Calling: Phuket is happening this weekend, and today’s article is a guide on how to navigate its numerous side events and potentially get yourself lots of tickets (and prizes) in the process!
Calling: Phuket Side Event Guide – General Information
The prestigious event is going to be held from April 5-7, 2024 in one of Thailand’s famous tourist destinations. It is also the first Tier 3 tournament of the year for the Flesh and Blood Trading Card Game that’s held in Southeast Asia. With the game’s continuous growth in the region, this surely won’t be the last Calling event, and it’s just very fun and interesting that Legend Story Studios picked a venue that screams SUMMER VACATION despite its highly competitive nature.
If you’re new to FaB TCG, or attending a Calling for the first time, you might be surprised that there is plenty to do besides the main tournament. For instance, there is also a Battle Hardened event happening on Sunday – giving players who weren’t so lucky at the Calling another shot at winning cash prizes, Gold Cold Foils, and Pro Tour Invitations!
However, for those who weren’t too keen on competing at the main events, the numerous side events that are happening throughout the three days of the Calling are a very attractive alternative. Not only are these more chill, casual, low-pressure affairs, but they also reward ticket prizes which can be redeemed for some unique and valuable prizes. Depending on your results in these side events, you might end up with more prizes than the majority of those who joined the Calling or Battle Hardened tournaments!
Calling: Phuket Side Event Guide – General Guidelines
The main goal for joining side events is simple. Get enough tickets to buy the stuff you want from the prize booth as soon as possible (since the popular ones go out of stock quickly). Many of them are unique like rare playmats, first edition packs, and Cold Foil tokens, and it’s usually these that players get for their collection, or to sell for money. For example, at the time of this writing Cold Foil Gold tokens can be sold for around $200 or Php11,000 each.
Most of the valuable prizes cost 1200 tickets. Getting 4-0 in a side event rewards a player 600 tickets and if they can join 3 or 4 in a day, it’s possible to get 1 good prize every day of the event.
Because of the way tickets are awarded – where a 4-0 record gets you 600, 320 tickets for 3-1, 160 for 2-2, and 80 for 1-3, there are some general guidelines that you might want to follow to maximize your ticket gain for the day.
- You’ll get more tickets by attempting to get more wins in a side event than jumping from one to the next. The only scenario where this doesn’t apply is when you get 0 wins by round 4 – in which case it would have been better to drop after the first loss and join a new side event instead.
- As mentioned above, a good reason to quit one side event is if you lost the first round. You’ll usually have time to join the next one immediately and attempt to get 4 wins there instead of just the maximum of 3 wins in your current one.
- However, do keep in mind that getting 2 or 3 wins is usually more realistic because of the inherent variance in trading card games. You can try to leverage your skill and deck choice, but there’s still no guarantee that you’ll be the better player in every round.
- Still, if you do want to maximize your chances, it’s important to not experiment or play around with a gimmicky deck and just bring the most powerful and consistent decks for each format. For Blitz, I suggest Briar or Victor. For Commoner, Iyslander or Ira. For Classic Constructed Dromai or Kayo.
- Because Sealed and Draft formats are inherently more random, I generally recommend skipping these side events for earning tickets and only joining them to get any important promos, and then dropping immediately after.
- Be sure to have some water and snacks as you do this. Despite the casual environment, you’ll still be playing roughly the same number of hours as those joining in the main events, and it’s not uncommon to miss out on a round simply because you went out to grab something to eat or drink.
- Finally, keep in mind that these are just guidelines, don’t let this get in the way of playing the formats that you like, or making time for other, more important things like making friends, shopping around, and simply having fun. Remember: your enjoyment comes first!
With those out of the way, let’s talk about each of the specific side events in all three days of Calling Phuket.
Calling: Phuket Side Event Guide – Friday
10 AM Super Draft (2x Ticket Prizes)
The Merlion Sigil prize is very attractive, but I’d personally skip this event because getting a 3-0 in a draft requires a lot of both skill and luck, and so many things can go wrong in a pod, especially in the Heavy Hitters draft. Plus there’s no guarantee of being able to join the 11AAM Classic Constructed 1 even if you get eliminated here immediately, as the draft process + deckbuilding + your round 1 game will take up an hour.
