Life at the Bottom

The convention among tournament Yugioh players is to drop after two or three losses.  Why stay in if the dream of topping is out of reach? You might as well trade, hang-out, and most of all avoid going X-4 or X-5.  

An X-3 or worse record will get you assigned to the bottom tables, a place with a decidedly different vibe.  While the top tables carry a cool, competitive ambiance and those on the bubble smack of desperation, the lower tables are more jocular and care-free.  Most know their day’s record is not stuff for a Pojo tournament report. Nevertheless, they play on for the love of the game and that’s not bad company.  

So for those that may have dropped out too soon, here is my guide to life at the bottom tables.

The Noob is an enthusiastic newcomer to the game.  They often have no mat, fumble with their cards, and divulge way too much information.  You know you are playing a noob when you hear them say, “I really need to get a BLS for this deck”.  Uh –huh.  They usually play recent structure decks without the competitive cards.  Chaos Dragons was a favorite though more noobs are showing up with Cyber Dragons.  Consider this an easy win, but be gentle. 

The Veteran plays the right deck at the wrong time. I’m not sure why but they seem irrevocably wed to certain archetypes. Samurais and Blackwings are the most popular.  Occasionally they’ll be flummoxed by a new card as if they stepped out of Yugioh! GX.  However, most of the time their experience will make for a challenging duel.  

The Party Boy is a rather incongruous addition to Yugioh Tournaments.  He would appear to be more comfortable in a frat house than the nerdfest of card games.  He’s loud, boisterous, and uninhibited.  If you’re facing the party boy, expect to play Lightsworns

The Troll usually opens with some back-handed way of telling you that he doesn’t really belong at these lower tables. He’s just playing a degenerate, solitaire-like deck as a joke.  Ha, ha. My most memorable troll was a fellow who showed up with a metal brief case. He looked like he was bringing a ransom payment for a drug lord. Instead he pulls out his Dragon Draw Exodia deck. Konami does its best to vanquish the trolls as evinced by their treatment of Gishki FTK, Empty Jar, and Final Countdown.  However, they’ll be back.  Fortunately, they are not too hard to beat and it feels good when you do.  

While thinking about this post, I realized that I did not fall into any of these categories.  Then it hit me – the final category

The Old Guy somehow eschews the embarrassment of the lower tables for the love of the game.  They consider playing Yugioh superior to doing yard work, repairing the home, or running errands. Their decks are usually about five cards away from being perfect meta decks. For example, they may still play one Gearframe and one Fortress in their Geargia deck … or so I’ve heard.