The Powering Down of Flesh and Blood

[@SIQmai]

I love the direction the game is going towards (meaning, a bit more like it was originally) and I love that the FAB team really care about the game and care about keeping it balanced. I also got into the game pretty early (had been observing since alpha and got into it during Monarch), and I can say that I absolutely hate where the game was during the Chane/Starvo/Briar/Oldhim etc era. I din't even play competitively but to me it gets boring to see a 'meta' full of the same heroes. I LOVE that I can pick up one of the OG heroes and play them today in a balanced way. Good job LSS!

[@supermarioblacktiger]

I just imagine being the boomer when new young players are complaining about how strong new Prism #5 is and I'm there like "You've never seen true power creep. Back in my day with the Starvo meta..."

[@Sloopdoop]

Oh you think the new Runeblade weapon, Dreaded Soul Ripper is broken? Let me introduce you to Rosetta Thorn, kiddos

[@giocommentary]

@@Sloopdoop The never legal Duskblade is here to say hi :p

[@giocommentary]

@@Sloopdoop reading my own comment again i realize it IS finally legal! in the LL format.. time to brew!!!

[@jeffersonwinslow8218]

No imagination needed, I already am that Boomer.

[@thordoo3047]

As a brand new player... I love this video so much. Thank you!! :) This game is fucking AMAZING. I grew up playing MTG and FAB is the game I always wished MTG was.

[@jiffyb333]

As someone who joined during dynasty It is incredibly exciting to see the game evening out in the way that it is! It is truly a mark of how much the developers want the game to be fun to play for an incredibly long time that they are making moves like this. As you said it's been a rough bit of time but I definitely see it paying off going forward.

[@Sloopdoop]

It's certainly been a wild ride but I firmly believe we'll be looking back in several years with some nostalgia for this time!

[@tthien93]

The power level during TOA and EVR days was truly over 9000

[@Sloopdoop]

Looking back it was actually NUTS

[@jeffersonwinslow8218]

It's so funny trying to relate the experience of playing with and against things like Awakening, Winter's Wail, Ball Lightning, Chane and OG Luminaris to our scene's newcomers. Or explaining how a character as dominant as Oldhim was completely unplayable in CC even without any of his kit banned for the first several months of his life.

[@rogerbodee]

@@jeffersonwinslow8218 Oldhim won a Calling dummying all the fully powered Briar decks in Orlando.

[@jeffersonwinslow8218]

@@rogerbodee Before Starvo or Prism LLed? That's amazing it got by me!

[@TheTekloFoundry]

love that the game has been around long enough for these history videos, well done!

[@Sloopdoop]

Hopefully it can be something new players can enjoy even a few years from now!

[@tomryan3768]

We joined right before Aria. It was a fun to play but we saw it COULD be broken. Then Everfest came out and I flipped a table when I saw Starvos. Now, heavy Hitters looks like a good place to come back.

[@fabledacademy]

Watched it full length, awesome edeting and concept! Love it and hate the autofocus

[@Sloopdoop]

Thank you very much 🙏 and I do too

[@Jacob_Friis]

Cheap legendaries, but crazy majestic prices. Stupid prices.

[@Sloopdoop]

Player demand drives prices

[@BlockOutParty]

Top notch writing and editing on display here👌. I agree that current state of FaB is super healthy and LSS knows how to maintain it.

[@gh0stgamez424]

a friend of mine got me into fab recently, im glad i missed some of those sets (currently play teklo cuz i pulled singularity :))

[@kazaky178]

What a great video! Informational and a great presentation! Subbed!

[@Sloopdoop]

Glad you got something out of it! Thank you!

[@MrChippsXYZ]

Wonderful take on the change in pace of the game. It's awesome to see that they care more about the longevity of the game than power creeping to infinity and beyond. even though it may have hurt the game there for a while, we can't ignore that they want to see this game live on for a long time - not to mention that they have a vision and stick to it and don't just go off their path for no reason.

[@Sloopdoop]

It's definitely a choice they made for longevity, which is why I highly respect the team's decision

[@infomidgard5704]

Sloop is a mesmerizing individual, so I just want to make sure everyone sees that the computer screen says "Chane ruined my auto focus and I had to refilm half the video :( "

[@Sloopdoop]

Fun fact: I refilmed that part... then found out that my microphone was juuuuust barely not plugged in and I got NO audio. So I had to refilm again

[@infomidgard5704]

Sorry@@Sloopdoop if it helps I love your videos. Some real bangers lately too.

[@lecrapoutch4250]

Rythm is catchy, voice is nice, I'm glad I found this video randomly ! Waiting for the next one :)

[@endtimestcg5146]

Love the Powering Down. Great Move!

[@sulmenite6938]

James White as Bob the Builder is brilliant 😂

[@marcusbrown3007]

the action point economy in old hero design really does dictate how powerful they truly can be, also cool to learn about the term "Sip Sip"!

