We are thrilled to announce a new form of Organized Play prizing: GEM Packs, which will replace Armory Kits from February 2025 and provide a better way to support your in-store Flesh and Blood community.
This exciting change will create simplicity and flexibility for stores, and improve the prizing experience for players, expanding the appeal of Flesh and Blood in-store play.
Fast facts:
- GEM Packs prioritize rewarding in-store participation over performance. Everyone who plays has the same chance to open the chase cards, better incentivizing casual players to join in-store programs.
- GEM Packs contain chase cards, including Marvels and extended art cards, making every pack exciting to open!
- Prize support for stores scales with the size of communities. Stores with large communities and engagement metrics (and those which grow over time) can get additional GEM Packs.
- Each standalone booster set season will have a GEM Pack crafted around the theme of that season. The Hunted Season that runs Feb-May contains cards related to the themes featured in The Hunted.
- The first wave of GEM Packs will be available in stores from February 1, 2025
Configuration - GEM Pack 1
- 3 cards per pack
- 1 regular print
- 1 premium foil (Rainbow Foil, Cold Foil or Marvel)
- 1 art card
- 50 packs per carton
- 32 card set (1 Marvel, 8 Cold Foils, 22 Rainbow Foils, 23 non-foil cards)
Stated frequencies are an approximate average across the entire production of a product, and are not guaranteed to exist in any given pack, display, or case of product. Due to variations that may occur in the manufacturing process, final distributions of cards may differ from those stated above.
How will stores receive GEM Packs?
Typically each GEM Pack season will run from the release weekend of a new standalone booster set until the pre-release period of the next standalone booster set - approximately 4 months.
GEM Packs will be supplied to stores twice during a season by their preferred distributor, with each wave providing support for ~2 months of events. Allocations will be based on a snapshot of the following key metrics:
- Number of Armory Events hosted (maximum 1 per week)
- Average player numbers at Armory Events
- Unique player numbers
- Total number of events (of all types) hosted
The minimum allocation for eligible GEM stores is 1 carton (50 packs) per shipment, the equivalent of ~ 25 packs per month. Stores with larger communities and organized play metrics may receive a higher allocation.
As a store’s metrics increase or decrease, their allocation may change from wave to wave. To help with planning your events and prizing, our team will provide each store with their allocation numbers by email before each wave.
We understand that many stores would like to know the specific thresholds for allocations, however these may vary between each wave and GEM Pack season. Our goal is to provide GEM Pack support to stores equivalent to 1 pack per player per Armory Event.
How do I use GEM Packs?
GEM Packs must be used to support in-store play. Armory Events should be prioritized for the use of GEM packs, however as part of this change we are offering greater flexibility to stores. Surplus GEM Packs may be used to support a range of events and player engagement, including:
- On Demand events
- Learn to Play events
- As rewards to community members teaching others how to play Flesh and Blood, whether they are facilitating an event or helping out spontaneously.
We are giving you the flexibility to use GEM Packs however they best fit the culture and needs of your in-store community. They can be used as performance based prizing, participation rewards, or random prize draws. You may not sell them, use them as a sales incentive, or use them to promote anything other than Flesh and Blood.
In the majority of cases, a store’s GEM Pack allocation will be sufficient to provide each player a participation pack for attending your Armory Event each week.
How many GEM Packs you give out each week is also up to each store. You may wish to spread them evenly across events each month, put together a monthly league which rewards frequent participation, or something else entirely. It’s up to you to use them in a way that best meets the culture and needs of your in-store community.
The most important thing is to clearly communicate how your store awards GEM Packs so your players know what to expect. We suggest including a description in the event details when you schedule your events in GEM tournament software.
What about my posters?
A full suite of digital marketing assets to advertise your Armory Events can be found below.
Starting with The Hunted season, posters and banners will be available for you to download and print from the digital asset center above.
We are also working on new in-store marketing materials to be introduced/distributed later in 2025.
New store eligibility
For new stores signing up to GEM or existing stores looking to restart Flesh and Blood organized play, our LGS Account Management Team will work with you and your distributor to provide organized play support to get your community started. This may include a period of interim support such as Learn to Play materials and Onboarding Armory Kits, to bridge the gap until the next GEM Pack shipping cycle. In order to become eligible for GEM Pack prizing support, you must begin hosting Armory events in-store.