We will start with the basic foundation of her character.

Anath is in essence, a stance character. Her Unique Ability gives her access to 4 Aspects, which give her different bonuses/penalties to modify your Styles/Bases. She is forced to swap aspects when stunned, and can choose to change to a different aspect at the End of Beat.

The key to success when playing Anath is maintaining Aspects favorable to her match-up and swapping to a different ones to exploit your opponents positioning.

Your 4 Aspects are:

Devastation: -1 Power, +3 Priority.
Hate: +3 Power, -2 Priority.
Death: +1-3 Range.
Ruin: 2 Soak, but your attacks beyond range 2 cannot hit.

While the advantages are apparent, its important to memorize the advantages/disadvantages of each style, because in a close match you will often end up in an Aspect that isn't preferable for your situation and you need to know how to play around it.

Devastation is the most generally useful of the Aspects, it brings Anath's speed up to a level that can make her compete with even the fastest characters in BCO, and is a great way to close out a match when your opponent is low as it severally limits their ability to respond before you land a killing blow. Never forge that this Aspect reduces her Power slightly, forgetting to subtract a 1 can mean the difference between victory and defeat on any given beat, especially if the opponent has high Stun Guard.

Hate takes some finesse to use, but it makes Anath one of the hardest hitting characters in the game. It is most useful when you know your opponent can't avoid the attack/can't stun you this beat. If you read your opponents play well, it can easily lead to an unexpectedly quick end to a game, or give you a significant early lead. Best against characters who like to go slower then you, or have a hard time getting through Stunguard. Be weary of getting stunned by faster opponents, as most characters can outspeed Anath while she is in this Aspect.

Death is excellent for trading with characters who like to Zone their opponents, or who are vulnerable to zoning themselves. Anath is well equipped to control board positioning, and this style is very dominant in specific matchups. Much like Aspect of Devastation, it is also good for closing out matches due to the ability to strike your opponent where their options are most limited. Be weary if the minimum range that Death adds to all of her attacks, as a clever opponent will close distance to get under her guns, forcing you to swap to another Aspect just to deal with them.

Ruin is another good utility style that makes Anath difficult to damage and even harder to stun. Excellent against characters who like to stick close to their opponent, but it has poor range and can make it difficult to utilize Anath's full range of abilities.

Next we will go over Anath's Styles and Unique Base.

Anath has 5 Styles and 1 Unique Base.


Cataclysmic is probably the style I find myself using the least, but it is nonetheless a strong zoning/repositioning tool in Anath's kit. It gives no bonuses to stats, but pushes the enemy 1 space per damage dealt and gives and EoB effect that lets you reposition in any space behind the opponent.

When in Death this can help you push the enemy away from you, allowing you to build some space, but be weary of not pushing them to the corner, as EoB movement is mandatory and you could end up behind your opponent with no room and limited options for your next beat. This tool is also useful when attempting to escape corners, or push enemies out of their effective range. This is particularly important if you expect your opponent to play a Style that gives them Stun Immunity, and have no other way to escape it.

Recommended Pairs:
Cataclysmic Strike
Cataclysmic Shot


Abhorrent is our next style, and a personal favorite of mine. Not only does it have +1 Power, it also gives you a lot of mobility with Move 1, 2 option, in addition to allowing you to ignore enemy push/pulls.

This style is useful with just about every Aspect. It allows Death in particular to build some distance and I often pair it with Grasp for a strong Beat 1 play that allows me to out speed slower opponents as well as build some distance by pushing them away + retreating 1-2 spaces. For the other 3 aspects it allows you to stick close to your opponent if they are trying to create distance, this is particularly useful with Devastation, as your higher priority allows you to duck in and out of range with Drive, or ensures you will make it into their minimum range if they Burst.

Recommended Pairs:
Abhorrent Drive
Abhorrent Grasp

Leashing gives 0-1 Range, which helps with Hit-Confirming an opponent. It has a built in Pull 2, which gives you +1 Power if it pulls the opponent past you.

This style combines decent range and allows you to manipulate your opponent's positioning to suit your needs. It isn't particularly useful when Paired with Death, but it is a strong Style for any other Aspect. It is particularly potent when combined with Drive while mid-board, as it has an effective range of 4 spaces.

Recommended Pairs:
Leashing Drive
Leashing Strike

Destruction gives 0-2 Range, but gives -2 Priority. It damages opponents when they enter adjacent squares, as well as allows you to retreat 2 when you land a hit.

This style has amazing hit-confirm at the cost of being really slow. If you have forced your opponent into a corner, you can punish Dodge attempts by making them take 2 damage with proper spacing. It also combines well with Strike and Shot, the latter of which gives you full board range (1-6). I wouldn't recommend using it with Ruin or Devastation, as Ruin lowers its effective range, while Devastation loses a lot of its strengths due to the -2 Priority. Of course, it is still very effective at punishing dodge regardless of your current Aspect.

Recommended Pairs:
Destruction Strike
Destruction Shot

Dread is another amazing style with loads of hit confirm. Range 0-1, -1 Priority. As well as a SoB movement of 1-2 Spaces. It also reduces your opponents power by 3 when they damage you at range 2.

