You’ve turned me into a Levia player and I’m loving it! Thanks for all the content dedicated to her and keep up the good work and gameplay! Team shadow brute unite!
My Pop Quiz Answer: (don't think too hard about it, you don't have full information of the gamestate, it's just an exercise in assessing risk) . . . I would go for the No Risk line here because it has 2 things going for it that I really like: #1, it leaves me with 2 cards in graveyard after my turn which is all I'll need to get an attack off next turn because I can fill the graveyard with Howl on demand. #2, it lets me arsenal Art of War with the most options open to me for next turn- Ghostly and Howl still in banish to try to push a 12+ damage turn more consistently. . What I would NEVER do is go for an AoW turn here. The payoff is too uncertain and you still have other lines that are presenting comparable damage. I would way rather set up that card in Arsenal to enable a Graveling Growl hand or even more explosive Dread Screamer turn.
Way don't banish the maw with art of war to have a extra blue in hand? Its risky, but can have a massive payoff. That's what I would do. But I play levia a little crazy.
@@lexan6264 If you banish Endless Maw, you're relying 100% on top decking a relevant attack whereas if you banish wrecker, all you need is 2 more pitch to guarantee you get off at least Endless Maw into Ghostly (13 dmg). Your line is just riskier- but that's the point of the question haha. Wanted to see how people play her.
@@ManSantFaB haha, It definitely is. But it can be huge pay of if you pull any red attacks. But nothing I would do if the match was decided on it. But as I said, I like to play very explosive and dangerous
i love brute as a class not so much rhinar but the randomness of kayo and levia, like with kayo in my second armory every i showed up and delt 26 damage turn 1 with things like bad beats skull crushers and things like that and won (yes those cards didnt exist when this video was made) but levia has a certain balance if you will to her that just clicks like when shes going SHES GOING and when something falls off it just FALLS it really makes you THINK about how you should play it out and not just some auto play type of thing like combos and stuff but this is a amazing video especially for the break down of how blasphomet works and the value of them thank you so much!! and if you DO actually read this comment your channel is wonderful and i subscribed and hope you have an amazing day!
I’ve been running Levia for a couple of months now. In fact the first time I’ve been defeated with her was just yesterday. I was trying out a few new cards in the deck and they just didn’t work for me. That said, despite having some experience this was super helpful to flesh out gameplay and lines of play. As well as offering a few extra tips so as why to run certain cards. This was really cool. As for the quiz, I’d take the medium risk play. While I run hooves over the scabbies, it’s the kind of play where the potential value is worth the risk. Especially since Anothos tells me it’s a guardian player sitting across the table and pushing heavier amounts of damage is a must to try and overwhelm their defenses. In my mind at least.
This video made me really stoked to play Levia more, especially in CC with the claws. I picked up a couple of Blitz decks but the only heroes that really sang for me were Levia and Chane. I've played Magic for a very long time, and the decks that I lean towards all feature the graveyard in some way, so those two really spoke to me. And while there are many Chane videos out there, Levia videos are hard to come by. So I really appreciate this introduction and can't wait to check out more Levia videos : )
Great video man, I love Levia and people I play against in tournaments always enjoy seeing me play her. I am going to be dedicating to her full time once this skirmish season is over
I am currently looking to get into Levia because of the moment of this comment, she is THE shadow hero. And I really love this gambly, semi-random playstyle with huge numbers, this seems like a perfect hero for me.
Awesome video! Thanks for all your Levia content, I've been playing Levia since starting FaB and your channel has really helped me up my game. Pop quiz answer for me would be the medium risk play, as its an efficient use of your hand and leaves you AoW to get fresh cards next turn if your draw isn't great. I think the higher risk plays have way too much variance to consider playing, you just punish yourself too much when you miss. I agree that the design space for Levia is really interesting going forward and I hope we see some goodies out of Everfest that capitalize on a 6 blood debt banish zone and / or help us get to that state quicker. Keep up the good work!
