SQUIRREL STEAMROLLER !

 

Vintage Stock   Broken Arrow, Oklahoma   July 12, 2003   40 People   $5

Winner – 5 booster packs    2nd – 3 booster packs    3rd – 1 booster pack

 

Top Deck Games   Tulsa, Oklahoma   July 12, 2003   50 People   $3

Winner – 3 booster packs    2nd – 2 booster packs    3rd & 4th – 1 booster pack

 

Wizard’s Asylum   Tulsa, Oklahoma   July 13, 2003   50 People   $3

Winner – 5 booster packs    2nd – 3 booster packs    3rd through 8th – 1 booster pack

 

Top Deck Games   Tulsa, Oklahoma   July 14, 2003   20 People   $3

Winner – 3 booster packs    2nd – 2 booster packs    3rd & 4th – 1 booster pack

 

 

 

 

Wow!  It sure as been a while hasn’t it?  Welcome again to another one of BigSpooky’s tournament reports.  I am your excellent host, BigSpooky.  And, as always, my sidekicks… the Killer Squirrels!

 

To those of you who’ve been wondering where I’ve been, I’ve had quite a bit going on lately.  Work has been murder (that’s just an expression… I’m not an assassin), I’ve been vainly trying to get enrolled into the Master’s of Accountancy program at the University of Oklahoma, and KSO has been going crazy.  With all that has been going on lately, I’ve had trouble finding time to sleep, much less write tournament reports.  However, I did want to write a report for the christening of my new deck – SQUIRREL STEAMROLLER!

 

 

First a few props to issue.  I’d like to congratulate all of the qualifiers for the Worldwide tournament at Madison Square Garden (particularly Tapion/Rick Anderson – winner of the Central Region).  I’ve heard a BUNCH of duelists complaining that the selection process for the Championships was unfair… and even a few who boasted that they could beat the best.  Well, O misinformed ones, I have news for you: I am one of the best, and I couldn’t hang with them!  I ended up taking first at the official tournament in my area 10 out of the 14 weeks in Season Three.  Yet, several people still finished ahead of me in the Central Region. 

 

I don’t doubt that many of you braggarts could beat me or any other duelist once or twice.  But to be as good as the qualifiers are requires consistently performing at a high level.  So, while the whiners might win one or two duels, the champions would in the remaining 98 out of 100.  It’s a real shame that so many duelists out there feel that they need to criticize the best rather than congratulate them.  I, however, do not suffer from this lack of self-esteem.  To one and all of the qualifiers: I commend you and wish you luck representing our country at Madison Square Garden in August!

 

 

I’ve decided to skip my usual rant, since there isn’t really anything that has been bothering me too much (except for the worthless wastes of human flesh known as “Thieves”… but most of you are well aware of my feelings towards them).  I would, however, like to take a quick moment to remind all duelists out there that, while Yu-Gi-Oh! is a lot of fun, it is only a game.  Whether we win or lose the game won’t matter in the long run.  It’s the character that we build when we duel that helps us become better… both as duelists and as people.

 

Bottom line: Winning duels is fine, but really unimportant overall.  Being courteous to your opponents, taking time to help others, and being a good sport (and, thereby, becoming a better person) are the real rewards that each of us should be striving for.  Those are all things that will help us become winners in the game of life!

 

 

ON TO THE DECK!!!

 

SQUIRREL STEAMROLLER ! (40 cards total)

 

Monsters (17)

Airknight Parshath

Bazoo the Soul Eater X2

Exiled Force

Goblin Attack Force X3

Marauding Captain X2

Nimble Momonga X3 (KILLER SQUIRRELS!!!)

