Last weekend saw the world premiere of Uprising, with players flocking to Las Vegas, Madrid and Sydney for some great games in the Flesh and Blood! Players got to sit down with packs of Uprising in our sealed deck World Premiere tournaments, constructing the first Fai, Dromai and Iyslander decks in the world. Our first Draconic heroes were joined by the return of the wizard Iyslander, creating a fun and memorable weekend for players as they fought fire with Frostbite.
After the World Premiere had wrapped up, the weekend still had much more in store for attendees, with the first three Team Blitz Calling events, Battle Hardened tournaments, and plenty of side events to sink their teeth into. We did receive some questions about the Team Blitz Calling events, and want to confirm that the winning heroes of these events will not count towards Living Legends data, and will not be included in today's update.
If you couldn't make it out to one of the World Premiere locations, there are still plenty of opportunities to get in on the action - almost 1000! Check out the event locators below to find your nearest pre-release event, and crack some packs ahead of Uprising's official release on June 24th!
World Premiere: Las Vegas
The premiere of Uprising kicked off in Vegas with over 650 players waiting to get their hands on some booster packs and invoke the dragons of Volcor. Competitive players, local stars and cosplayers alike hunkered down to build their decks, amidst the occasional yell from someone who pulled one of the brand new Marvels. Steve Argyle was also present in the hall, bringing some of the prints from his new artwork for the set, including the incredible Dominia and Kyloria, and the brand new Fabled card Blood of the Dracai.
Team Blitz Calling: Las Vegas
Almost 500 players joined the field the following morning for the Team Blitz event, with Oldhim, Rhinar, Kassai, and Kano among the most popular heroes; though Data Doll and Genis also made a rare appearance!
The top four teams who emerged included players like the triple-threat Champion team of Yuanji Li (Calling: Krakow), Michael Feng (Calling: Cincinnati), and Yongji Yang (Battle Hardened: Indianapolis).
Emmanuel Onate won a ProQuest event with his Prism deck, earning his invite to Pro Tour: Lille, Adam Leighton has competed at three Calling events and the US National Championship, and Spencer Freeman finished out Day 1 at US Nationals with a 7-1 record.
Alexander Vore made the Top 8 at the Pro Tour: New Jersey with his Kano deck, his brother Matthew Vore made the quarterfinals at the Battle Hardened: New Jersey with his Oldhim deck, and Jonah Overholt competed at both the Calling: Las Vegas and Orlando in 2021.
Nam Vo was our Calling: Dallas Fort-Worth Champion in 2021, Alex Sneed made Top 4 at Battle Hardened: Indianapolis, and Edward Knight has previously competed in multiple seasons of Skirmish with his Bravo deck.
Two Oldhim/Kano teams made it through to the finals, with the Guardian/Wizard/Brute combo of two Vore's and an Overholt facing off against Li, Feng and Yang's Guardian/Wizard/Illusionist. Matthew, Alexander and Jonah took out one of the first-ever Team Blitz Callings with a pair of brothers, claiming victory in Las Vegas!
Top 4 Teams:
1st: Matthew Vore - Oldhim / Alexander Vore - Kano / Jonah Overholt - Rhinar
2nd: Yuanji Li - Kano / Michael Feng - Prism / Yongji Yang - Oldhim
3rd-4th: Adam Leighton - Chane / Emmanuel Onate - Prism / Spencer Freeman - Oldhim
3rd-4th: Edward Knight - Bravo / Alex Sneed - Briar / Nam Vo - Oldhim
Calling: Las Vegas
Battle Hardened: Las Vegas
Sunday's Battle Hardened event saw 87 players gather for their shot at one of two PTI's, and the random drop Gold Cold Foil Legendary card. In the Top 8, we saw Matthew Boudreaux return for his second-ever competitive event, having previously competed at the Battle Hardened: New Jersey; Shin Inoue made the Day 2 cut at the US National Championship; Alan Chavarin made his debut on the competitive scene for the first time since joining with a Tales of Aria pre-release event in 2021; Carlos Samaniego attended the World Premiere of Tales of Aria and Calling event in Las Vegas in 2021, and went on to compete at both the US National Championship and Calling event in Orlando. Tsubasa Ueda travelled from Canada to compete in their first high-level competitive event since the Canadian National Championship in 2021.
Andrew Rudin previously competed in the Callings Dallas Fort-Worth and Las Vegas in 2021, Chris Brummett won two ProQuest events in Season 2 after making the Top 32 at the Calling: Cincinnati, and Chris Ray was a quarter-finalist at the Calling: Cincinnati and Battle Hardened: Pittsburgh, who was one of three players to finish Day 1 undefeated at the Pro Tour: New Jersey.
