The Illusion Fades: Moving on from Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light

Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light has made Flesh and Blood history as the third adult hero to attain Living Legend status.

Prism was a beloved hero, and dedicated fans and competitive players alike picked up the deck for a number of reasons. Herald and aura variants of Prism played uniquely compared to any other deck in Flesh and Blood. Her ability to attack on unconventional gameplay axes made Prism a gatekeeper, preventing decks that couldn’t deal with spectra from frequenting the top tables of events. Prism also put up some of the most consistent results of any hero in the history of Classic Constructed- but the luminescence of that sun has dimmed, and the halls of the Great Library of Solana are quieter than usual. As a new meta with half as many Illusionist heroes dawns on the Nationals season, former devotees of Sol are considering which deck to master next.

For players looking to pick up a deck that will be competitive no matter how the new meta shakes out, Briar, Warden of Thorns is a solid choice. Briar has quickly become the deck to beat after The Calling: Singapore and Pro Tour: Lille, and that won’t change in the future. She has access to one of the most powerful non-attack actions in the game with Channel Mount Heroic, and one of the most efficient weapons in the game with Rosetta Thorn. Channel Mount Heroic’s power buffs mean that Briar can win even the most unfavored of matchups so long as she draws a little lucky- an experience that Prism players finding a perfectly timed Arc Light Sentinel might resonate with.

Opposite Briar’s aggressive variance, Oldhim offers a consistency that might appeal to players that liked the control plan of dropping spectra on the board every turn and defending as their opponent’s life whittled down. Both heroes inconvenience their opponent’s assets: Oldhim taxing resource points with his frostbites, and Prism taxing action points with her spectra. Just like a late Herald of Erudition was key to take tempo in aura games, Oldhim isn’t all about defending. Pitch stacking (and sometimes naturally drawing) fused Oaken Olds lets you assertively swing games in your favor.

Prism’s heralds offer a range of on-hit effects, from drawing cards to making spectral shields to buying back your best attacks. If you enjoyed the herald gameplan, you might want to consider other decks that pressure their opponents with on hits.

With cards like Pulverize and Crippling Crush, Bravo can present some of the most must-block attacks in the game. However, Bravo doesn’t just play reds- in fact, he plays relatively few. Bravo and Prism share an uncommon trait in Flesh and Blood, which is that their resource cards are also some of their strongest offensive tools. Yellow heralds fueled Prism’s turns with both power and resources, and Bravo uses blue cards like Tear Asunder and Macho Grande very similarly.

Katsu forces opponents to make difficult blocking decisions in a manner different from guardian. Mask of Momentum constantly threatening card draw and Katsu’s ability to grab the perfect follow-up from his deck mean that opponents are forced to interact with him or eat massive amounts of damage. However, Katsu’s aggression isn’t mindless. Like Prism’s complicated turns, correctly sequencing your attacks in Katsu is mandatory to maximize your offense. Ninja’s wide combat chains might also feel familiar to Prism players; spectral shields and Kodachis were famously compared for a reason.

As a deck, Prism was a gestalt, greater than the sum of each individual card. Staples like Passing Mirage and Tome of Divinity do nearly nothing in isolation, but the synergy of their interactions with other cards created a deck that could dominate the game.

In a similar vein, cards like Mordred Tide and Revel in Runeblood do literally nothing when played on their own. However, in a proper Runeblade deck, these cards can easily resemble 0 for 5 attacks with go again, making them some of the most undercosted damage cards in the game. Viserai is one of the most synergistic decks in Flesh and Blood, and he may be appealing to Prism players looking to feel the hum of cards working together in harmony.

Prism became Living Legend when Joris Verhelst played an instant Merciful Retribution on his opponent’s turn to present lethal arcane damage out of seemingly nowhere. The thrill of having agency over the outcome of the game not just on your turn, but also on your opponent’s turn is exhilarating and hard to give up once it’s been experienced. If playing at instant speed was the best part about playing Prism, then the next step in your CC journey might be playing Wizard.

