Hot Takes on the Hunted

James White has announced The Hunted, FAB's 15th set, for release in January.

Returning to Volcor, The Hunted features a 2nd Draconic Ninja and expands support for Draconic Warrior - a talent/class pairing previously seen only on Emperor. And speaking of talents formerly seen only on Emperor? Both of our Draconic heroes also carry the Royal keyword. One can only assume Gold is back, which would act as off-label support of the Heavy Hitters roster.

Beyond the Draconic heroes, we're also seeing the return of Arakni. A distant third in the Assassin hierarchy, Arakni is the best way to continue developing the Assassin card pool without pushing the popular hero Nuu further up the meta. Arakni provides an opportunity to renew Contract strategies while serving as a thematic counter to the Royal Draconic heroes - any of whom could fall instantly to a well-timed Regicide.

The aftermath revealed a great deal of Volcai allegiance across the Rathe Times writer's network...

The support for these heroes is long overdue.

Fai - the Draconic Ninja of Uprising - has occupied a meme tier of the Ninja class since Zen's release. While those loyal to Fai have found ways to make him succeed, there's been little more than fandom to inspire anyone to try him - especially as Uprising's heroes are now 2/3 Living Legend. Cindra may still require Fai to prove himself against similar alternatives, but simultaneously will refresh the Draconic Ninja card pool.

While the debut of a Draconic Warrior doesn't guarantee substantial improvements for the trio of talentless Warriors that came before, it seems likely that Kassai will find ways to improve here. Thus far, Royal has been tied to Gold - and Kassai, who already considers the Crown of Dominion a viable option, has a lot to gain from greater access to Gold. Kassai's thematic ties to the region make it all the more likely LSS will nod in her direction.

But Fang himself is notable for yet another effort to bring Warrior into meta relevancy. By and large, Warrior has occupied a position in the game as 'good, never great'; and while dedicated players have given Dorinthea, Boltyn, and Kassai time in the spotlight, it's rare for a meta to evolve around their presence.

Then of course, there's Arakni. This hero debuted in Dynasty as the fulcrum of a storyline that The Hunted picks up on. Already at that time they were considered a fringe pick, and since then Arakni has never truly gotten their feet beneath them. Uzuri quickly stole the spotlight, and then Nuu added the Mystic talent and transcended. While those two heroes offer differing gameplay and compelling reasons to consider either, Arakni has never made a case for themself under the pressure of direct competition. It's hard to imagine that this new vision of Arakni - with 6+ hero cards - will fail to find a lane.

Many have noted that The Hunted has a lot of class overlap with Part the Mistveil, including our own Talon Stradley:

It's hard to fail to see the similarities. Both sets feature 3 classes, and 2 of those classes are the same. The specter of Zen's dominance still lingers large over 2024, while Nuu retains a prestigious position as a format gatekeeper. Unarguably, The Hunted will offers both of these heroes new cards - but with Draconic's focus on red cards, it's entirely possible that LSS has designed a set with limited relevancy to the blue-favoring Mystics. In fact, it seems almost certain: if LSS set out to legitimize Fai and Arakni, but instead powered up the heroes who made them irrelevant, that failure would be catastrophic to the set's launch.

Perhaps a better way to look at the overlap is through the lens of their launch in Japan this past summer. The significant growth of the game in that region carries specific difficulties that LSS has been shown to be particularly in tune to: namely, that there exist years of sets that Japan still doesn't have ready access to. Most players in that region will have significant collections for Ninjas and Assassins; expanding on the options for these cards is a way to honor those collections without rapidly expanding the catch-up work they're asked to do.

One cool design bit that got dropped along the way was that the set is going to include lots of daggers - expanding on a theme seen first in Outsiders. (It dawns on me now that this is actually the third time we've had a full draft-able release for an Assassin, and each time they've been paired with a Ninja...) All three heroes can equip daggers, and with Warriors having a major focus on their weapons, it's almost certain that the keyword 'dagger' will show up on a lot of cards. That alone could go a long way toward differentiating these heroes from others in their class; and while it's certainly possible that the future of these classes is short and sharp, I think it much more likely that The Hunted will finally make a dagger archetype viable strictly within the confines of these three heroes.

Kevin Brayer tossed me some weapon-related thoughts that have me hyped for what's to come:

If Flick Knives and Silverwind Shuriken are any indication of LSS' vision for a ranged Ninja - namely, a Ninja who creates hits at reaction speed - I'm sold already.

On the lore side of things, Dylan Davis of Gorganian Tome has some early thoughts on the next chapter of Volcor's history:

But honestly, I think people are most curious about what's going on with Arakni - who has at least 6 very new appearances!

Predictions that LSS is renovating Arakni with Demi-Heroes like Levia feel fairly safe, in my opinion. But never underestimate LSS' ability to push the game in entirely fresh directions! One thing's for certain: Arakni's days as the 'bland Assassin' are over!

We have to talk about the Marked mechanic before we wrap up - and the implications of targeting an opponent for mechanics. In a standard game of FAB, Marked feels like a variation on Wager, in that you're raising the stakes on an attack and calling it out as 'worth blocking out'. But it gets much more interesting in multiplayer formats, where the consequences of Marking an opponent can impact decision-making in major ways. (Whether multiplayer formats are compelling enough to be played is an entirely separate discussion, but mechanics like these contribute to the groundwork.)

The absence of one hero is notable. Where is Dromai?

Given the comparisons to MST, I think it was wise that they skipped the Illusionist this time around. And given the weapon-focused design of the set, it's hard to imagine fitting such a distinct hero/class into the mix. My favorite idea I've seen floating around Discord is that Dromai's reintroduction may come in an Armory Deck - a suitable way to support her with reprints of the dragons she's so closely tied to. Perhaps that'll be March's release?

As the years have passed, the story of Rathe has built up, and we've reached a point where we can expect to see continuations as often as new territory. We've revisited the War of the Monarchs, and recently returned to Aria. At this moment, continuing the story of Volcor feels right. I can't wait to see what they have in store for us.