SummerSlam Tornado Tag Tournament Personal Report
Aug 18, 2014 15:24:54 GMT 8
iFydd and God of Kane like this
Post by xbchee on Aug 18, 2014 15:24:54 GMT 8
Hi guys! It's Xiu Bin here with his obligatory personal tournament report again.
It was almost 2 months ago when the tournament organiser, Joshua (stucket), announced this fresh and interesting format for the tournament. It is the first "non-standard" tournament being held since I returned to the game. The tornado tag team format allows players to combine any 2 superstars not in ban list, and god, that opens up plenty of possibilities!
I was initially playing around with ideas like:
1. Heidenreich + Chris Masters (get to screw opponent's hand regardless if my maneuver is successful or not)
2. People's Champ + Bobby Lashley (only able to reverse maneuver from hand, claw + maintain hold)
3. Chris Benoit + Bobby Lashley (precision sleeper + maintain hold, first to tap out match tb)
4. Ric Flair + Rhyno (unblankable extreme warfare, controls opponent's fortitude despite extreme warfare)
I was almost going into option 1, until a sudden idea struck me from nowhere. I thought of the combination of Rey Mysterio + Bobby Lashley. Rey Mysterio's weakness had always been unable to effectively answer reversals from arsenal, and Bobby Lashley coincidentally covers that weakness of Rey Mysterio. If things goes well, I can easily pull off a one-turn-kill. And indeed, after some testing, the concept is indeed workable and lethal. Without further ado, let's take a look at the deck list that I have.
It's finally the tournament day after a long wait. Edmund and I went down together and had a game of DC Deck-building before the tournament start so as to get our mind active and moving. The tournament was delayed a little, but it started nonetheless. Pairings were announced and all players were eagerly waiting to find out who is their opponent.
Round 1
Lowernest
Edge + Leader of the Peepulation
He is an unfamiliar face to me, but a friendly guy. I made use of my backstage area cards to give me an edge over him to start playing the pre-match first. I realised that he was running a Michelle McCool deck, and I was actually happy about that because it gives me plenty of ringside pile to fuel my Kidney Punch and I Can't Be Reading This Right. I started the play with It's Showtime!, and starting throwing Technical Drop Kicks at him. He reversed them using You Think You Know Me, but I continued my turn using Rey's ability, and everything went downhill for him. He did attempt to hold off the onslaught with Backlash and You're As Graceful As a Cow on Ice, but the effort was useless as I just continued my turn. He ran out of reversals from hand and backlash deck, and realised that he could not reverse my maneuvers from his arsenal due to Lashley's ability. He lost eventually.
1-0
Round 2
Vincent
Johnny + Jeff Hardy
Just from the superstar combination, he was able to guess what kind of a deck I was piloting. We played and resolved our pre-match, and I started the game thereafter due to my higher superstar value. I started throwing Blindside Beal Toss at him, which he tried to reverse to the best of his ability. However, it keeps coming back due to Rey's ability, and eventually he exhausted all his reversals from hand and backlash deck. After exhausting all his reversals, I threw technical maneuvers at him. He had no outs to them, and lost the game.
2-0
Round 3
Leslie
Carlito + Chris Jericho
Leslie's deck was built to spam his pre-match, and he managed to spam 11 of them. However, none of them really affected my gameplay. He had Distracting Divalicious to buy himself a turn's time, but it was not enough. Once Distracting Divalicious' effect went off, I started throwing maneuvers at him. With just 3 cards in hand, he could not withstand the carnage.
