1198 Matches on Talishar: Apparently, I Was a FaB Robot [Flesh and Blood]

Hello, I am a FaB robot.

"That's it, you're a FaB robot now!"

This note was written because of that casual remark made by a friend.

Am I a FaB robot?

"That's it, you're a FaB robot now!"

One night, while on a Discord call, I was idly counting how many games I had played on Talishar during the PEN season.

A friend who heard the total said that to me, sounding half-exasperated.

The reason I thought to count them was that while exchanging opinions on Discord about the cards from the newly released set (Part the Mistveil), I suddenly wondered.

"Huh... the PEN season went by so fast. I don't feel like I played much FaB."

Aside from March, when I was practicing in earnest for Pro Tour Yokohama, I didn't feel like I had been playing that intensely since the Calling Akihabara in January.

As many of you know, I am usually on the side of running tournaments rather than participating in them.

I organize events so that everyone can enjoy Flesh and Blood, and I explain the rules and so on.

Also, I actually changed jobs in April, so I was simply busy and didn't have much free time.

So, in my own mind,

"I haven't really played much FaB lately~"

That was the extent of my feeling.

Once I realized this, things moved quickly.

"In the end, how much FaB did I actually play this season (the PEN season)?"

I became curious, so I went back and checked my match history on Talishar.

　Here are the results.

　The number of games played during the PEN season is,

　862 matches of CC
　336 matches of SAGE
　for a total of 1,198 matches

　Moreover, this tally only includes deck lists that I played at least 20 games with on FaBrary.

　In reality, there were quite a few miscellaneous deck lists that I only touched for around 10 games.

　So, the actual number is 1300 games or perhaps a little more.

　Furthermore, if you include actual tournaments and offline practice, I think I probably played FaB for a total of 1500 to 1600 games.

　By the way, if you divide the 1,198 matches tallied this time by the number of days in the PEN season, the daily average is about 11 matches.

　……

　Huh?

　I'm playing more FaB than I thought, aren't I?

　……This might mean I'm a FaB robot……

Talishar was a part of my life

　
“How did you manage to play 1200 games?”

　That's what a friend asked when I first told them the number was around 1200 games.

　Honestly,

　“I'm going to play a lot of Talishar!”

　I didn't have that kind of mindset at all.

I realized it had happened before I knew it.

That is really all there is to it.

For me, Talishar felt quite similar to a mobile game.

During my morning and evening commute.

When I was zoning out at home.

When I was relaxing at a bedrock bath.

Before going to sleep, while in bed.

"I've got a bit of free time."

Whenever I thought that, I would just open Talishar and play Flesh and Blood.

It feels something like that.

"Why did I lose just now?"
"Was there another play I could have made?"
"Is this card really necessary?"
"Are there any better cards?"

Once I start thinking about things like that, I can't stop.

In the end,

"Should I play just one more match?"

I would repeat that a few times, and before I knew it, it was the middle of the night.

Looking back, there were many days like that.

However, I don't usually play Talishar that intensely.

As I mentioned earlier, it's more like a mobile game experience.

I think I spent more time playing aimlessly while having YouTube or Netflix running in the background.

Because I was playing like this, I made quite a lot of misplays.

However, thanks to that,

I became much better at seeing

what kind of mistakes I tend to make.

Also, by repeating the same matchups over and over,

I think it led to an understanding of my winning and losing patterns,
like "I often win against this hero this way" or "I tend to lose when this happens."

Of course, I didn't just play aimlessly the whole time.

I practiced with a lot of focus, especially before Pro Tour Yokohama.

I would play while taking notes, or record my screen to review later.

While I usually play quite casually, I use it seriously as a tuning tool before tournaments.

But in the end, the biggest reason I played this much is simple.

Flesh and Blood is just incredibly fun!!

Flesh and Blood is just incredibly fun!!

That is all there is to it.

What happened as a result of narrowing down the heroes I used

Even though I played this much, I used almost the same heroes the whole time.

For CC, it was Arakni, Marionette.

For Blitz, it was Ira, Crimson Haze.

I have spent a significant amount of time playing these two.

This is because I am clumsy and not very efficient, so I am not good at trying out new heroes one after another.

Things like "choosing a hero with a good position and participating in a tournament"

are things I am quite bad at.

If anything, I am the type who deepens their understanding by playing the same matchups over and over with a single hero.

Therefore, I struggle quite a bit at the beginning of a meta.

That is why for the past year, I have consistently chosen and used Arakni, Marionette in CC.

In SAGE, I tried various heroes like Arakni, Web of Deceit, Nuu, Fai, and Viserai.

After much deliberation, I chose Ira, Crimson Haze, which I started playing four days before the Pro Tour and found very enjoyable.

In my case,

rather than "trying to be able to play any hero,"

I prioritize the feeling of

"finding a hero that is fun to play and feels right."

I place importance on that aspect.

In fact, while trying various things, I was looking for feelings like,

"This is fun,"
"I like the way this hero thinks,"
"This game flow feels right."

I was searching for those kinds of sensations.

And in the end, I chose Arakni, Marionette and Ira, Crimson Haze, and focused on playing them.

As a result, the biggest thing was that

my "repertoire" of plays increased

That was the case.

At first,

"What is the correct move in this situation...?"

There were quite a lot of moments like that.

But, as I repeated the same matchups dozens, even hundreds of times,

"I've seen a similar pattern before"

started to increase little by little.

Rather than the precision of my play,

it might be closer to the feeling of

"becoming able to see the options."

Also, quite a lot of subtle intuition was accumulated.

"I'll probably draw this card soon," "I need to take a risk in this development," "It seems like the return will be greater if I hold back here"

...feelings like these that are hard to put into words.