But if you’re an HVY Draft monster, then by all means go for the Merlion!
11 AM Classic Constructed
This is a more reliable way to get tickets and given its time slot it’s possible to get 2 wins here, drop and go join the Ravenous Rabble sealed.
Plus it’s a nice icing on the cake if you’ll get picked for the WTR Alpha Draft event.
2 PM Ravenous Rabble Sealed (2x Ticket Prizes)
DON’T MISS THIS simply because the Ravenous Rabble Promo Card is likely worth more than the entrance fee itself – it’s literally free money and packs! Joining this event likely locks you out of the 2:30 PM Blitz because they’ll hand out the promos in Round 1, but in the off-chance, you can get your Promo AND still join the Blitz event, I’d recommend doing that unless you end up with a really good sealed deck. If time doesn’t allow, just continue playing the first two rounds then decide if you want to jump to 4 PM Commoner.
2:30 PM Blitz (2x Ticket Prizes)
Join this if you can, and stay here if you feel like you can keep winning because it’s double tickets. If you get an early loss, you can still get another attempt for a win before deciding whether or not to jump to 4 PM Commoner.
4 PM Commoner
Commoner is fun, and my recommendation is to try to stay and get 4 wins here (here’s a deck to help you out, you’re welcome) before going to 6:30 PM Blitz 2 Super Armory.
5 PM / 6 PM / 6:30 PM Super Armories
Take your pick on any of these, depending on which one your schedule allows. Personally, I’d take the Blitz one.
Friday Summary
The optimal route for Friday rewards a ton of tickets – 2440 to be exact… but is very unlikely to happen: get 3-0 Super Draft, 4-0 Ravenous Rabble Sealed, and 4-0 the Super Armory of your choice. A more realistic route is going 2-0 drop at Classic Constructed 1, 2-0 drop at Ravenous Rabble Sealed, 4-0 in Commoner, and 4-0 in Blitz 2 Super Armory. This rewards only a maximum of 1680 tickets, but you’ll get to play more constructed formats, get three chances to join the Welcome To Rathe Alpha Draft Event, and still nab one of the good prizes if you win enough games throughout the day.
Calling: Phuket Side Event Guide – Saturday
9 AM Calling
Let the pros fight it out. We have our own thing to do.
10 AM Sealed 1
I’d personally skip this because of Sealed’s randomness. You can join and get the packs and tickets and drop if you have the money to spare, but I don’t recommend it.
10:30 AM Blitz 1
I’d start here and try to get 4 wins. If you lose Round 1, consider jumping to 11:30 AM Commoner to try to get 4 wins there.
11:30 AM Commoner
I’d jump here to try to get 4 wins if I lost round 1 in Blitz.
2 PM Shapeshifter Sealed
I’d skip this unless you just really want the packs and tickets.
3 PM Blitz 2
Join here and try to get 4 wins.
4 PM Ultimate Pit Fight Draft
UPF Draft is a very fun format, but the random nature of Draft and the possibility that the other players can randomly decide to gang up on you means it’s a very unreliable way to get tickets.
5 PM Ravenous Rabble Classic Constructed (2x Ticket Prizes)
DON’T SKIP THIS for the same reason as the first one – it’s free money! By this time players from the Calling will be joining in so the competition is tougher. If you do get a Round 1 loss, you can consider dropping to join the 6:30 PM Blitz 3 instead.
6 PM Sealed 2 (2x Ticket Prizes)
I suggest skipping this and just joining the next side event.
6:30 PM Blitz 3 (2x Ticket Prizes)
I’d prefer to join this to try to get the last few tickets for the day.
Saturday Summary
The ideal route for Saturday amounts to 2400 tickets and is more realistic because it’s all constructed formats: 4-0 Blitz 1, 4-0 Blitz 2, and 4-0 Ravenous Rabble Classic Constructed. If you’re a Blitz superstar, a better alternative route is to 1-0 drop the Ravenous Rabble CC, and get 4-0 in Blitz 3, which totals a maximum of 2480 tickets.
