Metagame Minute: Pro Quest: London, Week 1

Pack your sausage rolls, because the ride to London is gonna be meaty.

Runeblades are back in a big way, sword in one hand, sorcery in the other. Their split damage shenanigans have put Enigma on edge, and while the Mystic Illusionist is 10,000 percent a top dog this season, she'll need to work hard to stay there. Dash has sneaked past the Living Legend detector, but her days are definitely numbered. And in other news, Flesh and Blood players have found a thrilling new hobby - basic math. How many Blessings can you count in your graveyard?

Aurora is the breakout star this week, riding the lightning straight from her debut in 1st Strike, to her full release in Rosetta, to the top of the charts in Pro Quest. Are we looking at the next World Championship winning hero? If you're fresh to the game, try learning how to play Aurora in 1st Strike and you too could be well on your way to see Big Ben next year. Strike while the iron's hot!

Now, let's talk about our Big 3 from Week 1...

The Rising Star

So you've been reading about this thing called Flesh and Blood, and you've decided you want a bit of gold and glory for yourself. Where do you start? Right here with Aurora! The new Lightning Runeblade has surged to new heights immediately out of the gate, with her potent aggressive gameplan and strong matchup spread. Quick to learn, easy to upgrade, and very capable of winning, this top-performing hero is the perfect pick for anyone looking to shoot for the stars in competitive Flesh and Blood.

A key component of most Aurora decks this season is her specialization Arc Lightning, often combined with Flicker Wisp to turn annoying pings of arcane into threatening chunks of arcane. You can either play this into several attacks in a Lightning-heavy build to pressure your opponent from all angles, or you can play a more combo-oriented build that abuses multiple sources of go again for absurd numbers.

The combo version starts with Crown of Dominion, Aether Ironweave, Grasp of the Arknight, and Snapdragon Scalers. It aims to play Flicker Wisp, fusing with Arc Lightning, then play Arc Lightning, into any attack action card (which gets go again from Arc Lightning), into several more attack action cards (getting go again from her hero ability or Snapdragon Scalers), then crack Aether Ironweave to pay for the gold, and pitch the drawn card for Star Fall (and Grasp if you drew a blue). Each time you go again, you're dealing arcane damage to the opponent. Just count the number of times all of those cards say go again. Go on, do it.

Part the Blessed-veil

Speaking of counting, let's talk about a certain 2-cost instant from Rosetta. Count Your Blessings has been making the rounds, able to use exponential life gain to outlast slower decks until you fatigue them or reach an endgame combo. While it can sometimes be annoying to deal with the heal, keep in mind that this leaves them very susceptible to on-hit triggers. Also, don't forget Gravekeeping exists - definitely worth picking up a few copies for your next Pro Quest.

One hero that uses Count your Blessings quite effectively is Enigma, combining them with her other instant-speed ward auras to use pitch efficiently, keep life totals high, and put pressure on the opponent to keep slinging damage. While the blue copy may be the least efficient one in other decks, Enigma has the unique advantage to use it to transcend. Ward boards are a pretty strong enough gameplan as it is, but Enigma also comes fully stocked with late game haymakers such as Cosmic Awakening. Ouch.

Not everyone's on the Count Your Blessings build. Sure it's nice to gain life, but Enigma's got enough tricks up her billowing sleeves to easily stand on two feet without them. Enigma is expected to be an extremely strong deck this season, fresh from wins at Calling: Lyon and Battle Hardened: Tokyo, neither of which were playing Count Your Blessings. What you will find many Enigma decks packing though, is a wide range of generic blue cards with niche uses against certain matchups, such as Amulet of Echoes against Lightning heroes to punish them for abusing Gone in a Flash, or Ripple Away to inflict emotional damage to Runeblades. Rosetta has also gifted her with a very fashionable anti-arcane wardrobe haul so she can look snatched while she bullies Wizards.

Nock Nock

And rounding out the top trio is the Little Ranger that Could, TRIPLE Calling winner Azalea. She's also in a really strong position this format, with anti-ward game into Enigma and relevant disruption into Aurora as well as a large chunk of the field. With the recent boom in Runeblade popularity, we're seeing more copies of Warmonger's Diplomacy being sleeved up, which is a little problematic for her, but Longdraw Half-glove provides a tasty Get Out of Jail Free Card, turning what would be a dead hand into literally just a big arrow.

Many Azalea decks are opting to use multiple Spell Fray equipment as a means to survive against the likes of Kano, alongside her classic Ranger equipment Skullbone Crosswrap and Bull's Eye Bracers providing arcane barrier. Red-heavy decks like hers don't tend to want to pitch too many cards each turn, so having that extra little +2 safety net lets her throw hands with Wizards with a little more confidence.

Azalea decks are going ham on the Bloodrot Pox this season. There's obviously the usual inclusions like Infecting Shot and Lace with Bloodrot, but Codex of Bloodrot in particular has earned its keep with the ability to create the token without needing to hit. It's an extremely useful tool right now, denying Enigma the opportunity to attack with her auras and keep them for the following turn. Most Azalea decks are on multiple copies right now, and I expect it will continue to be a mainstay during her steady climb through the ranks.

Congratulations to our first round of Pro Quest Champions! You've earned your seat at the Pro Tour gaming tables in London next year. For those of you attending World Championship: Osaka, stay sharp, because this Pro Quest season, while great for practice, could still have plenty of surprises to come. And lastly, those who are still a little green to FAB and maybe feeling a little nervous about taking the next step, remember every Champion has to take their 1st Strike!