Along with Kendo's run at the Gundam TCG Championships. We also like to highlight Dominic's run at the recent Bushiroad Spring Fest.
Introduction:
My Name is Dominic. I attended the Bushiroad Spring Fest earlier this year held in Manila. BSF as we call it is a team-based tournament so I played with two other people in my team. I played in the Cardfight!! Vanguard tournament. I’ve always look forward to regional events because they feel like the only place to be competitive without being labelled as too “tryhard” and really just immerse yourself in a card game you’re actually good at. I’ve played in about 3 or 4 of these events and the wait before the start usually makes me feel jittery, probably a mix of both anxiety and excitement most especially because this game can just flip advantages on a whim and then you wonder why you tried in the first place.
How did you prepare for the tournament and what is your deck of choice?
I think I prepared a few months before the event, playing against everybody, going to locals. I feel like CDO has literal Worlds calibre players so it’s good to get your reps here. I chose to play Kaicon, maybe because I hate myself but also because it makes the most out of the luck-based aspect of Vanguard. There really is no other reason to play this deck than just getting luckier than your opponent. How I usually know if I’m ready to play regionals is go play locals and then if I get consistent champs then I’m ready, to be fair I did that so I felt confident going into it.
Can you give us an explaination on your tournament run?
So the tournament is split into two days with the first being a solo run and the second being the actual team gameplay. The first day went really horrible for me so I had to play side events so that I could tell myself my flight was worth it. When these things happen and you have horrible games its pretty easy to doubt yourself and the deck you’re playing but you just kind of have to just keep moving forward. Funnily enough, the memorable plays I had were during the side event cause the prizes was better and I feel like I play better when under pressure or using these negative emotions as motivation.
Our team managed to clinch Top 8 during the second day which we then received limited-edition energy counters and some other goodies, which I didn't care too much about. I’ve always wanted to grab one those counters more cause they feel like concrete manifestations of your efforts throughout the months from preparations to gameplay. I’ve never reached top tables playing this game so that really was my first time getting that far in my run. The deciding match was ironically between me and Kendo (shout out the homie) and it felt like years of playing this game just went full-circle for me. Honestly, I had a feeling we would play against someone from CDO in part due to the players that I went with being actually good and what we call the "CDO Curse" that somehow never goes away.
Final Thoughts and parting words
These tournaments always make me feel like I don’t have a life outside card games which is more liberating to me probably because hobbies should make one feel that way and that’s really what we’re all here for. Of course, meeting other people through the tournament is fun as well and mostly everybody I played with was really chill (probably except me which shows on my face when I play). I recommend playing in special tournaments or similar stuff just once for the experience.
Currently, I have a love hate relationship with this game but I’d love to play in regionals again because I feel like the counter I won didn't feel real since team man to. I would love to win one in a solo tournament cause that's where I feel the true test of prosses and skill lies. I think we might attend another tournament next year but I'm still not sure since playing is fun...but the cost for fare and whatnot isn't. Overall, I can say card games is a fun and expensive hobby.
