Move aside Commander: Flesh and Blood TCG to launch 4-player multiplayer format

Legend Story Studios is launching a four-player expansion set for the 2019 classic trading card game Flesh and Blood, bringing “round-the-table” multiplayer gameplay to the hit TCG for the first time.

Designed in partnership with content creator and TCG expert Brian “The Professor” Lewis, the multiplayer expansion, aptly named Round the Table, comes with four ready-to-play Blitz decks, over 100 new cards, and a whole cast of new hero cards—including one based on The Professor himself.

Round the Table will be available to purchase only in game stores on Sept. 29, 2023.

Flesh and Blood offers a fresh take on the TCG genre, and it’s ideal for MTG enjoyers looking to mix things up. In a typical game, players assume the role of a hero and build an 80-card deck, including weapons, equipment, and signature move cards.

Like colors in MTG, players’ chosen hero determines which cards they can include. Players “pitch” cards from their hand to gain resources to pay for other cards—it’s an interesting and refreshing system with more room for strategic thinking than mana in MTG and Hearthstone.

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Round the Table expands Flesh and Blood into the four-player space, and in our opinion, it’s a natural fit. Similar to MTG’s Commander format, Round the Table is tailored for casual gameplay: The new set was “created for new players in mind” and will mostly include cards with beginner-friendly mechanics.

Its four preconstructed decks abide by the Blitz ruleset—a slimmed-down version of Flesh and Blood designed for fast-paced games. In Blitz, players start with 52 cards instead of 80 and play as “young heroes” with less health. We imagine this quick-fire format will work well in multiplayer, and it could help avoid the excessively long games that are commonplace in Commander.

Related: Best Flesh and Blood TCG preconstructed Blitz starter decks

By collaborating with The Professor, New Zealand-based Legend Story Studios hopes to demonstrate to the community just how fun its new multiplayer Round the Table format really is.

The Professor is a vocal supporter of Flesh and Blood, and his MTG and TCG knowledge base Tolarian Community College hosts multiple videos dedicated to the game. The Professor is also a strong advocate for local retailers, and by releasing Round the Table only in game stores, he hopes to bolster their role as community venues and social hubs.

Flesh and Blood is a fun and engaging alternative to tabletop paper TCGs like MTG, Pokémon, and Yu-Gi-Oh! Legend Story Studios aims to make the game more accessible to newcomers through the launch of Round the Table and an expansion to the main game, Bright Lights, is releasing shortly after—so now is a great time to jump in.