Thoughts and Baubles: Reflections and Resolutions

For the past two years, I've been setting intentional FAB goals for myself at the start of each year, using this practice to keep my focus and measure my growth. (You can read last year's goal-setting article here.) But in many ways, 2025 tested my skills in ways I'd not faced in the past. For the first time in my Flesh and Blood career, I was reset by the Living Legend system. Azalea, a hero I'd built my identity around since Arcane Rising, finally rotated out of Classic Constructed, and I have been flailing about ever since trying to develop expertise on a new hero. This is not a novel experience in the wider FAB world - I know many have lost their main and moved on to other decks - but as I'd thrown my lot in with a dark horse, it was new to me.

So 2025's goals ended up taking a weird turn. Let's look back.

Last year, I organized my goals along 3 separate categories (which I'll be doing again this year). Competitive goals represented the decks I planned to bring to the few larger events I get to in a year; these were decks I was going to take seriously, and ideally, that others would as well. Conceptual goals pertained to heroes or deck concepts that I was going to develop, either from some new angle or simply because I had little understanding of them personally. FInally, performance goals related to my results. I chose 2 goals under each of these headings - though as it would turn out, I wasn't able to stick with them through the whole year.

In addition, I added a new tool to my toolbox in 2025: an app called Board Game Stats, which gave me a method to quantitatively track my results, giving me real data to draw from. I cannot recommend this enough - and it doesn't have to be this app in particular, but using some formal system of tracking your wins and losses gets you out of vibe-based decisions and overcomes your personal biases. You'll see me draw from data I collected there as I reflect on 2025.

Competitive Goal #1: Get good with Nuu.

I can't remember a time when my excitement for a new hero's release exceeded that of Nuu. (Perhaps Azalea's debut would have stoked that same fire, but she was already a part of FAB when I discovered the game.) I loved her aesthetic, her backstory, the strategy of banishing cards, the heavy blue base, the trickery and exchange of power for disruption. Everything about the hero just worked for me, with one notable exception: her most competitive builds just weren't the direction I wanted to take. As a result, I was a relatively terrible Nuu player for the first 6 months of MST.

My first goal for 2025 was to take Nuu seriously, and to learn how I was supposed to be building and playing her. These were skills and play patterns I had not honed - but with Nuu's Living Legend points quickly amassing, I needed to get on it or I'd miss my chance to enjoy her entirely.

I began by mirroring Yuki Lee Bender's Count Your Blessings build. (I can't remember exactly which builds I ran, but here's an example of a successful Yuki CYB deck.) While I was able to find a lot of local success with the list, when I brought it to a Road to Nationals event shortly after The Hunted's release, I found that I'd been utterly insufficient in accounting for that set's impact on the meta, and I claimed an abysmal 1-4-1 record. I bounced around various alternatives as I abandoned CYB, but found only average results - I lacked the core understanding of Nuu required to pivot into a new build for a new meta - and before I could find my footing Living Legend had claimed her.

Competitive Goal #2: Find a viable Verdance.

This goal aged like milk. Just before the release of The Hunted, I wrote an article entitled The Rise and Fall of Verdance, in which I lamented the short-lived success of Verdance following Rosetta's release. I was enthralled with the Earth Wizard, and had been slowly building my own competence with her when the new year came. While Nuu was the verified threat who I was ready to get serious about, Verdance was the sleeper I wanted to awaken.

Me and everyone else, it turned out. A year later, Verdance is the meta, and thankfully I had found myself in the right position - and with the fundamentals already mastered - to harness that potential. In 2025, I managed a 65% win rate with Verdance, with an overall record of 30-16. In the process, she's elevated herself to the position of a comfort pick - something I never thought I'd be saying about a Wizard.

Concept Goal #1: Get Dash I/O into the Mechanoid.

If you're a Rathe Times subscriber, you've got access to my definitive guide to Mechanoid I/O, where I go extensively into the reasons why I believe Dash I/O is the best hero for the Nitro Mechanoid. Is it the best version of Dash I/O? Probably not. But I'm convinced it's the best Mechanoid deck out there. 

Unfortunately, it saw little support in 2025. I'd had high hopes that High Seas would offer us a new weapon that our gameplan could maximize, but it was too much to install a cog package alongside the already-demanding Hyper Driver kit. As a result, there was very little development on this deck since I wrote my magnum opus last May. From early previews, it looks like we may finally be getting Hyper Driver support in Compendium of Rathe, so expect me to revisit the subject with some updates.

I did manage to go 10-10 on Mechanoid I/O in 2025. So there's that.

Concept Goal #2: Whatever's happening with Warrior, I want Kassai to be part of it.

