I have been dabbling with Flesh and Blood more and more and keep discovering how excellent this game is. After checking out Round the Table and finding it the best way to start playing FAB, I wanted to try out the new Blitz Deck collection that has come with the latest set, Part the Mistveil. The question is, is it worth checking out?
What comes in the Part the Mistveil Blitz Deck Collection?
The box comes with all three Part the Mistveil Blitz Decks, three standard booster packs, a rubber playmat, and all in a cardboard box that can store the Blitz decks or 1000 cards. Simply from a financial value perspective, this is damn good value.
You may recognise this one as looking a lot like the Round the Table collection, and it’s because it is. It has one less Blitz deck, but it comes with three booster packs, so it is easily still worth it. The booster packs are a fun addition because most people that are into TCG’s love cracking packs. You can use them to tweak the Blitz decks, or open them for fun and start your collection.
The mat itself shows the Misteria Hanging Village. Now if you’re relatively new like I am, you have no idea what that is; it’s not a major. It’s a beautiful image with mist over a strange village. So expert or not, it’s a great mat. Also, since FAB needs specific car placement, like all their mats, it has the zones marked out.
The box has the same issues I have nitpicked before. It fits heaps of the Blitz decks in their original boxes, which look fantastic stacked alongside each other. The issue is the Blitz Deck boxes don’t have enough space for pre-sleeved cards. And then if you get boxes that fit sleeved cards, they don’t quite fit this long box. It is a minor annoyance because I would love to be able to sleeve all my Blitz decks and then be able to pull this out loaded with all of them ready to play. It’s a minor thing, but hey, in a package like this there has to be something wrong.
What’s Part the Mistveil like as a set?
The first thing you will notice with Part the Mistveil is that it is absolutely stunning. FAB has always had some incredible artwork, but this set is next level. The different styles throughout, all with some incredible East Asian influences, all make these some of the most beautiful cards I have seen. I mean, look at Enigma; that’s a damn gorgeous card. One thing FAB has done well is their foils. Their Rainbow and Cold Foil cards normally look much better than other TCGs, which quite often make things shiny. Instead, there is purpose to the parts foiled, and it makes Part the Mistveil cards that much more awesome.
When it comes to mechanics, the biggest new mechanic is the use of Chi. Some cards have a transcend keyword on them. This means that you can use this card, and if you have cast a blue card before it, you then get to flip it over and pop it back in your hand. This gives you some chi to use to either pitch and play a card normally, play a card with an extra effect, or unleash your heroes dope blue abilities.
Initially going into this, I was a bit nervous, as it seemed like a big new mechanic to be worried about, but I massively over-thought it. It’s a great and fun new aspect that gives your cards more options.
What about the Blitz decks?
I mean, it is a Blitz Deck Collection, so they are kind of important, right? These three are headed by the new heroes Nuu, Zen, and Enigma.
Nuu is a Mystic Assassin. She has the ability to make your stealth cards cause defending cards to be banished. Then her Chi ability lets you look at the top of your opponent’s library and banish cards that are blue. Oh, and then you get to play the banished cards without paying their pitch cost. So this lines her up nicely in the later stages of a game to absolutely slam your opponent with their own cards.
Enigma is a Mystic Illusionist. She has heaps of cards with Ward, who on top of their attack, also hangs around as a defender. Paired with her ability to let her spectral shields get a free attack and other cards that can load the shields up with attacks, she can go for some pretty damn strong swings on the combat chain. She can also cast heaps of instants, so she is loaded and ready for shenanigans on anyone’s turn.
Zen, on the other hand, is a Mystic Ninja. He is able to generate Crouching Tigers, which, on their face, don’t do a lot. In fact, on their own, they do nothing except say Go Again. Fortunately, Zen has heaps of cards that can add damage to the next Crouching Tiger you play. This means you can play heaps of cards and go in for a massive attack.
All three decks play in their own unique ways and are heaps of fun. Nuu is the easiest of the decks to play with, Enigma being the hardest.
So should you buy Flesh and Blood: Part the Mistveil Blitz Deck Collection?
If you are a new player, I still think that Round the Table is the best place to start. Four decks that are all a lot easier to pilot make that the perfect starting point. If the art style of Part The Mistveil is speaking to you though, it may be worth a couple of janky games as you get the hang of these decks.
If you are an experienced player that likes Blitz, you can’t go wrong here. The value and the decks are easily worth the price of around $95. I am loving these new Blitz Collections from Legend Story Studios.
It may not be the easiest set to start plating FAB. but Flesh and Blood: Part the Mistveil Blitz Deck Collection is a damn great way to play this amazing Kiwi made game.
