Deck : The Hiten Mitsurugi Deck
Name : Kirk Matusik
Location : Collingdale, PA
Store : JMC Collectibles (www.jmccollectibles.com)
Date : 4/27/03
Participants: Around 20
Cost : $5
Prizes : 1st place receives as $20 gift certificate; 2nd place gets a $10 one. Everyone receives either a tournament pack, pack of LON, or pack of PSV for entering



--- The Deck ---

--Monsters--(22)
3x Celtic Guardian
3x Hayabusa Knight
3x Gearfried the Iron Knight
3x Hysteric Fairy
1x Goblin Attack Force
1x Witch of the Black Forest
1x Sangan
1x Penguin Soldier
1x Man Eater Bug
2x Magician of Faith
2x Mask of Darkness
1x Cyber Jar

--Magic--(17)
2x Mystical Space Typhoon
2x Offerings to the Doomed
1x Mage Power
1x Axe of Despair
1x Premature Burial
1x Nobleman of Crossout
1x Heavy Storm
1x Swords of Revealing Light
1x Raigeki
2x Graceful Charity
1x Pot of Greed
1x Monster Reborn
1x Dark Hole
1x Change of Heart

--Traps--(8)
1x Imperial Order
1x Seven Tools of the Bandit
1x Magic Jammer
1x Mirror Force
1x Fairy Box
1x Solemn Wishes
1x Waboku
1x Trap Hole

Deck Total: 47 Cards

--Side Deck--(15)
1x Kagemusha of the Blue Flame
2x Neo the Magic Swordsman
3x Maha Vailo
1x Giant Trunade
1x Tribute to the Doomed
1x Fairy Meteor Crush
1x Metal Morph
1x Spellbinding Circle
1x Mask of Restrict
1x Dust Tornado
1x Ultimate Offering
1x Shadow of Eyes


---The Tournament---
Every week, on Sunday from 1-5 PM, JMC Collectibles has a Yu-Gi-Oh! tournament. This week, I played with my new Warrior-based deck, inspired by Cartoon Network's "Rurouni Kenshin." On to the report...

Round One: Hiten Mitsurugi vs. Unknown
This match was incredibly fast. The first duel, he got Summoned Skull quickly.. I wasn't able to put out much of a fight. Second duel, I used my Hayabusa Knights to inflict quick damage- by using change of heart (several times) and man eater bug, I managed to keep his field clear. With tensions building, I also managed to take the third duel; from this match, details are sketchy.

Round Two: Hiten Mitsurugi vs. Dave Seiler's Exodia
When I found out that I was playing my friend Dave Seiler, I was a bit disappointed - I knew he was playing Exodia, and I had no Exodia counters (save for Cyber Jar). I also didn't want to lose yet :). During the first duel, I managed to win before he assembled Exodia... although it was very close. Dave is a VERY good player, and with good cards and strategy. Second duel, it took some time, but Dave did manage to assemble The Forbidden One. For the third duel, I used my side deck, adding in Spellbinding Circle and something else that I forget. It was a long and dangerously close match, but I managed to use Celtic Guardian and Hayabusa Knight to get around his Messengers of Peace (and Hayabusa to get around Gravity Bind). I did NOT expect to win this round, so I was happy just to have gotten this far.

Round Three: Hiten Mitsurugi vs Matt Cooper's mixed deck
Matt was using Hayabusa Knights as well, and I expected him to win this round easily, with his superior cards. My memory is very hazy from this match... but I remember that by duel three, we both has 1 duel behind us. Third duel, I managed to overcome him in a matter of turns by attacking with a Mask of Darkness (equipped with Axe) and a Man Eater Bug several times. My Kodak moment in this match was in the second duel, when he attacked my Maha Vailo with a La Jinn... only to have me activate a card I side decked in, Metal Morph (raising Maha to 2350). Don't know how I won this match either, but a word for Matt: Royal Command hurt me, yes, but it cost YOU the game :).

Round Four: Hiten Mitsurugi vs Shuan Choi's Beatdown
Like with Dave and Matt, I thought that I was done for - that I would get knocked out right before the finals. During this round, I used the Hayabusa Knights and Hysteric Fairy's of my deck extensively. At one point, Shuan accidentally Snatch Stealed a Gearfried. Sorry Shuan! We both won one duel, and the third was long and hard - with both of us using our decks to the fullest. I won, by attacking with five small monsters (Celtic Guardian, Mask of Darkness, Magician of Faith, Man Eater Bug, and another...). Wow. Shuan, I know you're my friend, but WHAT WERE YOU SMOKING TO LET ME WIN LIKE THAT :)?

Finals: Hiten Mitsurugi vs Tim's Magnet Warriors
Now THIS match, I remember quite clearly, as opposed to the previous ones. The first round, I had out Solemn Wishes for quite some time. By the time Tim tried to attack me, I had 11000 LP. Set were my Mirror Force and Fairy Box... he is lucky that he played Giant Trunade. And with an amazing play on his part, and usage of most of his cards, he managed to deal me a whopping 7000 damage (my LP: 4000, his LP:8000) in one turn. His mistake? He left all his monsters out with no M/T to scare me. I Raigekied him, played Hayabusa Knight with Axe and Mage Power, Premature Burial on another Hayabusa, set one card to give Mage Power some overkill, and did a One Turn Kill. Doesn't that feel so good :)? The second round, I used Hayabusa to do some quick damage several times - he just couldn't stop the Hiten Mitsurugi fury :).



So, for the about the third time, I had one a tournament at JMC Collectibles. Didn't get anything good in my LON pack, and saved my $20 for a few LOD packs when they arrive...


The Good:
+Winning
+Fairy Box (an amazing common trap, which saved me countless times in the tournament. I called almost every coint flip)
+Cartoon Network for running Rurouni Kenshin
+JMC Collectibles for, as usual, holding a good tournament
+Heart of the Cards/Trust in my deck - Though it is a personal belief that I suck, I do have a tendency to get very lucky draws, and bring me back from the brink of destruction. The Bad:
-....uh.... Well, I didn't get to trade anything today...
-....LOD cards haven't come out yet to improve my Hiten Mitsurugi deck with new Warrior support cards
-....Exodia :) If only I could burn every Exodia set in the world :)
-....No Feather Duster/United We Stand/Buster Blader yet The Ugly:
All my friends at JMC! Just kidding. Although I don't know what went through their minds to let a deck that uses 3x Celtic Guardian actually WIN the tourney :)
Thanks go to...:
+All my friends at JMC
+Shuriken's deck report, which gave me the idea to rely heavily on Hayabusa Knight
+Shuan for pointing out something in our duel that allowed me to win
Kirk Matusik
NMZmaster@aol.com
Have thoughts on this tournament report? Wondering about my deck? Want to send hate mail? Go right ahead!