
Opinion
Learn How to Play Flesh and Blood TCG
Learn how to play the new Classic TCG from New Zealand. Flesh and Blood is a game in which two heroes battle among themselves, where one slip up may be the difference between glory and death.
By Gabriel, 04/23/22, translated by Gabriel - 1 comments
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Before the rules...
end
of it. What? What's the problem??? In Flesh and Blood, at theEND
of your turn, you'll draw up to your hand size, which is equal to your hero's Intellect stat, generallyfour.
You're reading it correctly: you draw up at the end of your turn. Your opponent will, then, go to their turn, in which they will -- probably -- attack you, and that's when you'll have your first decision:block
ortake the damage.
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Preparing for battle
lore
of each hero, as well as some core concepts and identities and some key cards for each of them.
before the game starts, you can choose equipments that will better serve you against a specific opponent.

draw cards from your deck equal to your hero's Intellect,
indicated by the blue symbol in the bottom left corner of your hero card.Ad
Action time.
Getting into the Action
Action Points
All the fun in a Flesh and Blood match happens in theAction Phase
of each hero's turn. That's when you can attack with the powerful attacks in your deck, or your weapon, and also where you'll have to defend your opponent's attacks.
Action Point.
Every time you play anAction Card
or use an ability with the wordAction
in its cost, you'll have to pay 1 Action Point. This represents the time and effort necessary to take the action, and acts as a limit to how much you're able to accomplish in one turn. If you don't have any action points remaining, you can't play or activate any Action, so, choose wisely!Go Again
Many Action Cards and action abilities in Flesh and Blood haveGo Again
written on them. When an Action withGo Again
resolves, you'll gain back 1 Action Point. This represents faster actions, and let you use multiple actions during a single turn.
Go Again,
and Go Again can be present in both actions that are not attacks, like on Emerging Power [Red] or Tome of the Arknight, and attack actions or weapons: Breakneck Battery [Red], Leg Tap [Red], Harmonized Kodachi. Bigger attacks, such as Buckling Blow [Red] or Pack Hunt [Yellow] don't haveGo Again.
During your turns, it'll be important to sequence your actions with and withoutGo Again
correctly. For example, you should use your Oath of the Arknight [Yellow] before attacking with your Nebula Blade, since the weapon attack does not have Go Again. You should use your Warrior's Valor [Blue] and Sharpen Steel [Red] before attacking with your Dawnblade. It's important to note that different sources ofGo Again
from a single action will not give you back multiple Action Points.Actions, abilities and their costs
We talked aboutAction Points
and cards withGo Again,
but how exactly do we play and activate an action?
Action -- Destroy Heartened Cross Strap:
, that is, it will cost you an Action Points and requires you to destroy the equipment to be activated. However, since it also hasGo Again
written after the ability's effect, it will return to you once the effect resolves. Raging Onslaught [Yellow] is a Generic Action, meaning it can be played in any class, and beyond that, it is an Attack Action Card, meaning it will cost you an Action Point to be played, and it has noGo Again.
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Go Again
written on the card. Many abilities in Flesh and Blood have, as part of their activation cost, resources that need to be paid to grant their effects, and the same is true for cards. To activate abilities and play cards, you need to pay the indicated cost on the ability or on the top left corner of the card. As an example, activating Heartened Cross Strap requires no resources, but you need to destroy the equipment. Raging Onslaught [Yellow] requires 3 resources to be played, and Awakening Bellow [Blue] requires 1 resource. But how do we even generate resources? Good question!Generating Resources
All cards in Flesh and Blood, save extremely specific exceptions, can be used to generate resources. The most common way to generate resources ispitching
a card. Topitch
a card put it, from your hand, into thePitch Zone,
located on the side of your deck.
pitched.
The amount of resources you generate whenpitching
a card is indicated on the top right corner of each card. For example, Breakneck Battery [Red] generate 1 resource when pitched, Bloodrush Bellow generates 2 resources, and Glint the Quicksilver generates 3 resources. Many cards in Flesh and Blood have more than one "version" of the same card. In reality, there are cards with the same name, but different attributed. These cards are considered different cards for the purposes of the game and deckbuilding. For example, Breakneck Battery [Red] pitches for 1 resource and has 6 power, while [card]Breakneck Battery [Yellow]) pitches for 2 resources and has 5 power, and Breakneck Battery [Blue] pitches for 3 and has 4 power. This game mechanism leds to very interesting considerations for deck construction, since the red versions of those cards (referring to the strip above the card names for cards that pitch for 1) are more powerful when played than their yellow or blue counterparts, but without a balance between cards of every pitch color strip your deck can suffer with resource generation. You can only pitch a card to pay for a resource cost. In other words, you can't pitch a card without a purpose.
