Old Heroes Anew in Part the Mistveil

With the conclusion of preview season comes two camps of Flesh and Blood players: those who are excited to play the new heroes, and those who are excited to play the old. This is a relatively new feeling for the FAB player base since it’s only been three sets since the expansion slot melded supplemental cards seamlessly into full releases. In Bright Lights we were introduced to 14 expansion slots, ten in Heavy Hitters, and now a truly exciting line up of 13 in Part the Mistveil. Let’s give them an honest look.

Visit Goldmane Estate

While it should’ve been named Visit Goldmane Stables, this card is an interesting upgrade for a Victor deck. Previously, Victor would use his generated Gold to re-clash or buff The Golden Son. Because these were the only payoffs, you’d also see Victors use Gold just to draw a card to hand fix. With Visit Goldmane Estate, there’s incentive to let Gold build up, which adds more decision points to an otherwise basic value deck.

Are you ok with a clash loss just to keep the Gold alive? Do you just block with The Golden Son because you don’t want to crack the Gold yet? The payoff per Gold is at least always going to convert to damage with Might and has no cap. Have six Gold? That’s one resource for six damage and a card draw. There will be highs and lows surrounding this card… Both for the Victor who slams it for ten Might and for the Victor that reveals it to a losing clash.

Visit the Golden Anvil

This was my favorite card from preview season until… Well, you’ll see Levia’s card in a bit. This wonder belongs to Olympia, Prized Fighter and unlocks a playstyle I thought Olympia would have on release: a gladiator constantly re-equipping during combat. With the Gold he wins from wagers, Olympia can replace temper, blade break, and single use equipment from his inventory. This means you can equip multiple of the same equipment. Facing a Kayo, Armed and Dangerous? Bring three Balance of Justice and keep getting five value out of your head!

The most interesting combo I’ve been toying with is starting with two Parry Blades for the early game, then switching to Decimator Great Axe for the endgame grind. More realistically, you could cycle through a Prized Galea to win two Gold, have a pop-off turn with Courage of Bladehold, then swap to another helm and chest. It’s a clear three-of include in any Olympia deck and sure to inspire a lot of fun games of gladiator fantasies.

Supercell

Talk about a card no one was expecting! This is direct support for the Construct Nitro Mechanoid deck which found a home with Maxx “The Hype” Nitro due to his ability to create Hyper Drivers. While still lacking top finishes, it’s a deck that many players fear. The combo with High Octane and Construct Nitro Mechanoid means you can truly one-turn-kill. The vulnerability of this deck came from potentially seeing your Constructs where you didn’t want them: either banishing it away early or having to pitch them before you have three Hyper Drivers. However, Supercell as a two-card combo with a blue means you can not only rescue a Construct and shuffle the deck, you can also ramp into a new Hyper Driver and stock a current one with more steam counters.

For a deck that could already ramp two Hyper Drivers with ease, it was really the third one that could slow down the game plan. You needed to either boost away cards like Big Bertha or play a Hyper Driver from hand. Not the hardest thing in the world, but now you have another out in just playing Supercell. Hype!

New Evos

In the wild meta that was Heavy Hitters, even Teklovossen, Esteemed Magnate was finding pockets of success. You can bet all of it was tied to the sheer power of Singularity, and now it’s more reliable than ever due to Evo Recall. So many things about this card are exciting. For one, it’s part of a full suite of Evos with arcane barrier, but the critical piece is its ability to guarantee Singularity is part of the game.

It was such a risk to boost away Singularity that Teklo players didn’t run any, which drew a clear line between how he played in Limited versus Classic Constructed. In Limited, you were able to experience the highs tied to boosting away Evos for the free value gained with his hero ability. In Constructed, it was just too risky… until now.

Perhaps these are only used as arcane barrier pieces. Perhaps they unlock an aggressive boost deck. Perhaps only Throttle gets added since it fits the Teklo Leveler cost curve. Teklo players are a creative bunch, so I’m sure we will see soon!

