Today was disappointing in some respects, because I didn't make it into the finals.

Today was inspiring in some respects, because I set out to prove that Chaos decks aren't so uber-powerful.

Everyone whines about how cheap Chaos decks are and how they hate CED and how it should be banned and blah, blah, blah, yadda, yadda, whatever. I tell everyone that Chaos decks can be crippled by a number of decks. Well built Gravekeeper and Zombie decks are only two deck types that have the potential to slow down, or actually stop a Chaos deck. But no! No one wants to take the time to actually think about building a competitive deck that could win, and stop (or slow down) a Chaos deck.

I decided I would play with a totally different type of deck today and, if successful, would cement the fact that Chaos decks CAN be beaten, are NOT unstoppable, and are just another deck type everyone likes to whine about because they can't figure out a way to win against one. Boo hoo.

We actually played at two separate locations today but, I'm combining both tournaments into one, easy to digest document.

The first tournament starts at 11AM and the second begins at 2PM. My daughter was going to judge at the 2PM tournament, and I thought we may have to leave the morning tournament a little early to make it in time. Knowing this was one of the reasons I decided to test my "anti-Chaos" deck. If I lost early, (which I was sure would happen) we could leave the first tournament in plenty of time to make it to the second one.

Last week, my Chaos deck lost in the finals to another Chaos deck. I really hoped to test out my new deck on the person who beat me last week. Well, we shall see if I get the chance to redeem myself.

I wanted to build something so outrageously different, that no one would know what was coming. I hoped to hit my opponent hard and fast. I wanted to destroy them before they had a chance to get one of those pesky Chaos monsters in their hand, much less, on the field. Well, here it is.

1x Jinzo
2x The Fiend Megacyber
3x Gyaku-Gire Panda
3x Nimble Momonga
2x Giant Rat
2x Mystic Tomato
1x Injection Fairy Lily
1x Fiber Jar
1x Witch of the Black Forest
1x Sangan
1x Magical Scientist

1x Pot of Greed
1x Graceful Charity
1x Dark Hole
1x Monster Reborn
1x Harpie's Feather Duster
3x Mystical Space Typhoon
1x United We Stand
2x Scapegoat

Side deck:
I never used it, but it has more burn cards in it like Lava Golems, Nightmare Wheels, GBinds, MOP's, Stealth Birds, SoRL, etc. It switches the deck to a true burn deck.

At first glance, one may scoff and say, "Meh, that's crap." "There's not even a Raigeki in it!" "It has too many traps. Jinzo will own this deck!"

The Fiend Megacyber is a special summon when my opponent has two or more monsters on their side of the field than I. This is a breeze with Ojama Trio.

Secret Barrel. This card is great. Since Cyber Jar is seeing so much play in Chaos decks, this card can really do some serious damage at the right time. 1200LP damage after your opponent's first draw phase. Not too shabby.

Pandas. Ahhh, the Pandas. Increase it's attack 500 for every monster on your opponent's side of the field. Trample effect. The killer combo to shoot for: Panda, Scapegoat, United We Stand on the Panda with full field of Ojama Tokens and/or monsters on the opposite side. 7300ATK. Even if I attack an Ojama Token with 1000DEF, that's still 6300 in damage + the 300LP direct damage when the token is destroyed. Not bad.

Sports Cards and Collectibles. Fayetteville, Ga.
$5.00 to enter. You get a pack for entering.
1st place: 3 packs
2nd place: 2 packs
3rd place: Don't get nothing!!!

After getting the traditional large French Vanilla Coffee from the Dunkin' Donuts, (MAN that's GOOD!) we walked in and did a little chatting and trading. I traded a Dark Magician Girl, Delinquent Duo, Confiscation and a Drop Off for a 1st edition MFC Luster Dragon, 2 Goblin Attack Force and a Mirage of Nightmare. It was tough parting with the DMG but, I had 4 so, it wasn't that bad.

I watched some people playing. Witnessed a young man playing with a Warrior deck totally CRUSH his opponent within a couple of turns. It was ugly. Wandered around and finally they started signing up. They were giving out Pharoah's Servant this week. Yeah! Maybe I'll get another Jinzo or Imperial Order! I open my pack! What do I get? Hooray! It's Forced Requisition! Crap. That's only like, my 100th one.

