Grave (Yomi)

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	A: When you block an attack, first draw a card from blocking, then you may reveal a card for his character ability (not the card you blocked with though, return that to your hand at the end of combat). Next turn, if you play the card you revealed in combat, you can search for a Queen or draw a card as soon as the winner of the combat is determined. This happens after any combat-reveal abilities from the opponent, and before any combo escapes.		A: When you block an attack, first draw a card from blocking, then you may reveal a card for his character ability (not the card you blocked with though, return that to your hand at the end of combat). Next turn, if you play the card you revealed in combat, you can search for a Queen or draw a card as soon as the winner of the combat is determined. This happens after any combat-reveal abilities from the opponent, and before any combo escapes.
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	Q: What happens and what doesn’t happen when I counter an ability?		Q: What happens and what doesn’t happen when I counter an ability?

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Latest revision as of 02:53, 17 February 2015

Grave Stormborne, Wind Warrior

Use training, discipline, and the spirit of storm dragons to read your opponents!

Grave lives to improve his skills every day, wondering what limits there are to a person's potential. He's dedicated, serious, and strong-willed. He carries a sword, but he was warned at a young age to "use it only when necessary, and no more." He has no such limit on tapping power from the blue dragons of lightning and thunder, though.

Grave trains alongside his sister Jaina and under Master Midori at his dojo in Dragon Tail Vale. Grave cares little about politics, and instead focuses on individual power. Many expect him to win the Fantasy Strike tournament against the previously undefeated Rook.

Card images

Deck (text)

Life: 90

Max Combo: 4

Innate:
Knowing the Opponent: When you block an attack, you may reveal a card from your hand. If you combat-reveal that card next turn but don't win combat with it, draw a card. If you do win combat with it, search your deck or discard pile for a Queen. (Shuffle your deck if you searched it.)

Normal attacks: x damage, Speed x.6

Normal throws: 7 damage, Speed x.6, 2 CP Starter, Knocks down

2: Attack 2 dmg, speed 2.6, 1 CP normal // Dodge

3: Attack 3 dmg, speed 3.6, 1 CP normal // Dodge

4: Attack 4 dmg, speed 4.6, 1 CP normal // Dodge

5: Attack 5 dmg, speed 5.6, 1 CP normal // Block

6: Attack 6 dmg, speed 6.6, 1 CP normal // Block

7: Block // Throw (KD) 7 dmg, speed 7.6, 2 CP Starter // *Martial Mastery
Martial Mastery: [Draw Phase] Draw two cards, then discard a card, then the opponent reveals their hand.

8: Block // Throw (KD) 7 dmg, speed 8.6, 2 CP Starter

9: Block // Throw (KD) 7 dmg, speed 9.6, 2 CP Starter

10: Block // Throw (KD) 7 dmg, speed 10.6, 2 CP Starter // *Mental Toughness
Mental Toughness: [Reaction] Discard a face card (and this card) to counter an ability. (Prevent and undo the ability and the opponent discards the card if played from hand. You can't counter Aces, Jokers, or character cards.)

Jack: Lightning Cloud: Attack 8 (3) dmg, speed 2.4, 1 CP Ender // *Lightning Trap
Lightning Trap: [During Combat] When you deal block damage with this card, return it to your hand and the opponent doesn't draw a card from blocking.

Queen: Dragonheart: Attack 10 (2) dmg, speed 0.0, 3 CP Ender

King: Whirlwind: Attack 7+7 (+K) (1) dmg, speed 2.2, 2 CP Linker

Ace: True-Spark Arc: Attack 12 (3) dmg, speed 1.0, 2 CP Ender // True Power of Storms: Attack 45 (1) dmg, speed 0.4, 3 CP Ender AAA

FAQ

Q: When I use Martial Mastery, do I have to discard one of the two cards I just drew, or can I discard any card in my hand?

A: You can discard any card in your hand; it does not have to be one of the two cards you just drew.

Q: How does the timing of Grave's character ability work?

A: When you block an attack, first draw a card from blocking, then you may reveal a card for his character ability (not the card you blocked with though, return that to your hand at the end of combat). Next turn, if you play the card you revealed in combat, you can search for a Queen or draw a card as soon as the winner of the combat is determined. This happens after any combat-reveal abilities from the opponent, and before any combo escapes.

