United States National Championship Live Blog

US National Championship Top 8

Congratulations to Evan Herndon for winning the United States National Championship with Zen, Tamer of Purpose!

After a heartbreaking loss in the finals of last year’s National Championship, Herndon returned stronger and determined to improve upon that finish. Armed with what can only be described as the best build of Zen in the tournament, Herndon was perfect in Classic Constructed. He made the Top 8 going 8-0 in the Classic Constructed rounds of the Swiss and capped the event with a quick 3-0 in the elimination rounds.

Herndon’s path to the championship started with a blistering win over Nathan Lapham on Enigma, Ledger of Ancestry. He leveraged his copies of Zephyr Needles to pull ahead in the Zen mirror against Michael Dalton in the semifinals, setting up the finals against Andrew Rothermel on Kayo, Armed and Dangerous.

The action-packed finals featured huge swings, like when Rothermel’s Scowling Flesh Bag intimidated a key Bonds of Ancestry to mitigate a massive attack from Herndon. Herndon remained focused and pieced together a follow-up barrage of attacks on his next turn, which decided the game when the combat chain continued to grow as Rothermel’s hand dwindled. Despite getting Herndon down to three life, Rothermel could only extend his fist to congratulate Herndon as the sixth and final attack of the turn ended the tournament.

Herndon won $10,000, the National Champion trophy, a gold foil legendary black envelope, and an invite to the 2024 World Championship! Thanks to the judges, tournament staff, broadcast team, and all the players who attended an amazing event.

Here is your United States Flesh and Blood National Championship Top 8.

Calling: Minneapolis Top 8

William Pistel was the second big winner on the weekend, taking down the Classic Constructed Calling in Minneapolis with Azalea, Ace in the Hole!

Pistel was confident in his deck coming into the tournament, but said he never expected the weekend to end like this. And despite not having any top finishes, Pistel was able to etch his name in history by becoming a Calling champion.

The Top 8 featured six different heroes, with a triple serving of Kano, Dracai of Aether. Pistel’s journey through the bracket started with a win over Oliver Phi on Enigma, Ledger of Ancestry. He then defeated Julian Sniffen, who won the Kano mirror in the quarters, to advance to the finals where Nghia Tran awaited on Zen, Tamer of Purpose.

Pistel emerged victorious in the back-and-forth finals, where both players admitted to making blunders down the stretch. Pistel’s win with Azalea denied Zen from taking both trophies on the weekend, proving that the classic heroes still have something to show these new Mystic whippersnappers.

Pistel collected $7,500, a gold foil extended art Balance of Justice, a PTI, and a huge win to begin his Flesh and Blood major finish résumé .

The Top 8 players and heroes were:

• 8th Oliver Phi – Enigma, Ledger of Ancestry
• 7th Jacob Pacheco – Dash, Inventor Extraordinaire
• 6th Zachary Miller – Kano, Dracai of Aether
• 5th Nicholas Mihalas – Kano, Dracai of Aether
• 4th Michael Lau – Prism, Awakener of Sol
• 3rd – Julian Sniffen – Kano, Dracai of Aether
• 2nd – Nghia Tran – Zen, Tamer of Purpose
• 1st – William Pistel – Azalea, Ace in the Hole

Here is your Calling: Minneapolis Top 8.

Battle Hardened Top 8

Congratulations to Bryce Morgan for winning the Battle Hardened with Kano, Dracai of Aether!

Morgan piloted the original Wizard hero to a victory through a Top 8 stacked with five copies of Zen, Tamer of Purpose. In fact, Morgan took down three notable players all on the new Mystic Ninja to take first place. He notched wins over Pat Eshghy, Jacob Baugh, and Charles Dunn to walk away the Battle Hardened champion.

The other two heroes in the Top 8 were lone copies of Enigma, Ledger of Ancestry and Prism, Awakener of Sol. The elimination rounds were void of three of the five most-played heroes in the field, those being Nuu, Alluring Desire, Azalea, Ace in the Hole, and Kayo, Armed and Dangerous. It was a tough beat for Nuu, who was in the Top 5 of most-played heroes in every Classic Constructed event this weekend, but was unable to convert any Top 8s.

