There were three Battle Hardeneds going on in all three shards this past weekend. While we got high level play in Tokyo and Hartford, we also saw how the European Players handled things during Battle Hardened Milan. At the same time at the store level, the final week of Pro Quests were drawing our attention.
The meta has changed so drastically since the end of the Pro Tour. We've had Zen, Enigma, and Aurora all hit Living Legend. Nationals and High Seas are coming over a cresting wave, and there's more changes set to come with things truly cooking off in the competitive Flesh and Blood scene.
Battle Hardened Milan Top 8 Decks
The Top 8 in Battle Hardened Milan featured: 3 Azalea, Ace in the Hole, Cindra, Dracai of Retribution, 2 Florian, Rotwood Harbinger,Nuu, Alluring Desire, and Victor Goldmane, High and Mighty.
This final metagame is eclectic but indicative of the wider meta game at this state. We see the big titans in the form of Florian and Nuu, but the strong showing of Azalea is what has surprised me and other commentators. We can expect to see Ranger really stepping into the forefront going into Nationals.
5th Place Decks
Azalea
The first of the three Azalea's in the top 8 showed the competitive flexibility that this hero can demonstrate. There's a great deal of deck building flexibility in which arrows and which pumps you register. Some are more effective into some metas than others.
What's interesting about Simone Pirota's version is how hyper aggressive it is. The only Blue in the list is the three of Nock the Deathwhistle to ensure a consistent source of Dominate on an Arrow. It plays some increasingly obscure pumps such as Scout the Periphery to front load an arrow as heavily as possible, while fixing the top deck.
Including Codex of Inertia acts as another load, whit it only being semi blind, with all the Opt effects in the form of Scout, and Read the Glide Path
Azalea
The second Azalea also follows a lot of the same prevailing theory in deck building as some of the others, but offers a slightly less aggressive version.
It includes more utility Blues, such as Poison the Well to counter Count Your Blessings strategies, and azl025-spire-sniping-3-azalea-blitz-deck-precon to fix the top deck.
Despite the aggressive nature that Azalea leans into, compared to the trap heavy play style of Riptide, Lurker of the Deep, more and more Azalea lists have been registering Tarpit Trap more and more to prevent on-hit effects.
Cindra
Cindra's progression as an aggressive deck has moved a long way from the hyper aggressive red-line to incorporating 9-12 Blue cards to ensure gameplay consistency. This particular version was able to put up the results against a sea of Florians but may have fallen short against the Nuu in the top 8 games.
This particular Cindra list from Battle Hardened Milan is incredibly aggressive. The only Blues it's including is Warmonger's Diplomacy to help with the Azalea and Florian matchups, and the only Yellow is That All You Got? to help against Assassins and the mirror.
The rest of this list is incredibly Red-line and aggressive. It sends all cards in hand to attack, and is very reminiscent of the winners in Memphis and Christchurch at the start of the year. Some more odd inclusions into this Cindra list includes March of Loyalty more often there likely as a chain ender than a way to extend your turn; the deck also included Sink Below which as a defensive option, I like in Cindra as a way to filter your hand.
Victor Goldmane
This particular Victor deck was on the feature match during Round 6 of this streamed Battle Hardened. Deckbuilding for Victor Goldmane has always granted this Guardian a surprising number of action points. The inclusion of Enlightened Strike, Zealous Belting, and Rouse the Ancients are all excellent at extending the turn and ensuring strong aggressive output, while lining up the blocks and other strong, disruptive attacks Guardian is known for.
Our guide on how best to play the Guardian Class spotlights the strategy for Victor Goldmane particularly well, and it was played at a very high level in Battle Hardened Minneapolis.
3rd Place Decks
Azalea
Stefano Meoni's version of Azalea resembles the other from this event. Some of the utility Blues, such as Poison the Well feature again in this list, however an additional Spire Sniping in Blue to cover costs and as a way to fix the top of the deck is an effective inclusion.
Much like Mirko Dolce's version earlier in this top 8, this Azalea list is also playing Dreadbore as a possible weapon option. There are so many decks, including the ones that prevailed in this top 8, Nuu and Florian, that play incredibly defensively. Any ability to turn off defence reactions, in addition to playing cards like Release the Tension and Remorseless is deeply effective for your strategy.
Florian
The two Florians in Battle Hardened Milan converted very well.
This first version in the top 4 looked to be a very proactive, tempo version rather than the "stacking Runechants" build we've come to expect from Florian. Cards like Trot Along pairs very well with both weapons the deck is running, both Reaping Blade and Dread Scythe. It can even pair with Plow Under.
The inclusion of Swarming Gloomveil adds to the more proactive strategy, while the inclusion of Runic Reclamation is there as a popper against Prism, and a way to deal with Prism's Aura's or rival Channel the Millennium Trees.
Finalist
Florian
Similarly, the Florian that came 2nd in Battle Hardened Milan is also on Trot Along, and playing a more tempo oriented game with Runic Reclamation and Swarming Gloomveil. As well as that, the inclusion of Runerager Swarm as an additional source of easy Go Again pairs quite devastatingly with Channel Mount Heroic.
This is one of very very few versions of Florian I've seen register Fyendal's Spring Tunic as it's a card which is ignored in favour of the defensive value of Barkskin of the Millennium Tree. This version seeks to convert its hands and send damage, blocking well with Rootbound Carapace when it has to.
Winner
Nuu
The winning version of Nuu, Alluring Desire has some particularly strong and unique deck building inclusions.
Pain in the Backside is a card I've been registering in my own personal Nuu builds, as it presents a widening combat chain, and forking decisions in how I sequence my own hands, which gives my opponent a great deal of pause and uncertainty.
At the same time, it includes the right number of defensive pieces. Opting to play Fate Foreseen rather than Shelter From the Storm to ensure card selection is reasonable. It also plays Oasis Respite to respect Kano, since this version only has 2 pieces of Arcane Barrier.
Battlefront Bastion might be the best popper going since its blocking effect also counters the ping from Merciful Retribution.
The toolbox nature of being able to board in Spider's Bite against more aggressive decks, is deeply effective.
Wrap Up
Battle Hardened Milan brought us a clinic for what the strongest decks in the final weeks of The Hunted Meta looks to be. We can expect things to change dramatically going into Nationals 2025 season.
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