Roll of Honor: Briar, Warden of Thorns

The moment she noticed it, like pinpricks toying with her spine, she knew there was no way to avoid it.

“Why now?” Briar questioned, scowling, as seismic vibrations rumbled quietly through the earth and invisible electricity buzzed through the air. She gazed over at her new friends, who were huddled nearby around the dim light of the campfire, sharing merry stories to keep their spirits high. They were oblivious to the beckoning of the Strale.

It was unfair, to say the least. She was just starting to warm up to this team of misfits and the strange world they fought so hard to protect. To be ripped away from her adventure so soon by the whims of nature itself… Briar realized she was actually trembling with frustration.

There was no point fighting it. The Strale was infinite, all-encompassing, and very, very aggressive. It would be like fighting against the wind or the sky. But what could possibly be so important that the Strale was calling her away to some unknown place?

Briar bit her lip, slowly sheathed her Rosetta Thorn, then slinked away into the woods without saying goodbye. Only a silver-haired Wayfarer noticed her departure, raising a curious eyebrow.

Debuting in Tales of Aria on September 24th 2021, Briar redefined what it meant to be an aggressive deck in Flesh and Blood. Initially set free into the wild at full power, Briar utilized a pool of cheap go again attacks to trigger her hero ability several times, nicknamed "cheerios" by the community due to the large number of 0-cost cards. After her hero card received an errata, Briar found success again through the mighty Earth majestic Channel Mount Heroic, which when combined with several attacks in a turn, unleased an overwhelming amount of damage.

Briar continued to reign as a premium aggro deck in the metagame for nearly two years, pressuring other heroes to outpace her raw aggression, or find ways to survive the combination of physical and arcane damage. The Elemental Runeblade found new life once again at the 2023 United States National Championship, with an innovative build that focused on control, leveraging the Embodiment of Earth tokens, alongside tools like Crown of Seeds and Oasis Respite.

Briar, Warden of Thorns officially reached Living Legend status in Classic Constructed on September 19th 2023. With her goes her infamous signature weapon, Rosetta Thorn, a long-time staple tool in the Runeblade arsenal. Congratulations to all the players who helped Briar climb to the very peak of Mount Heroic. You have proved yourselves worthy to be carved into our Roll of Honor!