# How to get started in Flesh and Blood: what to buy first, which hero and where to play

> What to buy first in Flesh and Blood (Armory Deck, Silver Age deck or Ira), how to pick a hero and format, and how to find an Armory event near you.

- Source: https://tradematches.app/en/blog/flesh-and-blood-getting-started
- Author: Joaquin Orozco · TradeMatches
- Published: 2026-11-09
- Language: en

![A first heroic-fantasy deck on a red playmat: an armoured hero, a weapon card, equipment and dice to track life](https://tradematches.app/assets/fotos/flesh-and-blood-como-empezar-portada.webp)
*Editorial illustration · not a photograph of a real card.*

**To get started in Flesh and Blood, find out which format your local store plays at its weekly Armory event and buy the ready-to-play deck for that format: a Silver Age deck (€19.90 / US$19.90 suggested retail) if they play Silver Age, or an Armory Deck (€39.90 / US$39.90) if they play Classic Constructed.** If you only want to try the game, the Ira Welcome Deck is free at stores that stock it and can also be printed from fabtcg.com. Before you pay, check the hero is still legal: several older Armory Decks feature heroes that have since become Living Legends.

We checked everything below on 9 November 2026 against the official pages of Legend Story Studios, the game's publisher. Prices are the publisher's suggested retail prices; your store may charge something different. The rules themselves (pitch, go again, arsenal) live in our [Flesh and Blood keywords guide](https://tradematches.app/en/blog/flesh-and-blood-keywords-guide), so we won't repeat them here.

## What to buy first, depending on how you want to play

The right first purchase depends more on where you'll play than on which hero looks coolest. These are the routes the publisher currently offers to someone starting with zero cards.

| If you want to… | Buy first | Suggested price | Format | Where you'll use it |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Try the game for free | Ira Welcome Deck (free at stores that have it, or as a print-and-play PDF) | €0 | Ira – Learn to Play | Teaching games |
| Play at home with a friend | Two different Silver Age decks | €39.80 | Silver Age | Home, Silver Age Armory, Skirmish |
| Join your store's Classic Constructed Armory | One Armory Deck with a legal hero | €39.90 | Classic Constructed | Armory and bigger events later |
| Join your store's Silver Age Armory | One Silver Age deck whose hero isn't benched | €19.90 | Silver Age | Silver Age Armory and Skirmish |
| Hold off on picking a hero | Nothing: go to a pre-release or a booster event | Whatever the store charges | Sealed, Booster Draft or Crack, Shuffle, Play | Pre-releases and Limited Armory nights |

An Armory Deck won't work for Silver Age, and a Silver Age deck won't work for Classic Constructed. Buying before you know what your local scene plays is the quickest way to end up paying twice.

## The entry products Legend Story Studios sells today

The official Learn to Play page points newcomers to three products: the Ira Welcome Deck, Armory Decks and Silver Age decks.

### Ira Welcome Deck

This is the learning deck. In its format, Ira – Learn to Play, both players use the same list: Ira, Crimson Haze as hero, Edge of Autumn as weapon and exactly 30 cards. The site says you can pick one up for free or print your own from the linked PDF; whether your store has copies depends on its stock.

### Silver Age decks

Tournament-ready 55-card decks plus hero and basic cards, each with a bonus booster. Suggested price: €19.90 (US$19.90) per deck.

| Wave | Release | Heroes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Chapter 1 | 13 Feb 2026 | Kayo, Iyslander, Viserai, Dash and Bravo |
| Chapter 2 | 13 Feb 2026 | Azalea, Dorinthea, Fai, Enigma and Arakni |
| Chapter 3 | 5 Jun 2026 | Blaze, Boltyn, Briar, Gravy Bones and Lyath Goldmane |
| Usurp the Shadow Throne | 18 Sep 2026 | Viserai, Between Worlds and Prism, Advent of Thrones |

The product pages for all three Chapters list English, French and Japanese printings. The next wave, Silver Age: Outbreak, is scheduled for 5 February 2027.