Sangan

Spear Dragon X3

Witch of the Black Forest                            

 

Magic (17)

Change of Heart

Dark Hole

Graceful Charity X2

Harpie’s Feather Duster

Heavy Storm

Monster Reborn

Mystical Space Typhoon X2

Nobleman of Crossout X2

Pot of Greed

Premature Burial

Raigeki

Reinforcement of the Army X2

Snatch Steal

 

Traps (6)

Call of the Haunted

Imperial Order

Mirror Force

Waboku X3

 

 

Side Deck (15)

Cyber Jar

Possessed Dark Soul X2

Sinister Serpent

Card Destruction

Delinquent Duo

Exchange

Fissure X2

Mystical Space Typhoon

Painful Choice

Soul Release X2

Swords of Revealing Light

Torrential Tribute

 

 

OK, before I get any e-mails on the subject, I know that I need a Jinzo.  Aside from that small deficiency, this deck runs remarkably well.  I’ve had to tweak it a bit here and there, but it’s pretty solid overall.

 

I decided to switch to a beatdown deck after my Squirrel 2.0/2.1 deck got hammered at three consecutive tournaments.  With the release of Spear Dragon, Airknight Parshath, and [shudder] Possessed Dark Soul, a lot of the strategies that I used to make Squirrel 2.0 successful were no longer viable.  So I toyed around with a few different deck ideas (including a Fire-type deck with Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi that was absolutely EVIL!)  I finally settled on this deck.

 

 

Saturday 10:00 AM – Vintage Stock (official tournament)

 

Well, after an unbelievable run of TEN consecutive official tournament victories, I had lost in the early rounds four weeks in a row.  To make matters worse, some of the stronger duelists in the Tulsa area had decided to “invade” my store for more of a challenge.  Last week, I wasn’t up to the challenge as Sammy (The Unstoppable Sammy – #2 in Oklahoma) demolished my Fire deck in the third round.

 

Now it was time if those who desired to crush King Spooky would be able to hang with his new deck – Squirrel Steamroller!

 

KSO Notes: There were a plethora of KSOers in attendance today: SquirrelMasterTate (Alex), OMSstuud (CJ), Milkman (Cody), Jake Rake (Jake), and Mr. Zero (my brother).  Good luck to all!

 

First round - BigSpooky gets a bye

 

It’s good to be the king!

 

KSO Update: Alex unfortunately went out in the first round, but all the other KSOers won the first round in high style… especially Jake… who took out David (one of the top duelists in Tulsa) pretty handily.

 

 

Second Round - BigSpooky vs. Jordan (Beatdown)

 

Wasn’t much to the duel.  Jordan was relatively new to the game.  He hit me a couple of times (for 1800 and 600), but he also ran headlong into a Squirrel.  From there, my Bazoo and my Squirrels cleared a path for me to victory.

 

Final Score: 6600-0

 

KSO Update: While CJ lost round two to my next opponent, everyone else in KSO advanced.  However, round two was tainted by the fact that Lance (one of the more respected duelists in Tulsa) threw a tantrum and forfeited his match to Cody.

 

What was Lance so upset about?  He believed that he could chain Waboku to the activation of Injection Fairy Lily’s effect, and thereby make Cody pay 2000 points while he took no damage (NOTE: Cody was using Lily to attack directly).

 

The sad part of this tale was not that Lance was whining about not being able to play this illegal move, but the fact that he was whining at all.  As I have said many times, we adults in Yu-Gi-Oh! have a responsibility to act maturely in every situation.  If we don’t, then why should any of the kids behave themselves.  I fear that Lance was so obsessed with winning and being right that he let it affect his actions adversely… and, in my eyes at least, lost a lot of respect as a sportsman and a duelist.

 

 

Third Round - BigSpooky vs. Ben (Yata/Gravity Bind)

 

I had absolutely no business winning this duel.  Ben should have Yata-locked me.  Fortunately, I was able to play Premature Burial on my Spear Dragon so that I could get my draw phase back.  Ben tried to be aggressive by summoning his Marauding Captain (equipped with an Axe of Despair) and special summoning a Cyber Jar (in attack mode… LOL).  However, the ability to draw proved to be the key as I pulled one of the Possessed Dark Souls that I had side decked.

