JaeLove

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JAELOVE's Smooth Journey
Article 40: A Status Update
February 1, 2006

Boy do I have a lot to answer for. My e-mail box is cluttered with hundreds of e-mails that I never quite got around to answering over Christmas break, the Pojo exclusive has gone unfinished, and some filthy savage named Sandtrap is spreading rumors that the immortal Team Savage has broken up! Could it all be true? 

I apologize for not keeping up to date to this loyal Pojo readership, that has taken me to the point as a duelist and spokesman I am today. Like the other legends before me, such as DM7FGD and Someguy, I too once thought I would be forever committed and dedicated to this beautiful website. Unfortunately, I am now in my third year at college, other responsibilities beckon, and I have not been able to catch up with my work here at Pojo. I am currently writing articles and strategies for Metagame.com, hopefully you can catch some of my stuff there. The mailbox is still intact and will go drastic review in the coming weeks, so be prepared for some replies. 

So what happened with the epic East versus West team battle? Why did I choose to stay silent on it for so long? I have a number of reasons that I chose to keep to myself, but with the imminent demise of my favorite Yu-Gi-Oh! team in the whole world, it would not be too bad to bring these reasons to light. The original intent was to give something back to the Yu-Gi-Oh community, by having this team battle at Shonen Jump San Francisco. A thread was created in the Pojo message boards, which are the best Yu-Gi-Oh message boards by far (everyone who browses this site should view it!). Unfortunately, because of numerous trolling users from the Bay area and even the East coast, the goodwill that was created by the team battle between both teams was lost. The thread was locked and closed. 

All of the West coast elites and East coast players are friends with one another. We hold tremendous respect and mutual admiration for each other’s teams, and it was truly a shame that a few miscreants had to ruin the fun and such for everybody. The closing of the thread by board moderators that I considered friends (I realized what had to be done) showed me that some people will choose to be ungrateful and unappreciative no matter the burdens our mods and featured writers take. 

You see, all the work on Pojo is free. My decision to take an additional half day on Sunday to take notes for the entire battle, then type them all up on the computer, is not an entitlement to anyone. I chose to do it for the community, and the community responded by slapping me and all the participants in the face by insulting sides from both teams, getting all the buzz shut down in the boards, and prematurely releasing the outcome. Yes, Team Overdose’s Anthony Alvarado put on a stunning performance, defeating six West coast players in a row in several hotly contested 2-1 battles. Yes, there will be a rematch. However, since these griefers chose to ruin the surprise and suspense, I figured there was no point in posting the rest of the match reports. As you can see, I was and am still highly upset. Nevertheless, I would never intentionally hide a triumph. 

Yes, the East Coast team defeated us fair and square, with four members remaining. Anthony Alvarado was the MVP of the East Side, and Hugo Adame was the MVP of the West Side. But you already knew that, thanks to the message board users who are now banned. 

The last thing I want to address is my status with Team Savage, the team I created with Sandtrap, f00b, and Sheckii, and my plans for the future with this site. Team Savage is indeed retired. The domain and coding for the website might be converted to a future website, but for now everything is defunct. Different commitments, a lack of intensity by many of my teammates, and a general sickness of trying to help others without regard for my own self led to the demise on my part. However, the team did accomplish a great deal, and I would like to lay it to rest by providing a brief tribute to all of the members that helped create the first competitive team that prided itself on originality and tech to counter the metagame. Comic Odyssey and Team Savage ushered in the team craze that has everyone and their grandmothers wearing team colors now, and it’s hard to believe it’s been less than a year since that epic clash at Shonen Jump Pomona. 

Myself: In the past year, I managed to be one of perhaps six players in the nation to have consecutive top four Shonen Jump Championship showings. In an epic clash with another legend, Anthony Alvarado, I was defeated handily 2-0 at Charlotte, then lost to another worthy opponent in Seattle in the top four. The decks were a Zombie/Dust Tornado control hybrid that ignored Scapegoat and Black Luster Soldier, one that I am most proud of to this day, and the first incarnation of Warrior Toolbox in a Shonen Jump Championship decklist. And to those who feel Toolbox has always been around, I say my article and subsequent demonstration of the form helped usher it in as top tier, and here to stay forever. All of this was accomplished while a member of Team Savage. I also had multiple misses and near-misses at Shonen Jumps in Vegas, Houston, Indy, and such. It was a great run.