### Armory Decks

Ready-to-play Classic Constructed decks: 60 cards plus hero, weapon and equipment, which the publisher designs to be taken straight to Armory events. The latest on shelves is Malice (18 September 2026); Dr. Mortimer arrives on 13 November 2026 and Min on 5 February 2027. Suggested retail is €39.90, except the two "Origins" editions (Jarl Vetreiði and Hala) at €59.90. The official list still shows decks going back to May 2024, and not all of them are Classic Constructed legal any more, as we'll see under [picking a hero](#first-hero).

![Three fantasy preconstructed decks, each with an invented hero, weapon and equipment](https://tradematches.app/assets/fotos/flesh-and-blood-como-empezar-1.webp)
*AI-generated illustration.*

## Which format to start with

The official site splits formats into constructed (Classic Constructed and Silver Age), limited (Booster Draft, Sealed Deck and Crack, Shuffle, Play) and special (Living Legend, Blitz, Ultimate Pit Fight and others). Deck-building limits for Silver Age, Blitz and Classic Constructed are already compared in the [Silver Age section of our keywords guide](https://tradematches.app/en/blog/flesh-and-blood-keywords-guide#silver-age); this table looks at what it takes to get in and where you'll actually find each format.

| Format | What you bring | Round | In the Spanish locator (9 Nov 2026) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Classic Constructed | A deck with an adult hero (an Armory Deck works) | 55 min | Armory events in Madrid, Valencia and Zaragoza; Road to Nationals in January |
| Silver Age | A deck with a young hero, commons, rares and basics only | 35 min | Armory in Valencia; Skirmish in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia and Zaragoza |
| Sealed Deck | Nothing: you open 8 boosters at the table | 35 min | Outbreak pre-releases on 6 and 7 February 2027 |
| Booster Draft | Nothing: you pick cards from 3 boosters passed around the table | 35 min | One Draft Pro Quest in Madrid (21 Feb 2027) |
| Blitz | A deck with a young hero and one copy of each card | 35 min | No events in the seven cities we checked |

**Classic Constructed** is the flagship format. An Armory Deck is already a legal deck, but upgrading it costs more than in Silver Age because every rarity is allowed.

**Silver Age** is the format the publisher bills as "friendly on the wallet". Its 20 October 2026 announcement positions it as the way new players enter organised play through Armory, Skirmish and selected World Tour events. Skirmish Season 16 runs from 14 to 29 November 2026, in Silver Age.

**Blitz** is still around, now as a casual format: every young hero is legal, there's no banned list, and since 1 January 2026 it no longer earns Living Legend points. One catch if you want to repurpose a Silver Age deck: Blitz allows only one copy of each card, so you'll have to trim it.

**Sealed, Draft and Crack, Shuffle, Play** suit anyone who hasn't settled on a hero. In Sealed you build exactly 30 cards from what you open; in Draft you keep everything you pick; Crack, Shuffle, Play just asks you to open 3 boosters, pull the last 3 cards from each and shuffle the rest. For pre-releases, the publisher says you don't need to bring anything.

## How to pick your first hero without regrets

Your hero decides which cards you can play: under rule 1.1.3 of the Comprehensive Rules 2.15.1, a card can only go in your card-pool if its class and talent are included in your hero's. Switching heroes usually means rebuilding most of the deck, so run through these filters in order:

1. **Legal in your format.** Classic Constructed doesn't allow young heroes or Living Legends; Silver Age doesn't allow adult heroes or benched ones.
2. **Not close to retirement.** For Classic Constructed, look the hero up on the Living Legend leaderboard.
3. **A playstyle you enjoy.** The official hero selection page lists each hero's class, style (midrange, for example) and difficulty, and the Silver Age product page has match videos pairing heroes off.
4. **Local players.** If several regulars already run the same hero, you'll have people to trade cards and tips with.

