Sparks and Recreation

It's been a hot minute but while Filtrophobe is away on his honeymoon (congrats on tying the knot buddy!) Tuff decided to take the time to catch up with lead Draconis 8 Designer Carl Van Ostrand (AKA CVO) and talk about recent Draconis 8 events.Carl Tries Hero Realms: 3:15Next Fest: 10:27Tournament Coverage: 22:36New Features: 38:02Draconis 8 Ability Summary & Roadmap: 1:06:18Taps & Scraps: 1:38:47BarberShop Games Discord: https://discord.gg/wVKZkMaJqwHero Realms is a fantasy-themed expandable deckbuilding game from Wise Wizard Games.Hosts: John "Tuff" Labella, Carl Van OstrandProducer: John LabellaTuff's Draconis 8 Deckbuilding Guide: https://www.realmsrising.com/draconis-8/tuffs-draconis-deck-construction-selection-guide/Hero Helper: https://hero-helper.com/Realms Rising: https://www.realmsrising.comPatreon: https://patreon.com/sparksandrecAnvroser's Twitch Channel: https://www.twitch.tv/anvroserRealms Rising Discord: https://discord.gg/8pTxKqzFDcSupport Sparks & Rec: https://hero-helper.com/support-usSparks & Recreation Website: https://www.realmsrising.com/sparks-and-recreation/Thank you so much to all of our amazing Patrons and community members!Specific songs used in this episode were:Intro/Outro Music: "Uplifting Orchestra Pack" by GoodBunny. (Under the Music Standard License)Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License

The crew kicks things off with a WWYD that spotlights a fundamental concept called deck halving – a crucial skill for success at the top tiers of play.Next up, they make good on their promise to predict the total number of each class represented in the Tavern Brawl. And since they can’t resist a little friendly competition, it’s a full-on contest to see who’s the most accurate! From there, Filtrophobe leads a discussion breaking down the key team archetypes as he sees them, with plenty of detours and debates along the way about overall composition trends. Finally, the gang digs into some spicy Community Round-up drama before wrapping things up with the usual Taps and Scraps.Thanks so much for listening! WWYD: 6:44TB Team Comp Predictions and Analysis: 26:29Community Round-up: 1:37:00Taps, Scraps, and Good-byes: 1:49:05Hero Realms is a fantasy-themed expandable deckbuilding game from Wise Wizard Games.Hosts: Chris "DblDubz" Walberg, Cooper "Filtrophobe" Fitzpatrick, and John "Tuff" LabellaProducer: Chris WalbergHero Helper: https://hero-helper.com/Realms Rising: https://www.realmsrising.comYou can find the WWYD screenshots for this episode here: https://www.realmsrising.com/podcast/episode-86-arena-updates-and-nut-draw-finalePatreon: https://patreon.com/sparksandrecHyperGeometric Calculator: https://aetherhub.com/Apps/HyperGeometricCommunity Tournaments & Events Primer (+ signup links): https://www.realmsrising.com/community-events/Realms Rising Discord: https://discord.gg/8pTxKqzFDcContact S&R: contact@sparks-and-recreation.comSupport Sparks & Rec: https://hero-helper.com/support-usSparks & Recreation Website: https://www.realmsrising.com/sparks-and-recreation/Thank you so much to Level 12 Hero Sarah T., Warden Slayer, as well as Level 7 Hero Nudeltulpe!Specific songs used in this episode were:Intro/Outro Music: "Uplifting Orchestra Pack" by GoodBunny. (Under the Music Standard License)Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License

