With the second weekend of ProQuest events behind us, a clearer image of the metagame emerges. Bravo, Star of the Show is living up to his name, taking center stage in popularity. He has a strong presence this week, with many players storming tournaments with the Elemental Guardian in tow. US National Champion Tariq Patel switched from Chane to Bravo this week and took out another tournament, while German Champion Christian Hauck and Polish Pro Grzegorz Kowalski also picked up wins along with several players across Europe.
In response, though, many players have made the switch to Prism, with increasing success sending the guardian backstage. Prism took the win at the biggest tournament of the week at Fat Ogre Games in Houston. At the same time, Australia and Canada National Champions Hayden Dale and Yuki Lee Bender have claimed first-place wins with the illusionist alongside Calling Las Vegas champ Tyler Horspool. We'll look forward to a more in-depth analysis with Davis Kingsley's article later this week of the meta breakdown and win ratios of these top two heroes.
Runeblade is still a strong presence in the field as well. At Fayble Hobby in Portland, Dylan Mangini took out a 59-player tournament in a Viserai mirror match final, with a Top 8 which featured four Viserai players! Over in Singapore, Barry Teo went back to back with his Viserai deck at The Imaginarium and then in an incredibly tough field at Fyendal Hobby, with a top 8 that featured players with over 8,000 XP combined! Chane also managed to put up wins in Italy, the USA, and Belgium.
Outside of the top four performing heroes, a few legendary players have managed to find builds that have managed to perform in tough tournaments as well. Jonathan Julian took Katsu to a win at the second biggest tournament of the weekend, the 62-player event at Games and Stuff in Baltimore, taking down two Bravos and three Viserais on his way through. Brutes put in a couple of strong performances, with Yin Zhi Ng on Levia (?!) making the final of the aforementioned Fyendal Hobby event, and Marco Lauria taking out a 40 player event at Good Games Bern in Switzerland with Rhinar. Dutch # 4 Thomas van den Berg also managed to take out the 42-player IanTCG event with his Oldhim deck.
So, a set of top heroes has emerged through the first two weeks, but with some very interesting builds popping up at Tier 2 of the metagame as well. Keep reading below for some of the coverage details from different events!
FaB Foundry - United States
"58 players converged on Troutdale, Oregon to battle it out and see who secured the next PTI to New Jersey. The FaB Foundry ProQuest - An Everfest Celebration saw a relatively diverse field of heroes with 13 of 16 constructed heroes being represented. Prism, Bravo, Star of the Show and Viserai remain the preferred heroes of many players as they made up over 50% of the field. The Top 8 consisted of 4 Stars of the Show, 2 Prism and 2 Viserai. Yuki Lee Bender reigned supreme with Prism, Sculptor of Light."
You can relive the action with FaB Foundry's stream of the event, found via their YouTube channel.
Top 8:
1st: Yuki Lee Bender - Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light
2nd: Dexter Canright - Viserai, Rune Blood
3rd-4th: Adam Chaplin - Bravo, Star of the Show
3rd-4th: Dylan Mangini - Viserai, Rune Blood
5th-8th: Michael Rose - Bravo, Star of the Show
5th-8th: Taylor Ballard - Bravo, Star of the Show
5th-8th: Brandon Ackerson - Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light
5th-8th: Steven Rodriguez - Bravo, Star of the Show
The Collective - United States
"This past Saturday the Collective ran our ProQuest and it was quite the event! We had 49 players show up ready to earn their spot for Pro Tour 1. In the end, national champion Tariq Patel was able to take the event with Bravo, Star of the Show! However, there was a Dorinthea - Axes build that was able to sneak into top 4."
Top 8:
1st: Tariq Patel - Bravo, Star of the Show
2nd: Calvin Holt - Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light
3rd-4th: Brian Bisplinghoff - Dorinthea Ironsong
3rd-4th: Christopher Buonanni - Bravo, Star of the Show
5th-8th: Jonathan Owens - Bravo, Star of the Show
5th-8th: Alex Laplume - Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light
5th-8th: Rob Cygul - Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light
5th-8th: Ryan Fox - Bravo, Star of the Show
Silver Goblin - Canada
"The energy of the event was tremendous! Many players were participating in a non-armory event for the first time. For some, it was the first time they were venturing away from Blitz and into Classic Constructed.
