Fai is one of the most mechanically satisfying heroes in Silver Age. He rewards players who understand his engine, punishes those who don't respect his chain-building requirement, and has a surprisingly deep EV (expressed value) ceiling once the pieces come together. This guide breaks down exactly how Fai works, what the math looks like turn by turn, and how to sideboard correctly for the format's key matchups.
Who Is Fai?
Fai is a Draconic Ninja hero — the Silver Age version of the hero, legal specifically because Silver Age requires the Young subtype. Silver Age features young heroes exclusively, and adult hero cards are not legal in the format. This distinction matters: Fai's young hero card is the version you register in your 55-card pool, and its ability is identical in structure to what drives the entire deck.
His hero ability, confirmed via official card text, reads:
You may start the game with a Phoenix Flame in your graveyard. Once per Turn Instant — [3 Resource]: Return a Phoenix Flame from your graveyard to your hand. This ability costs [1 Resource] less for each Draconic chain link you control.
At zero Draconic chain links, this costs 3 resources — prohibitively expensive. At 3 Draconic chain links, it costs nothing. The entire deck is built to hit that magic number of 3, and ideally 4, every single turn.
The Two Numbers That Define Fai: 4 and 7
Before understanding any individual card, you need to internalise two numbers.
The Number 4
Chain link 4 is Fai's power ceiling. Two things happen at chain link 4:
- Rupture triggers — Lava Burst deals 2 arcane damage on top of its physical power, and Salt the Wound scales off all damage dealt prior in the chain.
- Compounding Anger becomes free — it costs 3 minus 1 per Draconic link, so at 3 links it costs 0. A free 5-power attack at chain link 3 into a Rupture finisher at link 4 is Fai's fundamental win condition.
Every card in the deck exists either to build toward link 4 (starters and extenders) or to fire at link 4 (finishers). Understanding which role a card plays is the foundation of good Fai sequencing.
The Number 7
7 is the expressed value benchmark per card on peak turns. According to Hamilton's expressed value theory, a top-tier constructed deck should generate 3.5+ EV per card on average. Fai's best individual card combinations push well beyond this:
- Rise from the Ashes (0-cost, go again) pumps the next Draconic attack by +3
- Fire that Burns Within (0-cost, go again) at base is 2 power — but discarding a Phoenix Flame pushes it to 4 power
- Combine both: Rise from the Ashes (+3) on Fire that Burns Within (2 base + 2 from Phoenix Flame discard) = 7 power on a single attack from two 0-cost cards
7 power forces your opponent to use at minimum two block cards to fully absorb the hit — or take significant damage through. This is what separates Fai's peak turns from his average ones.