Table of Contents
Avast ye landlubbers! Welcome to my ‘utterly definitive’ 🙄 list of the best cards for Flesh and Blood’s latest set, High Seas.
The following cards are in no specific order and are cards I either liked the look of from the spoilers or really enjoyed playing when I was researching cards for this list.
So, without further ado, please enjoy! ⚓
Riches of Trōpal-Dhani
fab::[[Riches of Trōpal-Dhani]]
A creepy old man once said: “He who has the Gold, makes the rules!” Well, this creepy old man is changing it: “Those who make the Gold, Rule!”
This card is awesome! It’s also extremely useful for any of the High Seas Heroes, who all have a “Tap, destroy a Gold you control and do a thing” ability. So, a semi-consistent, recurring source of Gold generation is good for any of them.
It’s actually Heroes from past sets that this card makes me think of—particularly the Heavy Hitter Heroes, and especially my gal, Kassai. Make Gold ➝ Crack Gold ➝ Draw a Card ➝ Free Weapon Attacks = one very happy player 😂
Tighten the Screws / Perk Up / Draw Back the Hammer
fab::[[Tighten the Screws]]
fab::[[Perk Up]]
fab::[[Draw Back the Hammer]]
Buff the next Mech Attack by +4{p}. Any Mech Attack, including Weapon Attacks! Oh, and did I mention the untap shenanigans?
Most Mechanologist non-attack buffs from previous sets weren’t great. They either cost too much or didn’t grant enough extra STR. These cards, for the meager cost of 1{r}, slap a +4{p} onto your next Attack. That’s any Attack too—not just Attack Action. It could even be a Weapon Attack.
Each of these cards also has some interesting untap ability when played:
- Tighten the Screws — untaps a Cog
- Perk Up — untaps your Hero
- Draw Back the Hammer — untaps a Gun you control
The Amulets
fab::[[Diamond Amulet]]
There’s something for every Hero in these nine cards. Admittedly, not all of them are amazing, but I think they’re still worth a look.
fab::[[Ruby Amulet]]
Utility is the name of the game. From buffing your next attack, to gaining some life, to increasing your Intellect for a turn to draw an extra card—the effects are varied and will fit into just about every Hero’s playstyle.
fab::[[Onyx Amulet]]
My favourites are:
- Diamond Amulet — an extra Action Point at Instant speed
- Ruby Amulet — gain 2 Resources at Instant speed
- Onyx Amulet — taps all Heroes and Allies
LSS have already admitted that the new Tap mechanics will be seen much more in forthcoming sets, so the Onyx Amulet will definitely be one to look out for.
Other good ones to consider:
- [[Opal Amulet]] — destroy it to Opt 2 at instant speed (great for any Hero who cares about their top card—Azalea immediately comes to mind)
- [[Amethyst Amulet]] — destroy it to give +2{p} to a target Attack (the most universal of the Amulets, good in any Hero’s deck)
Saltwater Swell
fab::[[Saltwater Swell]]
It’s such a shame that this is a Pirate card and not a Generic one. Oof, the amount of fun things that could have been done! Sadly, it is locked to Pirates, so we cannot dwell on what could have been. 😔
Pouting aside, Saltwater Swell is a card I really like. When it attacks, you reveal the top card of your deck. If that card is Blue, you Pitch it—for free! 🤯
With a little setup, or just some good luck, you can ramp into powerful cards, or even play your entire hand without needing to pitch more than one card. That’s huge.
Yes, sadly, Saltwater Swell has a cost of 1{r}. And sure, that’s fair—it would be ridiculously unbalanced otherwise. Doesn’t mean I have to like it though! 😉
Call in the Big Guns
fab::[[Call in the Big Guns]]
Rangers, for me, are a bit too finicky and sometimes overly convoluted in how they play—needing the correct sequencing of cards and abilities to properly execute a turn. My brain doesn’t function at that level for long enough anymore, so I have a complex relationship with Rangers. I like them, but I cannot play them for toffee!
Call in the Big Guns is exactly the kind of card I think Rangers have needed for a while. While there are some good utility cards out there, very few let you both:
- buff your next Attack, and
- place a card into your Arsenal slot to be that Attack
CitBG does all of this!
