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Back 4 Blood – Best Cards and Decks

We'll have you building a deck in no time

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If you have been playing Back 4 Blood recently, you’ll have no doubt come across the new rogue-lite game mechanic, Cards. The Cards and Decks feature is Turtle Rock Studio’s attempt at making each game ever so different from the last. It achieves this by allowing you to build a deck in the lobby, which provides your character with buffs and improvements as you play through the course of a campaign or a PvP session. If you need some help building a deck, check out our recommendations for the best Back 4 Blood cards to create the best deck for you.

How Back 4 Blood Deck Building works

Deck-building is a fundamental feature of Back 4 Blood’s rogue-lite gameplay. You can build a deck and collect cards whenever you start a PvP or a Campaign run. These cards add small modifiers that you’re best thinking of as perks. These ‘perks’ give you added bonuses, which are useful for clearing harder difficulties or missions. There are some really strong cards, but those cards that are really powerful also have a weakness attached to them. Please keep in mind we have done our best to avoid these cards in our Back 4 Blood deck builds unless there is another card worth picking up that negates that weakness.

However, building a perfect deck for your playstyle is going to take some time. You’ll unlock new cards as you collect Supply Points based on your performance during a campaign level. You can then spend your Supply Points on unlocking new cosmetics and cards. After completing the introductory salvage quest, you’ll then be able to pick a new focus, allowing you to receive cards related to the focus you selected which are built around support or damage themes. We will guide you through the cards you’ll need to create the best deck for you and your playstyle.

Glossary

  • Extra Life – Increases the number of times you can go down but not out before dying.
  • Medical Accessory – Usable medical equipment such as Pain Meds, Bandages, First AId Kits and Defibs.
  • Mutations – Mutations are the Special Ridden that have powers. You can see a full list of Ridden special infected on our character guide.
  • Offensive Accessory – Usable items of lethal equipment, such as (but not limited to) Flashbangs, Frag Grenades, Molotovs and Pipebombs.
  • Precision Kills – Killing an enemy in a weak spot, such as an Infected’s (sorry, Ridden’s)  head or a Bruiser’s glowing red shoulder.
  • Temporary Health – Gain health that will eventually fade. Typically gained through Pain Meds or through Card powerups.
  • Trauma –  Is the red health status that makes it more difficult to heal past that affected area. You can remove it at full medical stations

Best Deck and Cards for Support Cleaners

This support deck is perfect for Cleaners like Mom and Doc. These two characters benefit their team’s potential life span. Doc has passive bonus healing efficiency while Mom grants her team an extra life. It only feels natural for them to move into a support-based role to help their team keep plodding along.

Building a deck for a support playstyle should focus on healing efficiency. There are plenty of cards that improve healing efficiency, so you can get to fully healing allies and fixing Trauma in no time. However, there is one that you’ll need to make adjustments for  – Well Fed. This card reduces your stamina regeneration by 20%, but it buffs your team’s max HP by 10%. You’ll likely want to sync this up with the Energy Bar card, so you don’t run out of steam as the hordes come crashing down upon you.

Please note this decklist does not contain the 15 maximum card limit. It gives you some space to add a few extras to add your own spin on the deck.

Card Name Description
Antibiotic Ointment + 45% Healing Efficiency
+ 5 Health
Charitable Soul Healing a teammate also heals you for 100% of the amount healed.
Chemical Courage Gain + 25% Damage for 60 seconds every time you use pain meds on yourself or an ally.
Combat Medic + 25% Use Speed
Any teammates you revive gain +20 heath once the action completes.
Energy Bar + 60% Stamina Regeneration
+ 5 Health
Experienced EMT When you use Pain Meds, Bandages, First Aid Kits or a Defib, the target gains + 20% Maximum Health until the end of the level. The buff also works on yourself.
Fanny Pack + 1 Support Inventory slot, allowing you to equip another Medical Accessory such as a First Aid Kit.
Group Therapy When you use a Medical Accessory all teammates heal for 10 Health
Inspiring Sacrifice All teammates heal for 25 health over 10 seconds whenever you or an ally goes down but not out.
Medical Expert +15% Healing Efficiency
You gain 15% Movement Speed for 15 seconds every time you use a Medical Accessory.
Medical Professional First Aids and Defibrillators also recover 10 Trauma Damage and 1 Extra Life.
Stimulants Any Pain Meds you apply also grant:
+ 10% Movement Speed
+ 10% Reload Speed, and
+ 10% Weapon Swap Speed for 30 seconds.
Well Fed – 20% Stamina Regen
+10 HP to the entire team

 

Best Deck and Cards for Damage Playstyle

If you want to focus your deckbuilding on a damage playstyle, then these are the best cards for the job. You’ll want to grab any card that increases your ammo collection and ammo capacity, as you are all about gunning down opponents. Running low on ammo is more likely on harder levels, so these cards certainly help. Moreover, taking any card that increases your damage, accuracy or reload speed is perfect for damage decks.

