Like all good stories that have been told, things must come to an end, yet in this modern day era it’s fitting to end your story with the grandest of spectacles. Simply releasing a Monarch 3 would never do justice to what was the introductory set to many veteran Flesh and Blood players. As such, Omens of the Third Age wasn't merely a Lightning set, but an entire product dedicated to setting the stage of the grand finale, and the return He Who Must Not be Named- Chane, Bound by Shadow. Chane is looking to strike down Solana once and for all, and he needs to surpass his limitations, break free of the shackles that bind him, and claim full control over the Shadows to put an end to the Light and fully realize his desires. But does this leave any room for our Light heroes on this journey to the depths of i’Arathael, or does the conclusion of The War of The Monarch require too much depth to simply finish it in three acts?

After going 1 for 1 on the Lightning set and not having any time to theorize how we were getting a Monarch set next (like it wasn't obvious), it's time to throw my hat into the ring and tell all Boltyn and Prism fans the news they've been dreading to hear – we’re not getting your typical half Light and half Shadow set, but an entire set dedicated to i’Arathael and the Shadow talent. This has yet to be directly confirmed, but I believe there is overwhelmingly strong evidence to support this theory, both in the set breakdown as well as the supporting actors of the set that have been revealed to us. But I don't believe it's quite that simple, and there may be hidden secrets that have already partially revealed themselves to us. It's time to finally take a deeper look at what awaits us in i’Arathael as we Usurp the Shadow Throne.

The Doorway is Opened. Behold, Í'ARATHAEL. 

If you aren't familiar with our leading actor in this story, let me get you up to speed. Chane was raised by the Disciples of Pain, scholars who were outcast from Solana, declared heretics and hunted down by warriors of light because they raised concern about inconsistencies in some of the tomes in the Great Library. As a gifted caster and scholar, Chane raised his pain tolerance until he could begin to glimpse the Shadows, and as he stared into the void he reached a level of enlightenment, realizing he had a duty to Humanity to free them all from the oppression of the Light. All of the Demonastery – its Scholars, Outcasts, and Oppressed – banded together and shattered the veil between Rathe and i’Arathael, eternal realm of the Ancients and Old Ones. Be it madness, desperation, or any one of the seven deadly sins of your choosing, they dared to harness the power of these indomitable Old Ones. Chane stepped into i’Arathael, and came face to face with Ursur, who would lend Chane the power he needed to defeat the Light if he allowed the demon to shackle itself to Chane, feeding off the Light and spreading the Shadows across Rathe. Chane walks a thin line, on the edge of the consuming void that conveys to  him greater power for a simple but immeasurable price in return – his very soul.

That's the story of the man known as Chane, Bound by Shadow, who terrorized Solana and the competitive circuit of Flesh and Blood for a short time. But interestingly enough, that's about where the story ends. He recruits Levia, does some fighting, and then he's just… gone? The last time we checked in on The War of the Monarch, Vynsett and Levia were leading the charge on Solana and Chane was nowhere to be seen. Living Legend doesn't tend to limit lore, as we still hear how Lexi, Oldhim, Briar and Starvo are fighting for Solana, so where exactly did Chane go? Was he sleeping in his bed and missed the alarm on his phone? Likely not, instead I believe the recent trailer alludes to what troubles Chane has been getting into, why we’ve seen the arrival of the Omen of the End, the seven deadly Runechants, and why, at the end of the Dusk till Dawn storyline, we are left on a cliffhanger – the Demonastery at Solana’s doorstep, and Prism shedding a tear of realization for the series of events that lead to this destruction. 

Omen of the End

“A circle of fate, seven signs bound, and the returning shadow in blood be drowned.”

There's a lot to unpack, so let's start with the Omens of the Third Age and how it leads up to the current timeline. Long story short, Zyggy stands at the Auric Keep with their fellow Aetherscribes getting absolutely blasted by the Old Ones. A young Seer has a vision of the future, telling Zyggy about “Seven signs bound” and “the returning shadow in blood be drowned”. As we know in-game, this is referring to the seven runechants that represent the seven deadly sins. After facing a transformation into the crystallized Zyggy we know now (due to the Auric Keep being thrown into the Nebulous Void, a land between Rathe and i’Arathael) they come to meet Oscilio and Aurora. The two well-established heroes of Rathe were on their way to Enion to investigate a whirling vortex in the sky, an ominous sigil that affected the wildlife below it. Oscilio gets blown up by shadows leaking from the omen, Aurora revives him, and the two receive a message from Zyggy. It explains how Zyggy created Oscilio, that the Omens have created a connection of communication between them, and that they need to meet asap. One ancient gate leads to another, they establish an astral bridge to connect Rathe with the Auric Keep, and our three heroes meet. They fight off the forces leaking from the Sigil above Enion, and as it closes it reveals a horrific truth – similar Sigils have appeared over every known land in Rathe.