This Style allows you to keep your opponent within range, and can give a lot of hit confirm to less mobile Bases like Grasp and Strike. This Style pairs particularly well with her unique base, Dread, allowing you to adjust your positioning to almost guarantee a hit. Keep in mind that, unlike Drive, Burst can still avoid a Strike/Grasp if Anath's priority is too high, as it is a Start of Beat movement like Burst's retreat.

Also be weary of enemy push/pull effects, as if you are relying on the -3 Power ability, it will not work if you get pushed/pulled out of Range 2.

Recommended Pairs:
Dread Strike
Dread Havoc.


Havoc is Anath's unique base, and it can take a bit getting used to due to its unusual stat-line. Base range of 2, Power 5, Priority 3. SoB: Advance 3, with a Before: Move 1 Space.

Havoc can be difficult to get off consistently, but it is nonetheless her highest Power Base, and it comes with a lot of mobility. It combines well with Devastation and Hate, but due to their respective range issues, can be problematic to use while in Death or Ruin. Devastation is probably the "safest" way to use Havoc, as it has a good base priority and will out speed most slower characters, while maintaining a respectable Power despite the Aspect debuff to it. Hate is a lot riskier due to the very low Priority, but it is Anath's highest damage combo outside of her Finishers. It pumps her power to a whopping 8 Base, which can turn a match around in a single beat.

Dread Havoc in particular is a good combo as the multiple movements allow you to adjust to the range that most suits your needs, in addition to the 0-1 Range from Dread allowing you some leeway in landing the attack. When using this combo in particular, consider what Aspect you are in, as it may be in your best interest to Ante Stun Guard to combine with Dread's -3 Power to avoid being stunned before your attack lands. If you are really feeling the read, you can also Ante Power for a whopping 9 damage.

To Round things out we have Anath's finishers:

Dark Revulsion is a range 1 attack that has massive Power and Priority that can push the entire length of the Board if it lands, but it cannot finish off your opponent. It is a great finisher against opponents that tend to hug Anath, and can quickly turn a losing game around due to its immense damage. It is also a particularly potent set-up the Death Aspect, as it ignores Aspect Bonuses, which means it can pressure opponents who intend to stick inside your minimum range. This is particularly deadly as Dark Revulsion can put them on the opposite side of the board, severally limiting their options while opening them up for a finishing blow while Death or Devastation are active.

Devastation Now is an immensely powerful Finisher, but far riskier to use than Dark Revulsion. While it has Soak 1 and Stun Guard 3 it goes off at Priority 1 which means you can be stunned out of activating it fairly easily. It is best activated when you read a dodge, or are combining it with Ruin (for a total of Soak 3) or Devastation (Priority 4) to ensure it activates successfully. Once activated it gives an immense +4 Power bonus for the rest of the game, at the cost of draining 2 life a beat.

I have found this works best when utilizing either Devastation or Death, as both styles allow you to threaten your opponent with a large amount of damage outside of their ability to easily counteract. Devastation Now nearly completely eliminates the disadvantage of the Aspect of Devastation and can lead to multiple beats were your opponent is forced to simply run away from you as you out prioritize them with incredibly high damage attacks. Just keep in mind that your life will bottom out at 1 health, meaning a single mistake while using this Finisher will cost you the match.

To Round things out here is some general advice.

Anath wants to play to her strengths and keep her opponents on the back foot. She should be the aggressor in the vast majority of her matchups. She has a lot of hit confirm due to having a ton of mobility and range increases on her styles.

Use Devastation to threaten opponents who can't deal with speed.

Hate to pressure opponents who can't deal with slow/massive swings.

Death is to deal with opponents who try to keep you at arms length, or alternatively, opponents who need to be near you but have a hard time sticking to their opponent.

Ruin simply makes Anath difficult to damage, and is very useful against opponents who have to stick close and/or deal low damage numbers

Always have a backup plan in case you get knocked out of the favored aspect for any particular match-up. Ruin is often a good fallback to help recover from an unexpected hit, helping you buy time until your preferred Aspect is available again.

Anath's biggest weakness is having her game-plan thwarted and being forced into an unfavorable Aspect, as it forces you to wait a couple of beats to have a chance of recovering. Don't become over reliant on certain combinations in a single match, as your opponent will start read your intentions and counter-act your most obvious plays.

She is excellent at mixing things up, don't be afraid to swap Aspects to force the opponent to change their game plan. An opponent who was trying to close distance against Death may not have the pairs in hand he needs to deal with Ruin or Devastation. An opponent who was expecting you to go slow due to Hate may be caught flat-footed when you switch back to another Aspect. Someone trying to zone you may be caught unawares when they suddenly find themselves well within your reach when you swap to Death after they have been playing keep away for multiple beats against a different Aspect.

Anath has a lot of options, which can be overwhelming at first, but her Aspects give her a flexibility not afforded to most characters, meaning she is never truly out of the game until the last blow is struck.