Whatever. Around 11:45, the first pairings were called. I have to play the Warrior deck that just totally creamed that guy earlier! Man, why couldn't I start out with someone easier! Last week, I get paired up with a beginner and this week, I get somebody serious. Ugh.

I win the die roll and choose to go first. This will be a real test to see how the deck works. I hope I don't get hammered too bad. My first draw is actually pretty decent. A Panda, a Nimble, MST, Waboku and United We Stand. The first card I draw is another Panda. Hmmm. Not what I wanted but, I'll have to make do. I set a Nimble and the Waboku and end my turn.

He attacks my Nimble with a Dark Blade and I gain 1000LP. I get the other two Nimbles and set them face down. He sets a M/T card and ends his turn.

I draw a Scapegoat. Darn, I can't play it now. Oh well, it doesn't matter. I MST his face down card. I don't remember what it was. I flip the two Nimbles face up. My opponents mumbles something like, "Face up?" I summoned the Panda, equipped it with United We Stand. The Panda is now at 3700ATK. I attack his Dark Blade with the Panda, then follow up with the Nimbles. Go Nimbles! 3900LP damage in one turn! I end my turn, knowing I could be wiped out next turn by a stupid Raigeki (they should ban that card. LOL).

I draw and explain to him the Panda's trample effect. His jaw drops, "I didn't know that!" I attack his face down card with the Panda. OUCH! It's a Hayabusa Knight! 3000LP damage from the Panda. Nimbles finish him off. Hooray! Nimble Momonga bring me the sweet smell of VICTORY!!

I considered myself lucky the first game. I didn't relax, because I knew this guy's deck had the potential to rip me apart in a hurry.

He chose to go first. He summons Senju of the Thousand Hands. Uh Oh. He gets Black Luster Soldier. I have a bad feeling about this. If I don't get something to get rid of a 3000ATK monster soon, I am going to lose. Luckily, he couldn't summon him that turn. Whew, I'm off the hook for now. He sets a couple of M/T cards and ends his turn.

I had a potentially good hand. The only monster I had was The Fiend Megacyber. I had a Scapegoat and an Ojama Trio so, I think I can at least get the Fiend Megacyber out next turn with out any problems. If he manages to get the Black Luster Soldier out though, that's not going to cut it. I Harpie'd his MT cards. I set a Scapegoat and and Ojama Trio and had to end my turn! I'm not feeling to good about this.

He MST's my Scapegoat! Hot dog! I activate it. He summons Getsu Fuhma and attacks two of my scapegoat tokens with it and the Senju. He ends his turn! Good, he must not have the Ritual Summon Card in his hand. I'm OK for now.

I draw, and it's a Panda! Oh, this is gonna hurt! I activate Ojama Trio, filling up his monster zone. I special summon the Fiend Megacyber, then normal summon the Panda. The Panda is at 3300ATK. I spank the Senju with the Panda and send the Getsu Fuhma to the Graveyard with the Fiend Megacyber. Bam!

Well, that was about it. He had nothing from that point on and only tried to slow the doom by using Premature Burial to bring back a Senju (?). He wasted 800LP on that because I just killed him the next turn.

Wahoo. I was sure I was going to get killed. Turns out, he wasn't really that knowledgable about how ritual summons actually work. Talking after the duel, I found out he actually did have the ritual summon card in his hand. He was a little confused about special and normal summons in the same turn. Oh well. We worked on his insect deck for little while. Insects could be good but they're too tech for me right now.

Yes! I get to face the guy who beat me last week! This was it! I now had my chance to really see if this deck could shut down a Chaos deck. It was getting late in the afternoon. If I won, I was going to drop from the tournament because we had to leave in time for the start of the other tournament. Will I have my revenge or will I hang my head in shame?

He won the die roll and chose to go second. That's good because I like to go first with this particular deck.

He activated Harpie's Feather Duster and I chained the Waboku in response. Yep. That's the way to waste a Harpie's!

I'm thinking his face down monster is a DD Warrior Lady or a Cyber Jar or WotBF or Sangan. I attack it with the Nimble. Go Nimble! It's Magician of Faith. Whoopdee doo. He gets his Harpie's back. I set a Scapegoat to bait him into using his Harpie's again and end my turn.