Man, that was a weak declaration. I think I was scared to over-commit myself to playing Kassai before seeing what The Hunted might do for her - and to be fair to myself, for most of 2025, Kassai and her Warrior brethren were sleeping. But since that time, Kassai's star has risen. In the middle of the year, I discovered the Draw Swords builds, and began to find success playing her that way. It was remarkable how consistent the deck's gameplan felt, and while I didn't play her often, at locals I won more than I lost (7-3).

Performance Goals #1 & 2: 3-0 an Armory every month, and Make Day 2 at a Calling.

I have a bad habit of playing too many decks, wanting to get a feel for everything and not particularly worrying whether I'm getting wins or not. But one of the objectives of my goal-setting is to get me to focus in a way that will improve my play on my best decks, rather than gaining passable competence on every deck; not only is that an expensive prospect, it holds me back from performing at the upper levels of play.

In 2025, I won 11 local Armories, which is... honestly, pretty close to my goal.

I did not, however, get to a Calling in 2025. My big trip of the year was GenCon. I brought my 7 year old daughter with me for the first time, so I didn't even play the all-day tournaments LSS held there - though we did play Smash Palace. Mid-year, a new goal emerged: getting her to a level where she felt confident enough to play a FAB event - which she did, at a Pro Quest this past October. She went 1-5 on Cindra, but she played all her own games and held up through those 6 rounds without throwing in the towel.

In lieu of a Calling Day 2, I'm going to claim success in my Road to Nationals Top 8 this past May. This was a milestone achievement for me, and cemented my confidence in Verdance.

So what am I aiming for in 2026? Informed by a year's worth of data collection and without the temptation of a new batch of heroes in the Q1 release, I've come up with this.

1. Continue repping Verdance.

It would be unwise for me to drop my comfort deck as soon as I turn the corner into a new year. Verdance is working for me, and I intend to keep her in the roster for any larger events I attend. We've been spoiled for mentors, but I've thrown in my lot with Majin Bae's approach to the hero, finding my ideal strategy in his mix of physical and arcane to exert steady pressure across the entire game. Watching his games on stream this past year, I've learned so much about how to evaluate situations as a Wizard.

2. Transfer my Azalea expertise to Marlynn.

When Nuu left CC, I erased Competitive Goal #1 from my whiteboard and wrote Marlynn's name instead. Indeed, much of 2025 was dedicated to learning Marlynn from Day 1. I was an early voice for the hero, but unfortunately I backed the wrong horse early on, working much too long on a boat-heavy build. In the meantime, other members of the Marlynn community found a successful build, and eventually I had to concede and get on board. (I do hold my one contribution, however, as being an early proponent for Codex of Bloodrot in the list, which has gone on to become an all-star for Marlynn.)

In 2025, I played 23 games of Marlynn... and won only 9 of them. But that's to be expected when you're developing a new decklist. In 2026, I want to push her over that 50% mark, and reclaim my title as a Ranger expert.

3. Make it with Mechanologist.

In every batch of competitive goals, I feel the need to insert one of my own creation. Mechanoid I/O is my creation, and I'm convinced it can work. Once Compendium infuses the card pool with another round of Hyper Driver support, I'm going to prove the concept.

With that said, I'll need to find opportunity. For one, I'm not going to force it. The meta needs to feel well suited before I'm willing to suit up. And for another, I'll be looking for a competitive event that I'm prepared to risk washing out at. (That means not an event with US Nationals qualification on the line - as I'm planning to be in Minneapolis this June, and I want a real chance at qualifying.)

With Azalea and Nuu both ascended, Dash is my favorite character who remains playable in CC. I owe it to her to play her more often.

4. OK, let's commit to Kassai.

Blood Follows Blade changed everything. Adding 3 more sources of Cintari Sellswords to the deck gave Kassai the dynamic gameplay she lacked, and I'm here for it. Warrior was one of my first classes (Dorinthea and Azalea being my first 2 decks), and with each new Warrior release I've eagerly jumped in; but the fundamental issue of the class has always been a lack of dynamic strategic options, and that's remained unanswered until now. Kassai represents a hero who's capable of responding to the overall gameplan of an opponent, which is generally how I like to posture.

Now you might be asking what I'm doing with 4 heroes on the competitive roster. But one thing I learned in my last 2 years is that locking into 1 or 2 heroes for a full year is much more narrow than I'd accounted for. That was fine when my mains were Azalea and a faltering Verdance, but in 2026 I'm setting myself up with options to account for meta shifts, Living Legends, and new releases. Verdance and Kassai are ready to go, though the former's days may be numbered; Marlynn remains in active refinement; and Dash I/O is ready for Q2.

