FlashFire. Serf. A World of Books. San Leandro, CA. Monsters: 20 1 Invader of the Throne 1 cyber jar 3 Giant Germ 2 sangan 1 witch of the black forest 3 magician of faith (MOF) 3 giant soldier of stone (GSOS) 2 cannon soldier 3 wall of illusion 1 Flash Assailant (the FLASH) Magic: 13 3 Tremendous Fire (the FIRE) 1 Change of Heart 1 Pot of Greed 1 Raigeki 1 Dark Hole 1 Monster Reborn 2 Heavy Storm 3 Ookazi Trap: 7 1 Mirror Force 3 Attack and Receive 3 Just Desserts Total 40 Tournament on January 19, 2003 (Official UpperDeck Tournament) Like a forest fire left unchecked to burn, FlashFire continued its path of destruction. 1st match Opponent: Michael (Defensive Deck) Michael looked to be a new player. I’ve never seen him before and I was set to duel against him. I didn’t know what to expect, but found out soon enough. He had the standard 2000 DEF monsters with Shield and Sword. The duels were quick, and FlashFire wins 2-0. 2nd match Opponent: JTPinoy (Relinquish Deck) I haven’t played JT in a long while, and didn’t know what deck to expect. He’s a good duelist, but he’s not a regular player like most of the advanced. Since he doesn’t play every week, he lacks the experience against the other regulars there. First duel, I didn’t know what to expect, and the same for him. He started out with Gravity Bind and Dream Clown, so I thought his deck was some sort of control. Then I started seeing a bunch of Sonic Birds and Senjus and that ugly monster Relinquished popped into my head. He had the early lead, but I played a Raigeki and he uses Solemn Judgment and pays 4000 LP. I bring him down to 800 and he has me at 2925. He has a Sangan and a Goddess of the Whim and he gets the flip correct, making Whim’s attack at 1900. Both attack and I am down to 25. Next turn I draw Just Desserts and win. Second duel went faster than the first. Since I knew what to expect, I turned the heat on and started roasting his Sonic Bird. I only ate the white meat and gave the wings, legs, and thighs away. Bandit Keif went straight for the neck and chomped it raw like Gollum ate that fish at the Forbidden Pool. I win with 6700 LP remaining. 3rd match Opponent: Donald (Altered Beatdown) Donald, a.k.a. AznPlaya, is another guy that I’ve played in the past but have not dueled against in a while. There was a time when Playa would always get into the Finals with his beatdown, but like me, he had been losing lately. This resulted in Playa going onto a soul-searching quest and altering decks, looking for the Valhalla Deck. This search eventually led him back to his beatdown, but there has been alterations. A few more changes and Playa will be a regular again at the Finals. First duel, Playa wasn’t too sure what deck I ran. I was able to keep hitting him constantly, and just kept chipping away at his LP until I brought him down to zero with me at 4100. Second duel, Playa knew what was up and he started changing his strategy. He had me on the ropes, him at 2000, me at 850. He ended his turn with 4 monsters in attack mode, ready to wipe out my LP the next turn. He also had one in face down defense, no doubt a Man Eater Bug, ready to clear the field. He also had two cards face down in his M/T zone, along with 2 cards in his hand. Me? Ha, I had no monsters, nothing in my M/T zone, no cards in my hand. The scenario was looking bad for me, and it felt like I was in a “Are you the best duelist” contest on the Pojo YuGi home page. My turn, and I draw Just Desserts. I set, end, wait and flip. One serving of Just Desserts coming up! Yum-yum. 4th match Opponent: ZeenO (Shoot ‘em, excuse me, name changed to Drive By) ZeenO had made it to the Championship after his first round destruction last week at the hands of Nick T. That’s what you call resilient. Most duelist would have given up hope, but ZeenO not only came back, he came back stronger. Like someone said, “Defeating a Saiyan only means he comes back stronger.” First duel, ZeenO’s first taste of FlashFire. He was totally overwhelmed, he wanted to forfeit and give up the Championship to me. FlashFire left a bad taste in his mouth and burned his tongue to a crisp. Me being the benevolent duelist, I insisted he stay and finish what he started. I gave him a lecture on how winners never give up, and quitter = loser, etc. I was really convincing, but I didn’t really care, I just wanted to torture him some more! Mwahahahaha! Second duel, I have ZeenO teetering at 1600 LP, while I still have 2400. I am not happy with the duel because I already made two mistakes. I lost focus and didn’t really have a plan. ZeenO, being the expert that he is, takes advantage and takes my LP down to zero thanks to Change of Heart. Third duel, the first time all day that I had to go to 3. ZeenO was really pushing me, and I realized I had to play smart and fight for the win. Well, everything that can go wrong for you in a duel, it happened to me. Along with ZeenO playing a masterful game, I had the odds stacked very high against me. ZeenO cleaned up the floor with me and I only managed to do 1500 LP damage to him. Game and championship goes to the better duelist, ZeenO. I became a statistic, another victim of the Drive By….. What’s up! to the hardcore Yu-Gi-Oh! gamers at a World of Books, keeping the game going. to the person that found my Millenium Puzzle. Thanks! (this made me really happy!) Get lost! to the thieves that steal cards. Serf buffserf@yahoo.com