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JAELOVE's Smooth Journey
Article 37: All That I have Learned in a Year
July 20, 2005

Let’s take a trip down memory lane. Just over a year ago, I was an eager volunteer for the Pojo website, and the owner graciously gave me a chance to write articles for a living.

In that short span of time, I’ve had the chance to form a team with some of the best players in the game, learn from all of the wins and defeats scattered throughout the course of the year, and gather my thoughts for an anniversary special.

To those who have supported my work through my growth as both a writer and a player, I thank you. And like I have always said, those who have chosen to “maliciously denigrate” me also have my respect. My take on criticism was always that the constructive variety was helpful and necessary.

Perhaps there are those that find great influence from my articles and wish to follow in my footsteps. I say this because there are quite a few legends from the older days that have shaped my experience and desire to help others. Perhaps it would be prudent to take the time to give thanks to the older spirits that shaped the state of the game for me and many others.

Plenty of times I would check in to Retrained Celtic Guardian’s articles about the OCG, or original card game in Japan. Reading his collected works gave me great insight into the game, and his “Infinite Insights” were aptly named. Along with this, I visited Edo’s page back when updates were frequent, and set translations and articles were always welcome reads.

On the very pages of Pojo.com, writers such as SomeGuy and DM7FGD inspired me to try to follow in their footsteps. I remember the first day I played Yu-Gi-Oh!, pulling an Ameba from a Magic Ruler booster pack and rushing to the peerless Card of the Day Reviews to see its worth. I would check for reviews on cards such as Monster Recovery to see if they were good, reading about Clown Control and mysteriously powerful OCG cards merrily.

Things have come full circle now, and I can only hope in the coming months to impart the same type of wisdom and guiding force that was given to me by the all time greats of the game. Hats off to those that preceded me and those that will follow!

Thoughts Regarding Attitude

In the span of a short year, I’ve moved from mainly casual play at local tournaments to spearheading one of the highest profile and best teams in the nation. The initial Anaheim Shonen Jump attracted me to the regional and the championship, proving to me that I could survive with the very best of the United States metagame. Through this, I’ve learned many an idea about attitude.

The first is that real life goals should generally be placed before gaming-related goals. What I mean is that concepts such as friendship, dignity, respect, honor and such are more important things to aspire to than any CCG related success. Being able to make friends with such a diverse group of players across the nation has always been a blessing I have not taken for granted. All too often in this game we see older players ripping off younger ones in trades, or simply choosing to steal entire decks and binders at events. This sort of terrible behavior might lead to financial gain, but at what cost?

Having your head in the right place, knowing the game is meant to be played seriously to win and yet honorably for fun is the most important goal. After the Houston Shonen Jump, I chose to change my attitude and simply look to find fun in the game. Success soon followed at Charlotte and Seattle, which I can directly attribute to different motivations.

This brings me to my next idea; having a terrible attitude about the game state will actually weaken your play. Constantly I see even the best players complain about luck, and misfortune, and terrible situations where opponents may draw the only cards in the deck to save them, or conjure up an unbeatable hand. In these cases, the truly skilled players will remain confident, stoic as a rock, and continue to play knowing that the skills will last the test of time.

At the Anaheim Shonen Jump, I took a loss in the early rounds, then played with full intensity to play to a 7-1 record before being paired with my friend Miguel Flores. At that point, he made a complete play mistake that cost him the match. After telling him I wouldn’t sign the slip as winner, I chose to honor my friendship with the man over greed and success, thus choosing to give him the match win needed to place him into the top 8, where he subsequently became the runner up. Clearly I am practicing what I preach here.

Then at Vegas, I lost once again in the opening rounds, having to win five matches in a row to end up at 6-1. At this point, I entered a match with a solid player who repeatedly top-decked Fiber Jar, and with the combination of staggering luck and a failure to have a time extension at the Metagame.com featured table, I lost my second chance to enter the top eight. At this point, my attitude took a turn for the worse. The pressure began to build, and I would often decry every single instance of my opponent “god lucking me.”

Events at Pomona and Houston were marred for me by these cases of opponents using extraordinary luck to defeat me. I had turned into an impetuous brat of sorts, constantly complaining and whining instead of realizing that the game involved a solid element of luck. After the Houston tournament, in which I lost to two of the best players in the nation, I decided to undergo an attitude change. From now on, I would be secure in my own abilities, and not fall so disheartened to an early loss. The pressure was lifted, and I decided to play the game merely for the beauty of its fun.

With this newfound change in attitude, I found a test at Charlotte. I lost in the first round to a Ben Kei deck that eerily paralleled my misfortunate at Pomona. In this case, however, another round of terrible luck (a topdecked Cyber Jar) did not derail my confident mood. I proceeded to win ten matches in a row, ending up in the finals where I then went up against the best hands I have ever seen an opponent draw, coupled with the worst draws possible with my consistent deck (three Book of Moons in a row!).

