What's the crown jewel of your collection?
It’s a card that probably wouldn’t turn a lot of heads. I collect minimum rarity versions of all cards. That includes my collection of Fabled cards, which I own in Rainbow Foil, if possible. The most difficult one to grade in 9.5 has been the Rainbow Foil Korshem. I bought a few and tried my luck, but could never quite get there. One day, I suddenly saw an offer for one and immediately had to get it. The reason that this is my crown jewel is that worldwide there are currently only three copies of it with that particular grade, making it the rarest card I own.
Is there a particular Flesh and Blood card you don't have that you hope to own someday?
In a way yes, but that changes every set. When I got the initial kickstart to my collection, I sorted every set in binders. While that is highly practical, it isn’t necessarily an interesting sight on the shelf. Once I started buying the Fabled cards, instead of also putting them in the binders, I decided to put them on little display stands in front of the binders. When the World Championship came to Barcelona, I decided to preserve those beautiful cards and had them all graded. Fortunately for me, most of them came back with a 9.5 grade, but a few of them did not. That triggered my desire for consistency, and so over time I began buying and grading more Fabled cards with the ultimate goal of owning a 9.5 graded copy of each of them. Today, I am almost there, but with each new release, the chase begins anew.
Other than that, I would really love to own a copy of each of the three Marvel Codices from Outsiders, as well as all the Marvel Amulets from High Seas. They are just too gorgeous. Maybe one day…
How did you first get into collecting Flesh and Blood?
I first learned about Flesh and Blood in October 2022, a month before the release of Dynasty. After looking into the different classes and heroes, it was clear to me that I would want to try a lot of different ones. I saw a few vendors offering full playsets of Commons and Rares of the recent sets and felt this would be a great way to start building my collection. I could buy all the bulk in one go for cheap, and then when I wanted to switch decks I would only need to buy a few Majestics and a couple of Legendary cards instead of chasing down 80 new cards. However, one of the vendors I contacted instead offered me a collection of not just all Commons and Rares, but also every Majestic from all the sets released so far. I just couldn’t say no.
And so I ended up with multiple boxes of cards to kickstart my collection. The only cards missing were the Legendary and Fabled cards, and it felt like I was almost all the way to having a “complete” collection. So I started buying them at every opportunity I could. After a while I had collected a minimum rarity playset for every set released so far and I have been keeping it up for every new release since then.
Why do you collect TCGs?
My history in TCGs comes mainly from one game I’ve played which was distributed as a Living Card Game. Every month I would buy the new pack and have all the cards available to me. Therefore, I would often switch decks and try out new strategies. Nowadays, Flesh and Blood is the only TCG I collect. But the purpose of collecting for me is not in just having the cards, but to be able to play every (non-UPF) deck I want. Outside of a few event-specific promos from events I've personally been to, I don't collect special printings, alternate arts, or premium foil versions of cards.
Why should people collect Flesh and Blood?
No matter what aspect of the game interests you, there is a way for you to express that through collecting. If you are like me and collect purely for playing purposes, you can collect the regular non-foil versions of the cards. If you enjoy a specific class, you can go all in and get all the Extended Arts and Marvels, and really bling out your deck. If you like to go to events and want a physical memory of that event, then there are event-specific alternate art versions of cards, like the Sigil of Solace with the artwork of the Sagrada Família that I got in Barcelona while attending the World Championship. And if you just want some really pretty cards to display at home, you can find these too.
Tell us about your experience collecting High Seas.
For most of the sets that have been released since I started playing, I bought around one to two cases. But High Seas just piqued my interest so much during preview season that I ended up getting four cases. And those were quite generous to me. I opened all but one of the Legendary cards, a few Marvel allies, two Marvel adult heroes and even the Fabled. To balance my luck, the Treasure Packs were really uneventful.
What was your first Cold Foil?
I’m not entirely sure if it was actually the very first Cold Foil I’ve opened, but I do remember one that I got very early. Right after I started playing, my store had a booster box of German History Pack 1 on the shelf. It must have been the second box I’d purchased. I ended up pulling a Marvel Kano, Dracai of Aether that I still own to this day.
Kano, Dracai des Äthers
What is your favourite Flesh and Blood booster set?
This has to be Dynasty.
The first reason is of course the Emperor, who is objectively the best hero to ever exist. He is the most fun I’ve ever had playing, and the only one I have been able to collect Living Legend points with.
Dynasty also foreshadowed so much of what was going to come over the next few years and is still continuing to do so. It introduced Crouching Tigers, which became viable with Part the Mistveil. We got Nitro Mechanoid long before we knew about Maxx Nitro. Rok might end up being the weapon of choice for Tuffnut. We even got our first look at Angels, which would end up being a big thing for Prism, Awakener of Sol. And hopefully one day, in the not too far future, Dromai players will get to enjoy the Dusts. I really miss the supplementary sets that were able to expand every single class at once.
What is your favourite Flesh and Blood artwork?
I have two answers for this question.
In terms of prettiest artwork, my favourite has changed very recently. I was always a fan of Eye of Ophidia, and found that to be one of the most beautiful arts. However, with the release of High Seas, I am now in awe over Riches of Trōpal-Dhani, and it has taken the top spot for nicest artwork for me.
On the other hand, in terms of “most intriguing” artwork, I have to mention Shrill of Skullform. Who is this character? Is this a species we will see more of in the future? Why do we see undead skeletons in the background? Is this secretly a Necromancer hiding in a Runeblade card? The chest armor looks Egyptian-inspired, something we have not seen somewhere else. Is it the same battle as the one depicted on “Spellblade Assault”, just the other side of it? So many open questions.