[@Sloopdoop]

I think the coolest thing is that the cards that go in your deck are as powerful as ever, it's the heroes and weapons that have been powered down

[@marcusbrown3007]

@@Sloopdoop we are still playing command and conquer after all yeah

[@NaNa_W4NT5_F3MNM5]

I'm honestly glad that power in decks are becoming lower and leveling out. This is kind of what I hoped for in FaB when I first saw the Living Legends system. I personally thought it was one of the best ways to reduce power creep. But I also have to give props to James White and LSS because they clearly know what kind of game the fans want, or else they wouldn't have tried to power down so heavily. There are also growing pains of leveling down when strong heroes exist, but I think that's just a consequence of the huge increase of power in the past. Eventually, FaB had to pay the price, however it won't last forever, like you said.

[@Paradoxed25]

Good explaination video. Im here to once again say that Spectra is a more than balanced mechanic that was never actually OP, even considering old Luminaris. The issue actually came from a lack of interaction like Hack to Reality or access to AP to certain classes like Warrior, Wizard, and Ranger.

[@Sloopdoop]

For the time that it was released, it was OP. Sure, it's not now, but you have to look at things in the context of where they existed at the time

[@eduardo-moroni]

Great video, solid train of thoughts. One anecdote that I keep thinking about when discussing this subject is: it seems that most of the player base got into FAB during Monarch - TOA phase. So what would happen if the game drastically changes and it's no longer the game that they enjoyed? Anyways it could also go both ways, the game become better. But I think that something most agree is that it's no fun playing Starvo, Chance, Prisms, Lexi matchups

[@paleconfidant380]

This might be your best video yet.

[@Sloopdoop]

I appreciate that!

[@herrjohnny6496]

+1

[@j1nchuika]

Great video and theme!

[@Sloopdoop]

Thank you!

[@protestthebread1046]

This video has, so far, aged beautifully.

[@OfficialStormFire]

I really enjoy your take on the overall meta of the game.

[@kellyhoesing2573]

I quit the game after going to the first US Nationals because it just wasn't fun playing an endless spree of decks that were just looking to do max damage every turn by spamming out the same suite of go again stuff. So I'm glad to hear the power level being cranked down a bit since then. I truly loved playing during the first year of sets, and if the game is similar to that again I may need to track down the remnants of my locals and try it again.

[@Sloopdoop]

I think you'd enjoy where the game is at now!

[@spetz911]

Hello from 2024 where Zen is OP, Kano was OP… and now Rosetta is coming soon

[@TheHamgamer]

7:04 MTG's Modern/Legacy format. Soon to be Pioneer, too.

[@WolfShadowmancer]

You write incredible video essays, and your editing skills just continue to improve! Love your content, love Mr. Ribbits, and I look forward to many more years of the best game ever.

[@Sloopdoop]

I really appreciate the kind words! I think I need to make some more simple content to fill in the gaps, but I do get a lot of satisfaction making these video essays

[@BigHit9922]

I actually think power down is a good thing. Competitive Players don’t have to continually buy new cards to keep up with the meta

[@theatheistbear3117]

I agree. It’s not about the cards necessarily being more powerful that will win games, but using cards that will help you pivot in a variety of setups.

[@DiceCommando]

Haha, well played on the James newmin-newminaris. I literally laughed out loud.

[@Sloopdoop]

I'm glad I could get a laugh out of ya! I'm just glad I didn't have to scrap or rewrite that whole part

[@herrjohnny6496]

there is always so much passion and work in your videos! Thank you buddy 🤙

[@Sloopdoop]

I do my very best to bring good shit to this awesome game and community!

[@GoblinReserve]

Great video thank you. Hope many decks continue to be viable with this new change rather that just 1 or 2. *sad Viserai noises*

[@Sloopdoop]

Hey man Vis is more playable than people give him credit for

[@GoblinReserve]

If by playable you means there’s a slight chance you can win a few matchups🤣

[@rayxon88]

Hey Sloop, Question for you. Do you think its bad for the competitive integrity of the game to increase variance while being a Best of 1 format? If a deck loses to both high rolls from the opponent and low rolls to itself; does that not lower your agency and efficacy as a player? Especially since a lot of effects and value from equipment is once per game use. There are several scenarios now where you cache in your armor wisely and in line with the game plan and timed right; only for a lucky draw from your opponent invalidating that work. If you played that match 2/3 times that wouldn't happen and would tend towards better play mattering more.

[@BIGG_Fierce]

Chane dominates even Sloop's videos, nerf op!

[@Sloopdoop]

I was so mad I had to refilm lmao

[@AVAUTV]

Hard work paying off ❤

[@Sloopdoop]

It was well worth it!

[@ctrosejr]

Great video. Nicely done.

[@Sloopdoop]

Thanks!

