt to use it sooner.
- VOYAGE TO THE CITY OF THE MAN EATING APES
This card allows Sinbad to deal 2 damage to the opposing fighter. If used later in the game, this card will deal devastating damage. The ability to deal 2 extra points of unblocked damage after combat is just icing on the cake. Take extra precautions to ensure it does not get canceled with a Feint.
- VOYAGE TO THE CREATURE WITH EYES LIKE COALS ON FIRE
This card forces your opponent to discard 1 random card. This ability is not essential since the outcome is random. This card can be safely discarded or used to bait out a Feint.
- VOYAGE TO THE ISLAND THAT WAS A WHALE
This card allows Sinbad to recover 2 health. This is the only card in Sinbad’s deck that lets him recover health, so this should only be used when you have at least 2 health to recover.
- VOYAGE TO THE VALLEY OF THE GIANT SNAKES
This card allows you to look at your opponent’s hand. Knowing your opponent’s hand could be helpful, but Sinbad does not have any cards in his deck that let him act on that knowledge. It is best to use this card at your discretion, but it can be discarded early with little consequence.
- VOYAGE HOME
This card allows you to take all other Voyage cards from your discard pile and add them to your hand. This card is Sinbad’s best Voyage card. Voyage Home is best saved when you have already discarded most of your Voyage cards. Experienced players may expect you to play this last, holding onto a Feint to cancel it. It is best to save this card as the second or third to last Voyage card you play.
Tip #3: The End game
Once you have most of your Voyage cards discarded you have reached the end game, and now you can focus on quickly overwhelming your opponent. It is important to save the Voyage Home card for this stage of the game. Since this card’s ability could potentially make Sinbad weaker, we also recommend using this when you already have a hand of 5 or 6 good cards. This will allow you to keep 1 or 2 Voyage cards that can help you defeat your opponent, and discard the others to keep you strong. Other valuable cards for this stage of the game are the following:
Momentous Shift is a versatile card with a value of 3 that becomes a 5 during combat if you started your turn in a different space. At this point Sinbad will be able to move upwards of 6 or 7 spaces in one movement. Attacking with this card is a good way to play it safe in case your opponent has any extra Feint cards they are holding onto. If they don’t cancel it, that is an easy 5 value attack.
Regroup is a versatile card with a value of 1 that allows you to draw 1 card after combat, but if you won the combat, you can draw 2 cards instead. This card should be used to bait out any additional Feint cards your opponent may be holding onto.
Final Thoughts
Sinbad is undoubtedly one of the most interesting characters in all of Unmatched. He is one of those characters who seems overpowered, but since he starts weak and takes time to build strength, he actually comes out quite balanced. The fact that he starts weak might be a deterrent for some, but he does not stay that way long, and his ability allows him to work with almost any play style.
We invite you to share your thoughts and questions by leaving a comment below. We love hearing from our readers and would be happy to help in any way we can!