I'm a long-time Magic player who jumped ship because of the WotC Drama. A friend and I bought Oldhim and Levia, having no idea what decks we were getting, and I love her. It feels a lot like Magic's Su!cide Black, that uses it's own life a resource and isn't shy about winning a game with one life remaining. Feels like an unfair matchup against Oldhim, but we might be playing him wrong.
Thank you so much for the video! Just started with the game and I am in love with Levia. Some of my favorite playstyles in other games involve that whole idea of playing close to the edge and managing risk, so I am excited to know there is a character for that in FAB. This video was very helpful
The sad part is that 34 damage off of an absolutely perfect turn isn't even that crazy. Let's say I have a full hand + arsenal with viserai and 3 runechants set up (not unrealistic I'd say). Play Mordred Tide, mauvrion skies, pop quillhand, pop skeleta, play sonata (pitching a blue for x=5). Assuming you get a perfect spread, you now draw 4 cards and deal 4 arcane. Next you come in with Dread Triptych (assume they block it out), that's another 10 from the runechants you got so far, plus 4 physical, leaving you with 6 runechants. Now you play Arknight Ascendancy, swing for 5 physical, 6 arcane, generate another 5 runechants (assuming they don't have a defense reaction). Play Rattle Bones from Arsenal, pitching a blue, play Meat & Greet from Graveyard for 4 physical, 5 arcane, generate another 4 runechants (because at this point they will probably be unable to block it out fully). Finally, assuming you have a red Amplify the Arknight in hand as your last card, swing again for 6 physical, 4 arcane and leave you with 2 runechants set up for the next turn. In total, that's 29 arcane, 19 physical. Granted, you have to pop 2 equipments to make that work and get a perfect spread on Sonata, but hitting 3 with sonata is usually very achievable and would only reduce the damage of this turn by 4 (and leave you with 2 fewer runechants) - play rune flash instead of the meat & greet and swing with Rosetta Thorn instead of the Amplify to cap it off.
@@ManSantFaB I'm in the same boat as you, I wish the game would move more towards a midrangey meta where you can actually trade back and forth and have some plays. Basically every set now (at least since Monarch, which is when I started playing) has been dominated by balls out aggro decks - first Chane, then Briar, now it looks like it's going to be Starvo with Viserai playing runner-up. Then there's Prism who's always playing second fiddle to the hardcore aggro decks, and then everyone else. Anyways, thanks for breaking the mold a bit and providing quality content for a hero that most perceive to be weak, and just sticking with her instead of chasing the newest FotM!
@@Pentregarth I also started in Monarch, and am just waiting for a midrange meta. It would finally be the 'right' time to play Levia instead of forcing it in metas that have not been kind to her. Aggro metas sap so much of the skill from this game in pitch stacking, threat conservation, and blocking. Fingers crossed we find the game slowing down soon!
Played Levia in blitz for a while with some success, but ran into a night where I rolled double 1's in 2 of my games. I only scabskinned 4 times that night too! Had to take a break after that night... looking to get back to playing her though!
As usual, thanks for your continued dedication in figuring out how to make our favourite hero competitively viable! Quick question... If I don't have CnC, what are your thoughts on running one Nourishing, and two red Cadaverous Contraband? I know they don't threaten arsenal, but besides CnC, I don't think I have any other arsenal threat options, so I figure that I at least have on-hit effects to threaten with (CC can even potentially bring back a Bloodrush...). And all three have six attack value (though CC only defends for two). Do you have any other suggestions for replacing CnC? Thank you for your time!
You definitely don't need CnC in Levia- it's a great card, but I actually side it out quite a bit. What it's really good for is slowing down aggro decks, and in a way, Cadaverous can hope to do the same and still threaten control decks too but only if you have played a Bloodrush already. The 2-1 split you're suggesting sounds fine, but you could also just try x3 Nourishings; it's less greedy than Cadaverous and there's a higher payoff for playing aggressive with your graveyard.
heyo its me again i have some questions if you dont mind, is it possible for blasphomet to gain attack because its a token? something like primevil bellow for example would that give him 5 attack so hed swing for 11? and also what would you recommend putting in place of art of war if you didnt have any of that card?
