With the extensive use of social media, the landscape of the Kaijudo social world has already differentiated itself from that of Duel Masters by leaps and bounds. During the days of Duel Masters the anonymous writer behind the computer screen, pounding out words in hope that someone, anyone cared to read them was the norm. Now with the likes of Twitter, Facebook and the ungodly behemoth known as Youtube, players of all sorts have found an outlet to more fully express their support for the game they love. In the few short months of Kaijudos’ existence, more words have been spoken and written regarding Kaijudo than Duel Masters had during its entire existence.

It is from that understanding which “From the Vaults of the Kaijudo Masters” is born as a series of articles. These articles are intended to present a series that may function as a primer of sorts. With this I hope that we might more quickly introduce new players to some of the great and passionate content out there. In addition, for those already familiar with said content I hope that I can help bring us a bit closer as a community with new perspectives and understanding regarding those content providers.

Corey Miciotti, perhaps better known as EarthP0w3r, was one of the first to step into Kaijudo YouTuber scene. In fact, a good number of his videos feature Duel Masters, rather than Kaijudo dating prior to the release or announcement of Kaijudo. With this, EathP0w3r has become a “powerhouse” amongst Kaijudo Youtubers and rightly so. With 329 videos being watched by 629 subscribers, EarthP0w3r has pushed over 112 THOUSAND views!

            

Stats

Subscribers: 632

Views: 112,325

Type of Videos: Matches, Deck Profiles and News & Commentary.

Web Address: http://www.youtube.com/user/EarthP0w3R/videos?view=0

Interview with Cory aka EarthP0w3r

JMatthew: So, who are you in real life?

EarthP0w3r: My name is Carl Miciotto, I grew up and have lived in VA (en: Virginia) Beach my entire life. I work as an assistant manager a small chain of surf shops called Coastal Edge. I am currently going to ODU to obtain my bachelor’s degree in Math Education and will hopefully have my own high school Algebra/Calculus Class by the fall of 2014. I've been playing card games since the beginning of Pokemon and Yugioh and currently live and breathe Kaijudo (pun intended). Shout outs to DM!!!!

J: What part of the country do you play in?

E: The grand ol' US of A! As stated above, I live in VA Beach, Virginia.

J: Why do you play Kaijudo?

E: I loved DM. Plain and Simple. That game was my life for the time it was around. I met some of my best friends playing it. Kaijudo was announced as myself, CVH, Swan, Gorby, and all the others were making videos for DM here on YouTube and so we took hold and decided to make a name for ourselves as leaders in this amazing endeavor. This game is so rich in strategy and it's honestly just a lot of fun to play. Having an awesome community to play with to makes it even more worthwhile. I'll play this game as long as it's around.

J: Do you have a favorite card and why?

E: Well it was Bolt-Tail. Twin-Cannon Skyterror was my baby back in DM and when WOTC gave us Bolt-Tail (en: Dragon) right off the bat I fell back in love instantly. Other contenders would include Bolgash (en: Dragon) because it completely fits my play-style and Forsett because it's the alternet art for Torcon (My favorite card from DM... I actually own over 125 individual Torcon cards)

J: What is your favored play style?

E: Aggro. Nature has always been my civ of choice, Fire complements it well, and water for its clarity and subtle control mix to form a deck that performs exactly like me. Fast-paced with a calmness of mind.

J: What made you decide to start your own Kaijudo Channel on YouTube?

E:  I was bored at college and looking for an outlet for my free time. I had just started using Facebook last year and the social media explosion hit me all at once. I remembered I had made a YouTube account years ago. I decided I would start using it for something and I didn't know what. I was trying to think of something I could do that no one else was really doing and DM came to mind. The game had been dead for the better part of 5 years and so I thought I'd just start making videos for the hell of it and it turned out to be a lot of fun. And here we are today.

J: Many former Duel Masters players have discussed that from a set design perspective, Kaijudo offers a different feel from Duel Masters thanks to increased mana cost to play card, cards designed specifically to interact with a creatures level and so forth. From this set design perspective, where would you like to see the developers of Kaijudo take the game?

E: I really enjoy the "new" feel of the game. It’s much more “aggressive” I would say, for lack of a better word. They've balanced out a lot of cards that were staples in DM and have introduced a lot of attack for effect creatures that I think have enhanced this game a great deal. I feel as if WOTC has learned from DM, and made some great choices that have created a very amazing game, similar and yet vastly different from DM. To answer your questions, I would want them to continue to expand on the balance of everything. If the developers can continue doing what they're doing, I'll be happy.

J: Amongst the more outspoken of the community there has been a great deal of concern with regards to how WotC is handling competitive play. At this point, WotCs response seems fearful of creating a true competitive play at the risk of "placing one player on the podium above the others.” Where do you stand as far as the competitive play issue goes? Does Kaijudo require the serious competitive environment traditionally offered by CCGs or is WotCs vision of a less competitive, more cohesive play environment the way to go?

E: I want competitive play. I think WOTC needs to understand that the market they designed this game for, honestly, is not showing up. And the players 8-12 year olds are few and far between. The player base that IS showing up for this game is hungry for competition. I think it's absolutely ridiculous to not want to "crown a winner" so to speak. The whole idea behind a card game is that at the end of a duel, there will be a winner and loser. That's what a TCG is, that's what creates value. And to go a step further, Kaijudo has introduced cards like Skull Shatter, Razorkinder Puppet, Reef Prince Glu-Uurlge, and many other cards that are SUPER strategy intensive and honestly not, in my mind at least, built for a market that young. To go back to the winner/loser argument though; I think it's important for kids to understand the idea behind winning and losing, to understand to take a win or a loss with pride and want to grow and gain that sense of being a leader or becoming better, or both! That idea is what made me a better player in the past, and what continues to make me a better player today. I loved traveling, I loved the people I met, it was all around fantastic experiences that I would have never had had there not have been tournaments and organized play. Organized play made me the person/player I am today and I fear that without it, younger players involved in the game are going to miss out on some great opportunities and older players are going to lose interest.

Well that's that. Let me know how everything goes and when you post it. I'll shout you out as well and soon as you give me the green light. Take care!

~Earth