- Every Day, I will post another story
- I will have my response afterwards
- At the end of the post I will post what the storyteller won
- I will need addresses of all the participants. Please get that information to me.
1) how you met your playgroup and what you have done since then
2) write about the people you've talked to online, experiences with that and how it has affected you VS experience
3) If you lurked, why? Would your experiences have changed if you posted more often?
4) Was there a tournament, whether it be a Pro Circuit, a PCQ, other marquee event or hobby league, that you tested for extensively? Who did you test with? Why did you choose what you ran? How did you do? In hindsight, would you have done anything differently?
Each day, I'll post a new story. Today we take a look at what xpuppykickerx and Punkazzinc have to say:
xpuppykickerx
1. I met my Vs. group through playing Star Wars minis. A few of the guys playing SW:M, also played Vs. I was given the Spider-Man starter and was instantly hooked. Since then, I've set up many drafts of the older sets to help new players get into the game for a lighter price. We set up a donating area in our gaming store for new players to get playsets of commons and uncommons. Soon, the store is going to create some legend cards and maybe even a store set.
2. I've had a lot of odd-ball questions while playing with a friend over at my house, and without our entire group to help judge an outcome, I've turned to the message boards (here and VSRealms) for a solid answer. Everyone is always really helpful, and I'm always told a reason why something works the way it does, rather than just be given an answer.
I've also had a lot of quality trades and sales from VSRealms. Trades were equal and the prices on the sales were always of value.
3. I would like to start posting more, rather than lurking. A lot of the time, it seems there is already a valid answer to a question, or I just don't have time lately to test new deck ideas.
4. The only testing I've done was with a hobby league. Right after the Coming of Galactus set came out, a DC fan I play with, started to develop an Arkham Asylum raid deck. I had a very positive experience with helping test the system and creating cards for it. I used a lot of same decks against the DC raid deck as I did the Galactus deck for some very interesting results.
OSM Responds - I think it's pretty cool that you guys got into the creating fantasy cards scene. It's fun stuff. I hope you do start posting more; sounds like of the experiences you've had with the online community they have been positive ones. Even though you don't go into great detail with a specific question, I'm glad someone did answer all 4 questions in an entry because I feel like it's a great way to start out the week of storytelling.
For your effort, you've won 10 random MEV rares and some subset promos!
Punkazzinc
MY LOVE OF THE VS SYSTEM
First off, lemme tell you about myself. I suppose it’s safe to say that I love the VS System. To start I’m a very big comic book fan. I have been reading them for quite a long time, but card games? I was pretty lost.OSM Responds - The experiences we have with other people at hobby leagues are things worth treasuring; I hope you're able to reconnect with them. I just recently reconnected with most of the members of my hobby league from 3 years ago. As far as netdecks go, creativity isn't limited to how one builds their deck, but also in how the deck is played. While I understand your dislike for people playing netdecks, I hope that you can accept it for that. Or what about the times you beat the deck? Doesn't it feel accomplishing to beat a netdeck with your own deck?
I never had much experience with those. I played Magic the Gathering when it first hit the shelves. It never really captured my imagination as VS did. I remember when my buddy, a comic shop owner named Ben, showed me the starter deck for Batman vs. The Joker I was blown away. “So, it’s kinda like Magic, only with superheroes?” That’s the question that I would later use [as] a definition of the game.
I could take a card named Batman, The Dark Knight, and totally bitch-stomp a card named Wolverine. Use a card called flying kick or Heat vision. I was in my own nerd paradise. I bought the starter deck, and a couple of packs of Man of Steel. I’m a DC Comics fan after all.
Needless to say you always need more cards than a starter and some boosters. I started buying Marvel Knights, hoping for a Punisher or Blade so I could throw out some mean crossovers. I usually lost, but then again my decks were comic inspired, not tournament inspired. A while later I ended up moving from south central Washington State to the Coastal City of Seattle. I left my hometown VS playing buddies behind.
It wasn’t long before I found a new group of players at The Comic Stop in Lynnwood. (Stop in if you’re able, it’s a great place unless Brian is there-ED.) I’ll tell you this; I was totally out of my element. I was using a New Gods/Team Superman deck that really didn’t have a strategy. I won’t forget the first few weeks, simply because I got whupped, bad. The guys wanted to take it easy on me, even had a bit of a vote, but I told them I’d never learn if they went light on me.
Soon I found a purpose for my deck. I’d pack in bigger characters, big pumps, and a few negating effects. It was far from perfect, but dammit I loved that deck. It’s got me smiling just thinking about it. I was one of the only people to use Escape Artist so I could clear my board for Fortress of Solitude to work.
It baffled my buddies, and angered them since attackers couldn’t ready after being removed from the attack. I’ll never forget the first time I came across a Netdeck. I played against Teen Titans, Roy Harper abuse. I was absolutely destroyed by that stupid deck. When I congratulated him on building a great deck, that’s when he told me it wasn’t his.
I know a lot of people say that netdecks have been around, mind you I was still new at this. I’ve a great hatred for them simply because they are a crutch for those without any hint of imagination. When I meet Brian Eugenio, Ryan Jones, or Wijaya I’ll be sure to congratulate THEM on beating me. After a while I finally started to pick up on better strategies. I came in pretty late, around the time of Avengers & JLA expansion.
It was a blast to be playing with my group at that time. I remember when I went to the X-men pre-release and took first in the sealed tourney there. A few of my buddies, visiting from the valley, had bought me a WWE “spinner” championship belt. The next Friday I came in with the belt over my shoulder and we had some laughs. Yeah, it was a great group of guys.
We were all pretty varied in style. There were a few of them who liked nothing better than to netdeck, they had dreams of going to one of the PC’s and being top 8. Then there were a couple of guys like me, totally jank-tastic. Every week was something different. Friday night VS, that’s what I’d look forward to.
Derrick and his “Ultimate burn” deck punished you for even breathing. Kosted and his “Arkham/Fearsome 5” that I can only remember working twice in its existence. Pearson and his “Ultimate defensive deck” that utilized nothing but +x DEF boosts. Me and my “Swingin’ Thing” deck that I built simply because it sounded dirty and I wanted to find uses for Yancy Street.
Of course life happens and bills need to be paid. Around the time of the Marvel Team-up expansion I had all but stopped playing. A new job on grave shift, and suddenly I wasn’t making those Friday nights anymore. It wasn’t just the game that I missed; it was the guys and our weird sense of humor. I wonder if everyone has a group similar to this.
Just recently I’ve started playing and buying cards again. I think I’ll start e-mailing those guys. I do miss it, when that happens I usually pull out my cards and play around with random teams. I’ll try and remember great match-ups or how we completely wrecked each other’s strategies. There are lots of great memories.
The guys I originally started playing VS with are still here, and we find time to play when we can. I wonder, no, I hope everyone has had the same types of experiences that I have. VS is such a great game that inspires creativity, and in the right environment a completely unforgettable atmosphere. I think I’ll go work on that New Gods deck…
Thanks for the entry - you've won 10 random MEV cards, 10 subset cards and 3 art cards!
I'll be back tomorrow with another entry.
- OSM
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