Now that High Seas has hit our shelves, and the metagame has been irreversibly shaken up, we can look to the first Calling in a new season to confirm the meta. Calling Bologna has shown us just what some of the strongest contenders are, could be, and won't ever be again in the Classic Constructed metagame.
Calling Bologna Top 8 Decks
The Top 8 in this European area featured: Azalea, Ace in the Hole, two Cindra, Dracai of Retribution, Gravy Bones, Shipwrecked Looter, Nuu, Alluring Desire, Prism, Awakener of Sol, and two Vynnset, Iron Maiden.
It is deeply surprising to not see any Florian, Rotwood Harbinger in these top spots, despite being tied for most represented deck on day one. It's an open secret that the Italian player base loves Azalea, and their both being on 37 players is no surprise. However, with Scepter of Pain and Germinate being banned, the more tempo based Florian decks are rising, but may need to take time to fully cook.
Apart from the lack of Florian, Calling Bologna had some very interesting results. The consequences of the event are huge for the Classic Constructed meta, but we'll review that in another article.
5th Place
Cindra
Going into a new, speculative metagame has given players the chance to rebuild back, probably, the strongest aggro deck around. Cindra was the 5th most represented deck in Calling Bologna. This Red Line version, piloted by Yorgos Samaras is purely aggressive in its minimal Yellow and Blue cards.
What strikes me about this particular version of Cindra is how it's teched to be defensive. Not since the first versions of the deck since Calling Memphis and Christchurch have I seen copies of the defence reactions Loyalty Beyond the Grave and Wax On in a Cindra list. Lastly the new Claw of Vynserakai alongside Spell Fray Leggings provides the best arcane defence the deck can muster without compromising its game plan.
At the same time, this version has adopted a great deal of new spice from the prevailing Cindra deck building. This version by Yorgos also has Battlefront Bastion as tech into Prism. There's never a world where a deck with this few Yellows and Blues resolves this card, it's there to be a 7 power Popper that has its defend ability to cover a Merciful Retribution ping. The split of running both Mask of Momentum and Mask of the Pouncing Lynx as it has variable uses in certain matchups.
Prism
The deck that the vast majority of players agree is well positioned to feast on Gravy Bones, since the Herald attacks all get their on hit ability if they go after a zombie ally.
The new card Herald of Sekem has been collectively agreed to be a 2 of in all decks. Sometimes you can't hit, or sometimes they pop it, so getting to put a card in soul on attacks is very powerful. At the same time, being able to send split arcane damage makes it a potentially a 3 card 9 value attack can be very effective in the early game.
It's been agreed by high level deck builders that poppers need to have 7 power to be able to get past Figment of Triumph and Herald of Triumph. This is why Prism decks are consistently registering Celestial Reprimand, and as a Prism player myself, I am always on board to register Reprimand.
Vynnset
While there were two Vynnset lists going into the Calling Bologna Top 8, both decks are wildly different.
The first deck, played by Axilleas Siskopoulos, is relatively stock standard. The inclusion of Cull and a single Tear Through the Portal to ensure that the Vynnset hero ability can be enabled to force through a Runechant. Other than that, we get the good look of the full "Widespread" cycle and Succumb to Temptation.
Upon looking closer, the contents of the deck is very well teched for their Wizard matchup, with cards like Ebon Fold for the Spellvoid, and Cloak of Darkness and Dance of Darkness to act as Spellvoid. With the uptick of Verdance after US Nationals.
Vynnset
The other Vynnset list on top featured some deeply out there card choices.
Federico Lami is playing the specialisation, Oblivion, to summon the Demon token as an alternate source of physical damage.
Vynnset has always been very fatigue-able, and the one off copy of Remembrance to prevent that at least somewhat.
Lastly, the most oddball card is the two copies of Invert Existence. A card from Monarch that Chane did not play, but a card that was tested in earnest when Vynnset debuted in Dusk Till Dawn. The inclusion is actually very elegant. The vast majority of players will not bring anything other than one piece of Arcane Barrier, so being able to suddenly send 2 Arcane Damage is very threatening. It also serves double duty of banishing cards from grave, namely Gravy Bones allies or Codex of Frailty targets.
