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Welcome back
to my Interview Series: A View from the Top! I’m
back after a LONG time to showcase the rest of Team
Overdose with Rhymus Lizo today and Anthony Alvarado
later this week. Before I get to my interview, I
would like to let you know that our News section at
the Team Fire & Ice website has been updated and
will continue to be updated as we get more pictures
and notes at each event we attend. Check it out at
www.fireniceanime.com.
Up today is Rhymus Lizo, one of the senior members
of Team Overdose and a funny guy to boot. I’ve
learned quite a bit from Rhymus and his insights and
I’m sure you will too. Without further ado…I present
Rhymus Lizo.
Bryan: What's your full name?
Rhymus: Rhymus Francis Fernando Lizo.
Rhymus: Rhymus Lizo for short.
Bryan: Lizo? interesting...what's ur nationality?
Rhymus: I’m a Filipino, but people say I look
Indian…
Bryan: How old are you?
Rhymus: I’m 20 years old.
Bryan: Do you go to college, university, trade
school?
Rhymus: Im actually out of school rite now because
of my disease…I have a severe case of psoriasis.
Bryan: really?
Bryan: ouch...
Rhymus: yea.
Bryan: Doesn't sound to pleasant
Rhymus: It’s like falling off a bike everyday.
Bryan: Jeez...what a nightmare.
Rhymus: I know.
Bryan: So where do you live currently?
Rhymus: Jersey City, NJ, 201 Area.
Bryan: What's your home store?
Rhymus: I started my YuGiOh career at a place called
Bayonne Comics.
Bryan: Is that where you play now?
Rhymus: Recently I have been going to both Bayonne
and to NYC at a place called Neutral Grounds.
Bryan: Yea Neutral Grounds, I hear a lot about that
place.
Bryan: Any good competitors there?
Rhymus: yea…It’s mostly my team though…hehe
Rhymus: Ever since Team Overdose went to Neutral
Grounds, no one has won the tournament besides our
team; but it does beat the competition in Bayonne.
Bryan: ha ha...a store take-over; sounds very
familiar lol.
Rhymus: You mean the CO guys?
Bryan: Nah I mean my team.
Rhymus: Nice. Gotta love that…
Bryan: Nuthin better.
Bryan: So what's your ranking in NJ?
Rhymus: Well…right now I’m number thirteen in NJ,
but I would’ve been higher if I never left the
country…I was in the Philippines for 7 months...
when I came back I was ranked number 500
something; but after 2 months of hard work I got to
top 20
Bryan: Yea I heard about that, Anthony told me all
about it
Rhymus: oh…hehe…
Bryan: lol I do my homework
Rhymus: If it weren’t for Anthony and Bryan I
would’ve never made that happen.
Bryan: So Rhymus...what are your credentials? For
example, how
many top 8 performances do you have at Regionals,
are you qualified
for National...etc.
Rhymus: well…I won the April 2nd regional in
Secaucus…that was
the first regional since I came back.
Bryan: So you've been out the whole season?
Rhymus: The whole entire season…I was on the injury
list…couldn’t pick up a YuGiOh card for 7 months.
Bryan: wow man sorry to hear that
Rhymus: I forgive you…lol.
Bryan: lol.
Bryan: How long have you been playing YuGiOh?
Rhymus: I started playing October 7, 2003.
Rhymus: First deck I ever had was a mixture of the
first two starter decks
Bryan: What's your favorite card Rhymus?
Rhymus: The great cannon soldier! He is absolutely
amazing…love that thing.
Bryan: lol.
Bryan: Favorite deck archetype?
Rhymus: Machines, I love it.
Bryan: Really, Machines?
Rhymus: I played a winning machine deck for a long,
long time.
Rhymus: It actually earned me the name machine king
around my way…
Bryan: I think they took a heavy blow from the bans
Rhymus: Oh yea…I was shocked at how weak my deck
became when I came back…brought a tear to my eyes.
Bryan: lol
Rhymus: But you know what, another tweaking and I
think I could make it
back to the way it was…
Bryan: I don’t know about that, Scapegoat tokens
don’t exactly make it easy for machines to win.
Rhymus: actually… goats made it easier for me…
Bryan: How do you figure?
Rhymus: 3 Goats and 3 Cannon Soldiers.
