xyklops
05-18-2009, 03:22 PM
INTRODUCTION
So my daughter and I wake up, get dressed and pick up breakfast on the way to Sebring from Orlando, about a two hour drive. I arrive with my brother Tom Katt and my very good friend, Brian Ellis. We get to Dean’s Gaming Center with ten minutes to spare, and we sign up. It is announced that only 18 people have signed up for the tournament, so that means a $200.00 Visa Gift Card is for 1st place, and that is it.
Round 1 – vs Josh (Blackwing)
Game 1
Me: 8000-7200-6400
Josh: 8000-4000-1500-0
Game 2
Me: 8000-6100-5700-5500
Josh: 8000-6200-2800-1000-0
This round was very interesting because this was the second time I was able to play my deck against Blackwing. I actually sided in game two, taking out an MST,BTH, CyDra, 3x Solemns, Mind Control, Monk and Rose, and was able to still maintain board presence. Heavy for +2 always helps as well. I heart Stardust, Colossal and DAD.
Round 2 – vs Andy Jarrell (Blackwing)
Game 1
Me: 8000-7700-6300-5500
Andy: 8000-5500-3000-0
Game 2
Me: 8000-6400-5900
Andy: 8000-5500-4700-1000
This round was a little more of the same, Blackwing Shenanigans. This time I didn’t side as heavily as I did Round 1, and still maintained the deck’s balance. I start to think this might be my day. Big Mistake.
Round 3 – Jake Mattern (Gladiator Beasts)
Game 1
Me: 8000-7400
Jake: 8000-4500-2300-0
Game 2
Me: 8000-7300-2700-1350-550-0
Jake: 8000-7000
Game 3
Me: 8000-5000-4200-0
Jake: 8000-7200-6800
This was a pretty awesome duel. Now, in preparing for this event, I tested a lot against Gladiator Beasts, and I had felt that my main deck should be enough. Game 1, Jake made a misplay in not setting his in-hand Trap Dustshoot, which would have changed the fact that I was able to synchro out Stardust and Goyo turn 1 (gm turn 2). Game two he gets into the swing of tag out and tag in, and even a Red Dragon Archfiend clearing two Hoplomus and a DEF mode Sangan, I still cannot overcome his advantage. Funny moment, I activate Mind Control and chain Emergency Teleport while he has a face up Murmillo, no backrow, and Jake is at 7000 and I am 2700 with a Solemn in hand. I’m thinking, “I’ll hit for 2400 and gain at least 1200 life before he is going to be able to draw an answer, hopefully.” Unfortunately, this would depend on actually having a MAGICAL ANDROID in your Extra Deck, which is not something I had realized. I receive a Procedural Error – Minor: Warning (which is funny considering how many times I give that penalty out), laugh, set Solemn, and proceed to get owned in the face. Game three was a lesson on “How to lay the smackdown on a well respected judge” by Jake Mattern. Turn two I am staring down Herk with his three in hand. I have exactly four spells, and I read Solemn set (correct read if I remember). I actually put up a fight, and get rid of the Herk with a set Divine Wrath, but cannot top an answer, and I scoop it up when I draw Mind Control with nothing to help.
Round 4 – Richard Boyd (Clock Tower Prison)
Game 1
Me: 8000
Rich: 8000-7000-1400
Game 2
Me: 8000
Rich: 8000-4000-0
After coming off of one of the best duels in recent memory, of which I happened to come out on the losing side, this round provides me with one of the most unique and memorable. I am familiar with this duelist. He usually plays “interesting decks” to say the least, and this did not disappoint. Game 1 he leads off with Prohibition, declaring “Phoenix Wing Wind Blast”, then activates Terraforming for Clock Tower Prison (activating the field spell), and then plays Field Barrier and sets three cards to the back row. This is going to take a while. I get out Dark Armed Dragon and declare priority on his effect, targeting Clock Tower Prison (after being able to MST the Field Barrier end phase last turn) only to run into Skill Drain. Basically, I am able to get a significant shot into his lifepoints, and then about 10 turns go by, before I am finally able to synchro for Dark Strike Fighter and sacrifice him for game. Game two took even longer, but Giant Trunade into Solemn, MST into Dark Bribe, and Monster Reborn into Cursed Seal of the Forbidden Spell protects his backrow. I finally synchro into Black Rose Dragon, blow up, and summon Rose, Warrior of Revenge to finish him off.
