So happy to be announcing this. We’ve added another fantastic game to our lineup, a trading card game from Legend Story Studios out of New Zealand, called Flesh and Blood.
We’ve had our eyes on Flesh and Blood ever since we streamed it earlier this year, and were captivated by its remarkably fresh gameplay and absolutely gorgeous art style. Just look at a few examples from the newest set, Arcane Rising.
Yes, this might be the most beautiful card game ever printed.
Of course, there is more to a game than how it looks, and Flesh and Blood absolutely delivers here. It was a delight to discover that the heartbeat of the system seems to be driven by the same kind of passion and inspiration behind the visuals. It plays as good as it looks, and that’s pretty hard to believe.
So here’s the story. We reached out and connected with James White, the creator of the game. He’s from a small town in New Zealand that got hit by the first wave of Magic over 25 years ago. He fell in love with the game, and, like most of us, discovered that it was an essential vehicle for friends that were otherwise hard to come by.
He went on to work for Wizards of the Coast, and later Hasbro, as the national rep for New Zealand. But throughout that tenure, he was disappointed at the continued move toward digital gaming, particularly as Hearthstone gained immense popularity. Opposition to that trend was the catalyst for Flesh and Blood, which would be devoted to physical, in-store play.
James, along with a carefully selected team, spent over 7 years developing the game and raising money for its production, ultimately founding Legend Story Studios.
Flesh and Blood saw tremendous success with their first two sets in New Zealand and Australia, and so moved forward with their plan to slowly expand into other markets and become one of the sustained titans in the card gaming space (ala Magic, Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh).
It’s a wonderful and inspiring story, but here’s the terrible part – that effort was just getting underway when COVID-19 hit the world, creating an immense challenge for in-person, community games like Flesh and Blood.
But that’s also where we enter the scene. We were discovering the game about the time the reality of COVID was setting in, and following from our work with Skytear, were actively looking for these world class games from passionate creators that deserved more attention than they were getting. Flesh and Blood was a perfect match, and Legend Story was looking for a bridge between the brick and mortar slowdown and a successful future for their game.
Here’s what our official support for Flesh and Blood means:
Free ($0) welcome decks perfect for learning the game, and discounted starter bundles are available on our online store, as well as a wildly good booster box bundle with stunning cold foil weapon promos.
A Flesh and Blood Booster Box Subscription is also now available, and for the first time in our history, will include a subscriber-exclusive promo card with every set. Being a Covenant Subscriber is the only way to get these cards.
We’ll be streaming Flesh and Blood weekly, documenting our journey from learning the game to discovering all the depth it has to offer – including deckbuilding, drafting, and advanced theory (plus a lot of fun), and will be actively helping new players get involved.
Check out all of the new offerings on the FAB category.
This move, like our partnership with Skytear, is a continuation of our online mission to find these underground-yet-deserving expandable games and give them the attention they deserve. We’ll be discussing Flesh and Blood in light of this mission on this week’s podcast.
We’re also kicking off our streaming focus on Flesh and Blood starting tomorrow (Wednesday) at 1PM CST. You can catch us on YouTube, Twitch, or Facebook, explaining what the game is about and starting our own journey to mastery. We’d love to see you there.
Hoping that, like us, you’re finding a way to adapt to what appears to be the new normal for a while – and maybe diving into a game like Skytear or Flesh and Blood along the way. We look forward to the day when we can safely come together as a community and explore both in person.
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