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Flesh and Blood Tier List
Updated for Dynasty Meta post B&S Jan 30, 2023
The banned and suspended announcement came as quite a shock to the whole FAB community. While everyone knew that Oldhim, Iyslander, and Fai were the strongest decks of the format, no one expected them to be hit this way.
If you haven’t seen the announcement yet, you can check it out here.
Even with these changes, the Calling Indianapolis saw a heavy ice dominance in the Top 8. While a lot of people expected a drop off in Oldhim and Iyslander, they seem arguably better than before.
Without further ado, let’s get right into the tier list.
Disclaimer
For my tier lists, I don’t try to evaluate purely based on power, but also partly in terms of representation. While those two usually go hand in hand, that is not always the case.
For example, people believed Iyslander was the best deck of the format, but she was not the most played hero at ProQuests.
Similarly, I also take into account the performance of heroes at events. Even still, the list isn’t just a copy and paste of what were the best converting heroes.
Oldhim, Grandfather of Eternity – S Tier
Lots of people figured that Oldhim would take some time to figure out after the Winter’s Wail ban. It turns out, Oldhim is still extremely powerful. Oldhim’s card pool and access to Crown of Seeds just make him one of the strongest and most consistent decks in the game.
At Calling Indianapolis, a whopping 5 Oldhim players made top 8. There is a lot of talk about Fatigue Oldhim ruining the game, but only 1 of the 5 Oldhims in Top 8 were on a fatigue plan. The rest were on a more classic disruption style Oldhim.
I think another factor in Oldhim’s dominance was actually the Belittle ban. The Belittle ban means that Fai is less explosive, and also succumbs to disruption easier. Because of this, Ice heroes like Oldhim and Iyslander have an easier time into Fai even with their nerfs.
Oldhim’s strength lies in how he is able to construct his deck to counter a lot of the meta. He can board aggressively with Pummels for disruption, or he can have a life gain package with things like Blessing of Patience to try and fatigue decks. Sitting down vs an Oldhim is tough because you don’t know what they plan to do until the top 8 of a big event.
Example Decklists:
Dennis Zhang Fatigue Oldhim (Deck Tech Vide0)
Charles Dunn Fatigue Oldhim – 2nd Calling Indianapolis
Other Calling Indianapolis Top 8 Lists
You can also check out this link to see all of the Oldhim lists side by side. Compare Decklists
Iyslander, Stormbind – S Tier
I definitely disrespected Iyslander after the recent Banned and Suspended Announcement. I figured that without Amulet of Ice, Iyslander would struggle to close more midrange matchups like against Guardian. Clearly that was not the case.
I figured that strong players like Michael Hamilton would still play at Indy with Iyslander, but I did not expect him to take down the event in the fashion he did. He only dropped 1 game the entire event (I believe) and shows that Iyslander is still very powerful.
One big reason to Iyslander’s success is that the Briar and Fai matchup are both quite favorable. Fai lost Belittle, which makes him more susceptible to Frostbites and disruption, while Briar was already a strong matchup before.
Going into this event, Briar and Fai were very high in representation, and this meant that Iyslander would have a field day for the most part.
In terms of the Oldhim matchup, I figure it’s quite a toss up. Oldhim with Warhorn and Remembrance can definitely fatigue Iyslander, but it’s not a consistent gameplan as you only have one Warhorn. If Iyslander has enough time to set up Frost Hexes, she can still blow out Fatigue Oldhim. On the other hand, Oldhim can also play a more midrange style that Iyslander also excels at due to cards like Wounded Bull and Fyendal’s Fighting Spirit.
Overall, Iyslander did get nerfed, but she still is showing signs of dominance.
Example Decklists:
Michael Hamilton – Calling Indianapolis 1st
Briar, Warden of Thorns – S Tier
Going into Indianapolis, I think most players believed that Briar would be the best proactive deck of the format. Fai, Oldhim, and Iyslander were all nerfed, meaning that Briar showed signs to comeback into the meta. While this was true, Oldhim and Iyslander still dominated the meta. This meant that while Briar was heavily represented and also converted well to day 2, only one Briar made it to the top 8.
