Over the weekend, Battle Hardened: Portland saw 82 players compete for their shot at a Professional Tournament Invitation, and the third week of the Skirmish season saw 122 events kick off across 26 countries!
Battle Hardened: Portland
Starting off the weekend with the Battle Hardened tournament in Portland, the team at Fable Hobby welcomed players to the Embassy Suites for a Classic Constructed tournament - the perfect opportunity to warm up ahead of Pro Tour: Lille, and earn a PTI for the World Championship in November! The three biggest presences in the metagame were unsurprising after the Road to Nationals season - Fai is one of the hottest names in the Classic Constructed metagame, Viserai has been a strong contender since Chane retired from the format earlier this year, and Prism is making the most of her final tournaments before she gets the last points needed to reach Living Legend status.
The only hero to go unrepresented was Levia, but there were two different Brute heroes on the field — the young hero Kayo turned up to the tournament with player Travis Merrill! Despite Fai's popularity, not a single Ninja player made it into the Top 8; instead, Dromai was the sibling to make it past the cut, sharing the field with Dash, Oldhim, Viserai, Bravo, and Prism.
The finals of this event saw Prism face off against Viserai, in an Illusionist vs. Runeblade showdown that would define Prism's future for the Nationals season. However, the Runeblade pulled ahead, with Dexter Canright dealing the final blow to claim the title of Battle Hardened: Portland champion!
Top 8:
1st: Dexter Canright - Viserai, Rune Blood
2nd: Brandon Ackerson - Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light
3rd-4th: Ryan Barnett - Dash, Inventor Extraordinaire
3rd-4th: Peter Sundholm - Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light
5th-8th: Eli Brawerman - Bravo, Showstopper
5th-8th: Nitan Avivi-Stuhl- Oldhim, Grandfather of Eternity
5th-8th: Andres Perez - Dromai, Ash Artist
5th-8th: Jordan Johnson - Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light
For a series of quick-fire interviews with the Top 8 players, keep scrolling to the end of today's article.
Skirmish Season 5, Week 3
Congratulations are in order this week - for her fervent supporters, we're pleased to announce that two heroes have made it onto the Living Legends leaderboard! First, to all those loyal players around the world who have been championing her from the very beginning... Azalea has officially made it onto the Living Legends leaderboard this week, courtesy of Justin Soppe in the United States! Joining her is the Shapeshifter herself, Shiyana, Diamond Gemini, who won an event with Christian Linnig in Germany!
Dorinthea, Quicksilver Prodigy also won two more events in Norway with Oscar Kruse and the United States with Travis Winterton. With Fai and Dromai both racking up points across the season, this means that there are just three heroes remaining who need to win an event before the next update to put points on the board.
Despite the best efforts (and excellent puns) of Rhys Robin at the start of the season, Data Doll MKII has yet to put a pin on the map with any events.
Currently sitting at the bottom of the Living Legends leaderboard, Valda Brightaxe has added another event to her tally this week with Jennifer Langley in the United States, while Kayo, Berserker Runt rolled a critical miss on getting any extra points on the leaderboard this week.
Ira, Crimson Haze picked up another event in the UK with Jamie McCabe, Lexi won an event in the US with Nathaniel Snyder, and Prism picked up two more wins with Evan Primeau and Patrick Weiss in the US.
Looking to our Runeblades, Chane picked up another ten events, including two wins with Sebastiano Cavallo in the United States, while Briar won three events in Australia with Ren Springlea, Poland with Dawid Dominiak, and the US with Anna Shreve.
While Data Doll failed to add her name to the leaderboard, Dash blazed a trail across five countries with ten wins; meanwhile, fellow Arcane Rising hero Kano won another nine events.
Our other heroes of Volcor are also doing well: Kassai, Cintari Sellsword picked up eight more wins, Dromai picked up six, and Fai picked up ten - including a double win with Jacob Hand in the UK.
The third star of Uprising, Iyslander, locked in a massive fourteen events, with Oldhim close behind on twelve. Our third Guardian in the metagame, Bravo, showcased his talents by winning another eight events on the weekend. Wrapping out the week, we have our other classic heroes, with Dorinthea locking in another six victories, and Rhinar narrowly beating her with eight. Unfortunately, Katsu didn't quite lock in any more wins, despite making the finals of an event in the United States with Taotao Chu.
