Playing on Both Sides of the Coin – Wizards In Flesh and Blood
September 20, 2023 by
Peter Buddensiek 
(Iyslander| Art by Steve Argyle)
The gameplay pattern of attacking on your turn and blocking on your opponent’s turn is a core part of Flesh and Blood, but a certain class identity breaks that concept: Wizard.
Wizard is FAB’s main class that can abuse both sides of the coin, but it comes at a cost. Starting at less life and having consistently less power in cards is a way they balance the heroes because of their abilities. Even with this though, the overwhelming decisions of Wizard and playing the puzzle pulls in players around the world.
The Puzzle
“Playing the puzzle” is a term I like to use that describes how the average Wizard turns play out. Both sides of the turn cycle are multiple different puzzles that are impacted by the turn prior, and what could possibly happen in the following turn.
What that means is that on your opponent’s turn, you’re able to react to actions being played with either a Kano activation, or a blue card from arsenal with Iyslander. There is a decision to interact, but playing cards on your opponent’s turn comes at a cost. Pitching to play cards/activated abilities opens you up to chip damage if activated on your opponent’s turn and limits the options you have on your own turn. This means every time we look at our opponent’s turn we have to keep in mind our turn on the back of it.
The most common mistake I see when watching Wizard players is jumping the gun too soon on the opponent’s turn and not saving cards for your own turn. Both Kano and Iyslander play on their turn super efficiently and should be used primarily to set up the damage on your opponent’s turn. Being able to play out two spells from Kano requires two cards from your opponent with arcane barrier three or chip in damage later for the eventual Aether Wildfire combo turn, or Iyslander sending Wounded Bull demanding two cards that still chips in damage with a powerful eight attack. Both of these examples take cards from your opponent’s hand or chip in damage, then, after you draw up, you can interact with a weaker hand from your opponent and do the real damage with tax effects, damage, or block and set up the following turn.
When to Interact
Understanding when to interact is a complex and ever changing concept in every matchup and unique game, but here are some guidelines. Let’s specifically talk about Iyslander for a moment. When thinking about when to interact on the opponent’s turn with a blue in arsenal, I like to think about a couple main subjects of reasoning:
- If I have an Ice card in arsenal, how does it hurt my opponent’s turn?
- If I have a damage spell in arsenal, how am I trading damage or forcing my opponent to have a weaker turn using resources on arcane barrier?
- If I have a setup blue, when can I safely play it, or if I need it for a play next turn is the damage I’m taking to play it worth it?
These are the main questions I base everything off of. I need a solid reason to take damage and advance my game plan. Every turn is the dance of resources that the Wizard dictates to win the game.
Kano is a lot more of a tightrope to balance in the decisions department. A wrongly timed Kano activation or lack thereof can significantly affect the nature of the game. When thinking about activating Kano, I think of a couple main reasons:
- What could be hindering my ability to play a damage spell on my turn?
- Can I take damage to be able to double spell on my own turn?
- Is my opponent open for additional chip damage more than the following turn?
- Is lethal presented to me and do I just gotta go for it?
With Kano’s nature of exponential damage, there is always a chance you can win, but that doesn’t mean spin the wheel every chance you get. Setting up damage and taking a card from your opponent to buy time is very important to get to the combo correctly. With less interaction but more damage, threaten your damage to cause your opponent to be scared or respect using an additional card and having weaker turns.
Learning to Adjust
These are just some basic guidelines I use during my games. Gauge the game and how your opponents are playing it to maximize the potential of the turn cycle. If your opponent is giving you a lot of respect and keeping cards in hand to not take chip damage, use that opportunity to use your cards on your own turn. If your opponent is throwing every card at you, use your disruption and chip them on their turn. Adjust your gameplay to your game plan and your opponents game plan game to game. Sometimes the biggest puzzle isn’t your opponent, it’s yourself.
