Carlo Ople is the owner of Unbox, a game store based in the Philippines that is ferociously passionate about Flesh and Blood. Unbox recently broke the record for the biggest Road to Nationals event ever, with a whopping 128 players! We sat down with Carlo to talk about the event, the community, and the challenges and rewards of running a game store.
Tell us about the event, what was the vibe like?
GOOD VIBES and RECORD BREAKING. Those are the perfect words to describe the Unbox Road to Nationals 2025.
The atmosphere was electric. People were having a great time, you could see smiles and hear laughter throughout the day. There were some tense moments because of the competition but overall I believe we had one of the most fun days of Flesh and Blood ever. It also helped that there was free pizza, lots of raffles, and all 128 competitors went home with a GEM Pack each (we pulled 3 Uzuri Marvels).
There was also a deep sense of pride in breaking the world record for the highest attendance for a Road to Nationals event for Flesh and Blood. The community rallied around this goal and that's why the turnout was just massive. There was shared purpose which is what community is all about.
Lastly, there were some intriguing storylines throughout the day! There were two Oscilio players who were live for Top 8 in the last round, with one of them, Joms, even reaching the finals to face off against the reigning, defending, and undisputed (haha) PH National Champion, Justin Cu.
All of these factors and more made our Road to Nationals a truly memorable one that's worthy of Flesh and Blood history books!
What were some of your favourite moments?
1 - LIGHTNING WIZARD LEGIT.
Arguably the main highlight and fan favourite storyline of the day was the RISE OF OSCILIO! We had around three players on the Lightning Wizard: Joms, Macky, and RA. Two of them were actually live for Top 8 during the final round of Swiss and Joms eventually got in and made it all the way to the finals where he lost to Justin Cu.
The comments in the group chat and the live stream made it obvious that Joms' Oscilio was the people's choice! Even after the match, there were a few reaction videos that came out on YouTube commenting on Joms' solid performance throughout the day.
The local community was inspired so much by Joms' journey that a new group chat called "Silly Bros" (short for Oscilio) was born overnight to help new players learn how to play the Lightning Wizard.
2 - DAY OF HIGH ROLLS.
It wouldn't be an Unbox tournament if there weren't insane high roll finishes.
This included Titus (Kayo) who rolled a 6 on Scabskin Leathers and then proceeded to play triple Cast Bones on turn 0 followed by triple Bloodrush Bellow, which pretty much DECIMATED the Zen opponent he was up against.
Another interesting moment was when an Aurora player drew three Sigil of Solace and one Sigil of Lightning in the Top 8 against Nuu. The Nuu player sent a Leave No Witnesses on turn 0 which Aurora didn't block. Aurora then slammed three Sigils of Solaces gaining 9 life and then the Sigil of Lightning to guarantee go again for the next turn. Aurora ended up winning that match.
There was also Macky (Oscilio) who blew up his Dash I/O opponent on turn 1. Literally pulled off a massive combo utterly destroying his opponent.
3 - ASSASSINS DOMINATE.
Ultimately the most obvious BDIF, at least for the local meta, was Nuu. With the absence of Enigma, Florian, and other heroes that Nuu was unfavoured into, she was in complete control of the day. The top tables were mostly filled with Nuu players and the day ended with Justin Cu, the reigning National Champion, winning it all.
Tell us about the Flesh and Blood community in the Philippines. What makes it thrive?
We have a 'Community First' aspiration here in the Philippines where we try to prioritise the experience and welfare of the players as much as possible. Here are some examples of how this was shown in the last two years:
BEST BATTLE HARDENED PRIZES. The first standalone Battle Hardened: Manila saw a generous prize structure which rewarded players all the way to 32nd place. This is the opposite of the top-heavy approach of traditional Battle Hardened events where the Top 8 are the only ones rewarded for their efforts. Apart from the prize structure, there was also a team parade where each team was introduced and they were recognised with their flags at the stage area.
BEST PRO QUEST+ PRIZES. The same can be said for Pro Quest+ events that are held locally with the recent one organised by Ludus Distributors. Usually in events like this the champion is the only one who actually gets decent value, walking away with a PTI and a Gold Foil. In the most recent Manila Pro Quest+, the Top 8 players also went home with a Booster Box of Rosetta.
The 'Community First' philosophy can also be seen with the thriving competitive scene. There are several active teams in the circuit which includes (but is not limited to) Unbox, Dominion, and Block 101. There are also regional teams such as the players from Cebu, Davao, and Bacolod.
This mindset makes the atmosphere and environment ripe for building friendships. There are some groups who treat their weekly Armory Events as just an excuse to see each other, play some games, and then eat out at a nearby restaurant.
What motivated you to open a local game store, and what were some of the challenges you faced in the early stages?
