The Flesh and Blood World Tour is the best TCG organized play circuit on the market! With$2,000,000 up for grabs in events across the globe, we urge players to travel the world, make new friends, and play great games for huge cash prizes! Scott Mines breaks down what happened in July and what’s coming up in August…
The king is dead. Long live the king.
Somehow, that statement became true in more ways than one this month. Chane met an untimely end in front of our eyes in Las Vegas, all while Jacob Clements was cementing his legacy with a long overdue victory on the Tier 4 stage. If only he could have known that his otherworldly streak would fall just one week later.
I’m sure he’s not upset about a second place finish either, to be honest.
It’s a darn good time to be a Flesh and Blood player. Usurp the Shadow Throne is looming in the distance, Mastery Pack Warrior is about to sharpen swords, and we’re seeing some of the most unprecedented tournament consistency in the entire trading card industry. There’s a reward to be found if you’re willing to put in the graft – players like Clements are living proof of that.
While half of the year is in the rearview, we’ve got roughly the same still to play for. If you think you have what it takes to usurp the throne for yourself, there’s only one way to get your hands on your share of $2,000,000 in prize money – you have to come and take it for yourself.
So, unshackle yourself from the sofa and get those bags packed. Here’s what you can expect from the World Tour in August!
But first…
Collectors Week
This article just about manages to squeeze into the tail end of Collectors Week here on fabtcg.com, so I’ve been politely asked to share one of my favorite pieces in my collection with all of you in this article. I shared a really cool one last year, but I wanted to gush about a recent acquisition this time around.
Let me tell you about the importance of making promises to yourself.
Much of my earliest success in Flesh and Blood came from playing Wizard. I’m an infamous Iyslander enjoyer and a vocal Verdance lover. These heroes have been my bread and butter since I began playing the game, and as my love for them blossomed (and card games became my career), I slowly began to foil out the heroes that kept me company on the road. I picked up a shiny new upgrade at each event. I still do. It allows each group of cards to become a storybook of where I have been – each hand drawn a reminder of important nights and brighter days.
But a Cold Foil copy of Storm Striders was too rich for my blood. That one would have to remain a pipe dream forever.
Fast forward a few years as I’m stepping into the world of Flesh and Blood commentary. This place is my home. This community is my family. There are a whole lot of players out there making sacrifices to keep a roof over their head. If they’re lucky, maybe they manage to sneak out to their local game store once a week for some form of escapism.
More importantly, maybe they don’t. Maybe their only reprieve from a hellish week is a flicker of something brighter on the television.
Those people deserve someone who treats that opportunity with the respect it deserves. I told myself that, if I was stepping up into the booth, I needed to be good enough to do exactly that. I needed to perfect the craft until I was the best. Anything less wasn’t fair to them.
So, I made a promise – on the day that I successfully cast every major type of event in the game, I would allow myself to buy a Cold Foil Storm Striders. The good news? I ticked that bucket off a few weekends ago. At the close of Pro Tour: Las Vegas, I took my paycheck from the event and purchased a permanent reminder that I managed to achieve what I set out to do.
Frankly, it really meant a lot to me. I’m tearing up a little thinking about it. Now, each time I set an opponent alight, I will always get to look down and remember that Flesh and Blood is a better place because of me. I can only encourage you to make similar promises to yourself.
I have a few more grails put aside for other big landmarks I’m hoping to achieve in the future, but those are a story for another day. Thank you for letting me share this one for now.
What happened in July?
Just the whole freaking Pro Tour?!
July was a busy month for Flesh and Blood. We wrapped up the final week of National Championship season, which saw both Victor Goldmane, High and Mighty and Prism, Awakener of Sol heading off for a well-earned vacation in Living Legend. It would also serve as the beginning of the reign of terror for one Jacob Clements, who took down the United Kingdom National Championship through my fingertips.
Then, he conquered Calling: Shinjuku… and then Pro Tour: Las Vegas… then almost Calling: Edinburgh in the same calendar month.
It would take the now two-time Calling champion Evan Tanguy to sink the ship of Clements alongside his beloved Gravy Bones, Shipwrecked Looter, but that shouldn’t take away from the achievement. Many dream of reaching a Calling or Pro Tour Top 8, let alone winning both in the space of two weeks. Both Clements and Tanguy have cemented their place in the history books.
