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Sparks and Recreation

Sparks and Recreation

Written by: jigmelingpa & agentc13
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A competitive community focused podcast about the deckbuilding game Hero Realms. Each episode covers multiple topics that can help improve your gameplay and get you involved with community events.


When not bottom-decking Fire Bomb and Domination as an avid Hero Realms player, Jigmelingpa is a weapon of mass instruction otherwise known as Matthew Rooks. A university educator based in Japan, he spends his time enjoying linguistics, games, nature, basketball, movies, music, and eats. He also sometimes plays Hero Realms a little.


Tim McKenzie (IGN agentc13) is a Hero Realms Legend (2021 Origins Game Fair) and an avid player of board/card games. He enjoys streaming, game analysis, and spreadsheets. Be sure to check out the many articles he has written for Realms Rising and sign up for one of the online tournaments he organizes.


Rounding out the podcast team are Sam "scrapforce" Parsons, who does a lot of the development for the Hero Helper app, Chris "DblDubz" Walberg, the premier Hero Realms digital streamer and top online player, and Cooper "filtrophobe" Fitzgerald, S&R's data-analysis expert and also highly skilled player.


Join us each episode as Matt, Tim, Sam, Chris, and Cooper discuss Hero Realms, a fantasy-themed expandable deckbuilding game from Wise Wizard Games.


Learn from these top competitors ways to improve your gameplay as they share the strategies and tactics they use to compete at the highest levels. Hear their thoughts on various builds, cards, strategy articles, and other game related topics. The Sparks & Rec crew will keep you up to date on community news, tournaments, and special events.


Catch Sparks & Recreation on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Website: https://www.realmsrising.com/sparks-and-recreation/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sparks & Recreation 2024 Science Fiction
Episodes
  • Tavern Brawl Draft Prep and Rules Recap

    Tavern Brawl Draft Prep and Rules Recap
    Jun 18 2026

    With the eighth season of the Tavern Brawl just around the corner, the crew of DblDubz, Filtrophobe, and Tuff assemble to go over what’s changing between seasons. One of the biggest tweaks is a new pairing system created by Jseph. To help explore this new method, Tuff and Dubz do a mock pairings process, moderated by Filtrophobe. Such an episode wouldn’t be complete without a section on team composition under the new rules, which the crew gladly delivers. And of course, all the usual segments. Thanks for listening!

    Links:

    All Time Player Stats (Filtered by the Season 8 Draft Pool):

    https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/11FlaycIMBITD3HvZBiT8Ni4PjO04dOHiugrTqI_2Yi4/edit?gid=0#gid=0

    Looking at Tavern Brawl Season 7 Stats: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1UH8_7aggCx69UuYgiZtamZ8IMA1pzBDeuwBl0v6aEo4/edit?gid=1734664327#gid=1734664327

    Looking at Tavern Brawl Season 7 EXPANDED Stats (By StefP): https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Q7cRpnn_BvQhOXYHRFnzrsyH1Mp-KXPHOmronuyIP8w/edit?gid=1027498956#gid=1027498956

    WWYD: 6:35

    TB S8 new rules: 22:44

    Mock pairings: 45:20

    Team composition: 1:03:26

    Community Round-up: 1:49:48

    Taps, Scraps, and Good-byes: 2:05:28


    Hero Realms is a fantasy-themed expandable deckbuilding game from Wise Wizard Games.


    Hosts: Chris "DblDubz" Walberg, Cooper "Filtrophobe" Fitzpatrick, John "Tuff" Labella

    Producer: Chris Walberg


    Hero Helper: https://hero-helper.com/

    Realms Rising: https://www.realmsrising.com

    You can find the WWYD screenshots for this episode here: https://www.realmsrising.com/podcast/sparks-and-recreation-96-bugs-balance-and-breakthroughs

    Patreon: https://patreon.com/sparksandrec

    HyperGeometric Calculator: https://aetherhub.com/Apps/HyperGeometric

    Community Tournaments & Events Primer (+ signup links): https://www.realmsrising.com/community-events/

    Realms Rising Discord: https://discord.gg/8pTxKqzFDc

    Contact S&R: contact@sparks-and-recreation.com

    Support Sparks & Rec: https://hero-helper.com/support-us


    Sparks & 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

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
    Show More Show Less
    2 hrs and 22 mins
  • Magic & Steel with Azgalor

    Magic & Steel with Azgalor
    May 30 2026

    DblDubz and Tuff sit down with Realms Rising community member Azgalor to talk with the creator behind Magic & Steel, a massive custom Hero Realms market deck built around spells, weapons, and the possibilities of digital design. We cover Azgalor’s background, the set’s inspirations, design priorities, and what makes this project so ambitious.

