After the banning of Stubby Hammerers, Fai seemed to disappear as a competitive option. The obvious combination of Hammerers, Art of War, and Spreading Flames made for a no-brainer unparalleled combo turn. Fai’s absence at the top tables at The Calling Singapore and Pro Tour Lille suggested he'd fallen off; however, this was not the case. Fai went underground, and once the dust of Prism’s living legend status settled, he emerged brandishing multiple weapons and claimed many Top 8 spots across Nationals. Let’s take a look at the unique card synergies within the different flavors of Fai.
Kodachi Fai
George Rodger's win at UK Nationals with Kodachi Fai brought needed innovation to the class, which felt stale in it's draconic form. Kodachi variants were fringe at this point since Emerblade’s ran wild during the RTN season. What made George’s win impressive, was his ability to attack ice heroes with Kodachis without relying heavily on Fai's ability.
While Kodachis generate less damage and cost more resources than Emberblade, they threaten more chain links, mask triggers, and damage leaks over a wider turn. Opponents block Emberblades with predictable ease these days. Kodachis create more headaches when blocking, and putting your opponent to make many wrong decisions is a great place to be. Take a look at this five-card hand against Viserai, a matchup where neither player is incentivized to block.
Viserai takes the first Kodachi as expected. He then blocks with equipment and a card from hand to prevent the on hit effect and stifle the mask trigger. Viserai groans upon seeing Double Strike because it means he is going to have to commit more cards to stop mask from triggering or just eat the damage. Brand with Cinderclaw enables the Phoenix Flame while the copy of Double Strike gets another armor block. Kodachi, Flame, and Lava Burst finally trigger Mask of Momentum after Viserai already shut it down twice in the same chain. At this point, Viserai is forced to give up trying to prevent the mask from happening or risk having a three-card hand. Viserai takes 12 damage, uses equipment, and still commits a card from hand to block. Fai uses all five cards and has a chance at refilling the arsenal off the mask draw. This is tempo.
Speaking of tempo, let’s take some of that too! Rising in popularity, Take the Tempo appears in both Kodachi and Emberblade variants across Top 8 decks. You can pay for this card with the third resource from a blue pitch, or use a Tunic trigger. Take the Tempo doesn’t require consecutive hits and it threatens card advantage similar to Mask of Momentum, Snatch and Mask of the Pouncing Lynx. It pairs well with Kodachis, Double Strike and Art of War for more chain links and gains go again from Razor Reflex, Snapdragons, and Soaring Strike. Oh, and it blocks three.
Rodger’s innovative deck does not cling to draconic attack like Emberblade versions. His list lacks Spreading Flames, Lava Vein Loyalty and Ronin Renegade. Most surprisingly, he plays a single Phoenix Flame. The flame is a bonus chain link and point of damage, but it's not essential to trigger every turn. Plus, Rodger eliminates the scenario of drawing a Phoenix Flame which can be awkward. This list threatens advantage with on hit effects and above rate attacks. Snatch, Double Strike, Take the Tempo, Salt in the Wound, Belittle, and Enlighten Strike all synergize with Kodachis and Mask of Momentum to draw more cards. If your entire deck is centered around hitting, drawing cards and going again, you might just win some games. After a few reps with this deck, it’s clear that it’s a ninja deck first, and a draconic deck second.
Emberblade Fai
Appearing twice in the US Nationals Top 8, Emberblade Fai piloted by Daniel Rutowski and Spencer Freeman performed brilliantly in a known control meta. Their traditional lists suggest “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” If Fai can navigate a two-day, two hundred player event in an ice meta and still Top 8, there is clearly fire still here. Daniel Rutowski ran undefeated in the CC rounds until very late in day two without a single Kodachi. Draconic Fai just works.
To sure up control matches, Enlighten Strike, Energy Potion and Sink Below (vs Oldhim) offer flexible advantages at important game moments without sacrificing the lean engine of an aggro deck. The goal with draconic ninja is to explode with one massive turn with Spreading Flames, Art of War, and present as much damage as possible. Against ice heroes patience is required until your window of opportunity appears. Against Isylander and Oldhim, you need to setup a turn where you can activate Mask of the Pouncing Lynx, Tunic and Snapdragon's. Let’s imagine what this window might look like against Isylander.
This turn might seem too ideal, but keep in mind you are setting up for turns like this, often arsenaling a copy of Lava Burst in order to play two copies when you trigger Mask of the Pouncing Lynx for the second. The secret to these big turns is using all of your equipment in one turn against Isylander and Oldhim when their shields are down and you aren’t overwhelmed with taxing effects. When a turn with minimal frostbites presents itself, throw it all at them. For this reason I don’t mind popping off turn one if the opportunity presents itself. If Fai goes first, it might be the only turn in the game he gets without interruption or taxes.
Imagine how insane the above turn gets if Fai is sitting on Art of War and a Tunic. You'd cast the Art of War as the Frostbite and Blizzard go on the stack with Tunic, increasing your damage output and still affording the tax from Blizzard. Isylander goes from taking 11 damage, to upwards of 16. It’s hard for Isylander to catch up after this, as she is not capable of returning the damage in one turn. The rest of the game is just a slow and steady downhill race as you trade damage and dictate the end-game flow.
Hybrid Fai
Finishing in the Top 8 of the fierce Canadian Nationals, David Rood (Drood) posted his decklist and thoughts on a hybrid variant that is worth discussing. Drood’s list runs Kodachis and Emberblade. He prefers Emberblade against Oldhim and Isylander and Kodachis against everything else. This list borrows from both flavors of Fai and attacks the meta with a clear strategy and plan in each matchup. Some of the standout deck choices are:
- 2 Ancestral Empowerment
- 3 Double Strike
- 1 Liquefy
- 1 Phoenix Flame
- 3 Tome of the Firebrand
- 1 Energy Potion
- 0 Defense Reactions
Liquefy is legit. When it hits Crown of Seeds, Oldhim is left defenseless as you repeatedly punch him the beard on the following turns. It's a high impact card that is worth a one-of spot in the sideboard. Drood reasoned that his version of Fai runs zero defense reactions because Fai should be attacking, not blocking. I like this commitment to aggro, and trying to do many things in Fab will come at a cost. But it's clear that Fais running defense reactions are still viable. I like making a decision and committing to that in every game, Drood does this admirably with his sideboard plan. Read his notes for more information.
Defense reactions are debatable in Fai. There are times when Fai sits on a Sink Below for two turns against Oldhim and it feels dead if Oldhim doesn't hammer. It is, however, worth sitting on a Liquefy for two turns while you set up the sequence of attacks that will eliminate Crown of Seeds. Given the choice between sitting on a Liquefy or a Sink Below, I think it’s clear which one is winning you the game against OIdhim.
Both flavors of Fai saw success at Nationals worldwide. What Fai you play should depend on your meta, sideboard and playstyle. Fai players should be excited to experiment with cards like Energy Potion, Take the Tempo, Enlighten Strike, Razor Reflex, Soaring Strike, Ancestral Empowerment, Phoenix Flames, Salt in the Wound. The number of copies of each card is debatable too, which gives players flexibility. With a healthy meta, Fai has been able to equip both weapons and find success in competitive events. Now get out there and trigger some masks!
About the Author
Evan McGrew is Flesh and Blood advocate, player and writer in the Washington DC area. He enjoys growing the game one player at a time. He is also the creative force behind FAB TCG CARDS’ playmats and tokens. When he is not putting counters on his Dawnblade, Evan teaches 5th grade in Virginia.
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