Swordsman is aware that specific combinations of skills can generate additional interesting effects. This skill is formalization of that field of study. It allows the swordsman to perform combat skills a about a third faster and also allows some additional effects that won\'t be possible without the neccessary theoretical underpinings this skill provides. First, there is the Basic Feint when a skill in one round allows much more powerful skill in the next round, plus a bit of extra hitroll for the round after that. Basic Feint can be executed with one melee round with no block followed by Deathkick, a melee round with Low Block and finished with Paw of the Bear skill which gets the bonus damage. It can also be completed with a melee round with High Block followed by Wolf Tooth skill, and finished in the next round to reap the benefit with with Paw of the Bear skill. Finally, there is a variant that starts with a melee round with Low Block followed by Wasp Sting and then getting the feint bonus for Ultraslay in the next round. When more damage is called for and defense is not a problem one can perform Basic Aggressive Footwork. This requires deceiving your enemy with apparent harmlessness if you do no skills after a melee round with High Block and then after another melee round (regardless of block) you suddenly lunge with Paw of the Bear skill to get a significant damroll boost. There is another variant where the first melee round uses no block at all but the second round uses High Block together with Storm of Steel finesse, with no skills required afterward. Given that these combinations use an element of rest, they also recover a bit of fatigue. If it turns out hard to hit the opponent then Basic Precision Footwork comes helpful. It starts with a melee round with Low Block to lull the enemy with false sense of security followed by Wasp Sting. Wasp Sting does not need to hit for this combo to succeed, after all it is used to open a gap in an opponent\'s defenses and a round with High Block exploits the gap for extra precision. There is also a basic trick for better defense. Basic Defensive Footwork starts with a melee round with Low Block followed by Wolf Tooth and then, somewhat counterintuitively, a melee round with High Block. While High Block is not normally very useful for defense, when it finishes Basic Defensive Footwork it actually allows for more stable grip on primary weapon that negates the danger of losing it. Basic Defensive Footwork can be also executed more efficiently against enemies that deal piercing damage. Starting with a round with Sword Fan block followed by Wasp Sting it would be finished with a melee round with a Low Block, with no further skills required. Then there are some tricks that require a bit more precision in that specific blocks are required in each melee round but they add substantial offensive benefits. Howling Pierce starts with a round with Low Block followed by Wolf Tooth skill, then another round with Low Block and finished with Pierce Enemy skill. This is useful against enemies that are easy to hit as Low Block causes hitroll penalty but the extra damage is noticeable. An upgrade of it is Howling Bites combo where the combination of blocks is the same (just keep Low Block active) but in the first round it requires both Pierce Enemy and Wolf Tooth, completing with another Wolf Tooth in the next round. The two Wolf Tooth skills give this combo its name and the extra skill in the first round is rewarded by additional damage boost. Another trick when enemy is easy to hit is Slay From Low. It also requires Low Block all the time, with Pierce Enemy after the first melee round and completing it with Ultraslay after the next round. Slay From Low is not that powerful by itself but it can be used as connective element for other tricks. When no hitroll can be sacrificed then Powerslay comes handy. It requires High Block throughout, with Paw of the Bear after first melee round and completing it with Ultraslay after the next melee round. Finally, there are two tricks that use different blocks each round: Slaying Bear and Slay From High. Slaying Bear starts with a round in Low Block followed by Ultraslay and then a melee round with High Block, completing it with Paw of the Bear for extra damage. Slay From High starts with a round in High Block followed by Ultraslay and then, sort of a mirror of Slaying Bear, a round in Low Block, to be completed with Pierce Enemy skill. A word of warning... Some combinatios can also be very unpleasant to you. For example, if you miss with wolf tooth skill while using high block, you won\'t be able to keep a grip on your weapon.

See also: advanced tricks, superior tricks, trick mastery