(Rhinar, Reckless Rampage | Art by Wisnu Tan)

The cries of disappointment across the Flesh and Blood community were no surprise when Arsenal Pass revealed the second Brute hero in Heavy Hitters is a reprint of Welcome to Rathe’s own Rhinar, Reckless Rampage.

I understand reprints lack the awe and wonder of a brand-new hero for constructed play, but I think there’s a case to be made for the Rhinar reprint. Let’s discuss.

1. Rhinar is incredibly fun in Limited play.
2. Reprinting a hero allows LSS to support existing archetypes directly.
3. Hero specialists will be continuously rewarded.
   

Here’s how LSS designer and developer Bryan Gottlieb phrased the studio’s reprint decision to me:

Rhinar was a perfect fit for the limited environment we were sculpting. Furthermore, the opportunity to target Rhinar’s specific constructed needs rather than hope they could be addressed by generically “good” Brute cards seemed the appropriate path for such a well-loved (and somewhat long-suffering) hero.

 

 

Set Design Includes an Emphasis on Limited Play 

When the development team at Legend Story Studios (LSS) designs a new set, they account for multiple factors with every card:

• How will this card interact with and reinforce archetypes in Sealed and Draft?
• Is this card significantly different than other cards in this class?
• Is this card too powerful for Classic Constructed? For Blitz?

We know from previous sets like Monarch that LSS is willing to adjust a card’s power level to make a hero more viable in Limited play, as I discussed here.

Heavy Hitters needs to be a successful limited product since Sealed and Draft will be featured in various high-tier events. As players prepare for these events, they’ll need boxes to open and practice. More importantly, Limited play attracts new, casual, and competitive players alike to their local game stores.

Limited Play in Heavy Hitters

 

 

Heavy Hitters features three of the “fairest” classes in Flesh and Blood: Brutes, Guardians, and Warriors. By fair, I mean these classes consistently apply one card for three to four damage.

 

 

By examining some of the weapons (Mandible Claw, Titan’s Fist, Cintari Saber, Romping Club, Anothos, and Decimator, Great Axe) for these three classes, we can see how these martial heroes can reliably use their weapons to turn resources into consistent damage turn after turn.

Brutes, Guardians, and Warriors supersede their on-rate limitations by: 

• Gaining go again (Agility, Spoils of War)
• Using their weapon(s) more than once per turn
• Playing pumps for free (Fyendal’s Spring Tunic, Vigor)

 

 

With Heavy Hitters bringing multiple high-value tokens to the table, these martial classes are getting the same boost Rangers (and, to a lesser extent, Assassins) received from Bloodrot Pox, Frailty, and Inertia tokens.

 

 

The Agility, Might, and Vigor tokens in Heavy Hitters allow typical or average turn cycles to go beyond historical averages and empower these classes. Yes, Brutes, Guardians, and Warriors have seen competitive success, but if we remove the Elemental Guardians from the equation, they’ve been on the outside looking in of the top tables for far too long. Heavy Hitters will change this.

 

Rhinar in Sealed and Draft

I wrote about Rhinar in Welcome to Rathe Limited play here. In that set, Rhinar cared about attacks for six power or higher, yellow pitch cards, pumps, his weapon, and gaining evasion from intimidate, an incredibly immersive mechanic showing the ferocity of Brutes and the Savage Lands and how they frighten their opponents so much they’re unable to block properly.

In Heavy Hitters, it looks like we can expect more of the same. Rhinar may be looking for more reds and blues than yellows this time around so he can have as many six-power attacks as possible and have the resources to pay for cards like Show No Mercy, or pay for a pump and an attack like Bonebreaker Bellow and Rawhide Rumble.

 

Rhinar Brings More Focused Support to Existing Archetypes

Reprinting Rhinar goes beyond forming a memorable Limited format. LSS supports the core Brute archetypes and mechanics by bringing him into a contemporary set.

Outsiders brought several reprinted heroes for the Ninja and Ranger classes. 

Fans of Katsu received new combo lines to directly benefit previous Surging Strike and Whelming Gustwave in the form of Descendent Gustwave, Bonds of Ancestry, and Dishonor, to reach new heights of damage, card draw, and hit effects.

Members of the Azalea cult received pumps that directly improved on Take Aim by adding situationally staggering hit effects with Lace with Bloodrot, Lace with Frailty, and Lace with Inertia. Those pumps and a quiver full of new arrow options launched Lexi, Livewire to the top of the meta until she reached Living Legend status and gave Azalea, Ace in the Hole a foothold in competitive play.

Rhinar, Reckless Rampage is sure to receive a similar boost through Heavy Hitters, bringing not only more Brute cards, but Brute cards that are sure to directly improve on the archetypes Rhinar’s been working with since his introduction to the game. 

As a player, I love this kind of support. I believe LSS intended to quickly move the game through the various regions of Rathe, adding a variety of talents, classes, and archetypes on their way before delving deeper into reprinted hero combinations. This plan needed supplementary sets to keep old heroes viable and the talent system to move forward without significant issues.

 

The Reprint Is More Evidence That LSS Will Continue to Reward Specialists

As I mentioned earlier, the hero reprints and return to archetypes in Outsiders brought unprecedented success to Rangers and prepared a path for Ninjas to return to the top tables. Players specializing in these heroes and classes continue to reap the rewards from that targeted support.

Read more about the specialists from pro player Jose Lau.

Of course, Heavy Hitters will support non-reprinted heroes like Dorinthea, Levia, and Bravo, but probably to a lesser degree. I spoke about the instant support for Dorinthea, particularly with the Decimator Great Axe here. Every Warrior will significantly benefit from the use of Agility and Vigor tokens since they’ve heavily relied on Fyendal’s Spring Tunic in most builds. Might tokens will yield more hit effects for Guardians and a rise of Thump as a power card.

Azalea, Kano, Katsu, Levia, and Uzuri specialists have already reaped benefits in a competitive scene that is rapidly moving away from an objectively best deck.

• Brodie Spurlock, among others, brought Azalea to The Realm Rumble with great success.
• Many Kano enthusiasts burned down the competition after Lexi reached Living Legend.
• Pudding Tam comboed his way to the Top 8 of Worlds 2023 with Katsu.
• Ethan Van Sant has repeatedly shown the community the power of Levia, including his play at Worlds 2023.
• Uzuri, the Queen of stealth, exploited Lexi, Livewire, when she could for some incredible victories.

The duo who previewed the Rhinar reprint have a wonderful video about why you should focus on being a specialist in 2024. Check that out here.

 

Support for All Through the Expansion Slot

 

LSS has done away with non-draftable sets like Crucible of War and Dynasty that sought to boost all previously released classes, and replaced them with the expansion slot in booster packs, which can include a majestic card of a class not featured in the set. The expansion slot in Heavy Hitters brings essential tools for other heroes to improve their game going into 2024.

Prism, Awakener of Sol will see an immediate boost through Luminaris, Angel’s Glow. Arakni, Huntsman gets another weapon for their collection in Graven Call, and a new specialization (Coercive Tendency) that may just be enough to help them compete with other top decks.

Rhinar’s reprint shows both a willingness to support old heroes and the players who have fallen in love with them. I understand why people wanted to see another new hero in this set, but keeping existing heroes competitive is good for the game and the existing player base. 

Happy New Year, FAB players. May your dice always roll sixes and your wagers be ever in your favor.