1. It's high time I learned Gravy.

When High Seas released, I was in hog heaven. Pirates were an incredibly exciting new class, and Ranger and Mechanologist were already my top 2 classes in the game. Needing to limit myself somewhere, I decided to opt out of Gravy Bones for the first months of the set's release. (Besides, my daughter decided she was going to follow up Cindra with the undead captain, so she'd laid claim to my good pulls.)

But as time passed, I began to suspect that I would actually love this hero. Access to the topdeck has long been the tie that binds my favorite FAB decks together, and his version of allies felt like my favorite parts of Illusionists without the fickle parts I dislike. He was a heavily-blue deck, he used boats, and I can't resist the song of the sea.

So I slowly began to amass the cards necessary to play him. And now I'm only a few cards away from a legitimate Gravy Bones build (and all at a much lower price tag - sometimes it pays to be late to the party!)

In 2026, I'm going to make up for those lost months and learn the fundamentals of the Pirate Necromancer.

2. I... might be a decent Katsu player?

Sometimes, stats surprise you. I've seldom had a Katsu deck built, but once in a while I'll watch a game and think, "That's doing some cool stuff." Or I'll watch a deck tech - this one was Sam Dando's - and realize there's a lot more happening beneath the surface. So I built Katsu this summer. And, well, Katsu put in work. I only played him at two armories, but across those 2 events, I lost only 1 game.

When you get early results like that, with a deck you just picked up, on a class you don't play often, it sorta feels like you should maybe spend more time on it. (I was also 6-2 on Fai in 2025, reinforcing that I should be playing Ninja more than I do.) So in 2026, I'm gonna follow the stats and see where they lead. It might just be that Katsu resonates with me, and I've been too stubborn to see it for all this time.

3. Hone my Assassin skills on the one true Arakni.

When Nuu hit Living Legend, I immediately set about repurposing my Assassin cards for another deck. I thought, "Marionette is probably the logical next step." But I quickly learned that daggers and stealth attacks were not what I loved about Nuu. It was the banishing.

That really left me with only one choice; and with Hunter or Hunted?, that choice became realistic. Huntsman is the deck where I can work on my fundamentals while I wait for Nuu II.

There are three possibilities for how this goal plays out in 2026. The first is that LSS gives me a second Mystic Assassin (ideally, it's still Nuu, as I love that character). The second is that Uzuri gets enough support to make her a compelling alternative. But I allow for a third: that Huntsman themselves might just capture my imagination, and perhaps this has all been a long journey back to my initial excitement for the class, back when Dynasty revealed it.

4. Kayo steals the show.

If you'd have told me last year that I'd have a Brute on my 2026 resolutions - and that the Brute would be a version of Kayo - I'd never have believed it. And yet, I've always had an inexplicable fondness for Brute gameplay. My first FAB article was on Rhinar, and I've long maintained decks for both him and Levia (I did finally buy that Levia, Redeemed, and I'm not sorry).

Kayo, Underhanded Cheat swept in like a tidal wave. The only part of Super Slam that interested me, I was quickly taken with another Sam Dando build and was instantly getting results with it (3-0 at my local Armory). This is a deck I want to play more of.

These goals speak for themselves. I'm very happy with my 'monthly Armory win' goal, as it did a lot to keep me on track and not throwing away my Armory games on some janky new idea when I should be getting real reps in on important decks. (Without the Talishar habit, my IRL games are an extremely important resource.)

Reflecting on my 2025 results, I managed to get to three Tier 2 events and landed a Top 8 once; I'd like to repeat that. I'm distinguishing that from Tier 3 events, where (realistically) I'd just like to play in one, but (ideally) I'd make Day 2 at one. We'll see if my dad life allows for such a thing.

Finally, I need to acknowledge that I've lost quite a bit to Living Legend in 2025. Sandscour Azalea was a core part of my identity, and I no longer feel I can strut around the internet claiming expertise on a deck. I want that back. Maybe that will come with Mechanoid I/O; I'd love to think that the support she's lacking is just around the corner, and I'll be far ahead of anyone else on developing her. Maybe Marlynn will be the successor to Azalea (or perhaps even Riptide - I've recently taken to Sandscour Riptide and it feels pretty good). Perhaps, after all these years, I'll find that Warrior inspires me to innovate, thanks to Kassai. Heck, it could be Katsu, for all I know.

Wherever these goals end up taking me, the important part is I'm charting a course and remaining intentional about my hobby. I'd encourage you to do the same.

Happy New Year, FAB Family!