For those who missed James White’s extra spicy Keynote presentation tonight, here’s all you need to know.

Organised Play

First up, a quick overview of next year’s seasonal play calendar. The second Pro Quest season of 2025 (following Pro Tour: APAC) will take place in October, granting players the chance to qualify for the first Pro Tour of 2026. And good news for players who love Skirmish, in 2025 the casual-play focused program is bumping up from two per year to THREE, with Skirmish Season 13 taking place in November.

Blitz

After Zen embarked on an unprecedented speedrun to Living Legend status in Blitz last Skirmish, it was clear some housekeeping was in order. The September 4 Banned and Restricted Announcement cleaned up a wide range of offensive cards, but James, Bryan, and the dev team have been cooking day and night to elevate Blitz format to the best level it can possibly be.

This includes a huge change to the Living Legend system specifically in Blitz, effective November 12, doubling the amount of points needed to attain Living Legend status (from 500 to 1000), and doubling every hero’s current point total, except for Zen, who will keep his current total of 505. That’s right, the Mystic Ninja has been given a second chance.

However, this time Zen won’t have access to the tools that made him so overpowered, and James promised there would be further changes in the upcoming November 12 Banned and Restricted Announcement that would ensure Zen’s rerun is fair and fun.

Moving forward, all seasonal play programs (including Classic Constructed) will distribute a fixed number of Living Legend points to ensure that heroes arrive, stay, and leave at a reasonable pace.

Pro Play 2025

Flesh and Blood has the world’s greatest TCG competitive play circuit. To better embody this, we are thrilled to announce… the World Tour!

The World Tour is more than just a rebrand, it’s about recognising commitment to and excellence in Flesh and Blood organised play. The new system will award players with “World Tour Points” based on their final standing at Battle Hardeneds, Callings, National Championships, Pro Tours, and the World Championship. At the end of each World Championship, whoever earned the most points will be crowned the annual “Player of the Year”. This is more than just a title, there’s a $100,000 prize pool up for grabs! Players can begin accruing World Tour Points starting from Battle Hardened: Hiroshima next weekend.

In 2025 we are committing once more to a $1,500,000 prize pool for the World Tour, which includes:

• 1 World Championship
• 2 Pro Tours
• 50 National Championships
• 22 Callings
• 60 Battle Hardeneds

Let’s go over some of the exciting locations for these events taking place between now and Pro Tour: London.

Battle Hardened:

• Hong Kong - January 3-5
• Atlanta - January 3-5
• Toronto - January 10-12
• Portland - February 7-9
• Charlotte - March 7-9

Calling:

• Prague - January 17-19
• Memphis - January 31 - February 2
• Christchurch - February 7-9
• Kobe - March 14-16
• São Paulo - March (Dates TBC)

Product Releases

Now it’s time for a snapshot of the 2025 product release schedule… including a redhot announcement of the next set, but we’ll get to that in a little bit. Set 16, scheduled for June, will introduce something never seen before in the world of Rathe, as well as an additional Armory Deck released alongside it to help new players join the battle.

Mastery Pack: Guardian, an all-Guardian support set, moves to August. Japanese fans of the class will be thrilled to learn that another Archive Pack will be released in December this year, bringing key Guardian, Elemental, Ice, and Earth reprints to their collections.

An oath of loyalty that extends beyond the grave, entangled in a web of deceit where chaos breeds. Are you the hunter... or the hunted?

The Hunted calls players to take up the mantle of two vengeful Dracai - high ranking officers in the loyalist army. With their Emperor slain, they ride out across the fiery plains of Volcor to bring the killers to justice.

If only it were that simple…

Every closed door harbors a menacing secret, skittering through the darkness, darting in and out of view, knives glinting in the dead of night. A web of danger lies in wait for the approaching Draconic forces.

Releasing January 31, 2025, The Hunted features heroes across Ninja, Warrior, and Assassin classes, exceptional Sealed Deck and Booster Draft play with lots and lots of stabbing, and a collection of breathtaking Marvels unlike anything you've ever seen!

That’s all we have for today, folks. Brace yourselves as the Countdown to Chaos begins…

This year, our heroes face a unique challenge - the Team Cup. This truly is the best of the best against the cream of the crop, competing first in Team Living Legend, then adding to their country’s scoreboard with each of their individual wins in the World Championship, before the final match on Sunday. $60,000 is on the line, as well as of course, the ultimate bragging rights.

