Chandler To is a player from the United States who recently won the Calling: San Jose with Rhinar, Reckless Rampage. Chandler also made the finals of Battle Hardened: Charlotte with his Iyslander deck, and has also represented Rhinar across ProQuest and Skirmish seasons. We caught up with him to ask some questions about his history in Flesh and Blood, and his goals for the year ahead.
"I’m Chandler To, 23 years old and located in the Kansas City area. I’ve loved card games since I was in kindergarten, playing digitally on my humble GameBoy and a wide variety of online TCGs. After high school, I played a couple games casually at local game stores and started playing FAB when Tales of Aria released in September 2021."
Why did you want to start playing Flesh and Blood?
"The ethos of playing in the flesh and blood captivated me, and an LGS had free commoner decks put together by the local community. I grabbed Katsu (the coolest looking hero!) and Rhinar (the easiest looking hero!) to try the game out and immediately fell in love with the game."
What made you want to become involved in your community?
"My friends and I had founded a TCG club in college to help others have a place to meet new people and try new games, so it felt very natural to get involved in growing a budding community. I had strong faith that almost everyone who tried FAB would love it, so it was just a matter of contacting LGSs and advertising their events."
What is your local community like?
"An incredibly welcoming collective that I'm proud to be a part of. Special shoutout to Justin, the best LGS employee who's created the largest Armory in KC, and Jon, giving entire decks to new players and encouraged me to travel to my first large event."
What is your favourite thing about playing in events?
"Whether it's Armories or Callings, enjoying the game with people is what keeps bringing me back. Making friends with all my local players, meeting new players from around the world, and seeing them at future events is an amazing experience."
What was your experience like, playing Rhinar at the Calling: San Jose?
"After a middling 5-3 finish in Day 1 of the World Championship, I ended up dropping to hopefully Day 2 at the Calling and play many rounds of CC against some of the best players in the world. Almost everyone (and myself included) doubted the decision, but my dice were able to take me all the way! Rolling a 6 on Scabskin Leathers in the finals with a small crowd watching was my favorite moment of the weekend."
What has been one of your favorite moments playing Flesh and Blood so far?
"After getting 2nd place in the Battle Hardened Charlotte at US Nats, I felt somewhat dejected leaving the convention center quite late at night. Expecting a lonely walk to the hotel, I was surprised to see my locals waiting to congratulate me and take me out to dinner. I'm eternally grateful to this game for allowing me to meet these great people."
What is your favorite thing about Flesh and Blood?
"This game feels the most personal to me. From the love and care that is very evident from the creators of the game, to building decks centred around a hero and resonating with their identity, I've become attached to the cards and the lore more than any other TCG."
What are you most looking forward to from Flesh and Blood in 2023?
"The game has already grown so much locally, but there's no reason it can't grow larger! With Outsiders on the horizon, I'm looking forward to more stores picking up this game and enjoying it with even more people."