{
  "checkedOn": "2026-09-26",
  "scope": "Heroes printed in Usurp the Shadow Throne: adult Classic Constructed ranking, separate young-hero Limited advice",
  "ranking": [
    "Viserai, the Forsaken",
    "Malice, Domina of the Dead"
  ],
  "rankingBasis": "Editorial synthesis of named expert builds and matchup caveats, not a measured tournament ranking",
  "verifiedComparablePostReleaseTournamentCohorts": 0,
  "expertLists": [
    {
      "hero": "Viserai, the Forsaken",
      "author": "Yuki Lee Bender",
      "date": "2026-09-24",
      "type": "editorial-reference-decklist",
      "tournamentFinish": null,
      "url": "https://fabtcg.com/decklists/yuki-lee-bender-viserai-the-forsaken-zero-to-eighty/",
      "analysis": "https://fabtcg.com/articles/zero-to-eighty-viserai/"
    },
    {
      "hero": "Malice, Domina of the Dead",
      "author": "Michael Jaszczur",
      "date": "2026-09-22",
      "type": "editorial-reference-decklist",
      "tournamentFinish": null,
      "url": "https://fabtcg.com/decklists/michael-jaszczur-malice-domina-of-the-dead-zero-to-eighty/",
      "analysis": "https://fabtcg.com/articles/zero-to-eighty-malice/"
    }
  ],
  "onlineSnapshot": {
    "source": "https://fabtcgmeta.com/en/meta/cc",
    "captureMethod": "Live browser view on September 26, 2026; select 2 Weeks, then Online. Values transcribed from displayed Online WR and Online Games, not deck counts.",
    "usedForRanking": false,
    "exclusionReason": "Transformed faces appear as separate rows. No verified match-level deduplication or starting-hero normalization; time window also spans prerelease implementation and rules changes. These are reported tracker rows, not comparable whole-hero win rates.",
    "rows": [
      {
        "label": "Levia, Shadowborn Abomination",
        "reportedWinRate": "52.6%",
        "reportedGames": "877"
      },
      {
        "label": "Blasmophet, Levia Consumed",
        "reportedWinRate": "41.8%",
        "reportedGames": "91"
      },
      {
        "label": "Levia, Redeemed",
        "reportedWinRate": "25.6%",
        "reportedGames": "39"
      },
      {
        "label": "Viserai, the Forsaken",
        "reportedWinRate": "24.8%",
        "reportedGames": "222"
      },
      {
        "label": "Viserai, Usurper",
        "reportedWinRate": "34.1%",
        "reportedGames": "510"
      },
      {
        "label": "Malice, Domina of the Dead",
        "reportedWinRate": "31.4%",
        "reportedGames": "1.0k"
      }
    ]
  },
  "rejectedEvidence": [
    "Zero to Eighty entries have no tournament placement. A tracker listing them under paper or tournament records does not make them event results.",
    "Viserai, Rune Blood historical results do not measure Viserai, the Forsaken.",
    "Rounded 1.0k online games is not the exact 1,036 deck count; no exact match count or reconstructed wins inferred.",
    "Unwatched podcast titles, prerelease hype, and the site's own articles are not independent corroboration.",
    "Adult Levia, Shadowborn Abomination is not printed in this booster set. Receiving support does not establish eligibility for a best-heroes-from-the-set ranking."
  ],
  "discourse": [
    {
      "url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/FleshandBloodTCG/comments/1wcdbxo/thoughts_on_the_malice_armory_deck/",
      "use": "Qualitative concerns about nonblocking hands, aggressive opponents, and Dead Threads upgrades. Disagreement on other upgrades; not community consensus or a win-rate sample."
    },
    {
      "url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/FleshandBloodTCG/comments/1wopg08/malice_tips_as_guardian/",
      "use": "Qualitative reports that Corpse boards can pressure slow opponents, with disagreement on counterplay. Does not prove a universally favorable Guardian matchup."
    }
  ],
  "rulesContext": {
    "effectiveOn": "2026-09-18",
    "source": "https://fabtcg.com/articles/scheduled-banned-and-restricted-announcement-17-09-26/",
    "classicConstructed": [
      "Brand with Cinderclaw unbanned",
      "Entwine Lightning banned"
    ],
    "onlineImplementationSource": "https://talishar.net/"
  },
  "rosterSource": {
    "url": "https://d1pn9y8e99aays.cloudfront.net/public_card_data.csv",
    "publisher": "Legend Story Studios Card Vault",
    "checkedOn": "2026-09-26",
    "selection": "English Hero records, product_name exactly Usurp the Shadow Throne; alternate finishes collapsed by base printing. Reverse faces are not separate heroes."
  },
  "setHeroes": [
    {
      "printing": "IAR002",
      "hero": "Levia",
      "young": true,
      "product": "Usurp the Shadow Throne"
    },
    {
      "printing": "IAR053",
      "hero": "Malice, Domina of the Dead",
      "young": false,
      "product": "Usurp the Shadow Throne"
    },
    {
      "printing": "IAR054",
      "hero": "Malice",
      "young": true,
      "product": "Usurp the Shadow Throne"
    },
    {
      "printing": "IAR106",
      "hero": "Viserai, the Forsaken",
      "young": false,
      "product": "Usurp the Shadow Throne"
    },
    {
      "printing": "IAR107",
      "hero": "Viserai, Between Worlds",
      "young": true,
      "product": "Usurp the Shadow Throne"
    }
  ],
  "relatedPromo": {
    "printing": "IAR159-RF",
    "hero": "Baalghor, Omen of the End",
    "young": true,
    "product": "Pre-release - Usurp the Shadow Throne",
    "marvelProduct": "Omens of the Third Age",
    "ranked": false
  }
}