Want to know what all of the best cards are in Back 4 Blood? The Back 4 Blood release date isn’t far off, and there’s a lot of buzz surrounding the co-op shooter thanks to a successful closed beta that surpassed Warframe and TF2’s player count. One of the key mechanics is building a deck, and while the best Back 4 Blood characters help steer your deck towards an archetype, it’s the cards themselves that make up the bread and butter of your Back 4 Blood builds.
There are two types of decks that you can make in either the campaign or Spawn multiplayer mode. Cards are earned by spending Supply Points – obtained by completing missions in the campaign or from the Supply Line tracks in Spawn mode.
If we’re not counting the Corruption cards that the AI issues as an extra challenge for each level, there are 152 active cards you can put into decks in the beta. We’ll be going over which Back 4 Blood cards are the best for your play style, and any potential combos that you should take advantage of.
Back 4 Blood cards
Each card sits in one of four categories: Reflex, Discipline, Brawn, and Fortune. While a lot of what constitutes ‘the best’ relies on your play style, the cards in each one of these card categories helps you gear your deck towards one of the four affinities. Melee attackers should take advantage of the best Brawn cards on offer, while healers should opt for Discipline cards, and snipers load their deck up with Reflex cards.
There is sometimes a bit of crossover between the affinities and play styles, as melee attackers benefit from Reflex stamina regeneration cards, so it’s worth playing around with deck compositions.
Fortune cards are an exception, as all three play styles can benefit from the extra copper, but there are some builds that Fortune cards suit more than others. For example, if you’re using a melee weapon, the Mugger card has a small chance to generate ammo with every kill, which can aid the rest of your team immensely.
Back 4 Blood deck construction tips
Since you randomly draw cards from the deck at the start of each round, you want to build the best Back 4 Blood decks to compliment your play style. Here are our top tips for Back 4 Blood deck construction:
- Although you get a maximum of 15 cards to place in your deck, it may be worth holding off on filling all of your slots. If you’re using stat buff cards, for example, the effects of the buff can be stacked.
- Try to build a deck for each character. Unless you agree in advance which character you’re all playing as, your number one pick may be taken by the time you get to lock in your choice.
- When constructing a deck, pay attention to the buffs that your chosen characters start with. For example, it’s worth investing in giving Karlee the Marked For Death card. Whenever she senses a mutation, it’s automatically pinged (normally done by highlighting the enemy and pressing the Q key), giving your team 10% increased damage to any highlighted enemies.
- The biggest tip that we can give for deck construction is that if a card has a drawback, only put it into the deck if you have a corresponding card to counter its ability, or are comfortable with that limitation. For example, the Motorcycle Helmet card improves your damage resistance but disables aim down sights – so if you have the Tunnel Vision card in your deck, you won’t benefit from the +50% aim speed buff.
- We highly recommend bringing the Ammo Pouch card if you’re playing on higher difficulties than Recruit. Since ammo is in limited supply, the rest of your team will thank you.
- Some card effects stack onto each other, negating the negative effects of that card. Consider combining cards like Ammo Stash (which gives secondary weapons unlimited ammo at the cost of secondary weapons reloading 20% slower) with Admin Reload (which reloads a stowed weapon at the cost of 15% ammo capacity).
With those tips in mind, here are all of the Back 4 Blood cards by type, and which cards to pick for your build:
Best Back 4 Blood Reflex cards
For those focused on attacking enemies or exploiting enemy weak points, you should take at least one card that helps with reload speed, one that boosts weak spot damage, one for increasing your accuracy, and one for bolstering your ammo capacity. For dealing with higher difficulties, you’ll want to use grenades and other explosives. Fire in the Hole! grants temporary health and movement speed for a short time after an Offensive Accessory is used, so is a fantastic option.
If you have a melee-focused game plan, perk cards that increase stamina regeneration and movement speed help a lot, while healers can benefit greatly from revive speed cards like Smelling Salts.
