About Omens of the Third AgeOminous symbols illuminate the skies across Volthaven, and we can't ignore them any longer. A threat from another world is about to invade Rathe, and these omens must be defeated now.Omens of the Third Age is the 19th Flesh and Blood set. It was released this month, in June, centers around Lightning, and brought us 3 new heroes. It is also a draftable set (so you can play sealed formats with it) and introduced new mechanics to the Runeblade, Illusionist, and Wizard classes.Let's go through the new mechanics and see how each hero in this set works.LightningLightning is known for its interactions with instants and how easily it can create Action Points. Omens of the Third Age didn't change that.Because of this set, however, now this talent creates a new token, besides Embodiment of Lightning. We're talking about Lightning Flow.This new aura doesn't do much by itself. Instead, you'll use it like a resource for your heroes' abilities and also cards like Stormshard (1).Zyggy and the Illusionist ClassZyggy is the most unusual Illusionist in the game. While Prism, Enigma, and Dromai use their permanents to attack, Zyggy uses auras like a utility kit and tries to deal more damage through its weapon, Aphrodias, and its Attacks.Speaking of Attacks, here's another new mechanic: Fragment. An attack with Fragment gains -2 power whenever it is blocked by a 2-defense card or more (including Equipments). This might seem weak at first, but several Attacks do something else when you activate Fragment, like Unwinding Finality and Blink of an Eye. They'll make things really uncomfortable for the opponent.But Ziggy wouldn't be complete without new auras that interact with its ability. Consider, for instance, Corrosive Space Dust (1). It doesn't do much without a Holo counter, but, with Ziggy, besides dealing 1 Arcane damage when it leaves play, it gains Ward 4 and allows you to activate Aphrodias. Other auras, like Holo Shield (1) and Auric Shards (1), are also excellent targets for this ability.If you're playing Ziggy, try to threaten damage with Fragment Attacks while also putting auras in play, as well as threatening Arcane damage with your Weapon.Aurora and the Runeblade ClassAfter a short stint on Classic Constructed, Aurora is back as Aurora, Legacy of Tempest, but she is a little different: she only has Lightning (and doesn't have Elemental, so you can't use a few cards with her), and her ability is a bit more complex (you need to break a Lightning Flow to use it), but her overall style is still the same.This set brought a new mechanic to this hero: Quickstrike. An attack with Quickstrike gains a bonus if it has go again. Let's consider, for instance, the powerful Tempestuous Kiss: it is an Attack that costs 2, has 5 power, and, when it deals damage, forces the opponent to discard a card. At first, it might not seem that great, but, thanks to Quickstrike, it can gain +1 power and deal 1 Arcane damage (please note that, if the opponent takes that Arcane damage, that's when they'll have to discard a card), which makes it a lot better.To activate Quickstrike, your Attacks need to have go again, and there are a few support cards that can do that. Besides Aurora's ability, cards like Mercurial Skies (1) and Quick Succession (1) do that, but there are many Lightning cards that do that as well, like Starlight Road (3) and Stormwhirl (3).Just like old Aurora, new Aurora wants to set up as many attacks with go again as possible. It's the aggressive deck in this set that deals both physical and Arcane damage.Oscilio and the Wizard ClassAnd just like Aurora, another iconic hero is back with this set. Oscilio, Forked Continuum is the most unusual hero in this set because its mechanic centers more around Arcane damage, typical for the Wizard class, but also instants.The new mechanic in this case is Starfall: if an Instant goes to your graveyard, Starfall activates. Most cards with Starfall, like Astral Bridge and Cosmic Suture (1), only deal 1 Arcane damage, but others, like Comet Collision (1), do something else.Besides Oscilio's ability itself, some new Instants are great at activating Starfall, like Echoflash and Cosmic Flare (1). These instants do something relevant, so Oscilio wants to get as much out of them as possible and finish the game on the opponent's turn, just like all classic Wizards do in Flesh and Blood.Set HighlightsBesides these new mechanics and new support for each new hero, some cards in this set stand out because they're great overall, both for the Lightning talent and otherwise.Flowstate Embodiment will be the "glue" in Lightning decks because it's flexible. It can create Lightning Flow (which is more interesting for Ziggy) or Embodiment of Lightning (which is more interesting for Aurora). It doesn't do anything special: it's only flexible