My name is Alex Truell, and for over 2 years now I've been the editor for the Rathe Times. I'm a casually competitive player currently in the midst of transplanting a Flesh and Blood scene to a new shop in Oshkosh, WI.
Strategically, I try not to follow trends, instead fixating on cards and tactics just outside the mainstream.
I view this game through the lens of a player who cares about the competitive environment, but doesn't have to live in it; an optimist who loves the game, but can take a step back to critique it; and a deckbuilder who revels in novelty.
Thoughts and Baubles is an editorial space for the Rathe Times, where I discuss the game and respond to the community.
GenCon, the largest tabletop convention in North America, advertises itself as "the best 4 days in gaming." Founded by the Gary Gygax (of Dungeons and Dragons fame) right in my home state of Wisconsin, it's now located in Indianapolis and was attended by over 70,000 unique visitors this past weekend. For many gamers, it is considered the social pinnicle of the hobby.
A game's presence at GenCon legitimizes it. Many creators intentionally debut their games at GenCon, where in-person demos and conversations can make inroads with the target audience. Even well established companies will rush early copies into production to 'pre-release' - even if only by a few weeks - their latest game. This pattern is so ubiquitous across the hobby that attendees buy GenCon tickets long before the vendors and event schedule are known; it's a safe assumption that their favorite game will be represented, even if only by a fan-run event.
So where was Flesh and Blood?
This marks the 4th GenCon since the game's debut, and yet there's still no formalized presence. Last year, Andrew Henderson spearheaded a pair of fan-run events for Flesh and Blood, but he couldn't make it this year, and no one else picked up the slack. I repeat: at GenCon this year, there was no structured FAB play. In fact, the only representation of the game to be found was in the artists' area, where Mark Poole and Steve Argyle were proudly displaying the art they'd produced for it- though you had to know it was FAB art, as there was no game logo to be seen. If you wanted to buy Flesh and Blood, you could ask a staff member at the Star City Games booth - the same guys who run many of FAB's major events in the US - and they had boxes of Dusk Till Dawn amidst the copious Magic offerings. Just the one set. And there were no singles.
FAB Runs Its Own Events
The easy answer is, "Flesh and Blood doesn't attend events, it runs its own." And that's a valid position to take. Wizards of the Coast has not attended GenCon in years- but Magic is still very much present, in events, art, and vendors' cases of singles. Magic's logo is stamped on card sleeves and deck boxes and playmats. Its brand is being pushed at dozens of booths scattered around the exhibit hall.
What about Flesh and Blood's partners? Well, Dragon Shield brought a limited selection of card sleeves; the FAB art didn't make the cut.
The thing about running your own events? You're limiting your outreach. I attended a Flesh and Blood event in this very same convention center last February. It boasted 481 players in its main event. Can you imagine the attention it would get if a game at GenCon drew in 481 players? How many people would be stopping by that booth to see what all the hype was about?
But it doesn't even take a big event with hundreds of competitors. While many games do hold high-level events and qualifiers at GenCon, it's reasonable to say that GenCon is not the place for an event of the size and duration that this game requires. When FAB runs a Calling, that's a full weekend right there. Logistically, it's just not a fit.
Instead, you fire off Armories. 3 rounds, 3 hours, and a player cap that makes it easy to manage. And you host Learn to Play events. Hand out Ira decks to anyone interested in playing a demo. Because that's really the environment we're talking about here: people come to GenCon to try new games. It's an outreach opportunity.
The easy answer falls flat on its face. FAB hosts its own events for the entrenched player base. It should attend conventions to expand that base, not to serve it as it already exists.
The Elephant - er, the Mouse - in the room
I've compared Flesh and Blood's lack of presence to Magic: the Gathering's ubiquity, but the sharpest contrast this year was actually with the upstart Lorcana. Fueled by the power of Disney's marketing and fandom, Lorcana exploded this past weekend as the biggest thing happening at GenCon. And while not all of the attention was good attention - Lorcana's Black Thursday will be remembered for a long time - the overall narrative was that Lorcana was hot.