Kano is the more aggressive option of the two, blitzing out opponents with both tall and wide arcane onslaughts that harshly punish decks without arcane barrier. His hero ability combined with powerful non-attack actions like Aether Wildfire and Lesson in Lava mean he almost always has an out to win a game at instant speed, no matter how dire the situation may seem.

Meanwhile, Iyslander hearkens back to aura Prism’s control playstyle. She systematically disrupts her opponent’s resources and assembles key pieces like Insidious Chill and Frost Hex. The opponent can’t voluntarily interact with these auras like spectra—they are forced to interact when Chill demands resources from them after a fused Ice Eternal on their turn. The instant nature of her disruption means that even at large life deficits, she’s never as behind on tempo as she seems.

The most obvious answer of where Illusionist players should look next is the newest member of the class. Dromai trades in soul for ash, but retains all of the powerful phantasm attacks and sticky board presence, this time in the form of allies rather than spectra. Summoning dragons is a different vibe than conjuring angelic guardians, but the play style is similar enough to be familiar without being boring. Because Prism relied so heavily on Light cards, there’s relatively little card overlap between Prism lists and Dromai lists- but the big names like Phantasmal Footsteps and Crown of Providence do share spots in the two illusionists’ inventories.

But Illusionists weren’t the first class to accrue advantages by building a board state of permanents- that honor goes to Mechanologist. Arguably, Dash’s plan of assembling Pistol items is even more robust than aura Prism’s. Induction Chambers and Plasma Purifiers are difficult to interact with outside of a stray Kyloria or Smashing Good Time. For both decks, the end result is the same: a massive board that threatens to kill the opponent with 1,000 paper cuts if the game runs too long.

Personally, the single biggest feature that drew me to Prism was her ability to use a transformational sideboard to seamlessly swap between herald aggro and spectra control. True hybrid decks are a rarity in Flesh and Blood; most decks sacrifice too much focus trying to squeeze two game plans into a single list of 80 cards. But when the hybrid plan works, its adaptive nature can sometimes create a deck with no bad matchups.

I just discussed the Pistol side of Dash, but she can also easily start the game with Talishar and a Teklo Pounder and not let off the gas until either she’s fatigued or the opponent is dead. This natural disposition to aggro plus access to go-long items made Dash one of the first hybrid decks in the game. It’s also one of the longest enduring hybrid decks; it has put up considerable results recently, including winning The Calling: Singapore. Whether you pick up Dash or not, you should expect to see her at competitive events in the near future.

Rhinar has been an underdog in past metas, but with Guardians potentially on the rise, his ability to force awkward blocks via intimidate may become a valuable asset. Thanks to Mandible Claws, Romping Club, and class cards that primarily block for 3, Brutes can fit both explosive offensive turns and patient weapon swings in the same deck. Brute also has a slight edge over other hybrid decks because it can fluidly move between plans in the same game; offensive cards kept in the deck as block fodder for Club can still be used to decimate the opponent’s life total when tempo calls. Since Rhinar’s plans aren’t centered on augmenting his weapons, no setup is needed to pull off this 180.

Ser Boltyn is a natural evolution to Prism both as a hybrid deck and as the only other Light hero in the game. Raydn, Duskbane can be used with charge cards to present an aggro offense that hangs with all but the fastest of decks. For opponents that outpace Raydn, Boltyn has access to one of the most unique and complicated combos in the game. A healthy soul, Courage of Bladehold, Cintari Sabers, and Lumina Ascension all combine to form a turn that can threaten 30+ damage and heal Boltyn while doing so.

The Sculptor of Arc Light’s time in Classic Constructed has ended. With one of its biggest gatekeepers absent, the metagame is wide open to decks formerly suppressed by spectra and spectral shields. It will be exciting to watch which heroes shine and which heroes fall off in the upcoming Nationals season.

I think it’s important to stress that this isn’t a farewell to Prism, but a temporary hiatus. With three adult Living Legends and Briar well on her way to being the fourth, the Living Legend format is looming as the next great addition to Flesh and Blood competitive play. And, after all this, for people that just want to play more Prism: she’s still legal in Blitz!