Flurry Strike ATTACK: If this attack is successful, it does an additional point of damage for every other Flurry Strike played this turn. If the previous attack you played this turn was Flurry Strike, this attack may not be blocked. [There are three different Flurry Strikes: one is Middle Left, one is Middle Right, and one is Middle Center] If our last two WC-related cards were combat-enhancing Edge cards (Lunge and Flashing Blade), and the WC-related card before that was a combat-enhancing Special Attack (Master Swordsman), here we have a combat-enhancing non-Special attack. Flurry Strike is the only generic non-Special attack found in Watcher's Chronicles. Game mechanic questions first. Flurry Strike is limited by title, so you can't have more than six, no matter which location(s) on the grid those six attacks cover. Flurry Strike meets the criteria for being an unblockable attack. Thus, Alertness/Block can be used against it. However, keep in mind that Alertness/Block modifies an attack, not a block you might play against that attack. So make sure to modify the second or subsequent Flurry Strike _before_ you play a block against the earlier attack(s). Also, you can't use Alertness to allow a Guard already on the table to protect you. A Flurry Strike does normal damage: two points (four for a Power Blow), or for Amanda, one point (two for a Power Blow). The Kurgan adds his extra 1 damage normally. On top of this you add one additional point for each other FS played that turn. The MC Flurry Strike receives no additional bonus to damage, unlike a Thrust. Only one Flurry Strike needs to hit. The extra damage added to it is from each other Flurry Strike _played_, not each other Flurry Strike that successfully hit. However, if two or more hit, each adds damage to the other(s). A Flurry Strike can be Hidden, played from an Exertion, and made a Power Blow. Although it is not a "basic" attack, it is not limited like a Special Attack. It cannot be modified by cards like Hideo Koto or Lunge that affect basic attacks only. A block played against a second or greater Hidden Flurry Strike has no effect. And you must play Alertness/Block on the FS _before_ you play the appropriate block. If you miss the first block against the Hidden FS, you may still Exert and play that block: the FS still remains modified by Alertness and can still be blocked. So, Flurry Strike looks like a tricky card. However, these are tricks that make it harder to defend against, not harder to play. In fact, a properly augmented FS is a good way to sneak in an unblockable attack that does a fair amount of damage. Obviously, Flurry Strike is only useful to Personas that can make multiple attacks. Thanks to The Prize/Extra Attack, anyone can do that. However, the most common way is to make two attacks using Combination, Extra Shot, or Follow-Up/Kurgan. This may not seem that effective, since a Lower or Upper Guard, Duck, Jump, Master's Block, and Master's Dodge will avoid both attacks. In and by itself, correct. Keep in mind that, ideally, you want to play at least two Flurry Strikes. Flashing Blade (CotW #37) can lower the effectiveness of those dodge-based strategies, requiring them to at least play two dodge cards against your two Flurry Strikes. As always, the second attack of an Extra Shot, enhanced by Flashing Blade, means your opponent has to work for a defense. An opponent in this case must Exert for a defense, any blocks will be unusable, and if he fails to draw the right defense he takes at least three points of damage (normal 2 damage for a Flurry Strike, plus 1 more for the first one). If you made it a Power Blow they take 5 damage, if you're the Kurgan they take 4 damage, and if you're the Kurgan making a Power Blow, they take 6 damage! Speaking of the Kurgan . . . let's look at Follow-Up. The second attack of a Follow-Up is undodgeable. And if you played a Flurry Strike as your first attack, the second Flurry Strike is unblockable. Congratulations! You just created a Stalk that can be Power Blowed, does a potential 6 damage if the Kurgan wants to try a Power Blow (4 if he doesn't), and he can use three times rather than once (a two-Flurry Strike combo x 3). The standard Combination, used in conjunction with Flashing Blade or other anti-dodge cards like Master's Advance, provides some nice bluff potential. Play a ML Flurry Strike, then a Hidden attack. Watch them scurry to block that Flurry Strike/right . . . and get nailed by your Lower Left Attack. Once they catch on to that, switch back to using a Flurry Strike for your second attack. Useless against Connor, unfortunately. Heck, don't even bother playing an opposite-side Flurry Strike. Just play a ML Flurry Strike and then a Hidden ML Flurry Strike. You get an extra point of damage this way. That's what you can do with just two attacks in a turn. Let's take a look at folks who can play 3+ attacks per turn. Annie Devlin, if she is successfully attacked, can make three attacks. If she uses Run Through, she can make all three attacks Hidden, and she has an inherent ability which duplicates Flashing Blade. Take the strategies mentioned for Combination above and apply generously. Alternately, Annie can let herself be hit, and then use Fitzcairn's Fast