The Battle at the Brawl
I have a very strict “No Free Ads” policy about my life. I hate the idea of giving anything (let alone a company) exposure for free, especially since exposure is a commodity worth paying for. So it’s not easy for me to write what will eventually amount to free advertising for an upcoming tournament.
The reason I’m doing this is because I believe in what I’m hocking. Now, I know virtually every person who engages in advertising will tell you, “I only advertise products I believe in.” I really don’t know if that is true or not, but I typically choose to take them at their word. I’m sure the money doesn’t hurt either, though. So, when I tell you that I’m doing this because I really believe in The Realm Games, their tournament series, and the people behind it, I really mean it. You can choose not to believe me, but I’m not getting paid to do this, so hopefully that increases my credibility a bit.
What we’re actually talking about
Okay, so I’ve written 120 words and said absolutely nothing. What are we talking about this week? What is The Realm Games? Is it a sandwich?
No, it’s not a sandwich. What a silly question. The Realm Games is a local game store located in Mansfield, Ohio (you haven’t heard of Mansfield, don’t pretend). In addition to their top-flight brick and mortar store, they also run an online storefront. The owners of this enterprise, Jacob and Keith Bartram, are also world class human beings and friends. Seriously. I don’t have brothers, but I look up to these guys as brothers.
The real juice behind the shop, however, is The Realm Games Invitational Series. Throughout 2023, they are running $1ks, $2ks, and $5ks throughout the country (yes, you read that right, the country) to qualify you for the $20k invitational at the end of the year. Local stores are even able to purchase their own qualifier kits to hold qualifiers at their stores.
The circuit allows players to earn points towards qualification or by doing well enough in an event to win an invitation outright. If this sounds too good to be true, or you think it can’t possibly be that there’s an independent store out here running big dollar tournaments like crazy people, I can prove you wrong. As of the date of writing, the first quarter of 2023’s event (commonly called a “Brawl”) already took place, and the 2nd quarter’s $2k event is taking place this weekend.
Due to collaboration with LSS, these events also typically involve a Battle Hardened. Sometimes the Brawl is the Battle Hardened. Other times, like this weekend, the Battle Hardened is a mere side event to the $2k Brawl.
So to answer the question of, “What are we actually talking about?”, we’re talking about awesomeness. We’re talking about a store that loves Flesh and Blood and investing again and again in the community. The Realm likes competitive gaming, and they like entertaining. That’s why the folks at The Realm do what they do – to entertain you and make you walking away thinking, “That was a great time.”
The Pittsburgh Brawl
So, let’s preview this actual weekend coming up. Event previews will hopefully become a regular thing on this channel (albeit, hopefully, with a little less romanticizing about the organizer and a little more strategy discussion). Sometimes we’ll talk meta, sometimes we’ll talk the location of the event itself, and most of the time, we’ll talk about how I’ll be engaging with the tournament. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m in a weird boat with this game, so I want to kind of reflect what tournaments look like for an ex-grinder who just comes around to hang out with his friends.
I won’t reproduce everything on The Realm’s website or LSS’s page about the weekend. Those pages are great sources for the nuts and bolts on the tournament itself. There you’ll find venue details, cost, deck registration guidelines, etc. This time, I hope to tell you more about what you should be looking to do at The Brawl that isn’t playing all that silly Flesh and Blood.
Just to provide you the quick hits of the major events though:
Saturday, May 27th, 9:00 am: Classic Constructed Brawl. Top 8 will be played on Day 2. $2,000 prize pool.
Saturday, 6:30 pm: Super Armory. Full month’s armory kit prize pool.
Sunday, May 28th: Sealed Battle Hardened. $2,000 prize pool (not bad for a side event).
If you’re an absolute monster and still want to get in your reps with Oldhim before he goes bye-bye, now is a good opportunity. Anyway, that’s enough chatter about Flesh and Blood. Let’s get into the real juice.
The Speakeasy
If you haven’t been to a Brawl before, buckle up. The Realm hosts an after party following day one of the festivities. Typically these include opportunities to jam drafts with other tournament attendees, dine and drink, and enjoy the company of the people you’re there with (my favorite part).
This time, your Speakeasy ticket gets you access to an all-you-can-eat buffet and unlimited access to digital golfing simulators. Go check the place out here. The price tag of $75 might look steep, but if you can swing it, it’s absolutely worth the time. If you want, I’m down to gamble on simulator games of golf.
Having food and entertainment settled for one of your nights, and having a crowd of people you have something in common with , is well worth it. There’s also a cash bar if that’s more your speed (it is mine!).
My fondest memories from Flesh and Blood come not from a tournament or a game play experience, but from a Brawl Speakeasy party. Please make this a cornerstone of your trip, and come say hi when we’re there!
The side events and “side events”
Any Realm Games event, in addition to the great after party, also features compelling side events. Indeed, these events aren’t tailored to your competitive grinder. There will be on-demand drafts fired throughout the weekend, and in addition to the Super Armory, there will be a Blitz event where the two finalists receive a ticket to the Speakeasy.
Not bad for mucking about with blitz.
So I say this to everyone: a Brawl is a great first big event. There’s truly something for everyone, and even the competitive main events are accessible and designed with everyone in mind. Come do a draft, win a ticket to the Speakeasy playing blitz, or you could…cube…
If you know me at all, you’ll know that I’m big on cube. If you don’t know what cube is, you’re in for a treat. I’ll write an article about cube at some point, but for now: a cube is a large collection of cards used for drafting. It’s similar to drafting with booster packs, but instead of booster packs, you use “packs” that you create from your cube. It let’s you have a repeatable draft format that is specifically tailored to whatever draft experience you want to cultivate.
It’s not as confusing as I just made it sound.
But anyway, I’ll be bringing my cube to Pittsburgh, and looking to draft it at least a few times.
Conclusion
This weekend is the Brawl in Pittsburgh. If you have the means to go, and you weren’t planning on it, I think you’re making a mistake. It’s Memorial Day weekend; hop in the car, come bop some heads with Oldhim, have a whack in the golf simulator at the after party, and enjoy the great community cultivated by Jacob and Keith.
As for me, I’ll be in attendance barring any disasters. On Saturday, I’ll be at the side events table drafting my cube and try to convince people to drop from the main event and do side events with me.
On Sunday, I’ll be playing the sealed Battle Hardened and donating money to the prize pool. Afterwards, you guessed it, I’ll be cubing and trying to convince people to drop and hang out with me.
Finally, please take pictures with your friends when you’re there. One day they won’t be here anymore, and I want you to have something to look back at remember them by.
I hope I see you there.
f you’ve read this far, I’d greatly appreciate if you’d consider subscribing, for free, to this newsletter. The weekly newsletter will hopefully grow as I get feedback and experience, and I truly look forward to sharing it with everyone.
Next week: an interview –or– what will an Oldhim-less world look like?