 

Final Score: 300-0

 

KSO Update: Once again, all KSOers moved on into the quarterfinals – Mr. Zero would be facing The Unstoppable Sammy; Cody would be facing Eugene (an up-and-coming “invader” from California whose deepest desire seems to be beating me); and I would be facing Jake (only six people in the quarters, I know… don’t ask me how it works!)

 

 

Quarterfinals - BigSpooky vs. Jake (Relinquished/Gravity Bind)

 

While he didn’t have Yata-Garasu in his deck for me to worry about, Jake’s deck is formidable in its own right.  Fortunately, Possessed Dark Soul’s effect works on Relinquished, too.  Realizing his mistake too late, Jake discovered the folly in absorbing my Witch of the Black Forest with his Relinquished.  I Heavy Stormed (and thereby used Witch’s effect to grab my Possessed Dark Soul), summoned and tributed my Possessed Dark Soul to get his Relinquished, then absorbed his Sonic Bird and punished him with it.  He was able to go on the offensive for a while… but only against my Squirrels.

 

Final Score: 9100-0

 

KSO Update: Along with me, Mr. Zero won (by pulverizing The Unstoppable Sammy).  Cody also eeked out a victory, but controversy once again reared its ugly head.  Cody attacked Eugene’s facedown monster with Jinzo, then attacked directly with his Injection Fairy Lily for what was supposedly the duel.  Unfortunately, Cody only had 1900 LP left, so he wouldn’t have been able to win the duel.  But by the time that Eugene realized this, they had both picked up their cards.

 

Let this be a lesson to all: KEEP TRACK OF YOUR SCORE WITH PEN AND PAPER!!!

 

Poor Cody… controversy seems to follow him and Lily everywhere.

 

 

Since there were only three people in the semifinals, we ended up having to draw to see who would get the bye.  As it turned out, I got it once again.

 

 

Semifinals - BigSpooky gets a bye

 

KSO Update: While Cody did slap my brother around quite a bit in the first duel, Mr. Zero should’ve won the second duel easily.  However, he was more focused on the fact that he had to use the restroom (there are no public facilities at Vintage Stock), and missed an obvious move for victory.  So Cody took the duel and the match.

 

OK invader… let’s see if you can dodge the Steamroller… heh heh heh!

 

 

Finals - BigSpooky vs. Cody (Yata/Gravity Bind)

 

Duel 1 – Not much to say here… Cody punished me by Change of Hearting my Goblin Attack Force, and hitting me with it and his Hayabusa Knight equipped with United We Stand (7500… owie!).  I couldn’t do much after that as he played Raigeki and hit me for the remaining 500 with his own Killer Squirrel.

 

Final Score: 0-8000

 

Duel 2 – Cody was still gloating about his two turn win when I thrashed him in one and a half turns in this duel.  My Cyber Jar (which I side decked in to deal with Yata-Garasu) gave me a Goblin Attack Force, Spear Dragon, and Bazoo.  Raigeki and Heavy Storm cleared the way for my baddies, and a Marauding Captain and a [snicker] Killer Squirrel of my own finished the duel.

 

Final Score: 8000-0

 

Duel 3 – This duel did last longer than either of our previous two.  But it was not a lot different from the second one in its composition.  While I did take some damage from my Delinquent Duo, my Airknight Parshath did most of the talking… particularly to Cody’s Scapegoats!

 

Final Score: 7000-0

 

No controversy here… SPOOKY WINS!

 

 

The aftermath: Sammy turns out to be stoppable after all; Eugene doesn’t get to be the man, since he didn’t beat the man; and, BigSpooky is still the Alpha Squirrel at Vintage Stock.  It looks like I finally have a deck that’s a worthy successor to Squirrel 2.0…

 

… at least until Pharaonic Guardian comes out and messes things up again!

 

 

 

The rest of the tournament report will be a quick rundown of the other tournaments that I participated in this weekend… not a lot of detail.

 

 

Saturday 2:00 PM – Top Deck Games

 

How I wish they’d make Top Deck an official tournament.  There’s more room, the format is better, and all of the good duelists in Tulsa are usually there.

 

If only it weren’t so hot all of the time!

