Writing and Photos by Liam Bosecke
The Sydney Masonic Centre was buzzing with electricity: Radiating the room in a way which I had never seen before. Players travelled from all over Australia to get early access to Legend Story Studio’s latest edition to the Flesh and Blood TCG storyline: Uprising.
Many of the players shared in the excitement of their amazing pulls from the booster packs, with atleast two fabled cards being pulled on day one amongst the thousands of packs being ripped open during the premiere. The event in Sydney was sold out to over three-hundred players in attendance.
Two Players showing off there legedary pulls from the Uprising sealed event.
On the first day of the weekend, my own sealed aggressive Fai deck didn’t stack up too well against the all dominant Iyslander which was able to close out games with ease throughout the day. Some players felt that Iyslander was the easiest deck to ‘force’ in the same way in which Prism was with Monarch sealed. Despite that, I wanted to go wide and work with what I pulled since the majority of my pulls were draconic ninja. Fai’s red line aggression is what ninja has always wanted to be; extremely wide.
I never came up against any draconic illusionist opponents during the day, but according to the players, she delivers interesting gameplay and isn't all too different from Prism, but instead of auras and shields it's ash and dragons, something that excites many players to the core.
The Flesh and Blood Cosplayer's posing for photos.
By the end of day one, it was widely accepted that Fai had great damage output and can go very wide with all of the new 'Draconic' action and attack action cards that this set has to offer. Being able to utilize Phoenix Flame’s from your graveyard at instant speed adds a new level of depth for the previously two-dimensional class that was ninja. The class itself felt great to play, the drawback is that the chainlinks need to be 'Draconic' to be able to achieve go again.
The new generic equipment that gives 'Quell' is also something that took alot of players by suprise, especially myself. At first, I treated it like Arcane Barrier; only blocking for one damage. However, you can block as much damage as you can pitch until the end of the turn, which is quite significant.
Prism vs Briar in a practice match before The Calling.
Regardless of which hero you’re playing and what cards you pulled, Flesh and Blood rewards the skill and knowledge of the player. We saw five players by the end of the day who were able to reach six wins undefeated, an impressive feat to achieve considering the level of skill that the attendants displayed today. I personally only won two of my games, but it was great to meet so many friendly faces and find out more about the national community at large when speaking to other players.
Sealed Uprising booster packs.
Attendants were optimistic for what this new set would bring to the table in terms of competitive balance to an already established metagame, for both Classic Constructed and Blitz. With Prism being close to living legend status as it is and the all too dominant forces of both Chane and Starvo now in the rear view mirror. People will be wondering if the new heroes presented in Uprising will be game breaking.
The initial thoughts of players I spoke to believed that these heroes felt appropriately balanced and not overbearing in the same way that previous new releases where to the competitive scene. Only time will tell if that is indeed the case.
The Top 8 Eliminated players posing with their prize playmats.
The numerous side events throughout the werekend were enjoyable and a great way to fill in time for those that had dropped out of or were essentially eliminated from The Calling team event and Battle Hardened. On Demand Blitz tournaments and drafts for all sets were running all day everyday and with a great range of vendors, including: The Cardhub Australia, Good Games and Premier Card Grading.
The uprising premiere was a place for fans of the game to come together and bond over what will be an exciting addition to the games product line. It was a fantastic weekend; full of positive energy and a attendants had a good attitude toward each other.
The Calling team event.
We look forward to seeing the release of Uprising and what it has to offer for the game both competitively and casually going forward. Uprising will release on June 24th and be available to play at your local game stores around the country and the world.
Check the official event or store locator on the Flesh and Blood TCG website to find a pre-release near you.