Q: What happens and what doesn’t happen when I counter an ability?

A: When you counter an ability, prevent and undo all of its costs and effects, as if it never happened. Your opponent discards the ability card if they played it from their hand. You play this after they pay any costs to activate, but then the opponent gets their costs refunded when you counter.

Strategy

Note: This strategy guide was written for 1st Edition. Some content may be outdated.

Overview

Grave is a very solid character, with few disadvantageous matchups against other characters. Blocking is one of his most powerful options, and his early game block is especially scary, both because of his innate and because if Grave builds a good hand, it can translate into a lot of damage very fast. Grave is very card efficient, with many cards dealing 6, 7, 8 and 10 damage. More importantly, any pair can become a 12 damage Ace that is very easy to ditch, or combine into True Power of Storms for 45 damage. This means 15 damage per card, and for a 45 damage hit, it's fairly easy to ditch too.

Grave's weakness is in a certain way blocking, too! While his block is powerful at the start of the game, it quickly starts to lose value. Grave is very card efficient, but is not as good at translating that hand into damage, so continuing to block with a full hand is not going to be exactly great. It will increase your hand versatility with more dodges, counters , Martial Masteries , and faster attacks and throws in general. However, in the overall picture, over-building your hand is not going to be that amazing.

But Grave's real major weakness is that his throws are not great. He has few of them, half of them with abilities he needs, and they aren't especially fast. Also, while he has some decent "ditches" for throws, like K+K , 6 ->J , and Ace , it's not as great as other throws in the game. If Grave uses his abilities, and misses some throws, he will find himself out of throws very often, and it's not hard to lose throw clashes when yours is speed 9.6.

Basic gameplan

Your fundamental plan with Grave is to use his amazing blocks early on to get a good hand, and protect those blocks with J , Q , and the occasional Ace or Joker depending on the matchup. 7 throw is also a great defense (8 throw too, in matchups like DeGrey and Argagarg).

Then, build a hand that will generally be based around True Power of Storms , then proceed to hit confirm or dodge into AAA, throw for a knockdown, or throw for damage.

That's the basic plan, but in some matchups and against some players, you'll need to deviate from it. Just keep in mind that this is your most fundamental gameplan.

Card Analysis

Attack / Dodge

These are Grave's dodges, and dodges are important mainly because of True Power of Storms (AAA) . So, the main use of this cards are as dodges, but if you feel you have more dodges than you need, they have other basic uses. The 2 and the 3 can be used as straight starters. However, it's usually best to avoid focusing on straights with Grave, unless you are against a throw-heavy character like Rook.

As we saw earlier, Grave does not have real problems about building a hand. As a result, trying to block with an 8 instead of a 5 because you have 356 and are waiting for the 4 will often be a mistake: Grave's throws are valuable, and against most characters, his straights aren't as important.

If you start with 3456, it's reasonable to try to land that straight. Just be careful about playing different cards just because you want to build up a straight. You will find that by the time you do, you already have a decently sized hand.

As hit confirm cards for AAA, you might prefer 5 and 6, since they mostly beat everything that 3 and 4 would beat anyway. In knockdown situations, people tend to block with even-numbered blocks, so there is some merit to use 3 over 6 as a mixup attack. 2 will outspeed some attacks, and is especially good against people who like to rise from knockdown with their own straights. For the most part, however, 234 are dodges, so the most important decision is generally if you have enough dodges for your True Power of Storms (AAA) .

Attack / Block

Basically, these are the blocks you are going to use. If you have them, you will probably block with them.

A good thing about 5 and 6 is that they don't put a pressure on your hand. They are good damage on its own, and very easy to put into throws, such as throwing into 5/6 -> J . They are also useful to hit-confirm into True Power of Storms (AAA) , to avoid wasting dodge cards.