Without further adieu, let's take a look at some of the individual events that took place over the weekend - and don't forget, if you want to see your favourite hero in our final article next week, you have one last chance! Check out our event locator to find your nearest Skirmish event, grab your friends, and enjoy the final events of the season!
Chez Geeks - Canada
"Darkness reigned supreme in Skirmish Season 5, as Chez Geek's own Daniel Dreisziger piloted his Chane to victory. Battling his way forward, the Bound By Shadow Runeblade went head to head in the finals with another Runeblade; Briar.
In Briar's last turn, Daniel went down to 1 Life to activate his Arcane Skullcap, to survive Briar's Rosetta Thorn. Back to Daniel, at Soul Shackle 3, he needed to banish one out of five 0 Cost attacks left in his deck. On his third flip from the top, he got his Shadow of Ursur. He first played his Mauvrion Skies Blue, then Shadow of Usur, and finally finishing off Briar with his own Rosetta Thorn, and solidifying Chane, as Champion of Chez Geeks."
Top 8:
1st: Daniel Dreisziger - Chane
2nd: Mathieu Charron-Lalonde - Briar
3rd-4th: Jonghwan Kim
3rd-4th: Dylan Dacres
5th-8th: Andre Brun
5th-8th: Oscar Ojeda Gomez
5th-8th: Daniel Kiottier
5th-8th: Julien Bergeron
The Battleground Cafe - United States
"With our community being quite the diverse mix of both new and veteran players, we had no idea what to expect for our first ever skirmish event but could not have asked for a more fun group of players! Our concerns of only seeing a few different heroes were immediately put to rest as with only a few duplicate heroes we got to see a throwdown of arc types both meta and homebrewed.
With a diverse mix of heroes, everyone found themselves bouncing between the fatigue match-ups of traditional Iyslander, the punch harder match-up of Ninjas, and some off-the-wall rogue decks like Valda and Shiyana. Some of the high points of the swiss rounds were our local man Blake mathing out turn 1 Kano wins, and a match won by Kesai fatiguing out her opponent. We broke into the top 8 with 1 Fai, 1 Kano, 1 Kassai, 2 Iyslanders, and a whopping 3 Dash's. Our final match of the night ended only on turn 2 with the game coming down to a “who blinks first” as Michael’s Fai put up a good fight, but couldn’t stop Michelle’s double-dominate Dash.
We can’t overstate how much fun we had running this event, and how thankful we are to the Minnesota FAB community for making our first skirmish an event we’ll never forget!"
Top 8:
1st: Michelle Chmura - Dash
2nd: Michael Berg - Fai
3rd-4th: Benjamin Cumming - Dash
3rd-4th: Scott Chmura - Kassai, Cintari Sellsword
5th-8th: Robert Wang - Dash
5th-8th: Dyllon Dietz - Iyslander
5th-8th: Tyler Barrett - Iyslander
5th-8th: Blake Lathrop - Kano
Friends & Foes - Netherlands
"Heroes from all around Rathe traveled and gathered again to Amsterdam to fight it out in a Skirmish to see who is the strongest. So many different fighters from all over Rathe, but it was clear that Iyslander was the most popular one in the crowd.
The final was between Iyslander and Fai. Fire VS Ice. Fai (Sander Neeft) put a lot of pressure on Iyslander (Tom Kersten) from the start, giving him a lot of advantage with life to sacrifice if Iyslander ever got an opening to do arcane.
The fight went on for 57 minutes. Fai keeping pressure on and not giving Iyslander any openings. But then it happened. Iyslander was already just on 1. So Fai took some damage in Iyslanders last turn, because he knew the biggest attack Iyslander could do in his turn was with a freezing point on instant speed followed up with waning moon. So he knew exactly how many life he needed to save too stay alive, push lethal and kill Iyslander with one big final turn she was unable to out block. So he knew he was save and the game was his.