The infamous trio are back at it again - Starvo, Prism, and Chane take up the limelight, powered by both Runeblade, Earth and Lightning, and Expansion Slot cards in Rosetta. Interestingly, despite only just flickering onto the scene, Aurora is a very popular hero as well. Zen and Briar are well-represented but not overbearing, while a few previously popular decks such as Iyslander have somewhat fallen off the map, struggling against the blossoming warmth of Summer's Fall.

Japan faces a bit of a hill to climb, as the player base is generally less familiar with the heroes from times past. But we’ve seen they are quick learners, and they are adapting at lightning speed. Many teams have opted to place aggressive heroes in the center for the highest chance of a quick blowout, in order for their captains to spend the extra time assisting their teammates. Xavier feels right at home on Chane, while Shoma and Haru have learned the ropes of Prism and Viserai.

Pro Tour Top 8-ers, the National Champion, enough top cut placements between them to throw hands with no fear. America has come to the table and you bet they’re packing the ham sandwiches. Brodie blowing out players left and right with Succumb to Temptation, offering Chane free action points and disruption while fulfilling his non-attack action requirements. Evan showing Zen may have taken a hit with the restriction of Bonds of Ancestry, but Stubby Hammerers providing absurd on-demand aggressive power keeps him in play. And if you thought the Everfest carnival was over, just wait until Starvo domes you with Felling of the Crown.

Now we come to what is arguably the scariest team in the room. Not only is this team comprised of Hong Kong’s best, it’s backed by the unstoppable force of Team Blue Pitch. Shing has opted to play Dash I/O for this event, quite a leap from the heroes he typically plays, but Cerebellum Processor (especially when you have two on the field) is just too good to pass up. Pudding has also cooked an absolutely terrifying Briar build, with Ball Lightning, Second Strike, Regrowth // Shock, and more juice from Rosetta. Kelvin is repping Prism, equipped with Calming Gesture to see him through the mirror match.

Many players have rocked up to the Team Cup on heroes you would honestly never expect to see them playing. Pablo Pintor… on Prism??? The Sunflower Samurais are here to cook, and it’s honestly such a delight to watch Max slide over 30 Runechants towards his opponent. Daniel’s already wrapped up his game with Chane, and offers his supporting advice to the team captain. ¡Vamos!

Arthur Trehet reprises that iron stare from his win at Pro Tour: Los Angeles, also repping Dash I/O. The rest of the French brigade are ready for action, with Prism on one side, and Berserk Rhinar on the other. At the end of Living Legend Swiss rounds, our leading team is Team Malaysia, followed closely by Team Croatia and Team Australia. But nothing is set in stone, the rest of the World Championship could tip the scales…

Through thorny thickets and volatile thunderstorms, our brave heroes have travelled from all corners of Rathe. Some have embarked on a quest for gold and glory, others to reunite with long-lost allies and battle foes both old and new. Some sweep the forest floor for fruits of the harvest, building a bountiful and beautiful collection. And even more approach like the curious Meep, wide-eyed and eager to learn what all the fuss is about. We have converged here at Intex Osaka for this special milestone event, within the overarching shelter. But will it shelter our heroes from the arcane storm that is gathering?

This year we brought Flesh and Blood to the motherland of the TCG industry. And it didn't take long for Japan to shred the global stage. This is the home turf of titans such as Shoma Yamamura, Xavier McLean, Haruka Sonoda, Hiroyuki Tansei, Yoshiki Mizutani, Tsuyoshi Kaji, Yuto Suzuki, Terukazu Goshima, and many more. Through this gate lies fierce competition, but also... fierce friendship. This is where bonds are formed that will last lifetimes. This is where we come together in the Flesh and Blood through the common language of great games.

Right now our National Champions and their comrades are battling for their country in the Team Cup. We will have more coverage on this later today, for now, the venue waits patiently. A restful silence hangs over Candlehold as it anticipates thunderous possibilities on the horizon. Chairs neatly lined up as far as the eye can see, tables waiting for memories to be made along their wooden surface.

Welcome to Osaka.