Flesh and Blood, MTG’s upstart competitor, has found its strength

“I feel like my entire career I’ve been fighting this fight to bring recognition and respect and validation to tabletop,” James White said, staring intently back at me through his computer screen. After just thirty minutes, Legend Story Studios co-founder James White had already burned through all of his elevator pitch materials. Flesh and bloodHe launched a trading card game called ‘The Trading Card Game,’ in New Zealand in 2019. He was well off script now, digging deep into the emotions surrounding the hobby that had become his life’s work.

A small plaque, which he received in Deloitte Fast 50, was held by him. To him it is proof that his company is gaining ground against its biggest competitor — the multibillion-dollar giant, The Gathering is Magic. Data shows that Legend Story’s revenue is up 6,416% over the last three years, making it one of New Zealand’s most successful new companies in 22 years. Flesh and bloodIt is an instant hit and is sold in more than 3200 games stores worldwide. This card game is also a popular hobby that is enjoyed by over 2,500 local communities around the globe.

Blood and Flesh This may be a trend that will never catch on as much as Magic, but it is an undeniable force to be reckoned with — and so is White.

“I don’t really care that much about accolades in general,” he continued. He was the former Magic pro player, who has represented New Zealand four times at the game’s world championships, looked away for just a moment to gather himself. “This one really means a lot because for me, this was validation. It was about sending a really strong message to the business community, and to the government in New Zealand: ‘You guys need to respect gaming and gaming culture as a very critical industry that deserves respect, that deserves recognition, and that deserves support.’”

It was created three years later. Flesh and bloodWhite is proud of the community’s progress and wants to let you know there are still places for you.

Blood and FleshIn this game, the players assume the role of fantasy warriors engaging in head to head combat. Players declare what weapons and armor they’ll use before a game even begins, and then draw a small hand each round from a deck of moves. These moves are then played, together with your opponent’s moves, in the center of the table. These cards form what is called “the combat chain,” and that’s where the real action happens.

Along the combat chain, players trade melee blows, defensive strikes, offensive spells, and other moves to foil their opponents’ strategies, break their guard, and do damage. The game is based on MagicIt can be like watching two wizards from far away, squaring off and hurling powerful spells down the valley below. Blood and Flesh This makes it feel much closer. I will name-drop another battle which took place in New Zealand. MagicThe Battle of the Pelennor Felds is told in this story Flesh and blood zooms in on just the fight between Éowyn and the Witch-king of Angmar. White says that the original purpose of the game was to create a sense of intimacy.

Legend Story Studios, Image

Legend Story Studios, Image

“People typically have work, they have home, and then they have a third place,” White said. “For some people there’s a sports club, or it’s church, or it’s the pub, or maybe it’s like a music club or something like that. But for gamers — for tabletop gamers — traditionally it’s been the local game store.”

When he was a teenager, White’s local game store played a big role in his life. It’s where he made his best friends, people he could rely on to help him out when he was in a jam. Later on, as MagicHe began to see the corporation as more than a machine, with hundreds of new releases every year. This made him worry about the future of the small game shop. That’s partly why in 2012 he began developing Flesh and blood.

“The local game store still played a really important role in my life,” White said. “It kept me grounded and surrounded by good people. […] I’ve worked with other publishers in the past in the TCG space, and I started and operated a national distribution company, distributing pretty much everything other than Magic in New Zealand. This trend of moving customers and fan away from local gaming stores to online sites was something I noticed. And don’t get me wrong, technology is great, and online gaming is great. But I really started to notice and feel like we were eroding that function of the local game stores serving as these community hubs.”

That’s where the name for Blood and Flesh came from, in fact — it’s a game that can only be played in person, one that White vows will never have an online version.

“I actually decided I want to try and do something to preserve that culture,” White said. “Going down to the store on a Friday night or Saturday and catching up with your mates, and meeting new people, and forming these local communities.”

It is the growth of Flesh and blood communities, combined with the lack of a digital implementation, has created a diverse and thriving competitive circuit — but also a very healthy ecosystem of stores and dedicated casual players, White said. Today, as the game’s next major expansion goes up for sale, different parts of the world are playing the game very differently. Singapore, Southeast Asian, and other countries favor Dromai and Fai as draconic soldiers. Polish devotees favor Bravo and Viserai.

On one hand, that means Legend Story’s lore team is doing the hard work of making its game appealing to players from different cultures. This also means players of different cultures can meet face-to-face to test out the various techniques they have developed in their respective locales. Different heroes and different strategies are constantly coming together in competitive tournaments — the results of which actually change the future course of the game.

“When a hero wins a premiere event,” White said, “they get a certain number of Living Legend points. Living Legend points will be at stake the more important the event. Once a hero reaches 1,000 Living Legend point, they are a Living Legend. Essentially, they’re retired [from the game], inducted into the Hall of Fame, and you can no longer use that particular hero anymore.”

All of the other cards — including weapons, armor, attacks, and spells — stay in the mix, waiting for the next new hero to literally take up the mantle and wield them in battle once again.

“That’s how we kind of create this evolving, dynamic, flexing metagame,” White said. “You get this metagame where there’s constantly a new level of heroes rising to the top, and then where the holes end up being — because a certain type of hero becomes a Living Legend — we can introduce a new kind of variant of that hero in the future.”

It’s a novel way of rotating cards out of the game, but it’s one that White feels is more equitable for players and collectors alike.

“We want our fans to have utility of their collection,” White said, rather than asking them to chase after the newest, rarest cards on an annual basis. It’s a business model that rewards players for their devotion, one that incentivizes them going forward with new opportunities rather than simply the fear of missing out. White believes that this level of detail and dedication will allow the game to continue earning new fans long into the future.

Flesh and blood’s latest release, titled DynastyFriday:. You can find it — where else? — at your local game store.