you put all pitched cards at the bottom of your deck.
This means that, if the match goes on for long enough, you'll start to see the cards you pitched during the game once again. The ability to pitch mindfully, with a good balance between blue and red cards (which, as we've seen, are different in their power level) is what differentiates a good Flesh and Blood player from a great Flesh and Blood player. That being said, don't quite worry about that for now if you're just beginning to learn the game!Ad
How to Attack and Defend
Attacks are the body and soul of a Flesh and Blood match. Be it with Attack Action cards or the ability of a weapon, you'll have to attack your opponent if you want to win. When an Attack Action is played or activated, you should put it on theCombat Chain,
located above your hero card. TheCombat Chain
is composed ofChain Links
. Every time an attack is made in sequence, meaning no non-attack actions were played/activated between them, a newChain Link
is created. Every attack has a specific attack value, shown by the yellow spear icon on the bottom right corner of a card or weapon.
on-hit effects,
which are effects that happen when your attack deals damage to a hero on the Damage Step of combat. So, how do we exactly resolve an attack? After an attack is declared, it's time for your opponent to defend. To do that, they can choose as many cards or equipments as they want and declare them as defending. Almost all Flesh and Blood cards can be used to defend, andit is not
necessary to pay the cost of a card to defend with it. For example, Snatch [Red] is an attack, however, it has a defense value of 2, indicated on the bottom right of the card. Barraging Beatdown [Yellow] defends for 3, and Ironrot Gauntlet can be used to defend for 1 once during the game.Attack and Defense Reactions
After the opponent is done declaring defenses, theReaction Phase
begin. The attacking player is the first to have priority, being able to useAttack Reactions
to modify their attacks. Attack Reactions are powerful because they can be playedafter
your opponent has finished declaring defenses and can't add more defending cards from hand. Razor Reflex [Red], for example, can increase the power of an attack by 3 and even giveGo Again
to an attack that previously didn't have it.
Defense Reactions
can be used by the defending player during the Reaction Step to further increase their defense. Differently from defending with any other card type, to defend with aDefense Reaction
you need to play and, thus, pay the costs of the card/ability. Defense reactions are more versatile defense cards that can be used after declaring normal defenses. For example, Sink Below [Red] is a Defense Reaction that defends for 4, and its cost is 0. In this case, you don't require to pitch to pay its cost to defend with it, while Staunch Response [Blue] or Unmovable [Red] requires the player to pay 2 or 3 resources, respectively, to defend with them.Ad
Dealing Damage
After theReaction Step
we proceed to theDamage Step.
An attack causes damage to the opponent equal to the difference between its power and the sum of your opponent's defenses. Some attacks have additional effects that happen if the attack deals damage this way inon-hit effects.
For example, if you're being attack by a Spinal Crush and defend it with a Surging Strike [Yellow] and Nimblism [Red], if no defense reactions are played, you'll end up taking 5 points of damage. TheCrush
clause on Spinal Crush will then resolve, making you unable to gain back Action Points from your cards withGo Again.
No doubt a big hit to the back.
on-hit effects
that can be extremely powerful, such as Snatch [Red] drawing a card if it hits, a Steelblade Supremacy making your weapon attacks draw a card, or a Pummel [Red] played on an Attack Action card of cost 2 or greater making your opponent discard a card. In its essence, Flesh and Blood is a game that functions aroundon-hit effects.
Making Another Attack
After theDamage Step
we enter theResolution Step.
During theResolution Step
, theGo Again
from your attack reemburses you the Action Point you spent to attack with it. After that, if you still have an Action Point left, you can continue your turn as you wish. If another attack is made right after a previous attack, a newChain Link
is created, with all the phases we just went through again. The opponent will, then, have a chance to defend themselves, then there's another Reaction Step, and finally the damage and resolution step, and so on. TheCombat Chain
is not closed if multiple attacks are made in sequence. If an action that is not an Attack Action is activated or played, theCombat Chain
closes itself, and all attacking cards, defenses and reactions go to their owner's graveyard, and the defending equipments return to their respective zones on the board.
Attack
>Defense
>Reactions
>Damage
>Resolution
Using your Arsenal
When you have no moreAction Points,
its probably time to end your turn. Before passing to your opponent, if you still have a card in hand and yourArsenal Zone
is empty, you may put a card from your handface down
into your Arsenal. Using your Arsenal well is a big part of Flesh and Blood. Cards in your Arsenal can be played as if they were in your hand normally. TheyCAN'T,
however, be used aspitch
orto defend,
unless they'reDefense Reactions.
Think of your Arsenal as a way to stock a card for the future, making it easier to execute combos and synergies with the other cards in your deck without having to rely on naturally drawing them together in the same hand.Ad

