2EZ GenCon Previews Set 26

Here are two previews straight from GenCon 2012.

(Eternal Rivals) 

When this this ninja is put in play there is an additional battle phase after the first battle phase during this turn

Valid: When this ninja wins any victory give 1 damage to target ninja

Valid: When this ninja is put in play you may exchange all cards in your hand with the same number of cards with the top of your deck
Valid: At the end of your opponents turn remove this ninja from the game. This effect cannot be negated.

A State of Emergency

              Naruto has come a long way. From the hay day of fire to the dominance of Earth, this game has certainly been an adventure spanning over 5 years of rises and falls in every aspect. We have witnessed much success in our small world, however the game has seemed to have plummeted into a dark abyss of failure. It's clear, we are in the "dark age" of Naruto with no end in sight. This article is here to identify the factors of this disheartening truth in hopes of change.


1.Prizing I hate to beat a dead horse, but time and again this still remains an unresolved issue. Post set 24 we were promised an increase of prizing, however we have been given even further cuts as shown in this years Gencon prizing. NO itouches for top 8, NO product, and most important NO prizing under 8th place. How can you justify people spending anywhere from 500-1000 dollars to attend the biggest Naruto event of the year and receive nothing? The competitive scene is the one aspect keeping this game afloat and sufficient prizing is the core of that. Bandai's has exhibited it's lack of player's perception and understanding of its consumers.

2. Organization Bandai is in complete disarray. They post contradictory and wrong information, have no idea how to coordinate events , and half the time they don't even agree on Q and A answers. The event schedule for Gencon has been posted in at least 2(maybe 3) different places and each one says sometime very different, deterring people away from attending. The whole mid western Naruto community, namely the lower states, has died due to Bandai's negligence. Out of 11 events planned in a year, they could not satisfy the area with even one SJC. As for Q and A, Laughing man will give you an answer, however that doesn't mean it actually right. We're at a point in the game where we cannot take what the company running the game's word for truth. I played in a Chunin last week where people changed their decks mid way through a tournament, players substitute other players in top, and really made a mockery of the idea of rules. I believe this anarchy is a direct result of Bandai's lack of leadership and organization as people now take this game as a joke. If Bandai doesn't take this game seriously, why would their players?

3. Apathy Although we all express our opinions, Bandai does not seem to be concerned in the slightest. It doesn't take a genius to understand the mediocrity of it all as it is reflected in a number of outlets whether it be pojo, blogs, or maybe their own website. The problems of Naruto receive zero attention from Bandai, as they have yet to address or resolve any pending issues they expect us to overcome. A few months ago I compiled these questions into an interview with Tylar Allidar, which at the time he seemed dedicated to his vision of Naruto, however this affection has come to be short lived. Bandai's idea to revitalize the moral of players is setting up a voting tournament which is just a way to maintain the elephant in the room. They clearly have the ability to bring about change, but without a idea and a will to carryout that idea the game will die.

4. Stale This game is frankly boring and not in terms of the metagame. We have seen no new additions to game play of any kind, nothing has changed to draw interest to the competitive scene, and local play is at an all time low. Currently there is no reason for anyone to begin playing Naruto which is seen in top cut of almost every major event and lack of academy play, but how can you blame them? Prizing kits are absolutely atrocious, nobody wants to waste time and money to play for a coin, and higher level tournament prizing just keeps getting worse and worse. Players have been remaining faithful to Naruto, but it's dwindling with ever month of constant disappointment. It appears the only change we can rely on is the downsizing of prize support.

5. Banning players When a game is in such a decline, its just shooting yourself in the foot by barring players who support your game from playing it. The games competitive scene, as previously stated,  is the only lifeline this game has left and by decreasing this small group is counter productive from preserving the vitality of the game. The jeopardy of morals is an issue for another article, however the task at hand is keeping the game alive. While I am not suggesting that Bandai should overlook any act of indecency or cheating, I would like to see a system that would penalize offenders without completely deter them away from the game. In a game with incomparable levels of popularity, such as Yugioh, excommunicating the problems is not such a bad idea. In a game with a dedicated playerbase of under 100, every single player matters.




