Aiden Thorne
Batteries Not Included
Torrington, CT
June 30th, 2012
24 Players

 

Welcome to the tournament report of our local Kaijudo tournament! The tournament had a bit of a twist on it's own rules as the game is not officially released until September 18th. A few key differences this game has from it's predecessor is a maximum of three cards per deck, as opposed to the original four, and managing mana is a lot more simplistic.

 

Firstly we split the dojo decks among our TWENTY FOUR players! (There were even more people who wanted to play but signed up late, sadly there were only so many decks to give out)

Dice were rolled and each side of the table received either the Darkness/Water control deck or the Fire/Nature aggressive deck.

 

I received the Fire/Nature deck and waited very impatiently for the first round pairings. The large red and shiny Tatsurion staring at me, ready to dive head first into a duel. I had missed this feeling, the card shop atmosphere; everyone around me was just as excited and nostalgic.

 

There was just something magical about the moment you tear open the plastic protecting the cards and look through them for the first time, eagerly placing them in protective sleeves as you talk to the person next to you about intricate details of your game.

 

But that's enough philosophical rambling for now! Let's go over that deck list:

 

Creatures:

1x Tatsurion

1x Flametropus

2x Little Hissy

2x Draglide the Swiftest

2x Pyro Trooper

3x Gatling Skyterror

3x Blaze Belcher

3x Simian Trooper Grash

 

1x Roaming Bloodmane

1x Brave Giant

1x Raging Goliant

2x Rumbling Terrasaur

2x Bronze-Arm Tribe

2x Essence Elf

3x Ambush Scorpion

 

Spells:

1x Overcharge

1x Tornado Flame

2x Rock Bite

2x Comet Missile

 

1x Root Trap

2x Sprout

2x Return to the Soil

 

Round One

 

 

My first match is against Bill Swanson, both of us had received the Fire/Nature deck making this a very interesting match up. We're now using the Dojo decks out of their environment.

 

Game One:

The game begins with us both dropping low cost creatures and charging mana every chance we get. I place my Root Trap in mana early which turned out to be a HUGE mistake, as we trade off smaller creatures I gain the edge; but then Bill summons Tatsurion! Tatsurion immediately begins his rampage of destroying creatures and forcing me to cease my assault entirely. With Root Trap already in mana I have no answers to the Armored Dragon/Beast Kin hybrid and he beats me into submission.

 

Game One goes to Bill!

Game Two doesn't go any better for me as Bill swipes the 2-0 against me in the first round of the Kaijudo tournament. He played an early Essence Elf that completely dominated the field, it's ability of giving your other creatures +1000 power allowed him to win every trade off easily. Any attempts I had at recovering from the early game were cut short when he began pushing with an all out attack.

 

Current Record: 0-1 (0-2)

 

Though I may have lost the first match, I had a lot of fun; Duel Masters had always been a card game I enjoyed and Kaijudo definitely filled the void. Mike Lenarczyk, another former top player on the DCI ratings comes over after winning his round and plays a few games with me.

 

This game is another mirror match of the aggressive Fire/Nature decks, except this time I had the edge in most of the games. In multiple very close games I clutch a 3-1 lead when the next round comes to fruition.

 

Round Two

 

As Round Two begins I find myself playing Joey Cilfone in yet another mirror match. By this point I've learned the Comet Missile will be perpetual mana in these games, at least until I play an opponent using the Darkness/Water deck.

 

Game One:

We start the game as most aggressive decks will always start by dropping low cost creatures and spending time attacking and counter attacking. My early plays of Little Hissy combined with Essence Elf gives me a powerful advantage that keeps his field small until I can summon Tatsurion who swings in for game on the next turn.

 

Game Two however is a different story, in response to my previous combo we trade off but this time with him having the Essence Elf until he plays Tatsurion AND Roaming Bloodmane; the two 6000 power creatures are overwhelming and he swings home for game.

Game Three sadly follows a similar pattern to the second. My early assault was stopped short by triggers and in the process of attempting to recover he turns the table with a well played assault of multiple mid-powered creatures. Clearing the field wasn't enough as my larger creatures that I needed to win spent their time shield locked until it was too late.

The match goes to Joey.

Current Record: 0-2 (1-4)

 

I wasn't very discouraged at that loss, shield triggers happen; luck is always a factor in card games. Sometimes you win, and sometimes you don't. That's what keeps them fun!