Throw / Block / Martial Mastery

This is one of the hardest cards to play. Martial Mastery is a very powerful ability. However, throws are scarce for Grave, and this is his fastest. Against some characters, the choice is actually easy: for Setsuki, Rook or Midori, just use it as Martial Mastery most of the time ; it's not like the speed of the throw is going to do any good. Martial Mastery is especially good against Setsuki, since she does not have many real options in hand in general.

Against other characters, it's going to be a tough decision. A common strategy is to use them early on as throws, and later as Martial Mastery. Only block with this card in the most extreme of situations.

Throw / Block

These Grave throws are kind of slow (especially the 9), but hey, you need throws. Don't block with them if you can avoid it, and be extremely wary of exchanging them for Aces. You really don't want to run out of throws (you probably will anyway :/).

Throw / Block / Mental Toughness

Mental Toughness is a very powerful counter ability - it directly counters regular abilities without needing any additional cost. By keeping 10s in your hand, you can prevent your opponent's most powerful abilities from really threatening you - game-defining abilities like Midori's Dragon Form , Jaina's Unstable Power , or Geiger's Temporal Distortion . You'll generally want to keep 10s to counter your opponent's most powerful ability, even at the cost of sometimes letting their less powerful ones resolve.

Blocking with a 10 is somewhat of a desperation move, and in most matchups, you will only want to throw with a 10 in the most extreme of circumstances.

Lightning Cloud attack (*Lightning Trap)

One of the best things in Grave's arsenal. Lightning Cloud is an excellent early game combat card, especially against grappler opponents - you can get good results by just playing it as soon as possible in the first few turns. Since early game dodges are much rarer than blocks, and since speed 2.4 is very reasonable, you'll rarely regret it.

An early game tactic of "play Jack if you have it, block a lot otherwise" can be surprisingly effective, since blocking is a good counter to what beats your Jack: dodges and early fast attacks.

Later on, you can change jacks for Aces if you really need to, but mostly just add them at the end of throw combos, or even more for esoteric combos like K+K -> 6 -> J, etc.

Dragonheart attack

Dragonheart is a super efficient card that happens to be speed 0.0. If you want to attack, this is generally your best choice. It's also one of the main ways to beat other people's attacks late on, when you don't have dodges, or even in place of dodges. Try to save them for the late game, when attack wars are more common.

Whirlwind attack

Whirlwind is one of Grave least powerful cards, but it's still not bad at all! It's 7 damage for a card, and when you have 2, you can do decent throws and less terrible dodges. It's actually pretty reasonable when you need a fast attack, and Queens and Aces are in short supply. It actually beats or trades on speed with many things. You might still discard it a lot for Martial Mastery , or powerup KKK for AA .

Keep in mind that powering up KK for A in a vacuum is wrong unless you want to complete your AAA set. K+K is 14 damage versus a single Ace's 12. Both can be comboed into just as easily. The single Ace is faster, so it will win more as a naked attack, but K+K is two cards, so if you lose combat you only lose half the damage.

True-Spark Arc attack / True Power of Storms attack

One of the best Aces in the game, even if A for 12 damage and AAA 45 (15 damage a piece) is not that impressive compared to other effects of Aces (Blackjack , Bubble Shield , Chromatic Orb ). The versatility makes up for it. The single A can be slipped in very easily unlike those other aces. Even AAA can be slipped in pretty easily. Also, their speed is pretty decent too. Don't overdo AAA, though. If you focus too much on saving Aces to land AAA, it can backfire pretty quickly. If your opponent is good at bluffing jokers, this can put you in more trouble than just throwing into A.

Sticking to AAA or going to single aces is one of the main valuation decisions for Grave. If the opponent makes your life easy by throwing jokers around, good for you. However, against a lot of players, it's better to save the headaches after a few turns of AAA not finding its way and just start slipping in Aces in simpler ways.

Gold Burst / Rewind Time

Everybody has these! It's a pretty close call between Gold Burst and Combo Escape here, since his Aces are pretty strong. You'll have to make a judgement call depending on the matchup.

How to beat Grave

It's hard to really say how to beat Grave, because it's very character dependent, but the biggest tip is probably to use Combo Escape against him. Grave has trouble translating his hand into damage. If you have a decently sized hand and Combo Escape, make his life miserable in the late game. If you know AAA is coming, bluff or joker. It's a tough decision between the two, but do bluff him a lot, especially after dodges. And of course, Combo Escape if you think Grave will follow up. Joker bluffs can be a huge pain for Grave to deal with.

