An absolute baller tournament took place in Melbourne last weekend, granting players their last fill of Calling juice before World Championship: Barcelona! Great games, good times, and shocking surprises were had by all as one of the last legs in the 2023 Pro Play Circuit ended with the Kiwis snatching the win from the Aussies!
Lexi's reign of terror has finally come to an end, but in a gobsmacking twist, the Elemental Ranger had her final performance completely swept out from under her feet as several overlooked heroes stole the limelight. Dash I/O, undefeated until the very final match, and Maxx 'The Hype' Nitro hooning into Top 8 had everyone completely blindsided. It just goes to show that anything is possible with a little tinkering and innovation!
Blockbuster-level games were showcased on stream throughout the weekend, I highly recommend you check them out on our YouTube channel. Calling: Melbourne has shown us the future of Flesh and Blood is looking bright!
Let's dive into the action...
More than 270 players rocked up to the glittering bay waters to try their hand at several rounds of Classic Constructed, with hopes of scoring the Gold Foil, PTI, and share of $10,000 USD!
Everyone expected the event to be taken out by well-established mean queens Lexi and Dromai, and while the terrible two were out in force, nobody expected a jawdropping 14-0 from Dash I/O, piloted by Thomas Dowling! Taking names with Boom Grenades left and right, Thomas took core gameplay principles from older Dash builds centered around harnessing surplus action points for powerful spike turns with the likes of Tome of Fyendal, and merged it with cutting edge crank technology to create a beautifully synergistic powerhouse.
What was once a pipe dream is now an industrial threat. Piloted by Joel Gibbons, Maxx revved into the Top 8 in a meta that people claimed worked against him. But the raw strength of Nitro Mechanoid prevails even in the hardest of storms. This deck has been floating under the surface for a while now, so it's fantastic to see the bombs finally go off!
But the most impressive performance this weekend came from Ben Dodd from Christchurch, New Zealand, who shook down Calling: Melbourne with Uzuri, Switchblade. Despite being faced with several difficult matchups, Ben showcased brilliant mastery of the deck, executing perfect moves to outwit his opponents and isolate them into a corner where he could then shred them to ribbons!
If you're keen on playing Uzuri, definitely check out Ben's games on the live stream, where he displays several heads-up plays that lead him to become a Calling Champion. My favourite play from Ben was during his Top 8 game vs Kuan Li on Dromai, where he activated Flick Knives in response to Sand Cover, disposing of the ward effect before it soaked up his attack. Typically Uzuri likes to keep her daggers in order to clear Aether Ashwings, but Ben knew the longer the game went the worse it would get for him, so he happily tossed his daggers in the bin to get significant chunks of free damage across the line.
Top 8
1st: Ben Dodd - Uzuri, Switchblade
2nd: Thomas Dowling - Dash I/O
3rd-4th: Michael Feng - Lexi, Livewire
3rd-4th: Sang Wook Kim - Uzuri, Switchblade
5th-8th: Drew Giessler - Lexi, Livewire
5th-8th: Joel Gibbons - Maxx 'The Hype' Nitro
5th-8th: German Glukhov - Lexi, Livewire
5th-8th: Kuan Li - Dromai, Ash Artist
More than 50 players cranked out games in the Bright Lights Sealed Deck Battle Hardened for their chance at the Gold Foil, PTI, and share of $2,000 USD!
Heading into Booster Draft, players showcased how quickly they can adapt to new formats, as shown by the spread of heroes across the Top 8 table. Dash, Database is finally picking up steam after enough sessions in the lab. Wellington killed it with three local lads in the Top 8, but they were outgunned by Dr Daniel McKay!
Top 8
1st: Daniel McKay - Teklovossen
2nd: Eugene C - Maxx Nitro
3rd-4th: Lucas Ward - Dash, Database
3rd-4th: Vincent Lim - Maxx Nitro
5th-8th: Thomas Bailey Galbraith - Teklovossen
5th-8th: Jonathan Luey - Dash, Database
5th-8th: Zachary Gardiner - Teklovossen
5th-8th: Joshua Baines - Maxx Nitro
The smorgasbord of side events at Calling: Melbourne were absolutely banging! Old friends reunited and new friendships were forged. Players had a crack at taking down the devs from Legend Story Studios to claim a special bounty, meanwhile raucous laughter could be heard from the Ultimate Pit Fight tables, with Justin Lenihan emerging victorious with Iyslander. Jason Liu overcame the army of Ninjas and Guardians at the Commoner tables (both classes freshly armed with budget goodies from Round the Table: TCC x LSS), taking home a Gold Foil with Ira, Crimson Haze.
Fantastically creative pieces drew the eye at the Cosplay Contest, with Carolina Alvarado taking home yet another Taylor with her Avalon, Archangel of Rebirth cosplay! Talented artist Nathaniel Himawan was kept busy by fans all weekend long, signing cards and dishing out hand-sketched artist proofs. And all throughout the tournament we were treated to gold standard commentary from game devs Kieran McEntegart, Jacob Pearson, and Anthony Balmes.
What a ripper of a weekend!
Thank you so much to each and every one of you who joined us in Melbourne for another awesome Calling! Thank you to our special guests, coverage team, judges, event staff, and amazing host Let's Play Games for making this weekend possible!
Now it's time to get pumped for World Championship: Barcelona!
