Back to Blitz

With Skirmish just around the corner, it’s the perfect time to get up to speed with Blitz. Fast-paced, action-packed, and fun as hell, Blitz is an excellent format for beginners and offers a unique challenge for seasoned players as well.

Skirmish events are a fantastic opportunity to get amongst your local community for casual games in the Flesh and Blood. Juicy prizes are up for grabs this season, such as Cold Foil Channel Mount Heroic, Just a Nick playmats, and of course, the coveted Blaze, Firemind.

To make sure you’re good to go at your local Skirmish, here’s a refresher on what’s changed in Blitz since the last Skirmish season. Let’s take a look at which heroes have left, which new faces have joined, and who’s the hottest pick for top of the pile.

Goodbyes

Four titans of the Blitz metagame said their goodbyes right before the holiday season last year, reaching the 500-point threshold to achieve Living Legend status.

Chane, a Shadow Runeblade and dominant aggro deck, has opened a window of opportunity in his wake. Kassai, Cintari Sellsword, was able to efficiently race aggro decks, with a deadly set-up plan for control decks. The one who started it all, Ira, Crimson Haze, had long remained a pillar of the metagame with the sheer value of her hero ability. And of course who could forget Kano, the boogeyman of Blitz, who’s capacity to blast opponents out of nowhere at instant speed had shaped the entire format for years.

Their absence has caused a monumental shift, allowing new strategies to rise up, and old ones to be revisited. Dash and Briar are heading into this season with the highest kill count, currently sitting dangerously over the 400-point mark. It’s not unlikely that they too, will soon be saying goodbye.

Hellos

With the release of Heavy Hitters we welcomed three new heroes and two returning heroes with a dangerous new look. Victor Goldmane has already made a name for himself in Blitz, while Olympia and Betsy are eager to prove their worth in the arena. Kassai fans get to pick up those Cintari Sabers again, and Kayo has gone from rolling dice to rolling punches.

Part the Mistveil introduced four Mystic heroes to the bloodbath. Zen has made waves in the format already, but he may meet resistance from the deadly Nuu, who’s disruptive strategy has proved to be a strong counter to aggro decks in other formats. Illusionist pals rise up with Enigma and Enigma, New Moon. The former may have some game into control decks but will be kept on her toes by aggro, while her Gold Pack variant remains a mystery to be solved.

Lastly, we have our latest Wizard to sling arcane, the formidable Blaze, Firemind. While she may not be as immediately explosive as Kano, she has a very interesting playstyle that allows her to set up a kill combo while digging through her deck for the pieces to do it. You may not see too many numbers of Blaze early on, but as the season continues and more copies are handed out, it’s definitely worth considering packing protection.

Hot Picks

So, who’s the top dog? From recent tournament results, Zen is the deck to beat. In Blitz, he has access to the full Bonds of Ancestry lineup, and a much higher chance of seeing his transcend cards early. Fast-paced games also support throwing all your equipment down to stay alive for the crackback turn, and Zen’s wardrobe has a lot of bonuses for doing so. Zen is expected to be the premier aggro deck this season, so make sure to pack some disruption, such as Amnesia, The Weakest Link, or Command and Conquer, or build your own deck to be faster!

No horse? No problem! Rich boy Victor has already been taking home the gold for a while now, and Visit Goldmane Estate has given him just the daddy-funded leg-up he needs. Victor likes to play aggressively in Blitz, throwing down big attacks, amassing a pile of gold, and trying to get to his Visits as quickly as possible so he can lay down a mega smackdown. He does still defend, but with cards like Trounce and Test of Strength replacing themselves, along with a chunky set of armour, blocking doesn’t come at a steep price.

Briar is carrying Team Runeblade the best she can, using split damage to deal the last few critical points before her opponent gets a chance to outpace her. Between Zen and Victor she faces a challenge unlike ever before, but we’ve seen in the past that Briar decks can be adapted for several different metagames, so with the right inventory our green goddess could be a potent threat this season. Embodiment of Earth will prove to be extremely useful against both wide and tall attacks, and if she can stick a Channel Mount Heroic she may just have a fighting chance.

1st Strike

Aurora and Terra hit shelves on August 23, right as we barrel into Skirmish Season. Although primarily designed to teach beginners how to play the game and with most of their support cards coming in Rosetta next month, this pair of Elemental hooligans could still potentially find some purchase this season. I’ll release a guide next week on how to upgrade these heroes for Blitz so you can take them from the kitchen table to your local game store.

Good luck to everyone diving into Skirmish! Remember that Blitz is a casual format with low stakes, and anything can happen. Data Doll won a Skirmish last year, so yeah, literally anything can happen. Keep a positive mindset, catch up with your mates, and enjoy the fast and furious gameplay. If you’re an experienced player, maybe consider touching base with one of the newer players in your community and help them test out a deck. There’s lots of fun to be had!