3-0
Round 4
Tian Sheng
Big Poppa Pump + Shawn Michaels
With a whooping 5 superstar value, he started the pre-match phase over me. From the things he searched using Icon and Holla If Ya Hear Me, I guessed that his plan was to play Dynamic Finisher on turn 1. Needless to say, I made me shuffle in his Dynamic Finisher using Trash Talking Interview tb, and then put Freakzilla Says: Boom Shaka Laka! at the bottom of his arsenal using Pyrotechnic Volley. Most opponent would not be able to get their turn again once I start to hit, but it's a little tricky against Tian Sheng. He plays Wrestlemania, which would guarantee him at least a turn after I threw my maneuvers at him. He managed to get 7F using Grapple Within Your Faith, and worse still, he got my Divine Intervention out with it. It was a waste, but I get my turn still. My turn started, and I repeatedly threw Blindside Beal Toss at him. He exhausted all his reversals and died eventually. He activated Wrestlemania, and we both shuffled our hand in. I had no cards left in my ringside pile. He used Chris Nowinski and Backstage Interview with Terri, and that got him 8 cards in hand. With a further 3 Mickie: Fervent Fanatic, he had plenty of resources to go at me. He threw 3 Shoot Actions and a The Finisher at me before I reverse on overturn. I was down to less than 10 cards in my arsenal. I reload my hand with multiple copies of Kidney Punch and I Can't Be Reading This Right, and Technical Drop Kicks using Back Body Drop tb. I had to go through his massive hand of red all over again. After multiple attempts, I managed to exhaust the reversals he had in his hand, and even an unforeseen Shoot Counter. I thought I had the game firmly in my hand, until I played a Blindside Tornado Strike in from my ringside pile. He reversed it using The King Interferes which I did not expect. I had only 2 cards left in my arsenal, and so I died to it.
3-1
After 4 intensive rounds, the top 4 players are Tian Sheng, myself, Shelan, and Leslie. I was paired with Shelan, and Tian Sheng was paired with Leslie.
Semi-final
Shelan
Rob Van Dam + Jake "The Snake"
Finally a legend superstar. I did not like to play against legend superstar as I am unable to continue my turn using Rey's ability when my maneuver got reversed by Jimmy Hart. He played I Want To Play The Game and discarded my The Champ Is Here. I looked at his backlash deck, and was surprised to know he did not have The Road to Victory. My game plan of using Phoenix Rising can work without having my turn being ended. I cleared all the Volley This! in his hand so that he could not reverse my Phoenix Rising. However, he had an Oversell Maneuver in his hand, which spelt trouble for me. Oversell Maneuver is one of the few cards that can end my turn and I can't do anything about it. I cleared his Jimmy Hart using Phoenix Rising, and proceed to play maneuvers. After few attempts to reverse them, he played Oversell Maneuver to my Blindside Beal Toss. He got his turn. He used Jake's ability to clear a reversal in my hand, and proceeded to play The Maneuver of Doom at 0F using RVD's ability. I reversed it on overturn. It's my turn again, and I did what I had been doing for the past few matches. He tried his best to reverse everything I threw at him, but he only had that many reversals to deal with my never ending Blindside maneuvers.
Final
Tian Sheng
Big Poppa Pump + Shawn Michaels
After an intensive 4th round swiss, we know each other's deck very well. He conceded that it is unlikely for him to beat me again, as I will now expect the reversals that I did not expect in the previous face-off. We agreed to split the prize, and handed me the #1 spot.
Overall, the Tornado Tag Team format is a interesting and fresh format. It opens up a lot of new possibilities, and is way more diversed than the classic format which had almost been explored thoroughly through all these years. I will be keen to participate in one again if there's any.
It was almost 2 months ago when the tournament organiser, Joshua (stucket), announced this fresh and interesting format for the tournament. It is the first "non-standard" tournament being held since I returned to the game. The tornado tag team format allows players to combine any 2 superstars not in ban list, and god, that opens up plenty of possibilities!
I was initially playing around with ideas like:
1. Heidenreich + Chris Masters (get to screw opponent's hand regardless if my maneuver is successful or not)
2. People's Champ + Bobby Lashley (only able to reverse maneuver from hand, claw + maintain hold)
3. Chris Benoit + Bobby Lashley (precision sleeper + maintain hold, first to tap out match tb)
4. Ric Flair + Rhyno (unblankable extreme warfare, controls opponent's fortitude despite extreme warfare)
I was almost going into option 1, until a sudden idea struck me from nowhere. I thought of the combination of Rey Mysterio + Bobby Lashley. Rey Mysterio's weakness had always been unable to effectively answer reversals from arsenal, and Bobby Lashley coincidentally covers that weakness of Rey Mysterio. If things goes well, I can easily pull off a one-turn-kill. And indeed, after some testing, the concept is indeed workable and lethal. Without further ado, let's take a look at the deck list that I have.
