Black cards cost Energy+ 2 Sanity. The heart card cost HP+ 1 Energy. Sanity is another form of HP. The unnamed variable is silence duration. During Doom (red screen) breathe cards will hurt, instead of regaining sanity, 2x sanity loss, and you get only 3 cards. 2 Strikes followed by a Thrust will deal extra damage.
The only thing to fear, is fear itself... phobophobia: The fear of being afraid.