Madrid’s resident illusionist, Sergio Sanz Guerrero, recently won the Battle Hardened: Madrid with Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light. Sergio has been playing Flesh and Blood for over a year, joining his first event in January 2021. Through Armory events, prerelease events for Monarch and Tales of Aria, a handful of Skirmish events, and a National Championship, he has been building his skills, winning a ProQuest event earlier this year with Prism and securing his ticket to the Pro Tour New Jersey.
Sergio has been playing trading card games since he was twelve years old, but when news broke that the TCG he played the most was being discontinued, he looked for something new to play.
“The game we were involved in died, and we spent some time looking at new candidates, Flesh and Blood was one of them. I started researching and got interested in the format, then a friend who was already playing the game taught me how to play, and I really loved it. Little by little, more friends joined, and that helped to make this our main game.
In Spain, most of the people who play — at least in Madrid — are all former players of the same game, so as a community, we’re already quite united, which makes it very easy to relate and form a good community at a national level. The ProQuest season helped a lot to consolidate the community, because we started to meet the players from all the cities and get to know each other.”
Competitive events, to Sergio, are what bring games to life. He describes himself as a competitive person, even as a kid, and thinks that events like Battle Hardened make players more committed to the game, which in turn strengthens the community. While he didn’t do a lot of preparation for Battle Hardened: Madrid, as he was unable to play much in the weeks leading up to the event, his history with Prism is what carried him through.
“I could say that the factor that helped me to win is that I’ve played a lot of games with Prism, so I know the deck well, and I know how to act according to the situation. I thought I was prepared for the metagame, until I saw that Spain broke the rule of Starvo reigning as the most-played deck of the tournament. Instead, it was Viserai, which I didn’t expect and didn’t suit me. Moreover, when I saw that my first round was against Viserai, and on top of that, against my friend, Adrian Marin, I saw that the tournament was going to be very difficult for me.”
Despite his lack of confidence upon seeing the metagame at the event, Sergio went on to make the Top 8 cut, alongside two other Prism players, and four Bravo, Star of the Show decks. So what went through his mind when he realized that he’d made the Top 8?
“It was a situation that I didn’t expect at all. As I said before, the previous weeks I hadn’t been able to practice practically anything, and I didn’t feel that I had an advantage over my opponents, who for sure had practiced for the Battle Hardened. Luckily, my experience with the deck helped me to overcome the situation, and that, together with the fact that I had zero expectations, meant that my nerves didn’t play a dirty trick on me, and I was able to give my best in every game.
The moment I won was incredible. I still can’t believe it. While I was playing the final, I felt like I was in just another game, as if it was round 3 of Swiss, but when I finished and heard the applause, I came back to reality and realized that I had won Battle Hardened: Madrid. It was really an incredible situation, and I was a little bit in shock without believing it at all.”
Now that Viserai has reached Living Legends status in Blitz, the first hero in Flesh and Blood to do so in either format, I asked Sergio about his thoughts on how the metagame might develop. However, he said that Classic Constructed was a far more popular format in Spain, so he hadn’t had much experience with Blitz.
“We like to play mostly CC, sealed, and draft. I don’t think Blitz is a format that has taken root in our community; because of this, I can’t say which deck is more popular - maybe Kassai, I hear that the last expansion improved that deck a lot.”
With a ProQuest win under his belt, Sergio had an invite to the Pro Tour already locked in, even before earning a PTI at Battle Hardened: Madrid. Is he attending, and what else is he looking forward to this year?
“In a short time, we have the Pro Tour: New Jersey, which I’m really looking forward to, but the one I’d really like to go to is the World Championship. I’m going to the Pro Tour, and my idea is to give it my best effort on that trip, whether it’s getting a good result in the event, or just enjoying the other events that weekend. It’s a great opportunity, and I want to make the most of it. It looks like Starvo is going to be very strong, and if we take Viserai out of the equation, Chane will surely take over, and obviously Prism, I think she is a hero that is also strong in the meta.”
His advice to players looking to compete in an upcoming Battle Hardened or Calling event, like the ones running alongside the Pro Tour: New Jersey, is to play to your strengths, rather than switching to a deck you’re unfamiliar with.
“Play with the deck you feel most confident with, I think that’s the best option. Playing the strongest is not always the way to go. Many times, you will see that with your trusted deck, you would have given better results than with the strongest deck in the meta.”
Sergio described the World Championship as the event he would be most interested in attending, for its high-level competition, prizes, side events, competitive atmosphere, and “in short, an unforgettable experience.” But from the tournaments so far, he says his favorite moment was in the Spanish National Championship.
“I played in last year’s Nationals against Vicent Vilar. I don’t remember the round, it was probably the 3rd or 4th, I had a Prism mirror, and we had a very close game that ended in a super epic way with a rebound of damage coming from a broken Spectral Shield, and both of us having Merciful Retribution on the table. It was a very fun game, very well-played by both of us, and whenever we see each other in a tournament, Vicent and I remember it. I also keep a very good memory of the ProQuest and Battle Hardened events I won, seeing the players around watching and commenting on the game, the good vibes in the atmosphere and so on.
The truth is that the Flesh and Blood community in Spain is incredible.”
“I would like to thank all my teammates, with whom I have shared the trips and who have been supporting us to improve our decks as much as possible. A special recognition to my friend Pablo Pintor, who is my travel partner and with whom I started in Flesh and Blood; in the ProQuest season we easily drove half of Spain together in my car. I would like to thank Laura Lobato, your partner who also belongs to the Flesh and Blood community in Spain and who is always available to help you if you need it or if you have any doubts.” [NB: Laura is a member of our OP team, and works for LSS, but was already involved in the Flesh and Blood community in Spain before joining the team.]