Armor

(This article describes the use of 'Armor' as a card instruction, for Armor as class (color) of card see Category:Armor_Card.)

• In-Game Text: "Triggers on damage and prevents <x> points of that damage."

Game Effect

• When a character would take damage, reduce the amount of that damage by the number indicated.

Armor works as a reaction that triggers after the game has determined that a character will take damage but before the total is calculated. The number following the "Armor" keyword is the amount of damage against which the card protects. If the triggering card would do damage less than or equal to the Armor rating, then that damage is reduced to zero. If the triggering card would do greater damage than the Armor rating, then that damage is reduced by the same amount as the rating. When a character holds multiple cards with this instruction, they activate in sequence from newest to oldest (left to right) until all damage is mitigated or all armor cards are used.

Many cards with the Armor keyword also roll for Chance before reducing damage, and some may have special rules that only protect against certain types of damage. Some damaging cards may have rules (such as Penetrating) that allow them to ignore Armor.

General Strategy

• You use cards with the Armor instruction only when taking damage: it may be preferable to avoid damage in the first place. When damage cannot be avoided, Armor effects extend the amount of time your characters can stay in battle.

• You can calculate an average value of protection to expect by multiplying the Armor number with the Chance percentage. Cards that have the Keep keyword in the same instruction box are more valuable because they can be used many times in a battle. Holding multiple armor cards in a character's hand adds even more protection. Remember, though, nothing that uses Chance is guaranteed.

• Armor protects against any damage if it can, even when caused by your own actions.

Against opponents who use Armor:

• Use attacks with the Penetrating keyword, or attacks with a damage type against which the armor does not trigger.

• Use powerful attacks and/or card combinations that do more total damage than the opponent can mitigate.

• Equip your own deck(s) with cards that force a discard. You may also try to entice your opponent into discarding Armor cards at the end of a round by leaving more than two cards in an enemy hand.

• Armor is revealed when it reacts, so cards that have instructions about revealed cards may be useful as well as cards that mention Armor.

• Against Armor that rolls for Chance, you can expect that the die roll fails some of the time. The odds become worse against you when the Armor has a high success rate and when the opponent holds multiple Armor cards, so you must assess whether you are better off attacking now or waiting for a possible discard.