In Depth: Fanatic

This guide is an in depth, card by card look at the hero deck of Fanatic. If you're new to the deck or you still haven't fully grasped all of her mechanics, this isn't a bad place to start.

Introduction and Classifications

Fanatic is a bit weird when it comes to heroes. She likes to get her HP low quickly but, unlike Nightmist or Absolute Zero, she's not very good at getting her HP back up. She does, however, have a way of preventing her from being incapacitated. Overall I feel like most of her cards a bit situational, but I'm not a big fan of Fanatic, so I'm a little biased against her.

Nothing has come up consistently that I've needed to shorthand. Tachyon will have an example of a shorthanded phrase I swear, but it just doesn't come up often.

Also, I say "Num: X" in the card descriptions, X is the amount of that card in the deck

Oh, and shoutout to jagarciao for the hero icons I'm using, they can be found here: http://spiffworld.com/sotm/non-spiff.cfm along with some other cool print and use resources

Most Important Cards

"Absolution"

Equipment, Relic, Limited
When this card enters play, Fanatic regains 1HP.
Power: Select Melee, Fire, or Radiant as this card's damage type. Fanatic deals 1 target 3 damage of that type.
Num: 3

This card isn't played for the 1HP often, it's the power with damage that's important. Choosing a specific damage type is rarely important, but when it is (Reactive Plating Sub-Routine, Absolute Zero, Court of Blood), this works quite well. Generally this does more damage than your base power, so it's almost always good to see.

Aegis of Resurrection

Equipment, Relic, Limited
When Fanatic drops to 0 or fewer HP, restore Fanatic to 10 HP. Then, destroy this card.
Num: 2

The importance of the Aegis is that it allows you to more safely get close to 0 HP, as you'll be restored if you'd otherwise be incapacitated. When being on very low HP is important, not dying from it helps. This also lets you perform more shenanigans with things that ask you to hurt yourself to keep them.

Wrathful Retribution

One-Shot
Discard 3 cards.
If you do, Fanatic deals 1 target x radiant damage, where x = Fanatic's maximum HP minus her current HP.
Num: 1

Wrathful Retribution is the finishing move of the deck, but to get setup for it, you need to get your health low. That isn't really hard for Fanatic to do, but it can be dangerous without Aegis of Resurrection. This card is the reason to avoid villains and environments that require you to discard cards, like Miss Information's Missing Resources and Chokepoint's Newfound Power. This card is also a reason to enjoy drawing cards more, as you need to find it and then you need a few cards to fuel it too.

End of Days

Ongoing
At the start of the environment turn, destroy all cards in play, other than this card, character cards, and relics. Then, destroy this card.
Num: 2

At the cost of most of the heroes' setup, completely destroy (most) villain and environment setups. Not always a fair trade in both directions but this is where Fanatic helps the team catch up when they're behind, and for some villains it's a good turn one play, as it cuts through the most overwhelming setups. If you destroy something that reacts by destroying an ongoing (Unity's Bee Bot, Dreamer's Illusory Demon) you can use that to destroy End of Days to stop its effect and save all the other hero stuff. Just remember that the order of destruction is important when things react and sometimes you can destroy villain cards you might otherwise be unable to such as Scion cards from Progeny's deck, face down Villain cards on Wager Master's Increased Stakes side and other cards under cards like Manifestations under Heroic Infinitor (are you sure that's a good idea?).

Undaunted

Ongoing, Limited
Whenever Exactly 1 damage would be dealt to Fanatic, prevent that damage.
Whenever Fanatic would be dealt 5 or more damage from a single source, reduce that damage by 2.
Num: 2

I've formulated an argument against playing this card as taking damage can be a good thing for Fanatic when Wrathful Retribution is at hand, but, in general dying slower is almost always a good thing. On the other hand, if you would only ever take 2, 3, or 4 damage, then there is no point in playing this as it would never trigger. With a particular variant, or in the event of a longer game in general this can be a really good card for you.