Morgan earned $500, a gold foil legendary black envelope, an exclusive Battle Hardened playmat, and a PTI for lighting multiple Ninjas on fire.

The Top 8 and heroes were:

• 8th Michael Berg - Zen, Tamer of Purpose
• 7th Pat Eshghy - Zen, Tamer of Purpose
• 6th Tyler Brotton - Zen, Tamer of Purpose
• 5th Michael Feng – Enigma, Ledger of Ancestry
• 4th Andrew Cook – Prism, Awakener of Sol
• 3rd Jacob Baugh – Zen, Tamer of Purpose
• 2nd Charles Dunn - Zen, Tamer of Purpose
• 1st Bryce Morgan – Kano, Dracai of Aether

Battle Hardened: Minneapolis Meta Breakdown

305 players showed up for the final major Classic Constructed event of the weekend and Zen, Tamer of Purpose remained atop the heap of heroes to be the most played hero across all tournaments here in Minneapolis. But unlike the other events, Nuu, Alluring Desire clocked in as the No. 2 hero in the Battle Hardened.

Only Azelea, Ace in the Hole prevented the top three heroes from all sharing the Mystic talent. Enigma, Ledger of Ancestry trailed Azalea by five players and Kayo, Armed and Dangerous tailed Enigma by the same amount to flesh out the Top 5 heroes.

The remaining heroes with double-digit representation in the Battle Hardened included Levia, Prism, Kano, Victor, and Riptide. A smattering of 14 other heroes filled out the remainder of the metagame and Vynnset, Iron Maiden led that group with seven pilots.

Will a Nuu be able to break through for a Top 8 after coming up just short in the National Championship and Calling this weekend?

Welcome to Rathe Alpha Draft

Opening Alpha packs of Welcome to Rathe is possibly the biggest rush you can get in Flesh and Blood and a handful of lucky players got to participate in a Booster Draft of the set that launched the game we all love. By winning side events or drawings over the weekend, eight players got to gather on Sunday to relive the first set of Flesh and Blood.

Along with the excitement and anticipation of cracking the packs, all the players were psyched to get to draft and play Welcome to Rathe. In the first round of the draft players found rainbow foil versions of red (pink) Scar for a Scar and Pummel. The second pack contained a cold foil Snapdragon Scalers, which Aaron Brunache was pleased to add to his collection.

But the showstopper (move over Bravo) of the draft was when Leah Fox opened a cold foil Fyendal’s Spring Tunic in her third pack. The screams of excitement from Fox and all of the spectators overwhelmed the room as fans rushed to see what treasure was found.

Of course, the players still had to finish the draft and battle three rounds of Limited action. Riley Thomas cut through the bracket with Dorinthea, defeating Brunache on Rhinar in the finals. In addition to the collectible Alpha cards, both finalists came away with prize wall tickets as well.

Calling: Minneapolis Day 2 Meta Breakdown

The 531 players from Day 1 of the Calling: Minneapolis have been culled down to 75 for Day 2. Another five rounds of Swiss will determine the Top 8 and which players and heroes will get a shot at Calling glory.

Zen, Tamer of Purpose was the headliner again, continuing his winning ways shown in both the Calling and the National Championship. 15 of the 80 Zen, Tamer of Purpose players made Day 2, making up 20 percent of the field. Enigma, Ledger of Ancestry and Kayo, Armed and Dangerous tied for second and third with nine copies each. The Top 6 was rounded out by Kano, Dracai of Aether at eight pilots and Nuu, Alluring Desire and Prism, Awakener of Sol with seven each.

Azalea, Ace in the Hole and Dash, Inventor Extraordinaire both took five percent of the Day 2 meta with four copies, followed by Dorinthea Ironsong and Riptide, Lurker of the Deep at three each. Surprisingly, only one of the 32 Victor Goldmane, High and Mighty players from Day 1 advanced to Day 2 and no players on Levia, Shadowborn Abomination made the cut. Two of the five players on Uzuri, Switchblade, however, did manage to convert to Day 2.

