Squirrel 2.0 - Reloaded
Vintage
Stock Broken Arrow, Oklahoma
May 10, 2003 40 People $5
Winner
- 5 booster packs 2nd- 3 booster
packs 3rd - 1 booster pack
“Whatever
life holds in store for me, I will always remember these words: with great power
comes great responsibility. This is my
gift… my curse. Who am I?
“I’m
BigSpooky.”
Hey,
hey , hey, Pojo people! It’s time for
another exciting (hah!) installment of BigSpooky’s tournament reports. After a nearly month-long hiatus from
reporting (to study for the CPA Exam), I am back in full force. Granted, most of you probably didn’t miss my
tournament reports that much since almost no one’s reports were posted in the
last month (here’s hoping for a speedy recovery for ProfPoke’s computer).
For
those of you who are curious, my exam went very well. I’m almost positive that I passed two parts, and I feel pretty
good about the other two. As for when I
will find out how well I actually did, the grades won’t be released until AUGUST
5 (no… you did not misread that).
So, regardless of how beneficial your intentions may be, please don’t
send me e-mail asking if I’ve received my grades yet. If you do, I won’t respond until August 5! ;)
I’d
like to apologize in advance for the lack of detail in my tournament
report. In my infinite foolishness, I
lost my score reports from the tournaments that I went to this weekend. I normally wouldn’t post a report without
details. But since this is the first
weekend that I’ve had free to write a report in over a month, I figured that I
should post something. Besides, I think
that many people will still find some notes of interest in the report.
For
my rant this week, I’ve decided to go in a somewhat different direction. This is actually the same “rant” that was
present in my last report. But since
that report got lost in the e-mail (it’s all good ProfPoke), I decided to
re-post it… with a few changes.
There
are so many people posting on Pojo now who seem to think that tournament
reports are about bragging about their victories and how great their decks are
while bashing other people’s playing skills and cards (notably, a certain
individual with the word “Pepsi” in his e-mail address… who I warned to stop
bashing people or I would publicly humiliate him in my tournament report). Well I disagree. I think that all duelists should take a certain amount of pride
in their decks and in their abilities.
However, sharing your experiences with the people on Pojo is more about
learning how to better play the game, developing respect for others, how to be
a good sport, and fostering an insane hatred for thieves (just kidding… kind
of).
Anyone
who has read my tournament reports knows what I think of winning and losing –
winning is nice, but losing is NO BIG DEAL!
If I lost every duel, I would play the game just as much as I do now as
long as I was having fun. FUN,
people! That’s what this game is about
(and if anyone sends me a smart alec e-mail saying “Winning is fun for
me”, so help me… I’ll sic my Squirrels on you!)
There
seems to be a large number of dueling “gangs” present on Pojo. I have absolutely no problem with any of
them. But I fear that these groups
focus too much on winning duels and less on making Yu-Gi-Oh! a positive
experience for everyone. This game desperately
needs the presence of some strong role models.
Granted, none of us are perfect – certainly not me (apologies from me to
David for snapping at him for yelling while I was dueling… you were
being too loud, but I was still out of line).
But I like to think that I try to motivate the people around me to be
good duelists in EVERY aspect of the game – dueling skill, courtesy, and
sportsmanship. And I know that there
are other people out there who try to do the same.
So,
I’m going to form my own gang – Killer Squirrels Online! The requirements for entry are simple: 1)
You must display good sportsmanship in your dueling and your reporting; 2) You
must be willing to help others become better players; and 3) You must have a
heartfelt love for Killer Squirrels!
With
that, I’d like to introduce you to the first six members of Killer Squirrels
Online! In addition, I’ll post
links to each person’s most recent tournament report (except for mine, since
you’re reading it) so that you can learn all about them:
Squirrel Masters:
BigSpooky/Michael
(that’s me!)
