Recap: Skirmish Season Three, Final Week

Skirmish Season 3 has concluded and while we’ve had a diverse representation of heroes across the 52 card Blitz format, four heroes fighting for the title of “best” have done better than the rest. Since day 1-ish of this season our three front runners were Ira, Crimson Haze, Kano and Briar. The two former have been synonymous with Blitz for quite some time and since Briar’s debut in Tales of Aria, many said it was just a matter of time until her consistency, power and success spilled over to Blitz. Many were right. After the first week’s results came in, Dorinthea saw great success worldwide. The credit for Dorinthea’s recent Blitz resurgence is still up for debate with some saying that due to Briar’s reluctance to defend, Dorinthea can get a massive Dawnblade happening without much resistance. The Welcome to Rathe Warrior has always been one known to have reasonable matchups across the board, with none too polarised.

The results are in and it is indeed the Elemental Runeblade, Briar who saw the most first place finishes across Skirmish Season 3 at now fewer than 18. The Warrior, Dorinthea finished with no fewer than 15 wins, the Elemental Guardian, Oldhim with no fewer than 13 and both Ninja, Ira, Crimson Haze and Wizard, Kano finished with no fewer than 10 wins each.

In regards to last weekend’s winners, many of the trends observed throughout the season were still in effect with Blitz Skirmish victories coming in from across the globe from Lexi, Bravo, Oldhim, Kano, Dorinthea, Briar and Ira, Crimson Haze.

The Guardians, Oldhim and Bravo seem to have found the sweet spot in the metagame. With many builds holding in one hand, a one handed hammer and in the other, the Rampart of the Ram’s head, equipped with Crown of Seeds and some Arcane Barrier, the issues with the Briar matchup may very well be a thing of the past. Oldhim’s largest challenge of late has been rumoured to be that of time itself with many saying the time limit being a tough one to beat in closing out games, however the data suggests Oldhim has been sealing the deal all over the planet and over the weekend he picked up no fewer than two wins. After over 100 days of no in store play, Guardian guy Cayle McCreath took Bravo to a first place finish in Auckland, New Zealand, crushing an Oldhim in the final. The event saw a top 4 consisting of Bravo, two Oldhims and Dorinthea. Not one of the six Briars made the top 8 playoffs in this highly Briar-mindful metagame.

Briar has finished the way she started- quick, powerful, consistent and successful. Briar picked up no fewer than five Blitz Skirmish wins over the weekend. Briar is the quickest deck Flesh and Blood has to offer with almost all cards costing 0, with the exception of Command and Conquer, and thanks to her relatively linear aggro gameplan and flat learning curve, Briar is been the most popular and best performing hero by quite some margin. Briar has her counters largely in the form of Oldhim and Ice Lexi, however due to the recent rise of Oldhim, Lexi has dropped off significantly from the top tables.

Lexi picked up one victory over the weekend. Lexi’s Ice build is fantastic against quicker decks and ones that like to “go wide” and attack multiple times a turn, however Guardians, Ice or otherwise can be quite the brick wall for the Elemental Ranger. Ira, Crimson Haze took home a first place finish too. Ira dictates the pace of the game with constant pressure from Harmonized Kodachi for 1 then 2 followed by a strong red line attack action much of the time, defending well and making the most of each and every resource.

Kano and Dorinthea each collected no fewer than three wins each last weekend. As previously touched upon, Dorinthea’s Dawnblade demands defending. She has reasonable matchups across the board and can play the aggressor role very well. Players around the globe identified a way to attack Briar and the rest of the meta and have seen steelblade supremacy and stellar results. Wherever there is Blitz, there is Kano. Despite starting the game at 15 life rather than the standard 20, his ability to essentially change the rules of the game and take unprepared opponents by surprise with jaw dropping damage on his turn or the opponent’s will always keep the format guessing. Kano will return.

Chane did well this season with no fewer than five victories and created many discussions around Duskblade however, whether it’s due to consistency, popularity, some number of self-fulfilling prophecies or potentially a case of another hero playing Chane’s role in the metagame better, the Shadow Runeblade sits in the shadows of Kano, Ira, Dorinthea and the Guardian gang..for now. Prism, Kassai and Rhinar picked up a handful of victories between them across Skirmish Season 3 and are hungry for more. The season’s environment was broad, bloody and beautiful and whenever the next Blitz battle takes place, there are many young heroes looking to equip themselves and... step right up!

