The Road to Nationals is paved with good intentions, and at least 17 different heroes had the good intention of crushing the competition this week, making for one of the healthiest and most diverse metagames Flesh and Blood has ever seen! We'll dive into more of this tomorrow with Metagame Minute, but for now let's kick off our boots, knock back a pint, and check out highlights from Week 1!
Unbox Greenhills - Philippines
"The Tale of Two Dromais! Carlo Ople and Paolo Mayo talked for weeks and refined their Dromai decks for our Road to Nationals. On the day there were more than 60 competitors with Guardians, Warriors, and Brutes being the most represented classes. After six grueling rounds of Swiss, both of them had 5-1 records, getting them spots in the Top 8. They ended up facing each other in an intense final mirror match that lasted for over an hour, but when the dust settled Paolo came out on top! Also, Unbox had a new innovation in player care with a free massage station for competitors!"
1st: Paolo Mayo - Dromai, Ash Artist
2nd: Carlo Ople - Dromai, Ash Artist
Sit and Play - Thailand
"The event was great! Two cold foil Legendaries were opened during draft and one cold foil legendary was opened from prize packs. All three came from the same case - insane!"
1st: Thanthawat Chujitngamsuwong - Kayo
2nd: Nakara Juntavong - Olympia
Mag Planszowy - Poland
"The most popular heroes were Bravo and Dash but overall the metagame was super diverse! The entire Top 8 consisted of unique heroes: Levia, Kayo, Maxx Nitro, Dash, Kano, Victor Goldmane, Bravo, and Boltyn. The finals was a tough fight between the one-armed Kayo and the cunning Kano. In the end one big swing is better than all the knowledge that a Wizard can muster, making Jakub our champion!"
1st: Jakub Grefling - Kayo, Armed and Dangerous
2nd: Mateusz Mazur - Kano, Dracai of Aether
Magic Omens - Croatia
"We had 21 players come together on a sunny Saturday morning in Zagreb, including guests from Slovenia and even one from Italy! Melee erupted at the tables with a fairly even distribution of Ninjas, Warriors, and Brutes. After five rounds of Swiss and two rounds of top cut, the final match ended a fitting showdown between the 2023 Croatian National Champion Nikola Kramarić and the 2023 Slovenian National Champion Marko Leben. Nikola's Katsu defended the home soil, dispatching Marko's Boltyn for the second time in the same tournament!"
1st: Nikola Kramarić - Katsu, the Wanderer
2nd: Marko Leben - Ser Boltyn, Breaker of Dawn
Fable Hobby - United States
"Players packed into the sold out Fable Hobby Road to Nationals last weekend. When the dust settled, the finals pitted Kassai of the Golden Sand against Levia, Shadowborn Abomination. After making 2nd place at an earlier Road to Nationals, Pankaj Bhojwani piloted Kassai with clinical precision to victory, besting Dylan Mangini. For the victor comes the spoils of war, yielding a Gold Foil Goliath Gauntlet! Want to see more of Pankaj? You'll find him on the stream commentary team at Pro Tour: Los Angeles!"
1st: Pankaj Bhojwani - Kassai of the Golden Sand
2nd: Dylan Mangini - Levia, Shadowborn Abomination
Friends and Foes - Amsterdam
"48 fighters came to Amsterdam to draft in the arena. The fighters were greeted at the entrance with a starting stake of four wager tokens, and at the start of each match they could each wager a token, with the winner of the match receiving both tokens. At the end of the tournament each token could be exchanged for one Heavy Hitters booster! The finals between Kayo and Olympia started out with a bang. Early on Olympia showed his strength until Kayo came back to push Olympia against the wall. But a hand of double Bare Fangs allowed Olympia the window he needed to push for victory!"
1st: Ian Zhang - Olympia
2nd: Kerwin Holtslag - Kayo