Jedi_Lord/Timothy
(yes… you can call them “Flying Squirrels” if you really want to!) http://www.pojo.com/yu-gi-oh/KillerDecks/April2003/KDR-10/A%20LiL%20Hospitality%20for%20ya%20Timothy%20Williams%20Outer%20Limits%20Comics%20Murfreesboro.htm
Greenslime/Patrick
http://www.pojo.com/yu-gi-oh/KillerDecks/April2003/KDR-10/Discard.htm
Squirrel Lovers:
OMSskater/C.J. http://www.pojo.com/yu-gi-oh/KillerDecks/March2003/KDR-17/Tourney%20report%20BA%20oklahoma.htm
Just
in case you are wondering, “Squirrel Masters” are the members of KSO who run
Killer Squirrels (or Flying Squirrels… [groan!]) in their tournament deck. “Squirrel Lovers” are members who don’t run
Killer Squirrels, but admire them just the same!
If
you’d like to become a member of Killer Squirrels Online!, then please
read the final paragraph of this report for more information.
Welcome
to the new members! You represent the
best that the game of Yu-Gi-Oh! has to offer in terms sportsmanship, helping
others become better duelists, and teaching everyone how to have fun. Wear your titles with pride… you’ve all
earned it!
ON
TO THE DECK!!!
Squirrel
2.0 (43 cards total)
Monsters (16)
Cyber
Jar
Hayabusa
Knight X2
Jinzo
Magician
of Faith X2
Man-Eater
Bug X2
Morphing
Jar
Nimble
Momonga X3 (KILLER SQUIRRELS!!!)
Penguin
Soldier
Sangan
Sinister
Serpent
Witch
of the Black Forest
Magic (21)
Change
of Heart
Dark
Hole
Graceful
Charity X2
Harpie’s
Feather Duster
Heavy
Storm
Mage
Power
Monster
Reborn
Mystical
Space Typhoon X2
Nobleman
of Crossout X2
Pot
of Greed
Painful
Choice
Premature
Burial
Raigeki
Scapegoat
X2
Snatch
Steal
Swords
of Revealing Light
United
We Stand
Traps (6)
Call
of the Haunted
Imperial
Order
Mirror
Force
Skull
Lair
Torrential
Tribute X2
Side Deck (15)
4-Starred
Ladybug of Doom
Penguin
Soldier
Bait
Doll
Card
Destruction
Confiscation
Delinquent
Duo
Exchange
Miracle
Dig
The
Forceful Sentry
Ceasefire
Chain
Destruction
Collected
Power
Dust
Tornado
Mask
of Restrict
Skull
Lair
I
realize that this deck looks rather unassuming at first glance. I mean, my deck has only one monster over
1100 attack and doesn’t use Gravity Bind or Messenger of Peace… how good could
it possibly be? Well, all humility
aside, this deck is currently the scourge of Tulsa, Oklahoma! Since April 12, this deck has lost a total
of four tournament matches – twice to Braden and twice to my brother (one
of those against my brother was 0-8000 in two straight duels… my brother
definitely had my number… props to both Braden and my brother). Even more amazing is that I was able to go
completely undefeated in eight straight tournaments with this deck.
I
have told many people many times that there are only two things that are
absolutely certain about my dueling ability (please read them very
carefully to avoid misinterpretation): 1) There isn’t a duelist or
legal deck around that I can’t beat; 2) There isn’t a duelist or legal deck
around that can’t beat me! Those
two facts are true even with this deck.
But
this deck sure makes it tough for them to win twice in one match!
You
don’t have to take my word for it, though.
Just ask Sammy (The Unstoppable Sammy), who claimed that he could take
down the Squirrels. Well, he did manage
to defeat them in a single duel (more than most duelists in Tulsa can say…
including Jesse). But the Squirrels
came roaring back to take the match.
Poor
Sammy. Don’t worry, buddy – you’re
still The Unstoppable Sammy… just not The UnSQUIRRELable Sammy!
Ironically,
I’ve noticed a lot more Squirrel decks appearing in tournaments lately;
including Lance’s, Laurence’s, Stephanie’s, and Dat’s – which is nearly a card
for card duplicate of mine (sans Morphing Jar). Well, they say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery…
and I AM flattered…
…
but it does make winning tournaments a lot more difficult!
Saturday
10:00 AM – Vintage Stock (official tournament)
I
now wonder if I’ve developed the “Oh, no!” reputation at Vintage Stock that
Lance has. You see, since Lance has won
the last two tornament seasons at Vintage Stock, all the kids tend to groan
when they see him at the tournament.