Rey Mysterio + Bobby Lashley
Pre-match (12)
1 trash talking interview tb
1 premiere smackdown superstar
1 wwe championship belt
1 ecw belt
1 a no show
1 pyrotechnic volley
1 giving 'em high fives tb
1 it's showtime
1 the champ is here
1 i'm gonna break you
1 distracting divalicious
1 duchess of the queensbury
Mid-match (12)
1 the road to victory
1 you're as graceful as a cow on ice
2 a phoenix rising
1 sustained damage
1 restricted use in this area
4 this is just the beginning
1 took that on the chin
1 fortitude surge
Arsenal
Reversals (20)
3 a revolution of the mind
1 manager interferes
3 elbow to the face
3 volley this
2 backslide
1 sidewalk slam tb
2 don't try this at home
1 the raw deal revolution
1 divine intervention
1 too fast for you
1 hard hitting
1 forever
Maneuvers (37)
9 technical drop kick
3 technical monkey flip
3 blindside beal toss
2 blindside hook
3 blindside drop toe hold
2 kidney punch
1 technical crab
2 technical clothesline
2 technical tope
2 technical bearhub
3 technical body lock
2 blindside tornado strike
2 back body drop tb
1 choke hold tb
Actions (3)
3 i can't be reading this right
Pre-match (12)
1 trash talking interview tb
1 premiere smackdown superstar
1 wwe championship belt
1 ecw belt
1 a no show
1 pyrotechnic volley
1 giving 'em high fives tb
1 it's showtime
1 the champ is here
1 i'm gonna break you
1 distracting divalicious
1 duchess of the queensbury
Mid-match (12)
1 the road to victory
1 you're as graceful as a cow on ice
2 a phoenix rising
1 sustained damage
1 restricted use in this area
4 this is just the beginning
1 took that on the chin
1 fortitude surge
Arsenal
Reversals (20)
3 a revolution of the mind
1 manager interferes
3 elbow to the face
3 volley this
2 backslide
1 sidewalk slam tb
2 don't try this at home
1 the raw deal revolution
1 divine intervention
1 too fast for you
1 hard hitting
1 forever
Maneuvers (37)
9 technical drop kick
3 technical monkey flip
3 blindside beal toss
2 blindside hook
3 blindside drop toe hold
2 kidney punch
1 technical crab
2 technical clothesline
2 technical tope
2 technical bearhub
3 technical body lock
2 blindside tornado strike
2 back body drop tb
1 choke hold tb
Actions (3)
3 i can't be reading this right
It's finally the tournament day after a long wait. Edmund and I went down together and had a game of DC Deck-building before the tournament start so as to get our mind active and moving. The tournament was delayed a little, but it started nonetheless. Pairings were announced and all players were eagerly waiting to find out who is their opponent.
Round 1
Lowernest
Edge + Leader of the Peepulation
He is an unfamiliar face to me, but a friendly guy. I made use of my backstage area cards to give me an edge over him to start playing the pre-match first. I realised that he was running a Michelle McCool deck, and I was actually happy about that because it gives me plenty of ringside pile to fuel my Kidney Punch and I Can't Be Reading This Right. I started the play with It's Showtime!, and starting throwing Technical Drop Kicks at him. He reversed them using You Think You Know Me, but I continued my turn using Rey's ability, and everything went downhill for him. He did attempt to hold off the onslaught with Backlash and You're As Graceful As a Cow on Ice, but the effort was useless as I just continued my turn. He ran out of reversals from hand and backlash deck, and realised that he could not reverse my maneuvers from his arsenal due to Lashley's ability. He lost eventually.
1-0
Round 2
Vincent
Johnny + Jeff Hardy
Just from the superstar combination, he was able to guess what kind of a deck I was piloting. We played and resolved our pre-match, and I started the game thereafter due to my higher superstar value. I started throwing Blindside Beal Toss at him, which he tried to reverse to the best of his ability. However, it keeps coming back due to Rey's ability, and eventually he exhausted all his reversals from hand and backlash deck. After exhausting all his reversals, I threw technical maneuvers at him. He had no outs to them, and lost the game.
