Twilight Tactics & Shadowforge

🌘 Twilight Tactics & Shadowforge

Twilight Tactics is the flagship seasonal PvP event in the Crypto Unicorns ecosystem. It introduces large-scale, onchain battles between Unicorns and Shadowcorns, marking the first-ever implementation of NFT death mechanics and squad-based combat in the CU universe.

This system pits Unicorn holders against Shadowcorn factions in an eternal struggle for resources and dominance. At its core, Twilight Tactics is fueled by the Shadowforge — a minion-generation engine that allows Shadowcorns to breed and lead powerful squads into the Dark Forest, where Unicorns rise to challenge them across five contested regions.

🚀 Gameplay Outcome Snapshot – Season 1

• $1.5M+ in rewards distributed
• +70% daily wallet retention
• Thousands of Minions burned during battle
• Hundreds of Unicorn Souls minted as Guides were defeated
• Millions of Domination Points generated
• Supported strategic PvP on a live, composable economy with $3M+ TVL and over 8M+ NFT assets

⚔️ Shadowforge: Breeding the War Machine

The Shadowforge is a production contract where Shadowcorns breed Minions, who are later deployed into squads for Twilight Tactics.

• Each Minion Squad can include up to 10 minions + 1 Shadowcorn
• Shadowcorns can lead unlimited squads simultaneously
• Minions inherit traits from parent Shadowcorns
• Dark Mark Integration: PvP-exclusive currency for forging operations

🗺️ Twilight Tactics

Twilight Tactics unfolds across 5 regions, each tied to a Shadowcorn class:

• Slime, Volt, Soul, Fire, Nebula

Each region introduces unique stat limitations and combat bonuses based on Unicorn class alignment.

🧠 Squad Composition

• Unicorn Squads: 1 Guide + 2 Companions
• Shadowcorn Squads: 1 Shadowcorn + up to 10 Minions
• Power Calculation: Complex formulas considering class advantages, traits, and regional bonuses

💎 Economic Model

Territory Control Benefits

• 75/25 Split: Winning faction receives 75% of regional rewards
• Resource Multipliers: Control bonuses for specific resource types
• Unicorns Rewards: $UNIM + Rift Crystals
• Shadowcorns Rewards: Dark Marks + $UNIM + Rift Crystals
• Each deployed Minion = 10 Domination Points
• Points fuel daily and seasonal rewards
• Calculated per region and faction performance

🔄 Seasonal Cycles

Each season of Twilight Tactics follows a structured pattern:

1. Preparation Phase

• Shadowcorn holders forge minion armies
• Unicorn holders form defensive squads
• Alliance formation and strategy planning

2. Battle Phase

• Territory control contests
• Daily reward distribution
• Dynamic difficulty adjustments

3. Resolution Phase

• Final rewards calculation
• Territory reset
• Season-end leaderboard prizes

🦄 Unicorn vs Shadowcorn Combat

🎯 Unicorn Players

• Create 3-Unicorn squads: 1 Guide + 2 Companions
• Only the Guide must be airlocked; Companions can multitask in core game
• Battle cooldown: 1 hour per Unicorn squad
• If defeated, the Unicorn Guide can be killed, minting a Unicorn Soul NFT

💀 Death & Burn Mechanics

• Minions can die even in victory; all Minions in losing squads are burned
• Unicorn Companions are always safe; only Guides are at risk
• Introduces asset burn to balance inflation and drive strategic risk-taking

🧪 Combat Formula

• Each squad's stats are converted into total Damage
• The squad with the most remaining Stamina wins
• Domination Points awarded to both sides, with more for the victor

💰 End-of-Season Rewards

• Player reward share is calculated proportionally based on their Domination Points vs their faction total
• Engineered a scalable system to distribute lootboxes, seasonal tokens, and leaderboard rewards
• Integrated queue-based processing with Merkle proof claims, ensuring fair and gas-efficient reward execution

🛡️ Leaderboards & Badges

• Top 100 Unicorn and 50 Shadowcorn players earn seasonal Twilight Tactics Badges
• Rankings go live once Unicorn deployment begins

🎯 Game Design Goals of Twilight Tactics

1. Player Agency: Unicorn players choose their opponents
2. Death Control: Users decide which Unicorn may be burned
3. Low Unlock Requirements: Only 1 airlocked Unicorn per squad
4. Accessibility: No fees beyond gas (reimbursed)
5. Squad PvP at Scale: Full onchain coordination

🏁 Conclusion

Twilight Tactics redefined what fully onchain PvP could look like — combining real-time coordination,economic incentives, and decentralized game logic into a seasonal, competitive experience.