(Kano, Dracai of Aether | Art by Alexander Mokhov)

Flesh and Blood is a game based on attacking, blocking, and using your life total as a resource to get an advantage during turn cycles. Most decks squeak the most value out of every card with above rate cards like zero-for-four and three-for-eight attacks, as well as trying to stay ahead in life to be in control of the game. This strategy of using the pound for pound best cards has won championships around the world and has dominated the competitive scene for years. But what if I told you there was a class in the game that always started at less life with less value, but is secretly the best class in the game? 

The First Wizard

The Wizard class started March 27th, 2020, with the release of Flesh and Blood’s second set,  Arcane Rising. This set introduced for the first time a hero that started with less life than every other hero in the set, and in the game at the time. For a couple of reasons this shook what we knew about the game to its core. Kano, Dracai of Aether, the poster child and initial test run of the Wizard class, started with only 30 health in Classic Constructed, which is a whole 10 less life than every other hero at the time!

In a game of trying to squeak the most out of every turn, how could this hero ever succeed by starting out massively behind? Surely this hero had amazing armor just like the Guardian class to protect it and allow you to use your cards and make up the life difference that way? No, Wizard has the worst armor in the game, only using Fyendal’s Spring Tunic, which blocks for one and breaks right after using it. Plus, when thinking thematically about Wizards in a fantasy setting, they never have armor to protect them in battle.

So the other way is that all of the cards in class have higher attack value than we have ever seen in the other classes to put it ahead right? But no again! The Wizard class provided a new way of playing the game using Wizard actions that do chunks of arcane damage that interacts with blocking and resources that no other class did at the time. You can’t block this damage normally in the defense step, but have to prevent the damage using arcane barrier, which was also a new addition to this set, to offset some of the damage coming in.

So how did Kano use this new tool to his advantage? Terribly. Back then the class was always considered F-tier in everyone’s opinion. Many people from back then would describe the deck as “something nobody played seriously” and a “waste of time.” There weren’t many public deck lists of the character going around back then, barely any records of it ever topping any local events, and it didn’t come close to being anywhere near top tables at competitive events that year. Starting off 10 life lower was just daunting, and something that you couldn’t come back from reliably at the time. The deck was unique though, and was the first class to be able to play on both players’ turns using non-attack actions as instants. Trading damage when your opponent didn’t have cards in hand to prevent it and hitting a different angle of arcane damage that only two heroes at the time could. This was also the time Storm Striders was introduced. A powerful new legendary equipment for Wizard, it allowed you to play the next Wizard non-attack action this turn as though it was an instant. The seeds of the deck’s potential were there, just not being harvested at that time. But there was hope at the end of summer.

Crucible

August 28th, 2020, five months after Arcane Rising, Flesh and Blood’s third set, Crucible of War, was released. A supplementary booster set, it was designed specifically to enhance and expand constructed play. With 198 new cards, and specifically 17 new Wizard cards, the set gave devoted Wizard hopefuls something to look forward to. Crucible introduced many cards that are still being played today, like Metacarpus Node, a Wizard arms equipment that buffs non-attack actions by one if they would deal arcane damage. There’s also Gaze the Ages, one of the best blue cards Wizard has ever gotten, with Opt 2, which lets you set up the top of your library or bottom cards you don’t need, making the game of banishing the top card with Kano more consistent.

But did that change people’s opinion on the class? No, absolutely not. The class was still considered one of the worst classes in the game, with not even a scratch of success at a high competitive level. The new tools were just not enough to overcome the daunting odds that the deck was facing. The best decks at the time, Dash, Dorinthia, Rhinar, and the dark horse at the time Katsu, all did their plan better and more efficiently than Kano without fail. They dominated that meta without a second look back at what Kano could do. 

Looming on the horizon was a chance of glory for Kano later that year at the first National Championships in FAB history. The September 26th, 2020 New Zealand Nationals were the birthplace of the game, and the first peek into what Wizards could do. But the main event wouldn’t be where Kano would shine. It would be on that Sunday for the Blitz Pro Tour Invitational event. Nick Holding, a New Zealand native, would get the first crack of glory for Kano winning the PTI event. A monumental win for Kano in Blitz, and an insight to how good the class would be in Blitz for years to come.

