Rise of the Warrior

LSS is starting 2024 with a big bang. Heavy Hitters is sure to be a Limited format homerun, and will have a significant impact on the Constructed meta. Let’s examine how the Warrior class stand to benefit from a fresh infusion of heroes, weapons, and other cards. 

Choose Your Champion

Kassai	Olympia

Quick Comparison

Kassai	Olympia
Prefers reds and yellows.	Prefers blues and reds.
Wants to attack multiple times per turn.	Wants to wager, therefore, may prefer attack reactions.
May prefer fewer attack actions.	May prefer more attack actions.

 

Kassai

Kassai has returned with a raise and a larger portfolio. She’s using the Deathmatch Arena to grind experience and fill her coffers.

Kassai, Cintari Sellsword from Crucible of War achieved Living Legend in 2023. How will this iteration of Rathe’s favorite budding warlord fare in the arena?

Hero Ability and General Strategy

Like all Warriors, Kassai thrives with the Agility token. Plus, when she draws a card on her turn, her sword attacks cost one fewer resource for the turn, so stacking up Gold tokens improves her efficiency and pays the wages of her ever-growing army.

Raise an Army, Kassai’s newest specialization, allows her to pay the going rate for the sandy fighters-for-hire, Cintari Sellswords. These mercenaries will only add their sword to the fit if Kassai makes the first move, so gaining go again off her weapon attacks is crucial to her strategy.

In constructed play, Kassai will have access to plenty of cards to give her first sword attack go again.

• Run Through
• Blade Runner
• Precision Press
• Warrior's Valor
• Spoils of War
• Glint the Quicksilver
• Hit and Run
• Blood on Her Hands

Heavy Hitters doesn’t include any cards like the ones above; Shift the Tide of Battle and Engaged Swiftblade come close but have added requirements. Instead, this set provides currency and tokens to perform similar functions asynchronously.

As I said with Dorinthea, Goblet of Bloodrun Wine is a near-perfect addition to the Warrior card pool. It creates an Agility and a Vigor token – it could pitch and block for nothing, like Gorganian Tome, and it would still see play. With the complete set finally revealed, we can see several playlines to get an Agility token on the field to set up powerful future turns.

• Wage of Agility
• Clash of Agility
• Test of Agility
• Agile Windup
• Goblet of Bloodrun Wine
• Flat Trackers
• Runner Runner
• Lead with Speed
• Agile Engagement
• Take It on the Chin
• Edge Ahead
• Shift the Tide of Battle

Generic Shoutout

There are plenty of generic cards Kassai can benefit from. The reprinted Trade In red, yellow, and blue allow Kassai a free attack with go again (from arsenal) and a chance to procc her ability to make her sword attacks cost one fewer resource.

Desert Hardware – Kassai’s Weapons and Armor in Heavy Hitters

Kassai needs one of three things from her equipment:

• Drawing cards
• Gaining go again or Agility tokens
• Staying alive

Hood of Red Sand accomplishes two of these objectives. It can block for one without breaking, thanks to battleworn. Then, when the time is right, you can break it to draw a card.

Imagine you have plenty of red and yellow pitch cards in your discard pile, a Hood of Red Sand equipped, two Cintari Sabers, two Cintari Sellswords, an Agility token, and a yellow pitch card in hand. 

• At the start of the turn, the Agility token resolves.
• Kassai attacks with a Cintari Saber, which gains go again.
• With the floating resource from the pitched yellow card, Kassai activates Hood of Red Sand.
• Kassai draws a new yellow card.
• The Saber deals two damage.
• Kassai attacks with each Cintari Sellsword, using the drawn card for resources.
• They each deal three points of damage.
• Kassai attacks with her other Cintari Saber at no cost from her ability.
• She deals two more damage.

From keeping one card, this uncommon Kassai line generated ten damage. Without the Agility token, she could have only presented one weapon attack for two damage.

At rare, Hood of Red Sand may pop up in your draft pod or limited pool as a clear value-add to a Kassai deck. It may be worth hate-drafting, and it may just force your hand to join the Cintari warpath.

   

Olympia

“What’s the deal with Olympia?” I hear you asking in the voice of your best Seinfeld impression. Well, he’s a professional fighter in the arena and likes to bet on himself.

Hero Ability and General Strategy

“The first time one of your attacks wins a wager, create a Gold token.” Can a hero power this simple really compete with the likes of Kayo and Betsy? 

It’s been called “five intellect with extra steps.” Let’s examine that phrase. With a Gold token in play, Olympia can cash it in for a new card. Ideally, he’ll use a blue pitch card on the Gold to leave himself one resource floating. If he can do that again with another blue, then he’s cycled two cards and effectively activated an Energy Potion that he never needed to play.

To pull off this advantage, Olympia needs to run blues and win wagers whenever possible.

In a draft, he should have his pick of blue Warrior cards since Kassai is incentivized from her hero ability to pick up reds and yellows.

He’ll need the extra blues to pay for the suite of Wage attacks. At three cost and seven damage on red, these are fantastic attacks in a Limited environment. They have great breakpoints and offer twice the benefit of the wager mechanic for Olympia. Wage Gold specifically can give Olympia two Gold tokens on hit to set up the Energy Potion scenario I laid out above.

Olympia can also use pumps like Edge Ahead, Hold 'Em, and Money Where Ya Mouth Is to add a wager to any Warrior attack, including a weapon.

Generic Shoutout

The generics in Heavy Hitters are powerful enough to draft early and stay open. Performance Bonus is fun add for Olympia players. It can pry cards out of your opponent’s hand as they try to keep your purse empty.

The Iron Price – Olympia’s Weapon and Armor in Heavy Hitters

Everything I said about Agility tokens for Kassai virtually holds true for Olympia as well. So let’s explore how the prized fighter can exploit the second best of the three incredible tokens of Heavy Hitters: Vigor.

One Vigor token from Vigor Girth or other means brings Olympia a single resource away from drawing a card from a Gold piece. Olympia can lean on Vigor tokens to fix all-red hands or pile up as many resources as possible to pump an attack action or prepare an onslaught of attack reactions from his blade. 

With the potential of extra resources, Olympia is primed to up the ante with pumps and attack reactions. If you’re able to pull a Hot Streak and get some wager pump in front of it like Money Where Ya Mouth Is, your opponent may feel forced into blocking with some attack actions and giving you go again.

Then there’s Olympia’s specialization helm, Prized Galea. Since Heavy Hitters doesn’t include any defense reactions, Olympia can pick the perfect time wager a Gold. Tossing his helmet aside with a flurry of steel is a flashy move. The crowd rewards such feats of valor and skill with a golden shower (notably one of the few innuendos LSS left out of the set).

More Heavy Hitters reviews:

The Best Heavy Hitters Cards for Commoner

Heavy Hitters Set Review – Generics and the Expansion Slot

Heavy Hitters Set Review – Brute