Skirmish Season 7 Meta Analysis: Week 2

We’re in the thick of it now, folks! While the top five heroes have kept a solid lead, a few tried and true staples of the Blitz meta have returned to claim their rightful place. Newcomers from Dusk till Dawn are putting up a valiant fight, and a certain dodgy salesman has snagged fresh blood on the leaderboard.

The Blitz landscape is forever changed. The absence of Iyslander and Oldhim has really turned up the heat, letting loose the aggro decks who have been clawing at the cage, begging to begin their rampage. While Lexi is still tossing Frostbites out like candy, she doesn't have nearly as much of a presence in the little leagues as she does in Classic Constructed, so we’ve now entered a pressure cooker of steam, shadows, swords, and fury.

Which heroes have what it takes to dance on the hot coals and pack enough punch to knock out their foes? Let’s find out…

The Terrible Two

Being banished to the desert must do wonders for your cardio. Kassai is cutting down fools left and right, cementing herself as the deck to beat this season, while the other big threats are neck in neck for second place. We’ve covered Kassai quite a bit already, but there’s always more ingredients to add to the special soup! This time we’re seeing Kassai pick up the new Decimator Great Axe as a tool against control strategies, allowing her to swing in every turn while keeping her life high. Luckily, Kassai does have some natural predators in the form of Kano and Prism, who take advantage of her particular playstyle, dishing out damage that she finds hard to prevent.

Chane has surpassed Ira to become the other titan of Blitz, if only by a margin. Nothing competes with Chane’s unbelievable damage bursts, backed up by one of the most useful suites of equipment in the whole game. We’re seeing decks adapt to be more aggressive against Chane, as sometimes your only hope is to knock him out before he can even get to three Soul Shackles, which is where the magic happens. Fun experiments are happening in the Demonastery, with cards like Give and Take making their way into Chane lists to add some much needed early game utility.

Swings and Roundabouts

Ira may have slipped from the top only just a smidge, but she’s still droning on and on and on against a wide spread of strategies. But it’s not just the extra inventory options that are doing wonders for the vengeful Ninja - in fact, it’s the ability to play more than 40 deck-cards overall, breaking that delicate margin between blocking until you run out of cards, and blocking until your opponent runs out of cards.

The Oasis Respite agenda had Kano players a little frightened at first, but this fear has quickly faded. Sure, it can be extremely rough when every deck can present a natural counter to your combo turn, but if you stick it out, more often than not, there will be another window. That golden rule of noticing when your opponent is taking a long time to think about their next move is crucial, because all you need is something like an Emeritus Scolding when they’ve drawn all reds.

Dash must feel like it’s Christmas Eve and all her presents are stacked up under the tree. Bright Lights is still a fair while away, and the anticipation of new toys is more than enough to make our darling Mechanologist want to blow off some steam. Dash has done an excellent job of keeping powerhouses like Chane in check with baubles-to-the-wall boost turns, usually cleaning clocks by turn 3. Some other interesting innovations happening in the workshop include the use of Signal Jammer to completely shut down Kassai.

Battles of the Classic Variety

Rhinar’s never shown interest in politics before, he’s more of a swing fist, think later kind of guy. But our favourite king of the jungle appears to have new aspirations - becoming the king of Blitz! All it takes is a certain shiny crown, and a certain shiny coin, and suddenly Rhinar is swinging bigger than ever before. Cash In is not something I expected to see in a Brute deck this season, but now that I see it in action it makes perfect sense. Drawing cards is good.

Dorinthea didn’t go without some love in Dusk till Dawn. Ironsong Verus is a perfect alternative to Braveforge Bracers for those who want to push a more midrange strategy, but the standout appears to be her new super-duper teamup card, Chorus of Ironsong. That single Courage token can do olympic swimming pool sized amounts of work when you’re having to double block in a tight space, and can push your followup swing from 6 to 7, or even 9 to 10!

New Kids on the Block

We can’t ignore Prism - either version of her. While her original outfit is performing slightly better, largely due to Luminaris and the full 20 life, Advent of Thrones isn’t far behind with the added utility of angels. Though technically different heroes, their card pool and playstyle overlap in more ways than one, and their combined points are not far from the top heroes. Huge heralds present a massive issue to decks like Kano and Kassai, while spectra keeps the more degenerate turns at bay. There’s nothing quite like an Arc Light Sentinel hitting the field right as your opponent plays Blood on Her Hands, or banishes their fifth card from Soul Shackle. The most popular figments doing the rounds right now appear to be Erudition, Protection, and Triumph, as they offer very useful effects while soaking up damage.

Vynnset is also eager to make a name for herself, already claiming blood at Skirmishes across the world and even at Battle Hardened: Salt Lake City. Proving she can go toe to toe with aggressive decks through the sheer value of playing free attacks from the banished zone, with Runechants popping to trigger their effects. You’ll need to have a good grasp on using equipment like Spellbound Creepers to pilot this hero to victory, as it allows you to play cards like Read the Runes and Runeblood Incantation at critical windows. If you’re feeling bold, why not also throw in a cheeky Pummel or two?

Pay to Win?

The grind never stops. While other heroes have been tossing each other about like Meeps on a sugar high, Kavdaen has been getting that bread. With no main deck-cards to call his own, Kavdaen relies on a basic generic lineup to throw hands, occasionally pitching a blue to heal himself for a meager 1 life at the cost of giving his opponent a copper (not a great business model when the top deck literally runs on the stuff). If you’re struggling to believe that Kavdaen won a Skirmish, wait until you learn that he won it by beating another Kavdaen in the finals! While I can’t in good conscience recommend you try these sales tactics at your local Skirmish and hope for a promising profit margin, truth can often be stranger than fiction. Nothing’s gonna hurt more than losing to Kavdaen and being told to “keep the change”.

While there are some clear powerhouses of the format, it’s great that the most success is being shared between at least 5-6 heroes, with several other viable strategies and counters available. There’s always going to be decks to beat, but it’s nice to see such a wide variety of classes laying the smackdown, with even fringe heroes like Riptide, Boltyn, and the Emperor proving more than capable. We’ve still got one more week left, with both Ira and Kano on the verge of achieving greatness - will they cross the line and leave a completely reshaped meta in their wake, or will they live to fight another day?