Not only did Nick win the PTI event, he also got some special gifts from the creator of the game himself. Marked as one of James White’s favorite heroes in the game, for this event it was special. James personally named Nick the first Dracai of Aether and gave him a special Cold Foil Kano that was inscribed by hand with the script on the card! A prize card, to this day, is the coolest Wizard flex you could have. 

A Faint Glimmer

The earliest hope people can remember that Kano had in CC was the very first Calling held in Las Vegas. On September 11th, 2021 Alex Vore, one of the best Kano players, gave the world of Rathe a true shock. Over one year after the last Wizard cards were printed Alex championed Kano to a day two appearance with the deck. Going 5-2 and squeaking into top 64 day one and finishing 7-4 on day two was something nobody predicted for the deck.

Using the old combo for the deck of playing multiple Lesson in Lavas and chaining them together to finally finish them off with Blazing Aether was the key strategy for the deck at the time. The deck abused people for not knowing what it could do as a surprise pick and abused the lack of Arcane Barrier against the deck, something that Kano still does to this day.

Then another shot of glory happened only two months later at the first U.S. Nationals in Orlando, on November 5th 2021. In the hands of none other than Alex Vore again, Kano had a top 16 placing. Championing the deck in a meta warped by a super aggressive red line Briar deck, Alex took advantage of the no-defense-all-gass playstyle of the top deck in the format, finishing Nationals at 12-4 with an impressive 8-2 CC record. Two back-to-back top finishes for Vore made an exciting finish of the year for him and Kano fans alike. 

Wildfire

More Wizard cards came with Everfest, a supplemental set designed to give every class a couple of extra new tools and a lot of upgrades for all decks alike. What Wizard got was very interesting. Firstly, a new Wizard hero was printed for the first time since Arcane Rising. Iyslander, a new Blitz hero, started with 18 health and was able to cast blue cards from arsenal at instant speed on your opponent’s turn. It was also an Elemental type that had an Essence of Ice ability, allowing you to use Ice cards to slow your opponents down in key spots.

But it was the second thing Wizards got that changed the entire future outlook for Kano. Aether Wildfire is a Wizard action that costs two resources and deals four arcane damage. But if played on your opponent’s turn, it buffs every other spell you cast that turn by the amount of damage it’s dealt. What this card created was one of the most consistent combos Wizard had ever seen.

A short three months after Everfest was the first ever Pro Tour in New Jersey. The meta going into the event was very defined by Starvo (Bravo, Star of the Show), Chane, and Prism creating a triangle format with advocates of what side was correct. But something showed up that nobody expected, besides one team and Alex Vore: Kano. Kano was a sleeper pick of the tournament, but it was the team over at Arsenal Pass that reinvented the deck, turning it into the streamline combo deck that we know today. Brendan Patrick, Sasha Markovic, and Hayden Dale used Aether Wildfire, any second spell, and Blazing Aether to do insane damage.

With a supporting cast of equipment like Ragamuffin’s Hat, which had never been used in a deck before but had a lead role in this, and the usual Wizard suite, this deck took the tournament by storm. Alex Vore, not a member of Arsenal Pass, also took Kano into this tournament, but didn’t have the tech the others had – that didn’t stop him. After going undefeated day one with the deck, Alex made it all the way into the top eight. Also in the top eight of that tournament was a part of the Arsenal Pass testing group named Sasha Markovic. Unfortunately, the deck didn’t win the tournament, but this new take on Kano made everyone respect the deck as a potential sleeper pick in any meta moving forward. 

