Here are five cards i think everyone should look at when the new set is released, in no particular order:

1. Acrobatic: Honestly this is the closest we will ever get to seeing rejection again in ufs, and that being said, this card has some of the best stats you can ask for. A 2/5 with a +1 block is always a card to be looked at during deck construction but the really juice of this card comes from its ability. For a long time low vitality characters havent had a really solid way to deal with high damages attacks, especially throws. Acrobatic, simply put, laughs at throws and most big damage attacks and unless your opponent goes to the trouble of chalking on some speed pumps then your staring down a 3 damage/25 speed attack instead of the vice versa. And lets not forget the static text on this baby which spits in the face of multiple attacks.

2. Quick Exit: Now when i first saw this bad boy i was on the fence about it; a 1/5 with no block in a format where blocking is a must seemed kinda so-so. But after further review, i came to my senses and saw that this card can be down right frightening. Have you ever wanted to use the enhance on your POTM more than once a turn? Quick Exit grants that wish. Have you ever wanted to say activate Jin's form twice or maybe even three times in a turn? Quick Exit lets you do it. (+6 to all you checks sound good?) Quick Exit gives Chaos, Air, and Life a very powerful tool and could end up being a very sought-after card.

3. Mist Stance: No contest, my favorite card in the set Mist Stance is just awesome. 2/5 with a +2 mid block and arguably the best symbol in the game, Fire, Mist Stance is packed with goodies. While this baby sits in you card pool all your High zone attacks get +2 damage the second they are played. Suddenly your pummel smashes and wheel kicks look alot more threatening when they are coming across. Not only that but Mist Stance essentially replaces itself by allowing you to draw a card; and it gives your next attack +2 speed which is never bad either. Gets my vote for best non-rare in the set.

4. Strange Fashion: The ever popular art of throw hate has returned! Strange Fashion is a welcome addition to a game that sees characters like King and Bryan Fury go wild with high damage throws. For the cost of committing this card during the Damage Step, Strange Fashion allows you to receive no damage from ANY attack you block, no matter how you blocked it. Now in terms of stats it isnt the most likable card; a 3/5 with no block isnt the most popular thing to see. But if you have one foundation spot to fill and you can spare putting in a high difficulty card in that lacks a block, then Strange Fashion is definitely a card you should consider.

5. Unrefined: If there was ever a card that could make blocking an attack more important it's Unrefined. A 2/5 foundation that lacks a block seems lack luster on the surface, but oh does this card's ability make up for its short-coming. Using the form ability on Unrefined, for the cost of committing it, makes it so for the rest of the turn if your attack isnt blocked it recieves +1 damage. Now imagine that when you have 3 or 4 of these babies active on the same turn. Suddenly your opponent can't afford not to block your little weeny attacks. And the icing on the cake comes in the fact that this little number is a common; buying a box almost assures the fact that your will get a full set of this card.

Lets not forget acrobatic as life's kill condition.

GeneralReaction89 said:

So how do you ready it the second time? QE says that has not been readyed this combat phase. if you found super secret tech that lets you readys any card regardless of weither or not its been readyed please do share.

my bad Dvon i meant to only say once. sorry i typed the original message up kinda late

Mist stance, mist stance, Fury of the Ancients, Make it High, multiple it out.

GG thanks for playing

Smazzurco said:

As if we didn't have enough reason to hate that card...

At least it requires like... 10 foundations (if you're Zi Mei going in for the overkill as usual).

I was thinking more on the lines of Tira going "Mist Stance, Mist Stance, Menuett Dance" instead. Less complication.

guitalex2008 said:

Why would tira do that...Kisheri can do it and make you pitch cards along the way

Or any life character for that matter...

Smazzurco said:

Because she can... I dunno, pump the speed on it by herself? Unlike Kisheri, Tira can do this earlier than her. Ms. Kisheri, as good as everyone touts her to be, can't simply because she has to make an 8 for the Menuett Dance. Assuming it's turn 3 and they check a 5, both can do the multiple if they wanted to. However, Kisheri needs to commit 1 foundation after each, and make a 5 check (checking a Menuett Dance will ruin any plans of doing discard). Come to think of it, turn 3, if Kisheri and Tira both check a 2 when going for the Menuett Dance, they will be nearly committed out. Advantage: Tira. With a Hall of the Warrior God, Tira can do a much better job at speeding up without expending herself, so she can do it earlier.

Now, if only momentum came quicker...

And if Kisheri doesn't kill by turn 3, she's dead anyways...

guitalex2008 said:

Assassin's Secret IMO

Homme Chapeau said:

Grr... old R Yun-Seong symbols...

I agree that there are going to be cards to watch in this set, but some cards like *cough *cough POTM *cough *cough will really need to be kept a eye on even more. With all the new Fire/all only abilities there could be alot of quick drawing effects that could come out of the new set thanks to good old POTM. But in addtion here are my top 5 must keep a eye on cards. On the Positive side I like that this set is finally out, and hope the next set can continue to build upon the newer ideals or balancing the beatdown with the control.

1. Acrobatic- I agree it has that rejection possiblities but it can even be one of those cards that bites a person right back in the ass for using like that.

