Flesh & Blood (card Game) - Wikipedia

Trading card game by Legend Story Studios Flesh and Blood

Designer	James White[1]
Publisher	Legend Story Studios
Release date	11 October 2019
Type	Collectible card game
Players	2 or more
Age range	16+
Playing time	< 50 minutes
Chance	Low
Website	fabtcg.com

Flesh and Blood is a trading card game published by Legend Story Studios (LSS), an independent design studio based in Auckland, New Zealand. Gameplay focuses on two players who each control a single hero in battling one versus one to the death. It was designed by James White, who had previously played Magic: The Gathering professionally.[2] The game is based on elements of fantasy and, to some extent, science fiction.[3] The name of the game is meant to imply that the game was designed to be played in person instead of as an online game.[4]

Organized play

[edit]

James White and Legend Story Studios based their game design on an organized play framework supporting play across four competitive tiers with a diversity of prize pools.[5] The Flesh and Blood World Tour draws players from all over the globe to compete for cash prizes and prestige.[6] The prize pool for the 2025 World Tour is US$2,000,000.[7]

Learn to Play events, which are Tier 0, and Armory Events, which are Tier 1, are usually weekly events organized by local game stores. They are run at a Casual rules enforcement level (REL). Skirmish Seasons, also in Tier 1, are held throughout the year, with competitive play but run at a Casual REL.[8] Tier 2 events are Competitive REL tournaments. These include Showdowns, Road to Nationals and Pro Quest/Pro Quest+ tournaments.[9] National Championships are invitation-only Tier 3 tournaments run by LSS yearly in official Flesh and Blood territories while Callings are a series of open-entry Tier 3 tournaments. The Tier 4 events, Pro Tours and the World Championship, are held over a weekend, with the World Championship being the highest level. All Tier 3 and Tier 4 events (except day one of a Calling) are run with Professional REL.[5][10]

Booster sets[11] tend to have a World Premiere event (with organized play events present).[12][13] These World Premiere events allow the Flesh and Blood community to discover which cards the new set has, explore a new competitive environment together, compete in community events (such as cosplay) and see friends from around the world.

In 2021, Flesh and Blood was officially sold in local game stores in more than 30 countries, with decks manufactured in Belgium, Japan and the United States.[14] In 2023, the number of countries had risen to 42.[15] In 2025 there were National Championships in 47 countries.[5] James White and LSS made an open commitment to the game's players to keep events international and diverse, allowing players to find events near them when possible.[16]

Gameplay

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The game involves two or more players who assume the control of a hero, a character with equipment, abilities and set of cards. There are thirteen different card types, such as hero, equipment, weapon, action, reaction (attack and defense), instant or block.[2] Hero, weapon and equipment cards are in play at the start of the game. Most cards are discarded into a "graveyard" after play. Each hero has intellect and life points, and is in one of fourteen classes. The most common are: Assassin, Brute, Guardian, Illusionist, Mechanologist, Ninja, Ranger, Runeblade, Warrior, or Wizard.[17] Players draw cards equal to the hero's intellect. If a hero's life points reaches zero, the player controlling the hero loses the game.[18]

Players build a deck of 60 to 80 cards, with no more than three copies of cards having the same name in one deck.[19] The two constructed game formats, Blitz and Classic Constructed, have a different version of each Hero card.[17] The young version of each card is used in the Blitz format, which has a faster pace of play.[17]

Tournaments

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In October 2019, Legend Story Studios established an organised play programme dubbed "The Calling" for competitive sealed-deck play, with a prize pool of $10,000 per tournament.[20] Temporarily suspended as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the programme resumed in 2021.[21] By November 2023, over 2000 game stores worldwide hosted such events.[21] In October 2023, the company established Social Play game store events for casual players.[21]

In November 2022, the company organised the first Flesh and Blood World Championships in San Jose, California, with a prize pool of $300,000.[22]

In 2024, the company organized a "Pro Play 2024" circuit, with a prize pool of $1,500,000.[23]

A Hero that wins a tournament accrues "Living Legend" points, which, upon reaching a certain amount, results in that hero's card being retired from official tournament play.[2]

Sets

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Each Flesh and Blood set used to be published in two editions. The initial set release was the collector-focused First Edition published using cold foil printing in a limited print run.[24] This was followed by the Unlimited Edition, which was published based on market demand.[24] This technique is common in the early stages of many trading card games as it allows collectors to secure value in First Edition cards while players still have accesses to affordable versions of important cards.

