It's almost here...After much maneuvering and rescheduling, the Calling comes to Europe for the first time this April 15-17 in Krakow, Poland.
Legend Story Studios is very proud to be able to bring top level organised play to Europe and Poland after a long and pressing journey for many. The situation in Europe has been stressful and challenging for Poland and surrounding countries, yet the perseverance and generousity of the Polish people has been nothing short of inspiring.
Proceeds from all Calling Krakow ticket sales will be donated to Polska Akcja Humanitarna (Polish Humanitarian Action). Throughout these trying times, PAH has beening providing support and aid to refugees, including food and other forms of assistance to those who have had to leave their homes. Our hope is that these proceeds will be able to contribute in giving back to the local Polish community during this difficult time.
Today, in anticipation of this milestone Calling, we have some quick conversations with some of the top combatants to watch from Europe and beyond and get their perspective on Poland, the Blitz metagame and Flesh and Blood.
Łukasz Cichecki, Poland: 2021 Polish FAB National Champion
Have you been to Krakow before? What are two places you’d recommend people check out while they’re there?
I've been to Kraków multiple times in the past, and while it was always mainly to participate in gaming competitions, I've also taken time to do some sightseeing. The city has a rich cultural history and many amazing places to visit.
If I had to choose two, it would be Wawel Royal Castle and The Kraków Cloth Hall (Sukiennice) in the Main Square. An honorable mention goes to Wieliczka Salt Mines, which is around 20 minutes away from the city center.
You took out the 2021 Polish National Championship, but I still gotta ask, what’s your biggest FAB achievement so far, and what is your biggest FAB goal for 2022?
So far I haven't had an opportunity to participate in a Calling, so currently I consider my Nationals victory my biggest one. And I want to highlight currently, cause that's definitely going to change. In 2022 I'm planning to attend Callings, Pro Tours and theWorld Championship with the goal of showing everyone around the globe what I'm capable of!
What makes the Poland scene so passionate about Flesh and Blood and how might it differ from the rest of the world?
Polish players have always been competitive, regardless of the game. We just hate losing and love the thrill of victory. This is particularly true in Flesh and Blood, where multiple prominent players who used to play different TCGs/CCGs transitioned into FAB.
When your local community consists of skilled players, it's easier to level the playing field since even the newcomers can learn from the best. Also, having experience with various other games is invaluable, it often provides a fresh perspective on matchups and helps with discovering new possiblities and archetypes more quickly. We haven't had a chance for direct skirmishes with rest of the world, but with international events in sight, I'm confident that the Polish scene will emerge as a force to be reckoned with!
Pedro Canali, France: Professional TCG Player
What are you most looking forward to about the city of Krakow?
It will be my first time and I am very exited about it. I have a friend who has lived there for years and he keeps telling me how great it is.
I can't wait to be there and discover the city.
Who are you playtesting with in the lead into Krakow?
I am testing mainly with Kevin, the Belgium National Champion and Chris the French National Champion. I also play Armories with the French community.
It is a very challenging metagame as Oldhim, Viserai, Kassai, Kano and Iyslander seem to be extremely strong right now.
Also, I think that other decks could bring some surprises. I can't wait to see what the Top 8 will be.
Pro Tour 2 is coming to France in August! What could this mean for French FAB fans?
I have been playing at the highest level in few other games, and having participated in more than 25 Pro Tours and some of the biggest poker tournaments in the world, I can say that the Pro Tours are by far the most powerful experience a player can have.
Every player in the French community will have a taste of that spectacle in few months and everyone seems to be very excited about it. Qualified or not, most of the French players will come along.
I also think that a lot of new players will join us with the French product being released soon. I expect to give a lot of tutorials between rounds at Pro Tour France!
Jounes Erojo, Germany: Content Creator
Who first introduced you to FAB and when? What was it that first got you hooked?