                                                                  <3Eisenbuddy<3
   

AX SJC Coverage

Just received intel from my Spy in the Hidden Leaf Villiage. 56 players and the current records are:

Noobs
Amir 3-2

Team DBagz
Juan Romero 4-1
Danny Collens 4-0-1
Michael Cano 0-1-1
Steve Aragon 1-1
Bryan Samuels 4-0-1

Team Shawn's Car
Ryan Matas 4-1
Shawn Oconnel 1-1

Other/Unknown
Jerry Balentuangin 4-0-1
Dennis Manyagi 1-1
Brandon Martin 1-1
Gus Orozco 2-0
Jimmy Nunez 1-1

 Check back later for more information!

Virginia SJC Report: 1st Place

Here is a late report of my experience at the VA SJC.

I am conveniently able to coordinate another school trip with an SJC. I fly out to Boston Tuesday night and do orientation activities until Friday morning when we are scheduled to leave. I get out of some stuff early by telling them I have to leave for a trip and Saul, Ryan, DJ, David, and I are on the road to VA around 2. Traffic is horrible and on top of that a bad rain storm strikes so we tack on a couple of extra hours to the trip. New Jersey also smells like ass. Not a fan. We finally get to the hotel at around 1 AM and meet up with Genre and Squee. I get a hotel with Genre, DJ, and Ryan. Saul, Eric, and David get their own hotel. I haven't played Naruto since losing to Tony Lucchetti at the MI SJC so I play one game with Lightning Wind against Genre (my first ever real game with the deck) and get stomped. After that Ryan, DJ, and I walk over to 7/11 to get some snacks and when I get back I decide I can't possibly play Lightning Wind. I throw together a pretty mediocre 9 Phantom Dragon deck and head up to Saul, David, and Eric's suite (it came with a hot tub!). I play David 3 times and end up 2-1 vs his water deck but I decide that I didn't win with enough ease to use 9PD at the tournament. I go back to our room around 4 AM to get some sleep and realize there are no blankets or pillows so I put on a sweatshirt and curl up on the couch. Side note, there were pillows and blankets in one of the dresser drawers and the couch even turned into a bed. Needless to say I was pissed. 

I am rudely awakened at 9 AM after getting barely any sleep and decide I need to play Lightning Wind. I build it, put on my swagl0rd professional attire, and our room heads over to the venue (walking distance ftw!). Ryan gets me the last couple of cards I needed for the deck and we write our lists, fill out a Bandai form, and wait for the tournament to start. 

Round 1 - Tony Denning - Void

Game 1: He draws really poorly and I get a 4th Hokage OV and that pretty much seals the game up for me.

Game 2: He wrecks my turn marker with Deva Path and Catastrophic and seals the game with an Almighty Push.

Game 3: He keeps a pretty bad hand trying to bank off of a Takamaru swap and I end up winning.

1-0

Round 2: Corey Thomas - Mill

Game 1: I get the Sakura Kakashi combo out and his field quickly dwindles as I combo that with some removal jutsu.

Game 2: His field isn't very strong and I am just able to out field presence him.

2-0

Round 3: Earick - Mono Fire 

Game 1: This deck is really crazy and I don't really know whats going on or what could be played next. I don't remember how I won this game but it took quite a while, I know that.

Game 2: Time is called when we are 2-3 in BRs and he's in the lead. I swing with three teams to put me up to 4 but I'm pretty afraid that if he has a Dragon Flame with his Lightning Blade (I knew he had this from a Temari WS) he's going to win. He ends up only having one removal and I win in time. Close one!

3-0

Round 4: Yodaz - Fire/Lightning

Game 1: I wipe his field early with a 4th Hokage + Hydro Pump and try to out rush the rush deck. He goes nuts with a Warhawk/Anko combo and hits me with a 4th and Hydro back. I end up being able to push back with enough force to get to 10 BRs.

Game 2: He bashes my face in with rush that I can't keep up with.