Of course, not all of them are correct, but by repeating the process, I became able to sense these things.

And above all, my understanding of matchups became much deeper.

In the end, for someone like me,

"I need to put in a certain amount of volume and understand through experience."

That is necessary.

Also, what was interesting about playing a huge amount on Talishar was encountering off-meta builds and strange cards all the time.

"What is this card!?" "Does a plan like that even exist!?"

　Things like that happen quite often.

　But that is actually quite interesting.

　Since I can play against various players from all over the world,

　"I don't see that kind of idea in Japan"

　I've had quite a few discoveries like that.

　Also, occasionally I encounter new decks from famous players.

　In that sense, I feel that Talishar is not just a practice tool,

　a collection of ideas from FaB players around the world

　but also has that kind of aspect to it.

Actual Tournaments and Talishar

　However, of course, everything isn't completed just by Talishar.

　After all, tournaments have their own unique difficulties and fun that only tournaments have.

　The fatigue of a long-lasting tournament.

　The sense of tension.

　Communication during the game.

　Processing errors unique to paper cards.

　The gaze of the gallery.

　Especially in large tournaments, as you get into the later stages, it's not just about "correct play," but also about physical strength and concentration.

　In fact, I also made mistakes due to being quite tired in the later stages at Pro Tour Yokohama.

When you keep reading English you're not comfortable with, communicating in English, and making repeated decisions under extreme tension, your accuracy inevitably drops.

In a sense, Talishar is an 'ideal practice environment'.

You can start games immediately.

No shuffling required.

Opponents are found instantly.

But tournaments are completely different.

That is why I believe,

'How to apply the experience gained on Talishar to tournaments'

is what is truly important.

Especially when using Talishar as practice for a tournament, I think it is important to distinguish between winning on Talishar and winning in a tournament.

I feel that using it as a place to test new plays, practice difficult matchups, and verify your own thought processes—rather than focusing on win rates or records on Talishar itself—often leads to better results in tournaments.

In fact, during practice, I focus more on 'Was this decision correct?' or 'Were there other options?' rather than my win rate.

And the reason I can practice with this mindset is precisely because there is an optimal environment where I can play casually at any time.

I probably wouldn't have been able to continue playing FaB this long if it weren't for Talishar.

For someone like me who doesn't usually get to practice with physical cards, Talishar is a tool that has truly been a lifesaver.

To the developer, Jotrick, thank you so much.

Do you need 1200 matches to play competitively?

Some of you reading this article might be wondering,

'Do I need 1200 matches if I want to play competitively?'

Some people might think that.

To conclude, I don't think there is any need to go this far at all.

Honestly, I think I'm overdoing it myself.

However, I am not the type of person who is naturally gifted.

I'm not able to immediately understand new heroes or metas.

Of course, I'm also not the type who can try out various heroes and organize them right away.

If anything,

"I understand by experiencing the same matchup over and over again"

is my type.

Therefore, for me,

"I've seen this pattern before"

was quite important to increase as much as possible.

Where to attack.

Where to use equipment.

Where to take risks.

FaB is truly a game of stacking up small choices, isn't it?

That is precisely why, for someone like me, experiencing the same board states many times and building up my understanding little by little is what led to results.

However, what was even bigger than that was simply that Flesh and Blood was fun.

Honestly,

"I'm going to play 1200 matches!"

I didn't feel that way at all.

I'd open Talishar,

"I want to play this matchup one more time"

I'd think,

and then I'd queue up the next one.

I kept repeating that, and before I knew it, this is where I ended up.

That's really all there is to it.

Maybe rather than being a hard worker,

I think I'm just too obsessed with FaB.

The Downsides of Being a FaB Robot

Of course, there are downsides to being a FaB robot.

First and foremost, lack of sleep.

It's just not good for you.

"Just one more game"

If you keep repeating that, time really just disappears.

Also, I'm constantly thinking about FaB.

FaB while commuting.

FaB in the bath.

And before I go to sleep,

"What should I do about this matchup?"

I'm always thinking about that.

Also, my eyes and shoulders hurt, as usual. Sometimes my head hurts too.

Talishar is convenient, but it's quite bad for your health and highly addictive.

I thought about why it's so addictive, and

(1) It's easy to just say, "I'll play Talishar for now." (2) Flesh and Blood is just too much fun.

I believe these two are the main reasons.

Before I know it, I'm playing a match on Talishar.

It never ends with just one match.

If anything,

"I'll go to bed early tonight"

even though I thought that, I start with one match before bed and before I know it, I'm playing Talishar until late at night.

It has completely eroded my daily life.

But, in the end, that's just how fun Flesh and Blood is.

Summary

Before I knew it, I was opening Talishar almost every day, before I knew it, I had played over 1200 matches, and before I knew it, my friends were calling me a "FaB robot."

But looking back, that time never felt like I was "working hard."

Just a little bit during my commute.

Just a little bit before going to sleep.

　Before I knew it, I had played so many matches on my days off.

　After repeating that over and over, I realized I had played this many matches.

　I will say it as many times as it takes:

　it is because Flesh and Blood is truly fun

　.

　There are always new discoveries.

　I can play against and interact with players from all over the world.

　I feel happy when things go well, and frustrated when I lose.

　And whether I win or lose,

　"Just one more match"

　begins.

　More than the number 1200,

　the fact that I didn't get bored even after playing for that long is what surprises me.

　New cards will continue to be released, new metas will arrive, and I'm sure I'll be agonizing over things again.

　Even so, I'm sure,

　"Just one more match!"

　I feel like I'll be saying that while opening Talishar.

　Let's meet again on Talishar.

　I’m a FaB Robot.