Bryan Gottlieb is a member of the commentary team for the upcoming Calling: Indianapolis and will provide live coverage of the event. As the event date draws nearer, we're happy to bring you an article from Bryan talking about his reasons for getting involved in the Calling and why you should be excited to join in the upcoming tournament.
Flesh and Blood is my favorite TCG to play right now. Over the course of my 28-year love affair with the genre, that is a title that has been held exclusively by one other card game, and I didn’t think it would ever give up its throne. Flesh and Blood is just that damn good though.
I don’t want you to take my word on this. If you haven’t yet, I want you to sit down and try out Flesh and Blood for yourself. Once you experience the world building, buttery smooth and flavorful mechanics, and the deep-yet accessible gameplay, I expect you’ll find yourself wanting to know more, just like I did. After this threshold exploration is out of the way, come back and finish this article.
It’s fine, the rest of us will wait for you.
Again, if your experience mirrored mine, you’re probably struck by just how special Flesh and Blood felt in those first few games. The tension, the bevy of options, the desperation as your hero weakens, and you enter the late game... all these elements only become more interesting over time as the game reveals its staggering depth.
Ultimately, the core mechanics of Flesh and Blood are what will drive its success, and no number of events or size of prize pools could cover up for a game that wasn’t special. TCG history is wrought with pretenders that thought they could build an empire on selling a “fixed” competitive scene. Flesh and Blood gets its foundation right, with a game that, above all, is astoundingly fun to play.
So now I get to tell you the really good news: Flesh and Blood also seems committed to delivering a worthwhile competitive scene on top of my favorite game going. And it’s for exactly this reason that I can present to you this list of five reasons why I think you should attend the Calling: Indianapolis.
#5—I’ll Be There
Alright, I get that my physical presence may not be the selling point you were looking for, and if this bullet point only reflected the value of my personality, it’d have to be way lower down on the list, possibly at a number so large it has yet to be discovered by mathematicians. Good news, though. I’m going to the Calling: Indianapolis with a job to do, and that job is to bring you the best live coverage of Flesh and Blood ever seen.
I can’t do this without your help though. All the sick plays, crazy brews, and jaw-dropping cosplay must come from your end. If you can deliver that, you have my word- I will highlight it with all the respect and admiration it deserves. My incredible co-casters, Tannon Grace and Craig Krempels, are two of the best to ever take the stick in competitive card-gaming, and they’ll also be ready to step up to the challenge.
In my TCG career, my fondest memories come from the games I’ve played under the bright lights in the feature match area. Not only do the stakes feel higher, and the battles feel tenser, but you also get to leave your tournament with an awesome highlight and a story to tell—and show to—your friends and loved ones.
A Flesh and Blood tournament just hits different when the coverage team is on-site.
#4—The Flesh and Blood Community
Look, my sample size isn’t tremendous, and I know that no community can be entirely devoid of bad actors. However, I can honestly say that I’ve never played a match in a Flesh and Blood tournament against an opponent I didn’t enjoy interacting with. Flesh and Blood players love their game and seem entirely aware of the fact that the best way to nurture a game you love is to make sure as many people as possible want to play it with you.
When I was still getting my feet wet in Flesh and Blood, people were patient with my lack of detailed rules knowledge and pre-game protocols. When I asked questions after games, opponents were more than willing to help me figure out how I could improve. And most importantly to me, when I did make a mistake, no one made me feel like a fool.
The community extends beyond the competitors, though. So many cosplayers and content creators have already embraced their favorite heroes and cards, making the atmosphere feel akin to the Everfest carnival—bright and colorful with excitement buzzing in the air.
The Calling will be an intense, competitive event with lots at stake. Even with that backdrop, there’s still a ton of room to have fun, and the Flesh and Blood community embraces that. After all, that’s what we’re all here for.
#3—The Metagame
The metagame heading into The Calling: Indianapolis is one that has experienced deckbuilders licking their chops. Starvo, Prism, and Viserai unquestionably comprise Tier 1, but with defined targets come defined parameters for engagement. Can any deck step up to challenge the explosiveness of Starvo, the trickiness of Prism, and the versatility of Viserai all at the same time?
Certainly, some heroes have started to put together a case that they are up for the challenge. Lexi continues to impress in both Ice and Lightning builds, and I’m curious if someone can finally put together a hybrid build that can leverage both gameplans simultaneously. Oldhim and his absurd defensive capabilities is another hero that some of the absolute best players in the world believe has the tools to take on the triumvirate perched atop the metagame. I wouldn’t sleep on Chane either. Deckbuilding always remains a puzzle when it comes to Chane in the post-Seeds of Agony world, but if someone can nail the right build, the potential is there.
Meanwhile, the heroes presently in the lead aren’t resting on their laurels. Starvo, Prism, and Viserai have all continued to evolve throughout the ongoing ProQuest season, and there’s no reason to think they won’t have their own tricks up their sleeve, come Indianapolis. It’s all setting up for an explosive showdown in Indianapolis, and I can’t wait to track the story throughout the weekend.
#2—Cash
Cold. Hard. Cash. $7000 big ones to first place, to be exact, with cash prizes headed all the way down to 32nd place. It also wouldn’t be a Flesh and Blood tournament without a chance to win exclusive Foils, including the soon to be gone forever Gold Cold Foil Fyendal’s Spring Tunic that will be awarded to the Calling: Indianapolis champion.
Even if the main event doesn’t go your way, Sunday’s Battle Hardened event will give you another shot at $500 and a Legendary Gold Cold Foil. All these top finishes also come with PTI’s attached, which brings us to our final reason why you just can’t miss the Calling: Indianapolis.
#1—Being Part of History
There’s only one chance to get in at the beginning of something special. With the inaugural Pro Tour New Jersey just around the corner, Flesh and Blood’s competitive scene is finally getting the opportunity to solidify its roots. Winning any Pro Tour is going to be a monumental accomplishment. Only one person can be the first Pro Tour champion though, and that title will persist throughout time.
As ProQuest season winds down, opportunities for qualification are becoming sparse. The Calling: Indianapolis is going to represent a lot of people’s last chance to punch their ticket. Beyond that, the months and metagame leading up to the first Pro Tour will be the first pages in the book of Flesh and Blood’s competitive history. Are you going to be the one who reshapes the narrative heading into the first ProTour with your unexpected Levia or Azalea deck that decimates the field in Indianapolis? Maybe you cement your legacy as the dominant force in the early days of competitive Flesh and Blood by winning both the Calling: Indianapolis and the first Pro Tour.
No matter how you see yourself interacting with Flesh and Blood in the future, you only get one chance to be there at the very beginning. That chance starts at the Calling: Indianapolis. I can’t wait to see you there!
Bryan Gottlieb is a competitive Flesh and Blood player and a commentator for the Calling: Indianapolis. The opinions expressed in the above article are his own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Legend Story Studios.