But Squirrel 2.0 has been on a rampage lately at the official tournament
– winning the last FIVE tournaments. As
far as I can tell, none of the kids groan yet when they see me. But I know that Lance does…
One
other quick note: My brother was with me this morning. He’s become a regular on the tournament
circuit, and has placed in the past three official tournaments. Probably the only reason that he hasn’t
actually won a tournament yet is because he keeps meeting me in the finals (and
I am still a little bit better at dueling in a tournament atmosphere).
First
round - BigSpooky vs. Brandon (Exodia)
I
had actually helped Brandon with his Exodia deck last week, so I knew what he
was running. But as I started to side
deck in my Exodia stoppers, he told me that he wasn’t running Exodia anymore. Of course, after the duel started, he
admitted that he, in fact, WAS running Exodia (and felt bad for lying to
me). But it didn’t matter too much as I
drew Morphing Jar in my opening hand (heh heh heh!) One flip summon later, Exodia’s head was in Brandon’s
graveyard. And since I played Nobleman
of Crossout on his Penguin Soldier the next turn, it stayed in the graveyard.
Final
Score: 8000-0
Brandon…
It’s not nice to lie to your opponent!
LOL!
Update
on Mr. Zero (Spooky’s brother): Mr.
Zero won his first one fairly easily.
Since modifying his deck to include the Hayabusa Knight-United We
Stand/Mage Power combo, he’s been creating nearly as much havoc as I have. Funny stuff!
Second
Round - BigSpooky vs. John (Lord of
Dragons)
I
had an insane streak of horrible luck in this duel. My United We Stand, Mage Power, Raigeki, and Dark Hole were ALL
at the bottom of my deck. Fortunately,
I was able to keep John at bay with various stall tactics (including a Mirror
Force on one of his Blue Eyes White Dragons).
I finally pulled United We Stand.
Using my previously summoned Scapegoats and Jinzo, I was able to finally
beat John.
Final
Score: ????-0 (Lost Scorecard)
After
the duel, John told me to win the tournament so he could tell people that his
only loss came to the eventual tournament winner. Well, John, I’ve got a ways to go… but I’ll do my best!
Update
on Mr. Zero: My brother drew Travis
in the second round. Travis seems to
believe that, since he used to be able to thrash me easily (when I first
started playing – using cards like Judge Man and Battle Ox in a poorly
conceived Gaia Power deck), he should be able to beat both me and my brother
without any problem. Well, Travis DID
indeed run into a problem: a Hayabusa Knight equipped with United We
Stand. Mr. Zero advances.
Third
Round - BigSpooky vs. Colton (Heavy
Beatdown)
For
anyone who has read my past reports, you might remember that Colton is the
little guy who beat my Squirrel deck in the finals of a Vintage Stock
tournament a few months back. Well,
Colton is still a great duelist (especially for someone so young). But I’m a whole lot better than I used to
be… and I was itching for a tournament rematch!
Much
like my duel against John, I drew absolutely nothing against Colton to start
out. But I was able to hold him off for
a while through a clever Sinister Serpent/Penguin Soldier combo (I send his
monster and my monster back with Penguin Soldier… so he attacks on next turn –
assuming that he’ll destroy my Penguin Soldier – only to reveal my Sinister
Serpent… then I repeat the whole process).
Through my stall tactic, I was able to get Painful Choice, Premature
Burial, Hayabusa Knight, and Mage Power.
After using Painful Choice to bury Jinzo, I revived it with Premature
Burial. Then I summoned Hayabusa Knight
and equipped it with Mage Power.
Finally, I attacked to take the duel.
Final
Score: ????-0 (Lost Scorecard)
So
I finally get my revenge against Colton in a tournament. Of course, the fact that Colton has to say
“You Daddy” might be revenge enough.
What can I say? I am one
vindictive jerk!
Update
on Mr. Zero: Mr. Zero went up
against David (the one who beat me at Mini-Con… not the one that I snapped at)
in the third round. Thanks to an
ENORMOUS tactical error by David, my brother took the duel in three turns. Ouch!
Semifinals - BigSpooky vs. Lance (Squirrels!)
