Introducing: Menelker

Master Menelker is a mysterious and misunderstood figure, though he's widely known as the most powerful martial artist in the Realm.

Midori and Menelker (The Two Dragons) are sons of the legendary Memnarch. While Midori and Menelker are both skilled martial artists and they can both take the forms of dragons (green and black, respectively), they have diametrically opposed philosophies. Midori believes in nurturing and honor. Menelker believes in winning, and if that happens to involve harsh training or "cheap" tactics, then so be it. A win is a win. Menelker embodies "playing to win."

That said, Menelker has no interest in harming innocents or fighting non-combatants. Instead, he seeks combat from the most skilled opponents he can find, and expects that they will use whatever means they can to win, as will he. Menelker has been known to engage in deathmatches--fights to the death--but only when both parties agree to such serious business.

Eventually, Menelker ran out of worthy opponents. Even the Fantasy Strike tournament would be a just a trifle to him, not even worth his time. Menelker left the Realm in search of greater challenge. During this time, many referred to him as the Exiled Dragon, and hoped he'd never return. Where did he go? We've all heard fairy tales about the Dreadlands to the north, but Menelker dared to see what's truly there.

He discovered the Undead Scourge of the Dreadlands (a playable faction in the upcoming customizable card game) and found dangers greater than any had imagined. There he learned a name that mortals of the Realm do not yet know: Vandy Anadrose, the Queen of Demons. (Or Queen of D's as some say.) The undead Queen has made bargains with beings who don't belong in our world. Even Menelker, a seeker of true power, knows that some things are too dangerous. Bargaining with the Beyond is bound to backfire.

Menelker barely survived this investigation. His very lifeforce was nearly sucked out of him, and half his body is now gray with the pallor of death. He returned to the Realm, saw the worthless clockwork army of Flagstone, and knew that he needed worthy opponents more than ever. This time not to defeat, but to train. Of all the warriors of the Realm, he saw the most potential in Grave Stormborne. Unfortunately, Midori has held back Grave by withholding training in the so-called dark arts. Master Memnarch accepted all maneuvers that lead to victory as valid, and Menelker agrees. Grave needed to go to the next level, and Menelker knew Midori was the real obstacle.

Menelker, The Exiled Dragon returned to challenge Midori to a deathmatch. Midori accepted. Two Dragons fought and then one remained. Deathstrike Dragon, indeed.

Although Grave was consumed with rage, this fueled his training more than ever. While Menelker is a villain in Grave's eyes, he's also ultimately Grave's true mentor. The two went on to have several encounters, and each time Grave would learn one of his own weaknesses, as Menelker demonstrated how to abuse "cheap tactics" that Grave was unprepared for.

Menelker's gameplay often gives him access to mechanics that previously seemed off limits. For example, look at his Into Oblivion ability from Flash Duel:

No other ability can destroy an ability card. While this may be off limits to other characters, Menelker has no issue with it. While his abilities are intentionally unfair feeling, they are balanced to be actually fair.

Menelker can actually do the same trick in Puzzle Strike:

Removing a bank stack from the game is something only Menelker can do. It has a taboo feeling to it, but actually it's quite fair. It's a bit weak in practice, and his Deathstrike Dragon chip makes up for that by being incredibly powerful, and incidentally the only self-trashing character chip in Puzzle Strike (another taboo tactic of Menelker's). I'll let you research for yourself what that does by checking out our guide.

Next time we'll cover Mistress Persephone, a character who is just as powerful as Menelker, but in a very different way.

Introducing: Bal-Bas-Beta

Bal-Bas-Beta, or BBB for short, is a clockwork automation--a robot of sorts.

Max Geiger built BBB and imbued him with sentience and personality. (The previous B-B-Alpha didn't work out so well.) Although Geiger is well-known for his skill with clockwork parts as well as his knowledge of science and engineering, the creation of BBB raised suspicions in Flagstone because it seemed a bit too advanced. Did Geiger get help from someone? Or from another time period? There are rumors he has communicated with an ancient lost race that had incredibly advanced technology, though most believe that stories of the Vortoss are just stories. (There are also stories that they are a playable faction in the upcoming non-collectable, yes-customizable card game.)

In any case, General Onimaru saw the clockwork man and immediately recognized its military potential. He ordered the production of an entire army of clockwork soldiers. Unfortunately, producing clockwork soldiers requires significant resources so Quince began scouring the Pandalands, Murkwood, the Golden Plains, and other regions for gold, silver, other minerals, lumber, and so on. Geiger suddenly left Flagstone, though his work was continued by Flagstone's new head of R&D, Dr. Beverly "Nova" Villanova.

While BBB is a friendly and inquisitive being, the mass-produced clockwork soliders that came after him lack his charm. BBB hopes to reunite with Geiger someday.

In a fighting game, BBB is a defensive character designed to keep opponents away. He pokes them with extendable arms and fists which he can retract with chains. In Flash Duel, he is also happy at long range:

Rocket Punch means that at a range of 5 (for example), he can attack with a 5 *or* a 4. Most characters would only be able to attack with a 5 in that case.

He has Rocket Punch in Puzzle Strike, too:

In Puzzle Strike, it lets him sneak in a small crash (of just a 1-gem) whenever you would crash at him or attack him with a red chip. His other chips (Upgrade and Cog Engine) allow him access to more expensive chips. That means he can trade up his chips for more better ones, and he also gets a money boost to buy a bit more expensive chips in the first place.

Next time we'll cover Master Menelker, also known as Deathstrike Dragon.

Introducing: Troq

Troq is big and strong and likes to SMASH.

