Your opponent can only block with critical successes.
If you don't retain any critical successes, you can change one of your normal successes to a critical success. Any rules that take effect as a result of retaining a critical success (e.g. Devastating, Piercing Crits, etc.) still do.
The first time you strike with a critical success in each sequence, also discard one of your opponent's unresolved normal successes (or a critical success if there are none).
4
4+
5/5
Brutal, Severe, Shock