2-0
Round 3
Leslie
Carlito + Chris Jericho
Leslie's deck was built to spam his pre-match, and he managed to spam 11 of them. However, none of them really affected my gameplay. He had Distracting Divalicious to buy himself a turn's time, but it was not enough. Once Distracting Divalicious' effect went off, I started throwing maneuvers at him. With just 3 cards in hand, he could not withstand the carnage.
3-0
Round 4
Tian Sheng
Big Poppa Pump + Shawn Michaels
With a whooping 5 superstar value, he started the pre-match phase over me. From the things he searched using Icon and Holla If Ya Hear Me, I guessed that his plan was to play Dynamic Finisher on turn 1. Needless to say, I made me shuffle in his Dynamic Finisher using Trash Talking Interview tb, and then put Freakzilla Says: Boom Shaka Laka! at the bottom of his arsenal using Pyrotechnic Volley. Most opponent would not be able to get their turn again once I start to hit, but it's a little tricky against Tian Sheng. He plays Wrestlemania, which would guarantee him at least a turn after I threw my maneuvers at him. He managed to get 7F using Grapple Within Your Faith, and worse still, he got my Divine Intervention out with it. It was a waste, but I get my turn still. My turn started, and I repeatedly threw Blindside Beal Toss at him. He exhausted all his reversals and died eventually. He activated Wrestlemania, and we both shuffled our hand in. I had no cards left in my ringside pile. He used Chris Nowinski and Backstage Interview with Terri, and that got him 8 cards in hand. With a further 3 Mickie: Fervent Fanatic, he had plenty of resources to go at me. He threw 3 Shoot Actions and a The Finisher at me before I reverse on overturn. I was down to less than 10 cards in my arsenal. I reload my hand with multiple copies of Kidney Punch and I Can't Be Reading This Right, and Technical Drop Kicks using Back Body Drop tb. I had to go through his massive hand of red all over again. After multiple attempts, I managed to exhaust the reversals he had in his hand, and even an unforeseen Shoot Counter. I thought I had the game firmly in my hand, until I played a Blindside Tornado Strike in from my ringside pile. He reversed it using The King Interferes which I did not expect. I had only 2 cards left in my arsenal, and so I died to it.
3-1
After 4 intensive rounds, the top 4 players are Tian Sheng, myself, Shelan, and Leslie. I was paired with Shelan, and Tian Sheng was paired with Leslie.
Semi-final
Shelan
Rob Van Dam + Jake "The Snake"
Finally a legend superstar. I did not like to play against legend superstar as I am unable to continue my turn using Rey's ability when my maneuver got reversed by Jimmy Hart. He played I Want To Play The Game and discarded my The Champ Is Here. I looked at his backlash deck, and was surprised to know he did not have The Road to Victory. My game plan of using Phoenix Rising can work without having my turn being ended. I cleared all the Volley This! in his hand so that he could not reverse my Phoenix Rising. However, he had an Oversell Maneuver in his hand, which spelt trouble for me. Oversell Maneuver is one of the few cards that can end my turn and I can't do anything about it. I cleared his Jimmy Hart using Phoenix Rising, and proceed to play maneuvers. After few attempts to reverse them, he played Oversell Maneuver to my Blindside Beal Toss. He got his turn. He used Jake's ability to clear a reversal in my hand, and proceeded to play The Maneuver of Doom at 0F using RVD's ability. I reversed it on overturn. It's my turn again, and I did what I had been doing for the past few matches. He tried his best to reverse everything I threw at him, but he only had that many reversals to deal with my never ending Blindside maneuvers.
Final
Tian Sheng
Big Poppa Pump + Shawn Michaels
After an intensive 4th round swiss, we know each other's deck very well. He conceded that it is unlikely for him to beat me again, as I will now expect the reversals that I did not expect in the previous face-off. We agreed to split the prize, and handed me the #1 spot.
Overall, the Tornado Tag Team format is a interesting and fresh format. It opens up a lot of new possibilities, and is way more diversed than the classic format which had almost been explored thoroughly through all these years. I will be keen to participate in one again if there's any.