It’s interesting to note that the opportunity cost of joining the Calling Day 1 is potentially 1200 tickets.
Calling: Phuket Side Event Guide – Sunday
Calling Day 2 / Battle Hardened CC
Again, let the pros do their thing, we have our own business to attend to.
10 AM Commoner Gold Cold Foil
THIS IS OUR MAIN EVENT! While it doesn’t award tickets outside of the Top 8, the other alternatives near its timeslot aren’t as attractive. The upside of winning this is just too huge to ignore.
10:30 AM Classic Constructed 1
I suggest skipping this for Commoner GCF.
11:30 AM Sealed
I suggest playing here only if you can’t make it to the Top 8 of Commoner GCF (e.g. an early 0-2). Stay and try to get wins here if you didn’t get picked for the WTR Alpha Draft, because I can’t recommend the 2 PM Shapeshifter Sealed for getting tickets unless you really like that format.
1 PM Welcome to Rathe Alpha Draft
Hopefully, you’re lucky enough to get picked for this. Rare draft away! Opening a Cold Foil Heart of Fyendal will make you the real champion of the whole Calling.
2 PM Shapeshifter Sealed
Pass on this one. Alternatively, you can join here and stay until Round 3 to pass the time until Ravenous Rabble Sealed.
3 PM Classic Constructed (2x Ticket Prizes)
I’d recommend passing on this one because of its proximity to Ravenous Rabble Sealed. It’s double tickets though, so it’s possible to sneak in a win, get 160 tickets, and still have time to join the next side event.
4 PM Ravenous Rabble Sealed (2x Ticket Prizes)
Again, don’t miss this. Unfortunately, this will be the last side event you’ll join for the Calling because there won’t be time to join the 4:30 PM Blitz unless there are some schedule changes or they somehow hand the promo card early. Pray for a good Sealed deck and grab any wins that you can.
4:30 PM Blitz 2 (2x Ticket Prizes)
It’s unlikely that you’ll be able to join this if you got into Ravenous Rabble Sealed, which is a shame because it’s double points.
Sunday Summary
Sunday is probably the worst schedule of the three days for side events because of how the most important side events – GCF Commoner and Ravenous Rabble Sealed, line up with the other constructed formats of the day. The ideal route would be winning GCF Commoner and then getting a 4-0 at Ravenous Rabble sealed, and sadly there aren’t any better alternative routes. The best advice I could give is to treat this as a free day to play whatever you want – even joining the Battle Hardened might even be a better plan, especially if you already got a lot of tickets from the previous two days, aren’t invited to the WTR Alpha Draft, and don’t like Commoner. If you are eliminated at the Battle Hardened, you can still participate in the Ravenous Rabble Sealed. Alternatively, if you make it to the Top 8, I think the promo card will matter a lot less.
Calling: Phuket Side Event Guide – Miscellaneous Information
Finally, here are some last pieces of random information that might be important.
- Ravenous Rabble events encourage players to pre-register to secure their slots as supplies for the promo card might be limited, be sure to do so!
- Most Side Event sign-ups close 10 minutes before their starting time. Depending on the timing it can be entirely possible to finish the round of your current side event, drop, and still join the next one.
- After 2 PM on Sunday, you can exchange unused event vouchers for tickets. Do not let your vouchers go to waste!
- It is common (but not officially encouraged) for players to buy or trade tickets from each other, especially when they just need a few more to get a prize, or have extra tickets that they can’t use. The price varies, so be sure to negotiate a good deal if ever you’re planning to do so.
- Depending on the organizer, it might be allowed to “buy” a whole Heavy Hitters On Demand Draft pod by having a player list 7 the other GEM accounts of their friends and paying for all 8 slots with vouchers/cash. In this case, they end up with a box and 1040 tickets for approximately THB 5600 or SGD 240.
Whether you’re joining Calling Phuket for business or pleasure, I hope you have a great time!
More information about Calling: Phuket can be found in our previous article.
Read More:
–The Calling: Phuket – Sand, Sea, and Swiss Rounds of FaB TCG!