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If you have never heard of SNK VS. Capcom: Card Fighters' Clash before, there's a valid reason why. This cult classic handheld game was only available on the short-lived Neo Geo Pocket Color. Fortunately, SNK launched many of its Neo Geo Pocket Color titles on Nintendo Switch, introducing it to a broader audience.
Card Fighters' Clash is an engaging and addictive card game. However, if you're new to trading card games, the battle system may feel foreign. If you find yourself struggling, read this guide to start smoking your opponents in no time!
Take HP Damage To Protect Strong Character Cards
Risk assessment is a significant aspect of Card Fighters' Clash. You can open yourself up to multiple attacks if you play too offensively. However, if you send every card in your ring to defend against attacks, you'll blow through your more powerful cards and lose powerful attack opportunities. Therefore, it pays once in a while to take a hit to your HP if you have a high-damage attack lined up for your next turn.
So, what's a good rule of thumb to decide when it's beneficial to take damage? If your HP is over 1,500 (2,000 against boss characters), you can likely afford to take a hit or two. Furthermore, your enemy cards' BP is a significant factor. The higher the attack power coming at you, the more risk you take when directing damage to your HP. Therefore, it's best to use this skill in moderation.
Consider Counter Attacks When Planning Your Attacks
There are two considerations you should make when planning an attack. First, what characters will you have available to counterattack on your enemy's turn? Second, what characters will your enemy possibly use to counter your attack?
Planning an assault with all your ring's characters is a risky move. For instance, let's say all your opponent's characters are frozen. Furthermore, you have a ring of high-damage cards available for an assault. At first glance, this is a tempting opportunity to stage a full-out ambush. Unfortunately, this maneuver does not always give the payout you may expect. That's because once you attack with a character, they cannot counterattack on your opponent's turn. In these situations, you need to count all the opponent characters' BP and decide if your HP can take the hit on their turn before staging your attack.
Furthermore, when staging an attack, you want to anticipate how your opponent will react. For instance, suppose you attack with more cards than the opponent has in their ring. In this case, you should assume your enemy will counter your highest cards and take the HP damage from your least powerful card.
Sometimes Knocking Out Your Characters Is A Good Thing
A steady rotation of character cards is a good thing in Card Fighters' Clash. Playing new character cards from your hand can increase your SP, allowing you to play action cards or perform united attacks. So, if you have a low BP card taking up space in your ring, try to find a way to snuff them out to make room for a better card.
There are multiple ways you can KO one of your cards. For instance, you can counter more powerful cards with a low BP card. In this case, as long as the attack is not a united attack, you can avoid damaging HP loss with little risk to yourself. Another way to snuff out your cards is with a character card's special ability. For example, Demitri's ability, Midnight Bliss, KOs one of your characters and then allows you to draw a new card from your deck. Finally, action cards like Bopper and Double KO can also wipe out your less valuable cards.
Develop A Balanced Deck Of Action And Character Cards
Let's face it, we all wish we could jam-pack all of our favorite characters into one fifty-card deck. But, unfortunately, that is unrealistic. Action cards are a vital part of your deck, and they help plenty when you're in a pinch. Therefore, you should always make room for a good number of them in your deck.
You can also have too many action cards in your deck. Unfortunately, too many of those can restrict your roster of fighters too much, leaving you open to your opponent's attacks. Your best option is to find a healthy balance of both character and action cards.
So, how can you tell when your deck is unbalanced? Here is an excellent diagnostic to follow. If you find yourself racking SP but never seem to draw action cards to use them with, then it's time to add more action cards to your deck. However, if your hand becomes all action cards, and you're waiting for turn after turn to draw a character card, you need more character cards.
Pay Attention To Special Abilities
As you know, some character cards have special abilities that you can use throughout the game. Special symbols indicate these abilities on the character card. For review, here's a quick list of what each symbol means.
- Triangle: These abilities activate upon placing this character in the ring.
- Circle: These abilities remain active as long as your character is in the ring.
- Square: These abilities can get activated at certain times. However, the character will stay frozen until your next turn when you activate them.
While special abilities are usually handy, they can have detrimental effects if you don't know how to use them. For instance, Remy has a circle ability, called Revenge, that takes away one SP from every player, including yourself, for each card in your hand. However, Remy is also a 700 BP card. Therefore, you need to consider whether the hit to your SP is worth the potential damage and SP hit you'll give your opponent.
It also pays to consider your opponent character's skills as well. For instance, Blue Mary has a square skill that can freeze an already frozen enemy into their next turn. This skill can neutralize some of your best characters. Therefore, wiping her out should become your focus if you see her enter the ring.
Rematch Your Opponents To Get New Cards
While your first few battles in Card Fighters' Clash may go smoothly, the campaign's difficulty ramps up pretty quickly. Eventually, you're going to hit a wall when your deck is not powerful enough to beat your opponent. In this case, you're going to need more cards.
There are plenty of ways to upgrade your deck. Trading machines will take your unwanted cards in exchange for a random card. Additionally, playing crane games and slot machines can also reward you cards. Lastly, you can exchange higher-rarity cards at card shops for a card of equal or higher rarity. However, a battle is the most accessible way to gain new cards.
Therefore, we recommend rematching opponents often. All the characters you've defeated in Card Fighters' Clash are available to a rematch. Plus, while you'll get your fair share of duplicates, you'll also receive many new cards after besting an old challenger. Also, rematches are great for practicing your strategy and trying out new cards before facing off against a boss.