Red Riot Games - Canada

"In a weekend event that will remain in infamy, our first in person Skirmish was filled with 30 competitive players. Though many players may have been compelled to create a permanent skill set in drafting the perfect deck, the character array was spread in favor of the red-haired rune blade delight. While it may have been believed that we would see our more seasoned players show up to this shindig, there was a surprising number of new players that made a showing.

Some players in the event played their very first games of Flesh and Blood during the draft. One might think that the more competitive of players would leave these newer folk in the dust. Something quite the opposite happens. Rather, players spent time helping those who didn’t know how, to put their draft decks together. It is always something special to see skilled players lending a hand and helping the next rotation of hungry people with important information.

When the rounds started, it was often that the newer players went to time, but these were never met with frustration, but encouragement. What is also seen as the try and true mark of a great community was people who have had access to cards for months, handing over commons to new players. This helps offset the financial burden of getting into a card game.

However, other games were played with the fiercest of combat, friends, not rivals clashed with Brier against… Yet Another Brier, almost highlander like, there can be only one!

After handing out Pizza to our hungry players in between rounds (gotta stay hungry, but not literally), we got front row seats to the Rune Blade war zone.

In our second pod however, there was an Ice king slowly frostbite tokening his way to victory until finally seeing the final match where a hammer came smashing through a rune blade's head with a earth shattering crack! It was Canada's own, Dimos with a K! Rocking his Guardian yet again!

Once the top 8 cut was announced Dimos walked up and said to me “I guess I won't win the event, there is no way I will make it into the finals, I can’t draft with the big boys at the top table”. But he was wrong, not only did he “draft with the big boys” he landed hammer to face as he cracked his way through every Rune Blade that dared to stand in his path! When Finally playing in the finals he made short work of the final red-haired menace within 12 minutes!

Dimos claimed victory over all that stood before him going 5-0 in draft-swiss and 3-0 in top 8. With the Frost Giant (Or is it Frost Dwarf) himself Oldhim!"

Top 8:

1st: Dimos Kaloupis
2nd: Sacha Akow
3rd-4th: Steven Dunnet
3rd-4th: Shawn Dhaliwal
5th-8th: Jackie Chiem
5th-8th: Joel Repta
5th-8th: Aaron Shantz
5th-8th: Nghia Tran

Word from our Champion

Name: Dimos Kaloupis

Question #1: What was the best card in your deck today?
Answer: In swiss, where I had a strong defensive and fatigue deck, I think it was definitely Turn Timber. In top 8, where my Oldhim deck was a lot more aggressive, it was Entwine Earth. Paired variously with Weave Ice, Weave Earth, and Earthlore Surge, it helped me steal tempo in all 3 of my playoff matches.

Question #2: What card do you most want to see pack 1, pick 1?
Answer: Oaken Old. I think it is probably the only card worth building around and forcing a deck. Combined with how common Sow Tomorrow is, one Oaken Old is often two Oaken Olds

Curio Cavern Hobbies & Gaming - United States

"From brand new players to seasoned veterans, 21 players showed up to Curio Cavern in Springfield, Virginia, to battle it out in a six round Draft event for their chance for the beautiful Razor Reflex mat and a cold-foil briar. After 6 rounds of Swiss, and 3 elimination rounds, 5th seed Don “Donnie” Gallitz was victorious with his Briar deck against 2nd Seed Anthony Junta’s Oldhim in the finals."

Top 8:

1st: Don Gallitz - Briar
2nd: Anthony Junta - Oldhim
3rd-4th: Danny McGeehan - Oldhim
3rd-4th: Evan McGrew - Briar
5th-8th: Matthew Rhodes - Briar
5th-8th: James Chang - Lexi
5th-8th: James Foley - Briar
5th-8th: Evan Gassman - Lexi

Quick Questions with Curio Cavern Skirmish Winner Don Gallitz

Question: What did you draft for the first pod, second pod and top 8 pod?

