(Enigma | Art by Asur Misoa)

Welcome back to CnC! Through this series, we’ll break down just what each hero brings to the table, from abilities, to playable cards and equipment, to interactions with other heroes. Looking at Blitz, CC, and UPF, we’ll see which heroes are winners, playable, fun, or need more support.

We’ve played with Illusionists from Solana as well as Volcor. We’ve allied with angels and dragons. We’ve been offered reborn Illusionists, and when that wasn’t enough, they were reborn again. But some of us who still remember the original Illusionist might recall the frustration of protecting your auras, especially the ones that would get destroyed even from a single point of damage. 

Part the Mistveil gave us back the Illusionist we missed. One with big blocks and bigger attacks, using her shields as powerful weapons till the opponent just gives up. Many have cracked the code on how to pilot her, but to others, she’s still an Enigma. So let’s take a look at her.

What Does Enigma Do?

Young Enigma has four intellect and 20 life, while adult Enigma (Enigma, Ledger of Ancestry) has four intellect and 40 life. She is a Mystic Illusionist hero, which means she can use generic, Mystic, Illusionist, and Mystic Illusionist cards.

She has two effects, both buffing her Spectral Shield attacks – a passive ability, which makes your first Spectral Shield attack cost one less, and an active ability only activated with Chi. This creates a Spectral Shield with a +1 counter on it.

Weapon and Equipment

Like all good Illusionist weapons, Enigma’s scroll is merely a vessel for her true power. Cosmo, Scroll of Ancestral Tapestry is the first Illusionist scroll we’ve seen in Flesh and Blood, after all the scepters, staffs, and orbs. Cosmo will turn your ward auras into weapons, and if they have any +1 counters, they gain go again.

Every good Illusionist also needs to look the part. Lucky for Enigma, LSS made sure she has plenty to choose from. Going late game? Fyendal’s Spring Tunic and Phantasmal Footsteps. Want to make use of your ward auras getting destroyed? Celestial Kimono and Diadem of Dreamstate. You really like the idea of pitching Chi multiple times? Traverse the Universe. If it has Illusionist equipment in the name, it pretty much works for Enigma. 

Core Cards for Enigma

One word – auras. Auras that have ward, and thus can attack, and auras that create other auras need to make up at least half of your deck. So let’s look at some of them. Auras with ward is a pretty simple one: Haze Shelter, Three Visits, Rage Specter, 10,000 Year Reunion, you name it. Some attack for a lot, some cost a lot, but you should be including all of them in your deck. 

Some auras protect other auras in a way, such as Haze Bending. Your enemies don’t want Enigma piling up all those Spectral Shields, so they’ll most likely be popping this baby as soon as it’s on the field, thus saving your other auras. Another Point of Haze Bending is the creating Spectral Shields part, and it’s not the only one doing this. We have Waning Vengeance, Solitary Companion and Haunting Specter, to name a few. 

As for cards that attack by themselves, or attack actions if you will, dust off your Miraging Metamorph and your Phantasmaclasm. Before, they were just simple big attacks and potential Phantasm poppers in cases of mirror matches. Now, they’re powerful weapons that create more weapons and give your opponent fewer ways to pop your auras. 

Let’s talk about transcending a bit. The answer is yes – you’re going to want to have almost every single transcend card. My favorites include Preserve Tradition, A Drop in the Ocean, Stir the Pot and Homage to Ancestors. The one card you absolutely must have in your deck is Sacred Art: Immortal Lunar Shrine, Enigma’s “specialization” card. Remember to pack plenty of blues with this one, because why pick just one effect when you can do all of the above?

Let’s take a look at the formats she can be played in and see if she’s playable, fun, a winner, or needs more support.

Blitz

Don’t get scared, you’ll be cycling through your deck at least once with Enigma. On the bright side, you’ll be well protected from any and all attacks that come your way, just because of your ward cards. The trick is balancing out the amount of damage you block with your hand and equipment, as well as how many auras you’re willing to sacrifice. If you can, put down the big blockers along with Spectral Shields. You choose which wards trigger and if you have Spectral Shields with counters on them, give them survival priority. 

Lots of blues and fairly cheap cards are what you should be aiming for. If you plan on including higher cost cards, then they should at least block for three, such as Rage Specter or Single Minded Determination. This doesn’t concern majestics; you need them, basically all of them. You can do without very specific ones like Tome of Aeo, but 10,000 Year Reunion and Miraging Metamorph are both must-have cards. You won’t really need defence reactions for this one (more on them in the Classic Constructed segment).

CC

At this point, you should have more defenses set up in your deck than the average Guardian. So what do you do with them? That’s on you. You can pilot her two ways: big blocks for preventing big attacks and then pinging your opponent with tiny stabs; or blocking with your entire hand and equipment to protect your weapons. If you want to block from hand or even arsenal, you’ll need a few defense reacts. Unravel Aggression and Sink Below won’t let you down, with some players even opting for Flicker Trick.

Another option is to use multiple cheaper attack actions, such as Levels of Enlightenment. You’ll want a few of these, as they not only attack, but you gain their effect whether they hit or not. Another is Miraging Metamorph. It’s an old trick, but if you attack a high-attack opponent, like a Brute, and they crack the Phantasm, all of a sudden you have 20 ward on your table. 

You should make sure you have enough transcend cards. Throwing in all of them isn’t a bad strategy, because you’ll want to see that Chi as often as possible. Not just for Enigma, but also for cards which want you to pitch Chi for them, like Moon Chakra, Manifestation of Miragai or even the super expensive Cosmic Awakening. Pitching three Chi might seem like a lot, but setting up is key here. Traverse the Universe fetches you one and you make sure you have the other two in hand, while Cosmic Awakening is in your arsenal. Is it risky? Yes, but watching your opponent go pale when you present half of their life in a single attack is magnificent. 

UPF

Sharing the love is always a good idea. Begin protected from all sides is also a good idea. With Enigma, you can have both. But why stop there? Why not create a bunch of Spectral Shields with Prismatic Shield, protect them with your life till your turn, come next turn give them each a counter with Sacred Art: Immortal Lunar Shrine, pitch everything you have and attack your heart out. It’s not a lot of damage, but protecting those little ones and pumping them every other turn can end up with you having a gargantuan Spectral Shield that attacks for lethal.

If waiting isn’t really your thing, just ally with your left and right friends, bribe them with an Oasis Respite or two and enjoy. Your deck should be sustainable enough to protect your friend, at least partially, as well as yourself. Keep your big hitters hidden, and don’t play them too early. A simple Chi that pitches for Manifestation of Miragai which creates counters for 10,000 Year Reunion is a beautiful combo if saved for later in the game. 

Overall Score: Fun to Play

This hero is pure nostalgia, and I’m not sure I can explain why. She feels like Prism, but at the same time, she does her own thing. She doesn’t rely on attack actions, and she isn’t afraid of Phantasms or Spectra effects. The only thing you should care about with her is protecting your shields, which sounds weird, but it works. Some decks crush her, but she’s a pretty big threat on her own. If you like playing Wizard but grew bored of all the arcane damage, seriously give Enigma a try. You might just scratch an itch you didn’t even know was there.

Further Reading:

The Genius of Flesh and Blood’s Pitch System

Fighting Fatigue in Flesh and Blood

How to Win a Flesh and Blood Mirror Match

Valera

Valera tried Magic in highschool then forgot about it. Some years later, she fell in love with broken FaB heroes (like Data Doll MKII) and tribal commander MTG decks. A shapeshifter, collector, traveller, writer... Who needs free time?