The Ice Queen

The next step forward for Wizards was in March of 2022. Uprising, a new draftable set with an adult version of Iyslander (Iyslander, Stormbind), was printed. Finally a second CC Wizard hero was also legal, boasting an arsenal of blues and Ice cards alike to slow the opponents down, and a particular combo to win the game. Using Frost Hex and Ice Eternal, Iyslander’s goal was to set up the Frost Hex, give your opponent an abundance of Frostbite tokens with Ice Eternal, and win the game with arcane damage. This combo, however, was easily beaten at the start, and the deck was considered a more fringe level of play.

Powerhouses Fai (printed in Uprising), Oldhim, and Briar were all the frontrunners in the format. At the end of August the second world championship was held in Lille, France. There was very little sign of the Wizards at that event, and overall it was a very medium performance for the class, with only eight people playing it on day one and six decks, five Iyslander and 1 Kano, making day two. 

The real breakthrough for Iyslander would come at that year’s U.S. Nationals at the hands of the goat of FAB, Michael Hamilton. He had a very interesting take on the Iyslander deck that he says came when he was testing for Limited. He stated that he really liked attacks in his deck in Limited for her and decided to take that same theory to Classic Constructed. Michael registered Wounded Bull and other super efficient attacks in the deck to out-value and chip his opponent down before eventually finishing them off with a fury of arcane damage on their turn. This was a revolutionary way to play the deck at the time, and surprised everyone that weekend. This was also now the new gold standard of building the deck, which gained the nickname “Bullander.” That U.S. Nationals win firmly cemented what the deck could do in the format, and challenged a lot of deck building philosophy in many decks across the board. 

Worlds

Michael’s reign of champion wouldn’t just be at US Nationals this year though. On November 3rd, 2022 the first ever Flesh and Blood World Championship was held in the United States, and Michael again brought Iyslander. The meta was in a semi-defined state where a new triangle of Iyslander, Oldhim, and Fai was established with Briar being a sleeper pick looking in. After two days of action the top eight of the tournament was settled. With two Iyslander, two Fai, two Briar, one Dromai, and one Oldhim, there was quite an open field for the championship. But at the end, the reigning U.S. champion added another title to his amazing career, becoming the first World Champion of FAB. He also added another Calling victory to his belt at Calling:Indianapolis only three months after Worlds. Again on his namesake Iyslander, even after a huge shakeup of the format with bans and people writing the deck off, he was there standing tall, taking down the tournament with the deck he championed. 

But the future would not look bright for the Wizards and Iyslander. With the release of Outsiders on March 24, 2023, one of the hardest matchups for Iyslander was born. With the booster set adding more cards to the card pool for Ranger, a new front runner for the meta was born. This matchup was so bad in fact that even the Iyslander king himself didn’t bring the deck to the next Pro Tour in Baltimore. He left the deck at home and chose to play the new hotness, Lexi, Livewire. This would spell a rough couple of months for both Wizards not putting up results of any kind. The only thing they could do was wait and hope for a change.

And a change happened. With the next Banned and Restricted announcement on July 7th, 2023, they banned Bull’s Eye Bracers. This made the Iyslander vs Lexi matchup a bit more even, although still considered bad, and played out a lot closer than it used to. In the following months there would be preparation for the next round of Nationals in August of 2023. 

No Longer the Underdog

For U.S. Nationals, Iyslander put up two decks into the top eight and many more top eight appearances in other countries; but the real surprise was Kano. With a 24th placing at the Calling: Las Vegas, Kano, championed by yours truly, had a streak of light into what the deck could do in that meta, and met other top finishers head on. Adding on to this underdog story was Fahad Rahman getting second place with Kano at Australian Nationals, Pawel Rozynek getting first in Poland, and Carl Cedric Celera winning the top spot in the Philippines  With multiple top eights and victories for both Wizards, the dark cloud of the meta was lifted.

At the time of writing, the 2023 Nationals season is still going strong, and the Wizard class is still looking for more points and victories to put under its belt. What will the end of the season hold? And how will Bright Lights impact the meta leading up into the World Championship later this year? The only thing I know is that Wizards are always ready to excite!

Peter Buddensiek

Peter Buddensiek a two time Battle Hardened champion and Combo enthusiast.