Nine heroes from Day 1 didn’t make the cut, leaving Day 2 absent of Levia, Katsu, Vynnset, Dash I/O, Fai, Kassai, Rhinar, Teklovossen, and Bravo.

Cosplay Contest

The world of Rathe was on full display in the cosplay contest at the United States National Championship. From the old-school heroes in Welcome to Rathe to promo heroes like Taylor and Blaze, 15 artists put their dazzling works on display to win the crowd’s favor and impress the three judges.

Once all contestants spoke with the judges for technical aspects of their creations, they strutted their stuff for the audience while the story of their cosplay was narrated to the tournament hall. When the performances were over, the Top 8 was announced.

• 8th Dex Rhinarceros Phan as Barraging Beatdown
• 7th Scott Chmura as Victor
• 6th Jay Wells as Chief Ruk’utan
• 5th Zoe Starr as Panel Beater
• 4th Collenn Dejno as Taylor
• 3rd Nicholas Kreitzburg as Stir the Pot
• 2nd Carolina Alvarado as Blaze
• 1st Rachel Stoddard as Teklovossen, the Mechropotent

All contestants walked away with a Needle and Fabric of Blossoms promo cards. Fifth through eighth-place finishers snagged a Needle playmat. Second through fourth place earned Venomback Fabric promo cards and playmats, while the winner took home the Taylor promo card and a Venomback Fabric playmat.

When all was said and done, Rachel Stoddard (Max Ferocity) won first place and the coveted Taylor hero card. Her creation of the Teklovossen, the Mechropotent took more than 400 hours of work and was built primarily of foam and 3D designed components. There are more than three meters of LEDs included in the full suit. Stoddard was inspired by Teklovossen’s message, “What if we could imagine a future where curiosity outshines conformity?”

Congratulations to Stoddard and all 15 of the contestants!

Calling: Minneapolis: Meta Breakdown

Classic Constructed was on display once again this weekend as 531 players participated in the Calling: Minneapolis. Top players and newcomers alike parted the mists to face off in the Arena with all players collecting a rainbow foil Nuu, Alluring Desire.

Following suit, the Calling Classic Constructed meta looked much like the US National Championship breakdown. The five most-played heroes were the same, with Zen, Tamer of Purpose lead pacing the field. This time, however, Nuu took the second spot and was followed by Azalea, Ace in the Hole, Enigma, Ledger of Ancestry, and Kayo, Armed and Dangerous.

Victor Goldmane, High and Mighty leaped up to the No. 6 spot along with Kano, Dracai of Aether at 32 copies each. Prism, Awakener of Sol was up next with only one pilot below those two. Levia, Shadowborn Abomination, utilizing Shadowrealm Horror from the expansion slot of Part the Mistveil, and Riptide, Lurker of the Deep, powering up with Murky Water (also from the expansion slot), rounded out the Top 10.

Beloved heroes like Dorinthea Ironsong, Dash, Inventor Extraordinaire, Viserai, Rune Blood, and Teklovossen, Esteemed Magnate all made their presence known as well. And after a no-show at the National Championship, Bravo, Showstopper was sleeved up by two players. The only singleton in the field was the lone Arakni, Huntsman.

Gold Foil Commoner Event

Dakota Kunert won the Gold Foil Commoner tournament on Saturday with Ira, Crimson Haze.

34 players turned out for the shot at a much-desired gold foil prize card, many of them trying out the new heroes from Part the Mistveil. While there were many copies of Ira in the field, the original Flesh and Blood hero took up five of the Top 8 slots, players were eager to play fan-favorites and new heroes.

One of those players busting out the fresh tech was Jesse Hurt, who surprised the field with an Enigma deck powered by Iris of Reality. Hurt managed multi-turn strings of attacks with an 8-power Spectral Shield, sometimes with zero-card hands thanks to Blossom of Spring. Hurt defeated two other Iras in the Top 8 before falling to Kunert, who had a much more aggressive build of Ira, ditching defensive cards for more attacks and ways to grant go again.