enough to earn a spot in many lists.This little fella is already one of my favorite Flesh and Blood cards because it is both incredibly charismatic and has great status: it blocks for 3, has go again naturally, and has an on-hit effect. You'll only need to play one Instant, but that won't be a problem for Lightning decks.Ominous Excavation (3) stands out because of a particular interaction. Once you play this card, it won't be banished (like Remembrance, for instance), so it can return to your deck with another Ominous.In other words, you can use one Ominous to return another to your deck and do this repeatedly. These infinite loops can work with cards like Gone in a Flash: you'll play your Attacks, then Ominous Excavation (3) to return another Ominous to your deck, return your Attack to your hand, and do this repeatedly turn after turn. It's a sort of anti-fatigue tool.Expansion Slot HighlightsBeyond what we've seen so far, an array of cards that aren't related to this set's theme also stand out. They'll support other heroes in the game.I just had to mention two cards that are extremely strong for Puffin Hightail, and this hero needed that sort of support. While Gear Turner looks for a Cog and puts it in play, Crash Site Salvage does absolutely everything this deck wants to do: it's an Attack with go again, creates Gold, blocks for 3, and is also yellow (which is helpful early on).These two cards are excellent for this hero and could be what it needs to show up in more competitive tables.Betsy, Skin in the Game was, possibly, one of the worst heroes in the game because it didn't have a proper identity nor a decent game plan. However, now a single card may change how we see it forever.Pile Driver changes this Guardian entirely: its cost fits the hero's ability, the Gold you get is extremely useful with your headpiece, Good Time Chapeau, and a few other cards already in the game, like Double Down. This Log might not be enough to make Betsy just as strong as other heroes, but it will certainly demand more respect now.Compendium of Rathe gave us an Arm piece that tutored a Shuriken from the deck, but, at first, it looked weird because there was only one Shuriken in the game. Now, however, it seems like a new archetype is about to be born.Now that we have three new targets for this Arms piece and an Attack that returns Shuriken to the deck, heroes like Katsu, the Wanderer and Ira, Scarlet Revenger can use this new Shuriken game plan. Will we see a new hero centered around this archetype soon?What is This Doing Here?Bad omens invaded this set and showed up as Marvel versions. A set of Marvels with an IAR code (possibly representing the next set) is featured in OMN boosters. As they don't belong to this set, we'll only talk about them in other articles. But they point to more bad things happening in Rathe soon...Please note that this Runechant cycle is already available in Classic Constructed. But, though they only appear as Marvels (for now), they're also available in Gem Pack 5 (the promo kit for participating in Armory events) as Extended Arts.Final WordsLightning has always been a strong talent, but are these new heroes up to the task?May 28th BansWe can't talk about these new heroes without discussing the massive May 28th bans, as they certainly affect how strong they are. All the cards that were banned would be strong with these new heroes: Channel Lightning Valley would see a lot of play with them, Skyward Serenade would be excellent with Aurora, Electromagnetic Somersault (1) would be particularly great with Zyggy, and so on and so forth.Without them, and without new, stronger cards, these new heroes might struggle a bit in Classic Constructed. They'll feel "incomplete" next to the other heroes. Please note that they won't be weak, just weaker than already consolidated heroes like Arakni, Marionette and Victor Goldmane, High and Mighty.No Support for Other ClassesAnother detail regarding this set is that, as it centers heavily around Lightning, it doesn't include many cards that center around specific classes. Apart from Wizard, which got some nice support (particularly for Silver Age), the other classes were left hanging.How They'll Impact the MetaConsidering so many consolidated heroes are seeing play, this might not be the best time to introduce new, unstable heroes. Zyggy might see some play because it is part of a particularly strong class, but I believe we'll need to give these new heroes more time.Nationals will certainly define the new meta if Victor, Prism, and Dash I/O hit Living Legend status. Cindra, Puffin, and Jarl are quite solid, but they might perform better after the meta shifts again.What do you think? Tell us your thoughts in our comment section below.Thank you for reading, and see you next time!
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