3rd Place
Azalea
While this may be Azalea's last Calling Top 8, this does not mean the deck has not been iterated on in the last few top placements of her life before Living Legend.
There are a few choices in Stefano Meoni that have matched the new prevailing deck building theory, and a few new choices that are surprising but effective.
While the best in slot for head equipment is Skullbone Crosswrap, there is a copy of Balance of Justice. There has been some theory in deckbuilding into Jarl that it offers two points of block without being Blade Break.
There are a pair of good one-off arrows that you can tech for in this deck. Sleep Dart is very effective to find with Nock the Deathwhistle to turn off strategy defining hero powers. While Enigma is long gone, Murkmire Grapnel has some very relevant use into Prism.
Gravy Bones
The newest deck on the block is consistently posting results in Limited and Constructed. There is no prevailing agreement on what the right build is for the Pirate Necromancer, but there is a lot of very interesting tech in this deck by Marko Leben.
The deck, despite the version made public by Yuki Lee Bender, needs to be on as few Red cards as possible to make Chart the High Seas as consistent as possible. This deck features 9 reds, one of which is Blood in the Water which comes in in certain matchups. Otherwise, Conqueror of the High Seas has been agreed to be the strongest card from the new set on a raw power standpoint.
The other big Red is Golden Tipple. The debate is based on how many copies of Golden Tipple that should be run. This version is on all 9 versions. The ability to filter an ally card into the grave to make a Gold, then extend your turn, then you're in a good spot. As well as the allies, this deck is also playing Sea Legs as another discard target, to make your rum for Go Again. Yay, drinking in the middle of a battle!
Cards like Lead the Charge, Diamond Amulet, and Back Alley Breakline also do a great job at bringing extra action points to the match.
This list is showing 21 allies, a little higher than some lists, but it's likely that Leben boards in certain allies against certain opponents.
One final note is that this is a very budget friendly version for players looking to pick up Gravy Bones. Most high performing lists are running the expensive Fabled rarity cards: Eye of Ophidia and sea000-rf-riches-of-tropal-dhani-2-high-seas-booster. Leben's list is not running them. Maybe for budgetary reasons, or maybe to cut the number of non blocking cards. It's good to see that the money cards are not super necessary for building a winning Gravy Bones list, but if you have those cards, definitely play them.
Finalist
Cindra
The finalist Cindra deck is also particularly Red Line, but the included Yellows and Blues are more than just there for consistency.
This version of Cindra is surprisingly Draconic light. It has a number of base Ninja and Generic cards that offer a great deal of power. Cut Through has been a main stay in Kodachi Ira, and it's a very easy to enable in Cindra thanks to Flick Knives. Tenacity and Salt the Wound are there as search targets for Pouncing Lynx.
The Blues that Filip Mikołajczyk is running all synergise with the Daggers. Concealed Blade has been in and out of a lot of lists, however the printing of Claw of Vynserakai gives them a free dagger to reequip, especially if your first Kunai of Retribution has been turned face down or banished. Throw Dagger is one of the strongest Cindra cards that too few Cindra players are using. It allows an additional flick effect on a turn that Flick Knives has been used.
By playing fewer copies of Oath of Loyalty and Lava Burst, you get the option to play Spreading Flames as your starter.
Winner
Nuu
This marks the final win that Nuu, Alluring Desire will ever have in a Classic Constructed, Premium event.
The usual suspects of Bonds of Agony enabled with Hiss and Venomous Bite. Tommaso Viscido features some more aggressive options for extending the combat chain in the form of Pain in the Backside and Enlightened Strike.
As the last legal Mystic Hero, the deck features 7 of a possible 9 Transcend cards. It keeps the deck consistent and enables her late game very well.
This win marks the end for Nuu, she attained enough points for Living Legend. For those who want to hear about the consequences of her leaving the format, you can read all about it here.
Wrap Up
Calling Bologna has shown the diversity of the meta game with High Seas now in full swing. With Pirates in and all the Mystics out, we can expect upcoming events in this metagame to be entirely new. Now is an exciting time to play FaBTCG, and you can count on their being up to date news on DotGG.