Top 8:
1st: Chris Ray - Bravo, Star of the Show
2nd: Andrew Rudin - Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light
3rd-4th: Chris Brummett - Bravo, Star of the Show
3rd-4th: Shin Inoue - Dorinthea Ironsong
5th-8th: Matthew Boudreaux - Lexi, Livewire
5th-8th: Alan Chavarin - Ser Boltyn, Breaker of Dawn
5th-8th: Carlos Samaniego - Kano, Dracai of Aether
5th-8th: Tsubasa Ueda - Bravo, Star of the Show
Battle Hardened: Las Vegas
World Premiere: Madrid
In Madrid, we saw over 300 players gather to fan the flames ahead of Uprising's official release, hoping to marvel at the latest set and get some lucky pulls. There were players present from almost every country in Europe, showcasing their local communities by coming together in the Flesh and Blood.
Team Blitz Calling: Madrid
Almost 80 teams competed at the Calling: Madrid, and unlike the rest of the world, every single team in the Top 4 had a warrior present! Kassai, Cintari Sellsword went hand-in-hand with the slower control gameplay of Oldhim, rounding out matches alongside Kano and Rhinar. A Briar and a Lexi also made it into the Top 4 teams, showcasing the last major booster release in Flesh and Blood.
The Top 4 teams in Madrid included a star trio of Sunflower Samurais: Daniel Correas made the Top 4 at the Calling: New Jersey, Sergio Sanz won the Battle Hardened event in Madrid earlier this year, and Pablo Pintor became the first-ever Pro Tour Champion in New Jersey in May.
Bartosz Dominiak competed at the Polish National Championship but didn't make the top cut, Dawid Dominiak made Top 8 with Briar, and Daniyar Saduakassov made the semi-finals with Bravo, Showstopper.
Francesco Giorgio won the Battle Hardened: Leeds event with Oldhim, where teammate David Calf made also Top 8 with Bravo, and Sean Knowelden made Top 8 at the UK National Championship with Katsu, the Wanderer.
Finally, we have James Brookes, who was one of a handful of players to win a ProQuest event with Dorinthea in Season 2, and Liam Holden and George Jones, who both made a strong showing at Battle Hardened: Leeds but fell just shy of the Top 8 cut.
The trio of teammates from Sunflower Samurai brought flower power to the field and proved once again that Spanish players can hold their own, claiming victory and securing some incredible prizes.
Top 4 Teams:
1st: Pablo Pintor - Kano | Sergio Sanz - Kassai, Cintari Sellsword | Daniel Correas - Oldhim
2nd: Dawid Dominiak - Rhinar | Bartosz Dominiak - Dorinthea | Daniyar Saduakassov - Oldhim
3rd-4th: Sean Knowelden - Kassai, Cintari Sellsword | David Calf - Rhinar | Francesco Giorgio - Oldhim
3rd-4th: James Brookes - Kassai, Cintari Sellsword | Liam Holden - Briar | George Jones - Lexi
Battle Hardened: Madrid
81 players competed at the Battle Hardened: Madrid, with the Top 8 fittingly featuring a Ninja, an Illusionist, and a Wizard ahead of Uprising. The Top 8 players included three Top 8 finalists from the Spanish National Championship: finalist Francesc Bosch, semi-finalist Alvaro Francisco Toledano Benito, and quarter-finalist Sergio Ruiz "Clenyu", along with Bruno Patrão, who made Top 8 at the Portugal National Championship.
Ilias Karamanis from Germany previously competed at the Calling: Krakow, Joris Verhelst competed at Belgian Nationals in 2021, and this Battle Hardened event marks Spanish player Gustavo Caperan's competitive debut! Finally, Natalia Berger exploded onto the competitive scene with this event, after only competing at five previous events, including three ProQuests!
Top 8:
1st: Alvaro Francisco Toledano Benito - Chane, Bound By Shadow
2nd: Ilias Karamanis - Bravo, Star of the Show
3rd-4th: Joris Verhelst - Kano, Dracai of Aether
3rd-4th: Bruno Patrão - Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light
5th-8th: Sergio Ruiz "Clenyu" - Katsu, the Wanderer
5th-8th: Natalia Berger - Bravo, Star of the Show
5th-8th: Gustavo Caperan - Bravo, Star of the Show
5th-8th: Francesc Bosch - Chane, Bound by Shadow
World Premiere: Sydney
Almost 300 players gathered in Sydney for the World Premiere of Uprising in Sydney, technically the first in the world thanks to their time zone! Among the field were some of the LSS team, who travelled across the ditch from New Zealand to join the community for this event. Five players won booster boxes of Uprising at the event, including Australian National Champion Hayden Dale, Thomas Bailey Galbraith, Wesley Lingard, Zachary Gardiner, and Aiden Harrison.
