Images courtesy of Legend Story Studios
Dear reader, the time of this article’s release is a very special moment in Flesh and Blood history. Heroes from the very first two sets of the game established the core classes we know and love today, and one of those heroes has reached Living Legend. Viserai, Rune Blood said goodbye to the Classic Constructed format over the third weekend of February, an end to an era of one of the most tumultuous stories of any hero in the game so far.
Goodbye to Viserai
Viserai started out in Arcane Rising as a fascinating hero that blended physical and arcane damage, into Crucible of War where Bloodsheath Skeleta turned him into a Runechant-focused combo deck. Australian Nationals 2021 debuted this moment, with a spectacularly dull finals versus Oldhim, Grandfather of Eternity, where both players largely ignored each other until Viserai did the thing.
The memes were hilarious, though.
With a Bloodsheath Skeleta ban, and Briar, Warden of Thorns having a much larger card pool, Viserai, Rune Blood vanished into obscurity. There he remained for multiple years, until Rosetta brought him back with a whole new toy box of actions with go again stapled on them. It’s the inevitable outcome for those early heroes to be able to use early power boosts designed for them, paired with new hotness for new heroes, to jettison themselves over the finish line. As we look to the High Seas for the summer set, we’ll likely see a repeat of this story with Azalea, Ace in the Hole.
I’m not ready for you to go.
Speaking of, are you ready to hit the High Seas?
New Flesh and Blood set High Seas Revealed
Sorry, I meant “are you ready to hit the High Seas???” We finally got it out of design lead Bryan Gottlieb himself that there will be pirates! Shelter from the Storm gave a cute nod to what kind of aesthetic we can expect in this new exploration of the world of Rathe, and you can tune in for the World Premiere when it releases this summer.
There’s little out there about this set, so it’s time for wild speculation! Will this be the set that reveals Mechanologist has actually been a talent this whole time and Pirate will be the class heading it? Let’s be real, almost certainly not. But you dreamers out there keep dreaming. It seems a foregone conclusion that the Ranger class is going to have at least some presence in the set with teaser arts dating as far back as Outsiders, which is doubly good, considering how long they’ve gone without a set of support.
I mean, come on.
It’s worth noting that this set won’t release until June! For those of us who enjoy slower release schedules, that means more time to draft and enjoy The Hunted, and to help some of these card prices, as we can expect it will remain in print for the duration of that extended wait for the next set. To supplement the wait, though, there’ll be a dense injection of Armory decks into the format, two of which we already know to be Maxx ‘The Hype’ Nitro and Aurora, Shooting Star. For the last one, I’m hoping for a new Iyslander, Stormbind or Lexi, Livewire injection into the format. The kids nowadays need to know what it’s like to consider Frostbite tokens in their deckbuilding.
Flesh and Blood Competitive Recap
February has mostly been getting used to The Hunted in the hero pool, as well as the Road to Nationals season, where we were confirmed to receive one hundred invitations to the highest ELO in the United States after all invites have been tallied; so keep an eye on your invites in case you make it that way!
As the Road to Nationals season comes to a close, it appears that Viserai, Rune Blood will be the only hero to reach Living Legend, but Zen, Tamer of Purpose, Azalea, Ace in the Hole, and Enigma, Ledger of Ancestry seem well positioned to make a big jump come the next Pro Quest season. We’ll likely be expecting a massive shakeup this fall! I wouldn’t be surprised to see Nuu, Alluring Desire and Aurora, Shooting Star make a big leap toward the end of their roads as well.
Pro Tour: Singapore
Following a considerable amount of online speculation about another APAC region Pro Tour, we got confirmation that Singapore will be the next destination for the highest tier of competitive play. There will be multiple side events, including an additional Living Legend format Battle Hardened, so staying tuned in will be a treat.
With that, you’re caught up on the goings on in the world of Flesh and Blood! It’s a slower month, and very focused on competitive play, so most have their nose down with their friends and teams trying to gear up for Pro Tour: London and the now ended Road to Nationals. Thanks for tuning in, and you can look forward to the next update here on Card Gamer!
Want more Flesh and Blood? Check out Arakni, Marionette – Flesh and Blood Deck Tech, Pitchless Cindra – A Flesh and Blood Deck Tech, or A Metagame Review of The Hunted.
