First Strike
Keyword〈First Strike〉While this Unit is attacking, it deals damage before the enemy Unit.
Played in the meta
Most-played 〈First Strike〉 cards in GD04 meta decks.
Cards with First Strike
14 total
How First Strike works
Normally both Units in a battle deal damage simultaneously. A Unit with <First Strike> that is attacking deals its damage first — and if that damage destroys the defender, the destroyed Unit never deals its damage back. It's the keyword that lets a fragile attacker kill without being killed.
Note the wording: while this Unit is attacking. First Strike does nothing when the Unit is the one being attacked or blocking.
Rulings & edge cases
Condition-gated First Strike re-checks mid-battle. Official rulings cover both directions: an attacker that gains First Strike 'while battling a Lv.2 or lower Unit' loses it when a Lv.4 <Blocker> intercepts (the battle opponent changed), and an attacker granted First Strike against one Unit loses it when a block moves the battle to a different Unit. If the condition depends on who it's fighting, blocking is the counterplay.
Playing with and against it
First Strike attackers attack into anything they can kill — the return damage only exists if the defender survives. Against them, block with Units too big to die to the first hit, or use blocks specifically to break conditional First Strike grants.