Pojo's Vs.
Message Board
News

Trading
Card Game
Card of the Day
Fan Tips
Tournament Reports
Top 10 Lists

Featured Writers
Scott Gerhardt
The Tinkerer's Workshop
Paul Hagan
Q's Universe
Jason Matthews

Spoilers
Avengers
Batman Starter
DC Origins
Fantastic 4 Starter

Green Lantern
Infinite Crisis
JLA
Legion of Super Heroes
Marvel Knights
Marvel Origins
Spiderman Starter
Superman
Web of Spidey X-Men
Affiliation Lists
Anti-Matter
Arkham Inmates
Avengers
Brotherhood
Crime Lords
Darkseid Elite
Doom
Emerald Enemies
Fantastic Four
Gotham Knights
Green Lantern
Kang Council
League of Assassins
Marvel Knights
Manhunter
Masters of Evil
New Gods
Revenge Squad
Sentinel
Sinister Syndicate
Spider-Friends
Squadron Supreme
Teen Titans
Team Superman
X-Men
Small Teams
Non-Affiliated Characters
Non-Affiliated Equipment and Locations
Non-Affiliated Plot Twists
X-Statix
Underworld
Crime Lords
Other
Staff

Strategy from a Judge’s & Retailers Perspective
by Scott Gerhardt
March 28, 2005

          First of all, I got an opportunity to do a little judging about a week ago at Wizard World.  UDE held one of their 10k tournaments there and I was on staff for this tournament.  Sure, there were rulings, cheaters, and all the fun stuff that comes with a tournament of this magnitude.  I don’t really want to go over that too much.  Throughout the 2 days, I got a chance to look over a whole bunch of matches and matchups.  Here are a few things I saw, noticed, and want to comment on.

• This IS from a Judge’s perspective.  Guys, when playing Vs System, and you are playing “Magneto”, please remember to put SOMETHING to verify which version you are playing.  At the bare minimum, put the drop number, like “Magneto – 5”.  Even better would be initials: “Magneto – E.L.”  You can write it all out, and that’s awesome, but give us judges SOME clue as to what card you’re talking about.
   
• Okay.  So speaking of checking deck forms, we run across this rather odd deck with 28 Intergangs.  You know, it takes some guts to run anything with 28 Intergangs in a 10k.  The sad part it that I think it can kill you on turn 2 with an optimal (and I mean optimal) draw, and can get the job done with relative ease on turn 3.  The problem is if your opponent has…well….anything.  There are plenty of problems.  Overload is the first that comes to mind, but this deck can even get it’s day ruined by an Acrobatic Dodge.  Mind you, it was the most fun deck of the day, and certainly the most talked about, but I don’t think you could get me to play that in a competitive environment.
   
• What is the deal with Sentinel Curve.  I know the deck is good.  Far as I can gather, it didn’t get THAT much with MMK, if anything.  Was Mark III and Mark V really THAT good that the deck is amazing all of a sudden.  I think you can clearly see the power of the internet by going to tournaments like this.  I would love to get my hands on a 100 man tournament, none of whom had ever actually scouted or researched decks on the internet, but all had an endless supply of cards and good knowledge.  I would love to see what decks got created.  The influence of the net has had (of course) a profound, and I would easily say THE most profound influence on the tournament environment.  We’ve known this for years, and I feel like it just gets more and more profound.
   
• Teen Titans – everyone is playing Teen Titans it seems.  The deck is certainly good, but if I have to stare down another TT vs TT mirror match I’m gonna vomit.  I simply find them to be the most boring things, but yet, you will see a ton of them as long as the deck is viable.  This was simply my rant.
   
• People have been chiming in left and right about Golden Age vs Modern Age.  You know, thank god we are getting Modern Age. Why not?  Frankly, a game needs some good power cards to get up off the ground.  A Game, Pro Circuit or no, that has nothing but crappy cards initially, will fail.  So give us the Savage Beatdown and the Have A Blast and fun crap like that.  Now, we’re playing it, so take them away and balance the game.  Savage Beatdown should not be a $30 card.  NOTHING should be a $30 card in a game where you have a 1:77 of pulling it from a booster pack.  That is the sign of a card that needs banning.  So, instead of banning, we’ll just make it disappear.  Keep it around for Golden Age, but give players a Savage-free zone to try out other decks that simply aren’t competitively viable.
   
• Josh Whitten is hilarious.  This is a statement.  If you’re in and around 10k, just watch him play or talk with him.  The guy is just funny as hell to listen to.  No useful information here, but since Josh is the 10k god with an 80% top 8 percentage, he needs some kudos.

Eh, that about wraps Wizard World.  I got to table judge a Quarterfinal and Semifinal match which was really neat.  I got to go downstairs, grab Rob Van Dam, and bring him upstairs for some of the players and judges to meet.  I’m a wrestling geek – that was cool for me.  Get better Rob – we want to see you back in August!!!

      On to Gama.  Yeah, I went to Gama first, but Wizard World had better material – leaving my sluff for last.

·        I got to see the new FF Starter (for the movie coming up) as well as a booster box for GLC (Green Lantern Corp).  This was neat.  I’d show you the pictures, but I could not find my camera while at Gama, and it quite upset me. 

·        Play Shaman King.  This game is freakin’ ridiculously fun, and it seems like no one is playing it.  I wanna see people play this game, and play it a lot.  It’s easy, fun, and not that expensive.  Get in and play it!  I did not see NEARLY enough demos of it at the UDE booth.  I saw some, but there were some empty tables – shame… L

·        Never assume an ipod is free.  I played in a retailer tournament.  Like, 18 people with an ipod to the winner.  I’ve been to 2 Pro Circuits and not a bad player, right?  Never assume the ipod is automatic.  Playing in a retailer tournament, I went 1-2.  I wanted to cry, but lost to some REALLY good players in all fairness.  The tournament was one of the better fields I had seen in a while – relatively no scrubs.

Do I have anything else REALLY pertinent to say…no, not really.  I have my tip of the week, though:

Go out and find/buy some InuYasha cards.  This is a game by Score, and while it will not replace any of the big games as a huge tournament environment, the game is a little different, simple, but fun as hell.  Imagine a game where you can play infinite of any card, AND IT’S BALANCED!!!   It is definitely worth a look over if you enjoy TCG gaming.

That’s it for the week.  Be sure to cover all your Vs System, Magic, Yu-Gi-Oh, and more needs at www.ShuffleAndCut.com.  Hope to see you there soon!

Until next time, keep playing!