Bryan: I see…2000 LP per copy of scapegoat
Rhymus: Yea, I ran a controller back in the day when
it wasn’t being
used so widely for the fact that goats came popping
up and the way I played, I made sure that that 2000
would blow up in your face.
Rhymus: He stays in my main or side-deck no matter
what people say.
Bryan: What’s your current deck?
Rhymus: Just like everyone else on the east coast…a
warrior/chaos…much as I love my machines, got to go
with the winning team.
Bryan: Warrior/Chaos, a man's deck lol
Rhymus: lol.
Bryan: In my opinion it’s the best version of Chaos
in the format right now.
Rhymus: I agree, next to a machine deck it’s the
manliest deck…hehehe
Bryan: It fits the metagame perfectly and destroys
zombie/chaos
Rhymus: Heck yes…my thoughts exactly. This zombie
chaos thing is very west coasty…but honestly I think
the NY/NJ metagame is so bangin’ it might be the
best.
Bryan: The Florida metagame is really weird.
Rhymus: oh yea…how so?
Bryan: Well it has two different styles.
Rhymus: how weird is there game?
Bryan: Central Florida plays mostly Aggro and South
Florida plays
mostly generic Chaos and Zombie/Chaos.
Rhymus: wow…
Rhymus: where are you from btw?
Bryan: I'm originally from South Florida but moved
to
Central Florida about 8 months ago.
Bryan: What sets you apart from the other top
players in the world?
Rhymus: hmm…me a top player? I guess that would set
me apart; never thought of myself as a "top player"
I just play to get a smile on my face ya know?
Bryan: Yea I know, but you’re here because you ARE
one of the best in my opinion and of course your
record shows it as well.
Rhymus: I guess what sets me apart is my love of the
game…I know everyone says they do but I absolutely
do…I can’t get it out of my mind…I play for the fun
of it, but I also play to win…I take YuGiOh very
seriously, especially when others poke fun at it.
I’m not ashamed of YuGiOh either…many lie about not
playing but I say it straight up…I’m a Yugi player
and I love it!
Bryan: So give me a little of your insight on the
game...a bit about your strategies, play style and
such, this is your chance to shine :)
Rhymus: Alright...this little light is about to
shine so get those shades out!
Bryan: lol.
Rhymus: I love confusing the people I play; that’s
my basic strategy.
Bryan: How do you do that?
Rhymus: I make them assume. For example: I play game
one with some aggression…making them side in for the
second game maybe some things to slow me down… then
I get into the conservative style and they go ahead
and get a sneak attack from me. That’s how I do
things.
Bryan: Excellent, switching up your style of play is
a classic move.
Rhymus: I do it all the time; I love making them
think the Soldier is on the way out but in fact I
sided him out just to sneak a 3400 Lily in on them .
Bryan: Interesting, you side BLS out?
Rhymus: Why not? It’s really not a staple you know.
Bryan: Of course he is, in Chaos decks.
Rhymus: You mean to tell me every win u ever had
involved a soldier?
Bryan: Lol, when I played Chaos 50% of my wins
involved him yes, but mostly
Airknight rakes in the wins.
Rhymus: Back in the day Airknight was a beast!
Bryan: Still is…
Rhymus: But now I use a Mobius over that Airknight.
Bryan: Mobius? Why exactly?
Rhymus: It’s a guaranteed 2 for 1. No matter what, I
destroy 2 of your cards and if you happen to have an
answer for it then oh well.
Bryan: I guess Mobius does hurt, but I'd MUCH rather
trample sheep tokens; goats are WAY too popular
these days
Rhymus: But then again there are many cards to get
rid of goats…Vortex, Tribe, and Controller.
Bryan: Yes I know, but Airknight = card advantage
Rhymus: Dont get me wrong, I love the card, but card
advantage doesn’t always win.
Bryan: Yes sir, it most certainly does; if you play
your cards the way they're supposed to be played
yes.
Rhymus: You never got hit by Delinquent then still
go on and win?
Bryan: Yes. I've gotten out of worse situations.
Rhymus: If you can win with six cards you can win
with three you know?
Bryan: You got me there. Card advantage is a bad
description for Airknight, he is more like a
momentum shifter.
Rhymus: EXACTLY! And so is Mobius, but for the
field.
Bryan: What do you think about both in one deck?
Rhymus: Most definitely...Anthony ran them both for
a bit and he did great.
Rhymus: But then again it is Anthony…and he is
amazing!