He takes the bait, plays Harpie's and I chain the Scapegoat. LOL. He summons a Skilled Dark Magician and attacks my Nimble. Technically, I gain 100LP. I only get one other Nimble because I already have 4 tokens on the field and set it.

My turn. I tribute the Nimble for Jinzo and attack his Skilled Dark. Uh, oh. He has a light and a dark type in the Graveyard now. I hope he hasn't got one of the Chaos baddies in his hand. The odds are in my favor he doesn't. I set an Ojama Trio and end my turn.

He Raigeki's my Jinzo and all my Scapegoat tokens. (Stupid Raigeki. Bring on the BAN!) Then he uses Soul Release to take every card I have in the Graveyard out of play. I shrug my shoulders. I don't care. I know he's trigger happy on the Dimension Fusion. I'll take a Jinzo and Nimble back after he pays 2000LP. That's a good deal for me. I activate the Ojama Trio after Jinzo is gone. He summons Witch and attacks.

I draw another Ojama Trio. Oh, yes. This is going to be interesting. I special Summon The Fiend Megacyber and normal summon Magical Scientist. I pay 2000 to bring out a Dark Baltar and a Ryu Senshi. I attack his Witch with Dark Baltar and she doesn't get her effect. He doesn't activate anything in response. I wasted 1000LP on the Ryu Senshi but, better safe than sorry. Ha. I attack a token with The Fiend Megacyber. I set the Ojama Trio and end my turn.

He draws. I activate Ojama Trio and fill his monster zone up. He can't summon anything! Excellent, I just locked his field down!

On my turn, he tries to Call of the Haunted his Witch back! Uh, buddy, you ain't got no room on your field! He gets flustered and I sense he knows he's lost control of the duel.

Guess who's coming to kick your behind, now? I summon a Panda and put the United We Stand on it. I attack a token. He takes 5000LP damage in one turn. I end my turn.

Wow. This duel was even better than the first. I managed to do the Panda/Ojama Trio/UWS trick on my second turn. I hit him hard.

I had gotten another Panda with a Sangan he had attacked earlier and managed to clear his field to do the Ojama Trio, attack a token activate another Ojama Trio to lock his field up again! Next turn it was over. The next attack was enough to reduce his LP to exactly zero.

I had to drop from the tournament after that. I think I could have gone a few more rounds and possibly won but, that'll have to wait for another day.

Off to the second tourney of the day! We drive down, eating our lunch in the van. It's hot. My daughter is complaining of being sick. If she's too sick to judge, I'll have to judge and won't be able to play! Darn.

Newnan Sports Cards.
Newnan, Ga.
Free to play.
Single Elimination
1st place: 4 packs
2nd place: 3 packs
3rd place: 2 packs
# of participants: 32

We arrive around 1:30, a half an hour before sign up begins. A lot of the regulars were already there. Did some more trading. Traded a IOC pack LTD Edition Ring of Destruction for a Dark Flare Knight, Y-Dragon Head and a Trap of Board Eraser. He also had a CED but, he wasn't trading anything for it. I traded one of my Skilled Dark Magician for a Creature Swap. Not too bad.

A lot of people I had never seen before were there. Mostly smaller kids really excited about entering their first tournament. It's really neat to see them almost giddy, with their parents encouraging them and helping them figure out what to do. It can be kind of intimidating and confusing with so many people running around, though. The store isn't particularly large, (OK it's really small) and it gets crowded in a hurry.

This guy watches too much of the show. I mean, it's one thing to annouce your move, but to embellish it with unnecessary potification is a little ridiculous.

I had a Panda on the field and he activated Spellbinding circle. "I activate Spellbinding Circle, trapping your card within its circle. It can not attack or change battle position." I kid you not.

He plays Harpie's Feather Duster. "I activate Harpie's Feather Duster, sweeping away all of your magic and trap cards." I'm serious.

I locked his field up with Ojama Tokens, then cleared them all off and attacked with Injection, Fiend Megacyber and a Tomato for the win.

This was getting silly. He summoned Senju of the Ten Thousand Hands and got a Black Luster Soldier. What? That was random. I didn't expect that. Gotta hand it to him. He set an M/T card and ended his turn.