### Armory Decks that no longer work in Classic Constructed

Cross-checking the Armory Deck list against the legality policy's Living Legend heroes (both read on 9 November 2026), four decks come with a hero that has retired from Classic Constructed: **Kayo** (May 2024, Kayo, Armed and Dangerous), **Azalea** (August 2024, Azalea, Ace in the Hole), **Dash** (October 2024, Dash I/O) and **Aurora** (March 2025, Aurora, Shooting Star). They're still playable in the Living Legend format, and their class cards can still serve another hero, but the hero and signature weapon won't get past registration at a Classic Constructed Armory. Armory Deck: Legends (Viserai and Prism) was built for Living Legend from the start. How retirement works is covered in the [Living Legend section of the keywords guide](https://tradematches.app/en/blog/flesh-and-blood-keywords-guide#living-legend).

### Worked example: how close is a hero to retiring?

Ser Boltyn, Breaker of Dawn, the hero of the Boltyn Armory Deck, sat on 643 points on 9 November 2026, with a ×1.5 multiplier for being legal more than two years. That leaves 1000 − 643 = 357 points to go:

- A Pro Tour or World Championship win is worth 100 × 1.5 = 150, so three wins would do it (two only reach 300).
- A Calling win is worth 50 × 1.5 = 75, so five would be needed (357 ÷ 75 = 4.76).
- A Battlegrounds win is worth 10 × 1.5 = 15, so 24 of them.

On top of that, 1,500 points per season are shared across all Pro Quests and another 1,500 across Road to Nationals events. It isn't imminent, but Boltyn ranks fourth on the leaderboard, which makes him a riskier pick for a deck you want to keep playing for years. At the other end, Malice, Domina of the Dead had no points yet and earns at ×0.75 in her first year: she'd need 14 Pro Tour or World Championship wins (1000 ÷ 75 = 13.3) to retire within that window.

### Silver Age benchings

Silver Age has no points-based retirement, but up to four heroes sit out each season. Until the Outbreak pre-release (5 February 2027), Briar, Oldhim and Oscilio are benched, and Chane stays out until the set the policy calls "Set 22". The practical upshot: the Briar deck from Chapter 3 can't be used at official Silver Age events right now.

## Worked example: what it costs to start

Using the euro suggested retail prices on each official product page (checked on 9 November 2026; treat them as example prices):

| Scenario | Purchase | Total | Per deck card |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| A. Learn | Ira Welcome Deck | €0 | — |
| B. Two players at home | Both Usurp the Shadow Throne Silver Age decks | €39.80 | 19.90 ÷ 55 ≈ €0.36 |
| C. Classic Constructed Armory | 1 Armory Deck (Malice or Dr. Mortimer) | €39.90 | 39.90 ÷ 60 ≈ €0.67 |
| D. Store that alternates formats | 1 Armory Deck + 1 Silver Age deck | €59.80 | — |

In B, the €39.80 includes two Usurp the Shadow Throne boosters, one per deck. C has no booster, but you get the hero, weapon and equipment, which are the most expensive pieces to assemble as singles in Classic Constructed. Scenario D fits places like Valencia, where the locator showed Silver Age and Classic Constructed Armory nights in alternating weeks during November.

The publisher sets neither the Armory entry fee nor sleeve prices. For your first month, budget: deck + 4 × your store's entry fee + sleeves for 60–80 cards (Classic Constructed) or about 55 (Silver Age). Our [sleeves and boxes calculator](https://tradematches.app/en/tools/sleeves-boxes-calculator) works out how many packs you need.

And the cost of a wrong turn: buy the Kayo Armory Deck for Classic Constructed and you've spent €39.90 on a deck whose hero you can't register. Add the second deck you'd then need and you're at €79.80.

## What an Armory event is and what to expect

Armory events are Flesh and Blood's weekly casual in-store tournaments, and the publisher's Local Play page says that's where new players should start. The official Armory Event Structure page sets out the ground rules:

- No decklists, unless the organiser asks for them.
- At most one per week per store, always in person.
- They can only run with GEM Packs as prizes; without them, the event has to be listed as "On Demand".
- Each match win earns 3 XP (except in Ultimate Pit Fight).
- Recommended formats: Classic Constructed (55-minute rounds), Silver Age and Booster Draft (35). Sealed, Crack, Shuffle, Play, Blitz, Living Legend and others are also allowed.
- Everything is best of one; 5–8 players means 3 Swiss rounds.

