Flesh and Blood TCG is Your New Card Game Addiction

Even during a pandemic, this innovative and compelling Trading Card Game has me hooked

No doubt, I’m a little late to the Flesh and Blood TCG party, but perhaps you haven’t heard of it yet. This innovative and compelling trading card game based out of New Zealand has been making its strides, slowly and surely captivating some of the brilliant and well-renowned minds of the Magic: the Gathering community. With its upcoming set, Monarch, Flesh and Blood is primed for explosive growth coming out of the Covid-19 Pandemic.

As a veteran Magic: the Gathering player, I wanted to check it out. The more I read, the more I watched, the more I consumed about this game, the more and more I wanted to play. So I bought a few booster boxes of Unlimited product, the cheaper versions of product geared more toward players than collectors. You won’t find ultra-rare cold-foil versions of cards worth hundreds or even thousands of dollars in Unlimited-series packs, but you can still open any card in the set.

With three booster boxes and a couple of pre-made beginner decks, I’ll have everything I need to start crafting some decks while I scout out the singles I’ll need to climb a few notches on the power scale.

Opening some Flesh and Blood Product

I’ve been experimenting with Twitch and YouTube to augment my written content. I’ve made some investments in equipment to boost the quality and production value of my content from the start.

A paper-only TCG during a pandemic, what are you thinking, Drew!?

I know, I know. Who am I going to play with? Granted, we’re at the (hopefully) tail end of the pandemic right now, but it’s not exactly the best time to start a new paper-only TCG. Throughout the pandemic, I found my massive Magic: the Gathering collection worth thousands of dollars suddenly collecting dust. My wife and I used to play multiple MTG tournaments each and every week at our local game store. That all stopped with Covid-19. But now more than ever, I’m itching to play some paper TCGs again. The gameplay of Flesh and Blood is super compelling, and I’m eager to jump into my first official event.

What’s driving my interest in this game? Well, I’ve been cooped up for too long during the pandemic. I also have been increasingly frustrated with the business practices of Wizards of the Coast and Hasbro as they base their decisions on greed rather than considering what is best for the community of players who support their game. Finally, the mechanics of Flesh and Blood are simple but elegant. Even after watching the first few games of Flesh and Blood, I knew this game was something special.

Am I hyping it up too much even though I haven’t even played yet? Maybe. But personalities and players I trust are raving about this game, and the mechanics are beautiful.

The new era of (greed) Magic

It’s no secret — Magic is in a not-great place right now. Wizards of the Coast (WOTC) are polluting their golden cash cow with more and more greed and practices which don’t benefit the players of the community.

Quality of playtesting has gone down in recent years, and certain chase cards in the most recent sets have repeatedly broken and destroyed any semblance of fun and balance across multiple formats.

Poor card stock and quality lead to premium foil cards warping and becoming unplayable in tournaments. Expensive collector booster packs take chase premium cards out of ordinary booster packs and reserve them for the whales.

Secret Lair drops reprint select singles and charge players a hefty premium, cutting out the local game stores that help the game thrive.

I love Magic, I really do. But WOTC needs to step up their game or they will eventually lose long-term players like me who have been dedicated to the franchise for over a decade. Right now, Legend Story Studios (LSS), the company behind Flesh and Blood TCG, is putting their players first while still respecting the collector community.

We believe the secondary card market is the “Trading” in Trading Card Game. Our goal is to make FAB an all-time classic Trading Card Game, which is why we respect the secondary card market in all our decision making. — Legend Story Studios.

How the Flesh and Blood TCG plays

As of right now, there are only three sets in Flesh and Blood with one of those being a supplementary, non-standalone product. The fourth set, and the most anticipated by the community, is due for release at the end of the month. Monarch is rumored to complete the base experience of the game in incredible new ways.

Games in Flesh and Blood start fast and explosive and slow down as they reach their close.

For a game ‘lacking’ some of its fundamental content, there is a ton to love here already.

Rather than starting out with nothing, players begin the game with their full set of weapons and equipment and a full hand of cards. As the game progresses, players will have fewer resources to spend, simulating the exhaustion of battle. Games in Flesh and Blood start fast and explosive and slow down as they reach their close.

Something for everyone

Flesh and Blood is doing it right with their First Edition/Unlimited Edition model. When a new set is released, the First Edition wave goes out. These are the collector-focused editions of the product that has exclusive cold-foil cards. Once the First Edition boxes are shipped, that’s it — none will ever be printed again. On the other hand, LSS will print Unlimited editions of each set as needed to meet demand while respecting the secondary market and the investments of both players and stores. Unlimited product is designed more for play and is available at much cheaper prices than its First Edition counterparts.

The power of cards isn’t linearly tied to card rarity either as it often is in MTG. Sure there are some very powerful Mythic and Legendary cards, but there are also plenty of powerful commons and rares that can subsidize each slot in a deck in Flesh and Blood. The mechanics put more emphasis on your overall quality of play and decision-making than a reliance on any single card to propel you to victory. Over the course of a game, players will likely see each and every card in their deck. Variance has less place here, and there is always something you can do with your cards. It’s a beautiful thing to watch as all the mechanics come together.

The path forward for Flesh and Blood

I’m sure Flesh and Blood would be exploding in popularity (more so than it already has) in the US were it not for Covid-19. Most local game stores aren’t running tournaments for MTG, let alone any other game. As it stands, many FAB tournaments are being held via webcam right now, with prizes shipped right to your door. This game is still very much in its early stages, but has built compelling momentum with MTG giants like Alpha Investments, Channel Fireball, and now the Tolarian Community College playing and promoting the game.

I’m still learning and theorycrafting to determine what singles I need to order to build a decently competitive deck but look forward to entering some webcam-based events until it’s fully safe to play in-person TCG events again.

For players who want to try Flesh and Blood digitally, there is a Tabletop Simulator mod for the game.

I just had my second dose of the Pfizer vaccine yesterday and I’m counting down the days until I can get together with other vaccinated friends. Spending time with them, after a seemingly endless year of them only existing as strange voices I talk to on Discord, will be an amazing experience.

I’m certain I’ll be convincing them to pick up Flesh and Blood and give it a shot. Until then, I’m eagerly awaiting the end of the week when all my Flesh and Blood product arrives so I can bust through packs searching for an incredibly rare legendary or fabled card.

Between the release of Path of Exile: Ultimatum and the arrival of all my Flesh and Blood cards on Friday, it’s going to be a busy weekend of gaming.

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Learn more about the Flesh and Blood TCG at this new player FAQ post on the community subreddit.