Flesh and Blood - Mastery Pack: Guardian Review

Over time, LSS has given certain Flesh and Blood classes a lot of support. In fact, lately, the company released a very modest array of support cards to classes that, so far, had received close to no support at all. However, as this happened, other classes, like Guardian, were naturally left behind.

Since the last time LSS released support for a class (with Heavy Hitters in January 2024), Guardians didn't get any support outside expansion slots. On the other side, Assassins, Mechanologists, Ninjas, and Runeblades got a lot more support compared to Guardians, which only got one new hero (Jarl Vetreidi, which, in turn, focuses more on the Earth and Ice talents). As such, this class now needs dedicated support to keep up with the others.

Now, LSS has released two new products to change this. The next set, Super Slam, will focus on Guardians and Brutes (as Brutes also need some support). However, before this set, they will also release another set altogether that focuses on Guardians: Mastery Pack: Guardian.

Mastery Packs are a new line of products that supports a specific class (in this case, Guardians), but they also include a few generic cards. This set isn't draftable nor one of the main sets of the year (this means we can't use Mastery Packs in sealed formats in competitive events), but you can use them to play Crack, Shuffle, and Play (a format in which each player opens three boosters, shuffles them, and plays with them as a full deck).

This may seem like a full-on support set, but let's see how it will actually impact the Guardian class.

Mastery Pack: Guardian didn't introduce any new mechanics to the game, but it does feature some familiar Guardian mechanics.

Clash

Clash was introduced in Heavy Hitters and is quite simple to understand. First, the two players (attacking and defending) must reveal the top card in their decks. Then, the one that reveals the most powerful Attack Action will "win" the Clash, and the Clash effect in that particular card triggers.

In Test of Iron Grip, for instance, whoever loses the Clash will have to discard a card. Furthermore, you can find Clash in more than just Block cards, like Clash of Bravado, for instance.

Please note that you can tie (if your Attack Actions have the same amount of power), and there may not be a winner at all (if you don't reveal Attack Actions).

Crush

Crush is as old as Flesh and Blood itself and only appears in Guardian cards. It basically works like this: if an Attack with Crush deals four or more damage, its Crush effect triggers. Put ‘em in Their Place, for instance, doesn't have any on-hit effect, but if it deals four or more damage, the opponent will have to discard their hand and draw that same number of cards back.

Heave

We hadn't seen Heave in a while, but now it has returned. Heave always comes with a number (Heave 2, for instance). At the end of your turn (more precisely, at the beginning of your End Phase), you may put a Heave card face-up in your arsenal for its Heave cost (Heave 2 costs 2, for instance), and, if you do, you'll create that same number of Seismic Surge (so Heave 2 creates 2 Seismic Surge).

This mechanic used to be featured exclusively in Attacks. Overswing (1) is the only exception.

Valda has been in Flesh and Blood for years as a Young hero, Valda Brightaxe, but now this set has brought us the adult version. Her ability is the same (though she doesn't have exactly twice as much life as the Young version has). But can she find a place in the meta?

Today, Valda has a reasonable set of cards to play. She also has a few powerful Crush Attacks to play, but not that many cards to create Seismic Surge besides her own ability and "wheel" cards (effects that let you shuffle a certain number of cards back into the deck and draw that same number back), which are also difficult to find. That's why we mostly played other Guardians in Blitz. That was also the case for Classic Constructed, but now we got some support for her.

Valda Support

One of the best things we got from this set was support for Seismic Surge tokens, which we hadn't seen in a while. Past Expansion Slots and Tectonic Plating do interact with these tokens, but no Guardians used them effectively in their game plans. Now, Valda is trying to change that.

Her ability does create Seismic Surge, but with cards like Seismic Eruption and Ley Line of the Old Ones, you'll create lots of them and be able to set up devastating Attacks.

This Mastery Pack also brought us nice attacks, both for Valda and for the Guardian class in general. Let's go through a few of them. Headbutt, at first glance, might seem weird and situational, but it is blue, so it could help you in the second cycle with 7-power breaking point.

This set also includes some cards that could heavily disrupt heroes that work with Aura Tokens, like Vynnset, Iron Maiden (which works with Runechant), Kayo, Armed and Dangerous (which works with Agility and Might), and even Prism, Awakener of Sol, which can create Spectral Shield in some ways.

