Seattle Crystal Cup Report
Hey guys, I haven’t updated in a while because this month
has been super busy for me in terms of FFTCG. I basically had
training/practice, locals, and then either LQs or Circuit events from
Thursdays-Saturdays all month. I was going to write reports for each event, but
I was dealing with a mix of mental health issues, burnout from the game, and
some laziness.
For those interested, I ended up Top 4 in a Circuit event
with Mono Water Vikings. Then I basically ended up 9th-ish(?) for the
two LQs and the other circuit event. I went with Mono Water again for the first
LQ, switched over to Turbo Discard for the next LQ, and then played Scions for
the Circuit. I essentially either choked in the final rounds or got blown out
by a Titan EX in the events. There were also some issues with my decks
bricking.
On to Seattle! The GF and I locked into Scions and practiced
it for about 3 weeks. Personally, I was very happy with how the deck performs
and the power level of it. We flew in on Friday morning and hung out with my
former college badminton partner, who graciously let us stay with her for the
weekend. It was awesome to see someone I used to be so close to and know that
our bond was more than just some fleeting friendship in college. We chatted,
ate, played games and explored the city. It was a great way to relax before the
tournament and we even got some practice in because she and her husband were
interested in the game! (We begged RB to get us some demo decks to give them
later.)
When we got to the venue, we were super early because they
delayed the start time of the event. We tried to just chat and relax, but the
nerves got to us. We met up with the other NorCal people and a few of our SoCal
friends, chatted a bit, then were ready to start!
Round 1 vs Ice/Water
I get a very good hand with Minfilia and Alisaie, so I play
them out and most of my deck is online. My opponent does a first play Celes to
block one of my backups. He discarded a Viking to play it, so I knew I could be
in trouble if he was able to resolve a Nidhogg, which I consider one of Scions’
biggest weaknesses. I am able to ramp out very well and start my forward
pressure with Papalymo, Yda, Thancred. Unfortunately, he is able to resolve his
Nidhogg, and he takes my Yda, then wins a 1/5 and snipes another. He resolves
it again later and takes away Thancred and another forward. I pretty much limp
along and try to grind him out, but it seems like he had Scions in mind when
building his deck. He had Trickster and Duke Larg around to blank my Ramuh. I
brush this game off, but feel a bit annoyed because Ice/Water never performs
nearly that well for me when I run it.
(0-1)
Round 2 vs Wind/Lightning
My opponent sits on two backups the whole game and tries to
rush me down with Illua, Adelle, Seifer. I am able to ramp out to four backups
and resolve a Cecil to totally stabilize. We spend the game tightroping and both
end up at 6 damage. I had to deal with a Zidane pilfering my hand. Then he
drops a Kam’lanaut and has Chaos as his only card in hand. I am able to play
Thancred and have a 10k Yda. I make the first huge misplay of paying my lightning
card to play Thancred, so I couldn’t use my Alphinaud ping. My second huge
misplay is attacking with Thancred. My opponent kind of hid his Maria so I
forgot his Kam was 10k. They just bounce and even if I trade with my Yda, I
lose next turn. If I had only attacked with Yda first or kept a lightning card,
the game was mine.
(0-2)
So I check in with all my NorCal friends, and we’re all
doing poorly at 0-2. The GF and I are feeling pretty low at this point and are
seriously considering if we even want to continue playing FFTCG (not the first
time we’ve thought about it over the past few months). She tells me we should just
think about it later and try our best since we’re still alive if we go 4-0 from
this point.
Round 3 vs ???
I just straight up demolish my opponent in a few turns. Not
even close.
(1-2)
That’s always good for the morale!
Round 4 vs Fire/Lightning
I ramp out again and start the usual pain train of
Papa-Yda-Thancred-Y’shtola. My opponent does his best to try to remove my
forwards, but when I top deck and get some good EX bursts, it’s tough. He has
to desperately resolve 2 Illua specials, but it just isn’t enough to deal with
a huge Yda and active Y’shtola demolishing the board.
(2-2)
So I end up even before the break. Sadly, my GF and other
NorCal people are out at this point. I half-jokingly say that maybe we should
just leave because it’s a stretch for me to make it even if I go undefeated
from here on. Of course, she tells me to keep going and that she will try to
have fun and win some games. So after a shitty café meal, we charge back in!
Round 5 vs Chocobos
My opponent dumps his hand and starts going in on me. My
hand is pretty decent and I’m able to ramp out to 3, then I resolve a Cecil and
he basically stops in his tracks. I slowly see the life die in his eyes and his
frustration grows as each turn I just drop Wol, Dadaluma, and Thancred. He
makes a misplay in which he could have killed my Dadaluma after resolving a
Shadow Lord and it might have put him back in the game, but I pretty much have it locked down no matter what. I just keep the removal train going after
stabilizing and ride to victory.