After the "FAB 2.0" update LSS did away with the 1st/Unlimited model and replaced it with a single box model.[25]

#	Set	Set code	Release date	Size								Ref.
				Total Cards	Token/Basic	Common	Rare	Super Rare	Majestic	Legendary	Fabled
1	Welcome to Rathe	WTR	11 October 2019	226	15	132	48	15	10	5	1	[26]
2	Arcane Rising	ARC	27 March 2020	219	14	126	48	15	10	5	1	[27]
3	Crucible of War	CRU	28 August 2020	198	0	103	56	0	36	2	1	[28]
4	Monarch	MON	7 May 2021	307	18	172	79	0	31	6	1	[29]
5	Tales of Aria	ELE	24 September 2021	238	14	136	54	0	27	6	1	[30]
6	Everfest	EVR	4 February 2022	198	0	88	61	0	45	3	1	[31]
N/A	History Pack 1	1HP	6 May 2022	427	0	238	118	0	62	9	0	[32]
7	Uprising	UPR	24 June 2022	226	16	125	51	0	27	6	1	[33]
8	Dynasty	DYN	11 November 2022	247	0	109	81	0	51	5	1	[34][35]
N/A	History Pack 2	2HP	24 February 2023	536	0	301	140	0	78	14	3	[36]
9	Outsiders	OUT	24 March 2023	236	20	128	51	0	31	5	1	[37]
10	Dusk till Dawn	DTD	14 July 2023	236	0	94	77	0	56	8	1	[38]
11	Bright Lights	EVO	6 October 2023	251	12	129	56	0	46	7	1	[39]
12	Heavy Hitters	HVY	2 February 2024	256	15	128	67	0	40	5	1	[40]
13	Part the Mistveil	MST	31 May 2024	239	12	123	54	0	43	6	1	[41]
14	Rosetta	ROS	20 September 2024	254	14	128	57	0	49	5	1	[42]
15	The Hunted	HNT	31 January 2025	265	16	130	66	0	42	6	1	[43]
16	High Seas	SEA	6 June 2025	265	18	127	64	0	46	6	1	[44]
N/A	Mastery Pack Guardian	MPG	8 August 2025	130	3	76	30	0	16	3	0	[45]
17	Super Slam	SUP	26 September 2025	276	14	134	40	40	42	5	1	[46]
18	Compendium of Rathe	PEN	13 February 2026	348	0	142	124	0	59	8	0	[47]

Reception

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Drew Cordell of SUPERJUMP magazine wrote favorably of the game.[24] Andrew Smith from the website Board Game Quest compared it to Magic: The Gathering, but noted that Flesh and Blood was easier to learn.[48]

In 2021, ICv2 rated it as a "top collectible game".[49][50] In 2022, Legend Story Studio was awarded the first place on the Deloitte Fast 50.[51][52] In November 2023, Legend Story Studios won the Excellence in Brand Storytelling Award at the New Zealand International Business Awards for their work on Flesh and Blood.[53]

See also

[edit]

• List of collectible card games

References

[edit]

