Master the Arcane

Welcome to Arcane Rising card preview season! We're going to kick things off by revealing exactly what everyone wants to know - what is arcane?! How better to do that, than with the most classic of all spell caster classes, the Wizard.

What is Arcane Damage

Arcane damage is how the caster classes of Rathe inflict damage on opposing heroes. It does not use the combat chain as arcane damage is an effect, not an "attack", therefore it can't be defended using the defense value of cards like you would vs a melee attack.

In a simplistic way, you can draw a line between the melee classes and Wizard like this:

As illustrated in the table, 'non-attack' action cards are the "spells" being cast by Wizards in Flesh and Blood.

Wait a sec, how do you stop this arcane stuff?

Where melee classes trade blows on the combat chain in a dance of power vs defense, the casters of Flesh and Blood engage the enemy in a battle of willpower, arcane vs energy! But first, any wannabe mage hunter must come prepared with the right equipment and items to channel their energy through if they want to stand a chance of warding off arcane damage!

Nullrune equipment are the standard issue defense vs spell casters. Each instance of Arcane Barrier can be used one time whenever a source would deal arcane damage to you. Keep in mind they are not "Once per Turn", so as long as you have resources available, you can use the same Arcane Barrier to prevent arcane damage from multiple different sources during the same turn.

For constructed play, it's recommended you pack 2 or 3 equipment with Arcane Barrier in your inventory. For booster draft, it's recommended you pick Nullrune equipment highly.

Let's look at an Arcane Barrier example:

Kano has thrown a red Voltic Bolt at your face, which deals 5 arcane damage. You're wearing Nullrune Hood and Nullrune Gloves. When Voltic Bolt resolves, each of your Nullrune equipment give you the choice of paying 1 resource point to prevent 1 arcane damage. You decide yep, that sounds good, pitch a blue card to gain 3 resource points, and spend 2 resources points to prevent 2 arcane damage from Voltic Bolt, taking 3 arcane damage. You still have 1 resource point remaining that you can potentially use later in the turn.

What makes Kano special? As the designer of Flesh and Blood, and a life long fan of wizardry, I was driven to make a hero that was physically weaker than all other heroes, but was able to emerge victorious through out smarting the enemy.

Kano's ability makes him the first, and only hero, to play the game of Flesh and Blood at instant speed. Knowing when to do that, knowing how to make an opponent feel they are under threat of losing if they extend one inch further, and being able to punish an opponent who let's their guard down at the wrong time, is the essence of the Wizard standing afar from the perils of combat, operating at a level of intellect above the opposition, and calling forth powers beyond the comprehension of metal and muscle to emerge victorious!

Rules tips

• You don't have to play the card banished with Kano right away. You can play it anytime you have priority during the turn it was banished. Sometimes you may want to activate Kano's ability multiple times before deciding the order to play the cards banished this way.
• If you play a card that has go again as an instant during your action phase, you will gain an action point from go again. Note: you can only gain action points during your own action phase.

Leave nothing to chance

Randomly flipping cards from the top of your deck can be fun, but is well beneath the echelons of a Wizard's intellect. A theme that runs across multiple Arcane Rising heroes is "top of deck matters". To wrap things up today, let me introduce you to a new evergreen keyword that makes it's debut in Arcane Rising.

Stay tuned to preview season as more Wizard and Kano specialization cards are revealed throughout the week. Be sure to follow the Arcane Rising Spoilers page below for details of where to discover the secrets emerging from the Arcane Rising!