 

 

First round - BigSpooky vs. Mike

 

He was able to hang with me for a bit in the first duel, but the Squirrels came rolling through eventually.

 

Spooky wins in two.

 

Second round - BigSpooky vs. Brandon

 

He runs a deck very much like mine… sans Squirrels.  Apparently they made the difference as I edged him out in both duels.

 

Spooky wins in two.

 

Third round - BigSpooky vs. Ryan

 

Never an easy duel against Ryan.  While he’s relatively new to the tournament scene, he has a formidable deck, and he runs it rather well.  He usually wins as many as he loses against me.  Still, I was better today.

 

Spooky wins in two.

 

Semifinals - BigSpooky vs. Sammy (The Unstoppable Sammy)

 

While I like dueling Sammy because it’s a challenge, he is awfully good.  I can usually tell before a duel if I’m going to be able to win… except whenever I duel my brother or Sammy.  But I did manage to win this one.

 

Spooky wins in three.

 

It was me and my brother in the finals.  Since this wasn’t an official tournament, we decided to split the victory.  The packs all go to the same place anyway.

 

 

 

Sunday 12:00 PM – Wizard’s Asylum

 

Big tournament at Wizard’s Asylum this week… over fifty people.  Among them was my friend Marc, his son Jordan, and [pant] [pant] his daughter Toni.  Toni is a cute eighteen year old who plays in tournaments once in a while with her brother and dad.  The older teenagers are usually falling all over themselves when she’s around.  Not that I don’t understand… she makes me wish I were ten years younger!

 

As it stands, I’m a lot closer to her father’s age!  :P

 

Shout out to the KSO members in the crowd – Cody, Jake, and Zeke

 

 

First round - BigSpooky vs. Ludwig

 

Ludwig is another one of the new faces to the tournament crowd.  He has some great cards, but still doesn’t use them quite as effectively as he could.  That is about the only thing that allows me to still win against him.

 

Spooky wins in two.

 

Second round - BigSpooky vs. Marc

 

Ah the joys of age-matching.  I knew it wouldn’t take long before the two oldest people in the store were matched against each other.  I also knew it wouldn’t take long before Marc started beating me.

 

Spooky loses in three.

 

Third round - BigSpooky vs. Laurence

 

My past string of thrashings over Laurence has come to an abrupt halt lately.  He’s managed to take me down quite a few times recently… today notwithstanding.

 

Spooky loses in three.

 

With a 1-2 record, I knew I wouldn’t make the elimination rounds.  So I bid my fellow KSO members “Adieu!”; slapped Sammy around a bit (Who’s your daddy?  HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!); took one last look at Toni (heh heh!); and headed home.

 

KSO Update: I found out later that Jake won the tournament.  Way to go, Jake!  Props from the Spookster!

 

 

Monday 6:00 PM – Top Deck Games

 

The Monday evening tournaments have only recently become popular at Top Deck.  For a while, there were only six people participating!

 

 

First round - BigSpooky vs. Devin

 

Riding on the coattails of his father (Laurence), Devin abused me in the first duel.  But I was able to make a comeback in the second and third duels.

 

Spooky wins in three.

 

Second round - BigSpooky vs. John

 

While John has a very formidable Dragon deck, he does tend to be a bit too aggressive with it.  Not even two mighty Blue Eyes White Dragons are immune to a Mirror Force!

 

Spooky wins in two.

 

Third round - BigSpooky vs. Dat

 

One of my favorite duelists in Tulsa had returned from a trip to Houston.  Dat is every bit the duelist that Sammy is… without all of the arrogance (that and the fact that he’s never called me “Mr. Princess”).  Leave it to BigSpooky to ruin Dat’s homecoming.

 

Spooky wins in two.

 

Semifinals - BigSpooky vs. Sammy (The Unstoppable Sammy)

 

Rematch from Saturday?  Sure, Sammy.  And I’ll even let you get lucky (EXTREMELY lucky) in the first duel so that I can come back and toy with you in the second duel.  As for the third duel, I’ll take that one, too!

