The recent conclusion of Calling Manila marks the end of a significant event in the world of Flesh and Blood TCG. As one of the premier international competitions, it prompts the question of how the players from the Philippines compare to competitors from around the world.
Well, pretty good, actually! We have representatives in the top cuts of each major tournament throughout the three days of Calling Manila and multiple players who made the Top 16 and 32!
Calling Manila – Justin Cu (2nd Place)
The country’s current National Champion has represented the Philippines very well at the main event, finishing 2nd Place and coming close to a SECOND Calling win! The most insane part of his Calling Manila run, however, was his deck of choice – Pistol Dash, which turned out to be a nightmare for all of the Zen and Kayo decks that he faced throughout the tournament and a very good call overall. He refers to it as a Bravo deck, just with a Pistol – and we’re waiting for that deck tech video so he can tell us all about it.
Check out Justin’s decklist HERE.
Battle-Hardened – Carlo Ople (Top 4)
Carlo continues his reign of terror on the format with Briar and teaching both local and international opponents alike what it feels like to be buried under Mt. Heroic. In fact, he opened his Battle Hardened run by presenting his round 1 opponent with 40+ damage which, in case you’re new to the Blitz format, is just another term for certain death. One amazing thing to note is the number of Zens that he defeated along the way. The Mystic Ninja is currently the format’s most dominant deck and an unfavorable matchup for Briar, and Carlo was still able to beat multiples of them on the way to the Top 8. The definite highlight of his run however, was when he actually conceded his Round 6 match to join the Alpha Draft, pulled a CF Snapdragon Scalers, and went back for Round 7! What an absolute chad. Unfortunately, one of the last remaining Zens got the better of him and ended his run at Top 4, but what a wild ride it has been!
Check out Carlo’s decklist HERE.
Gold Cold Foil Commoner
Franco Regalado (2nd Place)
One of the best players outside of Manila, and lover of complicated decks even in simpler formats like Commoner, Franco went on a tear with the recently-popular Chane deck and has beaten one of the best players in the world, Shing Tsang of Hong Kong’s Team Blue Pitch, not once but twice – during the swiss rounds, and again in Top 4! He was looking dominant during the finals match too, but Pei-Tsung’s Iyslander was able to hunker down and defend against his onslaught to win the event.
Mikko Pena (Top 4)
Yours truly brought good ‘ol reliable Ira to the tournament and clawed back from a round 1 loss (thanks, Chard!) into winning the rest of the rounds and sneaking into the Top 8. I faced a total of 5 Iyslanders during the tournament and fell to the eventual winner.
Samuel Regalado (Top 8)
Sam did super well in his run with Iyslander, winning over mirror matches and other heroes to make the top cut. Unfortunately, we got paired against each other in Top 8. Still, seeing 3 fellow Pinoys make it to Top 8, even if it’s just GCF Commoner, is hype!
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