Metagame Minute: Road to Nationals 2024, Week 4

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’s up, nerds? The final week of Road to Nationals is in the books, and the stage is set for contestants to clash in the Deathmatch Arena at Pro Tour: Los Angeles. We had another great spread of heroes this week with 15 different reps on the board. It’s been an insanely diverse season, but two heroes have stepped to the forefront as the decks to watch out for: Dromai and Kayo.

And of course… slow and steady wins the race. Japan claimed Betsy’s first Living Legend points this week with a spice-laden control deck that’ll cauterize your taste buds. Meanwhile, for those who gotta go fast, Dash I/O boosts onto the board! Who’s next? Teklovossen? Arakni? Riptide??!

We covered Dromai last week, so today let’s touch base with our handy dandy one-armed friend…

Crucible of Glow Ups

Dromai may be the Road to Nationals queen, but Kayo has been skirting her scale tail by only a few inches. It’s safe to say that Kayo is a huge threat to look out for at Pro Tour: Los Angeles, not just from the spike turns he presents, but also the utility in being able to attack with various 6-powers like Command and Conquer, Humble, or Amnesia, backed by Might and Agility tokens to ruin the opponent’s day. Many Kayo decks have evolved to include Beaten Trackers and Heartened Cross Strap, as seen in this 1st place decklist, to completely dome heroes such as Kano where they don’t expect the game to run for very long.

Kassai has been such a fun inclusion to the metagame this season, with players still cooking day in and day out to find the perfect list. Her incredible versatility opens up many different approaches, whether that’s the popular Blade Runner and Valiant Dynamo package to grind the opponent into sand, or the more aggressive pocket-change builds that focus on amassing Copper for a huge Blood on Her Hands turn. Her ability to convert red and yellow cards into extra value opens up a lot of interesting tech choices, such as a cheeky copy of Seduce Secrets, as seen in this Battle Hardened Top 8 decklist. The most successful Warrior this season, Kassai should definitely be on your radar heading into Pro Tour: Los Angeles.

Bread and Butter

Bravo is a familiar face we’re all expecting to see take the stage at Los Angeles. While his decklist and general gameplan hasn’t radically shifted, Heavy Hitters has buffed out a few small dings in his card pool. Thunk allows for more consistency with Rouse the Ancients and Zealous Belting, while Gauntlets of Iron Will provides a much-appreciated safety net against annoying Ninjas. Victor “Goldhim” Goldmane may have won the Guardian popularity contest, but don’t forget - a tried and true strategy can go a long way.

Dorinthea has put up solid results this season, no doubt thanks to a comprehensive range of tools she now has to punish the decks that used to hold her back from those juicy Dawnblade counters. Simply sitting on a defense reaction in arsenal is no longer viable against cards like Commanding Performance and Emboldened Blade, while the attack reaction lineup is deadlier than ever. Whether that’s devastating new targets for Singing Steelblade like Blade Flurry, or even just better quality blues like Fatal Engagement, as seen in this 2nd place decklist, Dorinthea is primed for short games, long games, and mostly everything in between.

Here For a Good Time

Betsy, or ‘Bravo at Home’ as she has been affectionately referred to by her fans, has finally stomped onto the showgrounds. She’s a little late to the party but she brings all the bombastic energy needed to turn your tame social get-together into a gut-busting, furniture-wrecking, gold-slinging rager. Japan proudly claims her first official win with this spicy 1st place decklist, featuring Rampart of the Ram’s Head, Withstand, and not one, not two, but SEVEN copies of Staunch Response. Just goes to show that a wager against the opponent not having a fatigue plan almost always pays off.

Mechanologists have taken a bit of a back seat this season while players congregate to the Deathmatch Arena for good old fashioned melee combat, but Dash I/O is always itching to take her gizmos for a test drive. Teklo Pounder packs enough punch for our favourite plucky inventor to keep up with the likes of Kayo or any other hero who wants to try racing this gun-toting sentient 3D printer. Hyper Scrapper alongside Convection Amplifier, as seen in this 1st place decklist, is a fantastic inclusion for games that run long, soaking up all the items you’ve binned over the course of the game into one massive dominated finisher.

Thank you so much for tuning into Metagame Minute! We hope you had a thrilling Road to Nationals season and are well on your way to competing in your country’s National Championship (or scoring an exclusive promo at National Festivals). All eyes now shift to Los Angeles as the climax of the Heavy Hitters season commences. Draw your weapons, grit your teeth, and prepare for battle!