Here are the best Back 4 Blood Reflex cards:
| Reflex card name | Card description |
| Reload Drills | +20% reload speed |
| Widemouth Magwell | +30% reload speed -5% damage resistance |
| Mag Coupler | +50% reload speed Disables ADS (aim down sights) |
| Slugger | +5 health +10% melee efficiency +20% melee attack speed |
| Brazen | +30% melee efficiency +30% melee attack speed -5% damage resistance |
| Meth Head | +40% melee attack speed +40% melee stamina efficiency Your Melee Attacks no longer stick in tough enemies. Disables ADS (aim down sights) |
| Ridden Slayer | +20% weak spot damage |
| Reckless Strategy | +30% weak spot damage -5% damage resistance |
| Hyper-Focused | +50% weak spot damage -20% damage |
| Hi Vis Sights | +30% aim speed |
| Tunnel Vision | +50% aim speed – 5% damage resistance |
| Steady Aim | +80% aim speed -50% ADS move speed |
| Shredder | Each bullet hit causes the target to take 1% increased damage for three seconds (stacks up to 50%) |
| Glass Cannon | +50% weak spot damage -30 health |
| Sadistic | +40% weak spot damage -10% damage |
| Adrenaline Fuelled | +100% stamina -75% stamina regeneration When you kill an enemy, gain ten stamina instantly and an additional ten stamina over five seconds |
| Killer’s Instinct | +30% weak spot damage Disables ADS (aim down sights) |
| Power Swap | Changing weapons within 0.75 seconds of reaching low ammo grants +20% damage for five seconds |
| Stock Pouch | +30% sniper ammo capacity +10% damage with sniper rifles |
| Mag Carrier | +30% pistol/SMG ammo capacity +10% damage with pistol and SMGs |
| Combat Medic | +25% use speed Heals Teammates for an additional 20 when you revive them |
| Medical Expert | +15% healing efficiency When you use a medical accessory, you gain 15% movement speed for 15 seconds |
| Miraculous Recovery | When you use a medical accessory, it has a 25% chance to have 100% increased effect |
| Shooting Gloves | +25% weapon swap speed |
| Guns Out | +50% weapon swap speed -5% damage resistance |
| Cocky | +75% weapon swap speed When you take damage, your accuracy is reduced by 20% for three seconds |
| Smelling Salts | +50% revive speed |
| Pep Talk | +100% revive speed -5% damage resistance |
| Rousing Speech | +150% revive speed +50% reduced revive trauma Disables offensive accessories |
| Breakout | Grants Breakout ability: hold E to free yourself from grabs +50% Breakout cooldown reduction (base 60 seconds) |
| Screwdriver | +25% use speed |
| Multitool | +50% use speed -5% damage resistance |
| Headband Magnifier | +75% use speed When you take damage, you have a chance to be blinded for one second |
| Utility Scavenger | You can sense nearby Quick Accessories More Quick Accessories spawn |
| Cross Trainers | +20% stamina +20% stamina regen +3% movement speed +5 health |
| Energy Drink | +40% stamina -5% damage resistance |
| Rhythmic Breathing | +60% stamina -20% slow resistance |
| Dash | +5% movement speed |
| Fleet of Foot | +10% movement speed -5% damage resistance |
| Run Like Hell | + 5% movement speed When you take damage, your accuracy is reduced by 20% for three seconds |
| Superior Cardio | +20% stamina +20% sprint efficiency +5 health |
| Olympic Sprinter | +30% sprint efficiency -5% damage resistance |
| Reckless | +40% sprint efficiency When you take damage while sprinting, you lose all stamina. |
| Fire in the Hole! | When you throw an offensive accessory, gain 20 Temporary health and 20% movement speed for ten seconds |
| Rolling Thunder | +50% movement speed while firing with shotguns +10% damage with shotguns |
| Speed Demon | +12% movement speed while using an SMG |
| Hellfire | +50% movement speed while firing with SMGs +10% damage with SMGs |
| Marathon Runner | No movement penalty for strafing and backpedalling Disables sprinting |
| Mandatory PT | Team Effect: +10% team stamina |
| Pep in Your Step | Precision kills grant you 10% movement speed for five seconds. |
| Evasive Action | When you take a hit for ten or more damage, gain 20% movement speed for three seconds. |
| Stimulants | Pain Meds you apply also grant +10% movement speed, +10% reload speed, and +10% weapon swap speed for 30 seconds. |
| On Your Mark… | When you exit a starting safe room your team gains +15% movement speed for 30 seconds |
Best Back 4 Blood Discipline cards
Everyone benefits from buffs to ammo capacity, since ammo can be very difficult to come across if multiple players are using the same gun type. DPS builds should choose cards that grant accuracy, like the Trigger Control card which boosts accuracy if you’re using assault rifles or sniper rifles.
