Tommyb5k
Who the Hell is Tommyb5k?
To start, Calling: Portland was the first time I have cashed at any Flesh and Blood event. When I started playing back in May of 2023, my local game store, Sword & Board, was just getting its new location up and running in Capitola. When we met the store owner, she showed us new Blitz preconstructed decks that had just been stocked. She told my friend Dexter and I that we should give the game a try, and so we bought Dash and Rhinar. Our friend Manu, notable for being the ONLY Kano to day 2 Calling: Portland, helped us learn the game at a nearby taqueria. He gave really great tips like: “Yes, pitching an attack with 6 power does count as discarding a card, which triggers Rhinar’s ability!” In short, none of us really knew what was going on, or that this would be the beginning of an insane adventure into this new card game and community that would essentially take over my life.
Fast forward to Fall 2023, where I played in my first ever ProQuest. When I managed to top 4 with Fai, the feeling was so addictive that I knew right then that I would do whatever it took to become good at this game. It started with a top 8 at another ProQuest later that season, followed by a Road to Nationals (RTN) season where I won my first ever Tier 2 event! My friends and I were all thrilled beyond belief, especially since I worked so hard to figure out Kayo. So great was my addiction that I wrote a ridiculous essay on determining whether or not Smash With Big Tree (blu) was worth playing. I then went to the Calling at Pro Tour LA, and got absolutely demolished going 0-3 before dropping, doing a side event, and 0-2 dropping that. While my performance was disappointing, my friend Jack managed to go 4-3 on Levia, which was a HUGE deal for our group. We were so proud of him that I decided from there that my goal for Nationals would be to end with a positive record. Ultimately, my friend Clint and I were the only members of our local group to qualify, him from a Draft RTN and me from a CC RTN. So when we prepped, he taught me everything for drafting Part the Mistveil and I taught him everything I knew about Kayo, and the first inklings of what would become the Cold Foil Cartel were born. In the end, I managed an 8-6 record with 3-3 in draft and 5-3 in CC. Nothing crazy, but I met my goal. All the while, my partner Zoe top 8’d the cosplay contest and with our combined tickets we took home an oversized Kassai as an awesome souvenir.
The defining trait of my journey through competitive Flesh and Blood has been the amazing friends and fellow grinders that I have had the pleasure of surrounding myself with. I hope to make my contributions here at Overpit.ch match that spirit of collective improvement and fun!
