All Eyes on ProTour: LA

Road to Nationals season is finally over, and it has provided insight from across the globe as to the strongest heroes in the metagame. With over 300 RtNs, there are three heroes clearly at the top, with Dromai at 37 wins, Kayo at 35, and Victor at 28. Should we expect these same frontrunners to dominate the upcoming ProTour? My team, the Runaways, doesn’t think the ProTour is solved that easily, and I’m here to tell you why.

What’s Different This Time?

There are three main factors that are shaping this metagame differently than those before it.

Lack of CC Callings

Every Tier 3 event since Heavy Hitters‘ release has been Limited: Callings Queenstown, Hartford, and Liverpool. Yes, we’ve had multiple Battle Hardeneds, RtN season, and PTI Events to draw from, but the alluring prize pools and length of Tier 3+ events just put that much more stress on how carefully a deck is built and how it performs.

The community had been begging for more Limited events, and then, lo and behold, all three of this season’s Callings became so. The last time there were back to back Limited Callings was in 2021 with Tales of Aria, and it did lead directly into a Nationals Season. However, since Nationals were spread out, many countries were able to learn from the tournaments played the week prior, so the situation was still a bit different than now. 

I remember U.K. Nationals in particular featured an undefeated run of Matt Foulkes’ Cheerios Briar deck in week one that immediately flooded the globe. It then won U.S. Nationals weeks later in the hands of Tariq Patel. And yet, imagine a world where we all had to play together in one event on that first weekend. Would Tariq even be on the deck? Would the U.K. players all have shown up on Briar?

The Best Decks Aren’t Oppressive

All of the top decks on the radar so far are nowhere near the oppressiveness of past metas. While the sentiment that FAB is being powered down is a tad overblown, we are in a metagame where average turn values are very similar and deck’s ceilings take more investment than just dumping your four-card hand. Dromai, Kayo, and Victor are a far stretch from Lexi and even Iyslander, and they can’t even compare to Chane or Starvo.

Kayo started as a clear CC threat with Yuki Lee Bender’s undefeated run at Battle Hardened: Hartford, but it had a surprisingly low ceiling compared to a deck you’d figure would sweep a tournament. Consider the difference between blocking down to Cast Bones, setting an arsenal, then having a pop-off turn versus just Rain Razors plus Three of a Kind. In the coverage, you can clearly see some very close games and moments where player skill crossed the line for the win, not pure deck oppressiveness. 

Dromai has been a known quantity for several metas now, and hasn’t seen massive innovation from Heavy Hitters. The community sentiment of Dromais not converting at big events has been clearly debunked by the likes of Gui Cohen and Mara Faris, but the deck has some clear bad matchups and doesn’t just steal wins. Into a highly competitive field, it’s even rarer for a Dromai to pick up free wins based on matchups alone, as a key piece in even bringing a deck to the ProTour will be to consider its Dromai matchup. 

Finally, Victor. By the turn cycle numbers, he is a monster, but his ceiling is abysmal and he is tied to some random moments that can decide the game on the spot. Missing on Trounce aside, he’s also plagued by some very hard matchups, like Kano and Rhinar, a deck that the LSS devs recently hyped up. Will people be brave enough to take it to the ProTour?

Proof of Viability

Our biggest sample size comes from Road to Nationals, which are events that mix local metagames, flavor of the week, and true meta threats all in one. We saw myriad decks have their moment in the sun, which proved that the possibility of winning with nearly every hero is there. However, there was a cyclical nature to the top heroes that suggests side boarding can be more effective than ever in countering the meta. That plus overall deck choice and, all of a sudden, you’ve got a very reactive metagame.

Kano is the biggest question mark for me and most players, I’d wager. He came out strong in week one, picking up 17 RtN wins and making the finals of Battle Hardened: Hartford. However, his wins dipped in the following weeks. Was this due to people siding in Oasis Respite red? Was it the rise of more Dash and Prism players? With Kano losing his spotlight, he immediately made a comeback in the last week, making the finals at Battle Hardened: Philadelphia and winning the Kano mirror at the follow up PTI Event.

I hear a lot of people worrying about the flux of Kano's viability for ProTour: Los Angeles. He isn’t alone in being a potential dark horse, but he is a threat on a completely different angle than most decks. Playing against a Kano is going to check your sideboard, deck choice, and knowledge of the matchup, whereas a potential pick like Boltyn will just challenge the latter. 

Coming to You Live at the ProTour

I think the framing of this ProTour is one of excitement about how the community will interpret all these varying factors. Between the rogue players, test teams, and local heroes, we’re in for a massive treat. I am thrilled to be able to bring you all the coverage first-hand, and hope you’ll tune in!

Further Reading:

The Benefits of Team Play in Flesh and Blood

The Genius of Flesh and Blood’s Pitch System

How to Play Dromai in Classic Constructed

Ethan Van Sant

Ethan ‘Man Sant’ Van Sant is known for his commitment to Levia and his coverage of FaB events as Savage Feats. He has a light background with Yugioh and Pokemon, but Flesh and Blood is the first TCG that has fully consumed him… As willed by Blasmophet.