Don G: Briar, Oldhim, Briar

Question: What were your pack 1 pick 1s in each pod?

Don G: “Red Bramble Spark, Red Earthlore Surge, Deep Blue”

Question: Sealed, Draft, Blitz, Classic Constructed: what is the best format and why?

Don G: I think draft is the best format - I love how it challenges you to read the flow of the cards and test your ability to adapt your game plan.

Question: As someone who defeated Matt Rogers at the Calling Dallas, what did you learn from that experience that you used in the win today?

Don G: Lol that he is a gracious opponent - you’ll find everyone is beatable in this and all TCGs - for some reason I’ve always had success vs “known” players — it’s the sneaky up and comers that get me — the key is you never want to play two opponents — if you are playing vs a deck and vs a “reputation” you’ve got a ton to overcome mentally in order to get a positive result.

Question: As a seasoned TCG player, is there any advice you want to give new players reading this at home?

Don G: Seasoned! I’m like Thanksgiving leftovers on day 5 — you know it’s probably gonna still taste good but do you really want to suffer the consequences after? On a more serious note it is nice to find that after a 17 year hiatus from TCGs I can come back and be competitive

Quick Questions with the other Top 8 Participants

2nd: Anthony Junta

Question: Out of all of your drafts picks yesterday, what were the most impactful picks that helped seal some wins for you throughout the day?

Anthony J: Evergreen (Red) was clutch in the semis to win in the Oldhim mirror. Also I was able to get Amulets of Earth pretty late, which is basically a recurring block 2 in oldhim.

Question: What were your pack 1 pick 1s in each pod?

Anthony J: R1 Red Evergreen, R2 Yellow Ball Lightning, R3 Red Heaven's Claws

Question: What was the most difficult decision you had to make during the Top 8 draft? Were there any cards you didn't want to pass that you ultimately did in favor of another card?

Anthony J: I started the top8 draft with a number of strong Briar cards but ultimately had to pivot into Oldhim when it became clear Briar wasn't open. I think it was right, but it was a tough decision to abandon 5 of my first 8 picks, including rites of Lightning, Red sigil of Suffering, heaven's claws, and Red ball lightning

3rd-4th: Danny McGeehan

Question: Out of all of your drafts picks yesterday, what were the most impactful picks that helped seal some wins for you throughout the day?

Danny M: Nothing feels better than a pack 1 pick 1 Deep Blue and I opened one of those during my second pod. For pods 1 and 3, I ended up drafting Oldhim and going with the "3 for 7" archtype to abuse high value cards like red Snow Unders, Entangles, and Break Grounds to put constant pressure on my opponent while blocking wiht two cards most turns. When Oldhim is played this way, you can run a tight 30 card deck and still either kill your opponent or fatigue them based on the value you are getting each turn cycle.

Question: What were your pack 1 pick 1s in each pod?

Danny M: Blue Electrify, Deep Blue, Red Ball Lightning

Question: What was the most difficult decision you had to make during the Top 8 draft? Were there any cards you didn't want to pass that you ultimately did in favor of another card?

Danny M: Pivoting away from Briar and onto Oldhim late into pack 1 drafts. It always feels bad to give up your best element cards (in this case lightning) when you are making a pivot, but you have to put trust in playing your seat. Everything worked out in the end and I walked away with a strong Oldhim deck while being surrounded by two Briar drafters. The hardest decision I made during the final pod was drafting a Sting of Sorcery instead of a Buckler after already knowing I was locked into Oldhim. I was pretty certain the Buckler wouldn't wheel, but you just can't give Briar players more free sources of Arcane.

3rd-4th: Evan McGrew

Question: Out of all of your drafts picks yesterday, what were the most impactful picks that helped seal some wins for you throughout the day?

Evan M: Ball Lightning, Ice Storm, Overflex, Mark of Lightning

Question: What were your pack 1 pick 1s in each pod?

Evan M: Red Autumn’s Touch, Mark of Lightning, Yellow Ball Lightning

Question: What was the most difficult decision you had to make during the Top 8 draft? Were there any cards you didn't want to pass that you ultimately did in favor of another card?