Game 3: He doesn't draw any jutsus and I'm able to beat him with the standard Sakura/Kakashi combo.

4-0

Yay I'm 4-0 now I dont have to play for the rest of the day!

Round 5: DJ - Fire/Lightning

Draw since I came with him and there's no point to play

4-0-1

Round 6: Jordan Markle - Fire/Lightning

I could have played this round out to try and get a friend a spot in the top but since Jordan was also 4-0-1 it wouldn't have opened up a spot or strengthened anyone's tiebreakers.

4-0-2

2nd Seed.

We chill with the Brady Bunch and Tyler McCartin tries to poison me. Then we go out to Ihop with our two hotel rooms + Yodaz. Everyone goes back to the hotel and Jordan comes to our room and tells me how the couch turns into a bed and that there are blankets and pillows in the drawer and I rage. I pull out the bed after Ryan is done winning some money from Squee and go to sleep. 

We wake up pretty late on Sunday but manage to get to the venue with ample time. Decks are getting checked so I talk with the Brady Bunch and DJ while we wait for top to start. 

Top 8: Nick Brady - Mono Earth + Reanimation

Game 1: I think I gain more field presence than him and have more removal jutsus + draw broken.

Game 2: He draws poop and I almost let him come back forgetting that my Karin won't be able to heal turn 1 when I drop her (that's what I get for not playing the game in 2 months) but he still draws really poorly and I have a Secret Book waiting if he had any missions. 

5-0-2

Top 4: Jordan Markle - Fire/Lightning

Game 1: I screw up and don't secret book his Sage Training and he grabs a Naruto (Tailed Beast Form) which almost costs me the game but luckily for me a well timed Hydro-Pump with Sasori seals that Tailed Beast.

Game 2: Secret Book! I back to back Secret Book him and he can't keep up without any draw power and once the game gets into the later turns Fire Lightning loses to Wind Lightning.

6-0-2

Top 2: Yodaz - Fire/Lightning

Game 1: I think I just end up healing everything and he can't really do anything about it.

Game 2: He draws a bunch of cards but can't get any jutsu and I draw pretty nuts. 

7-0-2

Cool I won my 3rd SJC!

I go back to the hotel and chill with Ryan and DJ. I pack my stuff up and take a shower before we get on the road. Saul drops Yodaz off at the Metro station after we get some Subway and we head back to Mass. We get back to Saul's house at like 4 AM and wait for DJ's mom to pick him and Ryan up. I get some sleep at Saul's, wake up to some amazing lunch made by his mom, and I'm off to the bus station to get back to Boston. I get to the airport with quite a bit of extra time and my flight gets delayed by 2 hours. GG. I finally get home around midnight.

Props:

Winning my 3rd SJC

Getting to hang out with the Mass/NH crew

Saul and David driving the whole way

Fatguy shotgun

Complete set of Kage Summit for Top 2

Much more I'm sure I'm forgetting

Cigarettes being really cheap in VA

Slops:

Getting no sleep on Friday and the two days before that

Squee getting a game loss for being late (which he wasn't)

Not flying out of Virginia

Veazie

Virginia SJC Coverage

THE TOP 8 IS DECIDED! See below.

Hey everyone! Hope your having a good weekend. Today we'll be covering the VA SJC today. Here are the results of some of the pro players here.


Scott (Genre) 3-2
Ryan Severin 3-2
Thomas Veazie 4-0-1
David Pena 3-2
Nick Brady 3-2
Tony Denning 3-2
Saul Pena 2-2-1
Jordan Markle 4-0-1
Eric Melone 3-2
Yodaz 4-1
Amir 0-3-1


Check back for updates in between rounds!