Briar definitely has a gameplan that allows her to not be fatigued by Oldhim, either with Evergreen or with Rites of Replenishment. Briar is also arguably one of the best aggro decks, but there is some variance as to whether you see Channel Mount Heroic or not. Even still, Iyslander remained a tough matchup, and a disruptive Oldhim deck can still challenge Briar.
I personally would be interested to see what happens from here, as Briar can potentially start to look at Crown of Seeds to counter the Iyslander matchup while still having good matchups elsewhere. Or maybe that requires too many deck slots to make work.
Example Decklists:
Tariq Patel – Calling Indianapolis 5/8th
Fai, Rising Rebellion – S Tier
Fai is in a bit of a weird spot right now. Banning Belittle means that Fai no longer can run around 10-12 blues. With a higher blue count in the deck, Fai is definitely slower, and pure combo decks with Blossom of Spring might even die off.
However, Fai still is a very powerful hero. Searing Emberblade is an amazing weapon, Phoenix Flame gets you a ton of value over the game, and he just does simple things effectively.
Even if Fai decks become slower, they can definitely still run more block 3’s, a bit more blues, and still be a very consistent deck. Fai might not have as much explosive potential anymore, but I still think he has what it takes to be a top deck.
We saw Fai have a strong conversion into day 2, but no top 8 finishes. Fai can definitely succumb to an aggressive Oldhim, but he can also squeak out a win with his cards that simply go above rate. The thing about Guardian is that their cards are mainly only above rate if they can land disruption. If the disruption is mitigated, the value of Guardian cards drop substantially.
There are already talks in the community about Fai potentially being able to fatigue Iyslander. We may see Fai decks evolve further as we move into the Outsiders season and PT Baltimore.
Example Decklists:
Daniel Rutkowski – World Championship 3rd
Ivan Teo Kodachi Fai – Calling Singapore 5-8th
(Note that Belittle is banned)
Dash, Inventor Extraordinaire – A Tier
Last Tier List, I put Dash into S tier, but reluctantly so. In theory, Dash has it all. She has a pistol plan for slower matchups like Guardian and Iyslander, and she also has an aggressive boost plan for Aggro matchups. However, just because she has tools for every matchup doesn’t mean you can fit it all in one deck.
The struggle Dash seems to have is that she gives up too many points in certain matchups to try and cover every matchup. The existence of Fatigue Oldhim also means that Dash needs to worry about her items, making her have to play sub optimally against Oldhim. Iyslander is a tricky matchup, but with Hypothermia gone, she should have an easier time than before.
Overall, Dash is a weird one to evaluate. If you expect the Top 8 to be tons of Oldhim and Iyslander, you can definitely build your deck to beat them. However, you still need to make it to top 8, which inevitably means facing off against Briars and Fais, meaning you need to adjust your deck accordingly.
I think Dash potentially has all the tools to be a top deck, but we just haven’t seen results to indicate so.
Example Decklists:
Lexi, Livewire – A Tier
Lexi is an interesting case. In general, Ice Lexi decks can do well vs Aggro decks as you can chain high damage with strong disruption turn after turn.
Unfortunately, her biggest weakness is herself. Rangers innately lack consistency due to needing arrows to attack. There can be turns where you completely lose tempo due to drawing no arrows. Furthermore, her lack of armor makes her very susceptible to Guardians and their on hit abilities.
Lastly, basically every deck in the game runs 3 Command and Conquer, which is back breaking for Lexi.
For the most part, players tend to gravitate more toward Ice Lexi in order to combat Aggro decks, but Lightning Lexi can also be strong as an Aggro deck as well.
Dynasty gave Lexi two very strong tools in Drill Shot and Heat Seeker, which both have quite impactful on hit abilities.
As time goes on, we even see more Lexi decks cutting down the amount of Ice, to a more fuseless type deck with just strong arrows and Voltaire. Losing Amulet of Ice hurts quite a bit for the Guardian matchup, especially against Fatigue Oldhim, but maybe Outsiders will push Lexi over the edge.
Example Decklists:
Chris Iaali Fuseless Lexi – Calling Indianapolis
Dromai, Ash Artist – A Tier
If you know me, you know that I am not a huge Dromai believer. I think she crumbles to strong Guardian players, and doesn’t have a favorable matchup into Aggro decks either.
