AKAYUKI: Steel Blossoms Red Iai guide: poise and draw-cuts
Understand Iai’s draw-cut-only style, its 40-poise cost and 40% kill recovery, blade-contact effects, and point-blank draw behavior.
Iai is a draw-cut-only style that cuts through blades, but a missed draw-cut can be parried. Under version 1.3.11’s rules, each draw-cut costs 40 poise, and an Iai kill returns 40% poise. When its blade meets another blade, Iai takes 5% less poise damage and deals 10 additional poise damage to the opposing blade.
| Iai mechanic | Value or behavior | When it applies |
|---|---|---|
| Draw-cut cost | 40 poise | Each Iai draw-cut, under version 1.3.11’s values |
| Poise recovery | 40% poise | On an Iai kill, under version 1.3.11’s values |
| Incoming poise damage | 5% less | When Iai’s blade hits another blade |
| Opposing blade’s poise damage | 10 more | When Iai’s blade hits another blade |
| Missed draw-cut | Can be parried | When the draw-cut misses |
Iai is sold in the game’s store as “Draw styles: Iai” for 499 Robux. Alongside its blade-cutting behavior, it provides increased dash length, increased draw speed, and faster sheathing. Those features define what you are buying: a style focused on draw-cuts, with movement and drawing benefits, kill-triggered poise recovery, and a punishable miss. These properties belong to Iai specifically; they should not be carried over to another draw style.
The important distinction in its poise economy is that the attack cost is a flat amount, while the kill recovery is a percentage. Spending 40 poise and recovering 40% poise are different measurements, so matching the number “40” does not establish an equal refund. The recovery also has a specific trigger: an Iai kill. That condition matters when deciding how much to rely on recovery during an exchange.
Version 1.3.11 changed both sides of that exchange. Draw-cuts previously cost 57.5 poise, and kills previously returned 35% poise; the patch lowered the cost to 40 and raised the return to 40%. Those older figures describe the earlier balance, while the values above are anchored to version 1.3.11 and may change in later patches.
When blades meet, keep Iai’s cutting behavior and poise effects together. Its draw-cuts can cut through blades, and blade contact also carries the two numerical effects: reduced poise damage taken and additional poise damage dealt to the other blade. The parry risk still matters, however, because a missed draw-cut can be parried. Cutting through a blade does not remove that stated risk of missing.
Blade contact is also separate from what happens when a clean hit reaches a body. Version 1.3.11 fixed Iai clean hits passing through bodies, including at point-blank range. Version 1.3.12 followed with reduced Iai lean to fully fix point-blank draws. These changes concern close-range hit behavior, rather than removing Iai’s ability to cut through blades.
Finally, Iai has no calm draw. Version 1.3.11 removed its calm draw prompt to reflect that restriction, so a calm draw prompt is not something to wait for when using this style. For the broader resource mechanics around these costs and contact effects, see the poise system guide.
Related Guides
Poise Costs and Recovery
Separate draw costs from clash effects and recovery, including Iai kill returns and the Dual wield blood flick.
Katana Choices
Compare Iai and Dual wield prices, draw rules and poise tradeoffs while keeping skins separate from combat styles.
Update
Follow Iai balance and draw fixes, 1v1 targeting changes and the name-buff display in the game's update history.