Talk (with Darius), making it impossible for her opponent to play any cards. She may then play three Flurry Strikes and make one a Power Blow. Thanks to her inherent ability, an opponent Exerting for a defense and getting a dodge can only use it against one attack (guess which one?). Still, this means she will do eight points of damage - fourteen if they fail to draw a dodge! Only a Master's Block will save them here. Battle Rage provides five attacks. If you can make these Hidden (via Mountain Cave), better still. A Connor/Mountain Cave deck employing Flurry Strikes should do serious damage. Play just half of your six allotted Flurry Strikes, and if just one hits you'll do four points of damage. Kern tends to get about five attacks in an enhanced Exertion. He needs Flashing Blade (unless he uses Rage, which also gives him extra Power Blows). Employ the same strategy for him. Slan get ten attacks with Berserk, but he has to count on randomly drawing his Flurry Strikes. Unless he uses Dr. Alan Neyman or a well-timed Fortune Teller, that's probably not going to happen. The Kurgan gets 15 attacks with Bloodlust, and several Flurry Strikes scattered throughout can be just as painful. Which cards supplement the use of Flurry Strike? Ruins, Dead-End Alley, and Catwalk, since they prevent the play of defenses that simultaneously cover the ML and MR areas. Watcher/Involvement will stop Master's Blocks. Granted, second and subsequent Flurry Strikes can't be blocked anyway, but using Ruins and Watcher/Involvement will guard against Alertness/Block as well. Anti-Holy Ground cards like Carl are good for when your opponent tries to escape. Since Kalas has the "standard" Extra Shot, he can use the two-Flurry strategy outlined above, and keep a nervous opponent from playing Holy Ground because of his Stalk/Head Shot combo. Dojo (CotW #34) lets you tuck away a Flurry Strike until you have other Flurry Strike(s) to play with it. This means you can still attack your opponent, keeping the pressure on, without having to do the worst thing possible: waste a single Flurry Strike attacking. It also lets Kalas store a Stalk & Head Shot in case his opponent plays Holy Ground/ME. Flurry Strike is a way for Amanda to do two points of damage with a Seduce, without having to wait for a Thrust. Simply play two Flurry Strikes, and use Seduce on either one. So overall, Steve gives Flurry Strike a _8_. It's an okay card when simply used as part of a multi-attack sequence. However, there are some _very_ sneaky combinations tucked away in the game which represent the swordfighting aspect of Highlander at its best. What Our Other Raters Say: Jeff - Oodles and oodles of fun, these attacks were just made to be played with the Kurgan. Bloodlust with Ruins and a Master's Advance out, play a few of these, and rip (or use Carl) on their Holy Ground. Or, if you feel like having more fun, try it with any multi-attack Persona using Flashing Blade. Lots and lots of possibilities. Rick - An amazing card. Put several of these in a row and you have something very deadly. Even Master's Block won't stop them all. Hank - Another card that's designed to be useful in decks that play multiple attacks in a turn. In the decks I've used them in, or seen them used in, they haven't had the impact one would want, though. There are better attacks to put in a deck. Alan - Flurry Strike's dual "ability" makes it one of the best attack cards available. It enhances Combination, Extra Shot, Battle Rage, and my particular favorite, Bloodlust. Flurry Strike should be in _every_ swordfighting deck that relies on making multiple attacks in a turn. Jim - Flurry Strike is best played within a multi-attack sequence like Battle Rage, Bloodlust, or Berserk. Flashing Blade is also a good Edge card to use with these. Kern can make very good use of these as can Kurgan, Duncan and any Immortal with multi-attack capabilities or cards that grant multiple attacks. Wayne - Great card for attack decks using multiple attacks. Cards like this and the new edge cards may make Bloodlust one of the most powerful cards in the game. I would rate it higher but it really doesn't help anyone not playing multiple attack decks. Prodipto - Flurry Strike is a very useful attack to put into multiple attack decks. These would include the 3-B's (Battle Rage, Berserk, Bloodlust), or Amanda or Kern decks. When used with Flashing Blade, or anti-dodge cards (like Master's Advance, Challenge/SE, Kiss Your Butts Goodbye, Nefertiri's Seduce, etc), playing more than one Flurry Strike is very effective. Allen - Another card that boosts multiple attack sequences, Flurry Strike grants them extra teeth. The more of them you play at once, the more teeth each attack carries. Battle Rage can conceptually grant you five attacks each doing six damage. Given BR's dodge-restricting ability, this can prove effective for a Lean and Mean deck (especially in Renaissance style). In any multiple attack sequence, forcing your opponent to defend several non- consecutive Flurry Strikes can force them to let many other attacks through. Ratings Overall: Steve 8 Jeff 7 Rick 9 Hank 5 Alan 9 Jim 7 Wayne 7 Prodipto 6 Allen 5 Average: 7.00 ------------------------------------------------------------------