"I activate the Black Luster Ritual Summon card. I tribute Senju and Susa Soldier to special summon Black Luster Soldier to the field in attack position. I now normal summon Yata-Garasu." Oh, he thinks he's got me now doesn't he? He attacks my Nimble. Then he attacks with Yata. I tell him to hang on a minute, I get to get my Nimbles. I set both Nimbles. "I return Yata-Garasu to my hand and end my turn." Ha. Ha. Ha. This is getting funny.

On my next turn, I summon Magical Scientist, pay 1000LP to summon a Thousand Eyes Restrict, suck up his BLS, attack him with it and end my turn, sending his pesky BLS to the graveyard and doing 3000LP damage to him in one swoop. Gotta love TER!

I tribute a Nimble for Jinzo the next turn and he flinched, almost activating a card when I declared an attack with Jinzo. Almost wasted that trap card!

Next turn he activated Change of Heart and tributed my Jinzo for...A Legendary Fisherman!?! What the...?!? He attacked my second Nimble with the Fisherman. He activates Swords of Revealing Light, flipping my last Nimble to face up defense.

He summoned Otohime and tried to flip up my face down card with it and I told him he couldn't do that, the card targeted by Otohime has to be face up. He argued with me and I told him I could look it up in the net rep files right now if he wanted me to. He conceded and then turned up my Nimble instead and attacked it with the Fisherman. Waboku. Ha. The best common in the game.

To make a long, long, long duel short, I Fiber Jar'd about three times, he kept attacking my Nimbles and I ended up with like, 11,000LP.

Toward the end of the duel, I played Harpie's Feather Duster, he activated Solemn Judgement, cutting his LP to 250. Then he Monster Reborn'd my Nimble and attacked my set Nimble. DOH! I gain 1000LP. I get a Nimble. The next turn, I suicide both my Nimbles and gain 2000 more LP. Man, this is getting really dumb! I set a Secret Barrel, then activated it in his draw phase for the win. Finally!

I had to face one of the best duelists in the store. Previous store champion numerous times. Extremely intuitive player. Very knowledgable and rarely makes mistakes. I knew he had changed his deck up from a beatdown/hand control to Chaos/beatdown/hand control in the past couple of weeks. He'd also made it into the finals with it last week, only to be beaten by a beatdown.

To be honest with myself, I screwed up at one point and think it may have cost me the game. I managed to do the Ojama Trio, Secret Barrel combo for a really good chunk of LP damage, but that was about all I could muster. He activated Forceful Sentry and got rid of my Monster Reborn. That sucked. Later on, he attacked my Sangan and I made the fatal mistake of getting Magical Scientist instead of Fiber Jar or even a Panda. He had three monsters on his side of the field. What was I thinking!?! I only had 1500LP left anyway!

There's a difference between good players and great players. Great players don't make mistakes. I made a mistake.

This game was more like it! I had Ojama Trio, WotBF, Waboku, Panda, Scapegoat on my first turn and drew United We Stand.

He summons Don Zaloog and attacks. I activate the Scapegoat and he attacks one of them. I activate Waboku.

Next turn he sets a monster card and it doesn't matter what it is because I attack a token next turn and win!

Oh, CRAP! My first hand is horrible! I have a Secret Barrel and an Ojama Trio, so I can hit him for 1800LP on the first turn, but other than that, I am a dead man if I don't draw some sort of monster. I have Jinzo in my hand, but no way to bring him out.

Then he plays Forceful Sentry. Again! He always manages to have that card early. He chose my United We Stand (?). I wasn't too sure why he picked that. It became painfully obvious why with the next card he played. D.D. Designator. OUCH! He got rid of my Jinzo. I complemented him on that move. It was very slick!

I continued to draw nothing but magic and trap cards. I had no choice but to play Dark Hole after he had two monsters on the field. I had already been attacked three times and I couldn't wait for my deck to give me a card any more. Unfortunately, oneof his monster's was light and the other was dark. He special summoned CED, attacked and blew up everything for the win.

I think the deck did well, even though I lost. I still have confidence in it. I lost one game due to my own stupidity and I lost the third due to a bad draw, which everyone has now and again.

That's it for this week! This weekend I may be attending Regionals in Tennessee. If I go, look for that report. If I don't go, I'll have my regular report!