Alpha Investments. As a long time TCG player and collector, I have followed Rudy and his YouTube Channel for years. He introduced Flesh and Blood about two years ago on his channel and month later, Ramin, the owner of my Local Game Store (Game It) told me he got some Flesh and Blood hero decks and if I was interested in trying out this new game. So I picked up a WTR hero deck of each and Ramin gave me an Ira welcome deck on top. At home I opened the Bravo and the Katsu decks after reading the handbook with my wife and we tried our first Flesh and Blood game which I lost to my her! Haha. Nevertheless, the art and the game mechanics made me fall in love with Flesh and Blood right away. Then I went to our LGS and bought four more decks for my friends who I play card games with from time to time. That's how my Flesh and Blood journey started.
What’s your fondest Flesh and Blood memory so far, and what FAB goals do you have for 2022?
Honestly, I have so many good memories of Flesh and Blood from the last two years and each of them is unique. Every Fabled and Legendary that I've pulled, every trade for a card I wanted. The German Nationals last year, where I co-commentated the second day, every Armory event win and loss, my interviews with Flesh and Blood artists like Isuardi "Ijur" Therianto, Bima, Yen Lee and the legend himself Mr. Mark Poole, and last but not least, and the awesome social media community. Through this game I've been able to make many new friends worldwide in a time of COVID-19 and contact restrictions. The good vibes gave me the power to conquer the difficulies of the last two years as a bar owner.
My goals for 2022; I want to grow my Instagram Channel @fleshandbloodeurope followers to over 5,000 by the end of year, reach Top 32 at The Calling Krakow, Top 8 German Nationals and recruit more local players to Flesh and Blood.
We saw your incredible FAB Awards on your Flesh and Blood Europe channel. What inspired you to create such a unique piece of content? What other content creators should we look out for coming out of Germany?
Thank you . We have created such a great community over the last two years. So many unique and dedicated FAB content creators, aesthetic, imaginative and creative art and artists are involved. Also, I wanted to honor this great family, which we have become, through this show. The idea with the show came to mind while I was having a chat with Instagram content creator and my good Friend Darii @fabtcgnordic who is my muse when it comes to having new ideas. We were chatting about content creators on other social media channels like Twitter, YouTube, TikTok , Facebook and so on and I said we should get people to recognize that there is awesome content and content creators across different channels and get them connected somehow.
Darii was also the one who came up with the name for my new bar, "Everfest", as I was looking for a good Flesh and Blood related name for my anime and gamer bar.
To answer the second part of the question, every content creator is important in my eyes. It's the passion and love for the game which leads you to start creating content.
But to name one of the German content creators I know, is Henning Estor with Yodasdata, which has not only great Flesh and Blood related content on YouTube and discord, but also runs a lot of events for Flesh and Blood online and in Idstein .
Michael Feng, USA: 2021 Calling Cincinnati Champion
You're travelling quite some distance from the US to Poland. What are you most excited about for TC Krakow?
I am most excited about being able to attend another Calling! I know it's quite a far trip, but it is so exciting to be able to play Flesh and Blood at a high level. I can't wait to see what decks people bring, especially what the local scene and maybe European meta looks like compared to what we have in the US.
What are some key things that you took away from your win at the Calling Cincinnati that you’ve been applying in your preparations for Krakow?
As always, have a plan. It might not be the best plan, but have a plan vs every matchup or scenario. For The Calling Krakow and Blitz specifically, it's not always practical to playtest your deck against every hero, so sometimes that plan is a theoretical one. I spend a lot of my time thinking "if my opponent is on X, then I want to play to do Y". I hope that I don't have too many scenarios at Krakow where I'm starting a game and don't have an overall plan for the match!
Which hero is your pick as the dark horse for the tournament to possibly pick up the win from outta nowhere?
I would have to go with Iyslander! Her hero power is versatile. The Wizard kit is extremely strong in Blitz. Having access to Ice gives her so much potential disruption. She has all the tools to be able to have good matchups vs all the top tier heroes. If you're playing her at Krakow, I hope you do well! It's awesome to see new heroes shake up the old guard.