Jessica Nicksy, who was 8th going into the Top 8 only started playing three weeks earlier with her partner Frank Hung, who came in 1st after swiss. While they were both excited that she made it so far, it meant that they had to face off immediately in the quarterfinal, with Frank winning. "Thanks to everyone that I practiced with, and also the people I played against today, it was a great time! It was wild to make top 8 at my second event ever, I'm glad I attended a Farewell to WTR draft so I could learn to play around Pummel, it locked in a win for me today!" - Top 8 player Jessica Nicksy
Daniel Dreisziger who made it to the semifinals of Canadian Nationals off of a last-minute switch to Chane achieved another Top 8 with the Shadow Runeblade but fell to Prism's Auras in the Quarterfinal. Frank faced off against his friend and testing partner Benson in the Semifinal, but Benson's Prism claimed victory against his friend's Viserai deck. Frank had this to say: "You win some and you dim sum, losing will only make me stronger" - Top 4 competitor Frank Hung
Benson was incredibly happy to claim an invite to the first-ever Pro Tour, eager to forge ahead into Legend."
Top 8:
1st: Biing Chyn "Benson" Lai - Prism, Sculptor of Light
2nd: Léo Vézinet - Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light
3rd-4th: Frank Hung - Viserai, Rune Blood
3rd-4th: Alexis Cloutier - Bravo, Star of the Show
5th-8th: Jessica Nicksy - Bravo, Star of the Show
5th-8th: Shawn Hill - Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light
5th-8th: Daniel Dreisziger - Chane, Bound by Shadow
5th-8th: Nicolas Plouffe - Bravo, Star of the Show
Photo Gallery
Beyond the Board - United States
"First I would like to thank all competitors who came out for the ProQuest. This was my first time running a tournament of this size. It was an amazing experience. Everyone was wonderful. Friendly, eager to play some great games, and understanding of a few minor hiccups in getting the event started. The tournament was held at the Dublin Recreation Center, which was a great venue. We were able to use large projector screens for round time and they supplied a PA system that made communicating with the players a breeze."
Top 8:
1st: Pat Eshghy - Bravo, Star of the Show
2nd: Charles Dunn - Bravo, Star of the Show
3rd-4th: Nick Downing - Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light
3rd-4th: Sean Biava - Viserai, Rune Blood
5th-8th: Louis Solymos - Ser Boltyn, Breaker of Dawn
5th-8th: Jacob Kissel - Bravo, Showstopper
5th-8th: Anthony Bugoci - Bravo, Star of the Show
5th-8th: Chris Weidinger - Viserai, Rune Blood
Invaders Board Game Station - Indonesia
"The event was capped at 16 participants due to local covid regulations, but it does not diminish the hype of the event. As expected, Bravo, Star of the Show became the dominant force on the stage, with five players bringing him to the table, but it was Briar, Warden of Thorns and Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light who stole the spotlight in the finals! In the end, it was the Warden of Thorns who emerged triumphant, and proved that she is still a force (of nature) to be reckoned with."
You can see their Instagram post of the event here.
Top 4:
1st: Gian Arnandi - Briar, Warden of Thorns
2nd: Junio Antono - Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light
3rd-4th: Putra Ahmadani Pratikto - Dash, Inventor Extraordinaire
3rd-4th: Julio Anthony - Bravo, Star of the Show
Fable Hobby - United States
This Pro Quest weekend in Portland was the culmination of the past several months of community growth and development. While the 59 players in attendance this past Sunday was record setting, we hope these records continue to be broken. This is just the beginning of what's to come for Flesh and Blood in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest.
