The first week of ProQuest Singapore Season was, unsurprisingly, shaped by the reigning titans of the format—Aurora and Enigma. These two had a firm grip on the meta, boasting high conversion rates and win percentages that left little room for surprise. But despite the dominance of these meta giants, a handful of players punched their tickets to Pro Tour Singapore in style—using off-meta, high-skill, and downright spicy brews that remind us that Flesh and Blood still has a lot of room for creativity and mastery.
With Enigma (and Zen) now reaching Living Legend status and stepping out of Classic Constructed legality, next week’s PQs are about to shift drastically. That makes these standout decks from Week 1 all the more important—and potentially great choices moving forward.
Arakni, Marionette
Everyone’s been on the Slippery Slope lately—more specifically, on Slippy Arakni, the popular, aggressive Assassin build. But Taotao Chu (joined by Franche Tan) showed us there’s still life—and death—in the shadows of Marionette Arakni, affectionately dubbed Mario by the community.
Mario isn’t just a rogue pick—it’s a brain-burner. With six different Agents of Chaos to potentially transform into while working alongside all of your Assassin tools, calling this deck complicated is an understatement. But if you manage to keep all of its moving parts in sync, Mario has a game plan for nearly every situation. It’s no surprise Taotao’s mastery of the deck helped him clinch a win at Battle Hardened Santa Clara amidst a stacked Top 8.
Victor Goldmane, High and Mighty
In a sea of Auroras, one Victor Goldmane player stood tall—Carlo Ople, who won his 80-player ProQuest Singapore tournament at Unbox with one of the boldest builds of the season. He’s one of only four Victors globally to snag an invite so far, and it’s clear why his list stood out.
Instead of playing it safe, Carlo leaned hard into the Clash mechanic. Cards like Clash of Might didn’t just make the usual Guardian Attacks easier to Crush with, but the Might tokens also powered up additional disruption cards like Thump and Concuss. The build is swingy, sure—Clash requires winning the topdeck wars to truly shine—but Carlo trusted his deck’s consistency and played to win.
And it’s not just a one-off idea. Lucas Oswald—one of the top American players—recently said on the Runaways podcast that Victor needs to lean fully into Clash to stand a chance. Week 1 just proved him right.
Cindra, Dracai of Retribution
After a hot debut that included back-to-back Calling wins, Cindra quickly fell from grace. Her low defense, arcane vulnerability, and telegraphed play patterns made her an easy target as the meta caught up. But someone forgot to tell that to 1003_misty, who pulled off one of the only two Cindra wins worldwide during ProQuest Singapore Week 1.
Instead of jumping ship to the Blue version that’s gaining popularity, this version doubled down on Redline aggro—but with upgrades. More Fealty generators and Mark synergies gave her the consistency to keep pushing even on awkward hands. Meanwhile, the full inclusion of Blood Runs Deep, Cut Through, Ancestral Empowerment, and Snatch made the deck a lot trickier to block correctly.
Riptide, Lurker of the Deep
Riptide is having a moment. After years of being memed as “almost good,” Week 1 saw not one but two Riptide pilots—Jesse Harper and Cedrik Pinault—win their ProQuests using doing the thing that the Ranger does best – laying lots of traps and shooting debilitating, hard-hitting arrows. Surpringly, these are perfect for clearing Enigma’s Spectral Shields and other Wards, since those have Go Again and +1 Power, which triggers all of Riptide’s Traps.
And with Enigma now gone, it might actually get better.
As stated above Riptide’s traps directly punish Go Again chains, while his offense— led by Remorseless, Bolt’n Shot, and Rain Razors—still hits like a truck. Plus, tools like Dreadbore and Release the Tension force some decks to leave their Defense Reactions in their inventories.
If you’ve been waiting to dust off your Riptide list, ProQuest Singapore week 2 might be the right time!
Jesse Harper’s Riptide
Cedric Pinault’s Riptide
Looking Ahead: Week 2 and Beyond
With Enigma and Zen out of the format, Week 2 of ProQuest Singapore is wide open. Expect to see some of these rogue picks (along with even more Heroes) rise even higher in the ranks.
To everyone grinding the next leg of the ProQuest circuit: good luck, and get those invites!
Check out our other FaB TCG articles!
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Why Aurora Is the Best Hero in Flesh and Blood TCG Right Now – VRSUS
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Where To Play Flesh And Blood TCG In Manila For Every Day Of The Week – VRSUS