The standard crew of DblDubz, Filtrophobe, and Tuff set sail once again as the seventh Tavern Brawl gets underway! With the draft now complete, the gang breaks down some of the best value picks and surprise standouts from the draft board.Then they turn their sights to perhaps the most fascinating feature of this season: team composition. With up to two beta classes allowed per team, the permutations explode – enough to leave even the Daredevils’ heads spinning.All this plus signature segments like WWYD, Looking for Lethal, and the Community Roundup. Thanks for listening!WWYD: 5:45LFL: 19:51Draft Recap: 32:10TB Team Composition: 1:00:05Community Ronud-up: 1:37:19Taps, Scraps, and Good Byes: 1:47:51Hero Realms is a fantasy-themed expandable deckbuilding game from Wise Wizard Games.Hosts: Chris "DblDubz" Walberg, Cooper "Filtrophobe" Fitzpatrick, and John "Tuff" LabellaProducer: Chris WalbergHero Helper: https://hero-helper.com/Realms Rising: https://www.realmsrising.comYou can find the WWYD screenshots for this episode here: https://www.realmsrising.com/podcast/episode-86-arena-updates-and-nut-draw-finalePatreon: https://patreon.com/sparksandrecHyperGeometric Calculator: https://aetherhub.com/Apps/HyperGeometricCommunity Tournaments & Events Primer (+ signup links): https://www.realmsrising.com/community-events/Realms Rising Discord: https://discord.gg/8pTxKqzFDcContact S&R: contact@sparks-and-recreation.comSupport Sparks & Rec: https://hero-helper.com/support-usSparks & Recreation Website: https://www.realmsrising.com/sparks-and-recreation/Thank you so much to Level 12 Hero Sarah T., Warden Slayer, as well as Level 7 Hero Nudeltulpe!Specific songs used in this episode were:Intro/Outro Music: "Uplifting Orchestra Pack" by GoodBunny. (Under the Music Standard License)Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License

The crew kicks off the episode with the signature WWYD segment, followed by a Looking for Lethal submission from long-time listener Logan.From there, we dive into the latest Arena updates and discuss the results of the experimental, community-driven balance testing from over the past few weeks.Next up, we finally wrap up our three-part answer to Aarkenell’s mailbag question, analyzing how to counter a class’s nut draw. This episode covers Bard, Necro, Druid, and Monk. As always, we close with the Community Roundup and our usual taps and scraps. Thanks for listening!WWYD: 7:08Looking for Lethal: 25:45Arena chats: 31:01Mail-bag segment: 57:02Community Round-up: 1:28:24Taps, Scraps, and Good Byes: 1:42:21Hero Realms is a fantasy-themed expandable deckbuilding game from Wise Wizard Games.Hosts: Chris "DblDubz" Walberg, Cooper "Filtrophobe" Fitzpatrick, and John "Tuff" LabellaProducer: Chris WalbergHero Helper: https://hero-helper.com/Realms Rising: https://www.realmsrising.comYou can find the WWYD screenshots for this episode here: https://www.realmsrising.com/podcast/episode-86-arena-updates-and-nut-draw-finalePatreon: https://patreon.com/sparksandrecHyperGeometric Calculator: https://aetherhub.com/Apps/HyperGeometricCommunity Tournaments & Events Primer (+ signup links): https://www.realmsrising.com/community-events/Realms Rising Discord: https://discord.gg/8pTxKqzFDcContact S&R: contact@sparks-and-recreation.comSupport Sparks & Rec: https://hero-helper.com/support-usSparks & Recreation Website: https://www.realmsrising.com/sparks-and-recreation/Thank you so much to Level 12 Hero Sarah T., Warden Slayer, as well as Level 7 Hero Nudeltulpe!Specific songs used in this episode were:Intro/Outro Music: "Uplifting Orchestra Pack" by GoodBunny. (Under the Music Standard License)Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License