Top 8:
1st: Dylan Mangini - Viserai, Rune Blood
2nd: Skye Selbiger - Viserai, Rune Blood
3rd-4th: Andres Perez - Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light
3rd-4th: Justin Salmon - Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light
5th-8th: Marco Marcelli - Rhinar, Reckless Rampage
5th-8th: Jesse Valdez - Viserai, Rune Blood
5th-8th: Billy Horn - Viserai, Rune Blood
5th-8th: Jason Woodland - Bravo, Star of the Show
Cat Footprints Kaohsiung - Taiwan
This 39 player event in Taiwan saw rise to a Top 8 of Light and Blood with Prism and Viserai, and one solitary Chane player in their midst. Taiwan National Champion Limbo was knocked out in the quarterfinals, while fellow Nationals Top 8 player Yue Han Li made it to the final match before losing to Po Yu Lin's Prism deck.
Top 8:
1st: Po Yu Lin - Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light
2nd: Yue Han Li - Viserai, Rune Blood
3rd-4th: Limbo CFP - Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light
3rd-4th: Chang'hsin Hsin-En - Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light
5th-8th: Ching Heng Lin - Chane, Bound by Shadow
5th-8th: Chiu Ren Feng - Viserai, Rune Blood
5th-8th: Yu Zhang - Viserai, Rune Blood
5th-8th: CYK Lionel - Viserai, Rune Blood
No Dice - Australia
"We had 17 players, including someone who travelled 1500km from Darwin just to participate. Thank you so much for the opportunity to host this incredible event. It was a brilliant experience and the emotions in the room after Nick took the win were absolutely huge. We’re now doing some fundraising to try and help him get over to New Jersey for the Pro Tour!"
Top 8:
1st: Nick McGrath - Katsu, the Wanderer
2nd: Ethan Martin - Chane, Bound by Shadow
3rd-4th: Owen Young - Bravo, Star of the Show
3rd-4th: John Farren - Viserai, Rune Blood
5th-8th: Kenneth Habunite - Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light
5th-8th: Clancey Ruxton - Dorinthea Ironsong
5th-8th: Jester Reynolds - Dash, Inventor Extraordinaire
5th-8th: Phawat Chuenchai - Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light
Kingslayer Games - United States
This 32 player event in California saw a surprising Top 8 emerge, featuring Viserai, Prism, Briar, Bravo and Lexi. With the Lexi and Bravo players pushed out in the quarterfinals, the final match ultimately fell to a showdown between Prism and Viserai - the first illusionist and the first runeblade.
Top 8:
1st: Zayne Johnson - Viserai, Rune Blood
2nd: David Le - Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light
3rd-4th: Andrew Rudin - Viserai, Rune Blood
3rd-4th: John Zapata - Briar, Warden of Thorns
5th-8th: Steven Nemeth - Briar, Warden of Thorns
5th-8th: John Dinh - Lexi, Livewire
5th-8th: Christian Montes de Oca - Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light
5th-8th: Ryann Lagrou - Bravo, Star of the Show
Kingslayer Games Oceanside - United States
Calling Las Vegas winner Tyler Horspool took the stage at this event with Prism, beating a Top 8 pool of Bravos, Chanes, and one Dash piloted by Zachary Wallach, who joined his first FAB event in November 2021. Despite Viserai being the most-represented hero at this event, he failed to make the top cut.
Top 8:
1st: Tyler Horspool - Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light
2nd: Ben Black - Bravo, Star of the Show
3rd-4th: David Le - Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light
3rd-4th: Phillip Vu - Chane, Bound by Shadow
5th-8th: Christopher Iaali - Chane, Bound by Shadow
5th-8th: Ryan Lagrou - Bravo, Star of the Show
5th-8th: James Jamaica - Bravo, Star of the Show
5th-8th: Zachary Wallach - Dash, Inventor Extraordinaire
GL Book Exchange - United States
"On a chilly Sunday in Michigan, 25 players representing 9 heroes traveled from towns near and far, all hoping to capture the elusive Gold Foil and a Pro Tour invite. Bravo, Star of the Show made up a third of the field, not surprisingly 4 made it to the top 8. Not to be outdone 2 of the 3 Prisms also made it in. The last 2 spots in the top 8 were Viseria and Chane.