That's right, the Omens that connect Rathe to i’Arathael haven't just appeared over Enion, but Volcor, Misteria, Metrix, the Savage Lands, the Northern Realms, and, of course, Solana. Seven total regions mentioned, perhaps a coincidence, or perhaps intentional to go along with the theme of our seven deadly sin Runechants. We also were shown Baalghor, Omen of the End, our first talent-only Hero with the Demon subtype, much like Levia Consumed (who is only a demi-hero). Both the Runechants and the Young Shadow Hero are found in OMN, and I believe their existence hints at what is in store for us in the upcoming 20th set of Flesh and Blood. 

I'll briefly touch upon Baalghor first, as their existence in the set alludes and implies the possibility of another draftable young hero akin to Scurv. However, 33 life for a draft format is a bit insane, isn't it? Well, if you're going to be banishing every time you pitch, that Blood Debt will start to stack up, so I believe it'll balance itself out in a draft environment. Another possibility is that it's a Majestic young hero, and there are a few other Demons in the set awaiting us. 

As for the Runechants, this is where the recent trailer comes into play. The big reveal for the player base was that Chane has returned to the Classic Constructed format. But for the story, he speaks of looking to ‘destroy the light at its source’. This may make you think the set will feature Chane raining terror upon Solana, but what exactly IS the source of Light? Many times in lore featuring Light heroes, they make mention of Sol, acting as if it's their God and the one who gives the Heroes their Light. This is also likely what the ‘Monarch’ of Solana is. It may come as a surprise, but Solana doesn't actually have a King or Sovereign in lore but, rather,  eight Magisters and a Great Magister that leads the eight. Think of it like a board of directors who answer to this unseen god-like being Sol that they call their Monarch. While this has yet to be confirmed, I can't imagine what else the Monarch in ‘War of the Monarch’ would be. So Chane’s plan is pretty simple: find enough power to destroy  Sol. 

In a promotional poster, we can see Chane leaning into the void instead of walking the edge of it like he used to, being consumed by it. The text at the top describes forbidden power unbound, and yet the Chane we know is currently ‘Bound by Shadow.’ It's my belief that Chane plans on finding those whispers of power, leaning into the void and usurping those powers for himself. He won't be stealing just one power, but seven, stealing from the most powerful, vile, demonic Old Ones he can find. Fittingly enough, these Runechants give bonuses when they are usurped and destroyed, the new mechanic Runeblade – and likely Chane – will use to represent his ascent in power. At the end of this long and ambitious journey across i’Arathael, once he has climbed the stairway of power, he will finally usurp one last king, Sol, and sit on his Shadow Throne. Prism, left to wonder how Solana could ever be left to be destroyed as Sol does nothing, realizes the horrifying truth, bringing tears to her eyes, and giving us resolution to the story of Dusk till Dawn from all those years ago. Atop sits Chane, no longer Bound by Shackles, by Shadow, by Ursur, by anything. He is untethered and having his “no more strings on me” moment.

Malice

So thanks to a little birdie whose name rhymes with Pott ‘Growling’ Nines, we know about  a new Armory Deck featuring Malice. That’s great and all, but who and/or what is Malice? Out of the existing possibilities, Runeblade and Brute are already on the table. In lore, Mechanologists, 'conjurors and summoners’ (likely meaning Illusionists and/or Necromancers), and ‘witches’ (Wizards) are the current in-game represented classes that live in the Demonastery. I feel like this is important to mention, as Aria is known to have Illusionists and Conjurors in their ranks and sure enough Zyggy arrived on the scene mere months ago. There is also mention of ‘biomancers’ and 'alchemists,’ and while I doubt we would ever get a new class when Necromancer just came out last year, perhaps these terms reference Assassins who deal in potions and neurotoxins to eliminate and torture any poor soul on their list… or for the fun, sadistic, and malicious act of it. 

The definition of Malice refers to something along the lines of ‘the intention/desire to cause harm or distress to another person’. It's not so much as taking action, but the thought of doing something nasty. You intentionally choose to be cruel, commit harmful acts, and upset others. Names in Flesh and Blood are usually pretty on the nose as they relate to gameplay, class, or characterization, so even a simple name can lead us to believe a lot. Chane refers to the chains (or Soul Shackles) that bind him. Boltyn ‘bolts’ into the front line. Prism creates prismatic illusions. Levia takes the form of a Leviathan Class monster when she harnesses her full power. Vynnset is a pretty odd one, you'll have to ask James White about that, but a few google searches waffle between sounding like 27 in French or sounding like a corset, math and waist restricting fashion both being worthy of the Shadow title. So, in Malice’s case, what's the first thing to come to mind?

