Xu Chu

Crazy Tiger 虎痴

**Bare the Chest** 裸衣
During Xu Chu's drawing phase, he can choose to draw one fewer card. During his action phase, all damage that he causes by using *Attacks* or *Duels* is increased by one.

**Clarification:**

* The extra damage that Xu Chu's "Bare the Chest" affords him stacks with other damage bonuses. For example, if he successfully attacks successfully with *Wine* after using "Bare the Chest," the *attack* will cause three units of damage. Fun fact: If Xu Chu uses "Bare the Chest," equips the *Ancient Knife,* and uses a *Fire Attack* with *Wine* on a character with no hand cards that is wearing *Rattan Armor,* he will cause five units of damage, which is more damage than any other official character can cause in one particular instance.
* If Xu Chu is the victim of *Starvation*, he cannot activate "Bare the Chest." If he is the victim of *Capture*, he can activate this power,  but there would be no point in doing so, as Xu Chu can only target other characters with an *Attack* or *Duel* in the action phase.
* Xu Chu's "Bare the Chest" does not modify the requirements of other characters in responding to Xu Chu's *Attacks* and *Duels*: i.e. opponents still use one *Attack* per round in a *Duel* and one *Escape* to prevent damage from an *Attack.*
* Xu Chu's "Bare the Chest" does not increase the amount of damage he receives during his turn if he loses in a *Duel.* Xu Chu would receive one unit of damage if he loses, whereas his opponent would receive two units of damage if they lose.
* "Bare the Chest" does not modify damage that Xu Chu causes outside of his turn. For example, somebody who *Duels* Xu Chu during their turn after a turn in which Xu Chu activates "Bare the Chest" would not receive two units of damage from losing to him.

 * Xu Chu can cause a large amount of damage in a short amount of time with "Bare the Chest". Being able to deal two units of damage is very significant especially to characters who have a maximum of three units of health.
* Xu Chu's ability gives him levarge against characters that have damage-activated abilities that activate on a "per-instant" basis. For example, if Xu Chu damages Sima Yi after using his power, Sima can only take one card, even though he lost two units of health.
* The effects of "Bare the Chest" last throughout Xu Chu's entire turn. For example, if Xu Chu has the *Crossbow*, each of his *Attacks* will do two units of damage.
* Because of the point made in the previous bullet point, Xu Chu is not going to be able to use his power on each of his turns. On the turns that he does not use his power, he has no advantage over other characters in terms of powers.
* Using "Bare the Chest" effectively requires very precise timing, as Xu Chu needs an *Attack* or *Duel* and his victim-to-be should be low on cards or not have the cards to repel Xu Chu's *Attacks* and *Duels.*

Notable Combinations:

* Liu Bei/Guo Jia/Xun Yu - Having one of these characters on your team is almost a necessity to keep Xu Chu well stocked with *Attacks,* *Duels* and other hand cards to keep Xu Chu strong and prepared to use "Bare the Chest"*.*

* Zhang Liao/Gan Ning - These characters can be useful if they are on your team, as they can strip away enemy hand cards to leave them open to your assaults. However, if they are not on your team, they can cause significant problems if they strip away your hand cards and prevent you from using "Bare the Chest" effectively.

* Zhen Ji - Zhen Ji is Xu Chu's worst nightmare if they are not on the same team. Zhen Ji's "Overturned Country" allows her to use half of the deck as *Escape* and her "River Goddess" allows her to stock pile on these cards. In addition, because she need not worry about keeping actual *Escape* cards in her hand, she can keep black *Attack* cards that can serve either as *Attacks* or *Dodges*. This allows her to repel both *Attacks and Duels*. Finally, with "River Goddess," Zhen Ji has a good chance of drawing +1 horses and armor, which add additional barriers between her and Xu Chu's *Attacks.*

 Loyalist
 Rebel
 Spy

**Final Remarks:**

We do not like to discourge players from using a particular character, but Xu Chu is usually not the best choice for any given role. As stated earlier, he needs a team that can keep him stocked with *Attacks* and *Duels* in order to be a very effective character. If he does not have this team, using him can be frustrating. When using Xu Chu, do not activate "Bare the Chest" unless you have at least one *Attack* card. Also, realize that enemies will save *Escapes* for Xu Chu's turn. Do not be surprised if an enemy takes damage from your teammates' *Attacks*, but somehow has an *Escape* when you play your turn.