Healing builds should choose healing efficiency cards to bolster how much they heal for. Charitable Soul is a must-have card since healing others heals yourself as well, and there’s no drawback to using it. If you’re playing support, all three scavenger abilities can help locate much-needed supplies to restock your team’s ammo stocks and ordinance.
If you’re a melee-focused attacker, the damage resistance perks are necessary for close encounters with enemies. Down in Front! is handy if you’re using a shotgun, as your allies can fire overhead and not worry about hitting you as long as you’re crouched.
Here are the best Back 4 Blood Discipline cards:
| Discipline card name | Card description |
| Ammo Pouch | +25% ammo capacity |
| Ammo Belt | +50% ammo capacity -20% stamina efficiency |
| Ammo Mule | +75% ammo capacity Disables support accessories |
| Front Sight Focus | +20% accuracy |
| Optics Enthusiast | +30% accuracy -20% stamina efficiency |
| Quick Kill | +50% accuracy Disables ADS (aim down sights) |
| Combat Training | +5% damage dealt +50% bullet penetration |
| Large Caliber Rounds | +10% damage dealt +100% bullet penetration -20% stamina efficiency |
| Silver Bullets | +15% damage dealt +150% bullet penetration When you kill a Mutation, you lose five Copper |
| Avenge the Fallen | Team effect: When you or a teammate becomes incapacitated, all teammates gain 30% damage, 20% reload speed, and unlimited ammo for ten seconds |
| In the Zone | Precision kills grant 5% reload speed for five seconds (stacking up to ten times) |
| Trigger Control | +25% accuracy with assault rifles and sniper rifles |
| Combat Knife | Turns your bash into a knife that counts as a melee weapon |
| Meatgrinder | Gain 30% movement speed and accuracy while crouched and using an LMG |
| Scattergun Skills | + 40% reload speed with shotguns |
| Ammo for All | Team effect: +10% team ammo capacity |
| Patient Hunter | Each second you aim down sights increases your damage by 10% (up to three stacks) |
| Power Reload | Reloading a gun within 0.75 seconds of reaching low ammo will increase its magazine size by 30% until the next reload |
| Tactical Vest | +30% rifle ammo capacity +10% damage with assault rifles and LMGs |
| Motorcycle Jacket | +10% damage resistance |
| Padded Suit | +15% damage resistance -20% stamina efficiency |
| Motorcycle Helmet | +25% damage resistance Disables ADS (aim down sights) |
| Antibiotic Ointment | +30% healing efficiency |
| EMT Bag | +45% healing efficiency -20% stamina efficiency |
| Field Surgeon | +75% healing efficiency -25% use speed |
| Inspiring Sacrifice | Team effect: When you or a teammate becomes incapacitated, all teammates heal for 25 health over ten seconds |
| Charitable Soul | Healing a teammate also heals you for 100% of the amount healed |
| Hunker Down | When crouching, gain 20% damage resistance and 12.5% accuracy |
| Vanguard | +10% melee speed Melee kills grant one temporary health to nearby teammates |
| Needs of the Many | -20% health Team effect: +1 team extra life |
| Down in Front! | While crouching, gain 10% damage resistance and you neither take nor deal friendly fire damage |
| Poultice | When you heal a teammate, then heal for an additional 15 health over 30 seconds. |
| Group Therapy | When you use a medical accessory, all teammates heal for ten health. |
| Medical Professional | First aids and defibrillators also recover 10 trauma damage and one extra life. |
| Amped Up | When you exit a starting safe room, your team gains 50 temporary health. |
| Ammo Scavenger | You can sense nearby ammo More ammo spawns |
| Support Scavenger | You can sense nearby support accessories More support accessories spawn |
| Weapon Scavenger | You can sense nearby weapons More weapons spawn |
| Marked for Death | Mutations you ping are highlighted and your team deals 10% increased damage to highlighted enemies |
| Knowledge is Power | +10% weak spot damage Allows players to see values for damage they deal and enemy health bars |
| Energy Bar | +20% stamina regeneration +5 health |
| Cold Brew Coffee | +40% stamina regeneration -10% stamina efficiency |
| Natural Sprinter | +100 stamina regeneration -50% maximum stamina |