It was a childhood dream that is now a personal passion project.
I'm fortunate to have had a relatively successful 18-year corporate and marketing career that gave me a lot of experience and intuition in building brands. I retired from corporate life in 2021, which was a longstanding goal of mine to be a full time entrepreneur and content creator (my main YouTube channel now has over 700,000 subscribers). From there I was able to grow several businesses I had in digital content, digital production, and advertising. Late 2021 I decided to pursue two childhood dreams - opening a hobby shop and a barbershop. I ended up doing both side-by-side at Greenhills Mall here in Manila.
Running any business is always challenging. However you end up being more creative, resourceful, and energetic in tackling those problems if you love what you're doing. We had a pretty rocky start but now the shop continues to grow monthly in revenue, foot traffic, and social engagement. We are looking at expanding to other areas in the Philippines this year as well.
How do you balance the demands of being a successful player who is travelling to events while managing a store?
I have a deal with my wife when it comes to my hobbies - to make money from my hobbies so that it's self-liquidating or profitable. That's why I end up always building a business around any hobby that I get myself into so that they're sustainable.
Being a competitive player that travels regularly is not the most profitable idea, especially if you live in Asia and a lot of the Calling-level events happen in the United States or Europe. That said, you need to make your money elsewhere.
For me it's a lot of buying and selling, and most importantly, networking! The people you meet in Flesh and Blood are not just faceless competitors. They are people from different parts of the world that can potentially be new business partners. We're currently pursuing some business interests in Southeast Asia together with some of the people I've met at Battle Hardened or Calling events. Hopefully we get to tell that story in the years to come!
As for the competitive side, I owe a lot of my improvement to my team, Team Unbox. We play often and this lets me sharpen my skills regularly. Having Justin Cu on the team is also a huge plus. Just having conversations with him regarding the meta, deck building, or how to approach matches is always a big advantage.
Lastly for the shop, we've built a great team guided by strict processes handling day-to-day operations so I don't have to be involved 24/7.
What purpose does In-Store organised play serve in the overall success of your store?
It's the lifeblood of Unbox. We invested in it because I believe in the saying "if you build it, they will come."
We have some of the biggest Armory and ODE events locally and this directly translates to better revenue across all product categories: cafe sales, product sales, and entry fee sales. This also allows us to mount bigger organised play events that helps the shop even more for branding, foot traffic, and direct revenue.
How do you foster a welcoming and inclusive environment for both new players and seasoned veterans?
Our most successful program to-date is our Unbox FAB League program where players earn points every time they play at an Unbox FAB event. At the end of a 3-month season, we give prizes to the Top 16 and we raffle away prizes for people who hit certain points milestones. This approach rewards veterans and new players alike and encourages regular participation across all our events.
The League program has allowed us to do 1-2 additional weekly FAB events on top of the weekly Armory. This includes our Friday Night FAB and Chill where we have a casual 3 round tournament together with great food and drinks. For a time we even did weekly Commoner and Living Legend events!
What has been the most rewarding thing about being both a competitive TCG player and a store owner?
It's meeting people all over the world and building communities. Some people get their high from winning tournaments, I personally get it from creating and building products, brands, and communities. I am incredibly proud of the work we've done here in Manila and to see it come to life when we have record-breaking events such as our 128-person Road to Nationals. That, for me, is personally more fulfilling than winning tournaments (but hey that's awesome too, haha).
This year I want to go beyond that and see what I can do from a regional level in terms of business and Flesh and Blood. If there's one thing Flesh and Blood has given me, it's lit a fire again in me to dream bigger and fight for those dreams. Let's see where it goes!
What advice do you have for other LGS owners around building (and maintaining) a Flesh and Blood community?
We're not in the business of selling booster packs, we're in the business of selling enjoyable competitive TCG experiences!
This includes the tournaments and other social activities that go along with it! The focus is to go beyond selling boxes and being creative in coming up with programs that increase engagement of your customers with your store. The higher the engagement, the more opportunities to sell and upsell (or buy to stock singles). Obviously you have to balance the numbers behind that but if your north star is to provide the best experience you can for your customers and community, revenue and business usually follows.
THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX. Be creative. Experiment. Don't be afraid to fail. Double down on what works.
Any shoutouts or local superstars to watch out for?
Locally there are a lot of great players that have gotten international attention, the most notable one obviously being our reigning National Champion, Justin Cu. There are a lot of other amazing players here and it's only a matter of time before they take to the big stage in higher tier events.
I just want to give a big shout out and thank you to the entire PH Flesh and Blood community. You guys are awesome and I will continue to support growing Flesh and Blood here and even beyond our shores, hopefully, in the years to come. ❤️
