From Newbie to Noob - My First Year in Flesh & Blood

Written by Elrissa
19th October 2024

The views in this article are from my own perspective, and my own opinions of my first year exploring the TCG Flesh & Blood. Keep on brewing!

My First Armory

As I sit at the table with my friends in a new LGS, I am not yet ready to play, but I have arrived with a plan. I pick up the box of bulk FaB cards that the store has, and I begin to look through piles upon piles or commons and rares, admiring the artistry behind each card.

A regular comes over to me and asks if I will be playing in the armory this evening, I explain I will not as I do not yet have a deck. They ask, “have you any hero preference?” I respond with Dromai, as they walk away, I wonder why they asked, only for them to return moments later with a pile of dragons for me to use “take these, they will help you” ... I couldn’t believe it, I had seen these cards in top 8 decks on stream, and they were just handing me them?

That was the night that cemented Flesh and Blood for me, the local support, going through all those bulks cards to build my first Dromai deck, and ending the night with a box of uprising with a Marvel Kyloria. I was locked in and ready!

As the weeks went on, I continued to build and hone my skills with Dromai, blissfully unaware of LL points, or how close she was to getting there. Blitz, Classic Constructed, Commoner, I ran Dromai in every format and traded my way into some nice Marvels to help make my deck prettier.

I grew my confidence with Dromai, and, soon enough, our LGS announced they had a Skirmish, so I very excitedly hurried to secure my spot.

My First Skirmish: Illusions Shattered

“Deck lists are optional but welcome!” I hear my LGS owner say across the room – so I proudly make mine, I heard say if you do well you end up on a hall of fame, makes sense you’d have your deck list alongside that win, right?

More than 40 people filled the room, a far cry from the usual 20 or so of us who attended the weekly armory, with people from other stores attending all to secure prizing. Still, everyone seemed to know everyone, and was chatting, this seemed nice.

Round 1 – I was facing down a Dorinthea deck, something I had never come across before, but it was with a regular, so I felt somewhat assured by this. Whilst I lost this round, the regular was kind, and patient, taking the time to explain their every move, why they were making these moves, and even being so kind as to point out where I could take a better line in my own turns and allowing me to run it back, even if it risked them losing (though I do not think there was ever any doubt they would win!)

And so, I reported my loss, realising this was a large step up from the casual nature of our weekly armories, but feeling good about what I had learned from the match up and ready for round 2.

Round 2 – This was where my experience started to sharply change. Against someone I had never met before, from a game club further away, my experience was much less positive. Sexism reigned, with them mansplaining everything to me, I hadn’t even chance to say if I was new or not, my gender seemed to be all they needed to know about me. A far cry from the first match I had just had.

Suffice to say I lost that round, and proceeded to drop, feeling somewhat disheartened against the experiences I had had up to this point, this was a shock. Though, I suppose, unfortunately no matter where you go, there will always be some bad eggs, and in hindsight its best not to let these people get in your head, but I did and have not attended another Skirmish since (and, although I didn’t know it at the time, this view would one day change).

The Day Dromai Became A Legend

I think many of us have seen that moment, the sigil off the top, the ultimate clutch in Flesh & Blood, a match for the ages.

Shocked and excited I watched as Arthur took Dromai to victory.

That was it, Dromai, she had hit Living Legend in Classic Constructed. Like that, the deck I had become so attached too, was gone in my LGS most popular format.

I was so happy to see Dromai finally get over that threshold, I had seen so many top 8’s where she just couldn't quite make the cut, but finally, with the help from Tome to give her an edge, she got there.

And yet, I was saddened, the question remained, where did I go with Flesh & Blood from here?

Finding My Way Forward

Weeks went by, and my LGS continued to announce Classic Constructed events. I continued not to attend as I was struggling to find what to play next, and then, a new set reveal, Part the Mistveil.

The art, it was everything, the theme was stunning. And one hero stood out to me above all, yes that's right, the assassin, Nuu. My friends were confused “surely you would be more comfortable with Enigma?” they would ask, as I tried to explain that not every illusionist is equal, sure they share the name illusionist, but they all play very, very differently, and the ward Enigma play style was not to my liking – and besides, Nuu was more visually appealing.

I spent the next weeks and into spoiler season studying Nuu, watching videos, building deck ideas in FaBrary until finally the day came and it was time to play in the pre-release, finally all my studying would pay off right?

Wrong. I hated it. I wanted so badly to like Nuu, I had a great concept, and the theme of the deck was amazing, but I could just not get along with her in the real world, in the flesh and blood. Weeks, I spent trying to find a way to enjoy her and I just couldn’t, and nationals was fast approaching, where I was planning to take Nuu to enter side events.

My First Nationals

I turned up at Nationals, and the room was smaller than I expected, with only a couple of vendors in attendance. I felt, deflated, I had built this up in my head to be so much more than it was, but still, I got some very nice cards off some very lovely traders, and got closer to some of my local community who had made the same trek to Liverpool myself and my friends had.

I sit down to the Blitz side event, I have Nuu ready, still wondering why I decided to stick with her. I lose. I decide there and then I need to stop trying with Nuu and headed back to the hotel.

When back at the hotel my partner jokingly suggests that I try out Melody for the Blitz event tomorrow, and that there, is the moment Melody the Guardian was born. Sure, her Bard cards are pointless outside of UPF, but generics more than make up for it.

I head back the next day with a very quickly, and poorly, cobbled together Melody deck for the event. I lose most of my games, but I have FUN! This is what I was missing all along with Nuu, but Melody was like a breath of fresh air. And then, finally, in the last round, Melody WORKS securing my first, and only, rated round win in Flesh and Blood. History was made for Melody that day, and it is a deck I continue to tune to this day, with newer cards such as Ten Foot Tall and Bullet Proof, she is building into a powerhouse.

What Now?

These days, I still play Dromai in Blitz and Commoner – she is a powerhouse in Commoner. I still deck tech Melody and play her in Blitz although she is still a tough nut to crack, she is slowly becoming scarily aggressive.

My Classic Constructed Deck is now Azalea, and soon to be the new Dash Armory deck. Turns out I needed to stop looking at classes, and look at how they play, Redline and Disruption is my wheelhouse.

We have a new LGS, one which is familiar to me, one in which I feel safe, and I know that the owners will do all they can to build a healthy community and handle bad actors correctly. So, with that said, I am now working towards my 2nd ever Skirmish, where I will be hoping to pick up more wins with Melody.

Reflections

My first year has had its ups and downs in Flesh and Blood. But despite some bad actors, the community at large is wonderful, amazing, and colourful. I am proud to be helping build a new group at my current LGS that I can help learn the game, and I am preaching the good word of Dromai. So, as it dawns on five years of Flesh and Blood, I reflect on my first year and take away these learnings:

- Having fun with a deck is more important than winning
- You can learn a LOT from a loss, sometimes more than a clean win
- I am a Dromai coper and that will never change
- Get involved with the community on social media: I feel so accepted by the wider community and cannot wait to meet some of them from across the world at Pro Tour: London

Be sure to follow the team on Bluesky for more updates @homebrewtcg