But then unfortunately it happened. He did not take into account the additional damage the freezing point did for each frostbite. He took too much damage the turn before and it was over. The cold ice was too much and his phoenix flame slowly burned out.
So in the end, Iyslander did the most and best with each hit Fai pushed in her direction, looking for every opening where she could just to get some arcane through, and it paid off.
Iyslander. Queen of Skirmish S5 Amsterdam."
Top 8:
1st: Tom Kersten - Iyslander
2nd: Sander Neeft - Fai
3rd-4th: Aidan Wall - Kassai, Cintari Sellsword
3rd-4th: Laura Sterkenburg - Bravo
5th-8th: Terry Groen - Valda Brightaxe
5th-8th: Mariusz Wojciechowski - Iyslander
5th-8th: Stefan Hilderink - Prism
5th-8th: Sebastiaan Knetsch - Rhinar
The Lounge - Canada
"First place Jessie Desousa has been an all-star in the store, placing top four in RTN and taking 1st place in this Skirmish. His competitor Hayes (2nd place) has been a major contributor in the community and was fighting for revenge to get his choice of mat.
The day was exciting with ups and downs for all players who showed up! Everyone was excited for the Cold Foil heroes! Having 11 players was a lower turnout than normal. With summer being a slow season we were happy to have each and every one of them arrive!"
Top 4:
1st: Jessie DeSousa - Fai
2nd: Hayes Stolar - Fai
3rd-4th: Christopher Birch
3rd-4th: David Franco
Greentree Sports Cards - United States
"Another amazing turnout here at Greentree Sports Cards in Pittsburgh, PA. We had 22 players attend. We had a very diverse Top 8, and Anna Shreve (Briar) took home the victory with an impressive 7-1 run! Andrew Yauger (Kano) battled back from 8th seed to take runner-up.
GSC always provides additional prizing for all that attend! We had some great raffles and, as always, FREE PIZZA.
Thank you again to everyone that attended. Always a pleasure. Can't wait for what LSS and Flesh and Blood have in store next event!"
Top 8:
1st: Anna Shreve - Briar
2nd: Andrew Yauger - Kano
3rd-4th: Andrew Shafer - Ira, Crimson Haze
3rd-4th: Jeff Stamm - Chane
5th-8th: William Grass - Fai
5th-8th: Nicholas Korner - Dorinthea
5th-8th: Michael Ribar - Kassai, Cintari Sellsword
5th-8th: Benjamin Meffert - Kassai, Cintari Sellsword
Bali Awakening Zone - Indonesia
"Our second skirmish in Bali. Many new faces join the fight. Everyone was so excited for the big competition & the prizes. The metagame is diverse and we have 9 different heroes in total. After very tough & intense competition, 4 heroes advanced to the playoff stage. Rama Wirakusuma with Dorinthea fight against Wisnu Agung with Dash in the final round. And after several back & forth, Dash close the game with Maximum Velocity. He turns back the table from trailing 20-1 life and wins the game.
Here are a few words from our winner, Wisnu Agung:
'When joining the skirmish season 5 with Dash, I didn't expect to win the tournament, because I don't have a Teklo Foundry Heart. But turns out, in Blitz everything could happen, even without Teklo Foundry Heart Dash still had some tricks in her sleeves to take some game. Max V for the win!'"
Top 8:
1st: Wisnu Agung - Dash
2nd: Rama Wirakusuma - Dorinthea
3rd-4th: Iwan Somanatta - Rhinar
3rd-4th: Tommy Kurniasih - Rhinar
5th-8th: Alit Sukariasa - Iyslander
5th-8th: Laksana Eka S.P. - Levia
5th-8th: Jared Zehm - Kassai, Cintari Sellsword
5th-8th: David Soetrisno - Fai
Akiba Underground - United States
"Our event brought out 15 plays, including a number of our regulars looking to put new or favored heroes on the LL board, including local Azalea diehard Kevin Gao, who carried his tested ranger build into the top 8. Other notable heroes in the field included a Levia and Dorinthea, Quicksilver Prodigy, although both failed to reach the highest tables. At the conclusion of 4 rounds, our top 4 included 2 Briars, a Kano and a Kassai. Both Briars were eliminated in extremely close semi-final games, leaving Caleb Womack's Kano against local regular Jason He's Kassai list. Kassai's Cintari Sabres brought Kano within a single point of his life, but his Aether Wildfire proved unstoppable once again, inflicting a colossal amount of damage and ending the match. It was an exciting and fun event and we look forward to the next!"