Although we saw Ketsu and Rhinar in the field they joined Briar and Lexi at the tavern while the others continued the fight for the Gold Foil prize.
The Top 8 saw no Bravo mirrors. Bravo, Bravo, Chane and Bravo made it to the top four.
And in the end, Bravo stole the show."
Top 8:
1st: Ted Grabow - Bravo, Star of the Show
2nd: Darick Oswalt - Bravo, Star of the Show
3rd-4th: Jason Peterson - Bravo, Star of the Show
3rd-4th: Steven Caraher - Chane, Bound by Shadow
5th-8th: William Harrison - Chane, Bound by Shadow
5th-8th: Jake Smith - Viserai, Rune Blood
5th-8th: Cole Torres - Bravo, Star of the Show
5th-8th: James Tumavich - Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light
IanTCG - Netherlands
"The winner, Thomas, had been playing Dorinthea a lot prior to the Tales of Aria pre-release, but has since swapped to playing Oldhim. His patience has finally paid off as he took home the golden Dawnblade (which may tempt him to switch back? Or to play her in Blitz at least).
During the day we got the chance to showcase a lot of different players on stream, many of which have never been on a stream before. I'm sure they were a bit nervous but they were all happy in the end!
Most of the tournament went great although the head judge Joost did get tired of seeing so many hammers after Swiss. The players seemed to have a great time as well!"
Top 8:
1st: Thomas van den Berg - Oldhim, Grandfather of Eternity
2nd: Wouter Ouwehand - Briar, Warden of Thorns
3rd-4th: Sander Neeft - Bravo, Showstopper
3rd-4th: Beau Franz - Katsu, the Wanderer
5-8th: Erik Baalhuis - Rhinar, Reckless Rampage
5-8th: Jimmy Nguyen - Briar, Warden of Thorns
5-8th: Laurens Overgaauw - Bravo, Star of the Show
5-8th: Donovan van Beek - Bravo, Star of the Show
Photo Gallery
Azkaban Juegos - Spain
"There were 42 players from all over Spain who met to compete in the Azkaban Games ProQuest. Although there was a great variety of heroes, "Bravo, Star of the Show" monopolized most of the tables, he was really the star of the show.
FUN FACT 1 - During the final Julio had all three elements to resolve Starvo's ability and thus end the game, he did NOT notice and attacked normally; there was a facepalm in the room.
FUN FACT 2 - During the tournament we could see another duel between the current National champion, Jorge against his rival and finalist Francesch; repeating victory the reigning champion."
Top 8:
1st: Julio Alfonso Piñeiro - Bravo, Star of the Show
2nd: Ferran Riu - Bravo, Star of the Show
3rd-4th: Jesus Garcia Gomez-Valades - Bravo, Star of the Show
3rd-4th: Jose Luis Saenz Soria - Bravo, Star of the Show
5th-8th: Guillermo Pedernal - Chane, Bound by Shadow
5th-8th: Adrián Ruiz Yague - Briar, Warden of Thorns
5th-8th: Jorge Moreno - Viserai, Rune Blood
5th-8th: Jorge "Beeckamm" Jimenez - Bravo, Star of the Show
Mini Interview With the Winner, Julio Alfonso Piñeiro
Q) Why did you choose Starvo over other heroes?
A) First I tried axes with Dori, but it didn't give me good results, so I wanted to play a new character for me like the guardian. And the new Bravo was a very interesting and powerful option.
Q) Which has been the most difficult pairing for you and which one have you enjoyed the most?
A) Most difficult- Prism. The two games I lost were against her. I have to practice that pairing more. I enjoyed a lot against the other Starvos, hard but very intense games.
Q) Your favorite Deck card? Any card you would change?
