Metagame Minute: Road to Nationals 2024, Week 1

Welcome to Metagame Minute, where we tuck into the latest tournament results and discuss tasty trends, saucy highlights, and spicy decklists - all wrapped up in a bite-sized read!

What a bloody excellent start to Road to Nationals! Week 1 is in the books and a whopping 17 different heroes spread across 10 different classes managed to claim at least one victory! Four out of six heroes from Heavy Hitters have busted straight out of the gate and are already raking in the Gold! And who could forget Kano’s shocking blaze of glory? Who let the Wizard into the kitchen? Who let him cook?!

We’re looking at one of the healthiest and most diverse metagames Flesh and Blood has ever seen, one that rewards players for dedicating themselves to learning their hero inside and out rather than trying to play the matchup lottery game. So many options are viable right now, and so the answer to that burning question “Who should I play for Road to Nationals?” is, quite simply, “Whoever you’re good at!”.

Over the course of the season we’ll aim to cover a broad range of heroes and strategies, but for today let’s check out our strongest contestants…

Aether? I barely know her!

Some of you didn’t follow the golden rule this week. The laws of the universe state that if you put Nullrune in your sideboard you won’t smell even a whiff of a single Wizard, but the moment you take it out…

I’m actually really stoked for those players who claimed a win with Barbecue Boy this week, because he’s one of the most satisfying heroes to play when everything goes according to plan. Kano does take some time to master, but as we can see from Week 1, the impact he can have on an unprepared meta is staggering. Overall I don’t think this means we need to be worried, I’m sure Week 2 will see players packing playsets of Oasis Respite.

Although Kano still builds and plays mostly the same as he did a while back, he has picked up a few extra toys along the way. Most recently his blue lineup received a slight polish with Aether Arc thanks to Heavy Hitters, as well as a few cool additions such as Threadbare Tunic as a more flexible alternative to Spellfire Cloak, and as seen in this 2nd place decklist, a cheeky copy of Imperial Edict. You thought you could just sit on an Oasis Respite in arsenal all game? The Royal Court begs to differ.

Need for Speed

I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say… Kayo serves. The blood, sweat, and tears of the game devs have paid off - Brute is not only good, it’s GREAT! With a bucketload of blue 6-powers at his disposal, Kayo is mopping the competition with massive spike turns, and walling up behind the newly minted Brute Fridge when things don’t go his way. While Berserk has seen some play, the builds centered around Cast Bones and Bloodrush Bellow appear to be having the most success, as these cards tend to pop off more consistently. If you’re looking for a Kayo deck to run at your next Road to Nationals - Yuki Lee Bender’s decklist is a fantastic option!

Inspector Gadget is such a heads-up pick when you’re facing a wide or uncertain metagame. Dash has a tool for everything, whether it’s Induction Chambers to commit war crimes against Guardians, or Teklo Pounders to steamroll angry green men. It’s awesome to see a well-established hero bolstered by recent support continue to put up a fight into the next set release and beyond. The deck hasn’t changed radically since Bright Lights, but a small number of aggro-leaning builds have opted to drop the Evo Steel Soul Controller in favour of the new lighter model Evo Magneto simply because there are more opportunities to play it out.

Pride and Prettycooldragons

I’m sorry to whoever lost a game to Victor “Goldhim” Goldmane this weekend, that’s gotta sting! But on the other hand, defeating Victor in combat must feel amazing, like… beating a dead horse? Anyway… Two heroes from Heavy Hitters are already racking up points like there’s no tomorrow, and love him or hate him, Victor has made it clear he’s here to stay. Unsurprisingly, defensive Victor decks are doing the rounds at the moment, and a popular strategy as seen in this 1st place decklist is borrowing a trend from Bravo players with Fyendal’s Spring Tunic and 4-cost crush attacks. It’s not enough to defend everything and hope for the best, you do still need to apply pressure, and squeezing as much damage as possible out of a single blue is clearly the way to do it!

You’d think the popularity of a deck like Kayo with its raw aggression and unlimited supply of poppers would make Dromai hang up her flamescales and call it a day. But Dromai players love a challenge and despite the rocky terrain, the empress is confidently holding her position! Balance of Justice is proving to be a very useful counter to aggro decks, and an older tech card - Cadaverous Contraband - is steadily growing in popularity due to its ability to fetch a specific dragon or Tome of Imperial Flame. With last year’s Ice fully melted, some players like Mara Faris are also trying out fully red builds!

So much excitement across gaming tables this week. Prism! Vynnset! The Warrior gal pals! Rest assured we’ll be watching the underdogs closely as the season progresses to see if any of them attempt a hostile takeover. It’s an open mic and everyone’s got something to say!