Evan M: Most difficult decision was a red Stir the Wild Wood vs Plume of Evergrowth around pack 3 pick 3. I needed red attacks, had a decent amount of earth cards to fuse, but also knew that Plume could payoff huge in Oldhim matchups. I went with the Plume knowing that I would not see another one, and then prioritized red attacks for the remainder of the picks when possible.

5th-8th: Matthew Rhodes

Question: Out of all of your drafts picks yesterday, what were the most impactful picks that helped seal some wins for you throughout the day?

Matthew R: Bramble spark and singeing steel blade were most impactful through my first two drafts. A double bramble into steel blade could present multiple arcane and a large attack, with a sword swing on the back end. This line would also give enough embodiments to block effectively against dominated attacks if needed.

Question: What were your pack 1 pick 1s in each pod?

Matthew R: Round one blink. Round two red earthlore surge. Round three red earthlore surge

Question: What was the most difficult decision you had to make during the Top 8 draft? Were there any cards you didn't want to pass that you ultimately did in favor of another card?

Matthew R: Most difficult decision was not pivoting from Oldhim. My initial picks set up well for Oldhim but around picks 5-8 I started to see the combination of brambles and steel blade that had worked so well in the first rounds. I made the decision not to pivot to Briar because I was leaning more ice and had good ice blues, but this proved to be the wrong decision. I think the real tough decision I made in the top 8 was going with what I thought was the better card pool initially over the play style I favor. I chose cards at first over what I'm comfortable playing and piloting the Oldhim deck didn't click.

5th-8th: James Chang

Question: Out of all of your drafts picks yesterday, what were the most impactful picks that helped seal some wins for you throughout the day?

James C: Red Overflex

Question: What were your pack 1 pick 1s in each pod?

James C: Red Bramble Spark, Red Electrify, Sting of Sorcery

Question: What was the most difficult decision you had to make during the Top 8 draft? Were there any cards you didn't want to pass that you ultimately did in favor of another card?

James C: Pivoting off of Briar to Lexi as Briar dried up after heavily pick Briar for the first 5-6 picks. Red Overflex for Red Ice Quake.

5th-8th: James Foley

Question: Out of all of your drafts picks yesterday, what were the most impactful picks that helped seal some wins for you throughout the day?

James F: My first two rounds, I drafted Oldhim. I pulled about 3-4 defense reactions in both drafts which set me up for the long game. These allowed me to block big dominated attacks with a defense reaction from arsenal and sealed some games for me. I picked as many 7 attack, 3 cost cards as I could and I happened to pull a Crown of Seeds, which was very strong.

Question: What were your pack 1 pick 1s in each pod?

James F: Round one: Red Inspire Lightning I think. I intended to go Briar and picked 2 lightning and then earth on the 3rd pick. On the 4th pick I decided to switch to Oldhim. Round 2: Crown of Seeds and then I focused on Oldhim from there. Round 3: Red Ball Lightning.

Question: What was the most difficult decision you had to make during the Top 8 draft? Were there any cards you didn't want to pass that you ultimately did in favor of another card?

James F: Honestly, I think it was the decision to play Briar in top 8 having never played a game with that hero before. I have always drafted Lexi or Oldhim and prefer playing them but Ball Lightning and Red Bramble Spark in my first 2 picks moved to briar. I had passed up a buckler and several equipment pieces in round 1 in favor of a few additional blues. I was low and blue and needed the pitch so I opted to pass on some useful equipment.

5th-8th: Evan Gassman

Question: Out of all of your drafts picks yesterday, what were the most impactful picks that helped seal some wins for you throughout the day?

Evan G: The Ball Lightning / Frazzle / Mark of Lightning combo is incredibly powerful in lightning Lexi. A five-damage attack turns into a ten-damage attack assuming your opponent blocks Frazzle out of hand. I noticed opponents were mixing up Frazzle with Buzz Bolt frequently -- the difference is subtle, but can be the difference in a game.

Question: What were your pack 1 pick 1s in each pod?

Evan G: Full disclosure: I’m not the best at drafting. I struggled reading signals in my second pod, for example. That said, my first pack one pick one in pod one was a red Ball Lightning. I picked a Red Lightning Press first in pod two, and I picked a Red Electrify first in pod three.

