As we near the end of our Heavy Hitters coverage, we now circle back to another familiar face in Kayo, a new version of a staple Brute.

Despite being small in stature, Kayo has evolved through the sheer will to survive in the Savage Lands. However, upon capture by the Deathmatch Arena, he now spends his days inside the cages to test some of the Arena’s fiercest challengers.

Though now one arm lighter, Kayo remains an unpredictable opponent – and may even be more dangerous when backed into a corner. Remember: a wounded animal will bite and claw.

What’s in the Kayo Blitz Precon Deck?

Kayo‘s ability essentially allows us to run attack action cards with five power or more, instead of the usual six power, for Brute synergies. We can think about it this way: we can downshift red cards into yellow or blue, trading one power for one more pitch. Though this may seem like a loss in firepower, his ability generates a Might token, which compensates for it. We can pay for more expensive attacks, without worrying about our deck’s resource cost.

Let’s look at the deck list first:

Best Cards in the Kayo Blitz Precon

Rainbow colors for Agile Windup form the core of our strategy. Even the blue version, which sits at five power, triggers Kayo‘s ability and other relevant deck synergies. Though at two block, we’re never defending with these cards anyway as they’re decent attacks in their own right.

Mighty Windup follows the same trend, though it doubles down on Might tokens instead.

Knucklehead is amazing by virtue of being a low-rarity Temper card. When in a pinch, it can also be used to hope for a high intellect roll for one last defensive push — we will rarely use it for the effect, but it’s always there as an option.

Bare Fangs red and yellow, and Wild Ride red and yellow both share similar conditions and function as efficient attacks. Pack Call yellow and blue are anti-fatigue cards, but they’re just decent deck fillers.

Run Into Trouble is a great defensive card, but needs Agility tokens to maximize its value.

This pile forms our core game plan: discard the Windups, then go in for efficient attacks. The following section will build upon this strategy.

Initial Upgrades for Kayo

Savage Beatdown, despite being Majestic, is one of the most affordable, tallest attacks in the deck and should be considered in Kayo.

Savage Feast, Pulping red and yellow and Smash Instinct are Brute staples for good reason — these are some of the most cost-effective attacks for their rarity and still see play even in endgame decks.

Savage Swing, Wrecker Romp, and Predatory Assault are attacks which don’t require a blue pitch, and still hit for big numbers. Similarly to the package above, these still see inclusion even in high-end Brute decks.

Reckless Swing is a great defensive card and a funny way to close the game.

Riled Up, Assault and Battery, and Pound Town are admittedly just filler cards, but can hold their own, all while playing into Kayo‘s strengths.

As for equipment, we should always be running Mandible Claw. Though we can’t play two of the weapon, one of our goals is to attack at least twice in a turn — one with the claw, and one with an attack action.

Beaten Trackers is the go-to budget Brute leg equip, while Barkbone Strapping is one of the best common chest equipments, as it blocks for one and can later be used to high roll an additional three resources. Goliath Gauntlet is just one of the best low-rarity arm pieces and hits most of our deck’s attacks.

Skullhorn is our go-to Arcane Barrier option, while pairing it with Nullrune Robe gives us Arcane Barrier 3. If the former is out of reach, cut one of the sideboard cards for more Nullrune pieces.

This is what the deck looks like after the initial upgrades:

Mid-Term Upgrades

Bloodrush Bellow is a core Kayo activator and is well worth its price tag. It allows us to fire off two or more boosted attacks, and it replaces itself and its pitch, which means we’re on the offense with a full grip.

Beast Within is a Brute mainstay – not only is it a respectable attack, it also plays exactly into the game plan of discarding cards, as it essentially replaces itself. Massacre is an afforable attack and enables some late-game reach, usually only accessible to Rhinar.

Skull Crack and Cast Bones are both ways to smoothen the deck’s strategy – the former generating resources, while the latter accelerates the game through taller attacks.

No Fear is one of the few defensive options we have, but is it strong! Being an instant, it doesn’t telegraph our additional capacity to block out combat tricks.

Send Packing and Smashing Performance are mainstay sideboard cards in Brute and should be picked up the moment we seriously consider regular Blitz Armory participation. These can be swapped in and out depending on the presence of item-heavy and arsenal-heavy decks in the local meta.

Long-Term Upgrades

Swing Big is one of the priciest Brute attacks, but it earns its notoriety. We need to run it whenever we can.

Finally, the finishing pieces of the deck lie within its equipment suite. Apex Bonebreaker, Scowling Flesh Bag, and Scabskin Leathers further bolsters our defense, all while providing significant offensive perks.

We’re almost at the end of our Heavy Hitters coverage and Part the Mistveil is nearly upon us. It’s an exciting time for Flesh and Blood. Till next time, happy shuffling!

Further Reading:

How to Build Kayo in Blitz

How to Play Kayo in Classic Constructed

The Blitz Format is Great, and You Should Be Playing It!