[@Nouxatar]

Honestly Monarch/Tales/Everfest, and arguably Uprising, was the Mirrodin block of FAB. Overpowered sets that, while they sold well, impacted the meta negatively. Likewise, Dynasty/Outsiders/Dusk Till Dawn and arguably Bright Lights was the Kamigawa block, selling more poorly due to containing little in the way of meta impact (with Bright Lights beginning to buck this trend) Now? Heavy Hitters and Part the Mistveil? This is FAB's Ravnica. And because of that, I can't wait to see where it goes from here.

[@pythonxz]

Couldn't they also change intelligence to balance instead of health?

[@Sloopdoop]

@@pythonxz technically yes. There is one blitz hero with 3 Intellect, but having 1 less or more card than 4 is a WAAAAY bigger power change than adjusting lifetotal. One less card every turn makes a hero almost unplayable

[@pythonxz]

@@Sloopdoop Yeah, I just thought that if a hero ability was especially disgusting, they could reduce intelligence.

[@GamerWannaB]

i would love to see them mess with the intellect stat, like a fast glass canon build with like 5 cards instead of 4 and less health as a sort of "rush" deck. low block high damage low health sort of thing.

[@TheKaijudist]

A 5 hander could just play a plethora of generic 3 blocks

[@lcronovt]

Do you know what happen to landmarks and mentors? I liked those mechanics.

[@timezero8409]

Another great video! If you like the lore, I'd love to see lore video from you if it's your jam! 😃

[@Sloopdoop]

Hmm, maybe, but I'd have to find a very unique way to cover it, rather than just reading articles and such

[@Jacob_Friis]

It must go down before it really takes off.

[@Karkman87]

So what do you think about the New new Luminaris now? Personally I think Prism actually needs it to have some turn, even into the new heros that came out. Too many 6 power attacks already running around and it was extremely resource intensive to give anything go again. Still I am a bit worried that it might be slightly too much if Heavy Hitters doesnt bring out interesting Brutes/guardians to counter Prism.

[@sereneshireen]

good shit, as always!

[@Sloopdoop]

Thank you thank you!

[@curatinghumanism]

Fantastic video!

[@Sloopdoop]

Thank you very much!

[@riddleTCG]

Great stuff

[@Sloopdoop]

Thank you my friend

[@skurai]

Nice video

[@angelpillow3264]

8:26 *Laughs in new Luminaris* Edit: AHAHAHAHAHA

[@Sloopdoop]

They really had to do it to me before I was finished the video

[@minokalu1682]

In what world is 40 usd cards good?

[@HoMiNGHeaD]

19:23 the copium era

[@lcronovt]

So they powered down the sets like MtG did compared to early days. Nice! That's so excellent news to the future of F&B. Now I'm crossing my fingers that LSS doesn't release es Urza Saga sets.

[@Darth_Zuko]

Who's this riptide you speak of?

[@Sloopdoop]

no idea

[@chickenbonelives]

MTG did this. many sets after legends sucked donkey balls on purpose.

[@Sloopdoop]

They also powered down after Mirrodin with Kamigawa. It's rare in TCGs, but it does happen

[@solaniancommunitycollege9256]

That seemed short lived... Heavy Hitters spoiled cards are insane so far. 😅

[@StripedJacket]

I just wish I could play wizards in blitz but they’re just too powerful that they’re LL when I start playing

[@paleconfidant380]

We will get new ones soon. In the meantime you can try commons only with friends or folks online.

[@Sloopdoop]

Wizards will come back soon enough. I wouldn't be surprised if we get some arcane stuff after Heavy Hitters

[@Whydidyouusemyname]

Then they gave us agility tokens.

[@Whydidyouusemyname]

I should have made it past 8 minutes... Agility only helps once... i believe, I am a tcg noob, but exited to play fab.

[@shigjetar]

And then there was MST

[@wiseman8728]

Living legend will never be a good format. Cause all other living legends are not on the same level. An interview with them, revealed that they actually are reluctant with specific bans for characters.

[@xerodight2057]

Oldhim just killed the fun of the game as ninja player. For a game that is all about having agency no matter if you're attacking or defending, it always felt like all I did was defend the entire game unless I had the best cards and equipment to help, as not only did Oldhim block well but his attacks were almost needed to be blocked or you wouldn't even be able to play on your turn as a ninja with a budget deck. I just reminded me of playing against control warrior in hearthstone or monarch at their peak in YuGiOh.

[@caw555]

love the look back at the game's history and the way you frame the issue around ToA, hate the tcg model apologism. maybe one day we'll see a strong competitive game with thriving OP that finds something better.

[@TheKaijudist]

Curious what that would look like considering the LCG model for competitive games is dead and buried

[@tableandlegs]

WhAt YoUr'E sAyInG DoEsN't MaKe SeNsE iN U.P.F.