Beginners Guide to Arakni - Archived 02/04/2024

Modern day Etasus here. This is an archived version of a post I wrote on Reddit almost 2 years ago. The links don't work and the table broke on the transition, but I wanted this article to move over to the new site. Here's a link to the original post: https://www.reddit.com/r/FleshandBloodTCG/comments/1aj8n9t/a_beginner_guide_to_arakni/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

Coercive Tendencies has just released, and with it, Arakni is an actual playable hero. Thank you very much LSS.

Now, you may have become interested in Arakni due to this new card but noticed a shocking reality: There don't exist very many resources for Arakni. This is due to a variety of factors, but quite simply, until recently, there was no reason to ever see Arakni at the top tables. They have historically been strictly nonviable. That has changed, but the content creators haven't quite caught up.

So I decided to rectify that with a simple beginner's guide to get the ball rolling. Of note, I am not a fantastic player. I took Arakni to the Dallas Calling and went 4-3. I also got top 8 at an RTN with Arakni. Those are my only qualifications other than that I've played this hero since release in Dynasty. But, I still think I can help out in the new player area with this guide. Just needed to make sure my qualifications were known first.

This guide will cover deck construction, general gameplay lines, and some simple matchup concepts. All of these are very barebones to account for simplicity, but it should give you a good idea of where to start.

Before we begin though, I think this guide is a perfect place to make this little tidbit of information more well known: Arakni uses they/them pronouns. This does not mean Arakni is specifically non-binary. This merely means Arakni uses they/them pronouns. This is not a headcannon, this is just how the lore treats Arakni. Due to this, the Arakni community is usually very welcoming and very wholesome. We like to be inclusive. Do not use he/him pronouns when referring to Arakni, or that welcoming environment will become very gruesome very quickly. Thanks!

Part 1: Deck Construction

Arakni deckbuilding is very interesting. Theoretically, you could play a deck of 60 red 0 for 4 contract cards and still win quite a few games. This is due to a very simple strength inherent to contract cards. Quite simply, every single contract card you present is guaranteed to eat a card. If your opponent blocks, you have eaten a card or more from hand. If the opponent doesn't, you have eaten a card or more from deck. Regardless, your opponent loses something.

Knowing this strength, you theoretically want to play as many contract cards as possible. However, 60 is probably too many. So, a reasonable approach to deck building is to evaluate cards on the basis of "is this better than a red 0 for 4 contract?"

You'll immediately notice a few liabilities with running 60 red 0 for 4 contracts. Notably, you have no hand which can play more than 1 card. Sometimes you can get 2 thanks to Blacktek Whisperers, but most of the time, you're stuck at 1. So, the first section of cards which might be better than your red 0 for 4 contracts are cards that allow you to play out higher hand counts.

The first and easiest way to start taking advantage of higher hand sizes is a very simple change: Run blues and yellows.

Due to our daggers costing 2 resources to attack with, yellows are very efficient at activating them. That said, blues are better, so I personally wouldn't go out of my way to include any extraneous yellows. That said, a few can always be pretty decent at the job.

Thankfully, we have no shortage of strong blues and yellows. On the blues, we have Surgical Extraction, Coercive Tendencies, generics like Warmongers and This Rounds on Me, Concealed Blade, or just another splattering of blue contracts. On the yellows, we have our Codexes, Eradicate, Remembrance, Shred, Fyendal's Fighting Spirit, and even Plague Hive if you own it.

Most top Arakni lists have situated between 15 and 20 blues. Determine for yourself the number you want to run and go from there.

However, there are other ways to increase your hand size outside of just blues.

Reactions like Cut to the Chase, Spreading Plague, Razor Reflex, and Shred can work in nearly any hand. You can almost always open a turn with Hurl, Come to Fight, or Give and Take. Codex of Bloodrot is just a decent card to stick at the start of a turn, and Enlightened Strike can add value to almost any hand you see it in. Sigil of Solace also just exists and makes sure you don't run out of life.

Another liability you may notice with 60 red 0 for 4 contracts is that quite simply, contracts are usually not super threatening. There are some other cards that can just be strong and effective at what they do.

Death Touch may be clunky in some hands, but a 1 for 6 with a difficult on hit can be quite effective. In addition, Command and Conquer is an incredibly strong 2 for 6 with some needed disruption, though on a budget, Humble and Cut Down to Size can do a pretty convincing impression. Lastly, you can't talk about strong cards without mentioning Codex of Frailty. Perhaps the strongest card in the Assassin (and Ranger) arsenal, Codex of Frailty completely changes the way the game is played.

Now, if you're already blocking with most of your contracts in the 60 red 0 for 4 contract deck, you might as well replace some of those cards with other cards that merely block better.

Some incredibly strong defensive tools include Sink Below, Fate Foreseen, Unmovable, Down and Dirty, That All You Got, Frailty Trap, and Oasis Respite.

