Back 4 Blood guide: 15 great cards and complete card list

Back 4 Blood cards are a quintessential part of the experience, and one of the major differences between Turtle Rock Studios’ latest game and Left 4 Dead.

In this Back 4 Blood cards guide, we’ll teach you how cards work (including how to get more), show off 15 of our favorite cards, and we list all 156 cards in Back 4 Blood for your convenience.

How do Back 4 Blood cards work?

Cards seem like a complex and overwhelming system in Back 4 Blood — especially if you scroll down to our complete list — but they’re actually relatively simple. When you start a new level in a safe house, Back 4 Blood will prompt you to play a card from your deck (the first card automatically gets played after you load in). You play a new card — or several — at the start of each level.

The cards are essentially just perks. When you’re building a deck, you’re creating a random group of potential perks for the game to offer you. It’ll give you a hand, and you’ll choose the one you want to play. If you think of this as a semi-random perk system that Turtle Rock Studios built into a card game for clarity and easy readability, it’s a bit easier to parse.

Cards give bonuses to your characters, like bonus move speed or damage with a certain weapon type. They won’t always make or break your run, but there are some powerful options that can make a huge difference.

The Director — the game’s AI system — also plays cards that make your run harder, or incentivize you to complete a difficult task. You can’t control these, but they may inform what cards might be useful for you to play and try to counter The Director — by playing long-distance cards if it plays a short-range penalty.

To get more cards, you’ll need to complete missions to earn Supply Points. You can then use those points to unlock Supply Chains back in Fort Hope, which give you new cards.

15 great Back 4 Blood cards for your favorite deck

Image: Turtle Rock Studios/WB Interactive via Polygon

There are a ton of great cards in Back 4 Blood, and you could make an awesome deck without using any of our recommendations below. That also means you might not see one of your favorites here. Feel free to call out cards you think everyone should know about in the comments section below.

Let’s go over some of our favorite cards.

Combat Knife

Turns your Bash into a Knife that counts as a Melee weapon

We keep Combat Knife as our top card so it’s always played first. This card gives you a great way out of a bad situation — when zombies surround you, you can more effectively push them away with a knife. But it also gives you a permanent melee weapon, which lets you take advantage of other melee kill cards.

Reload Drills

20% Reload Speed

Many reload perks offer negatives, which we don’t usually go for. Reload Drills is simple and very effective without downsides.

Second Chance

1 Extra Life, 5 Health

Second Chance gets a place on this list because it’s a really powerful, really early card with an Extra Life if you die and some extra health. Awesome.

Breakout

Hold a button to free yourself from Grabs, 50% Breakout Cooldown reduction

Getting held by a zombie is a major pain, and can cause you to die if you aren’t careful or near a friend. Breakout lets you break free and save yourself from death often, especially if you’re not playing with a dedicated group of Cleaners.

Mandatory PT

Team Effects: 15% Team Stamina

There are a lot of perks that give you bonus stamina, which helps you sprint longer or melee attack more. Mandatory PT gives your entire team a sizable benefit, which is selfless and useful. Mandatory PT is also percentage based — as are many of our suggestions — which means it compounds on other cards you play, rather than just offering a static bonus.

Pep In Your Step

Precision Kills grant you 10% Move Speed for 5 seconds

You’re usually going fast in Back 4 Blood, and Pep In Your Step awards accuracy with a big movement speed boost.

Shredder

Each bullet hit causes the target to take 1% increased damage for 3 seconds

Shredder is useful for some of the boss enemies or Mutations. While some die pretty quickly, others can take a lot of punishment. Shredder lets you take them down faster than ever, quickly removing the threat.

Vanguard

Melee kills grant 1 Temporary Health to you and nearby teammates

Vanguard is a great pairing with Combat Knife and melee weapons. Not only does it heal you and your allies, there are other cards that give you some sweet bonuses when you have Temporary Health.

In the Zone

Precision Kills grant 5% Reload Speed for 5 seconds (stacking up to 10 times)

Similar to Pep In Your Step, In the Zone lets you reload faster and faster the more accurate you are. In conjunction, you’ll be able to use these two cards to run and gun effectively.

Patient Hunter

Each second you Aim Down Sights increases your Damage by 10% (up to 3 stacks)

Patient Hunter is a little situational, but it has a lot of potential. Aiming down the sights and moving slowly isn’t always the best in Back 4 Blood. But when you need to take down an Ogre or another big Mutation, 30% damage is a huge boost, and it makes this card worthwhile.

Confident Killer

When you or your team kills a Mutation gain 1% damage (up to 15% until the end of the level)

Confident Killer is a great perk for longer levels, especially on harder difficulties. As you move forward through a level and kill special zombies, you’ll just get stronger and stronger.

Berserker

Gain 10% Melee Damage, 10% Melee Speed, and 5% Move Speed for each Melee kill in the last 4 seconds

Berserker gives you bonuses to stuff we always want. It gives you bonus melee damage, melee speed, and move speed every time you kill a zombie with either your dedicated melee weapon or that Combat Knife.

Battle Lust

Melee Kills heal 2 Health

Battle Lust really pairs well with Combat Knife and other melee play styles. It essentially gives you Leech, allowing you to steal life from enemies and keep yourself alive after being surrounded.

Two is One and One is None

You can equip a Primary weapon in your Secondary slot. -25% Swap Speed

While we usually don’t recommend cards with negatives, Two is One and One is None is a great pickup. Instead of a primary and a secondary, this perk will let you carry a rifle and a shotgun. This is an awesome perk that gives you a lot more versatility — as long as you’re mindful when you swap weapons.

Broadside

Precision Kills have a 20% chance to cause Ridden to explode, dealing 15 damage to other Ridden within 4 meters

Broadside is a card that doesn’t always benefit you. But since you kill a lot of zombies in Back 4 Blood, that 20% will activate more than you think. If you’re already aiming for the head, killing multiple zombies with a single stone (or explosion) is very useful.

All Back 4 Blood cards

Here’s a complete list of all the cards in Back 4 Blood.