Flesh and Blood - March 4th Banlist Review: Many Changes for Blitz and Commoner!

As scheduled, today, March 4th, the LSS once again updated their banned and restricted list and changed Flesh and Blood considerably, particularly Blitz and Commoner.

Here is everything they changed:

Blitz:

- Traverse the Universe is banned;

- Zephyr Needle is banned;

- Crown of Seeds is unbanned.

Living Legend:

- Electromagnetic Somersault (1) is restricted.

Commoner:

- Rosetta Thorn is banned;

- Waning Moon is banned;

- Zephyr Needle is banned;

- Ball Lightning (1) is unbanned.

Before we begin, please note that Zephyr Needle was banned in two formats for the same reason it was banned in Classic Constructed. If you'd like to see more about it, check out our last banlist review.

LSS didn't change anything in Classic Constructed in this banlist, but the format did change considerably during the last Road to Nationals season: namely, Viserai, Rune Blood became a Living Legend.

Viserai, the first Runeblade hero released in the game, was great for a long time because he represented the entire class very well. He alternated Attacks and Non-Attacks, interacted with Runechant, and dealt both physical and Arcane damage. Then, Everfest brought incredible cards for him, such as Vexing Quillhand, Swarming Gloomveil, and Revel in Runeblood. These cards were so fantastic, that they essentially made him the first Blitz hero to become a Living Legend.

However, in May 2022, LSS hit him quite heavily with a banlist update, and his entire strategy, as a whole, became a lot weaker. All simply because they banned (actually, suspended) Bloodsheath Skeleta.

Without this chest piece, Viserai lost one of his main combos (with Sonata Arcanix), and was forced to play as an aggro strategy. As time went on, he also lost many other cards. Belittle (1) was banned nearly a year later, and Rosetta Thorn left this format when Briar, Warden of Thorns became a Living Legend. After losing so many cards and not receiving any new support, Viserai was lost, forgotten, for many months.

Then, Rosetta comes along, brings us a lot of Runeblade support, and Viserai is reborn from the ashes. Malefic Incantation (1), Succumb to Temptation, and Runerager Swarm (1) are just a few of the new cards that started seeing play with him, but they're not the only ones. Rosetta also solved most of his problems by giving him not only attacks with Go Again but also disruption in many shapes and forms.

With this set alone, Viserai went from forgotten to the best hero in Classic Constructed, and eventually got the points he needed to become a Living Legend.

Viserai was also the first of the "OG heroes" (the first eight heroes released with the game) to become a Living Legend, and the first talentless hero to do it as well.

Last Skirmish season, we all saw how relatively healthy Blitz was: many heroes were performing quite well in tournaments, including Data Doll MKII, Blaze, Firemind, Zen, Aurora, and Victor Goldmane, who often stood side by side on podiums. Nonetheless, Victor became a Living Legend in this season, which left the format without any control decks, and, as such, perfect for aggro decks to prey on.

Unbanning Crown of Seeds (again) is supposed to introduce control Earth decks in the meta, such as Terra and Florian, and balance all archetypes a bit, particularly because aggro decks are getting better by the hour. Nonetheless, the LSS will monitor this card closely in case the Earth talent ends up suffocating aggro decks.

Traverse the Universe has been problematic ever since it was released back in Part the Mistveil, even in Classic Constructed. The fact it is a sort of Belittle (1) in equipment form means it lets Mystic heroes play with six cards when they Transcend for the first time. Furthermore, this equipment was part of the "Zen problem" that both Classic Constructed and Blitz had.

And Traverse was still a problem. Besides its excellent block value, playing a smaller deck means you could find your Transcend cards faster, and, as a result, find Inner Chi faster. We always had this head piece available for Zen, and could always set up our greatest turns with them.

So, they simply decided to ban this card.

Rosetta impacted Living Legend immediately. This set not only improved Viserai, Rune Blood and Briar, Warden of Thorns, but also made new heroes viable, like Aurora, Shooting Star. Yet, one specific hero got a lot stronger after this set and the Armory Deck: Jarl came along: Bravo, Star of the Show.

