Flesh and Blood: an essential nugget, far from the shadow of Magic

What is the collectible card game? Flesh and Blood ?

2023 and 2024 have undeniably marked the revival of the collectible card game, with the appearance of strong newcomers (Lorca, Star Wars Unlimited et Altered), alongside the trio of indestructibles that are Magic, Pokémon et Yu-Gi-Oh.

But another title, Flesh and Bloodborn in 2019 and translated into French only since 2022, is certainly more discreet, but deserves your full attention if you are a fan of collectible card games. Less in the spotlight, it still benefits from the support of the most experienced players. We take advantage of the release of two decks pre-built, specially dedicated to beginners, to present it to you: 1st Strike Aurora et 1st Strike Terra.

Suggested from 16 years old, for 2 players exclusively and games of around thirty minutes, it differs from most other games of the same genre, all more or less affiliated with the ancestor Magic.

Published by Legend Story Studios, Flesh and Blood is a collectible card game created by James White, and which already has numerous expansions.

How do you play Flesh and Blood ?

In Flesh and Bloodeach player plays a hero in an arena fight, who has 20 life points. The aim of the game is to reduce your opponent’s points to 0.

When setting up, in addition to the card representing your hero, which is there throughout the game, and which gives the direction of the deckyou also have your own equipment: one or two weapons, and head, torso, arm and leg protection. This equipment is either linked to the hero’s class or generic. So, a wizard cannot use a large two-handed sword reserved for warriors, for example. The other cards, essentially attack actions, constitute the deck of each player.

In turn, you have a single action point. Most of the time, we will use it to launch an attack: either with our weapon or with a card from our hand.

An attack is characterized by its strength, possibly a special effect, and by a cost. To pay this cost, you use other cards from your hand. Each provides 1, 2 or 3 resources: the stronger a card is, the fewer resources it provides, and vice versa. But, unlike all other games, these resources do not stay in place, if they are not used, they disappear at the end of the round. Your opponent then has the opportunity to use cards from his hand to defend himself, and thus mitigate the damage suffered.

A bit basic, right? Put it like that, yes. However, two subtleties give the game its flavor.

The first comes from the fact that you only draw cards at the end of your own turn. So, if you use all or almost all your cards to block enemy attacks, you won’t have much to do once your turn comes. The second comes from the possibility of circumventing the rule and playing cards which give additional actions on one’s turn, beyond the automatically authorized action. When you read it, it probably doesn’t seem to change many things. In practice, this leads to constant and decisive choices in all parties.

In addition to the blitz format, where you have 20 life points, the game also offers the classic format, at 40 life points, and with some additional rules on how to build your deck. Both are interesting, and allow you to adapt to all situations (time available, player experience, etc.).

Why play Flesh and Blood ?

Even if it does not necessarily benefit from the same spotlight as other collectible card games, Flesh and Blood clearly deserves our attention. For those who love the genre, and are motivated to step out of their comfort zone a little, this is a real gem.

With Yu-Gi-Oh, Flesh and Blood is, among the collectible card games distributed in the West, the one that differs most from the father of them all: Magic. All the others have a more or less strong connection with the latter. But not Flesh and Blood. This is what makes it both original, but also makes it a little more difficult to access.

It is also undoubtedly the one whose gameplay is the most in line with its theme: you really have the impression of fighting a fight against your opponent. If only by using the equipment, present from the start of the game. And, unlike Magic et al., where the more the towers advance, the more powerful things can be done, in Flesh and Bloodyour first turn can potentially be the strongest of the entire game.

The other strong point of the game lies in hand management, and the balance to be found between defense and attack. If I use too many cards to defend myself, I won’t be able to put enough pressure on my opponent with the ones I have left in my hand, and he will therefore have plenty of time in his turn to use his full potential. Obviously, managing to circumvent the rules and playing several actions per turn is also one of the best ways to hope to win the game. These microdecisions throughout the game really make it all the salt.

Both decks proposed, Aurora et Terraare indeed perfect for getting started. They are simple to understand, without being simplistic, and offer two very different styles of play: numerous small attacks on one side, against a big nag on the other. In addition to their very affordable price.

Unfortunately, the rules are not included, and the QR Code on the box directs to videos in English, not even subtitled, which only very partially explain the rules (this one is much better done). It’s a shame. The simplest thing is still to have the game explained to you by an expert, who will be able to guide you through the first rounds, and show you all the subtleties of gameplay.

Subsequently, you can obviously move towards other decksother heroes, other cards, other classes. Each one (sorcerer, ninja, guardian, warrior, illusionist, etc.) offers a truly different way of playing, a different tempo, with specificities that make it one of the most varied games we have ever played.

If you like collectible card games, we can only encourage you to try these two decks to start at Flesh and Blood. Son gameplay unique, interesting and dynamic makes it particularly tasty. And above all, it will change your habits from other games. The publisher even offers to download a deck to print and cut out to get an idea.