Pro Quest and Precons

The big news this week has got to be the megadrop of content surrounding the new set - but first, let's put a cap on the Pro Quest: Amsterdam season. After that, we've got to talk about Kayo's Armory Deck, which splashed up some opinions this week; and we have news about the other Armory Deck due out this year.

This spoiler season has been one of the longest in Flesh and Blood history (or at least it feels like it), and I'm not complaining! Nearly every day, dawn breaks and with it the mist clears a little more. It's been so exciting to see new things every weekend, spanning April and May, from expansion slot cards to Marvels to new mechanics on equipment - and now, we've just gotten the full spoiler for the blitz decks. What's more, there are also videos of the new decks fighting already, so you can go ahead and get started on these heroes as early as you like. And don't worry: the Rathe Times has got your back, with new hero strategy articles and CC decklists coming soon after release. (Alex has already done some early speculation on Nuu.)

I can only applaud this new preview policy. Each revelation shows us that there's more than you thought, more hiding in the mists. Flesh and Blood has been a game with hidden depths and complexities for nearly five years now, stretching all the way back to the very first spoilers of Ironrot equipment. Even the lore book, an explicit piece of world explanation and exploration, has simultaneously been a source of mysteries. It is from that early revelation that we saw Illusionist coming - and that same source fuels the hopes for Necromancer, Cleric, and Alchemist. With each sunrise, the morning mist clears, and we see that we were, and still are, even more blind than we thought. 

Another competitive season is in the books, friends, and we should take a look at the full aftermath. It has been exciting, keeping up with the meta and watching each of the 24 different heroes rise to prominence in their own ways. Heroes like Arakni, Fai, Olympia, and Vynnset may have only taken one event out of the 462 on offer, but you can't discount the fact that they took one at all! For the first time in a long time, every released hero has some Living Legend points put up on the board.

Of course, one hero did rise above the rest, offering the sort of raw mathematics that can grind loads of different decks down to the dust of their bones. And, boy, did Kayo make bread out of bones this season - that boy ate! Check out the graphic.

Just from Pro Quests, Kayo has picked up 237 points, placing him at 517 Living Legend points since his February release. These are not Bravo, Star of the Show numbers, and the sky is not falling, but... sheeeeeesh! If your deck doesn't have a plan for how to deal with Kayo, then, you might consider incorporating one.

Speaking of which, the list of other big movers on the LL board this season includes Azalea, Victor Goldmane, Prism - Awakener of Sol, Kassai of the Golden Sands, and Kano. Merely making movements on the leaderboard of legends doesn't mean that any of these six heroes will necessarily be at your next local event, but it is nevertheless a ledger of wins and not losses. If you were looking for a new deck or just trying to figure out what you need practice against, these six are a good place to start looking.

Let's give up another huge congratulations to all the heroes and players that make this game great. The numbers don't lie: with enough practice and the right navigation, any hero can take down a Pro Quest-level event. For now, let's take a breath, goof off with some new Blitz decks (via Talishar or your local inkjet printer), and get ready. The new meta is coming, unlike any other before it.

Let's kick off this section with the new product announcement from last week: the next in line of the Armory decks, set to launch in July - is Boltyn! Though I'm not much of a Warrior or Brute player, the prospect of a new Armory deck gives me hope of new players picking up these classes and playing great games in the flesh and blood. Plus, Boltyn has been experiencing the glow-up of a lifetime. It seems like almost every set these days, new Legendaries and Majestics keep getting printed for this man - but you won't catch me complaining! I always love to see decks receive the support they need to be powerful players in the metagame. 

If you are even half as excited for the new Boltyn deck as I am, you should check out this recent Boltyn piece from Elly Bird and start getting your reps in early.

The first wave of a new product line has hit the beaches, and the battlefield was perhaps more prepared for it, than it was for the battlefield. The new Kayo, Armed and Dangerous Armory Deck has landed on Armory-supporting store shelves at a neat $40 price point, poised and marketed for a new player to pick up and play with at Armory. Featuring the hero that took down the most wins in his debut season, with a Living Legend track record that hearkens back to a certain other Star of the Show, this new product was teed up to win. Once cracked into, however...

...some interesting choices were made, by way of the spread of cards included. It's true, for example, that there are 3-card playsets of every named card in the 60-card deck - but a small number of the cards are foil, interrupting the playsets of certain powerful cards. Although I'm a bit of foil fanatic myself, I know that there is no shortage of high-level players that specifically do not include foils in their decks. This foil-exclusion isn't purely out of tournament-minded precautions: as much as I like foils, others detest them. Forcing a new player to contend with this in their first experience of a new card game is... well, like I said, it's an interesting choice.

Likewise, there are exactly enough cards to play with in the deckbox: a 60-card deck and five pieces of equipment. Notably, this means that you are at the mercy of each opponent: they can sideboard around you, but you cannot sideboard at all, not even into arcane defense. There's also no included play guide, neither for the game nor the nuances of the deck itself; however, LSS has supplied a dedicated webpage and youtube video. Part of me is happy that there is less paper waste, and part of me is concerned with the new player experience, but ultimately I'm glad that new players aren't left completely in the cold on this front.

Scarcity has also been a bit of a problem for this product, but your mileage may vary on this one. A quick look at the secondary market does show that there is a bit of a supply vs demand issue here, given that the product retails at $40, but Savage Sash alone was selling for $50+ for the first few days. Presently I see the Sash seated at $35 a piece, with Run Roughshod making up the difference at ~$5 each after shipping. Oh, and Strength Rules All, also clocking in at $5.50 each (or $15 for the RF). We'll see how that all settles over time, though, and I will report back about it.

Between now and the world premiere of the new set, there are just two more Battle Hardened events, happening on the same weekend, in Taichung and in Warsaw. I wish good luck to all the competitors who are going out to get their hands on a portion of the $2,000,000 yearly prize pool!

After that, the next weekend is the world premiere of the new set in Tokyo, as well as the inaugural Japanese Calling event; with Battle Hardened: Montreal to span the end of the month and the start of Nationals. I mean June. National championships begin in mid-June, though, so be sure to get in the practice when you can because it's a mere 14 days from the release of Part the Mistveil to the very first Nationals Event in the USA.

Thanks for tuning in to the weekly news of Rathe, players. Best of luck in all your games, and I'll catch you next time!