Round 5 – Chris (Lightsworn)
Game 1
Me: 8000-7200-4200-0
Chris: 8000-7150
Game 2
Me: 8000-0
Chris: 8000
This was such an awesome match (not really). Dude had everything, I had not so much, A horrible misplay costs me game 2, and I am ready to hang it all up. Then I find out that I was paired down this round, so I was eternally sad because I was like, yeah, definitely not in top 8. I discover that I finished 4th, and that my teammate and brother, Tom Katt finished 7th. We’d be in separate brackets, and maybe would meet up in the Finals like I had hoped.
Top 8 Quarterfinal Match – Manny (Lightsworn)
Game 1
Me: 8000
Manny: 8000-6600-0
Game 2
Me: 8000-7200-4200-0
Manny: 8000-7000
Game 3
Me: 8000-4000-3400
Manny: 8000-6500-4000-1500-0
This was a good Lightsworn deck, and a good player. Game three was nuts going back and forth, and Sam (Sleeper) Jones provides some color commentary, but in the end I am able to pull this one out. I held on to DAD for a while, almost a little too long, but thankfully Dark Grepher and Plaguespreader save the day. Go Goyo!
Top 4 Semifinal Match – Sam (Sleeper) Jones (Lightsworn)
I am not posting scores because I didn’t keep it. Sam and I had been attempting to play each other throughout the day with our “local tourney” decks, and hadn’t gotten to finish any of the duels. Here, we go head to head, and I get 2-0’d. Sam is a great player, and I know I put up one hell of a fight, Game 1 he overcomes a Double Solemn trying to drop two Judgment Dragons on me, and ends up running Lumina over Krebons with Honest helping out. Game 2, I scoop it up although I am holding Gorz in hand, Sam has just summoned JD with Garoth and Celestia in the gang, and he had only three cards in his deck left. It needs to be said, Sam is an awesome player and I really enjoyed our matches, especially the later ones. I look forward to seeing Sam again at the Tampa Regional, and at future events.
Conclusion
Prizes were only given out to the winner, so the top two decided to split (Sam and Jake, with Sam actually winning a dice roll). In the future, I would like to see a better prize structure for an event with an entry fee greater than $20.00. Even if I would have gotten back my cost to enter the event that would have been sufficient. Overall, I would have liked to have had a better showing, having a few more rounds, but this shows me that I should spend more time playtesting and researching before spending that kind of money in this economy.
This meta seems balanced, although in my opinion Lightsworn is the fastest deck in the game right now, it also seems highly based on luck. This is not to say that Lightsworn players are lucky and not good, actually far from it. Only players like Sam, Danny Brown, Nam Nguyen, Frank Debrito, and some of the other higher caliber Lightsworn players I know could actually be so successful with the deck, because it can be unstable. Yes, you never know what you are going to mill, and sometimes you have to be the kind of player that could take the absolute worst hand your deck could give you and still win. That being said, I think that I have changed the minds of people who said you could no longer play Destiny Heroes now that D-Draw is limited to two. That being said, and without further adieu, here is what I ran:
Decklist
TeleMonk: 40 cards
Monsters: 18
1x Dark Armed Dragon
1x Cyber Dragon
1x Destiny Hero - Plasma
1x Elemental Hero Stratos
1x Dark Grepher
2x Rose, Warrior of Revenge
1x Destiny Hero - Diamond Dude
1x Armageddon Knight
2x Krebons
1x Sangan
2x Summoner Monk
2x Destiny Hero – Malicious
1x Necro Gardna
1x Plaguespreader Zombie
Spells: 14
2x Allure of Darkness
1x Brain Control
2x Destiny Draw
1x Emergency Teleport
1x Heavy Storm
1x Lightning Vortex
2x Mind Control
1x Monster Reborn
1x Mystical Space Typhoon
1x Reinforcement of the Army
1x Scapegoat
Traps: 8
3x Bottomless Trap Hole
1x Mirror Force
3x Solemn Judgment
1x Torrential Tribute
Extra Deck: 14
2x Stardust Dragon (MVP)
2x Colossal Fighter
1x Thought Ruler Archfiend
1x Red Dragon Archfiend
1x Dark Strike Fighter (awesome card)
1x Black Rose Dragon
1x Doomkaiser Dragon
1x Goyo Guardian
1x Iron Chain Dragon
1x Gaia Knight, The Force of Earth
1x Armory Arm
1x Gladiator Beast Gyzarus
0x Magical Android
Side Deck: 15
1x Breaker the Magical Warrior
1x Caius the Shadow Monarch
2x D.D. Crow
2x Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer
2x Trap Eater
1x Giant Trunade
1x Smashing Ground
1x Divine Wrath
2x Phoenix Wing Wind Blast
1x Royal Oppression
1x Threatening Roar
So my daughter and I wake up, get dressed and pick up breakfast on the way to Sebring from Orlando, about a two hour drive. I arrive with my brother Tom Katt and my very good friend, Brian Ellis. We get to Dean’s Gaming Center with ten minutes to spare, and we sign up. It is announced that only 18 people have signed up for the tournament, so that means a $200.00 Visa Gift Card is for 1st place, and that is it.
