FAB 101: Breakpoints
In many card games, there are important "breakpoints" where a small change in a stat can have a big effect. For instance, in Android: Netrunner, Yog.0 could break any code gate with strength three or less for free, so going from strength three to strength four and hence getting “out of range” of an unsupported Yog was a crucial breakpoint.
Watch out, code gates!
Flesh and Blood is no different -- this game has several breakpoints that are important to consider. First up is damage. Since many cards block for three, four damage is a key breakpoint for attacks -- assuming normal conditions, attacks with four or more damage are much more likely to land than attacks with three or less. In order to stop a four damage attack, someone must normally either block with multiple cards (either from hand or equipment) or use a defense reaction. In some cases this might not matter all that much, but if health is low or there are relevant on-hit effects in play, that extra one point of damage over a block can be key!
This red copy of Snatch is annoying to block…
…but this yellow one is more easily countered.
There is also a second, though less important, damage breakpoint -- going from four to five damage means that zero-cost defense reactions cannot stop you by themselves (the most defense you'll get from a zero-cost reaction is four) as well as making it harder to use equipment + a standard block to counter.
Another important breakpoint is cost. Cards that cost zero can be played with nothing else; cards that cost more than three cannot be played without multiple energy sources or discount effects. In some cases, going from one to two cost is also a breakpoint -- decks playing Fyendal's Spring Tunic can play one-cost effects without pitching anything else if their Tunic is charged up.
One note is that some effects increase the cost of things your opponent might want to do. The value of these effects depends a lot on what the thing is. For instance, Dauntless forces an opponent to spend one more resource for their first defense reaction. If they had "excess pitch" this doesn't do anything, but if they didn't it might mean they have to pitch an extra card. Therefore, Dauntless is best when it takes the opponent across a breakpoint.
This red copy of Sink Below offers four block for zero cost, very efficient stats for cost on defense…
…but if Dauntless means you have to pitch a card to play it, suddenly it’s not looking anywhere near as good!
Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, there is a huge breakpoint when it comes to your life total. The difference between zero life and one life is the difference between the game ending and it continuing. However, your life total does not matter much until it hits zero — winning on one life is the same as winning on forty life!
In Magic: the Gathering, an old saying goes “Only the last point of life matters”, and this is true in Flesh and Blood as well. In fact, since many strong cards in Flesh and Blood are boosted when you have a lower life total than your opponent, in many cases being at lower life is actually advantageous!
This Scar for a Scar is a lot stronger when you are at a lower life total than your opponent!
Decks with cards like Scar for a Scar, Life for a Life, or Arcanite Skullcap often actively prefer being on lower life to their opponent, as all of these get significant buffs when you are in a weaker position.
Note that equipment can often represent “bonus health”, but is not included in your life total calculation — so even though a player with 30 life remaining and all his equipment untouched is likely in better shape than one at 31 life and no equipment left, the 30 life player can still play Scar for a Scar with its bonus in place! As a result, in some cases it can be best to save your equipment for later and take damage to your life total early on instead, though this is somewhat dependent on situational factors — I’ll get into this in more detail in a later article.
However, even though only the last point of life matters, in some cases you need to start getting wary significantly before that point. In particular, when playing against Warrior or Brute, they have defense reactions that deal damage and can potentially kill you.
Unlike normal attacks, damage from defense reactions cannot be blocked!
As a result, unless you’re packing Bone Head Barrier or Sigil of Solace, it is very unsafe to go to one life against a Warrior (if you plan to make weapon attacks) or to two life against a Brute (if you make any attacks at all), as you risk being blown out by damage from a defense reaction that you can’t respond to.
Don’t go to one life remaining against a Warrior with Shunts still in deck if you plan on using your weapon…
…nor to two life against a Brute if you plan to make any normal attack at all, weapon or attack action alike!
(Note also that while Reckless Swing looks random, the Brute player may be able to simply block with cards that wouldn’t trigger its effect if discarded, then play the Swing after thinning their hand — making it a lot less random than it might appear at first glance.)
Similarly, as you get a better feel for different matchups, you will get a better sense of how much damage they can do with a “big turn” and plan accordingly. This varies a lot based on the opponent’s hero class and deck composition — more grindy decks might not even have “big turns” planned, while more “explosive” decks like Brute or Ninja can potentially do 10+ damage if they get a big Intimidate or Combo turn. Understanding of where the “danger zone” is will come with experience.
In summary, Flesh and Blood has important breakpoints to consider when playing and deckbuilding. The biggest ones are:
The difference between three and four damage
The differences between zero and one or three and four cost.
The difference between one life point and zero!
Keep these factors in mind and they should help you get a better sense for the game!