Blasmo takes your action point to swing with, so you need a source of go again into attacking with him. Scabskins is great here to keep rolling for a free 6dmg attack. He currently can't be buffed by anything- he's a Shadow Token, so brute buffs don't apply to him, nor do buffs to any 'cards.' If no Art of War, Yellow Dread Screamer is fine- happy to help!
Can you explain the howlx2 + attack loop to a dummy like me. It seems like your hand each turn needs to be 4 pitch, an attack and enough extra pitch to pay for the attack, which looks sketchy
Versus slow decks that want to make you lose to Blood Debt (meaning they full block you each turn in the hopes that not attacking means you won't be able to fill grave), you can just say NO with the Howl loop. You need in hand 6-7 pitch and 1 banish 3 attack, so most ideal would be any 2 cost attack and 2 blues, 4th card doesn't matter. From just 1 in GY (you'll never be at 0 because whatever attack you played to clear your GY previously is now in GY), now play x2 Howl from banish to let you play your attack. That attack comes in for minimum 12dmg, resets the Howls and is now in GY, letting you do this again. You can't do this infinitely, but it let's you kick back until you find a way to properly close, either through a Dominate, Go Again wide turn, or Bloodrush.
You’ve turned me into a Levia player and I’m loving it! Thanks for all the content dedicated to her and keep up the good work and gameplay! Team shadow brute unite!
My Pop Quiz Answer: (don't think too hard about it, you don't have full information of the gamestate, it's just an exercise in assessing risk)
.
.
.
I would go for the No Risk line here because it has 2 things going for it that I really like:
#1, it leaves me with 2 cards in graveyard after my turn which is all I'll need to get an attack off next turn because I can fill the graveyard with Howl on demand.
#2, it lets me arsenal Art of War with the most options open to me for next turn- Ghostly and Howl still in banish to try to push a 12+ damage turn more consistently.
.
What I would NEVER do is go for an AoW turn here. The payoff is too uncertain and you still have other lines that are presenting comparable damage. I would way rather set up that card in Arsenal to enable a Graveling Growl hand or even more explosive Dread Screamer turn.
No Risk definitely seems like the correct line and I am not sure any other line even seemed close tbh.
Way don't banish the maw with art of war to have a extra blue in hand? Its risky, but can have a massive payoff. That's what I would do. But I play levia a little crazy.
@@lexan6264 If you banish Endless Maw, you're relying 100% on top decking a relevant attack whereas if you banish wrecker, all you need is 2 more pitch to guarantee you get off at least Endless Maw into Ghostly (13 dmg). Your line is just riskier- but that's the point of the question haha. Wanted to see how people play her.
@@ManSantFaB haha, It definitely is. But it can be huge pay of if you pull any red attacks. But nothing I would do if the match was decided on it. But as I said, I like to play very explosive and dangerous
i love brute as a class not so much rhinar but the randomness of kayo and levia, like with kayo in my second armory every i showed up and delt 26 damage turn 1 with things like bad beats skull crushers and things like that and won (yes those cards didnt exist when this video was made) but levia has a certain balance if you will to her that just clicks like when shes going SHES GOING and when something falls off it just FALLS it really makes you THINK about how you should play it out and not just some auto play type of thing like combos and stuff but this is a amazing video especially for the break down of how blasphomet works and the value of them thank you so much!! and if you DO actually read this comment your channel is wonderful and i subscribed and hope you have an amazing day!
Loved reading this comment- welcome to the cult!
I’ve been running Levia for a couple of months now. In fact the first time I’ve been defeated with her was just yesterday. I was trying out a few new cards in the deck and they just didn’t work for me. That said, despite having some experience this was super helpful to flesh out gameplay and lines of play. As well as offering a few extra tips so as why to run certain cards. This was really cool.
