The inaugural ProQuest season has officially come to a close with the final events taking place last weekend. Thank you to all of the stores and tournament organizers for hosting events, and for all of the hard work you do to create great memories for your local communities. Thank you to everyone who cheered on players around the world, supporting your community even if you weren't personally competing. And finally, a huge thank you to the almost 9,000 players who participated in this ProQuest series. Your hours of practice, training, theorizing, and deckbuilding embody the competitive spirit of Flesh and Blood even if you didn't win the event.
Congratulations to all of our ProQuest winners! We hope to see many of you in New Jersey for the first-ever Flesh and Blood Pro Tour. We'll be excited to welcome you when the doors open in May!
Bravo, Star of the Show has ended the season as strongly as he started, taking the world by storm in the post-Everfest meta. No one can deny his impact on the competitive scene, or his challenge to other heroes in the Classic Constructed format: step up, innovate, and find new paths to victory. Over 100 players qualified for New Jersey with Bravo, including plenty of top players; Rob Cygul, Bun Ar, Cayle MacCreath, and Grzegorz Kowalski, alongside Calling Indianapolis commentator Craig Krempels!
Several heroes have answered that call throughout the season. Prism has carved out a space for herself on the battlefield, proving to be a thorn in the side of Guardian players the world over, and utilizing different playstyles in her fight to victory. Yuki Lee Bender, Tyler Horspool, and Hayden Dale all took out events running Illusionist builds this season, with over 60 events being taken out by the Light hero.
Likewise, this season the Runeblade triad have proved that sometimes, it's best to return to the classics. Viserai was our first Runeblade, released with Arcane Rising, and after watching the success of his counterparts in the past year, he was overdue for a chance to shine. The original Runeblade did well for himself this season, following close behind Prism's winning streak at worldwide events. Team Covenant's Zach Bunn earned his invite to the Pro Tour on Viserai, while Barry Teo took out what was possibly the world's toughest Top 8 at Fyendal Hobby in Singapore, backing up his win the day before at The Imaginarium to also qualify for New Jersey
However, as Davis noted in his metagame analysis last week, the metagame varies from region to region. In some areas of the world, there are a few heroes waiting in the wings, quietly working to upset the established meta.
Despite Viserai's popularity, Chane has been quietly building himself up over the course of the season, racking up close to twenty wins at events around the world, including wins by top players such as Tariq Patel, Luke Fletcher, and Pierre Canali.
Drew Cordell discussed two other promising contenders who could upset the competitive scene in the coming months.
Katsu and Lexi also made their presence felt around the edges of the metagame, qualifying over a dozen players between them, including with wins at some of the biggest events of the season, while a few mysterious Brute decks were also seen floating around the finals tables, being run by players that weren't afraid to back a dark horse. And to finish the whole thing off, the final weekend of the season saw one legendary player take Kano through to a win!
The stage is set for an exciting new year in the competitive scene. We're looking forward to seeing how players can bring their skills and ingenuity to the table, develop new ways to play their favorite heroes, and embrace a dynamic and shifting metagame. We'll be publishing an official list of qualified players for the Pro Tour: New Jersey soon, so keep an eye on the website next week.
Infinity Cards & Collectibles - Canada
'We were super happy with our spread of heroes. With a total of 27 players, as expected, the Top 3 represented were Viserai (6), Prism (6) and Starvo (6). We were really surprised to see 5 Lexis (1 of them was Top 8). There was also one each of Rhinar, Dorinthea, Kano and Dash. The Top 8 was really well rounded with a showing of the following heroes below: (1 of the Prisms was expertly manned by an 11 year old phenom - an unfortunate decklist issue that resulted in an IP call - still walked away head up high with a Cold Foil Adult Prism!!)
Semi Finals was super fun to watch as 1 of each Starvo, Viserai, Prism, and Lexi went head to head. Finals was Starvo (Donghee) and Prism (Nathan). Prism took it home and opening a GOLD-COLD-FOIL Gambler's Gloves!
Congratulations to the top 8 for dueling it out for a 9 hour event!"
Top 8:
1st: Nathan Fortin - Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light
2nd: Donghee Kim - Bravo, Star of the Show
3rd-4th: Yuki Lee Bender - Viserai, Rune Blood
3rd-4th: Eli Teed - Lexi, Livewire
5th-8th: Addison Bruce - Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light
5th-8th: Eric Keilback - Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light
5th-8th: Matthew Secter - Bravo, Star of the Show
5th-8th: Ross Hilliam - Dorinthea Ironsong
Highlander Games - Scotland
"The event went very smoothly and was better than we could have expected. All of the players were so nice, and there were no issues. It seemed like everyone had a great time, and we were left with a lot of positive feedback about the event and the store. We set up a stream on YouTube to record the day so that anyone following could watch some games. Thank you for your continued support!"
