Since getting into TCGs in the last year, I have dabbled with the awesome Kiwi-made Flesh and Blood. For the most part, this has been using preconstructed Blitz Decks, and while this has been the best way to learn, there is still a bit of a hill to climb. Well, Legend Story Studios has tried to make it even more approachable, and this is using the new 1st Strike decks. They sent me Terra and Aurora to see how they would go!
What even is a 1st Strike Blitz deck?
In short, it is a preconstructed Blitz deck. If you are new to Flesh and Blood Blitz, it is one of the fastest versions of the game where your hero has 20 health. Games can be super short once you are familiar with your decks. Blitz decks to date have been designed for casual players, but they can still have a bit of a learning curve as they appeal to newer and more experienced players.
The 1st Strike Blitz decks are built with new players in mind. It has less of the complex mechanics and keywords as it’s built to be easier to pick up/play. You can focus your energy on learning how the game and turns work while having fun.
So what decks are available?
The first two decks are built around Terra and Aurora. Aurora is a much more aggressive strategy that lines up with how I like to play. She is all about getting attacks on the board and using go again to keep going until your opponent has run out of blocks, and you keep on swinging. A lot of her combos and her weapon are based on using cards with the lightning type. Her hero ability even relies on this, where you can pay two to create a token if you have played a lightning card in the turn. This token can be destroyed to give an attack go again. embodying that fun combo strategy.
Terra, on the other hand, is all about building up and swinging with single big attacks. A lot of the bonuses in Terra’s abilities come from pitching cards with earth types. I mean, he is a tree person after all. The token Terra generates gives +1’s to an attack, which, when stacked, can make for a massive hit. Terra is a nice balance of blocking and big swinging.
So how do they play?
These two decks have been built incredibly well. Against each other, it was easy to almost empty our library as the matches would swing back and forth. Wins could easily come from either deck. Against other preconstructed Blitz decks, they aren’t that powerful, but balanced against each other, they make for a great match.
As mentioned before, they also help cover the basics of the game. You will learn to pitch resources along with the flow of when to block and when to save your cards for an attack. For this purpose they are great decks.
Should you get the Flesh and Blood: 1st Strike Blitz Decks?
If you are looking to get into FAB, then these are easy recommendations. For more experienced players, they are a great option to grab if you want to help bring others into the game. That’s what they are designed for, and they are perfect for that!
As an entry product to the game, and given it's price, Hell Yeah!
If you are completely new to TCG's you will still need some basics like a way to track life. But if you are new to FAB then these are great value!