As for the quiz, I’d take the medium risk play. While I run hooves over the scabbies, it’s the kind of play where the potential value is worth the risk. Especially since Anothos tells me it’s a guardian player sitting across the table and pushing heavier amounts of damage is a must to try and overwhelm their defenses. In my mind at least.
I would also take the medium risk (if I saw the line in the moment). I'm not afraid to roll the scabs if it pushes meaningful damage by doing so.
I just got a Levia precon. and I'm very thankful I found this channel. I'll be practicing with soime friends on the timing of her cards.
This video made me really stoked to play Levia more, especially in CC with the claws. I picked up a couple of Blitz decks but the only heroes that really sang for me were Levia and Chane. I've played Magic for a very long time, and the decks that I lean towards all feature the graveyard in some way, so those two really spoke to me. And while there are many Chane videos out there, Levia videos are hard to come by. So I really appreciate this introduction and can't wait to check out more Levia videos : )
Great video man, I love Levia and people I play against in tournaments always enjoy seeing me play her. I am going to be dedicating to her full time once this skirmish season is over
I am currently looking to get into Levia because of the moment of this comment, she is THE shadow hero.
And I really love this gambly, semi-random playstyle with huge numbers, this seems like a perfect hero for me.
Awesome video! Thanks for all your Levia content, I've been playing Levia since starting FaB and your channel has really helped me up my game. Pop quiz answer for me would be the medium risk play, as its an efficient use of your hand and leaves you AoW to get fresh cards next turn if your draw isn't great.
I think the higher risk plays have way too much variance to consider playing, you just punish yourself too much when you miss. I agree that the design space for Levia is really interesting going forward and I hope we see some goodies out of Everfest that capitalize on a 6 blood debt banish zone and / or help us get to that state quicker. Keep up the good work!
Really great video!
I think both scenarios that lead to AoW being in arsenal make sense. No/low risk and a bit if solid setup for a later turn.
I'm a long-time Magic player who jumped ship because of the WotC Drama. A friend and I bought Oldhim and Levia, having no idea what decks we were getting, and I love her. It feels a lot like Magic's Su!cide Black, that uses it's own life a resource and isn't shy about winning a game with one life remaining. Feels like an unfair matchup against Oldhim, but we might be playing him wrong.
Thank you so much for the video! Just started with the game and I am in love with Levia. Some of my favorite playstyles in other games involve that whole idea of playing close to the edge and managing risk, so I am excited to know there is a character for that in FAB. This video was very helpful
I’m new to the game, you videos help me a lot since Levia will be my first deck. Thanks 🙏🏼
I think we need an updated version of this video with all the new good stuff that just came out!
Yep, once I've done some playtesting, all the Levia tip vids will be getting remade!
You speak really good and the video is well-made. Thank you
Thanks for the great video!
The sad part is that 34 damage off of an absolutely perfect turn isn't even that crazy. Let's say I have a full hand + arsenal with viserai and 3 runechants set up (not unrealistic I'd say). Play Mordred Tide, mauvrion skies, pop quillhand, pop skeleta, play sonata (pitching a blue for x=5). Assuming you get a perfect spread, you now draw 4 cards and deal 4 arcane. Next you come in with Dread Triptych (assume they block it out), that's another 10 from the runechants you got so far, plus 4 physical, leaving you with 6 runechants. Now you play Arknight Ascendancy, swing for 5 physical, 6 arcane, generate another 5 runechants (assuming they don't have a defense reaction). Play Rattle Bones from Arsenal, pitching a blue, play Meat & Greet from Graveyard for 4 physical, 5 arcane, generate another 4 runechants (because at this point they will probably be unable to block it out fully). Finally, assuming you have a red Amplify the Arknight in hand as your last card, swing again for 6 physical, 4 arcane and leave you with 2 runechants set up for the next turn. In total, that's 29 arcane, 19 physical.
Granted, you have to pop 2 equipments to make that work and get a perfect spread on Sonata, but hitting 3 with sonata is usually very achievable and would only reduce the damage of this turn by 4 (and leave you with 2 fewer runechants) - play rune flash instead of the meat & greet and swing with Rosetta Thorn instead of the Amplify to cap it off.