Top 8:
1st: Stephen McKeever - Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light
2nd: Andrew Rayner - Bravo, Star of the Show
3rd-4th: Keir Sweeney - Bravo, Star of the Show
3rd-4th: Jussi Pardoe - Viserai, Rune Blood
5th-8th: Ed Ross - Bravo, Star of the Show
5th-8th: Annabelle McQuade - Lexi, Livewire
5th-8th: Christopher Mason - Chane, Bound by Shadow
5th-8th: Scott Jones - Kano, Dracai of Aether
Friends & Foes Amsterdam - Netherlands
"The Everfest Carnival descended on Amsterdam and brought with it a big tournament to see who is worthy enough to be among the elite fighters of Rathe.
People would enter and walk through the Everfest fair. Here they could go on the photo with Bravo the Star of the Show and do fairground games to see which participations boosters they would receive.
Also they would pick up their Bingo’s bingo cards and lotto numbers to win even more boosters! You play against a hero? Cross off every circle with that hero from your bingo card. Does your standing ever match your lotto numbers? You win a free mystery box!
After enjoying the Everfest Fairgrounds it was time to enter the arena and fight it out. 63 fighters entered the battlefield. Guardians, warriors, and illusionists tried to outsmart each other and fight for that sought-after Pro Tour ticket.
Quarterfinals
Bravo (Laurens Overgaauw) took all the elements to the table and Briar (Benjamin van Donkelaar) missed just that one extra ice element to take the win. All this while Bravo (Donovan van Beek) just beat Bravo (Felix Gössel) into a pulp and advanced. Briar (Wouter Ouwehand) fought Briar (Kurt Vooys). The elements were more on Wouters side that day and he moved on to the semi-finals. And you guessed it. Prism (Kevin Zänker) went head to head with Prism (Jonas Stoberock). Kevin took the win and went on to the semi-finals.
Finals
From the start, this would have been an uphill battle for Bravo (Donovan van Beek). He came to the tournament all defensive and prepared to fight off his fellow Bravo brethren. But Prism (Kevin Zänker) came prepared with her auras ready to fight off any opponent she would face. Not letting even Bravo intimidate her.
Bravo knew that the only way to win this uphill fight was to harness all the elements and call upon his special power every turn to keep the pressure on. Unfortunately, he only found the strength of the elements and could not harness them a second time.
Prism saw this opportunity and took advantage of it, using her health to keep her hand intact and summon aura after aura. All these auras overwhelmed Bravo and he could not get rid of them all, forced to leave two Haze Bendings in the arena which, like a boa constrictor, held him in a chokehold, draining his life until he was unable to stand up anymore.
Kevin Zänker and his auras were victorious and took home the Gold Foil Courage of Bladehold. The universe poured salt on Donovan van Beek's wounds by giving him a CF Prism.
Want to see what happened at ProQuest Amsterdam? Go watch our YouTube video and see for yourself. Want to see some of the matches from the stream? We've got you covered."
Top 8
1st: Kevin Zänker - Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light
2nd: Donovan van Beek - Bravo, Star of the Show
3rd-4th: Rens Overgaauw - Bravo, Star of the Show
3rd-4th: Wouter Ouwehand - Briar, Warden of Thorns
5th-8th: Jonas Stoberock - Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light
5th-8th: Benjamin van Donkelaar - Briar, Warden of Thorns
5th-8th: Kurt Vooys - Briar, Warden of Thorns
5th-8th: Felix Gössel - Bravo, Star of the Show
Zulu's Board Game Cafe - United States
54 players arrived at Zulu's Board Game Cafe for one of the largest ProQuest events of the week. In addition to their comments below, you can find more about the event via their own recap article.
"Folks travelled from afar, including Portland, Belfair and Bellingham (2-4.5 hours drive + ferry time). Many had tried to qualify in 2 or 3 other ProQuests this season, so they were ready to play to win.
The finalists have been best friends since they were 3 years old and travelled 3 hours together to compete. Cedar, the winner, was playing Prism for the first time competitively, and had placed 2nd in last weekend's qualifier but with a different hero."