| Controlled Movement | +40% movement speed while aiming down sights with sniper rifles |
Best Back 4 Blood Brawn cards
Trauma resistance cards are best for melee builds – if you’re knocked down, the resistance affects how much maximum health is lost when you’re revived by a teammate. Snipers and other precision-based DPS builds definitely benefit from Broadside, as you can hit enemy weak spots, causing them to burst and deal damage to nearby enemies.
Other than upgrades to melee damage, melee builds should opt for Battle Lust to regain health for every melee kill, and Sunder, which allows you to mark tough enemies. Marking enemies makes them more susceptible to damage and ensures your teammates can take them down faster. Support builds that use ordinance should choose Bomb Squad, while healers can nab Chemical Courage to apply a temporary damage buff to anyone you’ve healed via pain meds.
Here are the best Back 4 Blood Brawn cards:
| Brawn card name | Card description |
| Batter Up | +50% melee damage +5 health |
| Spiky Bits | +25% melee damage +10% damage resistance while using a melee weapon -20% ammo capacity |
| Mean Drunk | +75% melee damage Your melee attacks cause cleave through enemies dealing damage in a large area Disables sprinting |
| Grenade Training | +25% accessory damage |
| Demolitions Expert | +50% accessory damage -20% ammo capacity |
| Improvised Explosives | +75% accessory damage -25% swap speed |
| Confident Killer | When you or your team kills a Mutation gain 2% damage (up to 100%) until the end of the level |
| Heavy Hitter | Melee hits against weak spots deal +20 additional stumble damage |
| Berserker | Gain 10% melee damage, 10% melee speed, and 5% movement speed for each melee kill in the last four seconds |
| Pyro | +100% fire damage +75% fire resistance Kills with fire grant you three temporary health |
| Bomb Squad | +100% explosive damage +35% explosive resistance |
| Line ‘Em Up | +100% bullet penetration with assault rifles |
| Heavy Attack | Grants Charge ability: hold LMB with melee weapons to burst forward Charge attacks deal 100% increased damage |
| Sunder | Melee hits cause the target to take 20% increased damage for five seconds |
| Two is One and One is None | You can equip a primary weapon in your secondary slot -25% weapon swap speed |
| Chemical Courage | Pain meds you apply also grant +25% damage for 60 seconds |
| Broadside | Precision kills have a 20% chance to cause Ridden to explode, dealing 15 damage to other Ridden within four metres |
| Vitamins | +15 health |
| Hydration Pack | +25 health -20% ammo capacity |
| Canned Goods | +40 health -30% stamina |
| Durable | +15% trauma resistance +5 health |
| Body Armor | +25% trauma resistance -20% ammo capacity |
| Wooden Armor | +40% trauma resistance -100% fire resistance -100% acid resistance -100% explosion resistance |
| Ignore the Pain | Gain 20% damage resistance against Mutations while using a melee weapon |
| True Grit | When you take a single hit for 15 or more damage, heal eight health over five seconds |
| Scar Tissue | Take one less damage from all Ridden |
| Battle Lust | Melee kills heal two health |
| Face Your Fears | Gain three temporary health whenever you kill a Ridden within two metres |
| Well Fed | -20% stamina regen Team effect: +10 team health |
| Overwatch | Kills from greater than 15 meters grant five temporary health to teammates with ten metres of the target |
| Fresh Bandage | Heal ten trauma damage at the start of each level |
| Numb | Gain +15% damage resistance while you have temporary health |
| Buckshot Bruiser | +15% damage resistance while using a shotgun. |
| Second Chance | +1 extra life +5 health |
| Offensive Scavenger | You can sense nearby offensive accessories More offensive accessories spawn |
Best Back 4 Blood Fortune cards
Fortune cards are a little more nuanced. They’re an assortment of different perk cards that don’t really fit in with any of the other three types. Most are based on getting more copper, and there are plenty of Support and Offensive inventory increasing perk cards that all builds can use effectively, but there are only a select few that benefit certain builds.