**GEM Packs** are sent to stores free of charge and are meant to reward turning up rather than winning. GEM Pack 6, in stores from 25 September 2026, holds 3 cards: one regular, one premium foil (Rainbow Foil, Cold Foil or Marvel) and one art card. Each store decides how many it hands out and how. According to the 20 October announcement, new GEM Packs will arrive mid-season from the Outbreak season onwards, and from the "Set 22" season they'll include brand-new tournament-legal cards for selected legacy heroes.

The next step up is **Skirmish**: semi-competitive seasons lasting a few weeks, open to anyone, which from Season 16 reward the eight highest-placed unique heroes. For the practical side of that first tournament (what to pack, table etiquette, player IDs), see our guide on [preparing for your first TCG event](https://tradematches.app/en/blog/how-to-prepare-for-your-first-tcg-event).

## How to find a store with the official locator (and what it shows in Spain)

The locator lives at [fabtcg.com/locator](https://fabtcg.com/locator/) (Events → Store / Event Locator) and works the same in any country:

1. Use the **Store** tab for shops and the **Event** tab for dated tournaments.
2. Type your town and choose the suggestion that includes your country, so you don't land in a namesake elsewhere.
3. On the Event tab, filter by "Armory Event" and, if you like, by format, distance (10 to 2,000 km) and date.
4. Open the store's page: many list a website, Instagram or phone number, and some show their Armory day.
5. If no Armory is scheduled, message the store to confirm day, format and entry fee.

That last step matters. If you live in Spain, here's what the locator showed on 9 November 2026 for seven cities (stores within 25 km, events within 50 km):

| City | Store listings | With an Armory day | Scheduled Armory events | Other events |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Madrid | 23 | 5 | 1 (Classic Constructed) | 8 |
| Barcelona | 16 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Valencia | 11 | 1 | 3 (2 Silver Age, 1 Classic Constructed) | 4 |
| Málaga | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Bilbao | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Zaragoza | 5 | 1 | 1 (Classic Constructed) | 6 |
| Seville | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

There are far more stores than advertised Armory events: not every shop loads its weekly nights in advance or fills in its Armory day, and some listings are online shops. Use the locator to build a shortlist, then check with each store. Our [Spanish TCG store directory](https://tradematches.app/en/tools/tcg-stores-spain) covers stores running Pokémon events, so for Flesh and Blood the official locator is the place to look.

Before your first Armory, create a player account on [GEM](https://gem.fabtcg.com/register/player/), the publisher's tournament system. It's the first step on the Learn to Play page, and it's the account stores use to enter you into official events.

![Casual tournament night in a game store with players at wooden tables](https://tradematches.app/assets/fotos/flesh-and-blood-como-empezar-2.webp)
*AI-generated illustration.*

## Common beginner mistakes

- **Buying an older Armory Deck for Classic Constructed without checking the Living Legend list.** Kayo, Azalea, Dash and Aurora are no longer legal there.
- **Buying the Briar deck for Silver Age before February 2027.** Briar is benched until the Outbreak pre-release.
- **Assuming Armory means Classic Constructed.** In Valencia, two of November's three Armory nights were Silver Age.
- **Taking a Silver Age deck to Classic Constructed.** The young hero isn't legal there and the minimum deck is 60 cards.
- **Building a constructed deck out of boosters.** For Classic Constructed or Silver Age, a preconstructed deck gets you a complete list at a fixed price; boosters make sense at pre-releases, Sealed and Draft.
- **Relying on the locator alone.** A store with no listed Armory may still run one.
- **Hunting for Spanish-language product.** The pages that list languages (the Silver Age decks and the Olympia Armory Deck) mention English and French, plus Japanese for Silver Age. How language affects a card's value is covered in our [card language and edition guide](https://tradematches.app/en/blog/tcg-card-language-edition-guide).