Be aware that some of these cards are interchangeable. If you are playing Walker or Jim, then your precision card is not as necessary. The same applies to Hoffman, who gains ammo drops from Ridden enemies he kills. Feel free to adapt your deck slightly if you main either of those three Cleaners. There is also the Sadistic and Optiocs Enthusiast cards that are great additions to sniper enthusiasts, but they come with major drawbacks. If you like using them and are okay with the drawbacks, then go ahead and use one of those cards and swap out any of the below.

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Card Name Description
Ammo for All + 10% Team Ammo Capacity
Ammo Pouch + 25% Ammo Capacity
Combat Training + 5% Damage Dealt
+ 50% Bullet Penetration
Front Sight Focus + 30% Accuracy
Grenade Pouch + 1 Offensive Inventory
Hi-Vis Sights + 40% Aim Speed
In the Zone Precision Kills grant 5% Reload Speed for 5 seconds (stacking up to 10 times).
Marked for Death Mutations you ping are highlighted, and your team deals 10% increased damage to highlighted enemies.
Mutations are Special Ridden that are distinct from Common Ridden.
Patient Hunter Each second you Aim Down Sights increases your Damage by 10% (up to 3 stacks).
Power Reload Reloading a gun within a 0.75-second window of reaching low ammo increases its magazine size by an additional 30% until the next reload (scales with extended magazines)
Power Swap Changing weapons within a 0.75-second window of reaching low ammo grants +20% Damage for 5 seconds to your character.
Reload Drills + 30% Reload Speed
Ridden Slayer + 35% Weakspot Damage
Shooting Gloves + 50% Weapon Swap Speed
Two is One and One is None Allows you to equip a primary weapon in your secondary weapon. However, you lose 25% weapon swap speed. This is one of Back 4 Blood’s best cards as long as you can find another card or a weapon swap speed attachment to negate the issue.

 

Best Back 4 Blood Deck and Cards for Tank Cleaners

Building a deck all about speed and reduced damage is a good idea. Some of the Cleaners in Back 4 Blood – like Holly, Karlee and Evanjelo – belong at the front, with their speed, stamina or other useful skills enhancing that style of play. Since they are at the front, they are the Cleaners more than likely to be taking a beating from the Ridden. Therefore, any card that increases their health, speed or Trauma reduction is handy. Here are some of the best Back 4 Blood cards that make this playstyle work.

If you are not a fan of some of these cards, you can take some of the Support cards that increase your Pain Meds. Boosting Temporary Health is a core part of this playstyle, and Pain Meds is the best source of Temporary Health in the game. Feel free to pick and choose cards to make a different frontline playstyle.

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Card Name Description
Breakout Breakout allows you to escape anything that grips you in place, such as Phlegm.
+ 50% Breakout Cooldown Reduction.
Cross Trainers + 40% Stamina
+ 10 Health
Durable + 10% Trauma Resistance
+ 5 Health.Durable is easily one of Back 4 Blood’s best cards, as Trauma is one of the most challenging effects to deal with correctly.
Energy Bar + 60% Stamina Regeneration
+ 5 Health
Face Your Fears Gain 3 Temporary Health whenever you kill a Ridden within 2 meters.
Fire in the Hole Using an Offensive Accessory grants 20 Temporary Health and 20% Move Speed for 10 seconds.
Hunker Down While crouching, gain 20% Damage Resistance and 12.5% Accuracy.
Mandatory PT Team Effects
+ 10% Team Stamina
Marathon Runner + 5% Movement Speed
You’ll also have no movement penalty for strafing and moving backwards.
Numb Gain +15% Damage Resistance while you have Temporary Health.
Reload Drills + 30% Reload Speed
Run and Gun You can shoot while sprinting.
Scar Tissue Take 1 less damage from all Ridden.
Superior Cardio + 50% Sprint Efficiency
+ 5 Health
True Grit When you take a single hit for 15 or more damage, heal 8 Health over 5 seconds
Vitamins + 25 Health

 

The information for the Cards is sourced from IGN. If we find any cards that have changed in beta or the full game, we will update the article to match the description or any new cards worth picking up. If you happen to see if any Turtle Rock has balanced these cards before we do, let us know in the comments below so we can keep this article as accurate as possible. We hope you enjoyed our Back 4 Blood Best cards and decks guide and become the Ridden remover you were born to be.

Staff Writer AT WEPC

Craig Robinson

Craig has spent several years in esports. He began his journey as a volunteer, writing about games he loved whilst studying at University. Upon graduating, he worked as a freelance writer, talking about esports and gaming for several years before landing in WePC's gaming section.