Flesh and Blood 2024 Rewind - Hits, Misses, and Highlights!

2024 is coming to an end, and it was one of the biggest years ever for Flesh and Blood. The game's 5th year was a rollercoaster of emotions, but we still had time to grow and test out the many heroes that were released this year.

Let's rewind and go through everything that happened in this incredible year!

We started off the year defrosting from Lexi, Livewire's and Iyslander, Stormbind's 2023 Ice Age, and got a set that brought us back to Flesh and Blood's most ancient roots. Heavy Hitters brought back not only the first Flesh and Blood classes (apart from Ninja), but also introduced a slower game style that focused more on value.

If you'd like to explore this set a bit further, check out our Heavy Hitters review!

A Dramatic Turn of Events

This set directly impacted the meta, as Victor Goldmane, High and Mighty, Kassai of the Golden Sand, and Kayo, Armed and Dangerous (which was, at the time, the best Classic Constructed deck) quickly became popular.

To many, this season was the best season the game has ever had, as many decks were viable and not even the strongest decks were vastly more powerful than other decks. Kano, Dracai of Aether, Dromai, Ash Artist, and Prism, Awakener of Sol were a few of the excellent heroes that could bring you great results at this time.

In this season, still, Dromai, Ash Artist suddenly starting getting win after win, as well as, obviously, many Living Legend points. Remember, there were no Ice strategies in this meta, and it, overall, focused a lot more on value, but she still managed to go around all of this, thanks to her horde of Dragons. In one of the most exciting Pro Tour finals, she got practically all the thousand points she needed to reach Living Legends status, and was the only hero that did so in 2024.

If you want to hear more details about this story, check out our article about Pro Tour: LA!

The Beginning of Armory Decks

It was also at this time that LSS created a new line of products: Armory Decks. So far, they had only released Blitz precons, which didn't make a lot of sense, considering Classic Constructed was and still is the most popular Flesh and Blood format. So, they created Armory Decks, which were designed to introduce new players to the game. Furthermore, this product is perfect for veterans, as it includes exclusive cards.

Kayo, Armed and Dangerous was the star of the first Armory Deck, but, throughout the year, we got many more of them, which only became better and better in terms of quality. Even the new cards included in them became better and better - and they even gave us a new hero.

Well, June comes along, and we get one of the most controversial sets in the last few years. Part the Mistveil brought quite a lot to the game, namely, a new talent (Mystic), and a higher power level. It also introduced Flesh and Blood into the Japanese market.

You can read our Part the Mistveil review here.

The heroes in this set immediately impacted the game when it came out. Enigma, Ledger of Ancestry became incredibly popular, and was once considered the best hero in Classic Constructed because her game style was identical to Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light's (may she rest in peace). Nuu, Alluring Desire was also considered the best Assassin in the game at this time because she combined Uzuri, Switchblade's mechanic with Arakni, Huntsman's.

We didn't know it then, but we'd soon have to face one of the biggest problems in Flesh and Blood ever - and it eventually led us to one of the biggest structural changes ever done in Classic Constructed.

The "Zen" Problem

Zen, one of the strongest heroes in the history of Flesh and Blood, suddenly came along and broke Classic Constructed into two pieces. With a strong equipment set, like Traverse the Universe, he could use one of the strongest combos in the game: Bonds of Ancestry (1), Art of War (2), and tons of damage.

He quickly started dominating every competitive format, which led to one of the worst Skirmish seasons for Blitz.

This Ninja put all heroes in their place. Basically, your opponent had to win the game before the Zen player found their pieces. Otherwise, they'd just mow you down. First, LSS tried to contain him with one ban, but it didn't work out, and the situation only got more delicate as time went on. Then, they gave us the most important banlist the game has ever seen.

Book Burning

The September 4th banlist, or, as it was known later on, the "Book Burning", was the most significant and deeply impactful banlist in the history of Flesh and Blood.

It was not only supposed to solve all problems regarding Zen: it was supposed to solve a structural issue Flesh and Blood had with card advantage - positive card draw. This change affected cards like Art of War (2), Bonds of Ancestry (1), and Tome of Fyendal (2), but it was extremely positive, and slowed down the game considerably. Flesh and Blood was no longer about explosive turns.

At this incredibly important moment in the game, we got Rosetta, which, in turn, brought support for two classes that were struggling: Runeblade and Wizard.

To see more about this set, check out our review.

Because Rosetta brought back the Earth and Lightning talents, all heroes in this set tried to "rework" their classes and bring us new ways to play - particularly the Wizards. Earth cards were more defensive, perfect to stall through the early game to set up a devastating late game, while Lightning cards were faster, perfect if you want to end the game as fast as possible.

A Shooting Star in the Meta

The hero that truly became strong in this meta, dominated by Part the Mistveil, was Aurora, Shooting Star. Her gameplay was incredibly consistent, and her hybrid damage output (physical and arcane) made her aggressive on two different fronts.

However, she wasn't the only hero that benefitted a lot from this set. Viserai and Vynnset got great upgrades, to the point we simply had to consider them as options in the meta. Dash I/O was also nearly broken in this meta because of her interaction with High Octane (1) and Cerebellum Processor (3). However, this action card was banned after Worlds.

1st Strike Decks

A bit after Rosetta, LSS released the 1st Strike Decks. Blitz precons are nothing new, but it was the first time we saw a deck like this: designed with beginners in mind, with exclusive cards.

Starred by Aurora and Terra, these decks are super simple to play and are perfect if you want to teach or learn the most basic Flesh and Blood concepts. Whereas Aurora is quite aggressive, Terra is a lot more defensive (their attacks are more powerful, though). These decks also include several exclusive cards that have even seen play competitively, like Sizzle and Static Shock.

Now, let's take a look at a few stats from this year:

- LSS released 14 new adult heroes, and 14 new young heroes.

- The game became available in two new countries: Mexico and Japan.

- The following heroes hit Living Legend status: Dromai, Ash Artist, Dash, Briar, Rhinar, and Victor Goldmane.

- We had two Pro Tours - Dromai, Ash Artist took one, and Uzuri, Switchblade took the other.

- Enigma, Ledger of Ancestry won Worlds.

- For the first time, LSS removed a hero from the Living Legend list (Zen, in Blitz).

Flesh and Blood has grown exponentially with time, and there have been more and more tournaments every year. 2024 was a great year competitively speaking, both for local tournaments and international events. We have reached the end of another year, despite all the problems we faced... And, just around the corner, we can already see The Hunted, the return of the Draconic talent, and support for Arakni... lots of Arakni.

What was your favorite moment in 2024? Tell us your thoughts in our comment section below.

Thank you for reading, and see you next time!