We've seen a record number of heroes hit Living Legend this year. Some of the newest and most explosive aggression as well as some of the stalwart Heroes from the game's origin. Another hero, after waiting at the edge of the leader board. Azalea, Ace in the Hole will leave the Classic Constructed format as of July 18 2025.
In this article, we're going to look at Azalea's place in the passing metagames of Flesh and Blood, and talk about the wider implications of her departure. While the knowledge of Azalea Living Legend was well known, we here at fabtcg.gg wanted to wait until the announcement was official.
Ace in the Hole
From the second set, Arcane Rising, the archetype of Ranger was a little undefined. People who know about the storied development of Flesh and Blood know that Ranger was something of an after thought. The initial concept for the fourth Class in the second set was actually Assassin, but it needed some more internal cooking. So instead, they added the original Dommy Mommy instead.
During the first few years of the game's existence, there was very little love for the Ranger class. Tales of Aria gave them the possibility to go wide thanks to Bolt'n'Shot and respectable disruption in Seek and Destroy.
It took the release of Outsiders to truly push the power level of Rangers while making Assassin a real class, and giving Ninja a little card called Bonds of Ancestry. Outsiders gave them the pump which extends across turns in Premeditate, giving Ponder tokens. The Lace cycle, Lace with Bloodrot, Lace with Frailty, and Lace with Inertia are all the extra sources of damage that the class sorely needed.
If only there was one card that allowed you to disrupt your opponent's hand and got you your best cards back. Of course there is. Codex of Frailty the gross book that's been winning games far more often than any player had any reason.
I say the Class benefitted from Outsiders, not necessarily Azalea. We all know that Lexi, Livewire was the original go wide, dominant ranger, especially with multiple loads through Voltaire, Strike Twice.
Red in the Ledger
After Lexi hit Living Legend in November 2023, Azalea shared the responsibility of the Class alongside Riptide, Lurker of the Deep. While the metagame centred around decks like Kayo, Armed and Dangerous, Zen, Tamer of Purpose, Enigma, Ledger of Ancestry, and Aurora, Shooting Star. Azalea was always a respectable, go tall aggro deck that some players ought to consider.
A lot of Azalea's power came from her specialisation Red in the Ledger. Being able to confine slower classes like Guardian into one action can be quite the tempo loss, which is easily found to her other original specialisation, Nock the Deathwhistle.
After the strong cards from Outsiders defined the deck, we got the core for most Azalea lists which were unchanged for the majority of her lifetime of play.
Death Dealer
Many forget that signature weapons Living Legend with the hero. We are expecting to feel the after effects of Dash taking Teklo Plasma Pistol and the Tigers matter Ira using Tiger Taming Khakkara.
Azalea takes the best Ranger bow with her. Death Dealer loads for 1 resource, which is more costly than Red Liner or Redspine Manta, but it has the 3 best words in tcgs on it: draw a card. You can extend your turn and increase your damage output by using a card for additional extension.
Every Ranger has had use with Death Dealer, one way or another. The newest Ranger, Marlynn, Treasure Hunter when paired with New Horizon means you can consistently have 2 Arsenals for maximum aggressive output. Riptide used it for the same reasons alongside his passive ability to load.
With no Death Dealer, the Rangers are going to have to rely on their own signature weapons and the unaligned weapons like Sandscour Greatbow and Dreadbore.
Wrap Up
The first Ranger has departed, and many iconic specialisation cards are without a home, which may leave many players deeply disheartened. I am confident that the death dealer will be back to our tables before you know it.
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