Thick Skinned Modifier is all about reducing damage. Shield ability on all units means melee and range attacks are halved from the start so using units that uses these attacks are at a disadvantage. This modifier rewards players who understand how damage stacking works and how to bypass Shield ability instead of just using high attacks.

What makes Thick Skinned Modifier interesting is how the math changes in terms of damage. Attacks that can only deal 1 can turn into zero very easily. If you do not bring the right counter abilities in Thick Skinned modifier battles, your lineup may struggle to deal any real damage at all and get overwhelmed very quickly.

Modifiers

Thick Skinned - All units have the Shield ability.

• There are many strategies to deal with Shield but I used two in this battle. The first one is to use magic damage since Shield only affect melee and range attacks. The second strategy is if you're going to use melee or range attacks, do what I call the "Odd Rule." The halved effect is rounded up. So, if you have 2 melee attack, that turns to 1. If you have 3 (odd) melee attack, that turns to 2. If you have 4 melee attack, that's still 2. If you have 5 melee attack (odd) that turns to 3 because 2.5 rounded up is 3 melee damage.

5 Combos You Can Do with Thick Skinned Modifier

Modifier	Name	Description
	Void	Reduced damage from Magic attacks by 50%.
		- Void ability works very well in Thick Skinned Modifier. Since Shield ability halves melee and range damage and Void ability halves magic damage. This gives units a chance to reduce all attack types. When Shield ability and Void ability are both present, your tanks become more tanky. Magic damage that normally feels strong suddenly loses value. This forces enemies to rely on special abilities like poison or burning instead of raw damage.
	Halving	The first time this Unit hits a target, that target's attack is cut in half (rounded up).
		- Halving ability fits perfectly in Thick Skinned Modifier. What is better than halving damage once is halving it twice. Halving ability can reduce enemy attack and Shield ability can reduce it again if the attack is melee or range. This can result in attacks dealing zero damage when you managed to reduce it to 1 before Shield applies. When enemy attack is already low, Halving ability can completely shut it down. Thick Skinned Modifier makes Halving ability feel extremely powerful.
	Demoralize	Reduces the Melee attack of all enemy Units by 1.
		- Demoralize ability is a strong support ability in Thick Skinned Modifier. Reducing melee attacks before Shield ability applies makes damage even smaller. This can completely stop some melee focused lineups. When Demoralize ability reduces attack to 1, just like in Halving ability, Shield ability can negate it fully. This makes frontline units very hard to die. Combined with other reduction abilities Demoralize creates strong control over enemy damage.
	Relentless Strike	Attacks deal true damage. +1 damage if the target has Void, Shield or Forcefield.
		- Relentless Strike is one of the best counter abilities in Thick Skinned Modifier. This ability ignores Shield ability and guarantees the attack will hit. It also adds extra damage on top which helps break teams relying on Shield. Units like Leonin Sifu with Relentless Strike can inflict huge damage to these units and Shield cannot stop her melee attack. Without this kind of counter Thick Skinned battles can drag on too long and may put you on a disadvantage.
	Expose	If the target has 2 or less health after a successful attack, perform another attack against the same Unit.
		- Expose ability is a direct answer to Thick Skinned Modifier. It removes Shield ability completely for the rest of the game. Once Shield ability is gone, melee and range damage return to normal. This ability changes the whole match once applied since yours doesn't get affected. Expose ability allows melee and range units to finally do their job. Just a reminder that there is a 20% chance each attack that the ability will not work so even if your enemy has the Expose and you don't, you shouldn't give up immediately.

Closing Thoughts

Thick Skinned Modifier is not about big numbers. It is about reducing damage and answering with counters. Void ability, Halving ability, Demoralize ability, all slow the game while Relentless Strike and Expose ability push it forward. I like this modifier because it teaches damage control to players. If you only stack melee and range attacks you will struggle. At the same time, only using magic attacks means you're opening yourselves to getting countered very easily even if that counters Shield. At the end, it's all about who can read the enemy's move better.