For only the second time in the game's history, Flesh and Blood TCG has made its way to my home town. World Tour London was the site of two very important, linked occasions in the history of this game: the World Premier of the 18th set: Compendium of Rathe; and the official start of the Silver Age format.
I was fortunate to be in the hall for all three days of this historic Tier 3 event. For the first time for any of their Tier 3 events, Legend Story Studios allowed the new set to be legal to play for all of their events. Meaning the side event tables for Classic Constructed had players feasting on new cards, and frantically dashing between friends and vendors to get the cards that they needed.
The World Premier
The World Premier is an unforgettable time for any Flesh and Blood set, however this one was unique. Compendium of Rathe is not a set intended for Draft or Sealed play. In previous World Premier events, such as World Tour Montreal, we've seen people build decks on the spot, then draft during day 2.
Compendium of Rathe offers a supplemental experience for players who already have their established decks. The format played during the four rounds of the World Premier was Preconstructed Sealed. Players received 2 of the new Silver Age decks, and could use one or both across all four rounds.
The issue of the overall strength of the decks, and whether or not they hold up competitively as the designers would have us believe, is another matter. These two decks are what the player base had to take through 4 quick rounds of Silver Age gameplay.
Despite how much I love Arakni, Marionette, I only finished up 2-2, but the deck gave me a good insight into some of the upcoming cards in his classic constructed counterpart; namely the new Chaos cards Concoct Disorder and Hyper Inflation. With nothing more than mere prize tickets on the line, and each player taking home two exclusive, stamped versions of the heroes in their decks, this made for a unique experience in World Tour London.
Calling London
The next day featured nearly 800 players trying to define what the Silver Age format even was with the first ever tier 3 event; in a Silver Age format Calling. Other priorities meant that I could only jam side events that weekend, my eyes were firmly set to the stream and the top tables while the Calling was going on around me.
With 49 unique heroes registered out of the 57 legal in Silver Age, the metagame was almost as diverse as it could possibly be. All my love to Bravo, her027-cf-data-doll-mkii-armory-season-3-promo, and Teklovossen as some of the Heroes not on show in this day 1 metagame.
The ones that had the heaviest showing are all to be expected, in my opinion. The aggressive output of Briar. After that, the metagame greatly diversifies. The first column of heroes are what I would personally consider the stronger picks going into this Compendium Silver Age season.
There are hyper aggressive decks in the form of Fai and Kayo and powerful defensive decks like Enigma and Oldhim.
I want to give a huge shout out to this second page of low to singleton represented heroes. All my love to the one Tuffnut who has suffered greatly after the banning of Vigorous Smashup.
This early event has really defined the Silver Age metagame, especially going into Pro Quest Vegas season.
After two day's gaming, the top 8 put a few similar decks and strategies together. Bravo, Flattering Showman makes for a much more proactive version of Guardian compared to the hyper defensive strategy of Oldhim. Briar has cemented itself as the key aggro deck of the format, offering breakpoints on nearly every attack, the danger of on hits like Snatch and Burn Up||Shock, and forcing it through with Lightning Press.
While it may look like there are 3 Warrior decks in the top 8, and one of them in the finals, they're all somewhat similar decks, as they're built around Decimator Great Axe. The card has become contentious since the days after this Calling. The style of Warrior deck that plays DGA often Fatigues through damage. By putting on so many attacks, which are difficult to block because of the axe's ability, as well as front pumps like Felling Swing and Sharpened Steel, some decks struggle to keep, and lose one of two ways.
The deck has been pioneered for this event by Team Sigil, hence why the 2nd place seed in the Top 8 was on the exact same list.
Despite the power of the deck in the hands of Kiran Lee, a London local someone and I have played against many times in events great and small, he was defeated by the Elemental aggression of Briar.
Since the inception of this format, back when it was Project Blue at the beginning of 2025, Briar has been feasting on the new slew of Elemental cards that came in Rosetta, long after her ascension to Living Legend. The cards that were intended for Aurora go just as hard in Briar, all with the same ability to block that Embodiment of Earth can provide.
The deck's pilot, Paul van Gijssel and the deck's designer Bartosz Ziemba talked through the deck on the official Youtube channel here.
Wrap Up
The early Silver Age metagame is solidifying well with these first few events. After the initial Calling and Showdown event won by Jacob Clements on Kano, we are seeing gamers converge around Briar and Decimator, with other aggro strategies like Fai and Kayo under the surface.
Keep your eyes to fabtcg.gg for the latest in Flesh and Blood news.