Because of this, I find it difficult to place her high in a tier list.
Even still, she somehow finds a way to convert well at events. Her ability to place Dragons on the board can be difficult for some decks to combat. Fatigue Oldhim decks also don’t have enough pressure to stop Dromai from overwhelming the board with Dragons (in theory). Decks like Lexi and Arakni also struggle to clear the board of Dragons and slowly fall behind.
I should also note that Iris Dromai is picking up some popularity. This deck type was mostly a counter to Oldhim and Iyslander, and with those two decks nerfed, I don’t think Iris Dromai is a viable choice in this meta.
In theory, Dromai should be effective at combatting Oldhim and Iyslander, but that doesn’t pan out in practice. Dromai needs to add tools to combat the aggro matchups, which makes her deck less favored into things like Oldhim and Iyslander.
Example Decklists:
Faud Omar Pre Dynasty Dromai – World Championship 5-8th
Iris Dromai – Arsenal Pass / HowlingMines
Dorinthea, Ironsong – A Tier
Dorinthea is another OG hero from WTR that is quite solid. However, Oldhim is one of her toughest matchups, and likely will continue to be.
Dorinthea is still solid because she has the tools needed to race aggro decks, but she can also slow down in order to fight more midrange or Guardian decks.
Dorinthea has yet to really pop off and produce high level results. Against the top competition, Dorinthea loses value as her attack reactions are no longer a surprise.
The worst part about playing Dorinthea is when your attack is stopped and you can’t play out the rest of the cards in your hand. This makes you lose turn cycles and over time, you will fall behind too far.
Conversely, if you can also blow out opponents with a Dawnblade with 3+ counters and become unstoppable.
Example Decklists:
Azalea, Ace in the Hole – B Tier
Azalea is a weird hero for me to evaluate. Partly because I don’t know too much about her, and partly because not that many people play her.
She definitely has a die hard fanbase, and she can also be built in a way to disrupt Aggro decks. I find that Azalea simply really struggles into any deck that can play a more midrange style. Guardians, Warriors, and even Dromai with her Dragons all put her in a tough spot.
Even with all of her weaknesses, she still performs well in the hands of strong players like Levi. I think Azalea should be on everyone’s eye as we approach Outsiders season.
Example Decklist:
Levi Rauch – Calling Indianapolis
Bravo, Showstopper – B Tier
Firstly, I would like to put a disclaimer that Bravo is my main hero and my bias.
Secondly, it pains me to say that Bravo just isn’t performing well. In both the Pro Quest season and the Calling Indianapolis, Bravo has had high representation with bad conversion. As much as I believe Bravo is a good deck, the results say otherwise.
For the most part, you should just play the better Guardian, Oldhim. Even still, I do think there is some merit to playing Bravo, but not enough merit.
Bravo doesn’t have a great matchup into Oldhim, Iyslander, or Briar, which makes him a hard deck to win with. Even still, those matchups aren’t unwinnable (except maybe Fatigue Oldhim), so if you’re a one trick like me, Bravo isn’t a terrible pick.
Example Decklists:
Patrick Requejo – Calling San Jose 2nd
Rhinar, Reckless Rampage – B Tier
In my opinion, Rhinar definitely has the tools to do well, but that doesn’t mean he’s likely to do well. Rhinar’s intimidate mechanic makes him perfect for dealing with slow decks that want to block. However, in an aggressive meta, Rhinar definitely does struggle.
Even still, it’s not impossible for Rhinar to win with cards like Bloodrush Bellow. We’ve seen Rhinar builds move toward a midrange style of gameplay with cards like Pummel and Bloodrush Bellow to really get more value out of your 4 cards.
While I don’t expect Rhinar to top events anytime soon, he does have the tools to get there.
Example Decklists:
Chandler To – Calling San Jose 1st
Kano, Dracai of Aether – B Tier
Kano is another weird hero to evaluate. Kano is a deck that becomes better the less decks are prepared for him. His combo with Aether Wildfire and Blazing Aether can output some of the highest damage in the game.
