Flesh and Blood Season 9 Skirmish is about to start, and with it the Blitz meta is revealing itself. This season has a number of good choices, but there are a few that stick out as the top. These are Zen, Blaze, Firemind, and Kayo. There are other decks that are very close in power level, these three just rise to the top due to their consistency. They manage to do their thing almost every game, and when combined with some class/talent tools, they can get through a lot of tough situations.

That being said, every deck has some kind of counter. This means it’s a good idea to scout out what will be in a room at your Skirmish event and adjust accordingly. When in doubt, attack their arsenals.

Zen

Zen has shown himself to be the big bad of this Blitz meta. He can end games on the spot off of a decent draw and gives players very few good blocking options. This is also paired with him having seven block in his equip suite that can block out a six-power disruptive attack without much trouble. When it comes to Zen, you have to FORCE him to respect the game. A Zen left alone will do something explosive.

The Weakest Link

He’s a Mystic hero, and this means that he has to run more non-blocks than most heroes along with his Art of Wars. The Weakest Link can be crucial to getting Zen to slow down by taking a card from hand or getting him to block. This attack is best if you can sequence it after he’s blocked with Traverse the Universe. At that point you know he has an important non-block in hand and wants to pop off. If you can make his big turn fall flat, you can likely win as he performs like a standard aggro deck once his Traverse turn is gone.

Humble

Humble has been an on and off again relevant card since it was printed. Zen needs to use his ability in the first few turns to grab tempo where the rest of his deck will keep you out of the game. Threatening to remove his ability to get any card he wants and print Tigers is very good. Do note that this card only blocks two, which has been the deciding factor for me when choosing between it and other tech.

Amnesia

Combo has to have card names to work; this card removes those. It’s a clean and simple solution to the mechanic. It also happens to block three.

Goliath Gauntlet

One of the problems with disruptive attacks is that they’re usually six-power attacks. Zen blocks these pretty easily through equips and combo cards blocking for three a lot of the time. Gauntlet helps with that. Eight is a much better number when it comes to making Zen give you cards to avoid on hits.

Blaze

Blaze is the newest addition to the Wizard family, and a hero that any Talishar player has seen out and about. As usual, as soon as a Wizard is added to Blitz, they become a big part of the meta. Being able to push evasive damage at inopportune times is very good. Unfortunately (or fortunately) Blaze’s distribution has been bad (promo only) and you’re less likely to see a lot of them because of that.

Oasis Respite

As a Wizard, Blaze hates to see prevention. This won’t lock a game out like it would into something like a combo Kano, but it can win a close match if you catch them overextending into you while you’re presenting lethal.

Damage

Okay, obviously damage isn’t a card, but with some decks, it’s the solution. You’re much better off trying to high roll her with some rushdown aggro running Arcane Barrier 1 than trying to hard tech for her and losing space for other matchups. Load up as much utility equipment next to AB 1 and see if you can kill her before she does anything relevant.

Kayo

This hero was my pick for this season a few months ago and continues to be in contention along with Zen for my Skirmish deck choice. Kayo thrives on his ability to push damage while hiding behind his giant equipment suite. The deck asks you to respect its damage constantly and can end a wide deck’s turn with its hat. Kayo is by far the most adaptable of the three decks and can be a little harder to counter because of it.

Hold the Line

Hold the line has been a staple against Brute for a while. Being able to block for five from arsenal is big against the Bloodrush Bellow class. It’s also relevant to point out that the three prevention can be split and should be if you plan on using your whole hand to block on a Bloodrush turn.

Balance of Justice

Another card that has been a CC staple for countering Brute, Balance is kind of a Hold the Line in your equips. If your deck is mostly three-blocks this is likely to make five block value over the course of a game into Brute.

Arcane Damage

I find that Kayo’s speed can be countered by playing something that throws a bit of arcane at him. This in the form of Briar throwing tons of damage and ending on Rosetta Thorn or Wizard. Kayo has access to good Arcane Barrier but doesn’t like to pitch to it because he runs a pretty tight resource curve.

The Two Cards that Seem Good Against All Three

Command and Conquer (or as I like to call it, Coconut) as well as Pummel do things these decks hate, especially when combined. All three of these piles are notorious for banking key cards in their arsenal. Making them block to keep it is super effective against Kayo and Zen. Blaze can have trouble with this card because of her affinity for Absorb in Aether. If she gets this stuck in hand or arsenal while staring down Coconut, it can be super awkward.

Pummel, on the other hand, attacks these decks’ hands. All three of these decks have trouble playing when having their hand stripped. Blaze is a value deck that tries to keep enough cards to hold pressure or arsenal an important piece. The other two are aggro decks that want to block with zero or one card most turns. Pummel will take all of these decks off of their plans.

Time to Get Building

Now it’s time to get out there and tune your lists. These decks are powerful, but that doesn’t mean that they are unbeatable by any means. Pick whichever of these or other tools seem best for your hero and personal meta, and you should be able to up your win percentage into these giants.

Further Reading:

How to Upgrade the Zen Blitz Precon

The Power of Equipment in Blitz

Taking the Tempo in Flesh and Blood