It's all about the testing

This is Shikamaru Pwns Anyone, or Jeremy. I am from Minnesota and I consistently play with Mr. Veazie. My accomplishments include winning MN’s Jonin (now SJC) in 2009 and topping Gencon that same year. Since then I have been on the bubble and have given the win to teammates and friends. My favorite things about this game as of now have to do with the deck:  the versatility in deck construction, and building the decks rather than piloting them.
How to prepare for an event:
Most players will just pick up their deck and play the next day. Or playtest hands by themselves because they either don’t want to share their deck, or they have confidence that they will be able to win without testing at all. I can say from personal experience that this is not the best way to approach an event.  Testing needs to occur in order to build your deck and have the utmost confidence in your deck.
The first thing you need to be able to do is have versatility in your testing. That means having decks X,Y and Z and mixes between all of them. You want to have a good idea of what you will be playing and know how your deck will react to the meta. Whenever I test for an event I always try and have the decks that I will be testing against built even if they are not the prime versions (ie having a mill deck built). If your deck is struggling against a certain type like mill or rush, than you will have to do one of the following: change your deck, change minor things in your deck, or change things in your sidedeck.
You also need to make the small changes while playtesting to prepare for an event .You play though your deck (even if it is just drawing hands by yourself) to see what flaws you have made in deck building. Some players choose to play with lower ninjas and more mission and jutsu. For example, some players will play the standard 10 zero turns. And others will go down to 9 or go up to 11. I personally always go up to 11. But these are important decisions that could make or break your deck by missing important drops in the early game.
Know what you will be playing against, both decks and cards. Staple cards and the most powerful cards in the game are different. Your deck has to be able to either counter these cards or counter back with your powerful jutsu’s. Realize that in the current meta, fourth hokage, rasengan, and fireball could come at you at any point. Your deck needs to have specific answers for these cards or it will be harder for you to answer them.
Two other important qualities in preparing for your event are to know the top players and to know the type of players you will be playing against. By knowing the top players you can usually guess who will be at events by the Bandai boards and their current area. Knowing who you will be playing against can help you with both your deck choice and how you approach to play against them. You may have to play more conservative against some and rush more against others. By the type of players I mean that going to specific areas you can usually judge what kind of decks will be more prevalent.
And last, but certainly not least, just play. You should test your deck as much as you can before an event to both feel confident in yourself and also your deck. Good luck and happy testing.

Georgia SJC Top 4 Report

I just got back from my trek to Georgia and decided to post a tournament report for the Shonen Jump. I decided to switch up my 9PD once again by changing the elements from Water/Wind to Fire/Lightning.

Round 1 Sam Tuel(Mill)


Game 1:  He started out strong with 2 World of fire and started ripping my deck apart, however I started dominating with hand presence and started gaining battle rewards. I have 8 battle rewards, however his Obito seals the deal for him.


Game 2: I was dreading for this match-up, however I was prepared  so I side in 7 cards and hope for the best. Unfortunately for me, he starts out with Kiba. Then I reinforce into Kidomaru state 2 and start to lock him by continuously using Partial Expansion jutsu and using Kidomaru to prevent Kiba from being on the battlefield.


Game 3: We're pressed for time, so I take a tempo approach to this match. After securing early battle rewards, time is called and I take the win.


1-0




Round 2 Local Girl (Earth/Wind)


Game 1: She starts out with a match loss so we move onto game two.


Game 2: We both start out with decent curves, but she explodes on her turn 3 by growthing her Sakura childhood into Sakura tp4 and deploys Shikamaru adaptability. She keeps pressing with her team of Sakura and Shikamaru paired with Chiriku to gain field presence and eventually gets to 6 battle rewards. On my turn, I play Anko and Great Naruto Bridge targeting her Chiriku which she Secret Books. I draw 6 cards(one obviously being Great Naruto Bridge) and play it again targeting her Chiriku. I swing out with 3 teams and rip her board apart with Dragon Flame and 9pd.


2-0


Round 3 Johhny (Team Allies)


Game 1: I start and he mulls. I take advantage of this by playing back to back Byakugans. He scoops.


Game 2: He starts off differently by starting very aggressively, getting 8 battle rewards by turn 4. Then I play Sasuke and reinforce my Kidomaru to gain some field presence. Slowly, but surely I make a comeback with the help of Dragon Flame and Byakugan.