Kunert’s side of the bracket also contained the lone Iyslander and Oldhim, but his high-tempo construction of Ira could get ahead and never look back. Kunert’s final turns against Hurt went four-to-five attacks wide, depleting Hurt’s resources and keeping any Spectral Shields off the Arena.

Kunert noted that he makes sure he plays Commoner at every big event he goes to and he loves the tempo and value-oriented nature of the format. Congrats to Kunert and all the Commoner players on the weekend for playing some awesome games!

US National Championship Day 2 Classic Constructed Meta Breakdown

The Day 2 field has been whittled down to 184 players (after Saturday morning drops) and Kayo, Armed and Dangerous has caught up with Zen, Tamer of Purpose at the top of the Classic Constructed meta. Both heroes have 27 copies each, taking up about a combined 30 percent of the field.

Next up are Azalea, Ace in the Hole and Nuu, Alluring Desire at 24 pilots each. Similar to Day 1, Enigma, Ledger of Ancestry rounds out the Top 5 heroes on Day 2 with 19 copies. All three Mystic heroes from Part the Mistveil maintained Top 5 spots after the Day 1 cut, proving they have the chops to keep up with all the heroes from the world of Rathe.

The number of Prism, Awakener of Sol players was halved from 25 down to 12 while Kano, Dracai of Aether dropped down from 26 to 8. They still stayed the next two heroes in popularity despite the cut being rather rough for them. Levia, Shadowborn Abomination and Victor Goldmane, High and Mighty followed at No. 8 and No. 9 with seven appearances on Day 2. The Top 10 most-played heroes is fleshed out with Dorinthea Ironsong.

Seven heroes made it through with a lone player, those being: Dash I/O, Fai, Rising Rebellion, Maxx ‘The Hype’ Nitro, Rhinar, Reckless Rampage, Uzuri, Switchblade, Viserai, Rune Blood, and Vynnset, Iron Maiden.

Which heroes will break through to the Top 8?

US National Championship Day 2 Draft Meta Breakdown

Just like yesterday, the Part the Mistveil Draft at the United States National Championship meta turned out incredibly balanced.

Zen, once again, barely leads the field with 64 drafters, but the Ninja only leads Nuu by three players and Enigma by four.

Players echoed the numbers, with most pointing toward Part the Mistveil being one of the most balanced Flesh and Blood Draft formats of all time. On top of the actual draft being skill-testing and rewarding, the gameplay is deep and unpolarized.

While players can lean toward favorite heroes, they benefit from not forcing one of the three thanks to the varying power cards across the classes.

US National Championship Day 1 Undefeated Players

After seven rounds of Swiss, three players remain unblemished at the United States Flesh and Blood National Championship. 2022 US National Champion Michael Hamilton joins Austin Somers and Aaron Grace (pictured below from left to right) as the 7-0 players.

All three players drafted Enigma on Day 1 and Hamilton and Grace also played the new Mystic Illusionist in Classic Constructed. Only Somers opted for a different hero, Prism, Awakener of Sol, in Classic Constructed.

With Enigma, Ledger of Ancestry being one of the five most-played heroes in Classic Constructed on Day 1, you can expect the Spectral Shield tokens will continue to fly on Day 2.

207 players return to duke it out on Saturday to determine who will make the Sunday Top 8 and get the chance to claim the title of US National Champion.

Extended-Art Flic Flak Promo Part the Mistveil Sealed+ Event

More than 430 players jumped at the chance to play some Part the Mistveil Sealed and be the first to get their hands on the extended-art Flic Flak promo card.

The intoxicating sound of hundreds of packs of Part the Mistveil getting cracked open flooded the convention center hall as players sorted their cards and hoped to discover marvels and cold foil legendary cards. Cheers rang out as lucky players spiked beautiful cards like the alternate-art double-faced transcend marvels.

