Metagame Minute: Road to Nationals 2025, Week 3

What a way to end Week 3! The original Runeblade, Purple Man himself, ascending to the skies above. Both the first of the original eight heroes to go and the first hero without a talent to do so. Viserai will be miss-erai-ed, but in his wake he opens a chaotic power struggle as gatekept decks launch into action, and aggro decks attempt to take up the mantle.

Cindra, Aurora, and Nuu are expected to continue to perform well in Viserai's absence, but who are the real winners and losers? Assassins get a much cleaner path forward, while Zen loses a favourable matchup. Jarl gets more breathing room, but like Assassin, may face an influx of Illusionist that has much tighter gameplans into the other Runeblades.

Prism, Vynnset, and Ira are steadily climbing the ranks, a journey made easier in the messy post-Living Legend event struggle. Dash I/O slows down a tad this week, but she's got a tool for everything and is well-placed into this metagame. The question on everyone's minds is "Who is Rathe's Next Top Model?"

Today let's take a look at some creepy crawlies who could easily fill the void left by the Arknight...

Throwing Shade

Vynnset is expected to be a big player in the upcoming metagame, with explosive split damage turns not dissimilar to Viserai, although she tends to go taller with on-hits rather than wide. Cull is an exceptional new tool for Vynnset to use, especially when you can trigger it in either player's turn. Along with Succumb to Temptation, and the cycle of Widespread cards, Vynnset can launch some incredible pitchless disruptive turns that force the opponent on the backfoot. Malefic Incantation is a key component, whether you're going for raw aggression, or setting up big combo turns against CYB decks. Its ability to generate Runechants off the back of an attack allows you to pull off double Rune Gate turns with the help of Spellbound Creepers, or at the very least, set up that critical second Runechant for the following turn.

Into popular decks like Cindra or Assassin, Vynnset comes equipped with a variety of powerful defensive tools. She has her own special Shelter from the Storm-like card in Haunting Rendition, which not only blanks 'flick' effects, but also supports her Runechant generation. Likewise, her wide array of defense reaction options are going to be naturally good against Assassin's attack reactions, bringing these games down to really dangerous chokeholds were Vynnset often has an opportunity to pull ahead. Shadow actions that support going tall and wide such as Beseech the Demigon, Tear Through the Portal, and Shadow Puppetry are also excellent for big turns against decks that try to fatigue you.

Mask Off

Nuu is expected to be the premier Assassin this season, but Marionette players have been cooking and the deck has a lot of really strong aggressive potential that Nuu lacks. The build featured here has dropped down on blues extensively, cutting Just a Nick entirely, and running 3 red Razor's Edge and 3 red Stains of the Redback for maximum lean damage. This style of build is well-equipped to race aggro heroes and only gets better in Viserai's absence.

Against CYB decks, this Marionette build has a nasty little trick in the form of yellow Toxicity, which can be pitch stacked for the late game when you can reliably line it up with Kiss of Death along with Snapdragon Scalers, Stains of The Redback, or Arakni, Redback. The deck also plays Remembrance to recycle this loop back into your deck, which makes your matchups into fatigue very favourable.

The other Arakni

Slippy does wide Assassin best, and although this gives you more points into Illusionists, it does present a challenge versus other Assassins, so bear that in mind while building for the rest of the season. This deck is primed to feast on Cindra, both able to consistently race her, but also present targeted on-hits such as Art of Desire: Body and Infiltrate, which reliably convert into free cards if left unchecked.

One great addition that is very powerful into other Assassins is Bloodrot Trap, as they're very likely to activate an attack reaction. Combined with Infect and Spike with Bloodrot, thse disease-generating cards are fantastic for free damage and also making it super difficult for Illusionists to keep a board state. Talisman of Warfare introduces another level of defending difficulty, as a well-timed Shred or Take Up the Mantle when the defending hero is unmarked could result in exactly 2 damage being dealt, and wiping out the arsenal.

Congratulations to our third round of Road to Nationals winners! You've earned your seat at this years National Championships, where gold and glory is yours for the plundering! All eyes will be on the final week of Road to Nationals, where the tone will be set for the remainder of the season. Viserai's left some big Spellbound Creepers to fill, but who will step up to the table?