Back in my college days I remember the Sci-Fi Fantasy club corner, waiting between classes and playing a round of Magic the Gathering on the floor. I never was that into Magic beside the social interactions and never really did much with deck construction besides once trying to make a semi workable all yellow snow deck. (I knew it was dumb then and I cringe at the thought of that now.)

I never played it in the Marines, and it was only recently that I got back into Magic as I’ve started to play commander with some of the guys at work. There was a period where Fantasy Flight was publishing Legend of the 5 Rings and I really enjoyed playing that LCG format until COVID killed the local scene at my LGS (and FFG killed L5R).

I never really felt happy about about getting back into Magic. Again, I do it for the social integration but as one who still vehemently does not like WotC after the OGL mess, I just don’t really get into the game besides hanging out with friends. Ultimately I know being with friends is the point of playing games but I want to feel involved with the games I play and feel good about investing time in my hobby’s.

I had seen Flesh and Blood previously at my LGS and had liked the artwork on display when I passed the TCG section. For some reason it had stood out in my mind as very unique among the various games on display. While doing research online to better understand the meta of commander, I kept seeing people talk about Flesh and Blood, its creator James White and comparisons, not just between the game design but also the company philosophy in treating its players.

So I was already starting to form a positive opinion and wanted to try out this new CCG, so when I saw my LGS was hosting a free Learn to Play League I actually made the time to go out and play. While I wont go into the gameplay much as you can find plenty of “How To” videos on Youtube, I have played both the Blitz and Draft formats so far.

I really enjoy the way FaB feels like a proper duel between players. Unlike Magic where you are looking to build up your forces for a final assault, FaB makes you start at effectively max power and as the duel goes on, it keeps forcing you to pay attention to how your recourses are spent as the rounds wear you down. In my limited experience playing so far, I do feel that FaB is very punishing if you make a mistake as once you get behind the cure it can be hard to recover (especially daft if you don’t know what you are doings is especially punishing.

Despite getting crushed in my games so far (hey I’ve only had 4 games total) I am really enjoying the gameplay loop so far and can’t wait to finish out the free league and see where this game goes.

Random aside, I am also a huge fan of the 1985 Paul Verhoeven film “Flesh+Blood” and HIGHLY recommend the film as it is a great revenge epic.