John "Tuff" Labella and Samwise embark on a half hour segment to figure out what expansion sets and build is best for cleric on ladder but go down a two hour rabbit hole.Start: 1:19Taps & Scraps: 1:51:00Sparks and Recreation Presents: a Legendary Contesthttps://challonge.com/34nulpfe Tavern Brawl 2025 (Now with Beta Classes)Signup: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeUS3Z2wXtO2WadsdPWYLrLN4x7H6aFuY5zeOY-SaaKL0iU8g/viewform?usp=headerRules: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1nypsEE0rtZowZw2o-wsokaJwQtc5oyALAcGvzXOPKD0/edit?tab=t.0 Samwise's data sheet #1: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1wWpzMMySLUEmDUM1AIP2xZP3JqG10tI7waPkPIdQeGA/edit?gid=0#gid=0Samwise's data sheet #2: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1TMvs6NHQFdoQkHxkN-vwMwWK567mEi0grBr2OrZVtl4/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.k81vecaibhmiHero Realms is a fantasy-themed expandable deckbuilding game from Wise Wizard Games.Hosts: John "Tuff" Labella. SamwiseProducer: John "Tuff" LabellaHero Helper: https://hero-helper.com/Realms Rising: https://www.realmsrising.comYou can find the WWYD screenshots for this episode here: https://www.realmsrising.com/podcast/episode-83-ancestral-ascendancyPatreon: https://patreon.com/sparksandrecHyperGeometric Calculator: https://aetherhub.com/Apps/HyperGeometricCommunity Tournaments & Events Primer (+ signup links): https://www.realmsrising.com/community-events/Realms Rising Discord: https://discord.gg/8pTxKqzFDcContact S&R: contact@sparks-and-recreation.comSupport Sparks & Rec: https://hero-helper.com/support-usSparks & Recreation Website: https://www.realmsrising.com/sparks-and-recreation/Thank you so much to Level 12 Hero Sarah T., Warden Slayer, as well as Level 7 Hero Nudeltulpe!Specific songs used in this episode were:Intro/Outro Music: "Uplifting Orchestra Pack" by GoodBunny. (Under the Music Standard License)Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License

Kicking off this episode, the crew of DblDubz, Filtrophobe, and Tuff announce that they will be hosting a tournament with a grand prize of a Hero Realms Digital Legends account! (Available to non-Legend account holders only! Check the link below for details and to sign-up.) After this the crew breaks down a Dungeons character showdown between a Necromancer and a Druid. The Meta Mashup takes center stage for the episode as Filtrophobe takes us through all the latest Hero Helper data with much more significant sample sizes than available in our previous episode. Things are certainly taking shape around the latest update.  This segues into Tuff’s latest experiment, an Elf Barbarian which we discuss in the Build Lab. From here we open up the Mailbag to continue our segment on beating the nut draw for each class. Tucked away in the Round-up is a star related rant that you won’t want to miss. Finally the crew says their goodbyes with their taps and scraps. Thanks for listening! Legends Tournament announcement: 4:20WWYD: 14:01Meta Mashup: 28:48Build Lab: 1:03:37Mail bag – Counterplay vs Alchemist and Barbarian Nut Draws: 1:26:20Community Round-up: 1:42:12Taps, Scraps, and Goodbyes: 2:07:10 Sparks and Recreation Presents: a Legendary Contesthttps://challonge.com/34nulpfeHero Realms is a fantasy-themed expandable deckbuilding game from Wise Wizard Games.Hosts: Chris "DblDubz" Walberg, Cooper "Filtrophobe" Fitzpatrick, and John "Tuff" LabellaProducer: Chris WalbergHero Helper: https://hero-helper.com/Realms Rising: https://www.realmsrising.comYou can find the WWYD screenshots for this episode here: https://www.realmsrising.com/podcast/episode-83-ancestral-ascendancyPatreon: https://patreon.com/sparksandrecHyperGeometric Calculator: https://aetherhub.com/Apps/HyperGeometricCommunity Tournaments & Events Primer (+ signup links): https://www.realmsrising.com/community-events/Realms Rising Discord: https://discord.gg/8pTxKqzFDcContact S&R: contact@sparks-and-recreation.comSupport Sparks & Rec: https://hero-helper.com/support-usSparks & Recreation Website: https://www.realmsrising.com/sparks-and-recreation/Thank you so much to Level 12 Hero Sarah T., Warden Slayer, as well as Level 7 Hero Nudeltulpe!Specific songs used in this episode were:Intro/Outro Music: "Uplifting Orchestra Pack" by GoodBunny. (Under the Music Standard License)Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License