Make no mistake, Flesh and Blood has had an incredible trajectory since its debut, defying the odds at every turn. But it still lacks the name recognition of Magic, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh! - and now, Lorcana. It's hard to imagine a single one of those 70,000 GenCon attendees left this past weekend without hearing about 'that Disney TCG'. And while awareness doesn't equal success, it should follow success; Flesh and Blood continues to struggle with converting that.
While all TCGs are inherently pitted against each other in the court of public opinion, Lorcana and FAB are not competing for the same player base. FAB is pitched to an adult audience, with its dark themes and deeply strategic gameplay. Lorcana, with its Disney IP, is explicitly family friendly - I've taught my 5 year old how to play it. And while current prices of Lorcana cards might give the appearance of an investment opportunity, we're still in pre-release; eventually, the game will be sold in Walmarts and Targets. The highest rarity is entirely alternate art, akin to FAB's Marvels; the highest rarity with unique game text appears at about Majestic rarity. Almost assuredly, Lorcana will be readily available.
Beyond that, the TCG space has historically been artificially limited by narrow themes and lack of general outreach. That's been proven in recent years, as the hobby has managed to expand to accommodate new entries, rather than seeing fan bases shift from one game to the next. Lorcana, with its simpler gameplay and Disney IP, stands to grow the TCG hobby, not steal from existing communities.
But to the public consciousness, Lorcana had a massive debut, drawing crowds of fans the likes of which GenCon was not prepared for. Every person standing in that line was interpreted as a 'Lorcana player'. Flesh and Blood has rivaled that scale - but not in a public sphere, not where everyone can see. It wouldn't surprise me if, by the end of the year, Lorcana had a larger presence in game stores than FAB does, simply because of marketing, because of public consciousness.
Why GenCon Matters
It is a problem that Flesh and Blood can't be found at the premiere North American tabletop gaming event.
Over the weekend, I encountered multiple posts in GenCon's Discord server asking if there were any Flesh and Blood events. People were interested in learning about it, interested in trying it, and asking if anyone there could carve out some time to teach it to them - a big ask of an attendee with a busy weekend schedule of their own. I don't know if any of these prospective players got the opportunity to meet up with someone, to try the game out, or to even see it in person.
People buy tickets to GenCon months before the vendor list and event list are published, working with the safe assumption that, if they're interested in a game, they'll be able to find it there. When that didn't turn out to be the case for Flesh and Blood, it leaves a bad taste in our mouths, not toward GenCon, but toward FAB. It meant that, for as dedicated as I am to this game, I spent my entire GenCon vacation - 'the best 4 days in gaming' - without giving my number one TCG a second thought.
The remedy doesn't require much. We don't need LSS to be there, with a booth in the vendor hall and a James White meet-and-greet. We don't need to add GenCon to the major tournament cycle. But Flesh and Blood should be present.
It starts with LSS supporting fan-driven events at conventions. A 'content creator' kit would go a long way toward supporting creating excitement for an event; and Learn to Play events are an absolute must-have.
They should lean on their partners to give space to the game in their booths. It was absolutely insane that Star City Games didn't have even a small section of their singles space available for FAB.
What about the artists? Steve Argyle's massive Levia, Redeemed poster remains the largest FAB presence at the con, but again, there was nothing to connect the art to the game if you didn't know already. What about providing the artists with promos as 'content creators', to be given out when a fan brings a FAB card to be signed? Or an exclusive signature embellishment? (Steve Argyle graced my Iyslander with quite possibly the coolest signature effect I've ever seen - can we work together to develop a 'cold foil' signature and tie into one of LSS' hallmarks?)
It doesn't have to be all of this. It doesn't have to be any of this, really. But it has to be something. Because new players should be able to find us at GenCon. Because people who have watched our game develop should know that we're thriving. And because the player base wants to include Flesh and Blood in their plans for the biggest gaming event of the year.
While the pandemic and country of origin served as a valid excuses in the early years, FAB is now a major player in the world of TCGs. It's time it started looking the part.