Top 8:
1st: Cedar Graham - Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light
2nd: Philip Parker - Bravo, Star of the Show
3rd-4th: Peter Sundholm - Bravo, Star of the Show
3rd-4th: Nolan Stockwell - Bravo, Star of the Show
5th-8th: Pankaj Bhojwani - Viserai, Rune Blood
5th-8th: Nathan Dollman - Viserai, Rune Blood
5th-8th: Mitchell Tillery - Bravo, Star of the Show
5th-8th: Steven Rodriguez - Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light
The Blue Post - United States
Tee Thebeau took out the Blue Post's 25-person event with the might of Prism, Sculptor of Light. His opponent, Alexander Benton, brought Viserai to the table in a close match, with the final turn seeing both players at 2 life. Perhaps Tee was lent some luck by their podcast, aptly titled the Librarians of Solana, like Prism's eponymous mentor.
Top 8:
1st: Tee Thebeau - Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light 2nd: Alexander Benton - Viserai, Rune Blood
3rd-4th: Zachery Weaver - Bravo, Star of the Show
3rd-4th: Everett Irby - Bravo, Star of the Show
5th-8th: Jonathen Byrd - Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light
5th-8th: Jason Watkins - Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light
5th-8th: Michael Riddle - Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light
5th-8th: Nathanael Hunt - Briar, Warden of Thorns
Three for One Trading - Austria
Congratulations to the Top 8 from Three for One's ProQuest event, ending in a mirror match between Florin-Cristian Loghin and Thomas Preyer. Both Bravo, Star of the Show and Bravo, Showstopper showed up for this event, alongside Chane, Prism, Lexi, Levia, and Briar.
Top 8:
1st: Thomas Preyer - Bravo, Star of the Show
2nd: Florin-Cristian Loghin - Bravo, Star of the Show
3rd-4th: David Reitbauer - Bravo, Star of the Show
3rd-4th: Hrovje Hedžet - Chane, Bound by Shadow
5th-8th: Roman Legíň - Bravo, Star of the Show
5th-8th: Michael Lang - Lexi, Livewire
5th-8th: Martin Okruhlica - Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light
5th-8th: Immanuel Gerschenson - Bravo, Star of the Show
CUBE - Poland
"In general, we are very happy with the event, it was the second biggest PQ in Poland, as usual only our friends in Bydgoszcz had a bigger attendance! We are really grateful for the opportunity, as we are rapidly approaching our 100th registered event it feels really good to be able to organize events like this for the community."
Top 8:
1st: Grzegorz Pijas - Lexi, Livewire
2nd: Jakub Irzyk - Bravo, Star of the Show
3rd-4th: Aleksander Zabłocki - Viserai, Rune Blood
3rd-4th: Marcin Glowacki - Viserai, Rune Blood
5th-8th: Piotr Krzempek - Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light
5th-8th: Łukasz Szczepanowski - Viserai, Rune Blood
5th-8th: Pawel Kutesko - Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light
5th-8th: Wojciech Klimczyk - Viserai, Rune Blood
Event Photos
Sunshine Games - United States
"Many of those who played in our event, as well as the judge, travelled hours to get here. Top 8 players were especially happy to receive Everfest packs as additional prize support (shown in photo)."
Top 8:
1st: Evan Herndon - Chane, Bound by Shadow
2nd: Chris Ray - Bravo, Star of the Show
3rd-4th: Jasiel Diez - Viserai, Rune Blood
3rd-4th: Rob Cygul - Bravo, Star of the Show
5th-8th: Zachary Porter - Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light
5th-8th: Justin Vandehey - Rhinar, Reckless Rampage
5th-8th: Jimmy Le - Ser Boltyn, Breaker of Dawn 5th-8th: Colby Gerrish - Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light
Unison Games Cafe - United States
"We had 68 players waitlisted or paid for our 64 person event. We had overnight stay deals next door at The Carriage House hotel, a Pizza Truck catering, and the cafe side of the shop open for all you can drink coffee! The stream room was busy recording 8 hours of top table highly competitive play."
Top 8:
1st: Craig Krempels - Bravo, Star of the Show
2nd: Yuanji Li - Viserai, Rune Blood
3rd-4th: Cody Williams - Chane, Bound by Shadow
3rd-4th: Trent Lennon - Bravo, Star of the Show
5th-8th: Pheano Black - Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light
5th-8th: Timothy Barron - Bravo, Star of the Show
5th-8th: Michael Dalton - Bravo, Star of the Show
5th-8th: Julian Helgeson - Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light