Outside of jokers, Grave has problems early on against fast throws and blocks, so use those. If you want, you can open first with something that beats J, or maybe do that on the second turn if you think he is capable of avoiding your first turn's counter to J. For some characters, it's not worth it though. Just block. But Geiger can open with J , DeGrey can open with an A dodge , Arg can use Bubble Shield , etc.

Outside of that, a block/fast throw mixup is hard for Grave to deal with early on. Later on, replace blocks with dodges. Attacks that only lose against Q are OK too. But really, all of this depends a lot on matchups.

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Matchups

Grave vs Grave

This matchup revolves around J , blocks, and throws. Your 7s are throws. Counter J if you can.

Please don't make this mistake: Jokers should be Combo Escapes, and nothing else. Grave hates Combo Escapes. That alone makes a huge difference.

The early game is a lot about throw speed and J . You can surprise-attack him, if you think he is a good player that correctly goes for fast throws. This is especially true if you don't have a good hand of early game cards ; if you don't have J or if your throws are slow. If you have a straight, go for it.

Keep in mind that if your attack meets a block, it's going to be really painful.

The whole reason why this happens is that Grave has no real way to punish throws; he can't use jokers as a gold burst either. So both players should throw a lot. The only good anti-throw Grave has is straights.

You can attack quite a bit late game, especially if you have combo escape. Grave gets a hand really fast, and after he has a full hand, he isn't happy about blocking. Once you get to 20 life or so, throws should scare you more. A dodge can do 14 damage, a Q or A , 10/12, but a throw can do 21. So in fact, late game, throws are more scary than dodges and attacks, so try to save Q for this stage of the game.

Grave vs Jaina

Your blocks own, but so do her attacks. The early game is slightly in Grave's favor, since if she attacks into a block, it's painful. She can't do much about blocks more than blocking back ; she can throw, but not for a really big win. So basically, Grave should block a lot. The other part of the story is that block vs block is slightly favorable for Jaina. Jaina has a better late game because of her Smoldering Embers (10) (which is a nightmare), but also because in the joker bluff game, it's harder to annoy Jaina than it is to annoy Grave.

So while Grave has the early game advantage in theory, Grave is under pressure to do damage before the late game. This pressure makes his early game not a breeze.

In summary, block quite a bit, your J is as good as always, but try to sneak in throws. And if you throw, don't save anything. Max combo as much as you can. The reason is that once Jaina has Smoldering Embers (10s) in her discard pile, it's gonna be hell to get through if she has any life left. Try to save your Qs . Once her 10s hit the discard pile, they are gonna be your main way of dealing damage. Naked AAA is kind of decent, but loses against her Q and Unstable Power-flipped Ace .

Basically, the matchup is a race. Grave should try to "get in" before it's too late.

This matchup is about even.

Grave vs Midori

This is an uphill battle for Grave, but once he gains momentum, it's his game to take.

Grave can't do anything against the block / throw game of early game Midori other than dropping J for an easy combat win. J is the card of the match, and it makes a huge difference. Building a straight should be one of the ways to get ahead on the early game, and Gold Burst is a way of getting to your good mid-game fast.

Playing Block vs Block is to Grave's benefit, but since Midori doesn't need to attack, it's not a great move.

If Grave manages to get ahead in the early game with a decent hand, slowly Midori will be able to do nothing against Grave. Grave can just start spamming attacks, and Midori has to connect his dodges perfectly. Midori's problem is that even successful dodges aren't a big deal, since he can't deal more than 20 damage (with 2 aces ) from a dodge, unless he has Dragon Form , which is unlikely to happen since Grave can counter that.

So, as Grave, try to survive the early game with block vs block, J, straights and Gold Bursts. But throw quite a bit to not make his block game super easy. Once you have cards, just spam Q , A , J , K , some straights, mix in some throws and blocks. And save any jokers to combo escape his dodges, and bluff those dodges quite a bit.

This matchup is about even.