Shadow Necromancer. If Chane is charging into i’Arathael to seize power, who better to oppose his power grab than a Necromancer that summons the Demonic Shadows to stand in his way. I don't believe the other Shadow heroes in this set would be on Chane’s side if he is going for a coup, and these Shadow heroes would be the residents of i’Arathael since the Shadow heroes who are allied with Chane would be on the front lines of the siege of Solana. Malice, being an emotion, could be a perfect tie-in with the seven deadly sins such as Gluttony, Envy, Pride, and so on. If the seven main ones are like Kings and Queens of the Old Ones, perhaps Malice would be their defender or champion, leading the army of demons like Baalghor. 

Another thing that comes to mind is both Assassin and Warrior. When I thought about the word Malice, I pictured someone that inspires Malice in others – essentially a professional ragebaiter that goads people into causing others harm. This could fit in a reactionary Warrior shell that forces the opponent to block, a similar concept they used in designing a Heavy Hitters Warrior that was scrapped because of fatigue, revisited because Blood Debt might make fatigue impossible. Assassin fits on the side of causing pain and having malice for the fun and thrill of it all, and Assassins love causing mental damage to the Flesh and Blood playerbase so it would be quite fitting as well. 

The Viserai Theory: James White Ragebaits the Community?

I'm writing this about a week after my initial draft, and new information has spread across the community like wildfire. LSS has just revealed promotional posters for the World Premiere in Seoul, Korea featuring none other than the ever-popular Viserai, as well as a new trailer featuring Chane being stopped by Baalghor at one of the Gates of i’Arathael. First a trailer about Wrath, now one about Greed, two sins down and five more to go. The good news is that we hit the theory on the nose with this one, it appears Chane DOES plan on taking the powers of seven Old Ones. THEY themselves may have passed on, but their power lingers, and Chane seeks to obtain it for himself. This further reinforces my belief that this is an all Shadow Talent set, and that the other Shadow heroes (Baalghor and perhaps Malice) are going to attempt to stop Chane from obtaining this power and even… try and Usurp the Usurper himself? With the reveal of Viserai, we need to ask ourselves – will he be an ally of Chane and his rise to power, or a foe looking to snatch the power right from under Chane for himself? 

In lore, we know Viserai returned to explore deep into i’Arathael looking for more power. Many moons ago I wondered if he would return in a future Shadow set, but after the first trailer I wrote it off that LSS would revisit his story for another time and focus on Chane, something James White and the team have done often (like when we returned to Volcor and caught no sight of Dromai as she was left to pick up the pieces of a fallen kingdom – I’m not bitter about it, I promise). While I would typically write this appearance off as bait and that it's just some Majestic card’s artwork instead of a Heroes artwork, they used a new upgraded form instead of his classic hero artwork. Viserai appears to be sporting a powerful new form, featuring his signature weapon, Reaping Blade, now fashioned into his armor almost like a demonic halo, his body oozing a purple lightshow – representing his mastery over the arcane arts. I have a feeling that the Runeblade community would jump with melancholic glee for a Runeblade-only set, even if it is right off the back of Aurora being re-released. Saying that the rest of the FaB community would be thrown into an outrage is putting it lightly. The best chance we’d have for Viserai and Chane to be featured in  the same set is if one is locked to Majestic rarity only, while the other is our typical draft young hero + adult hero. Unlike our vile ‘friend’ Viserai, Chane has yet to be seen with adjustments to his armor or appearance that usually indicate a return to CC, even a simple one similar to Prism and her golden trims added to her cape and frontal armor. If LSS isn't holding their hand close to their chest on this one folks, there might be a grim truth ahead for all our Chane enjoyers – Viserai may be looking to take the mantle as our new Shadow King. 

In Light of the Math

So what about Light, we can't have a Monarch set without Light right? They've done two talent, three class Hero sets before so what's the issue? Part of me still considered the possibility of a two Shadow, one Light hero set, specifically because, during the Dusk till Dawn storyline, our heroes found a way into i’Arathael before being attacked by the Demonastery. The issue is a wrench in the shape of a demon named Baalghor, Omen of the End.