 

Spooky wins in three (Who’s your daddy?)

 

Finals - BigSpooky vs. Travis

 

On one hand, I feel really bad for Travis because he’s had some rough things happen in his life lately.  On the other hand, I often feel like slapping him silly because he acts like a spoiled bratpunk.  While I do wish that he didn’t have to deal with some of the problems that he has to deal with (problems that no one should ever have to go through ), I didn’t feel too bad about beating him.

 

Spooky wins in two.

 

 

Four tournaments, three firsts.  Not bad at all.  My deck still needs some work, but I think it will be ready for the weeks to come.

 

Heck, Pharaonic Guardian should make things even more interesting!

 

 

 

Props:

THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA !!!!

Because we

are living in the greatest country in the

entire world!

So don’t be afraid to show some pride!

 

And don’t forget to support out troops!

 

Squirrel Steamroller – For providing an outstanding replacement for Squirrel 2.0… and showing everyone how versatile Squirrels can be! 

 

Killer Squirrels Online! (and all of its members) – Helping everyone become better duelists and better people.  Too cool!

 

All of my opponents that I dueled this weekend (even TUS) – I had fun… I hope you did, too!

 

Alex – For a really cool gesture of friendship a few months back.  You may not be tall, but you’re a giant in my eyes, buddy!

 

Vintage Stock, Top Deck, and Wizard’s Asylum – For hosting the tournaments.

 

Toni – Just for being you [drool!]  ;)

 

Slops:

Lance and David – For whining and complaining at the Vintage Stock tournament.  Nothing wrong with acting like a child… IF YOU’RE A CHILD!!!

 

Me – For provoking Lance and David

 

The Backwards Knights (Dark Age, Majin Towlie, Colonel Sanders, and company) – Because I figured that I should mention them in here somewhere.

 

Vintage Stock – Match play?  Pretty please?  I’ll give you a cookie!

 

Bad Sports – Who’d have ever thought that I would be putting Lance and David in this category?

 

Whiny, little bratpunks – Lance and David aren’t really “little”, but…

 

Thieves – Much like Cartman feels about Stan and Kyle, “I hate you guys… I really, really hate you guys!”  But not in a humorous, South Park-ish kind of way… more in a “die slowly and painfully, then burn forever in Ha Des” kind of way.

 

 

 

Comments, suggestions, death threats? Send them to BigSpooky1@hotmail.com .  No online trading offers, please… I’m just too paranoid.  You can thank that liar, cheat, and thief Steven for that!

 

If you have any questions, need help with your deck, or you want to become a member of Killer Squirrels Online!, please send your e-mail to one of these addresses:

 

Daedalus/Kris   rage4zero@yahoo.com                                        OMSstuuud/C.J.   OMSskater08@aol.com

SquirrelMasterTate/Alex   shortysact@aol.com                            Milkman/Cody   milkman406@yahoo.com

Metalhead Squirrel/Patrick   GreenSlime27@aol.com

 

 

All of these individuals are very good duelists, and they have my utmost respect.  They will be more than happy to answer any questions you have or to help you with your deck.

 

If you want to become a member of Killer Squirrels Online!, then please send an e-mail (including your decklist and a link to your most recent tournament report) to one of the above e-mail addresses (membership will not be approved without a decklist AND a link to a tournament report).  If you’ve never posted a tournament report, then send us a decklist and a paragraph stating why you think good sportsmanship and fair play are important to the game of Yu-Gi-Oh!  People who have not written a tournament report will be approved for temporary membership (to become full members once they write their first report!)

 

 

You can also visit the official KSO homepage at:

 

http://209.242.16.197/auction_pictures/Cards/images.html

 

And chat on the KSO forum at:

 

http://209.242.16.197/cgi-bin/yabb/yabb.cgi

 

(Don’t worry, Pojo… we aren’t trying to compete with you!  We all still think that you’re the bomb! ;)

 

 

“What’s not to like?  Custard?  Good!  Jam?  Good!  Beef?  GOOD!”   - Friends