A) My favorite card, the Pulverize (malicious smile) I will make some changes to the deck, that's the good thing about card games, you never stop refining the deck. I haven't even been able to play an Awakening, a card that makes you play differently.
Q) Your best play or highlight for you during the tournament?
A) During the Top 4 I talked to my friend about a play. It consisted of playing Starvo's ability and then playing Pulse of Candlehold to retrieve an Oaken by putting it on top of the deck and then activating Crown of Seeds and swapping your arsenal for the top Oaken and casting it again; I got to make that play during the finals, which made me very happy.
Il Labirinto - Italy
This 24 player event in Italy saw Chane take out Bravo in the finals, rising above the stars of the show to claim victory for the event. You can see a short video of the day on Il Labirinto's Instagram.
Top 8:
1st: Eros Andreolli - Chane, Bound by Shadow
2nd: Alessandro Tassini - Bravo, Star of the Show
3rd-4th: Davide Rizzi - Prism, Sculptor of Arc
3rd-4th: Andrea Pizzetti - Bravo, Star of the Show
5th-8th: Mauro Giuseppe di Lauro - Viserai, Rune Blood
5th-8th: Claudio Paradiso - Bravo, Star of the Show
5th-8th: Federico Chiarel - Briar, Warden of Thorns
5th-8th: Dario Bonomi - Viserai, Rune Blood
Tortuga Art and Weird Café, Thailand
The final match saw Jason Zhang's Dash, Inventor Extraordinaire deck face off against Thanthawat Chujitngamsuwong's Oldhim, Grandfather of Eternity to claim victory in this 22 person event.
Top 8:
1st: Jason Zhang - Dash, Inventor Extraordinaire
2nd: Thanthawat Chujitngamsuwong - Oldhim, Grandfather of Eternity
3rd-4th: Pathomtarn Arsaithamkul - Bravo, Star of the Show
3rd-4th: Ekalux Ua-areemitr - Bravo, Star of the Show
5th-8th: Khonthee Poosadee - Briar, Warden of Thorns
5th-8th: Tatthep Kasetsin - Bravo, Star of the Show
5th-8th: Phitchaya Tungpavitaya - Dorinthea Ironsong
5th-8th: Rangsiman Sriphueak - Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light
NC Games, United States
"Justin Doggett, a local small business owner of Kyoto Style Coffee in Chicago, prevailed with Dori Sabers. He fought his way through Katsu, Starvo, and Starvo in a 3-0 perfect top 8 single elimination bracket. Each time, a strategically pitched CASH IN card made him a 5-card hand for the finishing play."
Top 8:
1st: Dorinthea Ironsong
2nd: Bravo, Star of the Show
3rd-4th: Viserai, Rune Blood
3rd-4th: Bravo, Star of the Show
5th-8th: Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light
5th-8th: Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light
5th-8th: Katsu, the Wanderer
5th-8th: Chane, Bound by Shadow
Dueling Land - United States
"Overall the event was great! The exclusivity of this event attracted many players from other states to complete! We are a smaller shop capping at 24 players, but we worked out a deal with the pizzeria next door so we could host up to 48 players. Each location had a judge and timer/scoreboard dedicated for each location, and walkie-talkies to sync round timers or discuss issues. Everything went very smooth, the first 6 rounds were done on time and we even scheduled a 30min lunch period where players could relax a little and eat.
The players were very happy with the prizes, we even gave away 3 booster boxes of Everfest and some of our own playmats. This really was a fun event, and we look forward to hosting more in the near future!"
Top 8:
1st: Jeerod Balangan - Chane, Bound by Shadow
2nd: Jie Ma - Bravo, Star of the Show
3rd-4th: Chris Brummett - Bravo, Star of the Show
3rd-4th: Tucker Campbell - Oldhim, Grandfather of Eternity
5th-8th: Nick Zimmerman - Viserai, Rune Blood
5th-8th: John Siadak - Viserai, Rune Blood
5th-8th: Seth Roberts - Dash, Inventor Extraordinaire
5th-8th: Keenan Humphrey - Bravo, Star of the Show