 

I sit with Domenic George playing multiple games, he was one of the unlucky players who didn't sign up in time for the tournament and had to sit out. We end up having to stop in the middle of a game as the pairings are up for round three!

 

Round Three

 

As Round Three begins I find myself playing Ben Morris, he is a new face to me but has been playing card games for quite some time. For the third time in a row, I am once again playing against the Fire/Nature deck.

Game One:
After placing shields and drawing our hands I am awe struck by my luck. A T1, T2, T3 AND a T4 drop. The creatures being dropped every turn prove to be too much for Ben as the whittle away at his shields until none are left.

Game Two begins and I take a control play style. I once again set up the Little Hissy and Essence Elf strategy. This allows me to play very conservatively, using Little Hissy to destroy his untapped creatures. A steady stream of removal and I keep field control until I amass a force that breaks all of his shields in one turn.

Current Record: 1-2 (3-4)

 

I finally manage to get my first match win so I take my time to watch some of the other games going on, everyone seems to be enjoying themselves. I walk back over to where my match had taken place and I once again play with Domenic until the next round is called.

 

Round Four

 

As Round Four begins I find myself playing against an entirely new face, Jacob Kovel. We engage in a little small talk as we begin to play and I find that we are once again playing in a mirror match.

 

Game One:

For the second time this tournament I play Blaze Belcher on my first turn, followed next turn by an essence elf which allows me to win the early game trade offs by kamikaze attacking Blaze Belcher into this Ambush Scorpion. He attacks aggressively at my shields giving me card advantage and allowing me to take over the game by summoning Tatursion who proceeds to spear head his way to victory.

Game Two flowed relatively similar to game one, I played a second turn Sprout followed by a Bronze-Arm Tribe next turn. Playing my last card in mana I summon Brave Giant on turn five, the powerhouse 7000 creature seems unstoppable at that point in this match up; and he very much was. Using Brave Giant to counter attack early I manage to gain field control and then begin summoning more creatures to push for victory.

Current Record: 2-2 (5-4)

 

 

So I didn't do as well as I had been hoping, but I recovered towards the end (Except I had the worst tiebreakers among the 2-2 players >_>) but that was okay! I was a bit disappointed I didn't get to play against a Darkness/Water player so I asked around and managed to find a game against the player who came in 5th with a record of 3-1.

 

 

Game One wasn't a very interesting game to say the least, I quickly learned how out matched I was when he locked me down at turn four with multiple blockers and removal. As soon as Zagaan hit the field I picked up the rest of my shields as he smashed through any chance I had at turning that game around.

Game Two however went entirely the opposite direction, with another aggressive hand like the one I had against Ben Morris I managed to easily dominate the early game and actually use Comet Missile for something other than mana as this wasn't a mirror match. My onslaught of low cost creatures along with two drops of 'Fast Attackers' seemed to easily claim this game for me.

Game Three was a very interesting twist, while he used the Darkness/Water for an early aggressive/control-esque strategy I played very conservatively and actually managed to out last him in terms of trade offs. I then sat there passing repeatedly with both Brave Giant and Burning Bloodmane on the field. I managed to hold control with a large amount of removal in my hand and was able to push for game once I felt my field was secure enough to prevent any form of comebacks.

 

After all was said and done I had a great time and enjoyed seeing some of my old card game friends that I hadn't seen in awhile. I'm greatly looking forward to being able to write weekly Duel Master Draft Tournament Reports! That's actually a mouth-full to say, Duel Master Draft Tournament Reports, try it, you'll be surprised.

 

I'm truly glad Kaijudo, has finally hit the market and will be taking off around here. Even though we only currently have the Dojo Decks to use, we've already had an exceptionally large turnout and we only expect that number to grow in the future. If you've been unsure of picking this game up, you're definitely missing out. Kaijudo is an exceptional game, not only does it have simplicity for the casual player, but it also has subtle complexity allowing it to be a competitive game.

 

The entire experience was definitely a 10/10.

 

But one last thing!

Here is a picture of the final standings as well as what the Top 8 were playing:

 

Copyright© 1998-2012 pojo.com
This site is not sponsored, endorsed, or otherwise affiliated with any of the companies or products featured on this site. This is not an Official Site.