Where did all the talents go? It’s been a question on my mind for a while now, and I’d like to explore the answer further with you, reader.

In this article, I will make some assumptions and lay out some arguments. I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below or on social media.

Heavy Hitters Was Supposed to Be the Talented Savage Lands Set

I believe the initial outline for Heavy Hitters involved two talents:

1. Berserk – Characters who embody the primal rage of the Savage Lands.
2. Gladiator – Characters who specialize in fighting and gambling at the Deathmatch Arena.

Victor’s hero page confirmed speculations about the Deathmatch Arena being on the outskirts of the Savage Lands. The premise is simple: merchants, mercenaries, and miscreants from all over Rathe gather outside the untamed wilds of the Savage Lands to watch great fighters stand toe-to-toe with monsters of the jungle. Coin and carnal pleasures exchange as berserk beasts clash with gladiators in the arena.

The Heroes of the ‘Original’ Set

If my assumptions hold, the original set’s heroes would be divided in half by talent type – just like Monarch.

	Berserk	Gladiator
Brute	Rhinar	Kayo
Guardian	Betsy	Victor Goldmane
Warrior	Character similar to Wounded Bull	Kassai

 

I know. What about Olympia? I firmly believe Olympia was the final hero added to this set. With less time to test, he ended up with the simplest ability.

Members of the community, myself included, believed Olympia may have a weapon specialization that would use his extra Gold tokens to gain incremental value during the game. In his interview with Fluke and Box, James White hinted that a payoff for Olympia would be in a future set:

“With Olympia’s… gold pile, you won’t have to wait too long to find out [what it’s for]. It’s not in Heavy Hitters, but it’s coming real soon.”

Of course, I also heard Bryan Gottlieb on the Celebrational stream say that Olympia’s payoff is the Gold itself. Both takes can be true.

Note: The video hyperlinks above are set to the relevant timestamp.

The Berserkers

Berserkers disregard their safety to intimidate and obliterate their foes. They’ll discard cards with abandon to eke out an advantage.

Rhinar is an obvious choice here for a Bravo, Star of the Show treatment as LSS brings a set to his native lands. Naturally, this would mean a new hero ability for the original Brute. Or we could have seen a fresh new Brute in this slot – maybe Rek’vas Bloodboars, Thuk, or Togark!

We don’t know much of Betsy’s story at the time of writing. Her card’s border indicates she’s from the Deathmatch Arena, which we know is near the Savage Lands. Her hero page includes words like “havoc” and “savage.” She has no use for fame and glory. She’s a hedonistic fighter motivated by the rush of mortal combat. She only means to eat, kill, and survive (where have I read those words before?).

What about the Warrior slot? Well, the lore of the Savage Lands talks about feral humans called hecklers. I assume a Warrior similar to the fighters shown on Fyendal's Fighting Spirit, Adrenaline Rush, or Wounded Bull could have made their entrance in Heavy Hitters.

I came up with the name of this talent. Some alternatives include Barbaric, Wild, Primitive, Savage, and Feral.

The Gladiators

Gladiators bet on their fights to build a fortune along with their fame. They talk a big game, wager, and clash at every opportunity.

Kayo has leaned into the gambling archetype of the Brute class since his introduction. He may have been a berserker runt, but now he’s patched his leathers with steel and looks to beat the professional fighters at their own game. As the proclaimed “Underdog of the Arena,” he’s sure to high roll and tear apart those foolish enough to think his missing arm gives them an edge.

Victor Goldmane is the pinnacle of pompous arrogance. He strutted to the Deathmatch Arena on his high horse from the Northern Kingdoms beyond Solana. He’s always looking to grease the right palm to ensure victory in clash after clash.

Kassai was sure to re-emerge in a coin-infused set. She’s on a quest to become a vengeful warlord. Every combat is an obstacle in her way to amounting a wealth of gold to rival even the dragons of Volcor.

A Quick Rundown of the Previous Sets

Set Name	Heroes From	Talent(s) Included
Welcome to Rathe	Aria, Misteria, Savage Lands, and Solana	n/a
Arcane Rising	Demonastery, Metrix, Pits, and Volcor	n/a
Crucible of War	Aria, Demonastery, Misteria, Metrix, Pits, Savage Lands, Solana, and Volcor	n/a
Monarch	Demonastery and Solana	Light and Shadow
Tales of Aria	Aria	Elemental — Essences of Earth, Ice, Lightning
Everfest	Aria	Elemental — Essences of Earth, Ice, Lightning
Uprising	Aria and Volcor	Draconic and Elemental — Essence of Ice
Dynasty	Pits and Volcor	Draconic and Light
Outsiders	Misteria and Pits	n/a
Dusk till Dawn	Demonastery and Solana	Light and Shadow
Bright Lights	Metrix	n/a
Heavy Hitters	Deathmatch Arena, Savage Lands, Solana, and Volcor	n/a

The Same is True for Outsiders

Once upon a time, these same arguments and speculative assumptions could have been made for Outsiders. What would that set have looked like as a one or two-talent set? 

First off, I don’t think the Ninjas would have been invited to this set if it were talented. I could be way off base there, but let’s play out some scenarios.

The two talents:

1. Toxic – Characters who utilize poisons to gain the upper hand (Riptide, Arakni).
2. Stealthy – Characters who prioritize evasive maneuvers to find just the right weak point (Azalea, Uzuri).

Outsiders was a highly regarded limited set. Many of its cards made a dramatic impact on the constructed meta game as well. Particularly for Lexi, Livewire, who greatly benefitted from cards like Codex of Inertia. For better or worse, the Elemental Ranger wouldn’t have had access to such a card if it had been talented.

Cards That Would Have Been Talented

If Heavy Hitters and Outsiders before it were initially intended to be talented sets, then what changed? As I discussed in this article, talents make heroes more unique but can quickly give them the upper hand compared to other heroes in their class from an increased card pool and value through talent-specific mechanics.

Talents are sure to return, but sets like Heavy Hitters and Outsiders raise the tide for so many heroes trying to stay afloat in the ever-shifting meta game.

Dual-Class Cards

I think every dual-class card would have been a talented card with no associated class. All the Windup cards like Agile Windup could have been in the Berserker talent to reinforce other discard mechanics like intimidate. Lead with Heart and the other “Lead with” cards would also belong to the Berserker talent.

The Gladiators would receive the clash, test, and wage cards like Clash of Agility, Test of Might, and Wage Vigor.

Class Cards

One obvious benefit from not including talents is increasing deck-building choices for previous and future heroes. For example, Dorinthea Ironsong is a clear winner of this set, and there’s not a single Dawnblade card or mention of the original Warrior.

We can imagine that the Brute beat chest cards would have all been for Berserker Brutes and the wagering cards from all classes for Gladiators.

Indeed, this set would be a completely different experience in all formats if LSS had chosen to make it talented. Instead, they’re leaning into an industry standard of designing sets around common themes and mechanics that become part of the existing card pool. Any of the heroes of Rathe can step into the arena to wager and clash with their opponent.

I’m looking forward to seeing the newest talent, but until then, I’ll be playing Heavy Hitters limited whenever I can.