Round 1 – vs Josh (Blackwing)
Game 1
Me: 8000-7200-6400
Josh: 8000-4000-1500-0
Game 2
Me: 8000-6100-5700-5500
Josh: 8000-6200-2800-1000-0
This round was very interesting because this was the second time I was able to play my deck against Blackwing. I actually sided in game two, taking out an MST,BTH, CyDra, 3x Solemns, Mind Control, Monk and Rose, and was able to still maintain board presence. Heavy for +2 always helps as well. I heart Stardust, Colossal and DAD.
Round 2 – vs Andy Jarrell (Blackwing)
Game 1
Me: 8000-7700-6300-5500
Andy: 8000-5500-3000-0
Game 2
Me: 8000-6400-5900
Andy: 8000-5500-4700-1000
This round was a little more of the same, Blackwing Shenanigans. This time I didn’t side as heavily as I did Round 1, and still maintained the deck’s balance. I start to think this might be my day. Big Mistake.
Round 3 – Jake Mattern (Gladiator Beasts)
Game 1
Me: 8000-7400
Jake: 8000-4500-2300-0
Game 2
Me: 8000-7300-2700-1350-550-0
Jake: 8000-7000
Game 3
Me: 8000-5000-4200-0
Jake: 8000-7200-6800
This was a pretty awesome duel. Now, in preparing for this event, I tested a lot against Gladiator Beasts, and I had felt that my main deck should be enough. Game 1, Jake made a misplay in not setting his in-hand Trap Dustshoot, which would have changed the fact that I was able to synchro out Stardust and Goyo turn 1 (gm turn 2). Game two he gets into the swing of tag out and tag in, and even a Red Dragon Archfiend clearing two Hoplomus and a DEF mode Sangan, I still cannot overcome his advantage. Funny moment, I activate Mind Control and chain Emergency Teleport while he has a face up Murmillo, no backrow, and Jake is at 7000 and I am 2700 with a Solemn in hand. I’m thinking, “I’ll hit for 2400 and gain at least 1200 life before he is going to be able to draw an answer, hopefully.” Unfortunately, this would depend on actually having a MAGICAL ANDROID in your Extra Deck, which is not something I had realized. I receive a Procedural Error – Minor: Warning (which is funny considering how many times I give that penalty out), laugh, set Solemn, and proceed to get owned in the face. Game three was a lesson on “How to lay the smackdown on a well respected judge” by Jake Mattern. Turn two I am staring down Herk with his three in hand. I have exactly four spells, and I read Solemn set (correct read if I remember). I actually put up a fight, and get rid of the Herk with a set Divine Wrath, but cannot top an answer, and I scoop it up when I draw Mind Control with nothing to help.
Round 4 – Richard Boyd (Clock Tower Prison)
Game 1
Me: 8000
Rich: 8000-7000-1400
Game 2
Me: 8000
Rich: 8000-4000-0
After coming off of one of the best duels in recent memory, of which I happened to come out on the losing side, this round provides me with one of the most unique and memorable. I am familiar with this duelist. He usually plays “interesting decks” to say the least, and this did not disappoint. Game 1 he leads off with Prohibition, declaring “Phoenix Wing Wind Blast”, then activates Terraforming for Clock Tower Prison (activating the field spell), and then plays Field Barrier and sets three cards to the back row. This is going to take a while. I get out Dark Armed Dragon and declare priority on his effect, targeting Clock Tower Prison (after being able to MST the Field Barrier end phase last turn) only to run into Skill Drain. Basically, I am able to get a significant shot into his lifepoints, and then about 10 turns go by, before I am finally able to synchro for Dark Strike Fighter and sacrifice him for game. Game two took even longer, but Giant Trunade into Solemn, MST into Dark Bribe, and Monster Reborn into Cursed Seal of the Forbidden Spell protects his backrow. I finally synchro into Black Rose Dragon, blow up, and summon Rose, Warrior of Revenge to finish him off.
