It's a snowy winter's day here in Colorado, so cozy up with me by the fires of competition! Grab a mug of something stout and strong, because it is time to talk about the news. I scour far and wide for news to bring back to you, but for today, we're not going to stray too far from home: the Endless Winter is frightful, after all, and the Winter's Bite that cuts as deep as a Frost Fang just won't do.
Road to Nationals and the Pro Tour Meta
It has been an eventful four weeks, with competition ramping up as the weeks winnowed the wheat from the chaff. One of the most amazing things to take away form this season is the sheer diversity in representation: 23 of the 25 different heroes took home victories during the season, with only Teklovossen and Arakni still lurking in the shadows, still waiting for their time to shine. Perhaps some unknown decklist is about to surface; perhaps it will be one of the seven heroes who took down 20+ R2N events. Only once all the blood is on the sand will we know, so tune in to the streams if you can't be there in person: the Pro Tour is coming to Los Angeles in a week!
There's a lot to digest, but that's why you check in with us for all of your fabtcg news. Over the weeks, several decks have fluctuated in popularity-- Kano took home some early wins off of the unsuspecting, while Kayo pushed his way through the meta with a deck that defied initial understanding. As players gained more practice, more repetitions, and more understanding, Dromai let loose her dragons and made her stamp on the metagame be known. Only two heroes cleared 30 wins in the R2N season: Kayo and Dromai. I would highly recommend making sure that whatever deck you bring to Los Angeles, be that for The Calling, the Battle Hardened, or the Pro Tour itself: be prepared to see those two deck for sure.
Road to Nationals Classic Constructed Final Results
Metagame Minute parts 1, 2, 3, 4.
The Deathmatch Arena Leaderboard also paints us a picture that is difficult to misunderstand:
Kassai: 58 wins
Kayo: 40 wins
Betsy: 20 wins
Olympia and Victor: 10 wins each
Rhinar: 2 Draft wins.
This limited format is a lot of fun to explore, but always keep the threat of Kassai in mind if you are going to be competing in Draft-- she's a clear head and shoulders above the other contenders, netting almost as many wins in excess of second place, as Betsy took home altogether. Do remember, however, that if everyone at the table is drafting Kassai, the other heroes should be pretty wide open for an industrious spirit to craft victory with.
Battle Hardened Philadelphia was another barn-burner of an event, one that saw Uzuri take home yet another victory. It just goes to show, Flesh and Blood is a game for players: if you get good with your hero, if you pay attention to the meta and craft your switchblade to slip between the breaks in the metagame armor, then you can absolutely rise to the top. There is no singular best deck, or even really a top 3. We just keep seeing different heroes, different players, come to success. I am always so excited to see the different outcomes from all over the world: I remember at the start of the year, we had freshly witnessed eight different heroes take down the eight most recent events. So, when it comes down to: who's gonna win the Pro Tour? What are my predictions for the top eight, top four players, top three heroes? All I can say is this: it is going to be someone who earned it.
Living Legends
Legend Story Studios also treated us to a neat little piece showcasing the Living Legend format! It's always nice to have a format that encourages us to play with all of our cards (barring a small banlist, did you really want to face off against Awakening anyways?). Not only is there a veritable Who's Who of decks and heroes in the format as it stands, there's neat little breakdown for each. If it piques your interest, I can't help but recommend: we here at The Rathe Times wrote up a little something for our subscribers on the Living Legend format as well, so before you check in with Parker Brown and the official byline with LSS, Kevin Brayer has his own perspectives that we would love for you to check out.
Living Legend used to be a Legend itself, you know. Once upon a time, no heroes had quite checked out of the Classic Constructed scene just yet, and we were all scrambling to get points in a field of few. I myself have only put 10 points on Bravo-- 1% of the way there from little old me. Nowadays there's a whole scene of support, with a proper Banned and Restricted list and everything. Who knows what the future holds for this format, but what we do know is this: there's no shortage of side-events at the big shows for players to shuffle up and play with some of their oldest and most powerful Flesh and Blood cards. If you want a leg up in competing, here are some of the articles from Kevin Brayer that will help you win!
