Assassin's Packages - Part 1

BY NATHANIEL DALTON

In November of 2022, Dynasty released as the 8th set of Flesh and Blood and with it came a few surprises. For the first time ever, there was a dual class hero in the form of the emperor, who was assassinated before the set was even released. Who assassinated him was the biggest surprise yet as it came in the form of Flesh and Blood's 10th class. The original Arakni had a very interesting design, instead of going wide like Assassin's in most other games, they focused on smaller attacks with reactions. Even the original build that focuses on Contracts was all about control.

Outsider's brought in 2 new Assassin's that changed how this class functions, instead focusing on a new keyword, Stealth. From that set moving forward, Assassin's have focused on Stealth in different iterations. Nuu brought us Stealth attacks that functioned like Contracts, but instead of gaining Silver, you gain health. Chaos Arakni came with marking and the best disruptions in the game at commons and rare.

So how do you approach Assassin and look at cards that are good in any assassin hero? There are definitely some overall good cards, but we also have small packages that can fit into any assassin.

Packages overview

Over the next couple articles we are going to take a look at different aspects of Assassin. This week we will dive into the stealth cards package which is the primary focus of most of the Assassin class. In the following weeks we will talk about key aspects of the reaction packages followed by the new mark package.

Stealth Package

What is unique with Stealth is that almost every Assassin interacts with this keyword differently. However, there are stealth cards that really thrive in any build. While you may not want to put every card of these into every build, they are ones that should be considered when you build your assassin deck.

Art of Desire: Body

These has become a mainstay in Assassins. While this was made for Nuu, it has become a fantastic addition in any Assassin as threatening drawing cards is always powerful.

Pick to Pieces

When pick to pieces released originally, I was incredibly low on this card. In order to be unpreventable, you need to do a reaction. However, Assassin's thrive on the unpredictability and you turn a red reaction from +3 power to a +4 power. That alone can turn a red Pick to Pieces to a 7 power attack, or a blue into a 5 power attack. In my opinion, blue Pick to Pieces is almost an auto include in any stealth package because it gives you pitch or on a reaction level you get +1 power and it can get through ward on illusionists.

Infect

The original stealth card that was a powerhouse is still a powerhouse. Bloodrot dealing additional 2 damage or you force them to pay 3 resources is absolutely huge. This means that this could force a block because even at Blue, it can deal 3 damage. Forcing blocks with Assassin can be just as powerful as damaging getting through. Pair this with the threat of reactions, this can be a scary proposition for your opponent.

Bite

This is definitely more powerful in Arakni, Solitairy Confinement, but has the ability to be incredibly powerful in any build. This is essentially receives plus 1 power attack because you can flick a knife. With the new retrieve keyword this is not as big of an issue as it was before. Additionally, flicking something like Spider's Bite now makes it harder to block and if you have cards for reactions you leave your opponent truly guessing what can happen can either force an overblock or blow them out.

Orb Weaver Spinneret

This was purposefully put after Bite, as that is a card that is perfect to make space for equipping Graphene Chelicera. Not only that, it is a 0 cost buff for Stealth cards. This card should absolutely be considered in every build as it gives you so much flexibility and it gives you one of the best Assassin weapons which just happens to have the stealth keyword on it.

Closing Thoughts

Assassin has such a wide range of how each hero can play. Stealth is such a huge part in this class that every single one of these cards can fit into an assassin build. In the coming weeks we will dive deeper into reaction package and into the mark package that can fit into your favorite assassin.