Screen

A screen is a unit positioned so as to prevent an enemy monster from aligning with your monster. This makes it impossible for the enemy monster to perform most Power Attacks, which in typical cases will make it impossible for that monster to inflict more than 1 or 2 damage per turn to your monster. Any unit within the four-space box directly to one side of your monster will function as a screen for that side; to be entirely safe from power attacks, a monster should try to be Screened on all four sides, though sometimes you can rely on a building or map edge to protect some sides.

Some monsters have abilities such as Beat Back which cause building collisions without requiring alignment, and others use abilities such as Tow to remove screens, but enough monsters do not that screening remains a valuable strategy. An enemy unit may also serve as a Screen if the player is unable to take a unit turn to move it. Abilities such as Sprint or Hit and Run may enable a monster to move behind a screen after attacking, since you can always move through your own units and monsters.