Yep, her identity as a 'raw damage deck' is so outclassed right now. Thanks for the in depth comment :)
@@ManSantFaB I'm in the same boat as you, I wish the game would move more towards a midrangey meta where you can actually trade back and forth and have some plays. Basically every set now (at least since Monarch, which is when I started playing) has been dominated by balls out aggro decks - first Chane, then Briar, now it looks like it's going to be Starvo with Viserai playing runner-up. Then there's Prism who's always playing second fiddle to the hardcore aggro decks, and then everyone else.
Anyways, thanks for breaking the mold a bit and providing quality content for a hero that most perceive to be weak, and just sticking with her instead of chasing the newest FotM!
@@Pentregarth I also started in Monarch, and am just waiting for a midrange meta. It would finally be the 'right' time to play Levia instead of forcing it in metas that have not been kind to her. Aggro metas sap so much of the skill from this game in pitch stacking, threat conservation, and blocking. Fingers crossed we find the game slowing down soon!
Played Levia in blitz for a while with some success, but ran into a night where I rolled double 1's in 2 of my games. I only scabskinned 4 times that night too!
Had to take a break after that night... looking to get back to playing her though!
Ooof! The dice are no one's friends, it's like they taunt you with a 6 when you can't even use it and then shove 1s down your throat. I hate it :(
As usual, thanks for your continued dedication in figuring out how to make our favourite hero competitively viable!
Quick question... If I don't have CnC, what are your thoughts on running one Nourishing, and two red Cadaverous Contraband? I know they don't threaten arsenal, but besides CnC, I don't think I have any other arsenal threat options, so I figure that I at least have on-hit effects to threaten with (CC can even potentially bring back a Bloodrush...). And all three have six attack value (though CC only defends for two). Do you have any other suggestions for replacing CnC?
Thank you for your time!
You definitely don't need CnC in Levia- it's a great card, but I actually side it out quite a bit. What it's really good for is slowing down aggro decks, and in a way, Cadaverous can hope to do the same and still threaten control decks too but only if you have played a Bloodrush already. The 2-1 split you're suggesting sounds fine, but you could also just try x3 Nourishings; it's less greedy than Cadaverous and there's a higher payoff for playing aggressive with your graveyard.
heyo its me again i have some questions if you dont mind, is it possible for blasphomet to gain attack because its a token? something like primevil bellow for example would that give him 5 attack so hed swing for 11? and also what would you recommend putting in place of art of war if you didnt have any of that card?
Blasmo takes your action point to swing with, so you need a source of go again into attacking with him. Scabskins is great here to keep rolling for a free 6dmg attack. He currently can't be buffed by anything- he's a Shadow Token, so brute buffs don't apply to him, nor do buffs to any 'cards.' If no Art of War, Yellow Dread Screamer is fine- happy to help!
No risk seems best when at the high life threshold
Can you explain the howlx2 + attack loop to a dummy like me. It seems like your hand each turn needs to be 4 pitch, an attack and enough extra pitch to pay for the attack, which looks sketchy
Versus slow decks that want to make you lose to Blood Debt (meaning they full block you each turn in the hopes that not attacking means you won't be able to fill grave), you can just say NO with the Howl loop. You need in hand 6-7 pitch and 1 banish 3 attack, so most ideal would be any 2 cost attack and 2 blues, 4th card doesn't matter. From just 1 in GY (you'll never be at 0 because whatever attack you played to clear your GY previously is now in GY), now play x2 Howl from banish to let you play your attack. That attack comes in for minimum 12dmg, resets the Howls and is now in GY, letting you do this again. You can't do this infinitely, but it let's you kick back until you find a way to properly close, either through a Dominate, Go Again wide turn, or Bloodrush.
👍🏻👍🏻
Levia convert here 🙋
Interesting that one has to spend 400$ worth of cards to make her not be horrible to play.