PSICOM Warden. This is what I wanted my deck to be based around. The high powered low costed standard unit that floods the board if left unchecked. So me wanting to play this card left me to play Earth. So I would get all the benefits of playing Earth in that case. But I wanted to focus more on PSICOM Warden. So I went to splash Wind in my deck for Arc and Maria. So, now I get to play big dumb guys whose power will be unmatched if I can get Enna Kros, Arc and Maria on the field at the same time.
Which brings me to the day of the event, we arrived at the Convention Center to see a horde of people playing other (less fun…jkjkjk) TCGs and have our FFTCG posted off to the side. To my surprise there were 40 signups with 3 no shows (sad face). It was great to get there and see so many people who I did not know nor have seen at any local events. It really shows that this game is growing, especially in Northern California!
Round 1:
First round of the day I play against Tom Maguire. Tom was playing Fire Earth Fusoya. As soon as I saw that Fusoya go down I knew I would need to make my guys at MINIMUM 8k power to keep it out of Fusoya range. So, Turn 2 I slam down Enna Kros and start going to town. Tom was very resilient and still managed to kill everything I played with his Fusoya in combo with every other burn spell he had. It was such a fun match to be a part of and Tom was such a nice guy too. I won the match 7-0 but Tom made me work for it. 1-0
Round 2:
Round 2 started with my opponent not arriving on time sadly. So I got the 7-0 round win. My opponent did show up late, so in good sportsmanship we played a casual match just for fun. 2-0
Round 3:
Round 3 I was up against Danny who was playing 3 color knights. Going into the round my nerves were starting to get there as I was 2-0 and my opponent was 2-0 and I had no idea what he was playing. And it was someone I didn’t recognize from our area which made me end up playing super conservative at the start. He started out playing turn 1 Ovelia and Red Mage, which gave me the information I needed on how to play the matchup. The whole match I was worried that he was going to slam a Bismark in my face and make me regret every decision I was making. After a clutch Titan to help my Delita beat his Delita in combat and I think that swung the game in my favor. 3-0
Round 4:
Round 4 I was at the mercy of Travis DePetris. Travis is one of our stronger players here in NorCal and made it to the finals at our Break Zone championship. So, hes a very good player and I knew not to take him lightly. When I sat down I thought I was going to be playing a card game. Travis made sure I wasn’t playing a card game and he was. He plays turn 1 Buccaboo. I play a backup and basically discard my hand after that (misplay, hard) I slam down a Pugilist and he counters with Genesis. And that where the game should have ended, but I was forced to finish it and he basically made me discard any card I drew and then dull and froze everything I played. Game was over in like 3 min. 3-1
Round 5:
Going into this match I knew all I had to do was win 1 game and I would be in the top 8. I walk to the board to see Bryan Lue across from my name. Now, Bryan is one of the better players and constantly tops in most events he’s in. And once the game started it felt close until he just blew me out with Cloud of Darkness and Diabolos. I learned a lot playing against him and I knew that I belonged at the top tables. Which gave me the confidence going into the final round. 3-2
Round 6:
The sixth and final round put me against Milo Mosquera. Milo another strong player from our locals (he won the Warrior of Light) so I knew I’d be in for a rough match. He’s playing Lighting Wind which basically says break anything your opponent plays. So I started the match by slamming down some PSICOM Wardens. He attempts to Al-Cid one of them and I responded with the Titan. No value Al-Cid for my opponent feels really good. After that I made sure to hold a Titan, hold some combat tricks and play down all the annoying forwards like Dadaluma and Delita. After a fun round with Milo it ended with me being the winner and securing my spot in top 8 at 4-2.
Quarter Finals:
The quarterfinals started with me up 1-0 as my opponent had an illegal deck list so he was given a game loss. It really sucks to see something like that happen, especially in the top 8. But, I’ll take whatever I can get. Game 2 has Jose winning by making me discard my hand with his heavy discard deck. And him being in control the whole game. Game 3 I decided to go all out. Instead of him making me discard, I play 1 backup and just flood the field with 8/9k beaters and force him to deal with me instead of me deal with him. After getting all 3 PSICOM Wardens out on the field and then following up with Dadaluma and Delita it was game over for Jose and I end up winning 2 games to 1.
Semifinals:
The Semifinals brought back a familiar opponent with Danny and his 3 color knights again. We both know the matchup and both know what the other person wants to do. So I start by slamming some PSICOM Wardens and then control the board with my beaters. And putting a clock on him by playing Adelle. Adelle gets in 4 points of damage before he could handle her, but the game was over a few turns later. Game 2 is one for the ages and probably my most fun match of the day. Danny decided to play no backups and just tried to match me forward for forward. After me hitting back to back Star Sybil EXbursts he had what felt like 29 cards in hand and was able to play Stiener into Zidane into Trion into Curilla into Ramza and just wreck my board. The game was over in 4 minutes and we both had no clue what happened. Game 3 we decided to actually play backups. It was back and forth for a while until Danny miscounted his Cuchulainn when he swung with his Agrias into my Wol. His Agrias was a 7k into my 10k Wol and Cuchulainn only did a -2k power. It was that moment that the game swung in my favor and I proceeded to overpower him and win the game. Danny was a great opponent and really represented the 3 color knights in this event.
Finals:
The Finals pit me against Travis again, and I knew it would be a VERY Rough match again. Thankfully he didn’t start with Turn 1 Buccaboo which actually allowed me to play the game a bit. After some back and forth he slams down an Orphan while having 2 other forwards out and just wrecks my board and wins game 1. Orphan, such a good card. Game 2 was more of the same, I decided to go turn 2 Rydia as her special would actually wreck his board with the 7k damage. I managed to get a few damage in but it was more of the same. Dull my board, swing with Genesis and Locke and follow with Orphan. Travis win 0-2.
Overall my experience playing at ARG met and exceeded my expectations. I had a blast with all my friends; I played so much better than I thought I would. I met so many new players which gave me a bunch of ideas for decks I want to try in the future. 10/10 would do again and can’t wait for regionals!