Question: What was the most difficult decision you had to make during the Top 8 draft? Were there any cards you didn't want to pass that you ultimately did in favor of another card?

Evan G: Passing on a Coat of Frost was difficult because I knew I wouldn’t see it again. Having that minor disruption on demand would’ve been nice, especially on the inevitable off turn when playing Lexi (no arrows on turn two, ugh!), but ultimately decided it was too early to pick an equipment that wasn’t supporting my deck’s overall strategy.

Akiba Underground - United States

"Our event had 12 players, mostly from our local group, but with a few players who travelled across state to play in the event. One player was a regular who actually travelled all the way back from Indiana where he'd just relocated, so that he could participate! He ended up being rewarded for the trip, as he purchased a box of Arcane Rising that had an Arcanite Skullcap in it!"

"As you can see, it was a very diverse field! It seemed like a lot of decks were ready to take on the prominent meta-decks, and so a number of aggressive strategies to counter Briar's explosive output were in the field. As it turned out, there were only a few of those decks on offer, and so some of those decks didn't fare as well. Our top 4 included both Dorinthea builds, the lone Ira deck, and the Viserai deck.

The semi-finals featured a rematch between the two Dorintheas, and the finals were also a rematch between Martin on Dorinthea and Tim on Ira, but history was doomed to repeat itself in both cases, and ultimately after an extremely close match Tim and Ira were champions. 

The Viserai deck attempted to counter explosive aggressive strategies like Briar by moving into an aggressive direction, aiming to churn out several attacks and runechants spread across them rather than trying to go tall, as red-line decks essentially can't block arcane damage anyway. In particular, swapping in cards like Meat and Greet additional copies of Mauvrion Skies, as well as the very powerful Plunder Run. This would ultimately be very effective until the deck ran into Tim's Ira build. Rather than going with an aggro strategy, Tim was utilizing a full package of defense reactions including the full 6 copies of Flic Flak (10 total defense reactions) harkening back to earlier formats when Ira control was very prevalent. This proved to be an excellent meta-call, as the predominantly proactive field struggled against the strong defenses of Control Ira, and her deadly Kodachis.

Top 4:

1st: Timothy Barron - Ira, Crimson Haze
2nd: Martin Vilem - Dorinthea
3rd-4th: Patrick Abbazia - Dorinthea
3rd-4th: Justin Teague - Viserai

"Everyone had a great time, and we're all super hype for Everfest! Our store plans to host some WTR drafts on our regular draft night leading up to the farewell event, so everyone can get some practice in!"

Scry Games - Phillipines

"The first ever Flesh and Blood Skirmish in the Philippines hosted by Scry Games was joined by 17 players for a total of 5 swiss rounds and a cut to top 4. After five rounds of Swiss, it was 1 Ira, 1 Dorinthea, 1 Chane, and 1 Kano who made the top cut.

Semi-finals - Kano vs Chane

The Kano player's only loss was in the 3rd round against the sole Chane of the tournament. It was red hot from the start, with Chane allowing the Kano to go first, and retaliating with their own chane of attacks. After well-placed blocks and going down to 1 HP, the Kano player was able to find an Aether Flare + Snapback + Blazing Aether combo, reducing the Chane's player's life from 16 to 2. With a full hand at the end of their turn, Kano was able to find a Storm Strider-ed Stir the Aetherwinds into a Voltic Bolt from hand, securing the victory.

Finals (Ira vs Kano)

The Kano player started the game with the usual set of equipment while the Ira player started with three nullrune and a Snapdragon Scalers. The Kano player opted to go second but failed to do any damage during the first turn. Kano went on the defensive from the get-go, choosing to block with two cards and retaliate with a Crucible + Voltic Bolt for the next two turns. Kano then went down to 3hp but was able to find a Stir+Snapback+Blazing combo during his own turn, which Ira chose not to prevent due to having an all-red hand. As Kano drew up and Ira began their attack, Kano popped his Talismanic Lens to topdeck an Aether Flare followed up by a topdeck red Snapback. With Ira having an all-red hand, she could do nothing but succumb to the flames of the Wizard."