Team Blitz Calling: Sydney
At the Team Blitz Calling the following day, 92 teams comprised of 275 players gathered to compete, including one solitary team of 2. The most played hero at the event was Oldhim, followed by Rhinar; fellow Brute Kayo's only three appearances at the event were in the three all-Brute teams alongside Levia and Rhinar. In the Top 24 teams, there were twenty different hero combinations, but the most common was Kano, Oldhim and Rhinar.
CJ Quitazol has been regularly competing in Skirmish events since the first season at the start of 2021, Jason Lai previously competed at the Calling: Auckland last year, and Jacob Pearson won the Calling: Auckland in February 2021 before becoming a member of the dev team at LSS.
Fefllow LSS staff member Newsun Zeng was joined by Cayle McCreath, Guardian stan and first player in the world to reach 1,000 XP, and Justin Wong is fourth on the Constructed ELO leaderboard for New Zealand.
Australian National Champion Hayden Dale was joined by Dr. Daniel McKay, who came second at the classic ProQuest event in Auckland in 2021, and Nick Butcher, a member of team Dragon Shield.
Finally, Joe Zheng entered the Team Blitz Calling event with no prior experience at a tournament outside of the World Premiere the previous night, and Dom Ze had been playing Flesh and Blood for two weeks. They were joined by Jason Chung, one of the first two developers at Legend Story Studios.
Top 4 Teams:
1st: CJ Quitazol - Briar | Jason Lai - Prism | Jacob Pearson - Oldhim
2nd: Justin Wong - Oldhim | Newsun Zeng - Ira, Crimson Haze | Cayle McCreath - Bravo
3rd-4th: Dr Daniel McKay - Kano | Hayden Dale - Rhinar | Nick Butcher - Oldhim
3rd-4th: Joe Zheng - Oldhim | Jason Chung - Kano | Dom Ze - Chane
Battle Hardened: Sydney
60 players gathered in the hall on Sunday for Australia's first Battle Hardened event, with the Top 8 featuring both established competitive players and those newer to high-level competitive play. Two players in the Top 8 travelled to New Jersey for the Pro Tour weekend; Zachary Cauchi competed at the Pro Tour and Battle Hardened events, while Ryan Lewis-Jonns competed in all three major tournaments over the weekend. Tye Soens played one event in July 2021 before rejoining FAB events in February, and this marks his first competitive event.
This tournament is the first high-level competitive event Alex McDonald has played in since he started playing at the beginning of 2021, aside from the Team Blitz Calling the day prior.
Competitors from the Australian National Championship include Connor Archer, currently 8th on the XP leaderboard for Australia after joining FAB in February 2021 and Jake Dwyer, who competed across a Road to Nationals season to qualify and has competed in several Skirmish and ProQuest events since.
Finally Thomas Bailey Galbraith, who made the Top 8 at the New Zealand National Championship with his Prism deck, here switches to Bravo, Star of the Show to take to the stage and claim victory at Battle Hardened: Sydney!
Top 8:
1st: Thomas Bailey Galbraith - Bravo, Star of the Show
2nd: Anonymous - Chane, Bound by Shadow
3rd-4th: Tye Soens - Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light
3rd-4th: Zachary Cauchi - Lexi, Livewire
5th-8th: Jake Dwyer - Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light
5th-8th: Ryan Lewis-Jonns - Bravo, Star of the Show
5th-8th: Alex McDonald - Bravo, Star of the Show
5th-8th: Connor Archer - Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light
World Premiere Cosplayers
Around the world, cosplayers slaved over sewing machines, foam and hot glue guns to attend Uprising World Premiere events, with some truly incredible renditions of cards and heroes from the world of Flesh and Blood. Thank you to all of the cosplayers who showed up at events around the world, not only bringing the characters of Rathe to life, but embodying the spirit of the community.
In Las Vegas, Fai, Dromai and Iyslander all showed up to celebrate the release of Uprising, but Genis took a page out of Bravo's playbook to steal the show, with cosplayer Alex Morreale winning a Taylor promo card for his incredibly detailed creation.
In Madrid, Fyendal's Spring Tunic became Fyendan's Spring tunic with Dan Vandenburg, who previously brought his creation to Battle Hardened: Leeds earlier this year!
In Sydney, the judges were wowed by some of Flesh and Blood's most prominent heroes. With a Fai, a Katsu, and a Lord of Wind, the Ninja class was well and truly represented! Prism invoked the blessings of the Light, while a Lexi cosplayer showcased her creativity with a detailed rendition of the Elemental Ranger. Kassai cosplayer Sahar Amin came in the spirit of Uprising as the Warrior hero of Volcor, winning the Taylor prize card at this event.
Winners:
Las Vegas - Alex Morreale as Genis Wotchuneed
Madrid - Dan Vandenburg as Fyendan's Spring Tunic
Sydney - Sahar Amin as Kassai, Cintari Sellsword