Top 8:
1st: Caleb Womack - Kano
2nd: Jason He - Kassai, Cintari Sellsword
3rd-4th: Kevin Canales - Briar
3rd-4th: Michael Zibbideo - Briar
5th-8th: Kevin Goodkin - Rhinar
5th-8th: Tony Mapelli - Dromai
5th-8th: Kevin Gao - Azalea
5th-8th: Mitchel Tobey - Iyslander
The Trading Card Shop - Singapore
"We had 19 players with us for this Skirmish event right before the Calling. Nicholas, a new player up a storm in the local scene, has got his 5th Skirmish final this season. Finishing as runner-up for our skirmish. Gideon, a regular to Top 8 competitive scene, is our Skirmish champion."
Top 4:
1st: Gideon Law - Fai
2nd: Nicholas Wong - Fai
3rd-4th: Alaric Ng
3rd-4th: Sherry Wong
Top 8 Interviews at Battle Hardened: Portland
Peter Sundholm
What was the best card in your deck today?
Herald of Erudition
What is the best deck in the format?
Prism. That is why she is 2 points from LL.
What is your favourite FAB card?
Dash, Inventor Extraordinaire
What part of Rathe would you like to visit next?
Metrix
Anything else you’d like us to know about your experience today?
Everything ROCKED!! From venue to the people. And I want to thank my team, Eye of the Storm, for all the support and playtesting.
Eli Brawerman
What was the best card in your deck today?
Crippling Crush
What is the best deck in the format?
Bravo 😊
What is your favourite FAB card?
Three of a Kind
What part of Rathe would you like to visit next?
The Pits!
Anything else you’d like us to know about your experience today?
Really great experience, love the game
Dexter Canright
What was the best card in your deck today?
Rune Flash
What is the best deck in the format?
Viserai, obviously (I’m biased)
What is your favourite FAB card?
Rattle Bones
What part of Rathe would you like to visit next?
Savage Lands. Playable brute please
Anything else you’d like us to know about your experience today?
Revel is a busted card
Andres "Ace" Perez
What was the best card in your deck today?
Phantasmaclasm
What is the best deck in the format?
Prism
What is your favourite FAB card?
Eclipse
What part of Rathe would you like to visit next?
Metrix, the Dash fans are impatient 😊
Anything else you’d like us to know about your experience today?
Great Event! Ran smoothly, let’s get a major event like a Calling in the PNW! [NB: Pacific North-West]
Jordan Johnson
What was the best card in your deck today?
Merciful Retribution
What is the best deck in the format?
Bravo
What is your favourite FAB card?
Tomeltai
What part of Rathe would you like to visit next?
Solana
Anything else you’d like us to know about your experience today?
I had a good sandwich
Nitan Avivi-Stuhl
What was the best card in your deck today?
Pulse of Isenloft, though I didn’t cast it even once.
What is the best deck in the format?
Probably Bravo
What is your favourite FAB card?
Red Staunch Response
What part of Rathe would you like to visit next?
More Volcor. Seems pretty sweet
Anything else you’d like us to know about your experience today?
I played only one Prism in Swiss 😊
Brandon Ackerson
What was the best card in your deck today?
Luminaris
What is the best deck in the format?
Prism
What is your favourite FAB card?
Three of a Kind
What part of Rathe would you like to visit next?
Volcor
Anything else you’d like us to know about your experience today?
Thank you for the wonderful event!
Ryan Barnett
What was the best card in your deck today?
Unmovable
What is the best deck in the format?
Dash, Inventor Extraordinaire
What is your favourite FAB card?
Induction Chamber
What part of Rathe would you like to visit next?
Misteria
Anything else you’d like us to know about your experience today?
It was intense. There were a lot of very talented players and the games were close.