The Blitz format is slated to be removed from competitive play after Skirmish Season 13 in November and December. The player base is so extremely divided about this development. Before we can weigh in on why, let's discuss the history of Blitz and the likely future of Young Hero formats.
During the earliest years of Flesh and Blood, particularly the pandemic, Blitz was the format that saw a great deal more play than Classic Constructed. While cards from the first few sets were scarce, finding 2 of your cards was distinctly more easy than finding all 3. It was being played very heavily during the pandemic on webcam, and the very first streamed event from the Flesh and Blood Youtube channel was Blitz gameplay among the developers. As the pandemic waned, the very first event I attended for Flesh and Blood was for Skirmish Season 4, back when Kano and Viserai were still legal.
As the player base grew, the growing sentiment was that Blitz has some inherently swingy gameplay. That games could end in OTK's; whether it's Kayo, Berserker Runt plus Ten Foot Tall and Bulletproof, Scepter of Pain with Florian, or whatever combos can be done with Wizards. This sentiment was hard to shake, and despite the immense place in the game's history Blitz had, CC cemented itself as the game's premier format.
There are other commentators who staunchly defend Blitz as a format. AggroBlaze96 commented on the fact that the margin for error in Blitz is so unforgiving in Blitz compared to CC, that it makes every bit of difference. There are some players who are intrigued by this, but there are some that are so utterly repulsed, that it solidifies their dislike for the format.
It is this general consensus that solidified the end of Blitz as a competitive format. It will still be available for tournament organisers to make it a format for Armory and On Demand events, but it will not be featuring for a main event as anything higher than the store level.
What can we expect for Young Heroes going forward? Shining Silver!
As we explained in our article about Project Blue, and as we saw in the last moments of the Pro Tour Singapore Keynote, the new format Project Blue is being expanded into a new format called Silver Age. We're still unclear as to what the official rule set for this format will be, and if there'll be any changes to card legality. However, it looks as though LSS is serious about pushing this format, with Battle Hardeneds in Valencia, Seattle, and Hong Kong sporting that format. I myself will be playing in Valencia in November.
We can all look ahead to the new take on what the Young Hero format will be as more information of Silver Age comes to light. For now, Blitz's place as the force which brought the game to where it is will never be forgotten, however its place is a competitive format is on its waning days.
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