Things to be excited about in Uprising

Hype for the new set!

Here are 4 things I'm looking forward to in the upcoming Flesh and Blood booster set, Uprising!

Iyslander

Going to be honest, never thought I'd be playing Wizard. But, have you seen Iyslander's new Adult hero card?

Iyslander looks absolutely boss in the new art! Immediately bought Storm Striders before the prices shot up (lucky me).

And yes, the art is my biggest pull to playing Iyslander once Uprising hits the stores 😂

To be fair, I already play Ice heroes more often than not (Oldhim, Lexi), so it shouldn't come as a surprise.

We are already familiar with Iyslander in Blitz when she made her debut in Everfest. I have also played against very good Iyslander players at Skirmishes. I still feel like Iyslander's hero ability isn't too relavant yet in the current metagame, But, that's why its very exciting to see Iyslander come to Classic Constructed with more Ice card support!

More Ice Cards

Uhm, yes please!

Going back to being an Oldhim fan for a second. Ice heroes, such as Oldhim, are getting more tools to play control. Channel the Bleak Expanse can be a good tool against Mentors, especially seeing the new warrior one from Classic Battles: Rhinar vs Dorinthea. It does seem to play better in Iyslander, who can play it as an instant in response to whatever condition the Mentor requires to get their third counter. For example, with Minerva, Iyslander can play Channel the Bleak Expanse as an instant from Arsenal just before damage resolve, let damage resolve and Minerva gets their third counter, but cannot tutor the specialization.

Cold Snap is going to be my new Blitz Oldhim favourite, as it combos with my Earthlore Bounty build well from drawing a card.

Draconic

An entirely new talent was revealed, we love some dragons. And, they come in the new 'Marvel' rarity that makes the collector in me itch.

It would seem that only the new Illusionist will be able to somehow summon these majestic and terrible beaties, for now. Haven't quite made me pull the trigger to buy into Phantasmal Footsteps yet. But, that might change in the future.

Drafting

We can't talk about the new set without talking about drafting it.

In my opinion, LSS' statement that they want to ensure a premium drafting experience for Flesh and Blood wasn't just marketing hearsay. Whilst everyone has a set or two they don't like, Flesh and Blood drafting still remains a well designed format and, in my opinion, superior to some of its competitors. I really like how clever LSS designed their booster pack product to cater for the format.

In my London playgroup, we get excited about draft, and can have really meaningful conversations about the format. How does the 2 Draconic vs 1 Ice hero work in draft? Could there be a 4th hero looking at the card distribution? Is that last block Generics? The possibilities are endless. I wouldn't find the same conversations in Magic.

More spoilers tomorrow. Set release on 24th June

We're about to go into spoiler season with the official spoiler calendar up, as well as the card gallery. Go have a look and I'll see you at the drafting table! Or, at least, in the article I'll write for it.