Classic Constructed
When this banned and restricted announcement was scheduled for December 14, it was done so with consideration to the National Championship season, Skirmish season 3, and the Calling Utrecht all being completed. With covid restrictions causing postponements to Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore National Championships, as well as the Calling Utrecht, the current Tales of Aria Classic Constructed competitive season is yet to conclude.
In general, our position is not to make changes to the banned and restricted list mid-season. As such there are no changes to the Classic Constructed format at this time.
We do want to take this opportunity to note that while we acknowledge Briar, Warden of Thorns has had a very successful National Championship season to date, it has been pleasing to see players around the world explore and exploit the metagame puzzle to success. In particular Oldhim and Chane, and to a lesser extent Kano and Lexi, have demonstrated positive win percentages against Briar as the metagame has matured. From our internal testing, we believe there is still room for deck and strategy innovations to emerge in the Classic Constructed metagame, and are comfortable allowing the remainder of the Tales of Aria competitive season to be played out with no changes to Classic Constructed at this time.
Blitz
Skirmish season 3 concluded on December 5, with over 150 Blitz format events running across the world (note - Skirmish season 3 was a mixed format season, with more than half the Skirmish events featuring booster draft).
The results shown in the table below show 5 different heroes spread across 5 different classes, posting double digit event win %'s. Outside of the big 5 heroes, another 9 heroes secured event wins, demonstrating that mastery of lesser favored heroes can deliver event wins in the current Blitz metagame.
We are satisfied with the current state of the Blitz metagame and therefore there are no changes to the Blitz format at this time.
| Hero | Events Won | Event Win % |
|---|---|---|
| Briar | 37 | 22.8% |
| Dorinthea | 31 | 19.1% |
| Oldhim | 26 | 16.0% |
| Ira, Crimson Haze | 22 | 13.6% |
| Kano | 18 | 11.1% |
| Chane | 10 | 6.2% |
| Lexi | 6 | 3.7% |
| Bravo | 3 | 1.9% |
| Prism | 3 | 1.9% |
| Rhinar | 2 | 1.2% |
| Benji, the Piercing Wind | 1 | 0.6% |
| Boltyn | 1 | 0.6% |
| Kassai, Cintari Sellsword | 1 | 0.6% |
| Levia | 1 | 0.6% |
Living Legend Updates
We are changing when a hero that has reached the Living Legend threshold is no longer legal for official tournament play. Previously this only occurred upon the release date of a new booster set. The "threshold check" is being expanded to also include the date of each scheduled banned and restricted announcement.
The "Becoming a Living Legend" section of the Card Legality Policy has been updated to reflect this.
Classic Constructed Living Legend (as of December 14, 2021)
| Hero | Last Update (Sept 17, 2021) | December 14, 2021 |
|---|---|---|
| Chane, Bound by Shadow | 402 | 442 |
| Briar, Warden of Thorns | - | 400 |
| Katsu, the Wanderer | 274 | 300* |
| Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light | 172 | 178* |
| Bravo, Showstopper | 108 | 154* |
| Ser Boltyn, Breaker of Dawn | 120 | 140 |
| Dorinthea Ironsong | 118 | 138 |
| Dash, Inventor Extraordinaire | 100 | 120 |
| Oldhim, Grandfather of Eternity | - | 120 |
| Lexi, Livewire | - | 40 |
| Kano, Dracai of Aether | 6 | 26 |
| Rhinar, Reckless Rampage | 24 | 24 |
| Viserai, Runeblood | 12 | 12 |
| Azalea, Ace in the Hole | 0 | 0 |
| Levia, Shadowborn Abomination | 0 | 0 |
*Updated December 19, 2021 - PTI's from the Calling Auckland, Cincinnati, and Dallas were missing from the original publication of this article. Thanks to Davis "Tower Number Nine" Kingsley for bringing this to our attention.
Blitz Living Legend (as of December 14, 2021)
| Hero | Last Update (July 29, 2021) | December 14, 2021 |
|---|---|---|
| Ira, Crimson Haze | 196 | 262 |
| Dorinthea | 48 | 141 |
| Briar | - | 111 |
| Chane | 63 | 93 |
| Kano | 33 | 87 |
| Oldhim | - | 78 |
| Bravo | 21 | 30 |
| Prism | 12 | 21 |
| Lexi | - | 18 |
| Boltyn | 12 | 15 |
| Kassai, Cintari Sellsword | 3 | 6 |
| Rhinar | 0 | 6 |
| Benji, the Piercing Wind | 0 | 3 |
| Dash | 3 | 3 |
| Katsu | 3 | 3 |
| Levia | 0 | 3 |
| Viserai | 3 | 3 |
| Azalea | 0 | 0 |
| Data Doll MKII | 0 | 0 |
| Kavdaen, Trader of Skins | 0 | 0 |
| Kayo, Berserker Runt | 0 | 0 |
| Shiyana, Diamond Gemini | 0 | 0 |
Next Scheduled B&R Announcement
The next scheduled banned and restricted announcement is February 2, 2022.