Frieren – The Hero Party (Y) [04/14/2024]

Throughout Frieren’s life, she’s met and departed away from individuals, each leaving a mark on her long endless journey. One group of which, a party of four including herself, changed her life permanently. These companions whose lives were short and minuscule compared to that of Frieren’s herself engraved memories and experiences deep in her heart that she’ll treasure and carry on till the end of her days.

The renowned hero of the party, the esteemed Himmel, the leader of the group took Frieren with them as the mage for their adventure to take down the demon king. Even though he is no longer part of the world, he still looks upon Frieren from heaven above. Himmel’s finisher above spawns a copy of Frieren in the center when he’s played on stage from your hand. Frieren herself is a global assist that lets you check the bottom two cards of your opponent’s deck and either rearrange or discard them to the waiting room. The reason for this is because Himmel’s finishing effect is an Icy Tail ability that mills three cards and deals instances of two damage instead of the traditional one.

Striking in a generic heroic pose, Himmel also serves as the early game combo for the deck. Cherishing the memories made with his friends on the ten year journey, Himmel performs a Maguro ability with his climax, fetching a character from the top of your deck for the following turn.

An unexpected hero, Himmel made a name for himself with his signature hero’s blade as he ended the reign of terror caused by the demon king while ushering in an era of peace and prosperity. Himmel on the left is a redraw profile on play if you discard a character card, and he also has an upside of being a level reverser for any target based upon the number of finisher Himmels you have in your waiting room. The statue in the center commemorating the deeds of the hero party serves two purposes. As a statue, first and foremost, it cannot attack at all. However, you may pay its costs and then send it to memory to salvage either a copy of the level one Himmel combo or a copy of the early play healing off-finisher on the right. And on top of all that, while it is in memory, the first finisher Himmel you play onto the field will have its costs to play discounted by one stock. Lastly, the off-finisher early play Frieren and Himmel comes onto stage early if you have full field, and on top of that, it gains power and the ability to pay costs to deal a large chunk of damage to your opponent when it attacks.

In place of the traditional brainstorm, Himmel possesses a pseudo brainstorm profile that mills the top three cards of your deck and allows you to salvage a character whose level is equal to the number of characters milled.

Although not exactly a needed inclusion for the deck, this event above is a sneaky way to grab a climax from the deck while also sending your statue card to memory from waiting room. Keep in mind that Himmel’s Maguro ability only grabs characters.

As for defending our characters, no one is more apt for the task than the signature drunk priest, Heiter. Despite his rather “non-priestly” ways, he is nonetheless a core member of the hero’s party. Usually imparting advice or supporting his friends from the rear, Heiter acts as a foundation that keeps his friends afloat, even if he is a little dizzy in the head from nights of prolonged alcohol abuse. With his mighty drunken glare, he sends any of your opponent’s cheated cards to stock as an anti-change counter.

As the designated warrior of the group, Eisen steps up to the plate to challenge the heavyweight foes the party faces. Wielding his signature axe, he dives straight ahead, and when he attacks, he can perform an Akatsuki ability to fix your hand for free. 2/1 Heiter is a level assist that also hand-fixes as you may draw and discard two cards when you play him on stage. Heiter resting while reading a book is a double drop search profile when he attacks on the turn that he is played. Himmel staring proudly in front of a statue is a vanilla Clean Cut profile. Frieren digging through her old artifacts is a Kazuma profile that lets you check the top four cards of your deck in exchange for placing a character from hand to clock. Himmel is a clock searcher profile when sent to waiting room (his memory condition isn’t used in this deck).

Frieren’s journey reminds us about the truth of living itself. The past, the present, and the future are intertwined with one another. Loved ones, gone or still alive, remain an integral part of our identities. People change the ways we think and act, either with their own words or gestures. Even as we move forward into the future, we find ourselves constantly reflecting upon our past, learning from our predecessors and friends, deceased or alive. We think about their words, their thoughts, how they acted in certain situations, and how we can do better. By doing so, we honour their memories that we carry along in our hearts, forever companions that remain with us as we move down the dirt road, staring and carefully watching us from high above.