Now, don't get too hasty with replacing your contracts with stronger cards, as you don't want to accidentally run out of contracts.

Most decks run around 15-20 contract cards that serve the primary purpose of attacking. Some players are increasing their contract count due to Coercive Tendencies, but I imagine it will settle somewhere around 18.

But what contract cards are worth running?

Well, obviously, Leave No Witnesses and Surgical Extraction double as disruption (I don't include Surgical in my contract count due to it being a blue)

Eradicate is the most important contract card we have access to thanks to it being one of the only cards in the game which can mass banish

Already Dead is interesting. The utility of it will almost never actually happen, and you'll probably get very few silvers from it's banishes. If this were a 0 cost or 1 cost contract, it probably wouldn't make the list. That said, it is the only 2 for 6 contract we have access to. Unfortunately, that stat line is important. Also importantly, Already Dead is incredibly expensive. I need to make sure any new player reading this understands and accepts this next statement: Even though it is in every list, do not buy Already Dead. It is not worth the price tag. If you already have some or are super committed to the deck and want to optimize every minuscule detail, go for it. If neither of those are the case, do not buy Already Dead.

You can't get to a good number with just the majestics though, and there are a lot of commons. So here, take this handy data set to choose your other contracts: Contract Hit Data Set

I put together this data set a while back and keep it relatively updated. Basically just use this to find your best contracts based on your meta. If you don't want to take the time though, here's a quick cheat sheet: Plunder > Annihilate > Rob > Slay > Sack > Fleece > Nix. Keep in mind your cost curve though. 0 costs are usually better than 1 costs.

As far as equipment goes, use what you have. Tunic is strong, Blossom of Spring can be a starting point. Either Flick Knives or Shriek Razors are both super good, but a simple Toxic Tips or Goliath Gauntlet can get you going. Blacktek Whisperers are great, but Snapdragon Scalers can put in some work while you wait on picking your pair up. Nerve Scalpel, Spider's Bite, and Scale Peeler are fantastic weapons, though don't worry about picking up the majestics if you need to save costs.

Mask of Perdition is the only majestic card I have mentioned in this entire guide which I genuinely believe to be required for Arakni. The simple fact of the matter is that without an outlet to put your silver into, half of the effect of your contract cards doesn't exist. You need at least one buyback card for the deck to actually function as intended. Thankfully though, Mask of Perdition is currently the cheapest and it is also the most impactful one we have access to.

Hopefully you can use the above information to put together your own list with any budget, but if you really just want to net deck, here are three good lists to look at.

My Personal Decklist - I wrote this guide. I made the data set. I am an okay player. This is probably not a great starting point.

Archon Alters Decklist - Archon is a fantastic player who is constantly updating his decklist and plays on Talishar more than basically any other Arakni player. This is probably the best starting point.

Wukey's Decklist - Wukey is (probably) the best Arakni player in the world. I'm pretty sure he's allergic to not top 8ing with Arakni. This is a very tailored list to him and his playstyle though, so I wouldn't recommend it as a starting point.

Part 2: General Gameplay

So, you have your decklist. Now how do you play?

To keep things short: Passively.

To make things long:

As mentioned earlier, contracts are incredibly powerful cards. They will always eat a card, whether it's from deck or from hand. Additionally, Arakni triggering a fateseal can be quite impactful in disrupting the opponents' deck and future turns. (Fateseal Definition: A term used to describe the act of opting your opponents' deck. Fatesealing is the name of the keyword used to do this effect in magic, and so has become a shorthand for the effect in Flesh and Blood) All of this combined means you want to present as many contracts as possible.

So, every turn should involve playing a contract if possible (or presenting an alternative threat like Death Touch or Command and Conquer). The best ways to play a contract are as follows:

0 cost contract (1 card hand)

Chestpiece Resource -> 1 cost contract (1 card hand)

Dagger -> 0/1 cost contract (2 card hand, yellow or blue)

2 cost contract (2 card hand, yellow or blue)

Dagger -> Chestpiece Resource -> 2 cost contract (2 card hand, blue)

Dagger -> Dagger -> 2 cost contract (3 card hand, blue + blue)

Your hand will probably have one of these playlines available. Find whichever of them is the most effective given the gamestate, the turn setup, and whatever your opponent is allowing you to do.

Don't be too greedy, and don't be afraid to just full block and pass. You need to preserve your life total as much as possible while still presenting some form of a threat.

Your deck should be built to take advantage of larger hand sizes as they come, but make sure you don't get greedy with those larger hands. Just because you see a Cut to the Chase doesn't mean that card needs to leave your hand during your turn. Sometimes the 3 block in the corner is the most important part.

That said, you aren't going to win by twiddling your thumbs and presenting where possible. That'll work for some matchups, but most matchups need you to give some oomph. So let's talk about finding that oomph.