I
found out during the duel that Lance was running a modified version of my deck
(everybody wants to be like Spooky!)
Unfortunately for me, Lance has the skill to be REALLY good with a
Squirrel deck. So I knew that this
would be an especially difficult duel.
Since
we were in the semifinals, we went to match play. I was a bit confused about this, since, in the past, we had only
gone to match play during the finals.
But I wasn’t about to argue.
Neither was Lance… though he would soon change his mind.
Duel
1 – Not much to say here. Lance whooped
me in about five turns with a Hayabusa Knight-Mage Power combo. I now know exactly how annoying that combo
can be.
Final
Score: 0-???? (Lost Scorecard)
Duel
2 – I was pretty sure that I was done for when I drew nothing but garbage in my
opening hand… that is, until I drew my sixth card – Morphing Jar! I set my Morphing Jar on my first move. Much to his dismay, Lance played Swords of
Revealing Light to flip my Morphing Jar (D’oh!) And, while I threw away a Squirrel, Sangan, and Hayabusa Knight,
Lance ended up losing Premature Burial, Dark Hole, and Jinzo! I was able to capitalize on Lance’s
misfortune, and take the second duel.
Final
Score: ????-0 (Lost Scorecard)
Duel
3 – Reversal of fortune, indeed. In
this duel, I blasted Lance in about five turns with MY Hayabusa Knight-Mage
Power combo. I like the combo so much
better when I’M the one using it.
Final
Score: ????-0 (Lost Scorecard)
Well,
Lance has now tried to take out my Squirrels with a beatdown deck, a clown
deck, a hand depletion deck, and a Squirrel deck… to no avail. I’m sure he’ll eventually find a deck that
will take out mine. But not today!
Update
on Mr. Zero: Well, my brother had
quite the challenge in Laurence (also using a Squirrel deck). The match went to three duels, but my brother
finally prevailed. So, for the third
weekend out of the last four, my brother and I would meet in the finals.
Finals – BigSpooky vs. Mr. Zero (Hayabusa Stall)
Basically,
my brother’s deck is the same as my deck… without the Squirrels. There are a few other differences, but they
are largely unimportant. What is
important is that my brother knows my deck and my playing techniques better
than anyone. So, he often prevails over
me (how do you think he was able to beat me 0-8000 in two straight duels?)
Duel
1 – Man I miss that third Graceful Charity!
I was having a lot of drawing problems in this duel. On the other hand, my brother was also
having some drawing problems of his own.
On the other… um… OTHER hand, he was able to get the cards he needed
before I could.
Final
Score: 0-???? (Lost Scorecard)
Duel
2 – This duel went back and forth for nearly twenty minutes. While we both drew game-winning combos, we
also had counters set up to keep the duel close. I finally gained the upper hand by reviving my Jinzo and Snatch
Stealing his Jinzo.
Final
Score: ????-0 (Lost Scorecard)
Duel
3 – My father loves to tell a story about how he once managed to fool his
father during a game of Spades (for those of you who don’t know what Spades is,
it’s a card game that DOESN’T involve buying overpriced collectibles). Anyhow, much like my father had done to his
father, I was able to catch my brother in a rare mistake. I played Painful Choice, and my brother gave
me Morphing Jar. On his turn, he placed
all of the cards in his hand, then played Change of Heart on my face down
monster. Unfortunately for him, it WASN’T
my Morphing Jar… it was my Sinister Serpent!
On my next turn, I played Harpie’s Feather Duster and Dark Hole in
succession. So, with no cards in his
hand or on the field, my brother was at a huge card disadvantage. It only took a few turns for me to finish
him off.
Final
Score: 7700-0
Well,
that makes SIX official tournaments in a row.
While I am pleased about the outcome, I do wonder how long I will be able
to keep this up.
One
final note before “Props and Slops”:
My brother won the other tournament that we went to today (Top Deck… had to
beat out about 60 other duelists to win… way to go, bro!) I would’ve done a report on it, but I was
running my project deck (Hit ‘Em Up Style).
All things considered, I did pretty well… but Squirrel 2.0 is still my
best deck!
Props:
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA !!!!
Because we
are living in the greatest country in the
entire world!