Their inclusion in the set implies a draftable young Shadow talent hero, much like Scurv was to the Pirate class in High Seas. Imagine trying to draft a Scurv with half the size of the Pirate card pool; it would make for a miserable draft experience. There are only 133 commons and 66 rares in the set. For reference, High Seas had 127 commons and 64 rares with a draftable young hero, three classes and one shared ‘talent’ (I know Pirate’s a class, stop messaging me). The Hunted had 130 commons and 66 rares, with three classes and two talents, but Chaos got no actual talent cards aside from a meme majestic and fabled, and the three heroes shared a lot of dual cards and dagger synergy so drafting Arakni wouldn't feel bad. The closest example we have, in terms of card distribution, is Uprising, with three classes and two talents, 125 commons and 51 rares. This kinda worked, but it would mean drafting Baalghor would be a miserable experience. Drafting Fai and Dromai was already difficult enough when you were competing for Draconic cards, there wouldn't be enough for the table unless you cut generics out. Unless Baalghor is strictly a UPF fun card, I don't see where else it could fit. As an expansion slot majestic and without Blitz, it's quite odd to release the hero in such a state. As a rare, it would be a bait draft pick to throw your game off because there wouldn't be enough Shadow talent cards to make it work. If there was enough Shadow cards, Light would have to be cut tremendously, doing a huge disservice to a Light hero unless they ended up mono-Light, cutting the third class entirely to give its entire card pool to the Light talent. Which if, and that’s a big IF, that happens, hey you heard it here first folks, but I'm not sure if LSS is crazy enough to try something like that in already such an experimental set.

The TCGPlayer article also was kind enough to reveal the promo contents breakdown, an odd 3 cold foil, 1 rainbow foil, and 7 basics. The 1 rainbow foil I can imagine is Gate to i’Arathael, being a Shadow talent token, I could see all heroes using it. 3 cold foil could be either the hero or weapons, while the 7 basics are either 3 weapons and 4 equipment or 3 heroes 4 equipment. Another possibility is that we get 3 cold foil weapons, and the 7 are double sided heroes/tokens similar to The Hunted and all the tokens it produced. The 1 rainbow foil likely being Gate to i’Arathael leads me to believe that this is also just a mono-shadow set. It seems awfully anti-climactic for the Light hero not to get any fancy shared resource among the heroes as they've done in the past. Unless the rainbow foil ends up being a Macro, but those are usually cold foil.

Flesh and Blood: Endgame

I believe that James White initially planned on ending the Monarch storyline with set 20, but it was simply too grand in the design process and things had to change to let Chane, the Demonastery, and Shadow heroes to shine.  The journey also just doesn't seem to take us there, unless Prism sees that Sol is being attacked by Chane and sends someone there to defend, the story seems focused on Chane escaping his shackles and rising to power, with the Shadow denizens of i’Arathael reacting to that. This is actually great news as it would mean there would be a Monarch 3: Part 2 to be the finale of Monarch, much like the Endgame to Avengers Infinity War, or the Phyrexian Invasion Arc having four sets for its trilogy (for all you MTG-heads out there). However, just because there isn't a draftable hero for Light doesn't mean all hope is lost, as I could very well see a Majestic expansion slot Light hero making its debut to prelude to the events of Monarch 3: Part 2. There's also two Fabled slots, something never before seen. Perhaps we will see a mono-Light talent hero in the form of Sol itself, similar to The Emperor for the Draconic talent. Of course, if there isn't a draftable Light hero in the set, you can also be sure there will be a few expansion slots to make up for it.

In my opinion, the best possible case for the playerbase is that Shadow and Light were split into two different sets. Not only do I think this would have the best results for a cohesive story, but also would allow Shadow and Light to fully shine in what would likely be their last major set for a few years. That would allow for the future Light set to have three Light heroes rising up to defeat the Shadows, and the Light and Shadow card talent pools to have real effects outside of “banish an opponents soul/flip an opponents banish face down” that you traditionally found in previous sets. Perhaps we’ll finally get that Light Guardian or Cleric everyone keeps talking about. As for the time frame, if LSS wants to wrap up the story quickly they could go back to Solana in Set 21 as discussed among the community. On the other hand, vortexes and sigils of i’Arathael opened up around all of Rathe, so this could make for a good chance to tie all of Rathe together as these Omens have been seen to affect the wildlife and people around them, giving them chaotic strength and leaving destruction in their wake. So, are you still hoping for a glimpse of Light at the end of the tunnel? Or are you ready to Usurp the Throne from under the Lord of Shadows themselves? Pick a side, because the real set information drops in just a few weeks, and we’ll have everything covered when it's time to Usurp the Shadow Throne.