hey. just figured i'd give you guys an update. SJC chicago was last weekend. and me and my team did very well. ^_^
i won't be rude. first, my decklist.

Creatures: 23

1 jinzo
2 zaborg
3 chaos sorcerer
3 cyber dragon
1 breaker
1 DD assailant
1 DD warrior lady
1 tsukuyomi
1 sangan
1 night assailant
1 treeborn frog
2 magician of faith
2 magical merchant
3 dekoichi

Spells: 11

1 graceful
1 confiscation
1 heavy storm
1 MST
1 snatch
1 book of moon
1 goats
1 metamorphosis
1 premature burial
2 nobleman

Traps: 6

1 mirror force
1 torrential
1 call
3 return from the different dimension






Ok. so, there were two days of the tournament.

DAY 1.

first, i was 4-0 at the halfway point. it was looking pretty good for a showing at second day for me. and, my newest teamate, Rodrigo, was also undefeated. Flip was 3-1, but Greg and Enrique had already dropped.

Then, i played a guy from my local card shop. Ben. (notice, Ben is the Ben Bradley that top 8ed.) i beat him game 1. then, game 2, i am about to win, and he snatches the game away at the last second. (literally. heavy storm+cyber dragon+snatch steal= death. i had him next turn either way, but it was enough to kill me!) then, game 3, i am +3 card advantage, and 500 life points behind. time gets called. i attack for enough to claim the game, and he plays goats. although they only shielded him for a turn, it was all he needed to win the game by default. TIME=gay.

so, i took my first loss to Ben in time. (btw- i got a rematch at a local tournament on tuesday. i 2-0ed him, lol. really fast). turns out- i was by FAR his hardest match the whole day. he ended up top 8ing after beating me.

this loss spiralled me into a matchup against a 50 card burn deck. dont ask me how... but with 3 dust tornado 2 mobius 2 mystic LV2 and 2 swarm of locusts... i lost. yeah... its really a curse.

Soooo... a burn deck ruined my top 8 chances. that, and losing to Ben in time. i ended up dropping with a 4-2 record, and playing in the team tournament.



TEAM TOURNAMENT>
you may read that Team Canada ended up winning. well, they had a 4-1 record. so did we. sadly, MANTIS awarded us second place, and them first. me, flip, and enrique nearly went 5-0, but fell just short. i went undefeated all 5 matches, but in the end, flip and enrique lost at the same time. that forced us into second place.
what did we win?
half a box each, and free regional entre the next day! booya. i sold the packs for over 30 bucks, making it a free day.


DAY 1 conclusion-
near top 8
lots of money (made the 30 back from the packs i won, and sold 3 cards for 50 bucks)
Rodrigo was 7-1, and ended up losing in the third game of the match. he had his opponent at 300 life points... and he couldnt do it! turned out that his opponent top 8ed, and took his spot. boo on that. :(
AND- we were in SERIOUS competition for the second Shrink.
AND- Ben top 8ed. he isnt on my team, but he is from my local shop. so that's somethin.

the shrink was being given away by luck of the draw. 4 names were picked. you got "points' for joining and winning side events. (like the team tournament, and the regional the next day) so far, me and flip were #1 and #2 for most points. these points represent a raffle ticket. and the 4 names are chosen from among these raffle tickets.


DAY 2-

regional was free!

so, i entered. i lost my first match.
WHAAA??
then, i continue to win 7 straight matches. i gave Wilson luc his only loss, and knocked Dave Pattiato out of the tournament. along with beating many other pros, it was a great time.
so, i top 8ed with 7-1.
then, in the top 8, i ended up winning. so i got my first 1st place, and it was at a SJC regionals. so that was cool. :wizard

so, i won a playmat (still to be sold) and a box (SOLD for 60 bucks). and, my friend enrique top 8ed, and got his invite. so we get to play next to each other at nationals.


sadly- i did the math on the 2nd Shrink...
we had about 130 points between the 5 of us. this gave us roughly a 50 50 shot at getting someone picked into the 4 people playing for the shrink. but NO. none of us! WTF. no luck.

so, i got lucksacked outta my SJC top 8, and couldnt pull a 50 50 shot for the second shrink. that kinda stunk, but at least i placed 2nd in the team tournament and 1st at the regionals.


also- i got the respect of a LOT of people. Chris Pattiato loves me now, lol. and the judge of the regionals top 8 actually said...
"WHO ARE YOU and WHERE did you come from???!!! i remember a few months ago when i didnt even know who you were. now, you top 8 at like every event you go to!" lol. so that was cool to hear.
i also got asked...
"what team are you on? Scoop? Oddyssey?" a LOT. a bunch of people couldnt believe i wasnt on a BIG team. lol. so that was a nice suprise.

all in all, it was a fun time. and i am glad i got a rematch against Ben two days after he played in the top 8 of the SJC. he took my spot, but i got a rematch just a couple days later, and won it hands down. ^_^



all in all- i walked in with 20 bucks. walked out with over 100 cash, and a playmat. NOT a bad hall. i NARROWLY lost out on the Shrink and the SJC top 8, but i really cant complain. ^_^
yay! fun times.

awesome job ronin,i wish i could've been there to see,but i wasnt.last time i was in chicago was for the state street parade i played in.but heck o well.i hope next time you do get a shrink,or an even better sjc promo.

Barrel End Dragon