In preparation for Wintershield, our heroes have bought an old map from a street vendor in Waterdeep. Then it started talking. I guess we'd better see where it leads.

Wintershield 9 is here with Featured Champions Anson Iro, the human fighter from The Fallbacks, and a much-needed update for Binwin Bronzebottom, whom you may recognize from Binwin's Minions!

Learn all about the first event of 2026 as you read on!

Featured Champions

Anson

Learn more about Anson in his Champion Spotlight.

Binwin

Learn more about Binwin in his Champion Spotlight when it launches this Friday, January 9th!

Flex Champions

Flex Slots allow players to unlock additional Champions and earn chests during events, choosing from a pool of retired Champions associated with the event. This collection of retired Champions includes the Champions from previous years of the event as well as some Champions whose events have been retired. This event's Flex Slot pool includes:

Event Augments

• Augment 1: Golden Weekly Offers (Returning Augment)
  Description: One of your weekly offers will be Golden during this event. Golden offers provide an additional 10% discount! The Golden tag persists when an offer is rerolled.

• Augment 2: Auto-Blacksmith (Returning Augment)
  Description: Event Champions whose recruitment adventure or variants you complete gain common rarity equipment in all slots if they don't already have better. Every tier two or higher event variant completed automatically applies 100 Tiny Blacksmithing Contracts to the variant's Champion's equipment for free!

• Augment 3: Challenge Week (Returning Augment)
  Description: A Mastery Challenge will start on the third week of the event, providing opportunities to prove your formation-building skills and earn unique rewards.

• Augment 4: Boon Enhancements (Returning Augment)
  Description: An additional boon buff at each level increases global damage based on the number Humans, Elves, Dwarves, and Halflings in your formation, stacking additively!

Wintershield Feedback Wanted

It's our first event of 2026! What do you think?

The best way for us to hear your feedback would be for you to join our community on an officially-supported platform:

• The Official Idle Champions Discord.
• The Official Idle Champions Subreddit.
• Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Bluesky, or Instagram.

Anson has known his share of hardship in his life. Orphaned at a young age, he and his younger brother were forced to live on the streets, doing what they had to do to keep from starving. But while that experience taught his brother to fear and mistrust the world, it had the opposite effect on Anson. Beaten, battered, or bruised, the fighter refuses to stay down, and he doesn’t believe in giving up, on anyone or anything. No person is too broken, no cause too lost. It’s a philosophy that makes him fiercely loyal to his companions, but sometimes it also results in him charging in recklessly when he should stop and think.

Anson is a Support, Control, and Tanking Champion whose unshakable resolve bolsters the allies behind him. With him is Uggie, the Fallbacks’ slobbering otyugh companion who drives enemies berserk. When the battle grows dire, Anson unleashes the storm within his blade, unleashing devastating power at great personal cost.

To learn everything there is to know about the final Fallbacks Champion, read on...

Anson

Abilities

Basic Attack

• Broken Blade (melee) - Anson attacks the closest enemy and deals one hit.

Passive Abilities

• Uggie! - Uggie joins the party, starting next to Anson unless she's already in the formation next to another Fallbacks Champion. Uggie increases the damage of all non-adjacent Champions by 100%.

Formation Abilities

• Unshakable - Anson increases the damage of all Champions in the columns behind him by 100%.
• Unbreakable Uggie - Uggie's buff is increased by 400% when Anson is in the formation.
• Biting Style - When Uggie is with Anson, Uggie attacks the closest enemy whenever Anson attacks. Uggie's damage deals 1 second of BUD-based damage and drives the enemy berserk. Berserk enemies move 50% faster and attack twice as often, but deal 90% less damage.
• Combat Trance - Each time Anson is attacked or takes damage in an area, he gains a Meditation stack. Each Meditation stack increases the effect of Unshakable by 50%, stacking multiplicatively. Anson can have a maximum of 75 Meditation stacks, and they reset when changing areas.
• Erratic Energy - When Anson uses his Storm Crash ultimate ability, Anson's sword ignites in lightning for 45 seconds. For the duration, Anson's attacks deal an additional 5 seconds of BUD-based damage, damage him for damage equal to 1% of his Maximum Health, and increase the maximum stacks of Combat Trance's Meditation by 1, up to a maximum of 25 additional maximum stacks. The increase to the maximum stacks resets when changing areas.
• Got Your Back - Anson increases the health of all other Champions by 25% of his max health, and healing effects on all Champions are increased by 25%.

Specializations

• Pure of Heart - Anson increases the effect of Unshakable by 100% for each Good Champion or Fallbacks Champion in the formation, stacking multiplicatively.
• Found Family - Anson increases the effect of Unshakable by 125% for each unaffiliated Champion or Fallbacks Champion in the formation, stacking multiplicatively.
• Never Surrender - Anson increases the effect of Unshakable by 200% for each formation slot blocked by an escort or Fallbacks Champion in the formation, stacking multiplicatively.

Ultimate Ability

• Storm Crash (magic) - Anson attacks the toughest enemy with his sword, while blasting all nearby foes with deadly lightning.

Equipment

Feats

Final Fallbacks Feedback

What do you think about Anson? Are you excited to bring the frontline tank of the Fallbacks into your formations? We want to know!

The best way for us to hear your feedback would be for you to join our community on an officially-supported platform:

• The Official Idle Champions Discord.
• The Official Idle Champions Subreddit.
• Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Bluesky, or Instagram.