(3-2)
The dream is alive. I’m feeling good, confidence is slowly
getting back there and my play is finally starting to sharpen and be up to
standard. I recovered from the misplay tilt and am coming back strong.
Round 6 vs Scions EX
Unfortunately, I sit down across from a friend. We’re both
at 3-2, so one of our runs ends here. It’s a bit bittersweet because one of us
is done, but at least one moves on. We both lament that it has to go this way,
but are also really excited to play each other. He has a super aggressive
Alisae and Yda swing turn one. I stay patient and ramp out to 3 and drop a
Cecil. I am able to stabilize and get my forwards out. On a clear board I start
swinging and he hits 2 Minfilia and 1 Papalymo off EX. I sort of roll my eyes
on the luck. He’s able to catch up on forwards, but I am still able to swing
through. I see that he has some strange EX’s popping up and I realize he’s a
Scions with a mess of EX mashed in. I have the Wol, but he has EX that gets
around it like Mateus. It comes down to the wire at 6-6, and he needs to top a
Forward to win—and he gets it.
(3-3)
So I’m out at this point. Not feeling too great, but I’ll
just relax and cheer for my friends. I decide to just play my final round, but
not really into it.
Round 7 vs Mono Water Monsters
I ramp out to 5 and start the pain train. We both have a
huge board state and I get lethal on board. I’m just not too interested at this
point anymore. I see some of my friends chatting and want to join them. I have
lethal, but I just let my opponent win since there’s no difference whether we
win or lose at this point.
Technically 3-4, really 4-3 depending on who you talk to.
So I pretty much ended up a win away from being in
contention from top cuts. Two X-2’s didn’t make it so it was likely I wouldn’t
have anyways. I’m a bit disappointed because I know my deck is insane and I
know I’m good enough, but it seems like I still have some work to do. The GF
and I felt pretty awful overall because we didn’t have much confidence going in
and it pretty much got stomped on, so we resolved that we probably would not do
this kind of thing again; would only play Friday night locals if we even decided
to stay in the game.
We put on our happy faces even though we were pretty down so
that we could have a good night with our FFTCG friends. We were urged by our
good friends Thomas and Stan to meet up with the SoCal people. In short, it was
a blast. We had so much fun trolling, eating, and chatting about the game and
our respective experiences and lives. It felt really great to have their
support even though we had just met. We felt much better about the game and
community after that and came back to play in side events the next day.
I spent the whole Sunday gunslinging so I could farm those
sweet Japanese foils. It was so much fun playing against Arai-san,
Kageyama-san, and Yamaguchi-san. They’re all really good, super funny, and had
interesting decks. Arai-san loves to play big cards or combos, Kageyama-san
played with his favorites, and Yamaguchi-san played great synergies. They
reminded me of John, Max, and myself, another group of great friends and
teammates. My one regret was only bringing my Scion deck to play against them
and none of my fun creations.
 |
| Sample of the cool gunslinger loot |
So the trip went through its ups and downs, but overall it
was very worth it. I had so much fun and found the love and motivation that I
had lost. I can understand a bit why people say the community is the best part
now. I’m excited to try out some new decks and hopefully continue to improve
and win.
Props:
-GF for the support, love, and always being a great partner
-Gina and Jesus for spending time with us and being great
hosts
-Brian and Azul for taking 1st and 2nd
and qualifying for Nats! Congrats!
-Sam’s Tavern, Buffalo Wild Wings, pizza, calzone, ice
cream, beer, whiskey, Strawberry Pop Tarts
-All the new friends I met this weekend. You are all so
awesome. Thanks for all the good vibes and laughs and for helping me renew my
love for the game.
-Getting the Seattle Crystal Cup Champion, Brian, to sign
the tag of the Sephiroth plushie we got from him
-Seattle weather
-Gunslinging
Flops:
-Doing poorly
-Bricking
-Ugly signature in Matthew’s dragoon binder
-Not eating my Pop Tarts
-Brian never played a Final Fantasy/watched anime
-Disrespectful group hanging next to us in the hotel lobby
-Playing Scions against gunslingers
Various factors caused us to seriously consider quitting. We
pretty much resolved to never play in a competitive event anymore or maybe just
stop playing altogether. We purchased our LCQ ticket, but weren’t going to buy
the plane ticket or hotel. However, meeting our new friends made everything
worth it and we are once again excited to play. See you all at LCQ/Nats!
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