Bryan: The guy knows certainly what he's doing with
deck building and he’s helped me with some of my
recent decks.
Bryan: So tell me...how often do you practice? how
do you practice and who do you practice with?
Rhymus: I practice almost everyday with the
co-founders of Team Overdose, Anthony Alvarado and
Bryan Coronel, we play each other almost all the
time and make the best suggestions to each other. We
see what each person does wrong and we correct it
together. I’ve always said that practice doesn’t
make perfect, PERFECT PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT, and in
my opinion
Bryan and Anthony are the perfect practice.
Bryan: That’s a great motto.
Bryan: How do you prepare for major events both
mentally and strategically?
Rhymus: The night before the event I stay up and
duel…it’s rare for me to get sleep before a big
event…I have no idea why, but before an event I just
want get as many duels in as possible to get as good
as I can be before I go in.
Bryan: You know...I do the same thing and I play my
best when I'm deprived of sleep, the fatigue allows
my mind to focus only on the game and not the cheesy
draws or annoying head games they try to play. It’s
almost as if I completely ignore it…I think we're
all psychos.
Rhymus: All Yugi players are.
Rhymus: Mentally…I just think of my girl and how if
I win Charlene would definitely be happy.
Bryan: Do you get nervous or anxious at serious
tournaments?
Rhymus: Do I ever…I literally shake n
everything…it’s weird but I can’t get over the
shaking. I remember the first match I ever played I
was so nervous that I was showering in sweat. I get
nervous all he time, but the nervousness helps me
win so it’s all good. More proof that we are all
psychos.
Bryan: What deck will you be playing at Nationals?
Rhymus: Most likely the one I’m using now, but you
know me and my strategy…maybe I’m just trying to
confuse you.
Bryan: lol.
Bryan: What do you think will dominate at Nationals
this year?
Rhymus: Just like the one before, this Black Luster
guy would definitely see his way to the top.
Bryan: Gotta love the cheese-ball.
Rhymus: Can’t live with him, cant live without him.
Bryan: Ain’t it the truth.
Bryan: What direction do you see this game going in,
a good one or bad one?
Rhymus: If I have anything to do with it, I’ll make
sure that this game goes in the best direction it
can ever go! I love it too much to let it die.
Rhymus: lol.
Bryan: lol
Bryan: Would like UDE to offer cash as prize instead
of the usual electronics and packs this year at
Nationals and future big events?
Rhymus: Well of course, nothing says cha-ching like
money…Wu Tang said it best; “CASH RULES EVERYTHING
AROUND ME!”
Bryan: I figure since more and more teams out there
are starting to profit from this game, I think its
about time UDE wises up and gets with the program.
Make this game a professional thing and make
benefits for teams; I think the direction needs to
change focus from kiddy stuff to professional play.
Rhymus: That’s the truth, look at marvel…Only a year
old with a pro tour; that’s not cool at all.
Bryan: The team aspect of this game is making this
game really exciting, I think UDE should take
advantage of this and make something out of it.
Rhymus: They should, but they won’t listen…
Bryan: I'm sure they'll listen at Nationals.
Rhymus: Hopefully.
Bryan: We need money man!
Rhymus: Heck yea…
Bryan: Okay, last question…Do you have any advice
for the newcomers and beginners looking to step
their game up to the pro level?
Rhymus: All you newcomers to the game just be
prepared to devote some time to this thing, it’s no
joke, it’s surely addictive and no there is no
rehab; so be prepared to give it as much as it needs
you to give.. YuGiOh becomes a close friend. Me and
my cards are like THIS son!
Bryan [10:17 PM]: LOL great advice. I see that all
of you on Overdose feel the same about the
commitment to this game.
Rhymus [10:18 PM]: We eat, sleep, and think this
game.
Bryan: So does my team.
Bryan: Well Rhymus, unfortunately...this is the end
of the interview. Thank you very much for your time;
I had a lot of fun.
Rhymus: Me too, thank you for the opportunity.
There you have it everyone, expect to see Team
Overdose at the next Shonen Jump Championship in New
Jersey. I’ve known this group for quite a while and
they are no joke. To those of you attending the New
Jersey SJC, remember that the Northeast prides
themselves in having a very competitive metagame; be
sure that they will prove that with every move they
make. Until next time everyone, remember to
practice, stay focused, and most importantly…have
fun!
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