Starvo decks changed almost entirely after these two products were released. Many cards started seeing play in this list, like Fruits of the Forest (1), Felling of the Crown, Trip the Light Fantastic (3), Lightning Greaves, Frozen to Death, and others, but one, in particularly, was a lot more powerful than it should be: Electromagnetic Somersault (3).

The fact this Instant returns an Attack to your hand is a way to "play around" the restrictions this list has. Who cares if Crippling Crush is restricted in this format if Bravo can play nine copies of Electromagnetic Somersault (3) and convert them into more copies of Crippling Crush.

Despite this restriction, Starvo got many new cards, and might remain a problem for some time. So, the LSS will monitor him during the next Skirmish season, and might announce more changes in the next banlist update.

Unlike other formats, there are no oppressive, game-ending cards in Commoner precisely because all cards in this format are commons or rares. As a result, the best decks are always those with the best numbers - defensively or offensively.

That being said, the best decks in the format (Ira, Crimson Haze, Iyslander, and Chane) played the best weapons in terms of numbers, and dominated the game for a long time. Banning these three weapons is a great way to hit these heroes, and should make the heroes that don't play weapons as powerful as the ones above viable.

Unbanning Ball Lightning (1) caught everyone by surprise. Why would they unban a card so powerful that is also banned in Blitz and Classic Constructed in the common-focused format?

As we mentioned before, in a number-based meta that doesn't have powerful cards or Lightning heroes, this decision will give this talent a great tool to compete with the other decks. Of course, if this Attack is too much, they'll ban it again. However, considering the other impactful changes in this banlist, now really is a good time to test this Attack again.

Now, let's see how all of these changes will impact their formats.

Runeblades Are Still Great

We're witnessing one of the best Classic Constructed metas of all time. Though some classes do need support, the best decks are quite diverse. Aurora, Shooting Star will now be the best Runeblade hero around, but Cindra, Dracai of Retribution is also a great aggro alternative.

To fight the new wave of aggro decks, we have Nuu, Alluring Desire, Prism, Awakener of Sol, and Arakni, Marionette, which have been performing quite well. They should grow a bit more now that Viserai is gone.

The next competitive season (Pro Quest: Singapore) will bring us two great additions: Aurora's Armory Deck, as well as the highly anticipated Maxx 'The Hype' Nitro Armory Deck. Will Maxx be able to shake up the metagame?

Time for Control

Throughout its entire history, Blitz was known as a super-fast format. As these faster decks became Living Legends, the meta slowed down, but then the latest additions, like Aurora and Armory Deck: Dash, sped things up again.

Introducing a new control tool to this format might be a great way to balance such a fast meta, but this might be "too great". We've seen before how control decks like Oldhim, Iyslander, and even Ira, Crimson Haze can dominate competitive settings. Cards like Count Your Blessings (1) and Shelter from the Storm might not only tie more matches but also make Earth heroes unbeatable.

Let's see how this season goes.

Always a Starvo

Living Legend has always been a rollercoaster of emotions when it comes to balancing Starvo. There were times he was unbeatable, then times he wasn't even viable, and now, after Rosetta, he is once again dominating the format. And we could see this clearly not only in the last Skirmish season, but also because there were 5 Starvos in the Calling: Chicago's Top 8.

This restriction will also affect Aurora, Shooting Star in this format directly, but her Armory Deck might make up for the space this Instant will leave.

Let's keep a closer eye on this Skirmish season and see if this restriction is enough or if this Guardian will still dominate this format.

The Biggest Change in the History of Commoner

These bans will surely change Commoner considerably. Apart from Iyslander, who lost one of her most critical cards and now may become obsolete, Ira, Crimson Haze and Chane will still see a lot of play. However, now that the top decks are weaker, other decks might take their place. Enigma, Dash, and Oldhim are a few heroes that might start showing up in competitive tables after these changes.

The real winners are Lightning heroes, who will get back one of the most powerful commons in the game. And, if that's enough to put them back in the meta, only time will tell.

What did you think of these changes? Would you change anything else? Tell us your thoughts in our comment section below.

Thank you for reading, and see you next time!