Grzegorz Kowalski, Poland: Professional TCG Player
What’s your biggest Flesh and Blood achievement so far, and what is your biggest FAB goal for 2022?
My biggest achievement so far is definitely qualifying for the first Pro Tour. As for the goal, that'd be winning it! -as I first stated on my Twitter. That has been my #1 goal since I bought my first precon deck a year ago. Time to make it happen in New Jersey!
How do you think the FAB scene and metagame might differ from Poland to the rest of the world?
It seems like it differs much more than anyone would expect. The Polish scene seems to be very competitive and very dedicated. For example, people at premier tournaments like Nationals or ProQuests adapt really quickly and we had a much higher meta share percentage of Briar at Nationals and Starvo at the first ProQuests, than the world average. I certainly didn't expect people to get the new cards and figure out new decklists that fast. It also seems like our perception of what the best deck in Blitz is, differs from what the general data suggests, so Krakow will be a great place to prove us right or wrong on the international field.
Which hero do you think is the favorite to win TC Krakow?
One with a negative win rate across the Skirmishes! (Assuming data I found on the internet is correct :D)
Christian Hauck, Germany: 2021 German FAB National Champion
As 2021 German National Champion, I have to ask, what’s your biggest FAB achievement so far, and what is your biggest FAB goal for 2022?
I started with Flesh and Blood a few weeks before Nationals and have only played a ProQuests alongside smaller local events.
That being said, I managed to win Nationals and my first ProQuest, so Nationals is definitely my biggest FAB achievement as I haven't had the chance to compete in a Calling yet.
With the Pro Tour coming up, my goals for 2022 are to try my best in New Jersey and to qualify for the second one in France while attending European Callings if possible.
Which heroes are the key ones to be testing against?
For Blitz in Krakow, I expect a metagame of mainly Viserai, Oldhim and Kassai with some Wizards along the way.
Can you tell us a little about your Local Games Store and the German FAB community?
My Local Game Store where I live is called "Wizard's Well" and it's located in Mannheim, Germany.
It runs some local Armories and just received its first ProQuest for the upcoming Season 2.
The German FAB community is absolutely great and welcoming, especially my local scene.
I couldn't wish for a better one and I'm always having a blast going to the store to play with some paper cards, especially after not being able to do so for a very long time due to the pandemic.
Christian Franco, France: 2021 French FAB National Champion
How did you first get started playing FAB?
In November 2020, my brother introduced me to the game. He explained the rules to me. I went to see the illustrations of the game and I must have fallen in love immediately. I bought two boxes of Welcome to Rathe and that was it. A few weeks later, and while we were in lockdown, I was able to play in my first Armory and Skirmish online. Today, I am delighted to go to The Calling Krakow and see players in the flesh from several European countries with whom I played at the time, for the first time.
Can you tell us a little about the French FAB community?
The French community has grown a lot in recent months and there are groups of players in all major cities now. There is a lot of benevolence and the reception of new players is excellent. There is a good chemistry between the more casual players and the competitive ones and we are incredibly excited and proud to be hosting a Pro Tour in the coming months.
As the French 2021 National champion, what are your goals for FAB in 2022?
To be the champion of France in 2022, haha! Playing in this first European Calling and trying to do well in it is a primary objective. Also, I'll be with a group French players making the trip for the first Pro Tour in New Jersey. It's very exciting and I hope I'll be able to represent well. Obviously, the Pro Tour in France will also mark the year 2022 in a very strong way and it will be an opportunity to show the whole world the quality of European players.
Ticket packages for The Calling Krakow are still available. Secure yours at the tournamnetcenter website today.
For many European players, Krakow would have represented their only chance to get hold of exclusive playmats and promo cards, and we still want these to be available to fans and to see them out on tables across the continent.
From 1pm Monday 11 April CET, we will be making these promos available for purchase by our European fans at the tournamentcenter website, with the proceeds from the sale again going to PAH.