Power at Any Cost

Do not fear pain, disciple; for the Shadow arts of Arcana give in abundance more than they take.

One of my favourite mechanics when playing any kind of game, is using your life as a resource and, particularly in TCG’s, the exchange of life for cards.

Chane has been lingering in the shadows of Flesh and Blood for a very long time. He is the original embodiment of what I saw a Shadow hero to be. The epitome of power at any cost, the disciple willing to bind his soul to a demonic pact in exchange for forbidden power.

Behold my fellow mortals, the manifestation of knowledge beyond the bounds of this reality. Bow before Chane.

This man is dangerous. This design space is dangerous. Chane pushes the boundaries of Flesh and Blood to another dimension, breaking the normal reality of a “five card hand” (4 cards + arsenal) by extending your grasp into the reaches of the banished zone. Such power of course, does not come without cost.

Chane’s soul is bound to the embra Ursur, a pact payable in blood. If Chane does not, or can not unleash the power bestowed to him, the toll will be taken from Chane himself. Ursur will be paid in blood one way or another.

Like we covered in Levia’s article earlier this week, how does the design of Chane weave together the elements of Runeblade and Shadow?

The different arcane classes of Flesh and Blood, each access and manipulate Aether in their own way. Runeblades do so through runes, which manifest as aura tokens.

A common design element of Runeblade heroes is they create aura tokens of the rune related to them. For Viserai it's Runechants, for Chane it is Soul Shackles.

Runeblades are our primary dual damage type class, able to proficiently wield sword and sorcery. Chane builds on the Runeblade design space of small packets of arcane damage combined with melee attacks, and the learnings from Lord Sutcliffe's Arknight project, unleashing the intersection of melee (attack action cards) and magic (non-attack action) card types.

The Shadow element of Chane’s design comes from the rune he creates, Soul Shackle. Chane’s hero ability is powerful and self fulfilling. As soon as you dabble in the dark arts, you’ll find yourself delving deeper and deeper until you win or die. Chane’s hero ability both fuels your access to the banished zone and enables you to play multiple banished cards each turn.

If you’re like me when it comes to playing games, seeing life as an expendable resource, then welcome to the Shadow arts of Arcana, for they give in abundance more than they take.

Blitz Deck Chane

Play Chane straight out of the box with Monarch Blitz Decks releasing May 7 ( MSRP 11.99 USD / 11.99 EUR / 19.99 AUD / 19.99 NZD)