2.DeathCopter Attack- Hamburger time just got alot better. And if u don't get the reference you are not watching enough TV.

3.Playful Slice + Xianghua= enough said.

4. Mitsurugi- a excellent character that maybe more powerful then I originally though. Fire may have its new leader.

5.Unorthodox Movements-keep a eye on this one...if the draw curve continues to grow this card could be the answer and possibly the problem. Can't wait to play with can in legacy though.

Deck dont matter said:

I'm gonna call it either hatredcopter attack or hamburgertimecopter attack. Also, full agreement over POTM. Mitsurgi's support might have been the final straw to convince me POTM needs to go. But this isn't a POTM hate thread so I'm not gonna send this thread to it's hamburger time.

Really excited to screw around with this set/ see how much I can piss off our fire players.

Xianghua...i may not be able to spell it but after looking thru the whole set, its the card that i see to get errata'd or banned...someone just has to show FFG a reason why.

She is a powerhouse, i'd watch for her to make an appearance at events soon. As more sets come out she may just get more and more broken. Small attacks + cheap foundations mean she is attacking and dropping her hand every turn.

Going 2nd she can hit with a small poke and a for the money. Hit with another small poke and a financial troubles. Hit with another poke and something else. Then a cheap foundation into card pool. Start 2nd turn with 3 momentum and 4 foundations...

She can play ANY card...which is huge. Being able to Genuis Alchemist, speed pumps, damage pumps, etc all allow her to turn any turn into a kill turn.

How about a first turn of 3 damage pokes (having to check a 3,4,5 for the attacks) letting you 1-2 communing with the ancients and some other strong foundations.

I am not at all calling for any action...I am not at all complaining....I am simply saying that I think she is the character to really keep an eye on...most game-bending card in the whole set IMO

Smazzurco said:

It's interesting in that she is exactly what I loved to do most of last year, antisocial + dark force mirage, or 'unorthodox build'.

There is a big problem with her playing cards that don't share symbols though, i.e. if she doesn't get them down she cant use them to block they are dead draws/cards and she is too (18 vit with her symbols are hard to defend with, and trying to ensure she gets defensive pieces down off other symbols may be asking too much...). I can gaurantee she will have troubles against damage reduction below 0, because the pokes won't deal damage and the cards in hand will be zilcho, she isn't going to be a massive hit just yet...

Obviously as more cards are released she will become even better, but there will always be ways to stop her from dealing damage early (poke or not) and there will always be ways to smash her to pieces before she can setup into anything deadly.

Very interesting character, I will undoubtedly build her ^^

- dut

Smazzurco said:

I'm more expecting an errata "that you could normally play" than anything related to a ban or something else.

Homme Chapeau said:

and that would completely tone her down.

"She is a powerhouse, i'd watch for her to make an appearance at events soon. As more sets come out she may just get more and more broken. Small attacks + cheap foundations mean she is attacking and dropping her hand every turn.

Going 2nd she can hit with a small poke and a for the money. Hit with another small poke and a financial troubles. Hit with another poke and something else. Then a cheap foundation into card pool. Start 2nd turn with 3 momentum and 4 foundations..."

So, on her turn, her opponent blocked none of her cheap pokes (that tend to have low speed!), and on her opponent's 2nd turn, she has 0 cards in hand with 18 vitality.

OH MY GOD BROKEN

Tagrineth said:

Has anyone actually built her yet? i mean can we even say that she broken or not yet.....i really hate it when people jump the gun on things like this

but i believe tag is right on this one.....id say let her play all the pokes she wants so she drops her entire hand with that silly 18 life and then let me pound it in with a few "pokes" of my own

not to mention if all her attacks are pokes with maybe one powerhouse attack (waterfall?), she ain't killin' nobody any time soon.

She's no Hilde LOL UR DED CUZ IM SIDEWAYS, that's for sure.

Tagrineth said:

Actually, i think the point of Xianghua's ability is to speed kill on her turn, for those times when you're holding the non-attack card in hand that could be the difference maker.

Play the 'poke' attack, and drop the needed card to your staging area, then play the 'finisher'.

She's a Tempo character, for sure, but not in the way it's been presented here, imo.

For example, her being finally able to draw a Playful, but does it alongside the attacks needed to kill with Waterfall if she had Playful out.

She can go "oh noes, I guess I'll have to wait another turn and die in the process" or "I'll just play my string of attacks and see if any of them deal damage and I can end this now".

She is, in other words, the perfect answer to Taki's crap.

Tagrineth said:

If (and i am not saying there will be) there is anything like criminal past, battle prowess or the like printed then why do you need cards in your hand?

Also even dropping a flexible body and gaining some momentum first turn sets you up with some defense for 2nd turn.

Also a reversal based deck with her could be pretty nice.

And im not going to mention (ok actually i guess i am) the shennanigans she can do first turn with kunai, chain throw, shinobi tradition, vast resources and the like.

I wasn't saying she is total broken now or anything....but IMO it will only be a matter of time before she is doing things that makes people "reexamine" her.

Oh, so what you're saying is you have no faith in James or the current playtesters?