Flesh and Blood Review: July 3 2023 Banned & Restricted Announcement

On 03/07, LSS announced yet another banned and restricted list, bringing major changes to the Metagame for Classic Constructed format.

The following cards are banned in Classic Constructed:

- Oldhim, Grandfather of Eternity (and his Signature Weapon, Winter's Wail) has reached Living Legend status and therefore is no longer allowed in the format.

- Bull's Eye Bracers is banned;

- Pulse of Isenloft is unbanned;

- Bloodsheath Skeleta went from suspended to banned.

Oldhim, Grandfather of Eternity finally reaches Living Legend status. After Solana's illusionist Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light achieved status last year, the elemental guardian started to win more and more big tournaments, having massive participations in Calling, Pro Tour, Worlds and smaller events. But after all, what made him so strong and so competitive?

It's not worth talking about the types of lists and game plans here, but in fact the most memorable among the players was his fatigue version. This list was intended to hold as much damage as possible, a goal greatly facilitated by Crown of Seeds, until the opponent fatigued, thus finishing with Winter's Wail. Besides it, the more Midrange version of the deck didn't leave anything to be desired and was just as strong, making use of attacks like Oaken Old and Endless Winter that could only be used by the guardian.

In addition to these factors, Oldhim, Grandfather of Eternity was extremely flexible, with the pilot being able to switch between an aggressive or more defensive plan during the match. The deck could go more slowly, block and hit with its weapon Winter's Wail little by little or, in a weaker turn of the opponent, be very aggressive with attacks that only Oldhim has.

During its trajectory several cards were banned to hold the deck: Awakening, Pulse of Isenloft and Winter's Wail were the main ones, but several cards that aimed to worsen Iyslander, Stormbind also affected him like Amulet of Ice and Hypothermia, but that didn't make the deck any weaker and still won several big tournaments, thus leading him to his Living Legend status.

A hero loved by many and hated by others, yet one of the best control decks the game has ever seen, and with that status, the hero also makes history by being the first to achieve the status in both Blitz and Classic Constructed.

Since the release of Outsiders, Lexi, Livewire in its fuseless version (without the cards with the Fuse ability) has become the best aggressive strategy in the format, putting excellent decks in check and becoming a solid Tier 1, making her the deck to beat in the format and the favorite to play in big tournaments. Because of this and the high representativeness of the deck in the Top 8s, the need for a ban was clear - and the chosen card was Bull's Eye Bracers.

Common equipment allowed the Archer's large turns to be even greater. In addition to allowing a certain loop with Endless Arrow and being a Bolt'n Shot (1) in equipment form, there was still the possibility of it being almost guaranteed damage when there were difficulties in paying the cost of Voltaire, Strike Twice, because of this, the equipment was banned.

Despite affecting Azalea, Ace in the Hole, this ban is aimed especially at the Tales of Aria ranger, and both have good replacements for the equipment.

Despite this ban disappointing part of the community that expected Three of a Kind to go, the idea is to take some of the archer's power without necessarily taking her from her current position or weakening her to the point of sinking in the Metagame.

With the absence of Oldhim, Grandfather of Eternity, Pulse of Isenloft returns to the format because it no longer presents risks - since with the guardian, this card could activate both effects of the hero. Also, currently no Classic Constructed hero can run it in their deck, so it's completely acceptable for it to return to the format.

However, not all cards are so peaceful. While Bloodsheath Skeleta is no longer legal in the format, the fact that it was suspended would make it legal should Viserai, Rune Blood reach the Living Legend status, and several tests have been done to analyze a safe way to return it to the format (especially with a new Shadow Runeblade on the horizon), but the armor is problematic across the board. Not only does it make absurd turns possible, it limits the design of future cards for the Runeblade class. Because of this, it's now banned.

What to expect for the future of Classic Constructed? This is a very difficult question to answer.

The list, although short, brings several profound changes, taking away one of the main controls of the format and taking power from one of the best aggressive decks, making it fertile ground for other more aggressive strategies to rise in the Metagame like Viserai, Rune Blood and Fai, Rising Rebellion. Not only that, but several decks will be able to breathe new air and make room for other cards in the inventory (and without the guardian, we can reduce the amount of Remembrance).

As if that weren't enough, the next set, Dusk Till Dawn is just a few days away from its launch, and it's already been clear that more changes are to come. In addition to the new Light and Shadow heroes, strong support for Ser Boltyn, Breaker of Dawn and Levia, Shadowborn Abomination appears to hold promise to raise the competitive bar for these heroes, bringing even more uncertainty to the new Metagame to come. But let's analyze and see what can happen going forward.

Rangers will remain strong

Despite the ban, Lexi, Livewire has full capacity to adapt and maintain itself as an excellent competitive deck. It will still be possible to take big turns with Three of a Kind and be extremely aggressive thanks to Voltaire, Strike Twice and attacks like Bolt'n Shot (1).

Although Azalea, Ace in the Hole also suffers from the banit, she won't be as affected since her Go-tall plan remains unchanged.

Aggressive decks grows

With the departure of the guardian, many decks that suffered against him can grow, especially the Ninjas Katsu, the Wanderer and Fai, Rising Rebellion, both disputing the position of aggressive strategies with Rangers, but other decks go-wide can find a slot like Viserai, Rune Blood in his Royal version.

With these changes, it could also be the last opportunity for Briar, Warden of Thorns to find her place. Being two points away from reaching the Living Legend, this fertile meta for Runeblade could become the last one she'll play

The need for a new control

With so many aggressive decks emerging, it will take a new control to replace Oldhim, Grandfather of Eternity, and perhaps that space is occupied by Iyslander, Stormbind. Although the ice wizard has suffered from recent bans, her version focused on creating Frostbite can be good to hold this new meta. Besides her, more defensive versions of Bravo, Showstopper and Dash, Inventor Extraordinaire can be very relevant as well.

Another control version that could get even better is Dromai, Ash Artist. The deck was already showing very consistent results, and the list with several Defense Reactions and great dragons can hold all the aggression that the decks can present.

The list was very short and with few changes, but the consequences will be very significant. With the absence of the main control and the decrease in power of the main aggressive deck, a new meta is born, and along with it several uncertainties and a new terrain for discoveries and experiments.

What do you think of the banned list? Thanks for reading, and until next time!