Go Turbo with Boltyn

LGS regular and one-person manager/chef/host/server show at Beef's Restaurant, Brandon Peh is a Singapore player who's passionate about bringing the flavour to Flesh and Blood. We're pleased to welcome him as our fourth guest writer, serving you two fresh takes on Boltyn!

Hello everyone! My name’s Brandon, also known as BeefTheNoob in my community. I write articles about the different armories and events happening around Singapore. To me, Flesh and Blood is all about the heroes themselves. Their cards and stories are what I love the most about this game. With the Skirmish season underway, I have been given an amazing opportunity to share about my favourite hero, Boltyn.

There’s just something about the mechanic of charging cards into his soul and then utilising them for massive turns later that really excites me about Boltyn. On the surface, charging cards might mean playing at a card disadvantage. But the payoffs that Boltyn has access to far outweigh the cost. Before I go on any further, let’s take a look at Boltyn’s hero ability.

Boltyn relies heavily on the fact that you have charged this turn, which buffs your own attack when they are defended against by attack actions, and allows you to give them go again with his second ability. This presents an interesting trade-off. By charging, you are forfeiting a card from your hand that you could have used to attack. At what point does that become worth it?

To answer that question, we need to take a look at the benefits of charging. On top of the buff that Boltyn gives when your attack is blocked with attack actions, cards like Valiant Thrust and more importantly, Lumina Ascension reward you for charging ahead into battle.

These cards represent two different ways to play Boltyn. A simple, elegant strike to vanquish your opponents or a fluster of rapid unstoppable weapon attacks that turn the tide in your favour at the last moment. I particularly enjoy the latter, finding myself believing in the heart of the cards and unleashing the combo is one of the many reasons I love Boltyn.

Explaining the ‘ComBoltyn’

What exactly is this combo? It consists of playing two copies of Lumina Ascension, ideally one from hand and the other from the arsenal, allowing you to swing with each of your Cintari Sabers thrice and giving them go again with the cards in your soul. This, along with Courage of Bladehold making your weapon attacks free for the turn, amounts to six attacks that have a minimum damage output of 30. Remember, if they block with an attack action, the sword gains 2 attack, one by Boltyn’s ability and the other by the sword itself, the latter lasting for the whole turn.

The prerequisite for this combo to work is having charged this turn. Cards like Bolt of Courage and Engulfing Light help you do that with ease.

You will also need three to four cards in your soul, depending on whether you require one for Beacon of Victory or have additional action points from Timesnap Potion. This makes it such that even if your opponent reasonably blocks the first 3 swings, you are still able to push on with the additional souls that the on-hit effect of Lumina Ascension provides, allowing you to finish them off with the last 3 attacks.

Speaking of Beacon of Victory, this card acts as a tutor for Lumina Ascension as well as an attack reaction at the cost of only one soul.

Finally, you would need one card to pitch to activate Gallantry Gold. Remember to block with your equipment beforehand to maximize your health!

A sample hand with Lumina Ascension in arsenal would look like this:

It might seem like it takes a lot for this deadly combo to come together. Well, fret not as the brew I have for you today aims to make that as likely as possible. I present to you:

TurBoltyn

This deck is hyper-focused on ensuring that you get to that combo. Cards like Halo of Illumination and Soul Food accelerate your soul-charging, while Whisper of the Oracle and Sift allow you to dig through the deck faster. Tome of Divinity accomplishes this too and should be used with Halo of Illumination as a way to enhance your search.

Timesnap Potion should not be overlooked as well. It is essentially a one-card soul as it stores an action point for your combo turn.

Even the defense reactions help you by adding to your soul or digging through your deck. The game plan is simple. Block efficiently. Dig deeply. Ascend to Victory.

When I play Boltyn, I find myself always considering the best play that gives me the highest probability to win. And for me, that’s part of his appeal. He encourages me to always play to my outs. To hope for the better. Which makes the moments when I win even more satisfying.

Raydn to the Finish Line

Not particularly interested in the combo aspect of Boltyn? The Raydn build can dish out comparable outputs of damage too.

Raydn, Duskbane represents an additional 3 attack damage every turn as long as you have charged, essentially replacing the card you charged with. Being able to attack for free also increases the possibility of not having to pitch a card to play out your turn, allowing you to chain multiple attacks together. Attacking for free also means that against Prism, you can block out and destroy their auras with ease.

How do we ensure that we can follow up our attacks with Raydn? Cards like Nimblism and Courageous Steelhand pair well with our 0-cost attacks and Boltyn’s ability to give buffed attacks go again, while Take Flight gains go again as long as you’ve charged this turn.

Here, Lumina Ascension represents 8 damage as well as replenishes your soul for future attacks. V of the Vanguard is a great starting attack, buffing future attacks and ensuring that you are able to string a flurry of attacks that decimates your opponents.

My favourite line of play starts with V of the Vanguard, charging 2 Light cards, followed by a Bolting Blade and finishing with Raydn, threatening 19 damage in total. And that’s not even Boltyn’s maximum output. Cards like Valiant Thrust and Enlightened Strike paired with his hero ability really pushes the limits of what he can do.

If this appeals to the inner warrior in you, here’s my list to get you started:

Soul Food for Thought

Boltyn’s hidden strength comes from his ability to exploit breakpoints. Breakpoints, in this case, refer to the difference between attacking for 3 or 4. Seeing as most cards block for 3, Boltyn’s ability to increase his attacks and surpass breakpoints forces your opponent's to carefully consider their options when blocking. It makes his attacks with on-hit effects difficult to deal with, creating more opportunities for you to out finesse your opponents. This is especially true now, where aggressive decks have more cards that only block for 2.

Boltyn’s playstyle embodies the passion and endurance of a warrior. He encourages you to always find it within yourself to push on. To wait for the opportunity to strike. This skirmish season, I urge all of you to give Boltyn a shot. To charge to Victory.

A Bolt to go off

BeefTheNoob

Brandon Peh is a competitive Flesh and Blood player and author of content relating to gameplay and strategy. The opinions expressed in the above article are his own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Legend Story Studios.