 

Troq has a good heart and he means well. He's not the sharpest guy though, so he gets confused sometimes. He likes having smart friends so his brawn and their brains can team up to do some smashing, which Troq really enjoys.

Troq comes from the Golden Plains, and like many regions these days, the area is in an economic slump due to Flagstone's mining and resource collection operations. This led Troq to seek his fortune elsewhere. Troq isn't exactly the most loyal beast, so wherever he can find the best deal is where he'll go. For the moment, that's as a Flagstone footsoldier but Zane will eventually lure him away with bribes of Giant Growth potions. Troq loves to be big and strong.

In a fighting game, Troq will fill the role of an "alternate throw character," alongside Rook. He relies on high damage moves and powerful throws, without a lot of tricky stuff.

While Troq has a Giant Growth card in Flash Duel, I'd rather show you Cornered Prey:

Troq is extremely dangerous if he can corner you, because his dashing strike becomes basically a guranteed round-win. It's not easy for him to maneuver you into the corner, but the threat of it keeps you on your toes.

Here's his Puzzle Strike Giant Growth:

This gives Troq the ability to rush you down, if he can set it up. By first getting some big gems into his hand, he can play them directly to his gem pile with the intention of crashing them at you. His other chip More Shiny lets him get a 2-gem in hand and also reduce his own gem pile size if needed, while his Beast Unleashed chip really powers him up.

If you prefer simpler characters with powerful moves, you might like Troq. Next time we'll cover another Flagstone soldier: Bal-Bas-Beta.

Introducing: Onimaru

General Onimaru is Quince's top military man. You can think of him like Sun Tzu in that he's a master of the art of war. He is known for his strategic planning, tactical maneuvers, use of terrain to his advantage, his ability to discipline an army, and his ability to know the enemy.

 

Onimaru is actually an outsider to Flagstone, though he's won many battles in foreign lands and at least one on Flagstone soil against the former regime. Grave was just a boy then, and he lost his father that day. Onimaru claimed the Stormborne family sword as a war-prize, and were it not for the intervention of Mistress Persephone, Grave would never have received his family heirloom.

Many years later, Quince was able to recruit the General. There, Onimaru raised an army and due to his harsh style, the troops called him the Flagstone Enforcer. He also investigated unorthodox forms of military force, including the use of wild elephants and an experimental program to create clockwork soldiers with the help of the then-head of Flagstone Research & Development: Max Geiger.

In a fighting game, Onimaru won't rely on combos. Just the right strike at just the right time is more his style. All his moves in his (still in-development) Yomi deck are actually "Can't Combo" moves, and yet he's still a fearsome opponent.

In Flash Duel, he has one of the most interesting abilities in the game, Clockwork Soldier:

The Clockwork Soldier greatly restricts the opponent's movement. It puts the squeeze on them, letting Onimaru close the distance to them one way or another. This opens up even more potential interactions in the 2v2 and Dragon Raid modes.

In Puzzle Strike, Onimaru shows his versatility with Wartime Tactics:

This lets him reveal a puzzle chip from his hand, then get a one-time use of any other puzzle chip in the bank, as long as it costs the same or less as the revealed chip. Onimaru's tactics are so honed that this gives him access to a wide variety of effects immediately, without waiting the usual one or two turns to draw them.

General Onimaru is a formidable foe to anyone who would threaten Flagstone or its right to rule. That goes double for outlaw barristers and mutant stone golems who would sow the seeds of dissent with their illegal Fantasy Strike tournament.

Next time we'll meet Troq, a lowly foot-soldier in the Flagstone army.

Introducing: Quince

You can read about the original 10 Fantasy Strike characters here. And now there's a new set of 10! They first appeared Flash Duel 2nd Edition, then they will be in the online version of Puzzle Strike when we launch (no tabletop version available quite yet) and you'll see them much later in Yomi, too. Some will also appear even later than that in an upcoming customizable (but not collectable) card game.

For the next 10 days, we'll meet one new character per day, ending with the official launch of fantasystrike.com on Friday, February 17th, 2012!

Sirus Quince, Flagstone Chief Magistrate

Quince is the head of the Flagstone Dominion, a position he attained through political prowess, the right words, and a wholesome image. There are some who call him Tyrant, but who are they, really? A stone golem and an outlaw barrister? Quince ensures the protection of his people, and protection means sacrificing some personal freedoms. It also means having values--the right values--and stomping out those who don't. Sometimes that cuts the wrong way for an overzealous lawyer like DeGrey, or a bisexual like Valerie, or a scientist doing the wrong kind of work like Geiger, but society gains of course! That's what Quince would say.

Quince is cloaked in truth, but his true power comes from lies and illusion.

Here's one of Quince's cards from Flash Duel:

He often has a trick up his sleeve, and this card is just such a trick. No one else can keep a card even after everything resets for the next round. Quince might stash a 1 this way, because 1s are generally good in Flash Duel. They can be used easily as the strike part of a dashing strike. Rook likes 1s because he has an ability to make them unblockable, so against Rook, Quince would like to just get the 1 out of circulation. He could do the same to a 5 that Jaina wants, or a 4 that DeGrey wants. Quince's Political Prowess can remove one card per round, even, so multiple cards can be set-aside at once as the game goes on. This doesn't seem fair, but then Quince needs only the aura of fairness in his politics, not actual fairness. (He is actually fair in gameplay though.)

Here's one of his Puzzle Strike chips:

Some say Quince has two sides: the lies he tells with the mask of patriotism and the secret truth behind it all. They're just trouble-makers though, as you can see from this chip, Two Truths. Your opponent gets to choose which truth comes to light.

Next time we'll meet Quince's top military man, General Onimaru.