It is important to remember
that at the end of theFIRST TURN
in the game,both
players draw up to their hero's Intellect. This serves to balance out the advantage of being the first to act, and, generally, means that attacks on the first turn can be defended freely. If you're the first to play, use your first turn to make an Arsenal, granting your access to more cards in the future!Ending your Turn
After choosing if you will or not make an Arsenal, you draw cards from your deck up to your hero's Intellect, and then your opponent's turn starts. Since your hand will always be filled up at the end of your turn, it's very important to use all cards your given for your turns, as to use the "free" draw up effectively.Tips to Start Well in FAB
“Block the above average hands from your opponent with your below average hands.”
- The Golden Rule

"power turns"
from your deck. In other words, know which combinations of 2 or more cards are especially important for your game plan, and try to Arsenal one of those pieces while you wait for the others. With specific 2 or more card combos, it is possible to present more than 20 damage in a single turn! Use the block value from your equipments well! Using your Ironrot Gauntlet to stop 1 damage may let you in a rough spot when a Snatch [Red] appears on the table and you need to block with two cards instead of a 3-block card and that gauntlet. In general, the later you let your equipments available for blocking, the better value you'll get from them.
An Example Guided Turn
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Start of Turn Procedure
At the start of their turn, Andre checks if there are any triggered effects. In his case, putting a counter on his Fyendal's Spring Tunic. Never forget your Tunic Counter. Andre, then, adjusts his tunic counters from 2 to 3 energy counters, allowing him access to 1
played
normally, andare put there at the end of your turn
to be used in the future.Attacking with a Weapon
As with any turn in Flesh and Blood,Andre only has a single Action Point.
But, as we'll see, that's not a problem for a Ninja like Katsu. After the start of turn procedure, Andre starts hisAction Phase,
the phase where the active player can play their actions. Andre, then, attacks with one of his two Harmonized Kodachi for 1 damage, paying the resource cost of 1Pitch Zone,
located to the side of your deck, and generate resources equal to the amount ofAttack Reactions and defending with equipments
Andre's Harmonized Kodachi has Go Again because of its effect, as the pitched Flic Flak [Blue] has a cost of 0. Andre then attacks with his second Harmonized Kodachi, paying 1During the Reaction Step,
Andre decides to play his Razor Reflex [Red], increased the Kodachi's power to 4has no reactions,
taking 3 damage, going to 12Go Again,
and so he gets back his Action Point, being able to act again. Beatrice's Ironrot Gauntlet stays on the Combat Chain, marking that is has been used to to block Andre's Kodachi attack.Attack Action cards and defending with cards
Since Andre did not close the Combat Chain by playing/activating a non-attack action, their next attack, a Leg Tap [Red] which is paid for with the floating resource he had left over, will be the 3rd Chain Link in this Combat Chain. Beatrice decides to defend with a Disable [Blue] for 3Ad
Resolving "on-hit" effects
Since an Attack Action card hit Beatrice, Andre has a chance to use Katsu's effect. Moreover, Andre's Mask of Momentum has its effect clause satisfied, which will also trigger an effect. Since both effects happen from the same trigger, an attack hitting an opponent, Andre can choose the order in which the effects happen, and he chooses to first draw a card off of Mask of Momentum, drawing a Head Jab [Blue]. Andre, then, chooses to use his hero's effect, paying its cost by discard the Head Jab [Blue] he just drew, searching up for a [card]Rising Knee Thrust [Red]) and banishing it. Now, Andre's has only a Rising Knee Thrust [Blue], with the red version of the card in banish, and a Flying Kick [Red] in Arsenal.Using Defense Reactions
Andre, smartly, attacks for the fourth time with a Rising Knee Thrust [Red] from the Banished Zone, paying no resources, and with the Combo clause active, as the last Chain Link was a Leg Tap [Red]. The Rising Knee Thrust [Red] is coming in for 5Attack Reaction
from his Breaking Scales, increasing the attack value to 6Using the Arsenal
To end it with a bang, Andre plays his Flying Kick [Red] from Arsenal, paying its cost by pitching the last card in his hand, the Rising Knee Thrust [Blue], and floating 1Ending the Turn
Andre's Flying Kick [Red] doesn't have Go Again, and so, Andre has consumed his Action Point for the game, and can't play or activate any more Actions. If Andre still had a card in hand by the end of his turn, and if his Arsenal was empty, he could place a card face down into his Arsenal, which could be used in the future. As it is, Andre simply passes the turn, drawing 4 cards, which is Katsu'sNow its Your Turn!
every match
there's something new to learn by the end of the game.Ad

It's addicting.

welcome to Flesh and Blood,
and may your hands always be balanced and your Arsenal never empty!
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