This past Skirmish season I made the decision to meta game. I looked at the meta spread and realized all my favorite heroes were lacking in one way or another. I thought I would have a better time bringing something on-meta like Zen, Blaze, or Briar. I ended up settling on Zen as he is the most explosive of the three and can just win games out of nowhere with a 30 (or more) damage turn. This put me on a deck I didn’t care about and realistically don’t even like.

Fast forward about a week and I take Zen to a Skirmish. My first round, I find the things and blow them up. It was boring. The second round I couldn’t assemble a big turn and died to arcane damage. That was also a bad time. Then the third round I double Transcend and both of them were met with an Aetherize. At that point, I wasn’t having fun and wasn’t in contention for top cut. I ended up dropping and going home. There’s a certain point where you have to just realize that continuing an event is a bad idea.

Enjoying the Game

That being said, I’ve decided to spend my time playing and testing heroes I actively enjoy. I think there is a lot of merit to be had in playing the things you want to. At the end of the day it’s a game and we choose to play it for fun.

It’s more rewarding to take a hero you like to a win than it is to take a meta giant. This is specifically true when you’ve been teching for the meta. There is a lot of creativity to be had while building and tuning your favorite heroes. I think people actually give up on their favorites too quickly and miss a lot of the potential.

Play What You Know

Time and time again I’ve seen that people play the decks they have the most reps on better than they would something popular. When you end up at competitive events there’s usually more stress, and that’s not the kind of environment to be playing something that you’re still learning the intricacies of a list. When you’re under pressure it can be nice to be able to autopilot on something that you know well. This can also be applied when hitting an Armory after a long day. Playing what you know also comes in handy when you’re playing, or playing against, a turtle control strategy.

Knowing your lines makes sure that you don’t use more time than you should in a match and push it to time. This is generally just good manners in card gaming. There are a lot of players that think that if you didn’t manage to kill them within time that the draw is justified even if the game state was indicative of an inevitable outcome. This can be avoided by trying not to find that game state because you played something you know your lines for.

Getting in Reps

It’s hard to play a deck that you don’t enjoy. I’ve found this can make the process of running reps on meta decks terrible. I make a lot of bad plays when I’m bored. It becomes a matter of going through the motions rather than actively trying to learn things about the deck. I can’t keep myself invested in reps on meta giants. On the flip side I can play tons of reps on a deck I love. I’ve taken a pet deck and played hours of reps just because I was enjoying it. I’ve made things work into things they shouldn’t just via experience with the matchups.

Alright Jo, What Are You Playing?

I’ve talked about the merit of playing some of your favorite decks and I’m going to take a moment to talk about some of my favorites, starting with Valda Brightaxe. Valda is a hero I’m known for playing around my area. I haven’t gotten a chance to play her as much lately because I’d been focusing on decks that are more effective, but I think it’s time to return to drawing cards and making Seismic Surges. I also want to revisit playing some builds of Benji, the Piercing Wind. I’ve played him as control, midrange, and aggro. I just really enjoy building and paying Benji piles. The last thing I really want to explore more is Enigma, New Moon. I have an Iris list that’s a good core, but I want to see how viable that deck can be with some more reps.

Go Have Fun!

When playing Flesh and Blood it’s important to make your own fun. If the meta isn’t working for you, play what is. If you love something off meta, force it and win with experience. Playing something you hate just leads to having a bad time and ultimately burning out on a hobby.

Jo O'Brien

Jo (they/them) is an avid Flesh and Blood player, judge and, writer. They are one of the blitz specialists here at FABREC. Jo has played a lot of classes and heroes but, they have an affinity for two heroes in particular, Dash and Valda. When not playing FaB, Jo is typically filling their free time playing guitar, playing Apex Legends, or building their next Rube Goldberg machine of a deck.