Zen, Tamer of Purpose

Hello again, dear reader. It’s wonderful to see you here again, and I appreciate you taking the time to sit down with me as we explore the exciting new heroes on display in Flesh and Blood’s 13th set: Part The Mistveil.

Last time, we broke down Nuu, Alluring Desire and discovered how her hero effect marries together the stealth and contract mechanics present in the Assassin card pool in ways we’ve never seen before. Today, we dive into the brand new Mystic Ninja Hero, Zen, Tamer of Purpose. Will Zen have the same effect on a Ninja card pool full of combo cards and Crouching Tigers? (Spoiler alert: yes.)

Zen, Tamer of Purpose is the new ninja joining the storied ninja roster that traces its ancestry back to the beginning of Flesh and Blood. For those unaware, Ninja was the first class introduced in Flesh and Blood via the Ira, Crimson Haze Welcome Decks. While the meta viability of the class has waxed and waned throughout the life of the game, Ninja could be poised to establish itself as a powerhouse class thanks to Zen, Tamer of Purpose.

Just like Nuu, Alluring Desire, Zen, Tamer of Purpose sports the 4 intellect and 40 health statline that most heroes in FAB possess. This Mystic Ninja Hero’s ability reads:

Once per Turn Instant – Pay 3 Chi Energy: Create a Crouching Tiger in your hand. Search your deck for a card with combo, banish it, then shuffle. You may play it this turn.

On the face of it, this effect seems absurdly over-rate. Compare this to the effect on Katsu, the Wanderer:

The first time an attack action card you control hits each turn, you may discard a card with cost 0. If you do, search your deck for a card with combo, banish it, then shuffle. You may play it this turn.

As you can see, both hero effects allow the player to search their deck for a combo card and play it during their turn. In order to trigger that effect, Katsu needs to get an attack action card to hit the opponent and then discard a 0 cost card from their hand. This creates a tense interaction between players, as the Katsu may have their turn stonewalled time and time again by a staunch defender on the other side of the table. Zen, in contrast, triggers his effect at instant speed by paying three Chi Energy. In doing so, he GAINS a card in hand as well as netting a combo card.

At first glance, this might appear to be pure power creep. One hero does the same thing but easier, and with more of a payoff. But don’t worry Katsu mains; read on and allow me to assuage your fears. Remember that we don’t yet know how easy it will be to access Chi energy. If generating Chi is as simple as pitching cards with the Chi symbol, then Zen might be as potent as we first assumed. However, if Chi is a bit harder to come by, then Zen’s effect may only be triggerable once every few turns, bringing his power more in line with some of the heroes we see more recently printed. That being said, his effect on the Ninja card pool cannot be understated.

Crouching Tiger [DYN065] (Dynasty)

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Set: Dynasty Finish: Regular Type: Action Subtype: Attack Rarity: Common Class: Ninja Cost: 0 Power: 0 Ephemeral (If Crouching Tiger would be put into a graveyard from anywhere, instead it ceases to exist.) Go again … read more

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Just as with Nuu, Zen’s effect stitches together two disparate archetypes that currently exist within the Ninja class: Combo and Crouching Tiger. Combo cards have existed since the first set of Flesh and Blood, and the mechanic has acted as the primary buildaround for the Ninja class ever since (minus that pesky Draconic Ninja). Crouching Tiger, however, is a new archetype introduced in the Dynasty set that allows Ninja to create Ephemeral attacks with 0 base power in their hand or banished zone. These Tigers can be created and buffed by a suite of support cards and allow a Ninja to extend the combat chain to preposterous lengths. This is one of many class archetypes that were introduced through the Dynasty set, and I’d argue that it is the most successful alternate play style to date. Crouching Tiger Katsu and Benji are both functional decks that can pick up wins at the armory level as they stand now. While those heroes can take advantage of the  archetype in their own  ways, it appears that Crouching Tigers are purpose-built for our new Tamer. Picture the following scenario:

You start your turn by playing Predatory Streak red, creating three Crouching Tigers in your banished zone. You then follow this up by playing Roar of the Tiger from arsenal, a card that you’ve been saving for just the right moment. You now have a Crouching Tiger in hand, three in banished, and all attack for 1. You send four instances of 1 damage in rapid succession, extending the chain to its fourth link (threatening Mask of Momentum in the process), and then pay 3 Chi to trigger Zen’s effect. At this point, you create another Crouching Tiger in hand and have access to a myriad of powerful combo cards that synergize with your Tigers. You elect to banish Tiger Swipe, a card that threatens to extend the combat chain even further if allowed to connect with the opponent’s face. To play this turn out up to this point, we’ve only had to spend the 3 Chi to get our combo card. Everything else has been free, meaning we can devote the rest of our hand to playing out cards such as Pouncing Qi for 4 with go again, Mauling Qi for 5 and a pure damage on-hit, or  Qi Unleashed for 7.

Keep in mind that these are all cards we already have on hand from previous sets. Rest assured that Zen is going to bring even more in the way of combo cards and Crouching Tiger synergy to the table this May. The choice by LSS to create heroes that unify card pools is on display again here, as Zen can also splash combo lines not related to Crouching Tigers into his deck. If LSS wants to increase the viability of some of the less-played combo lines (and I believe they do), I could see this set as an opportunity to pad out those lines via cards in this set. If so, Zen’s ability gains even more value.

As it stands, Zen, Tamer of Purpose is my most anticipated hero in this set. I believe that he has the capacity to push the Ninja class to its limits. Where do you fall, though? Will you harness your inner tiger, or pursue one of the other Mystic Arts? Check back soon for a detailed breakdown of the Mystic Illusionist, Enigma, and feel free to circle back to our first breakdown of the alluring new Assassin, Nuu.