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Anothos for 7
Why is this hero still around in 2026?
Bravo, Showstopper has been around since the beginning. He doesn't get a lot of new tools other heroes can't utilize already, so there's not too many reasons to choose him over other guardians like Pleiades, Superstar and Jarl Vetreiði or Victor Goldmane, High and Mighty.
The first major utility his dominate effect. It allows you to find a way to easily pitch without relying on equipment. It also allows your on-hits and crush cards to actually connect through hands that would prefer to block.
The second utility he brings is his specializations, but I'll come back to that later.
I've got around a 70% win rate on the play with this deck, and slighly less than 50% on the draw. I'm not sure if he is just doing what Pleiades, Superstar could do, but worse. I guess we'll see.
Where he really shines is bullying around the other Guardian decks. Maybe it's a bit anecdotal for me, but my win rate is very high. Currently 5-0 vs Jarl which seems to be getting a bit more attention these last few weeks.
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After playing quite a few games, I've come dependent on playing with Tectonic Plating over Fyendal's Spring Tunic. I prefer having the extra block and most of the time ability to optionally pitch to get a Seismic Surge is great.
Ironfist Revelation is great and pairs well with Crippling Crush and Righteous Cleansing.
Crown of Providence is a reliable way to get around Command and Conquer and other similar effects, but also just helps with getting rid of clunky cards that ended up in the arsenal to give you a 5 card hand.
Quickdodge Flexors is a great reliable way to prevent on-hits and lower damage on go-wide turns. Not much else to say on this one.
Rampart of the Ram's Head is a great tool that works well with Oasis Respite and also with Staunch Response. There's also a nice addition with In the Palm of Your Hand, and Act of Glory. Occasionally it will be nice with Quickdodge or if you need to use the last resource when using 2 from a blue already for some arcane barrier.
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Many times, your damage will be coming from your weapons. I've found myself relying on Anothos over Titan's Fist in the slower games. Being able to use any 3 resources to come in for 4 is great, but it's the cards below that really make this weapon a real threat.
Tear Asunder is a staple and really needs now introduction for Guardian players, but if you're not familiar with it a 3 card hand can result easily in 7 dominated with the devastating on hit of discarding two cards. This is great for fatigue towards the end of the game and is one of the primary targets for your Remembrances.
Buckle is typically much worse than Tear Asunder, but it can still end some games for warriors, runeblades, and other classes which rely on some of their equipment for their active abilities. Some high value targets are Grasp of the Arknight. Gold-Baited Hook, Valiant Dynamo, and Teklo Foundry Heart.
Edge of Their Seats and Act of Glory are great ways to pitch for pumping anothos. When they do add value, it's great. They are also fantastic on turn 0.
Crippling Crush is the reason to play this hero. This effect is so strong that at the right time can turn the entire game around for you. Personally, I'm still learning when to just block with it more often as it ends up being a trap for me.
Righteous Cleansing gets a lot better when it costs 6 instead of 7. It's also just a fantastic contributor for fatiguing them, not just for the ability but for the amount of cards it takes to block it.
The other blues with crush effects can be a pretty wide range and I don't think it's obligatory to use Cranial, Disable, or Starstruck.
A good rule of thumb is to find something that costs 3 or more and has some impacts on the game if it connects. Ideally blue as I'm just testing the singleton Starstruck for some aggro matchups.
Pretty typical fatigue package that almost all fatigue decks run. Staunch Response is the only card that stands out as being something very Bravo specific.
Fate Foreseen is great with the extra draw effects in the deck and Sink Below sometimes helps you find your needed blue to come back with a big hit.
Not too much else to say about the rest of the cards in Bravo's context.
In the Palm of Your Hand and Show Time! are great tools for turning a non attack into a 5 card hand. Both are good turn 0 plays, with palm being especially fantastic. Palm also pairs well with Tectonic Plating, allowing you to use your last resource well. Same goes for Rampart of the Ram's Head or Oasis Respite. Both are average targets for Imposing Visage.
Ripple Away is good for your runeblade, assassin and gravy matchups. Not too much to add here, but be careful as they don't contribute for Anothos. You could probably play a different card here if you wanted to maximize that effect.
Roiling Fissure is mainly a nod to Verdance. This matchup isn't very good. We could also cut it for something that costs 3 or more. I do like having a decent amount of non-attacks that prevent Cintari Sabers from being buffed while blocking.
Remembrance is just a key utility needed to make sure you have enough threats throughout the game and can shuffle up a bad pitch stack.
Big nod to Enlightened Strike, which helps fix clunky hands, provides go-wide turns, and can sometimes be used to draw a card and draw into a soon-to-be arsenaled defense reaction. This card really does all the things that are lacking for the rest of the deck.
The below aren't bad, but they are definitely your flex spots. Play around with these and figure out what makes most sense in your meta.
Thunder Quake will probably get dropped in favor of another blue, although I will also consider running maybe a singleton Spinal Crush. It's likely just going to be a blue attack that costs 3 or more. Similar text for Macho Grande. They do have some small value in the guardian matchups and brute where you clash a lot.
Fyendal's Spring Tunic will probably get cut for access for another card. That could be an Oasis Respite, or maybe just adding another defense reaction, or another sideboarded Spinal Crush. I need to test a few more matchups, but I can see some value there. I'm mainly playing Tectonic Plating.
Arcanite Skullcap is a conceded spot for Verdance and Oscilio.
That Tunic also might be better off as the AB off-hand, so I'll probably do that in the interim to help improve the Oscilio matchup more.
I hope this helps give you some options for your Road to Nationals and even just your armories. Bravo, Showstopper is a bit of a sleeper here, especially if you get to bully around other midrange and slower decks.