3-0


Round 4 Destin (Fire/Lighting NVS)


Game 1: I win the dice roll and start off strong. He tries the no attack theory, which leaves my field untouched and him with 0 battle rewards. Turn 3 rolls by and I Warhawk, drawing massive amounts of cards along with Anko. Double Byakugan rips his hand to shreds. He lingers on for quite a while longer, however I had too much for him to handle.


Game 2: Our game 1 left us with about 12 minutes to play our game so I was fairly sure this was going to be a draw. He starts out strong, now seeing Warhawk,  and gains control early on. Turns go on and just as I thought time expired, forcing the draw (my 2 brs to his 8/9).


3-0-1


Round 5 Local Player Andrew (Standard Fire/Lightning)


Game 1: I power shuffle his deck and notice he has 51 cards. GG


Game 2: At one point, He plays 4th and Hydropumps my field, his 7 Battle rewards to my 2. I ambush Sasuke IA and take Ink Fish/Temari WS. I Anko's Memory 9PD/Ink fish/Dragon flame and proceed to make a comeback.


4-0-1


Round 6 Tony Denning (Void)


Draw


4-0-2


2nd Seed


Top 8 Valentine Guerero (Fire/Lightning tech)


Game 1: I win the dice roll and start slow, but by turn 3 it all comes together. Byakugan, 9pd, Dragon Flame ftw.


Game 2: I mull, he keeps. His strong curve is too much for me to deal with and I concede on turn 6.


Game 3: Similar to game 1. Turn 4 Kidomaru State 2, Nine Phantoms, and 2 Dragon Flames. Good Game.


Top 4 George Tripplet (Wind/Water 9pd)


Game 1: He wins the dice roll and I mull to 5. We're matching each other until he plays Naruto Attunement and attaches dome which devastates my chakra. I am almost about to deck out and try going for battle rewards, but it's too late and I couldn't win.


Game 2: I like this hand a lot, however a lack of missions makes me inferior to his resources and he gains the  advantage. By turn 7 its clear I'm not winning(almost no cards in hand and no field to his 10 ninjas) and he has game next turn. I intentionally mill myself out. Good stuff Mr. Tripplet


Reasoning: After my top 8 match at Mass against Thomas Veazie, I felt the major flaw of the deck was the lack of battle reward control as your opponent dictated the amount of battle rewards they gave you in that version. I added Warhawks to contest that, which still massively plused and added to my mission curve which previously did not have a consistent turn 3 mission(only 1 Anko's Memory). The wind theme was completely dropped for Ninjas such as Gama, Shima, extra Kisukes at the expense of previously used Hanares, Naruto Attunement, and Temari Wind Scythe.


Reflection: I think I made the right choice overall. My sideboard was perfect, my main board was solid, and I feel I played pretty well despite my lack of sleep (coming off a 24 hour bus ride). The Fire was a really good change to make the deck more hand control oriented and I thought I had a pretty decent chance of winning, however George played a great game and took advantage of my lack of resources. Besides the event itself,  this tournament has forced me into the realization that the game is truly on a fast decline. Only 36 people should send a big message to Bandai that they are doing something wrong and something needs to change. Whether it's their marketing, their prizing, or whatever, they need to identify their flaws and fix them or frankly we will see the end of Naruto very soon. Although Bandai did miss it's opportunity to capitalize on the game (back in 2009 or 2010), there is still an extreme interest in the game that they can captivate and expand upon if they make the right moves.


Pros:


My 9th top (4th consecutive)
A fun weekend


Cons:


Busing sucks period
The event was not what I expected (36 people is a joke)


The prizing was an even bigger joke. How do you expect people to travel only to receive a video game and a mat for placing in top 8. There were no boxes, no foil/full sets, or anything extra whatsoever for the top 8.
I went to this event on the predication that prizing would be up to par with previous events, however I was sadly disappointed.  I'd also like to point out this was entirely Bandai's decision and not the venue's as he showed me the piece of paper clearly stating not to give foil sets to the players in top.

<3Eisenbuddy<3