However, I do think Kano has some potential in the meta. The Iyslander Kano matchup is quite close in my opinion, and Kano can perform quite well into Guardians regardless of their gameplan. I think that Kano’s weakness is if he’s simply blown out by aggressive decks like Fai and Briar, but if the meta slows down to combat Ice, Kano can potentially burn his way through.
Example Decklists:
Gavin Rapp – Battle Hardened Denver 5/8th
(Pre Dyansty Deck List)
Viserai, Rune Blood – B Tier
Viserai is an interesting case. Current popular lists make use of cards like Rosetta Thorn, Mauvrion Skies, and Shrill of Skullform in order to present high amounts of damage. The issue with Viserai is his consistency. He needs the cards to line up correctly, and falters when opponents disrupt him.
In the case of Briar and Fai, they are able to play somewhat efficiently off 1 or 2 card hands, where Viserai struggles with that.
Even still, if the cards do line up, Viserai can output crazy amounts of damage with cards like Mordred Tide or Revel in Runeblood.
There has also been some experimentation with an OTK plan to combat Oldhim with cards like Reaping Blade and Runechant generation. However, in it’s current state, I’d consider this more of a meme deck right now.
Example Decklists
Jon Ho – Calling Charlotte 5-8th
Boltyn, Breaker of Dawn – C Tier
Going into Calling Indianapolis, I figured that Boltyn may have some time to shine if the Ice decks are less prevalent. Contrary to what I thought, Oldhim and Iyslander dominated the top tables, making it tough for Boltyn to make it very far.
Boltyn got some love in Dynasty with Spirit of Eirina, but he just doesn’t quite do enough compared to other decks.
Example Decklists:
Jimmy Le Hybrid Boltyn – ProQuest 1st
Levia, Shadowborn Abomination – C Tier
Unfortunately, I can’t help but also put Levia in the C tier. Levia is similar to Rhinar in that she can have explosive turns with cards like Bloodrush Bellow, or even Berserk from Dynasty. However, much like Rangers, her biggest weakness is herself.
She lacks consistency and can often die to her own blood debt if you draw an unusable hand. For any deck that can afford to block, you can always fall back on blocking and wait to see if Levia kills herself.
I can definitely see Levia decks doing well at ProQuests, but at Calling level competition, I don’t think she has the consistency to make it to the top.
Example Decklists:
Ethan Van Sant – ProQuest Gauntlet
Katsu, The Wanderer – C Tier
While there have been Control Katsu players in the past, for the most part, Katsu is an Aggro deck. However, he struggles compared to the other aggro decks for two reasons.
- Reliance on Combo mechanic
- More easily fatigued
In order for Katsu to output big damage, he needs to line up his combo cards. This already presents a lack of consistency as other decks like Briar and Fai don’t need to line up specific cards in order to present good damage.
Now, Katsu’s ability lets him tutor for Combo cards, making up for this, but this also relies on hitting the opponent. Secondly, this makes Katsu more easy to fatigue as he naturally discards cards for his effect.
Unfortunately, Katsu just isn’t the aggro deck you want to be playing. While Dynasty came out with Crouching Tiger and a new combo line to play with, it simply turns Katsu into a different combo deck that isn’t as consistent as say Boltyn.
Example Decklists:
Honestly, there aren’t many recent lists that are of note. You can probably just find many random lists and go from there.
Arakni, Huntsman – C Tier
Arakni has a very shallow card pool as he was only released with the newest set Dynasty. We’ve currently seen the most success on Arakni in a fatigue style deck.
However, as many Arakni players would comment, he’s not very good.
In a fatigue matchup, Arakni loses to Oldhim as his weapon is less efficient. Against Aggro decks, Arakni can struggle to fully block out decks like Fai or Briar. Even against more midrange decks like Bravo, Arakni can slowly lose out to the value of Anothos.
The one thing Arakni has going for him is that your opponent may not have experience in the matchup. Even still, the higher up your goals, the harder it will be to win with Arakni.
Example Decklists:
Conclusion
That just about wraps up my thoughts on the meta going into Calling Indianapolis. While I am quite confident in my tier list, I wouldn’t be surprised if things move around once we see what happens in Indy.
Unfortunately, I won’t have the luxury of travelling to this event, so I’ll have to watch on the sidelines. Let me know what you think about my tier list and what you would change.
Thanks for reading!