Zealous Offense

Ongoing, Limited
At the start of your turn, select up to 2 non-character card targets. Those targets cannot deal damage until the start of your next turn. At the end of your turn, if you have not dealt at least 3 damage this turn, destroy this card.
Num: 2

I like this card in general but it can be hard to keep in play sometimes, and for most Fanatic variants requires Absolution, another source of damage (which includes self-damage by the way), or some damage boosts from someone like Legacy. Damage prevention like this can save the game, but it does require a turn to get going, so you can't use it to respond to a threat immediately, it needs to be in play before the threat happens. This card works super well with Absolute Zero's Sub-Zero Atmosphere as the two let you delay an end of turn damage effect indefinitely (or until you're ready to deal with it).

More Cards

Smite the Transgressor

One-Shot
Fanatic deals 1 target 2 melee damage.
You may use an additional power this turn.
Num: 3

Generally, you'll only have three powers to choose from at once; innate, "Absolution", and Sacrosanct Martyr. While using two of those in one turn can be amazing, not having a second power to use makes this card a poor choice. With Prime Wardens Fanatic, this can let you use all three of your powers if you so choose.

Consecrated Ground

One-Shot
Destroy an ongoing card or an environment card.
Fanatic deals up to 3 targets 1 radiant damage each
Num: 2

This is the only card in your deck that can destroy villain ongoings or environment cards (besides End of Days of course), it is particularly important if you've a team that has trouble with ongoings or environments, so try not to discard it. The damage it gives isn't super amazing, though it can help out in a jam.

Final Dive

One-Shot
Destroy a target with 4 or fewer HP, other than a character card.
Fanatic deals 1 target x projectile damage, where x = the destroyed target's current HP before it was destroyed.
Num: 3

This one is a situational card but it gets past damage reduction, redirection and prevention on the destroyed target and is one of the few times Fanatic can do more than 3 damage in one hit. It's particularly useful against villains and environments that play targets with exactly 4 HP as you can immediately use it for its full potential. (Infinitor (just not Heroic though), Omnitron, Dok'Thorath Capital)

Brutal Censure

One-Shot
Fanatic deals 1 target 2 radiant damage. You may draw a card.
Num: 3

When your hand is full of situational things that you don't need, this is a good play as it gives you that extra draw you'd get from skipping play and power. Additionally it can help shore up your hand for Wrathful Retribution.

Sanctifying Strike

One-Shot
Fanatic deals 1 target 1 melee damage.
You may draw a card.
Fanatic regains 1 HP
Num: 2

As Fanatic healing can sometimes lose you the game (it's rare though), as Wrathful Retribution's damage gets reduced, however in a long game a little bit can go a long way. Other than that it's pretty much Brutal Censure. If you have Aegis of Resurrection out, go for Brutal Censure. If you need healing, use this.

Holy Nova

One-Shot
Fanatic deals each non-hero target 1 radiant damage.
Each hero target regains 1 HP.
Num: 3

A lot of heroes appreciate area healing, like Scholar or people with lightning rod effects like Legacy, or Stealth Bot. There are, however, scenarios like Mobile Defense Platform or The Dreamer, where doing area damage can be bad for you.

Divine Sacrifice

One-Shot
Fanatic deals up to 3 targets 1 irreducible damage each.
Damage dealt by those targets is redirected to Fanatic until the start of your next turn.
Num: 2

I've just realised that if the targets you use this on only do 1 damage and you've Undaunted out, then that's free damage prevention right there, so long as no damage increases come out for them of course. Otherwise you can target things that never do damage but do other things like Apostate's Periapt of Woe. Also if you use this for selflessness, remember that when the thing you hit hits multiple targets, you should redirect from everyone else before hitting Fanatic.