Clements was far from the only breakout story coming out of the Pro Tour, either. Bryce Stroyek and Jonathan Magnuson would turn the room upside with their top cut finishes alongside Betsy, Skin in the Game. Daniel Correas would leave me scratching my head as he toppled foe after foe with Tuffnut, Bumbling Hulkster over at Calling: Edinburgh. The shadows might be looming, but clearly there’s plenty left undiscovered in the current Classic Constructed format.
With another Tier 4 event behind us and some monolithic runs currently underway, we’re starting to get a more concrete idea of which names will be in the mix of the Player of the Year race as we approach the end of the story at the World Championship.
But I didn’t hear no bell yet. $100,000 of prize money still remains to be claimed by the top performers in each region at the close of play, with $25,000 of that handed to the overall champion. Each other regional champion will take home $15,000, while each silver and bronze medal scores $10,000 or $5,000 respectively.
I’m gonna give you one guess at who is sitting atop the leaderboard.
Region · Rank · Name · Points
GB · 1 · Jacob Clements · 131
US · 2 · Brodie Spurlock · 76
CA · 3 · Yuki Lee Bender · 57
US · 4 · Michael Hamilton · 50
HK · 5 · Nova Chan · 46
US · 6 · Evan Herndon · 45
AU · 7 · Sam Sutherland · 44
US · 7 · Christopher Iaali · 44
NL · 9 · Paul van Gijssel · 41
PH · 10 · Justin Cu · 37
BR · 10 · Filipe L. Cardoso · 37
CA · 12 · Michael Jaszczur · 35
JP · 13 · Shoma Yamamura · 34
US · 13 · Michael Feng · 34
PL · 13 · Bartosz Dobrowolski · 34
US · 13 · Alexander Vore · 34
We didn’t call him “King Clements” in Las Vegas for nothing. At this point, it is almost impossible for anybody to catch up to Clements, who is utterly erasing his runner up finish last year with an insurmountable score.
Paul van Gijssel is cementing his grip on second place for the European region behind Clements, with Bartosz Dobrowolski and Tommaso Viscido contesting the juggernaut for the remaining two slots. In the Americas, Brodie Spurlock continues to sit atop the throne, with the likes of Yuki Lee Bender, Michael Hamilton, and Evan Herndon giving chase. In both cases, a single major event win can easily flip the standings.
The APAC region is clearly the most hotly contested region. Nova Chan has just about held onto the crown after a nasty loss in his win-and-in for Top 8 at Pro Tour: Las Vegas, but Sam Sutherland, Justin Cu, and Shoma Yamamura all sit within a handful of points of the kingpin from Team Blue Pitch. In fact, there’s a solid 10 names that could jump into the APAC race with as little as a Calling win. The race is anything but over when it comes to this region.
Overall, we’re getting a solid idea of who the last players standing are going to be, but we’ve got no way of knowing which ones will be holding the bag when the dust settles. Much like Vegas, I’ll be placing my money on Clements and figuring out the rest later.
Events in August
You know the deal by now, folks. There’s no breaks or brakes on the Flesh and Blood World Tour – it’s all party all the time over here.
If you’re looking to advance your game at the local level, Skirmish Season 15 will be taking place throughout almost the entire month. Across the globe, we’re following the tried-and-true pattern for Calling level events – one in each region every month as best possible. There should always be something for you on the tour regardless of where you are.
So, if you’re looking to dance in August, where should you be looking to go?
Calling: Bangkok
The first weekend of the calendar is a sunny splattering of your opponents at the Bangkok International Trade & Exhibition Centre. It should make for a real exciting affair, in no small part due to the release of Mastery Pack Warrior on the Friday before the fireworks. Classic Constructed will see a huge shakeup between August 7-9 2026. Make sure you save the date.
If you’re able to command and conquer each opponent you find in front of you, you’ll walk away with the lion’s share of a $20,000 prize pool, one of the final Quickdodge Flexors prize cards, a PTI, and a fistful of World Tour points. Both the main event and Sunday Showdown will feature the Silver Age format, with the latter offering an additional $5,000 in prize money. Either way, not bad for a weekend’s work!
Thailand’s capital has long been a bucket list location on my personal travel list, and not just for its famously electrifying nightlife. They call Bangkok “The City of Angels”, but they also call it “the Sin City of Asia” – it’s like Las Vegas with objectively better food.