Grave vs Setsuki

Attack and block a lot. Counter Bag of Tricks , and use Martial Mastery when her hand gets shorter. It's ok to use your 8 and 9 to throw occasionally, but you should throw very little.

Q is brutal against her, but single A attacks are great too. Even K+K is decent in some hands or after a dodge.

You shouldn't throw much because you shouldn't recieve much damage when she dodges, and your throw mostly loses against her throws. It's ok to throw against dodge spammers, but you should be able to win more games based on Q and A attacks. This matchup is more based on keeping to a solid tactic than on trying to read your opponent. Q, A a lot, block some (because you don't have infinite Qs and Aces), throw almost never. Use Martial Mastery to find out where she is and use your counter to stop the Bag of Tricks machine or she can put you in trouble.

If you activate your innate , you should almost always use the card you revealed. Even if you lose combat, gaining a Q is so important that it makes it practically a draw.

You should favor Combo Escapes over Gold Bursts. She goes down fast, and you don't need the 2 aces from a successful Gold Burst. That will increase the number of combats she needs to win, and since Setsuki will practically always follow up after her combat card, the success of your Combo Escape is practically guaranteed.

This matchup is in Grave's favor.

Grave vs Rook

J is your best card, but other than that, you have no great options. Try to use your 7 as Martial Mastery and your 10 to counter special Blocks late. It's ok to use both as a throw early on, but the speed is unlikely to ever matter.

Try to build a straight, you will need that to raise your damage. True Power of Storms (AAA) is really good as it beats most things Rook can pull off. But meeting a Stone Wall is game deciding, so have a 10 just in case.

Be ready to Gold Burst. You need it to have enough damage, otherwise Rook can run you out of cards. As the game progresses, you should start blocking more. Once he has a decent hand, he is going to start attacking with normals, J and Wall of Vines (AA attack) . A block can give you the damage you need to keep in the game.

If you have a straight, be careful about using it after a KD. You will have to sometimes block/dodge or even Q, since players will J attack there quite a bit. Basically, the biggest issue here is that Rook can empty your hand. Your best options to avoid that are straights and Gold Burst. Going block vs block is in your favor too, especially against Rook's special blocks.

This matchup is slightly in Rook's favor.

Grave vs DeGrey

Throw him. DeGrey's only real counter to throws are Pilebunkers , which are very risky since they lose against blocks and J , but is still his best option. So throw him, and then throw. It's ok to attack and block to mix up of course.

Generally prefer attacking over blocking. Blocking is somewhat dangerous because you could end with a big hand, then all of DeGrey's face cards end up doing +4 damage , and that would be awful. Don't be afraid to attack, even with K : he has a hard time punish attacks except through Ace dodges , which isn't that scary unless he also has K in hand. Even Ace dodges are risky for him if you throw quite a bit.

Basically, this matchup is defined a lot on the early turns. If he drops his hand fast, you are half dead, as Grave has big issues emptying his hand. But Grave should win most combats as he has faster throws and attacks in general.

This matchup is even.

Grave vs Valerie

In the early game, throw a lot, block some to scare her, then throw some more.

Valerie can't punish throws early on. She need Aces or lots of normals to put you in trouble, but otherwise, you can freely throw her. The problem with that statement is that 10s are vital against Valerie, and 7s also are pretty good. As a result, it's easy to run out of throws. The point is, throw her while you can. Once Val gets a decent hand, her attacks are really good.

Keep your Queens in the early game. Valerie has no really good counter for Q in the midgame, since her dodges are really bad, and it will keep Valerie from landing that combo she's been building her hand towards.

Going block vs block against Valerie isn't especially good, since it lets her build her hand, which is often a hard thing for her to do.

Once the early game is over, Val does not need to increase her hand anymore. You should attack her a lot, since blocking isn't going to put her closer to winning by much, and her dodges wont really do great damage unless her hand size is really big. Your Queen, Dragonheart , is a key card here. You can destroy Val's hand by forcing her to use dodges. As a result, if you go into an attacking mode, Val has to win a lot of the combats to come out ahead. Of course, you will have to do a throw or dodge here and there ; don't make it super easy for her to dodge for the win.