1. ^ "Introducing Flesh and Blood". Team Covenant. 30 June 2020. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
2. ^ a b c Golovchuk, Stan (30 June 2023). "Flesh and Blood, MTG's most dynamic competitor, brings back its first Living Legend". Polygon. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
3. ^ Golovchuk, Stan (24 September 2023). "Flesh and Blood's Bright Lights expansion adds a mech suit built for breaking faces". Polygon. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
4. ^ Puschmann, Karl (26 June 2021). "The inside story of Flesh and Blood, the NZ game taking the world by storm". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
5. ^ a b c "Everything You Need To Know About Flesh and Blood's Organized Play System". TCGplayer. 16 May 2025. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
6. ^ "World Tour 2025". Legend Story Studios. 2025. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
7. ^ "World Tour – What's On in January". Legend Story Studios. 29 August 2025. Retrieved 20 January 2026.
8. ^ "Back Alley Oracle #5 Procedure and Penalty Guide". Legend Story Studios. 16 June 2022. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
9. ^ LSS (12 November 2025). "From Battle Hardened... to Showdown". Flesh and Blood TCG. Retrieved 20 January 2026.
10. ^ "Organized Play Pathway". Legend Story Studios. 2025. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
11. ^ "Product Releases". Legend Story Studios. 2025. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
12. ^ "Super Slam World Premiere: Montréal". Legend Story Studios. 2025. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
13. ^ "Everything You Missed at World Tour: Montreal". TCGplayer. 22 September 2025. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
14. ^ "Going Global". Legend Story Studios. 5 July 2021. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
15. ^ "Celebrating 4 Years of Flesh and Blood". TCGplayer. 15 October 2023. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
16. ^ "Creator Of Flesh And Blood Discusses Game's Latest Milestone, Upcoming World Championship". Star City Games. 28 October 2022. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
17. ^ a b c Johnson, Xavier (30 November 2021). "Every Hero in Flesh and Blood TCG". Dot Esports. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
18. ^ "TCGplayer Infinite". TCGplayer Infinite. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
19. ^ Longo, Chris (18 December 2020). "Why Flesh and Blood Is A Must-Play Trading Card Game". Den of Geek. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
20. ^ Dohm-Sanchez, Jeffrey (15 October 2019). "'Flesh and Blood' TCG to launch $10,000 'The Calling' tournament circuit". ICv2. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
21. ^ a b c Dohm-Sanchez, Jeffrey (2 November 2023). "'Flesh and Blood TCG' logs its 1000,000th armory event". ICv2. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
22. ^ Dohm-Sanchez, Jeffrey (17 August 2022). "Legend Story Studios announces inaugural 'Flesh and Blood TCG' World Championships". ICv2. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
23. ^ Miller, Nick (21 November 2023). "Flesh And Blood Announces Roadmap For Organized Play And Product Releases In 2024". Star City Games. Retrieved 5 January 2025.
24. ^ a b c Cordell, Drew (17 April 2021). "Flesh and Blood TCG is your new card game addiction". SuperJump. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
25. ^ White, James (12 April 2022). "FAB 2.0". fabtcg.com. Retrieved 5 January 2025.
26. ^ "Welcome to Rathe". fabtcg.com. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
27. ^ "Arcane Rising". fabtcg.com. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
28. ^ "Crucible of War". fabtcg.com. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
29. ^ "Monarch". fabtcg.com. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
30. ^ "Tales of Aria". fabtcg.com. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
31. ^ "Everfest". fabtcg.com. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
32. ^ "History Pack 1 (EN)". fabtcg.com. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
33. ^ "Uprising". fabtcg.com. 26 April 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
34. ^ "Dynasty". fabtcg.com. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
35. ^ "Dynasty". fabtcg.com. 17 October 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
36. ^ "History Pack 2". fabtcg.com. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
37. ^ "Outsiders". fabtcg.com. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
38. ^ "Dusk till Dawn". fabtcg.com. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
39. ^ "Bright Lights". fabtcg.com. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
40. ^ "Heavy Hitters". fabtcg.com. 16 November 2023. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
41. ^ "Part the Mistveil". fabtcg.com. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
42. ^ "Rosetta". fabtcg.com. 16 June 2024. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
43. ^ "The Hunted". fabtcg.com. 31 October 2024. Retrieved 5 January 2025.
44. ^ "High Seas". fabtcg.com. 21 March 2025. Retrieved 9 April 2025.
45. ^ "Mastery Pack Guardian". fabtcg.com. Retrieved 1 July 2025.
46. ^ "Super Slam". Flesh and Blood. Legend Story Studios. 26 September 2025. Retrieved 20 September 2025.
47. ^ "Compendium of Rathe". Flesh and Blood. Legend Story Studios. Retrieved 16 November 2025.
48. ^ Andrew Smith (9 July 2021). "Flesh and Blood Review". Board Game Quest. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
49. ^ "Top Collectible Games – Spring 2021". icv2.com. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
50. ^ "Top Collectible Games – Fall 2021". icv2.com. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
51. ^ Hall, Charlie (11 November 2022). "Flesh and Blood, MTG's upstart competitor, has found strength in community". Polygon. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
52. ^ "25 years of the Deloitte Fast 50: Meet the alumni breaking barriers". NZ Herald. 21 July 2025. Retrieved 28 October 2025.
53. ^ "Winners of the New Zealand International Business Awards 2023". nzte.govt.nz. Retrieved 13 July 2024.

External links

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• Flesh and Blood official website