The crew is back with their first post-Origins episode. The release cadence has been a bit slower but will hopefully settle back into our bi-weekly-ish schedule soon here. Wise Wizard Games made big waves with the introduction of ancestries for alchemist and barbarian so the crew takes a deep dive on the implications including match-up strategies, play advice, and build decisions. Visit this episode's post on realmsrising.com to view the recommended builds!This conversation sprawls beyond expectations (surprise surprise), bumping the much awaited second segment of Aarkenell's mailbag question to the next episode of the pod. Thanks for listening! WWYD: 5:57Alch Ancestries: 24:10Barb Ancestries: 1:02:16Community Round-Up: 1:38:53Taps, Scraps, and Outro: 1:58:53Hero Realms is a fantasy-themed expandable deckbuilding game from Wise Wizard Games.Hosts: Chris "DblDubz" Walberg, Cooper "Filtrophobe" Fitzpatrick, and John "Tuff" LabellaProducer: Chris WalbergHero Helper: https://hero-helper.com/Realms Rising: https://www.realmsrising.comYou can find the WWYD screenshots for this episode here: https://www.realmsrising.com/podcast/episode-83-ancestral-ascendancyPatreon: https://patreon.com/sparksandrecHyperGeometric Calculator: https://aetherhub.com/Apps/HyperGeometricCommunity Tournaments & Events Primer (+ signup links): https://www.realmsrising.com/community-events/Realms Rising Discord: https://discord.gg/8pTxKqzFDcContact S&R: contact@sparks-and-recreation.comSupport Sparks & Rec: https://hero-helper.com/support-usSparks & Recreation Website: https://www.realmsrising.com/sparks-and-recreation/Thank you so much to Level 12 Hero Sarah T., Warden Slayer, as well as Level 7 Hero Nudeltulpe!Specific songs used in this episode were:Intro/Outro Music: "Uplifting Orchestra Pack" by GoodBunny. (Under the Music Standard License)Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License

We’re back with Part 2 of our Origins recap, featuring none other than Silent Al, fresh off his fifth Legends victory between the Realms. (Apologies in advance for the audio quality here, we recorded on phones in the hotel lobby. The content hopefully makes up for it!)Up first though Dubz and Tuff reflect on the convention overall, then get into their respective runs in the Star Realms Legends event, including their head to head battle in the Swiss. From there Tuff takes us through his blitz through the Hero Realms bracket, where he collides with Silent Al in the semi-finals. The second half of the episode features the aforementioned interview with Alex, taking us through his Hero Realms victory. We speculate on the impact this event could have on the future paper meta. Enjoy the show, thanks for listening! General Con Chats: 0:00Star Realms Legends event: 27:18Hero Realms with Tuff and Dubz: 54:57Silent Al interview: 1:15:19Hero Realms is a fantasy-themed expandable deckbuilding game from Wise Wizard Games.Hosts: Chris "DblDubz" Walberg, John "Tuff" Labella, Alex "Silent Al" SarkissianProducer: Chris WalbergHero Helper: https://hero-helper.com/Realms Rising: https://www.realmsrising.comPatreon: https://patreon.com/sparksandrecHyperGeometric Calculator: https://aetherhub.com/Apps/HyperGeometricCommunity Tournaments & Events Primer (+ signup links): https://www.realmsrising.com/community-events/Realms Rising Discord: https://discord.gg/8pTxKqzFDcContact S&R: contact@sparks-and-recreation.comSupport Sparks & Rec: https://hero-helper.com/support-usSparks & Recreation Website: https://www.realmsrising.com/sparks-and-recreation/Thank you so much to Level 12 Hero Sarah T., Warden Slayer, as well as Level 7 Hero Nudeltulpe!Specific songs used in this episode were:Intro/Outro Music: "Uplifting Orchestra Pack" by GoodBunny. (Under the Music Standard License)Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License