Now, let's go through a new archetype for Guardian: the Mill archetype.

"Mill" is a very common archetype in TCGs that essentially focuses on destroying the top cards in the opponent's deck until they have none. It's not the first time we see cards like these in Flesh and Blood, but it is the first time we see this strategy in Guardian cards.

Many new cards "mill" the opponent and, as such, give this class a new way to win. Daily Grind, for instance, progresses this game plan even when you're defending yourself, Leave a Dent destroys the cards your opponent would draw in future turns, and so on and so forth.

Guardian is already popularly known as a class centered around fatigue. With these cards, you may fatigue your opponents even faster and solve one of the greatest issues these fatigue decks have: time-related ties.

Despite these new additions to constructed, the best highlight from this set is the sealed format, Crack, Shuffle, and Play.

In this set, many cards check if the opponent is a Guardian, such as, for instance, Smelting of the Old Ones. These cards are not that great in constructed, but in this sealed format (where everyone will be playing Valda Brightaxe), they could change the course of a match completely.

Despite not giving us any significant reprints, this set gave us many common and rare reprints (and some rares were even "downshifted" to commons in this set) that will support sealed nicely. Debilitate (3) and Thunder Quake (3) are staples in this class and could be a lot of help.

Now, let's see some highlights from this set that could find space in constructed.

Visit Anvilheim lets us remove -1 counters from our shields, so we can make them a lot more resilient. Considering the entire set, Testament of Valahai will be a great target for it, but older shields could also be excellent, like Seasoned Saviour. This card never actually saw play, but it could find space now because of this new way to remove counters.

The new legendary Leg piece, Base of the Mountain, is a true way to defend yourself. Because of its effect, we can cheat out attacks with Dominate and become a true fortress. The best part? It is also generic equipment, so you can play it in any class that wants to block this much.

Fearless Confrontation seems a bit too specific because of its effect, but it is better than it sounds: it's a blue card that blocks for 3, and we have a hero that could get a lot from its effect, Gravy Bones, Shipwrecked Looter. We can discard this card without using this hero's ability, and its effect can be useful to save bigger Allies, such as Sawbones, Dock Hand and Chum, Friendly First Mate.

To sum up our review of the Mastery Pack: Guardian, let's go through it from two points of view: the sealed format and the constructed format.

We first tried Crack, Shuffle, and Play in Bright Lights, but back then it wasn't that great. The combination of so many mechanics together and cards that didn't really interact all that well with each other made the experience a bit awkward. Furthermore, we couldn't for sure get the hero we wanted to play in those 3 boosters or get all the core equipment cards, which were a prerequisite to play this set's sealed format.

The Mastery Pack: Guardian sealed format is a lot better developed and thought out. You'll find the main hero and her weapon (High Riser) in every booster, the cards interact well with each other, and the effects seem quite balanced. With Valda's effect, the game won't be about fatiguing each other every time, and the cards by themselves are very simple and easy to understand.

Besides that, the other new product, Smash Palace (which we won't discuss in detail today), uses Mastery Pack boosters to build the Ultimate Pit Fight decks. It turned it into an excellent casual format and also more beginner-friendly.

As for constructed, we'll mostly end up using the majestics and legendaries from this set. No current Guardian deck will be radically changed by this set, but some got some new cards. Bravo, Showstopper could use the new mill cards in its fatigue strategy, and Victor Goldmane, High and Mighty got a few interesting Clash cards, like Pec Perfect. However, heroes like Betsy, Skin in the Game and Jarl Vetreidi didn't get a lot for their strategies.

In the end, the Mastery Pack: Guardian is an excellent product for sealed. Its mechanics are easy to understand and simple to play, so it's perfect for beginners or anyone who wants to experience some casual play through Crack, Shuffle, and Play. However, it doesn't seem that great for constructed. Because of how simple it is, the most powerful cards are not much to go on. And, though it gave us a new mill strategy, it doesn't seem enough to see play in the meta. Furthermore, Guardians still have some issues to beat some popular decks, like Gravy Bones, Shipwrecked Looter, for instance.

What about you? What did you think of this set? Tell us your thoughts in our comment section below.

Thank you for reading, and see you next time!