Richard Jackson was just one of the players to open a marvel - his favorite art: Rising Sun, Setting Moon!

After solving the puzzle of building the perfect Sealed deck, players squared off for four rounds with prize wall tickets on the line. The Part the Mistveil Sealed+ event was one of many exciting side events that kept the packed tournament hall humming while Day 1 of the US National Championship played out.

Big winners got to haul in the goodies from the prize wall, while all players came away with great games in the flesh and blood, plus that extended-art Flic Flak promo card.

US National Championship Draft Meta Breakdown

425 players registered decks for the first Part the Mistveil Draft at the US National Championship following four rounds of Classic Constructed.

It’s tough to get a more balanced turnout than this hero breakdown with Zen coming out on top by two pilots over Enigma, who only had nine more than Nuu.

The format doesn’t appear to have a heavy favorite with players carefully navigating the draft to land the right amount of transcend cards and payoffs.

Which heroes will rule the day and will tomorrow’s Day 2 draft meta look the same?

US National Championship Classic Constructed Meta Breakdown

Players are ready to transcend as all three of the new heroes from Part the Mistveil cracked the Top 5 most-played heroes for the US National Championship. Zen, Tamer of Purpose leads the field with 69 players on the Mystic Ninja.

Azalea, Ace in the Hole and Kayo, Armed and Dangerous – two of the strongest heroes prior to the release of Part the Mistveil – aren’t going anywhere as they cut through the mist to take the No. 2 and No. 3 slots, respectively. Nuu, Alluring Desire and Enigma, Ledger of Ancestry clock in with 57 and 55 copies to round out the Top 5 heroes. The Mystic heroes make up 38 percent of the field.

The rest of the room is made up of a diverse cast of characters with Kano, Dracai of Aether, Prism, Awakener of Sol, and Levia, Shadowborn Abomination each hitting around five percent of the total heroes played. Riptide, Lurker of the Deep and Victor Goldmane, High and Mighty flesh out the Top 10 with 16 copies each.

15 additional heroes made it to the US National Championships stage from fan favorites to under-the-radar options. Even Arakni, Huntsman, Teklovossen, Esteemed Magnate, and Olympia, Prized Fighter have a lone champion in the field.

After four rounds of Classic Constructed play, 31 players went 4-0. The heroes that went perfect so far are:

• 7x Zen, Tamer of Purpose
• 5x Nuu, Alluring Desire
• 4x Azalea, Ace in the Hole
• 3x Kayo, Armed and Dangerous
• 3x Enigma, Ledger of Ancestry
• 2x Riptide, Lurker of the Deep
• 2x Prism, Awakener of Sol
• 2x Kano, Dracai of Aether
• 1x Dash I/O
• 1x Maxx 'The Hype' Nitro
• 1 Ser Boltyn, Breaker of Dawn

Now we wait to see which heroes can convert to Day 2!

Welcome to the United States National Championship Live Blog!

474 of the strongest players in the United States have flocked to Minneapolis, Minnesota to battle it out in the first of more than 40 Flesh and Blood National Championships. The players have gathered their Inner Chi and are ready to unleash all their secrets in Classic Constructed and Part the Mistveil Draft over three days of great games.

Day 1 will consist of four rounds of Classic Constructed and three rounds of Draft with players needing four or more match wins to advance to the second day of competition. Those that make the cut will do it again on Saturday where the Top 8 players get to move on to Sunday’s single-elimination bracket to determine the next US Flesh and Blood National Champion.

On top of the National Championship, the weekend is packed full of excitement with a Classic Constructed Calling, Classic Constructed Battle Hardened, Pro Quest+, Gold Foil Commoner tournament, special promo card side events, a cosplay contest, and more.

Minneapolis is the epicenter of Flesh and Blood action this weekend, so stay tuned to the Live Blog for updates and watch all the action from the US National Championship on the Flesh and Blood YouTube channel with commentary from Bryan Gottlieb, Craig Krempels, Pankaj Bhojwani, and Erik Lonnquist.

Make sure to tune into the Live Stream for a very special announcement...