I have a confession to make as the owner of MinMaxGames. I have attended multiple world premieres, Callings, Battle Hardeneds and National events. MinMax has hosted Armories, Pro Quests, and Skirmishes. We even hosted a horrible event that only used Oldhim Blitz decks; and throughout all of them, I have never played an official GEM game of Flesh and Blood. Up until this Skirmish season, the only GEM account I had was the stores. I have of course played my share of Flesh and Blood, my main hero choice being Dorinthea, and I’m currently building a Kayo “Roll a 6 or lose” deck.
With our Skirmish season coming up, and the majority of our tournament grinders out of town at the Realm Brawl, I figured now would be the time to strike! Our Skirmish was Bright Lights sealed, which is a format I’ve had several reps on, and felt relatively good about. I come to FAB from a Magic background, and limited has always been my preferred format. I wanted to share with you all my experience being on the other side of the table, which is a pretty rare occurrence for me these days.
The first step with all MinMax events is to register online. I cannot tell you how much better we have it today when it comes to tournament registration. I literally googled the event, paid online, and my spot was automatically reserved with an email confirmation. I showed up to the event about fifteen minutes early, and I entered the store greeted with “Why are you here”, and “what’s wrong”. Obviously, I need to get out more. I decided to go under the radar, so I left the giant M at home, and showed off some of my favorite people instead.
I opened my sealed pool and ended up with seven Evo equipment, but split between the Head and chest slot, so I passed on Teklo. I had a decent number of items, and in hindsight probably had a reasonable Dash deck, but I decided to go with Maxx, with hopes of boosting and Hyper Drive myself into the top 8. I focused on three blocks, go again, and attacks for 6 or more.
My first round was a mirror match. We went back and forth most of the game, until I took some unfortunate Boom Grenade damage bringing my life total to one. I fought back with some positive hands and efficient blocking, which brought us to one life each. I drew up with two Red Jumpstarts in hand with a Blue Boom Grenade, while having two Hyper Drivers in play, one counter on each. My opponent Scraps for 7, and takes game one. It was a great round one for me, and I learned to always respect the Grenades from here on out!
Round two we got the by, allowing me to walk the field and see how other games played out. We recently upgraded our seats to these ultra comfy chairs, and you can’t really appreciate them until you sit down for a long game. It’s always great when you have a variety of heroes, and the Skirmish seems to be a pretty even spread.
Round three starts, and I’m paired against a Teklovossen. I manage a few large turns causing my opponent to play more defensively, but I ended up running out of gas, and larger damage cards. I was fatigued down to two cards, and my opponent threatened thirteen, while I had 12 block in hand, and fresh out of armor. Both of my opponents would go on to make the top 8, so that should make me feel better right?
Round four was a Maxx Mirror again. I spent the first several turns setting up some items and two Hyper Drivers. Our life totals were around 20, and I felt pretty good knowing most of my larger attacks were yet to come. My opponent had two Boom Grenades locked in, and came in with an Overpower for 4, twice. With only three blocks in hand, I took a neat fifteen damage which put me straight into the danger zone. I played defensively after that, and my opponent cleaned up with some larger damage turns, and took the game.
Overall, I had a bunch of close games, and all of them were well played. Everyone I interacted with had a great time, and many of them shared stories about their own gaming experience and MinMaxGames. I did not end up with a Cold Foil Core, but I did walk away with some prize packs, and a Mechanical Strength promo! It was honestly great to get back to my game roots, and remember the reason we opened MinMaxGames in the first place; to elevate the LGS experience, do something that mattered, and to never forget that we are the kids in the candy store.