    Give the episode a listen, jump into the queue to try the set, and share your feedback on Discord.

    Important links:

    Starter Lua guide:

    https://www.realmsrising.com/lua/hero-realms-lua-play-at-home-edition/

    Magic & Steel card spreadsheet:

    https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1j8sbTLTEXt_V1Hh4Nc_Op2kUqz5PeseOoFujO--RFJY/edit?usp=sharing

    WWG Lua Scripting page:

    https://www.herorealms.com/luascripting/

    WardenSlayer’s Lua Lessons:

    https://www.realmsrising.com/lua/warden-slayers-lua-lessons/

    Contested Space:

    https://contested-space.com/

    Timestamps:

    Looking for Lethal:6:40

    Getting to know Azgalor: 18:33

    Designing and discussing Magic & Steel: 33:49

    Community Round-up: 1:44:18

    Taps and Scraps: 2:13:37


    Hero Realms is a fantasy-themed expandable deckbuilding game from Wise Wizard Games.


    Hosts: Chris "DblDubz" Walberg, John "Tuff" Labella, Azgalor

    Producer: Chris Walberg


    Hero Helper: https://hero-helper.com/

    Realms Rising: https://www.realmsrising.com

    You can find the WWYD screenshots for this episode here: https://www.realmsrising.com/podcast/sparks-and-recreation-96-bugs-balance-and-breakthroughs

    Patreon: https://patreon.com/sparksandrec

    HyperGeometric Calculator: https://aetherhub.com/Apps/HyperGeometric

    Community Tournaments & Events Primer (+ signup links): https://www.realmsrising.com/community-events/

    Realms Rising Discord: https://discord.gg/8pTxKqzFDc

    Contact S&R: contact@sparks-and-recreation.com

    Support Sparks & Rec: https://hero-helper.com/support-us


    Sparks & 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

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
    Show More Show Less
    2 hrs and 29 mins
  • Episode 100: The Busted Builds Centennial

    Episode 100: The Busted Builds Centennial
    May 17 2026

    The SS Sparks and Rec has gone to sea and returned home to port for 100 voyages now and what better way to celebrate than by revisiting some of the craziest characters in Hero Realms history! So many of the mentioned builds or combos were nearly instantly nerfed, while others reigned supreme for months and months.

    Marked by the return of Sparks & Rec OG podcaster agentc13 and featuring audio appearances by so many other community favorites, this anniversary special is a voyage through both time and Thandar.

    So hop on board for what turns out to be….a three hour tour! Thanks for listening.

    WWYD: 8:10

    Broken Builds part 1: 25:12

    Broken Builds part 2 (Dungeons classes): 2:17:31

    Community/Game Upgrades: 2:41:16

    Community Round-up: 2:45:31

    Taps, Scraps, and Good-byes: 2:53:42

    Lgnkstwrt’s Bard Video

    https://youtu.be/LgvQ-JUjyvE?si=1t0ydjZZJf2Gj_g5

    Aarkenell’s Ranger Video

    https://discord.com/channels/870492122023866448/1123602389329522748/1222560226826260574T


    Hero Realms is a fantasy-themed expandable deckbuilding game from Wise Wizard Games.


    Hosts: Chris "DblDubz" Walberg, Tim "agentc13" McKenzie, Cooper "Filtrophobe" Fitzpatrick, and John "Tuff" Labella

    Producer: Chris Walberg


    Hero Helper: https://hero-helper.com/

    Realms Rising: https://www.realmsrising.com

    You can find the WWYD screenshots for this episode here: https://www.realmsrising.com/podcast/sparks-and-recreation-96-bugs-balance-and-breakthroughs

    Patreon: https://patreon.com/sparksandrec

    HyperGeometric Calculator: https://aetherhub.com/Apps/HyperGeometric

    Community Tournaments & Events Primer (+ signup links): https://www.realmsrising.com/community-events/

    Realms Rising Discord: https://discord.gg/8pTxKqzFDc

    Contact S&R: contact@sparks-and-recreation.com

    Support Sparks & Rec: https://hero-helper.com/support-us


    Sparks & 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

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
    Show More Show Less
    3 hrs and 5 mins
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