Legend Story Studios (LSS) released its scheduled Banned & Restricted announcement today, taking action in Classic Constructed, Living Legend, and Blitz.
Classic Constructed
Zen, Tamer of Purpose has been the top hero in Classic Constructed since the release of Part the Mistveil. While his number of Top 8s and wins have fluctuated throughout Nationals season, it’s notable Zen was the breakout star at US Nationals (the first weekend of Nationals) and continued his run through this past weekend by putting six copies of the Mystic Ninja in the Top 8 of Canada’s National Championship.
Despite other heroes showing they could keep Zen in check, the gameplay and sheer damage output from the aggro-combo archetype Zen enabled was ultimately too strong and led to too many games that didn’t resemble a game of Flesh and Blood. In an attempt to bring Zen down to very good from too good, the yellow and blue versions of Bonds of Ancestry are banned in Classic Constructed.
Bryan Gottlieb, Senior Game Designer and Lead Developer for Flesh and Blood, wrote that this type of banning was unprecedented and will likely not be used often. LSS still wants Zen to have explosive turns, but would like them to be varied and lead to a much lower number of double or triple Bonds of Ancestry combat chains. Gottlieb said that there were multiple options for ban targets, but in the end, the clear culprit for Zen’s most degenerate turns was the attack action from Outsiders. The team also wants to make sure Katsu, the Wanderer still has access to the card as well — so banning the card outright would be problematic for the original Ninja hero.
This banning will ideally push Zen more toward Crouching Tiger-based payoffs and LSS believes the hero will remain prominent in the meta. Gottlieb also mentioned that Katsu will be getting a new tool in the expansion slot from the upcoming set, Rosetta.
Living Legend
The previous slew of restrictions in the Living Legend format worked in taking some of the power away from Bravo, Star of the Show. LSS believes Channel Lake Frigid can come off the restricted list and not lead to another takeover from the Elemental Guardian.
In addition, giving controlling decks access to this tool will help them fight off the aggressive decks that have been dominant in the Living Legend format. Channel Lake Frigid leaving the restricted list will also reinvigorate Iyslander, a hero LSS wants to be present in the format. While Living Legend hasn’t been a major part of Organized Play lately, the article said there are plans to give it more attention and fans of Living Legend have a lot to be exited for in the future.
Blitz
The Wizard heroes are taking a hit in Blitz with the banning of Aether Flare and Aether Wildfire. These action cards have been too strong in a format with a lower life total and Rosetta will supply Wizards plenty of tools to make up for these losses.
The Crown of Seeds ban was announced in the last B&R and is simply taking effect with this one. The reveal of Rosetta bringing more cards to the Earth talent made it clear why the powerful piece of head equipment had to go.
And in surprising fashion, today’s B&R included a preview card from Rosetta.
Volzar, the Lightning Rod is a new Wizard weapon, offering a hint of what’s to come in the set featuring exclusively heroes that can deal arcane damage. The weapon will be an option for Oscilio, the Elemental Wizard with essence of lightning in Rosetta.
All changes in today’s announcement go into effect on July 8. The next Banned & Restricted announcement is scheduled for October 1.
Read the official article from LSS.