## After your first deck

The [keyword glossary](https://tradematches.app/en/tools/keyword-glossary) filters by Flesh and Blood and links to the full explanation of each term. The [opening hand probability calculator](https://tradematches.app/en/tools/opening-hand-probability) has a Classic Constructed preset (60-card deck, 4-card hand) to help you decide how many copies of a key card to run. The [release calendar](https://tradematches.app/en/tools/release-calendar) lists the dates for Dr. Mortimer, Silver Age: Outbreak, Min and Outbreak, in case you'd rather wait. And when you want to upgrade card by card, [TradeMatches](https://tradematches.app/en/blog/get-started-tradematches-nearby-trades) lets you list your Flesh and Blood haves and wants, see who nearby matches you, and meet up to trade at the Armory.

## FAQ

### Can I go to an Armory event without a deck?

Yes, if it's a Limited format (Sealed, Booster Draft or Crack, Shuffle, Play), because your deck comes from the boosters you open there. For Classic Constructed or Silver Age you need a deck; ask the store whether a regular can lend you one to try.

### How much does an Armory event cost?

That's up to each store. The publisher doesn't set entry fees and supplies the GEM Pack prizes to stores for free.

### Can I use a Silver Age deck in Classic Constructed?

Not as it comes: you need a hero that isn't young and at least 60 cards. Its commons and rares can go into a Classic Constructed deck led by an adult hero of the same class, as long as they aren't banned.

### Does Blitz still exist?

Yes, as a casual format with young heroes, a 52-card card-pool and one copy of each card, with no banned list and no Living Legend points since 1 January 2026.

## Sources and checks

On 9 November 2026 we went through fabtcg.com's product pages and suggested prices, each format page, the Armory Event Structure, GEM Pack 6, the in-store play announcement, the legality policy and the Living Legend leaderboard; we counted stores and events in the official locator and confirmed rule 1.1.3 in the Comprehensive Rules 2.15.1.

- [Learn to Play](https://fabtcg.com/learn-to-play/) and [gameplay formats](https://fabtcg.com/gameplay-formats/)
- [Classic Constructed](https://fabtcg.com/gameplay-formats/classic-constructed/), [Silver Age](https://fabtcg.com/gameplay-formats/silver-age/), [Blitz](https://fabtcg.com/gameplay-formats/blitz/), [Sealed Deck](https://fabtcg.com/gameplay-formats/sealed-deck/), [Booster Draft](https://fabtcg.com/gameplay-formats/booster-draft/), [Crack, Shuffle, Play](https://fabtcg.com/gameplay-formats/crack-shuffle-play/) and [Ira – Learn to Play](https://fabtcg.com/gameplay-formats/ira-learn-to-play/)
- [Armory Decks](https://fabtcg.com/armory-decks/), [Malice](https://fabtcg.com/products/product/armory-deck-malice/) and [Dr. Mortimer](https://fabtcg.com/products/armory-deck/armory-deck-mortimer/)
- [Silver Age Chapters 1–3](https://fabtcg.com/products/product/silver-age-chapter-3/), [Silver Age: Usurp the Shadow Throne](https://fabtcg.com/products/product/silver-age-iar/) and [upcoming releases](https://fabtcg.com/coming-soon/)
- [Local Play](https://fabtcg.com/local-play/), [Armory Event Structure](https://fabtcg.com/armory-event-structure/), [GEM Pack 6](https://fabtcg.com/articles/gem-pack-6/) and the [20 October 2026 announcement](https://fabtcg.com/articles/building-a-clearer-path-for-in-store-play/)
- [Card Legality Policy](https://fabtcg.com/rules-and-policy-center/card-legality-policy/) and the [Living Legend leaderboard](https://fabtcg.com/living-legend/)
- [Official store and event locator](https://fabtcg.com/locator/) and the [Comprehensive Rules](https://rules.fabtcg.com/en/cr/)