A strong late game mixup against Valerie is to try to land True Power of Storms (AAA) either as a combat card, or to dodge into it.

This is one of the matches where Grave's J is not amazing, but is still decent. The reason is that you are not happy going block against J, since she still grows her hand and that's scary. The other thing is that J loses against her main form of attack which is Aces . She will rarely try to throw, and if she does, stopping her throw is not really important.

Jokers are Combo Escapes against Valerie. Do it after throws, normals or dodges, since your jokers are worth one extra combat. Don't be afraid to bluff her, either. You are going to build a big hand pretty easily, and Valerie has 80 life. If you bluff her, however, bluff her at dodges. She won't stop for bluffs with normals or throws.

This matchup is in Grave's favor.

Grave vs Geiger

My first tip is "Ignore his Fast Time Spiral (J) ." Dont play around countering J. It's just getting into a world of pain. Accept the fact that Time Spirals will hit. We have our own J to make his life miserable, so we are kind of even.

Try to avoid attacking with any non-J, non-straights early on. Gold burst is an acceptable move here, but keep in mind that Geiger blocks quite a bit.

Basically block, and protect your blocks with J , K , gold burst, straights and throws. Don't be afraid to throw quite a bit. If Geiger does not build a hand, he is not that dangerous. He doesn't have straights and his attacks tend to win combat, but aren't particularly painful. Early on, try to block / throw, and in the mid-game, try to mix in attacks. Once he has a decent hand, he will start throwing and using J more.

Don't bother to counter Temporal Distortion if he has no J in graveyard. Throws are going to be a problem in management. On the one hand, 9 and 8 are fast enough for this matchup, but you don't have that many. 10s are acceptable throws, since this matchup is very throw-heavy, but it's nice to use as a counter if you can. Avoid powering up with 8 and 9 even if you have quads - it's just not worth it. 7 is a very good throw, but unless you need a throw, use them as Martial Masteries. Geiger tends to like an empty hand mid/late, and knowing the exact hand composition can be a winner. Having said that, don't be afraid to throw with your 7 if you think it's the right move.

You will use all your throws because you should throw as much as you can, but use them wisely, as they are scarce. Block a bit just to keep him afraid, but don't expect much attacks until mid to late game. Also, be ready to save dodges, as your game is going to be obviously dodge / attack heavy late, with some throws.

This matchup is slightly in Grave's favor.

Grave vs Lum

Lum is a lottery, sometimes his attacks are awesome, sometimes they are irrelevant.

There isn't much to say about this matchup, it's the usual block / throw Grave game. Straights are good in this matchup since good Lum players will throw a lot and attack with K which loses against your 2 . Don't be afraid to throw Lum, his attacks aren't really awesome unless he has something build up, and that can take a while. Yeah, sometimes he will land Q+Q or K+K+K , but what can you do.

Gold Bursts are good against Lum. Save your 10s to counter Poker Flourish .

This matchup is in Grave's favor.

Grave vs Argagarg

This matchup revolves around J , Block, Throw. That´s basically it.

Now that we defined the matchup, some tips.

If you really want to attack, do it, but be very cautious. Of course, unless your hand is big, throws are KD. KD a lot. And then use Block / Normal attack.

Using Joker as a gold burst is reasonable since you won't escape big combos anytime soon against Argagarg.

Attacking is good because Argagarg has slow attacks, and his dodges and blocks are laughable. The exception is when you suspect he has an Ace - then you should be wary. If he Bubble Shields, that's a major hit, and probably an unnecessary risk when you can basically beat all he does with just block and throws.

Dodges are your friend; be extra careful with them. Late game you will dodge / throw a lot, and you need those dodges. It's vital to build up AAA to threaten your opponent.

If you use your innate , reveal a throw, preferably a fast one. It's very hard for Argagarg to deal with it. If Argagarg is at something like 12 life or less, don't be afraid to attack quite a bit more than normal. Mix it up a little, but even if he Bubble Shields, you can chip him down a lot.

This matchup is slightly in Argagarg's favor.

Credit to WaterD for this strategy guide.

See also: Grave (PS), Grave (FD)