Blacktek Whisperers are a fantastic pair of boots, but the hit requirement is a meaty price to pay. Thankfully, you can usually push through an on hit with a Cut to the Chase. Additionally, this is one of the most powerful things to do with your Cut to the Chase. Setting up a powerful double contract turn enabled by Cut and Whisperers is super impactful, especially if one of those contracts is a majestic or happens to be backed by Codex of Frailty.

Eradicate is our strongest card available. Pairing it with both a dagger on hit and a reaction buff can be incredibly impactful. It's okay to just play one empty, but looking for impactful Eradicate turns is the key to a strong turn. If you can also pair it on a double contract while having another contract active, that silver generation can just win you the game.

Coercive Tendencies is very new to the hero, so I can't personally say much about its impact turns, but it is incredibly powerful and super worth setting up. Thankfully, it's blue, so setting up a second cycle CT should be a walk in the park.

We need to talk about the elephant in the room: Flick Knives and Nerve Scalpel.

If you are new to the hero, you should probably recognize exactly how that interaction works, as it is very important and very strong.

You play a contract card -> Your opponent declares no blocks -> You declare no reactions -> Your opponent plays two defense reactions -> BEFORE THE REACTION RESOLVES, You activate Flick Knives and throw a Nerve Scalpel -> Everything resolves

Flick Knives causes the dagger to hit before the first defense reaction resolves. This will reduce the block of THAT defense reaction before it becomes a defending card, even if it has already been played. Only the first defense reaction is reduced, not both.

This is super strong, but you only get it once per game. Don't waste it.

One more thing before we close this off: How do you fateseal optimally?

This topic is heavily debated, and very complex. There's way too much information to go over in a simple beginners guide, so here's a simple chart:

Your attack is going to hit Your attack is not going to hit

You want your opponent to see the top card now Tough luck, choose something else. Leave it on top

You want your opponent to see the top card later Bottom it Bottom it

You want your opponent to never see the top card Leave it on top Bottom it

Part 3: Matchups

Arakni is very dependent on the meta, knowing your matchups is important. Let's start with the easiest matchups and work our way to the hardest matchups:

Azalea and Riptide don't have weapons. Just run them out of arrows. (This is harder than it seems, but easier than you might expect)

Dash I/O can't block and her weapon isn't infinite. Run her out of attacks.

Kayo will run out of cards, just don't get highrolled

Kassai can't generate gold or copper if you don't let her hit. Also Valiant Dynamo doesn't do anything while Scale Peeler is on board. She can and will fatigue pretty easily.

Uzuri is just us but worse because she can lose to either Stealth flood or Stealth drought. Try and do both by bottoming every Stealth card you see and leaving the rest on top.

Viserai and Vynnset usually don't have enough damage to beat us unless they highroll. Just play efficiently and don't let them set anything up. Bonus points in that you can sometimes kill Vynnset to her own blood debt.

Boltyn, Dorinthea, and Olympia can all be very easy. Unless they play Decimator. If they play Decimator, good luck. Play efficiently and save your Surgicals for when they run out of cards. Dagger as much as possible to save cards.

Fai and Katsu are incredibly aggressive. If you can survive the beatdown, you can win the game. It's a tough fight, and definitely worth speccing in some ninja hate, but you can do it with some effort. You want them to see as many blues as possible, accelerate them to their second cycle by almost exclusively bottoming every card you see.

Rhinar is classically known as the control killer. You will need to be aggressive. It's tough but it's doable. Arsenal any and all DRs you see.

Every single Guardian is a problem. Fun fact though: Double Dagger and Anothos both require the same amount of cards to pitch and both require the same number of blocks to prevent all the damage. Remember this.

If Levia transforms, you lose the game. Set up the strongest turn you can manage and hope you're able to break through her transformation before it happens.

If Maxx is able to set up his Mechanoid power turn, you lose the game. Make that as difficult as possible to pull off with your fateseals. If he isn't running Mechanoid, you win the game and the matchup is a cakewalk.

Prism and Dromai are really really difficult. They are both lose lose situations. Kill allies where possible, pop attacks where possible, hope they run out of damage before you do. You can fatigue them, it's just really tough.

If Dash plays boost, you win. If Dash plays items, you lose. You need to be aggressive, otherwise you can't survive her end game. This matchup is our hardest winnable matchup.

If the Teklo has played one or fewer games into Assassin, take your free win and be thankful they are new to the experience. If the Teklo has played more than a game or two into Assassin, you may as well concede. I'm pretty sure this matchup is unwinnable. Some folks will tell you otherwise, but don't listen to them.

Conclusion

Arakni is a very fun hero and well worth the effort. The best thing you can do to improve is just to start playing and get better. Don't hesitate to ask in the official discord if you have any questions or concerns, all of us in there are more than happy to give you the run down.

This is my first finished "article", so please leave any and all feedback so I can improve these going forward. Hopefully I find the time to make more of these.