Sacrosanct Martyr

Ongoing, Limited
Power: Fanatic deals herself up to 5 radiant damage. Fanatic deals 1 target x radiant damage, where x = the amount of radiant damage dealt to Fanatic this turn.
Num: 2

This card synergises very well with both Prime Wardens Variants, with Xtreme it just does 5 damage to your target, and with regular you get to do extra damage from your base power (as it's Radiant self-damage and you can use the power from it). This is the best card for getting Wrathful Retribution ready fast. Remember that with Undaunted out, the damage can be decreased/prevented at 5/1.

Prayer of Desperation

One-Shot
Draw cards until you have 6 cards in your hand.
Immediately end your turn.
Num: 2

Best played outside of turn (Scholar, Argent Adept (Xtreme makes it easier), Captain Cosmic and Prime Wardens Fanatic combined), this card either gives you the fuel you need to keep Divine Focus going or to throw down some Wrathful Retribution later. Wager Master's Breaking the Rules lets you play this for additional turn phase shenanigans.

Divine Focus

Ongoing, Limited
At the start of every turn, you may discard a card. If you do, Fanatic deals the villain target with the highest HP 2 radiant damage.
At the start of your turn Fanatic may deal herself 4 fire damage. If she takes no damage this way, destroy this card.

Divine Focus is great for dealing a lot of damage to the main villain target (in a lot of cases) but it can be a little hard to remember that the target changes when villain targets are near the same amount of HP. With Xtreme Prime Wardens Fanatic, you can make it all hit the same target (and then hit that target with the fire damage too)

Chastise

Ongoing
Play next to a non-hero target other than a character card. That target is immune to damage and cannot deal damage.
At the start of your turn, Fanatic may deal herself 2 psychic damage. If she takes no damage this way, this card is destroyed.

Chastise plays a bit weird. On the one hand, if you play it on something you don't like, you've to say that 2 damage to Fanatic each round is better than whatever the target does, just make sure you'll not need to destroy it later as, if Fanatic is late in the turn order, you may have to let it act. On the other hand, you can play it on something you like for example the Abject Refugees in Dok'Thorath Capital, to say that 2 damage to Fanatic each round is better than that taking damage at all. Additionally you can use it to prevent "if damage is dealt this way" effects or force "if no damage is dealt this way effects" like Baahsto's (Enclave of the Endlings) damage prevention linked to their damage or cause Celestial Executioner's (Celestial Tribunal) to search for a Trial.

Embolden

Ongoing
Play this card next to a hero character card. That hero may use an additional power during their power phase.
At the end of that hero's turn, Fanatic may deal them 2 radiant damage. If they take no damage this way, destroy this card.

When using Embolden, make sure to ask the person you're giving it to if they want to maintain it. You'd rarely want to use it on yourself as Smite the Transgressor is a better way to use a second power (though with Xtreme Prime Wardens Fanatic, it can play like an out of order Smite the Transgressor).

Variants

Regular Fanatic: Exorcism (30 HP)

This Fanatic is the best for learning the basics of her deck as she can still do damage even when a newer player stalls out on playing cards or your hand fills up with situational cards. Not the greatest for a longer game but will generally outlast Prime Wardens Fanatic anyway. Also this is one of a few powers that goes further with damage increases, as it's two instances of one damage rather than one hit of two damage.

Redeemer Fanatic: Redeem (31 HP)

This Fanatic is the long game one, with healing and extra draws, play this one to really dig into the ins and outs of the deck against whatever villain or environment you're against. If you need to wait around for something to happen like regular Spite flipping or Akash 'Bhuta getting a bunch of limbs out so you can end of days, this is the one to go for.

Prime Wardens Fanatic: Resolute (29 HP)

This Fanatic is picked for a quick game. She can be a bit risky, as a poorly timed end of days can ruin everything, a chastise with only one possible choice can cause problems, and Unity and Captain Cosmic won't appreciate an inconvenient Final Dive either. In the end though the power is 3 HP for a draw, playing that draw and a power for anyone (yourself included with Absolution or Sacrosanct Martyr). Synergises particularly well with Argent Adept as he likes to have powers and give powers. Court of Blood leads to interesting results here, as a lot of your cards like holy nova are nullified by unhallowed halls but also it takes away the damage on your power.