The buff ranges from +3{p} in Red, down to only +1{p} in Blue, but it’s the Arsenal placement that makes this card shine. Effectively, with Go Again, Rangers can fire off multiple shots in a turn more efficiently, and without burning through equipment pieces that might be needed elsewhere.
It also costs 0{r}, which is massive. The only downside (which isn’t really that bad) is its 2{d} value, which could be problematic in long games or against certain Hero types (cough Guardians cough).
Barbed Barrage
fab::[[Barbed Barrage]]
On the surface, Barbed Barrage looks like a simple Ranger Arrow card: 1{r}, 5{p}, 3{d}. But this is also one of the cards that really benefits from Saltwater Swell.
The card comes with an optional additional cost of 3{r}. If paid, you can attack an additional target. That power is nuts!
To my knowledge—and after a quick Google search—there isn’t any other card in Flesh and Blood that lets you attack more than one target. Now you can snipe at your opponent and one of their Allies with the same attack, or slap down two pesky Allies before their horrid effects can cause you too much trouble.
I think this may also be the first card printed outside of the Round the Table box that can be used exclusively in Ultimate Pit Fight.
Red/Yellow/Blue Fin Harpoon
fab::[[Red Fin Harpoon]]
fab::[[Yellow Fin Harpoon]]
fab::[[Blue Fin Harpoon]]
Deceptively named, since they’re all actually Blue cards, but the name refers to which of your opponent’s cards could be affected if the attack lands.
These cards are fairly straightforward: 2{r} cost, 4{p}, 3{d}, and they all have the new Go Fish keyword. When they hit, your opponent chooses a card from their hand and discards it. If the discarded card matches the colour in the name of the attacking Harpoon, you also make a Gold token.
But here’s where it gets really spicy: if you’ve activated a Cannon this turn, you can actually look at your opponent’s hand and choose the card to be discarded!
Card denial backed by a solid stat block is always good. Even without buffs, these cards will usually force either a double card block, or a card plus an equipment piece—stripping assets from your opponent whether they block or not. Nice!
Sky Skimmer
fab::[[Sky Skimmer]]
I really enjoyed playing these cards when researching for this list. In fact, Puffin ended up being my favourite Hero of the four in the set—which was a shock, considering my middling-to-low opinion of Mechanologist.
Sky Skimmer isn’t anything overly fancy: 0{r} cost, 4/3/2{p} and 3{d}. That’s a pretty solid stat block, especially for a Common card.
It’s the Instant ability that makes me almost giddy when playing it: Tap a Cog—this attack gains either +1{p} or Go Again.
Finally, a Mechanologist card that doesn’t require you to Boost or Crack to get the effect! Yes, you still need Cogs, but with Brass Cog included in this set (which you can have any number of in your deck), and Puffin trashing Gold to make Cogs, it really shouldn’t be an issue.
Admittedly, these cards will probably never see play in other Mechanologist decks, due to the reliance on Cogs to be fully effective. But hey—🤷🏻 you can’t have everything.
Escalate Bloodshed
fab::[[Escalate Bloodshed]]
Anyone who knows me will know how much I love my Warriors—specifically Kassai. Especially now that my boy Viserai has gone Living Legend. 😭
Escalate Bloodshed forces all players to draw a card at the beginning of their Action Phase. It also taxes you 1{h} for that card, and is destroyed if no Weapon Attacks are made that turn.
This is an instant include in any Kassai of the Golden Sand deck, where drawing cards makes her Weapon Attacks cost 1 less resource to activate. The life loss element may require some planning, but honestly, I don’t think a little bit of chip damage will cause too many issues. Especially since the destroy condition—the requirement to make a Weapon Attack each turn—also applies to your opponent. If they don’t activate a Weapon, the Aura is destroyed.
I think the positives are absolutely worth the risk, and I’ll be sinking three copies of this into my Kassai deck as soon as I can!
Final Thoughts
And that’s it! Thank you to everyone who endured my rambling all the way to the end. I really enjoyed this new set—the Pirate theme and new mechanics are fantastic, and they give us a great taste of what might be coming in the future.
I don’t think High Seas will shake up the current competitive meta just yet, but with some future support, these new characters could definitely start climbing the ladder.
That’s all from me. Peace out until next time! 👍
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