Round 5 – Chris (Lightsworn)
Game 1
Me: 8000-7200-4200-0
Chris: 8000-7150
Game 2
Me: 8000-0
Chris: 8000
This was such an awesome match (not really). Dude had everything, I had not so much, A horrible misplay costs me game 2, and I am ready to hang it all up. Then I find out that I was paired down this round, so I was eternally sad because I was like, yeah, definitely not in top 8. I discover that I finished 4th, and that my teammate and brother, Tom Katt finished 7th. We’d be in separate brackets, and maybe would meet up in the Finals like I had hoped.
Top 8 Quarterfinal Match – Manny (Lightsworn)
Game 1
Me: 8000
Manny: 8000-6600-0
Game 2
Me: 8000-7200-4200-0
Manny: 8000-7000
Game 3
Me: 8000-4000-3400
Manny: 8000-6500-4000-1500-0
This was a good Lightsworn deck, and a good player. Game three was nuts going back and forth, and Sam (Sleeper) Jones provides some color commentary, but in the end I am able to pull this one out. I held on to DAD for a while, almost a little too long, but thankfully Dark Grepher and Plaguespreader save the day. Go Goyo!
Top 4 Semifinal Match – Sam (Sleeper) Jones (Lightsworn)
I am not posting scores because I didn’t keep it. Sam and I had been attempting to play each other throughout the day with our “local tourney” decks, and hadn’t gotten to finish any of the duels. Here, we go head to head, and I get 2-0’d. Sam is a great player, and I know I put up one hell of a fight, Game 1 he overcomes a Double Solemn trying to drop two Judgment Dragons on me, and ends up running Lumina over Krebons with Honest helping out. Game 2, I scoop it up although I am holding Gorz in hand, Sam has just summoned JD with Garoth and Celestia in the gang, and he had only three cards in his deck left. It needs to be said, Sam is an awesome player and I really enjoyed our matches, especially the later ones. I look forward to seeing Sam again at the Tampa Regional, and at future events.
Conclusion
Prizes were only given out to the winner, so the top two decided to split (Sam and Jake, with Sam actually winning a dice roll). In the future, I would like to see a better prize structure for an event with an entry fee greater than $20.00. Even if I would have gotten back my cost to enter the event that would have been sufficient. Overall, I would have liked to have had a better showing, having a few more rounds, but this shows me that I should spend more time playtesting and researching before spending that kind of money in this economy.
This meta seems balanced, although in my opinion Lightsworn is the fastest deck in the game right now, it also seems highly based on luck. This is not to say that Lightsworn players are lucky and not good, actually far from it. Only players like Sam, Danny Brown, Nam Nguyen, Frank Debrito, and some of the other higher caliber Lightsworn players I know could actually be so successful with the deck, because it can be unstable. Yes, you never know what you are going to mill, and sometimes you have to be the kind of player that could take the absolute worst hand your deck could give you and still win. That being said, I think that I have changed the minds of people who said you could no longer play Destiny Heroes now that D-Draw is limited to two. That being said, and without further adieu, here is what I ran:
Decklist
TeleMonk: 40 cards
Monsters: 18
1x Dark Armed Dragon
1x Cyber Dragon
1x Destiny Hero - Plasma
1x Elemental Hero Stratos
1x Dark Grepher
2x Rose, Warrior of Revenge
1x Destiny Hero - Diamond Dude
1x Armageddon Knight
2x Krebons
1x Sangan
2x Summoner Monk
2x Destiny Hero – Malicious
1x Necro Gardna
1x Plaguespreader Zombie
Spells: 14
2x Allure of Darkness
1x Brain Control
2x Destiny Draw
1x Emergency Teleport
1x Heavy Storm
1x Lightning Vortex
2x Mind Control
1x Monster Reborn
1x Mystical Space Typhoon
1x Reinforcement of the Army
1x Scapegoat
Traps: 8
3x Bottomless Trap Hole
1x Mirror Force
3x Solemn Judgment
1x Torrential Tribute
Extra Deck: 14
2x Stardust Dragon (MVP)
2x Colossal Fighter
1x Thought Ruler Archfiend
1x Red Dragon Archfiend
1x Dark Strike Fighter (awesome card)
1x Black Rose Dragon
1x Doomkaiser Dragon
1x Goyo Guardian
1x Iron Chain Dragon
1x Gaia Knight, The Force of Earth
1x Armory Arm
1x Gladiator Beast Gyzarus
0x Magical Android
Side Deck: 15
1x Breaker the Magical Warrior
1x Caius the Shadow Monarch
2x D.D. Crow
2x Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer
2x Trap Eater
1x Giant Trunade
1x Smashing Ground
1x Divine Wrath
2x Phoenix Wing Wind Blast
1x Royal Oppression
1x Threatening Roar