There’s some serious tourist sightseeing to be done if the cardboard doesn’t break your way. The Grand Palace and Temple of Dawn feature highly on any must-see tourism guide, but you’ve got to make sure you swing by Talat Noi for the Instagram famous street art and maze of traditional housing. Wat Intharawihan earns second place due to the 32-metre-tall standing golden Buddha. You just don’t see that everywhere!
Foodies need to find a local store that sells Massaman Curry. The delicious dish is traditionally made with chicken, curry paste, coconut milk, cinnamon, and nutmeg, but it’s not uncommon to find peanuts or potato smattered throughout the sauce. I’m pointed to this lovely restaurant about 20 minutes from the venue by the internet, so I’m going to direct you there to get your fix.
I’ll be back on the road to bring you all the action from “Tor zur Welt” – the German “Gateway to the World”. Hamburg will play host to a Classic Constructed calling for the ages between August 21-23 and I’m hopeful that I’ll see you there.
A small caveat with this one – in accordance with German regulations, all attendees need to be over the age of 18 for this event. You’ll need to bring government issued identification if you’re hoping to enter the venue. This is, in part, because players will be competing for $20,000 and a smattering of Gold Foils in the main event. The accompanying Showdown will feature $5,000 in prize money and another shot at the illustrious Gold Foil Blossom of Spring.
Hamburg is the second largest city in Germany and it’s an awfully quirky place. The city is littered with more bridges than Venice, Amsterdam, and London smashed together. The port alone is almost the size of Copenhagen. My favorite cute fact? Every ship that enters and exits Hamburg point leaves from a dedicated spot that welcomes them in and waves them goodbye with their national anthem. It’s adorable.
If you’re looking for cool spots, the Hamburg Opera House opened in 1678 and still hosts many artists and plays today. If it’s something more panoramic you’re looking for, you can take a wonderous evening lights cruise down the harbor or play games of minigolf inside famous movie backdrops. In fact, that last one is going on my bucket list. That sounds fantastic.
Due to the rich maritime history of the city, local food heavily features fresh and preserved fish and a ton of comfort food. A hearty serving of Labskaus will knock you out for a week, and having Fischbrötchen for breakfast is a truly unique wakeup call. Where will I be going for dinner when the hard work is done? Well, to Muckefuck of course. I am a sensible and mature adult who cannot ignore that name.
We close the month with a quick pitstop in ol’ KC.
Kansas City will play host to the next American bash between August 28-30, where we’ll see players competing in a Classic Constructed clash for $20,000 of cash, gold foil prize cards and invitations to the World Championship and beyond.
I’ve never had the pleasure of hitting up Kansas, but I’m told it embodies much of what you’ll be craving from a great American getaway. Missouri once had a bit of a flyover reputation, but the state has been revitalizing itself with charming markets, vast landscapes and world-renown baseball stadiums over the last few decades. Try to grab a seat at Kauffman Stadium if you need to itch the sport out of your brain.
If you’d like something quieter, the Earnie Miller Nature Center is a fascinating place bustling with rare species of hawks and falcons, immersive displays and dozens of native stream fish. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art also makes for a wonderous day out, displaying everything from medieval stained glass to ancient woodblock paintings by the legendary Katsushika Hokusai. Both attractions are free to explore. It’s pretty great!
You can’t hit up Kansas City without crunching on some burnt ends. BBQ is almost the be-all-end-all down here, and you can even earn rewards for eating at 100+ different barbecue spots. Personally, I’m hopping in the line for a Cheese Slipper – the lovely bread dish that sees people lining up outside Ibis Bakery every evening. However you prefer to chow down, make sure to stop by Bristol Seafood Grill on your way out of the venue. It’s a 30-minute walk, but the shoreline tower is to die for.
Join the battle from August 8-23 with Skirmish events in local game stores worldwide! Skirmish events are a great opportunity for fresh faces to get started in competitive Flesh and Blood, while also challenging veteran players. Season 15 features the fast, fun, and affordable Silver Age format. Using only common, rare, and basic cards, it’s the ultimate way for everyone to compete!
Skirmish events are casual tournaments and are a fantastic way for newer players to join their local community for great games and good times, while getting a taste of what Flesh and Blood has to offer. There’s some super juicy prizes waiting for you in Season 15 that you definitely don’t want to miss, such as Cold Foil Marvel Dorinthea, Quicksilver Prodigy, unsheathe your sword and charge into battle!