Evan “Sandtrap” Vargas: Evan single-handedly created perhaps the most unique and copied deck form in the history of Yu-Gi-Oh! Piloting his unique soul control build to a top four performance at Shonen Jump Pomona, Sandtrap unquestionably proved his worth as one of the most original players to ever grace the game. I first heard of him through his Fairy deck he used to qualify at Regionals (I used Strike Ninja and Trap Dustshoot/Mind Crush myself). A legend even when I was in training diapers, I always looked up to the man. Coming onto equal footing with him and being able to consider him one of my best friends is a true honor. Thank you Mr. Vargas. Out of all duelists in the entire game, period, his mark will probably be left the longest on the basis of Soul Control alone.  

David “f00b” Simon: David was never quite able to capture the success that was entitled to him. Working tirelessly at perfecting different deck types, but not able to attend enough Shonen Jumps to truly make his mark, he’ll always be remembered for two innovations. One is he basically created the idea of Metamorphosis as a top tier deck type; two is that he, along with the help of myself, created one of the most ubiquitous deck types before the new ban list. The Airknight Parshath/Royal Decree deck, constructed to counter the Scapegoat metagame, nearly gave players such as Wilson Luc and Tony Lee the chance to top eight the last few Shonen Jumps. They barely missed with 2 losses a piece, but the good players in the know realized how great the deck was. 

He was also one of America’s clutch performers. David took down Wilson Luc in a clash of legends in the Savage-Odyssey team battle, played some of Canada and the East Coast’s best in our respective team battles, and created great respect. 

Tony “Sheckii” Lee: I have no idea why he calls himself that, considering it’s a curse word in Korean. I rather prefer the more opulent “Sultan”, and so does he. Tony, as well, did not quite manage to achieve the success he was entitled to. However, he is remarkable for his consistency, managing to have two losses in three Shonen Jumps in a row. In all three of these Shonen Jump matches, he entered the final round needing to win a match to make the top eight. In two of these three, he played some of the best players in the nation. Brandon Burks, from Team Alpha Omega, defeated him at Indy, while Paul Levitin defeated him at Los Angeles. Nevertheless, Tony was the perfect example of the player who didn’t quite get the limelight, but put out quality results time after time. 

Hugo Adame: Hugo helped create Comic Odyssey, but left the team for personal reasons after Shonen Jump Las Vegas. Having the chance to work with him was awesome, and he remains one of the best, most focused players in the game. Finishing slightly out of the top eight in Nationals, and top eighting the inaugural Shonen Jump with several near misses (including an epic match with Ryan Cerda at Houston) in limited opportunities is a track record that represents well. Hugo managed to create all sorts of different deck types that also enabled him to completely obliterate Team Scoop en route to losing a nail-biter to Rhymus Lizo in the East versus West team battle. And I love Team Scoop. 

Miguel Flores: A runner up at the inaugural Shonen Jump Championship, Miguel also managed to top eight Shonen Jump San Francisco, only to have an unnamed player flat out steal the match slip. In perhaps the most egregious example of bad sportsmanship I have seen in the history of this game, the loser of the match marked himself as winner and turned the slip in. This robbed Miguel of his second top eight chance, but his credentials are still without dispute. One of the best buddies I have ever made at this game, he was an original store player friend of mine when I completely sucked! And now he has a side event Des Volstgalph win against Coin Flip and a runner up performance! 

Osman Ortiz: Another highly prized member of Team Savage until his switch, Osman actually managed to win Shonen Jump Seattle with Team Odyssey. Even though we realized this team wasn’t the best fit for him, I have never held ill will toward the man whatsoever. We went through a lot together in the formative months of the team, and I will always congratulate Osman as a true team player and a man who wrestles women in hotel rooms for no apparent reason. 

Nathaniel Needleback: I have no idea how to spell his last name, but this Norcal legend also made his mark upon the team. Sauntering into Shonen Jump Houston with a Spell Canceller/Mirror Wall/Don Zaloog deck in a Scapegoat format, he absolutely mopped the floor with the competition. Perhaps the studliest duelist of all time, if you mix playing skill with attire and looks, Nathaniel Niezledlebeck is a king among kings. Another of my closest Yu-Gi-Oh friends, he represents A-1 Comics in Sacramento and shows how good Norcal can be. 

            And I can’t end this article without paying homage to our two newest recruits, who didn’t get to enjoy the fruits of labor with the rest of the team. They are, of course, Conspire and Supertrunks. They need no introduction; each have a top eight in a Shonen Jump Championship in America, and have done extremely well at Canadian nationals. In fact, Matt Peddle is the only duelist in the history of mankind, with the possible exception of Aaron Burr, to top eight two nationals in a row. 

Team Savage Retires. 

            I’ll try to be back with more strategy articles and exclusive updates, and get back to all the e-mails. I’ll never forget my roots here, and thanks to all the supporters who show love and all the detractors who only strengthen the resolve.