For example, melee builds should include Mugger for added ammo spawns for the whole team, while those specifically using shotguns should absolutely use Shell Carrier. Others like Run and Gun are handy for ranged DPS players who just want to keep a safe distance between enemies.
Another key example of a potentially powerful Fortune perk card is Ammo Stash, which gives your secondary weapon infinite ammunition at the cost of a slower reload speed. If you have a Desert Eagle equipped, then Ammo Stash is a fantastic perk card to use, but keep in mind that you’re locking yourself into using guns as the secondary slot.
Some of these perk cards can potentially interact with other powerful effects. While we’re not entirely sure if there is an interaction between the aforementioned Ammo Stash and the Brawn perk Two is One and One is None (which allows you to equip a primary weapon into the secondary weapon slot), the potential to give one of your weapons infinite ammunition could result in a busted combo..
In the campaign, players can use spare slots to equip perk cards that provide copper: Copper Scavenger, Money Grubbers, and Lucky Pennies. It’s best for each team member to have one of these equipped as you can use copper to buy weapons, attachments, and other equipment at safe rooms. You can also use copper to buy perk cards from perk card holders and additional healing charges at healing stations throughout levels.
Here are the best Back 4 Blood Fortune cards:
| Fortune card name | Card description |
| Grenade Pouch | +1 offensive inventory |
| Double Grenade Pouch | +2 offensive inventory -10% damage dealt |
| Surplus Pouches | – 10% Health Team effects: +1 team offensive inventory |
| Admin Reload | When you stow your weapon, it reloads -20% Ammo Capacity |
| Ammo Stash | Your secondary weapons have unlimited ammo Your secondary weapons reload 20% slower |
| Shell Carrier | +30% shotgun ammo capacity +10% damage with shotguns |
| Fanny Pack | +1 support inventory |
| Shoulder Bag | +2 support inventory -10% damage dealt |
| Box O’ Bags | – 10% health Team effect: +1 team support inventory |
| Life Insurance | +2 extra lives Lose 50 copper at the start of each level |
| Wounded Animal | Kills while at critical health recover one health |
| Mugger | Melee kills have a 2% chance to spawn ammo |
| Highwayman | Pistol kills have a 2% chance to spawn ammo |
| Bounty Hunter | When you kill a Mutation, gain ten copper (up to 300 per level) |
| Compound Interest | Gain 10% of your total copper in each safe room |
| Lucky Pennies | Whenever your team loots copper, you have a 35% chance to find 35% additional copper |
| Money Grubbers | Each time your team loots copper, you gain five additional copper, stacking up to 100 additional copper |
| Copper Scavenger | You can sense nearby copper More copper piles spawn |
| Share the Wealth | Each teammate gains 100 bonus copper at the start of each level |
| Run and Gun | You can shoot while sprinting |
And those are all of the best Back 4 Blood cards available. If you’re just getting started, you may wish to know how many acts are in Back 4 Blood’s campaign. We also have guides on how to unlock Jim, Karlee, Doc, and Hoffman in Back 4 Blood, as well as all ten Back 4 Blood golden skull locations.