My old self might have sat there and stewed and cried about the lack of luck in the finals for a 5,000 dollar prize. However, I had learned a lot from my readers and my experiences. I shook the man’s hand, congratulated him, and even had a long conversation about my respect for him and his team. I’ve come full circle with everything I’ve learned about attitude.

To me it sounds so cliché, but playing to have fun is a whole lot easier than playing with the pressure of HAVING to win. I am almost certain that my current string of high placements in the past two Shonen Jumps would not have happened without a change in attitude.

Thoughts Regarding Social Interaction Within the Game

In the past year, I’ve become a relatively unknown, weaned on the articles of f00b, Sandtrap, DM7FGD, and such into a recognizable player who is greeted by numerous people across the nation. I’ve never forgotten the humble, beginner’s roots that I’ve come from, and consistently find myself astounded to be in the company of the greatest players in the game. My teammates were experts long before I was, and I’ve also realized that each and every one of us still have a lot to learn.

The fact is that I have a social life outside of Yu-Gi-Oh! I attend a college, have plenty of friends who scoff at the game, and generally have two separate worlds. Yet the fact remains that some of the friendships I’ve forged through this game will last with me for a long time. The chance to meet new people, shake hands and greet others, and give out and receive compliments from kind strangers is always one that is appreciated greatly. The game of Yu-Gi-Oh! does indeed have the power to unite us all in a way that’s greater than the 800 attack boost from United We Stand.

At the local tournaments I run at Games of Berkeley (next to my college in Berkeley, CA), I’ve seen children of all colors gather together and play the game. In this sort of community, nobody steals from one another, adults will pay for broke kids’ entry fees, and a group appreciation of the game is shared. The fact is that in many pockets of American society, it’s very difficult to see the type of racial unity and abstention from typical teenage behavior (peer pressure, gang influences, race tensions) present in a group of Yu-Gi-Oh! players. I’ve consistently been amazed at the good that the game has done for many lives.

To those who enjoy my work, and even to those who hate it, never forget that this job has given me the power to touch lives. People from all walks of live, all countries have e-mailed me for questions about decks, the game, and general banter about life itself. One touching reader told me about the power of the Dark Magician and Dark Paladin to change his life, to give him the power to believe in the spirit of Yugi himself pulling the man through the dark phases of his life. Sure, this may sound corny or hokey to you all, but it meant something to him to be able to write an e-mail to a person who could identify with his struggles.

Pojo has given me the power to reach out to anyone who wants to hear the humble words of a wise gamer. I am eternally grateful to every single person who has adored me, reviled me, or even approached me. Even at the expense of hours of my free time, I have taken the time to try to answer every e-mail (sorry about the batch after mid-May, I had to tour with the team all across the nation!). I’ll never take for granted the power of the fans of the website.

Thoughts on the State of the Game Itself

We can all agree, at times, that the state of the game is irreparably broken in many cases. The return of Graceful Charity and Delinquent Duo with the banning of Change of Heart, as many expected, has led to rampant Magician of Faith use that will often end the game. This sort of lack of balance is disturbing, especially in conjunction with the fact that the newer sets introduce 95% filler cards that never belong in competitive decks.

The future of the game can be changed by those innovators in the game that attempt to push new deck ideas to the highest tier tournaments. Yet it is clear that the game designers behind the cards of Yu-Gi-Oh! and the creators of the ban list need help. Perhaps some more input by the very best USA or Japanese players will be necessary in righting the ship.

Currently it is clear that the game’s popularity is both its biggest boon and burden. To the truly hardcore players, the prize money support and structure are not nearly enough to justify truly epic, big scale tournaments. It is also clear that the unbalanced format has turned many die hard fans off on the game. Yet the immense popularity of the manga, anime, and franchise itself has masked any of the ill effects of the fact that the game needs to be fixed!

The ban list was a great start, but there is plenty of work to be done to maintain and ultimately save the game we love.

Where Will JAELOVE Go From Here?

I will always continue to provide content to Pojo.com, despite the fact I have also secured a job with Metagame.com. Thanks to the support of everyone who has read my works, the name Jae Kim has become synonymous with a respectful attitude towards originality and genuine love for the game. I hope to continue to give back to the community the same sort of inspiration and support that was given to me.

The team I am in, Team Savage, will continue to attend the major events, hoping to score a major coup this Shonen Jump Season. In every event we attended, we have placed at least one member in the top 4. This 100% success rate is staggering; yet being tantalizingly close to the grand prize simply does not cut it for our team. To all those people whose e-mails I’ve answered and helped, I ask for simply one favor.

In the coming month, our team will attempt to create a website of our own. The site will feature direct coverage of the biggest events, featured articles by the biggest names of the game (who have never had articles published on other sites), card of the day reviews, deck fixes, and all sorts of other goodies. This site will not compete with any of the established names, but instead hope to augment them. I am eternally grateful to Pojo.com, and would gratefully lend any support I can through my site to the motherland.

Watch out for my future articles on this site, and Team Savage’s official website. Keep sending those e-mails, the Smooth Journey is in year two and will never fade from my duelist soul.

JAELOVE@gmail.com.