So don’t be afraid to show some pride!
And don’t forget to support out troops!
Me
– For winning six official tournaments in a row (and against a VERY tough group
of competitors, I might add)
Squirrel
2.0 – You think you can hang with the Squirrels? Just bring it! But I give
you timely warning: Beatdown ain’t got what it takes!!
Sammy
(The Unstoppable Sammy) – for proving that Squirrels do indeed dominate
beatdown decks… even ones with Gemini Elves!
My
brother – for his incredible improvement in tournament dueling. I know that it won’t be long until YOU’RE
the one winning the tournaments. And
once that happens, I’m going to have to ask you to leave!
My
brother and Braden – for being the ONLY people to beat Squirrel 2.0 in
tournament play (no, Sammy… you don’t count!)
Killer
Squirrels Online! (and all of its members) – A group with great duelists AND
great sports! How sweet is that?!?!?
Gary
– for making the semifinals and finals at the Vintage Stock tournament match
play
Brandon,
John, Colton, Lance, and Mr. Zero – for fun, hard-fought duels and for being
good sports
All
of my other opponents that I played for fun – I love to duel... and I can't do
it without opponents
Cody
– for giving me the Messenger of Peace that I so desperately needed (I owe ya
one!)
Vintage
Stock – for hosting the tournament
Slops:
Me
– for snapping at David. I owe him a
HUGE apology!
Vintage
Stock – MATCH PLAY! MATCH PLAY! MATCH PLAY!
Upper
Deck – for restricting Sinister Serpent on the same day that I finally got
enough of them to build a snake deck!
People
who give props to pizza – just because it’s a silly thing to do ;)
Bad
Sports – Here’s the new Britney Spears jingle: “PEPSI! For those who are incredibly conceited and
need to quit bashing other duelists’ decks and playing ability before Squirrel
2.0 makes him cry and wet his pants like a little two-year-old!” [Britney tilts her head and winks]
Whiny,
little bratpunks – You know, if Pepsi can turn an otherwise courteous and
humble duelist into an egotistical fool, I think I’ll stick with Coke!
Me
– for insulting that Pepsi guy (Oops! I
thought your tournament report said “Omega Weapon – Try And SLOP It”… my bad!)
Thieves
– I bet you thought that I forgot about you.
No such luck. You guys suck, and
you know that you suck. A certain
little [impolite word for “rectum”] tried to steal Dat’s deck at Top Deck. You’re EXTREMELY lucky that you chickened
out, you [same impolite word for “rectum”], because if I had caught you, I
would’ve shoved your head so far up your [same word] that you’d have
permanently brown hair! Keep that in
mind the next time you get the urge to take something that isn’t yours, you
inconsiderate [ditto]!!!
Comments,
suggestions, death threats? Send them to BigSpooky1@hotmail.com
. Please don’t send me offers to trade
online. It’s not that I don’t trust
you, but… um… okay, it IS that I don’t trust you. Besides, I already traded away most of my good cards. I DON’T HAVE ANYTHING!!! WHY CAN’T YOU JUST LET ME BE?!? [sob!]
If
you have any questions, need help with your deck, or you want to become a
member of Killer Squirrels Online!, please send your e-mail to either me
or one of these addresses:
Daedalus/Kris rage4zero@yahoo.com OMSskater/C.J. OMSskater08@aol.com
Shortysact/Alex shortysact@aol.com Jedi_Lord/Timothy sl_jedi_lord@yahoo.com
Greenslime/Patrick GreenSlime27@aol.com
All
of these individuals are very good duelists, and they have my utmost
respect. They will be more than happy
to answer any questions you have or to help you with your deck.
If
you want to become a member of Killer Squirrels Online!, then please send
an e-mail (including your decklist and a link to your most recent tournament
report) to one of the above e-mail addresses (membership will not be approved
without a decklist AND a link to a tournament report). If you’ve never posted a tournament report
on Pojo, then send us a decklist and a paragraph stating why you think good
sportsmanship and fair play are important to the game of Yu-Gi-Oh! People who have not written a tournament
report will be approved for temporary membership (to become full members once
they write their first report!)
“BigSpooky! BigSpooky!
Friendly neighborhood BigSpooky!”