Xtreme Prime Wardens Fanatic: Kill The Spirit (28 HP)

This Fanatic is for more complex combos like working around the shooting gallery from Madame Mittermeier's or a more focused Divine Focus, or to throw all your self-damage ongoings at an enemy next turn. This requires a bit more patience and teamwork to work properly a lot of cases, as trying to use Holy Nova to do a bunch of damage to one target will fail if that target is destroyed before you get to do this then you can't (out of turn plays and powers seriously help with this). One interesting Incapacitated Ability is "Select a target. Until the start of your turn, all hero damage is redirected to that target." It's like Kill the Spirit for everyone, though I haven't used it yet it looks like fun.

Synergies

Heroes that synergise well with Fanatic
Fanatic doesn't really need much, but does appreciate taking damage, so generally people who have "Deal up to ? targets ? damage each" and there's spare damage to throw at Fanatic to make Wrathful Retribution do more damage quicker. (Wraith, Tachyon, Omnitron-X, and Chrono-Ranger have examples). Additionally Nightmist's Oblivion and Skyscraper's Huge cards (and character cards) do damage to all targets. Finally Scholars Proverbs and Axioms lets you hurt yourself for an extra power.

Other than that, you could use some extra card draw for when you use divine focus. So Argent Adept, Tachyon or The Sentinels can help with that. Specifically Xtreme Prime Wardens could do with extra plays to capitalise on Kill The Spirit, so Argent Adept is a great boon there.

Heroes that synergise negatively with Fanatic
There's not much anti-synergy, but when you want to take damage you can get annoyed at cards like Scholar's Alchemical Redirection or Sky-Scrapers Thorathian Monolith that stop you from doing damage.

Villain Interactions
I can't think of things that directly synergise with or against Fanatic, but there's at least the interesting interaction of Chastise and Isolated Hero from Miss Information's deck which lets whoever has Isolated Hero next to them damage the target with Chastise next to it, or all heroes can damage it if Fanatic is the isolated one.

Try to avoid regular Spite as Prime Wardens Fanatic as she'll burn herself out before he flips, and he'll just out-heal her. Go with Redeemer and if you really want, Collector Guise can give you Prime Wardens Fanatic.

Environment Interactions
Court of Blood does interesting things with unhallowed halls to Prime Wardens Fanatic, though it can be mostly nullified by Ra's Imbued Fire or Visionary's Twist the Ether.

Summary and Conclusion

Generally when I consider whether or not to bring Fanatic to a game, I look at the setup as it stands. I try to look for what Fanatic will add, if I need a big hit (Wrathful Retribution), if I need someone to just hit things (if I have a team without Ra or K.N.Y.F.E or someone like that), if I want to do funny redirect things (Xtreme Prime Wardens Fanatic and Sky-Scraper's Compulsion Canister). Keep in mind that Prime Wardens is for a fast game, Redeemer is for a long one, and the other two generally fall somewhere in between.

[Meemitone]

Me, typing a response to Smooze: "Oh boy, there's no displayed character limit, that means I can go nuts!"

Steam, when I try to post that comment: "There's a 1000 character limit by the way"

Me: "Okay well, the word count is 998"

So here's a link to a big ol' pastebin about Wrathful Retribution, a 5400 character essay on this one card: https://pastebin.com/ffpXXjUq (there's a TL:DR)

(This is why these guides took so long when I was doing them, I kept thinking too hard)

Thanks for reading Smooze!

[Smooze]

I have to disagree a bit.
in my, admittedly lesser, experience, the problem I often have isn't getting her health back up, but instead getting her health down enough for Wrathful Retribution, especially with Redeemer.
While she doesn't have any big bursts of healing, she has enough ways to deal with damage and she has very consistent healing, as well as the fact that she tends to sit in the middle of the pack (hero health wise), which in itself is further protection, I very rarely see the Aegis actually go off, or even get close.