The Game Cellar - United States

"Congratulations to the man, the myth and now the local legend, Sam Lee! He, along with Dorinthea Ironsong battled through 5 rounds, then a top 8 single elimination bracket to claim top prize in the FaB Skirmish event today.

Andrew Ruden and Sam Lee are locals. As in they live in the city of El Monte locals! It was so exciting and a very proud moment as a store owner to see them grow as players. Andrew has been to nationals, Sam spreads the joy of the game at every game store and event he attends.

Having them both place in the top 8, with Sam taking the win was a crowning achievement. That's just their story. Tiffany, along with Sam and Andrew have been a staple at the store since FaB got its foothold. A brilliant tactician, she will always help train new players while mastering the nuances of the game, Jon drove down from Santa Barbara, CA because of his love of the game. Buds Wilson and Phillip come up from Orange County to hang out with the gang for most Sunday armory events, always bringing the straight good vibes. Wilson's Dash Blitz deck was a finer tuned version of his Classic Constructed Dash deck. This wasn't her first time in the winners circle and it's not a deck to be taken lightly. Anthony is an active outside of the box thinking gamer, where most meta's get stale with the same decks, Anthony will always find a way to bring the pain and help others around him grow as players. Paulo! Paulo is a newer player and a close friend to others in the community. A highly competitive and talented player in any TCG, seeing him here is not a surprise.

Thank you to everyone who stopped by today, know that your flesh and blood and tears are dear to the store."

Top 8:

1st: Sam Lee - Dorinthea
2nd: Wilson Tran - Dash
3rd-4th: Paulo Maru Pengson - Ira, Crimson Haze
3rd-4th: Jon Ho -Viserai
5th-8th: Phillip Vu - Chane
5th-8th: Tiffany Le - Oldhim
5th-8th: Andrew Rudin - Chane
5th-8th: Anthony Pham - Briar

Hobby Master - New Zealand

"With Auckland's long 107 lockdown ending just the day before, our Christmas Skirmish was as much a celebration as it was a tcg event. The joy of pushing cardboard around again was palatable in the community. For Auckland players, it was a chance to put a lot of theory into practice with many of the usual faces making the top 8. Of particular note was the amount of new faces who'd found the game in said lockdown. It was a great day had by all, and a special thanks to our judge, Iain Kenderdine, for helping us out on the day. Well done to Kingley Readhead who took a mat home, and in particular to Cayle McCreath who smashed it with his Bravo deck."

Boutique Awesome - Canada

"It was a cold and windy morning at Boutique Awesome, although all the players were filled with warmth from the fire within to vanquish their foes in a competitive yet fun Flesh and Blood Blitz Skirmish Win-A-BoxBoxBox event!

Thanks to the 24 players who attended the prize pool grew from 1 Booster Box to a total of 6 booster boxes spread throughout the top 16 players! Woot Woot! Not to mention all the awesome promo cards and playmats supplied by Legend Story Studios that everyone loved! Everyone was quite happy to be able to play some larger competitive tournaments and everyone had a great time.

Congratulations to Frédéric Poitras for winning it all and also to all the other Awesome players that came out for such a fun event! We can't wait to be able to host more larger events and see you all there! Stay Awesome!"

Card Merchant Nelson - New Zealand

"We had 14 players at Card Merchant Nelson on Sunday 28th November with a few out of towners joining the event. It was ToA draft format and we had 6 rounds of swiss with 2x drafts and a Top 8 draft.

The top 8 had four Lexi players, two Briars, and two Oldhims, with Dan on Oldhim vs Thomas on Briar in the finals, Thomas taking it out in the end.

A great day was had by all and many great games were played in the Flesh and Blood!"

Board in the City - United Kingdom

"Board in the City held its Oldhimas Blitz Skirmish event full of festive fun and great camaraderie. We had players from Southampton, Bournemouth, Winchester and Bristol!! After 5 rounds of very competitive Blitz we had our top 8 which included 2 Kano! 2 Ira, 1 Briar, 2 Oldhim and a Lexi. 2 Kano, Ira and Briar made top 4....... We ended up with a Kano vs Briar final which ended with Nacho taking Briar to the win. Altogether a great event with prizes for the fancy dressers and some lovely food and drink. Thanks to all the staff for a great day."