Longdraw Half-glove

The depth of this card is exciting. At face value, it seems like you’re just turning two cards into four damage. Your FAB brain says that’s bad value, right? Well, consider if that hand lacked any buffs or you were locked out of playing them from the likes of Warmonger’s Diplomacy. Azalea, Ace in the Hole has gone through deckbuilding hoops to be more resistant to Warmongers, like adding Enlightened Strike, Ravenous Rabble, and Sigil of Solace, but now siding in Longdraw Half-glove into a Warmongers matchup gives her more agency. Likewise, Riptide, Lurker of the Deep could get his own arsenal clogged if he lost Trench of Sunken Treasure early. Ranger players love their time in the tank, and Longdraw Half-glove will only give them more options.

Murky Water

Riptide players were already finding success this season due to their solid matchup into Kayo, Armed and Dangerous, but they still faced an uphill battle into much of the field. Riptide, Lurker of the Deep could struggle to close a game if opponents stopped triggering traps and could only threaten one blowout per game, normally thanks to a Collapsing Trap. With Murky Water, those problems could go away.

Riptide’s signature weapon Barbed Castaway hasn’t seen much play, but it provides a reliable way to give Murky Water the aim counter it needs for plus one and dominate. The other options come from more unreliable means, like Sandscour Greatbow and Blessing of Focus. Will the allure of evasive damage be enough to make Barbed Castaway his new weapon of choice, or is the simple threat of a trap on hit all he needs? Remember, even just one Murky Water in the deck means it’s live for Codex of Frailty and Quiver of Abyssal Depths. How many times can you block six?

Kindle

I am wildly unqualified to speak for Kano, Dracai of Aether, but I have seen nothing but praise for this card from dedicated Wizard players. Rather than a card like Aether Arc, which was a timid design, Kindle is a re-exploration into instant speed like Cindering Foresight that rewards precise sequencing. The amp keyword is also a nice touch for future card text that will likely accent Aether Wildfire-style effects and can help build support for Wizard weapons like Surgent Aethertide.

Dust from Stillwater Shrine

The thematics are strong with this one. We continue to see the Dusts from their inspired regions, like with Dust from the Chrome Caverns from Bright Lights, but the difference now is that Dromai, Ash Artist has reached Living Legend. The card won’t, er… can’t see play, and definitely doesn’t represent the same power level as Dust from the Chrome Caverns or Dust from the Red Desert, as it’s ultimately just to protect two damage.

Shadowrealm Horror

There is no bias when I say how absolutely powerful this card is. Levia, Shadowborn Abomination can either slam you with above-rate small hands like Dread Screamer into Graveling Growl or craft larger turns with wide buffs and go again. Shadowrealm Horror is an incredible piece for both types of plays. There is the chance for a two-card play for twelve damage if Horror banishes three sixes with a one-cost like Slithering Shadowpede in the mix. On the upper end, you can just use the go again to push more consistent four-wide Bloodrush Bellow combat chains.

To help control its effect, you’ll have to balance using opportunities to block with spare sixes combined with smart equipment blocks to make sure you’re not adding misses to the graveyard. The good news is, no matter what you’re doing with Horror, it is terrifying. I look forward to the first posts of people pulling off Horror into Horror into Horror, or whatever craziness Blasmophet wills!

Eloquent Eulogy

To round out our list, we have support for Vynnset, Iron Maiden. Not only is she gaining a good matchup in Enigma (bye bye ward!), she also has an effective card for scaled play-making. As a one-card play, Eloquent Eulogy presents five damage and the threat of an Eloquence token across awkward breakpoints. On a turn with go again, a single damage from Deathly Wail means Eloquent Eulogy is now playable from its rune gate.

Eloquence goes a long way in helping Vynnset pull off combos alongside Funeral Moon at instant speed or a simple Read the Runes. I look forward to Vynnset’s place in the new meta as I have an inkling block-out strategies will be weak.

But who knows! Part the Mistveil is about to shake up Flesh and Blood for Nationals season in what is sure to be back-to-back events full of innovation and mastery. So get out there, play your pre-releases, and brew some decks!

Stay tuned for more Part the Mistveil set reviews soon!

Part the Mistveil Review – Assassin

Part the Mistveil Review – Ninja & Generic

Part the Mistveil Review – Illusionist