Slow

Slow is an ice-element debuff that reduces the afflicted unit's movement to 2 tiles per turn, regardless of their normal movement range. Stacks decrease by 1 each turn, so the effect eventually wears off on its own. While Slow does not prevent a unit from acting (it can still attack and cast spells), the severe movement restriction makes it difficult for melee units to reach their targets and for any unit to reposition effectively during combat.

Slow is commonly applied alongside Freeze as part of ice-element attacks. For example, the Blizzard spell applies Slow to all targets in its area while having a 15% chance to Freeze them outright. Ice tiles on the battlefield can apply Slow to units moving across them. When a Frozen unit slides into another unit on contact, it applies 2 Slow stacks and a 5% chance to Freeze, making Slow a natural byproduct of ice-based crowd control chains.

Slow is particularly effective against melee-focused enemies that need to close distance to attack, as it can prevent them from reaching your cats entirely on some turns. It is less impactful against ranged enemies who can attack from their current position. Speed Up buffs can partially offset the movement penalty, but Slow sets an absolute cap rather than reducing a value, so it overrides high Speed stats. Combining Slow with other positional debuffs like Fear or Attraction can create situations where enemies waste multiple turns unable to act meaningfully.