Though there have only been a handful of high-profile tournaments for Vs. System thus far, one player stands out above the rest, and that’s Eric Wood. Eric placed in the Top 8 in Philadelphia, and piloted his Big Brotherhood deck to another Top 8 finish last night. Many players know about the power of Big Brotherhood, but you may be surprised to find out that Eric held an instrumental part in this deck’s success.
Eric’s good friend Jason Dawson was playtesting Vs. System before it was released, and let Eric in on the early playtesting action. Eric and two of his friends played the Big Brotherhood deck in the Philadelphia tournament, and it carried both Jason and Eric to the Top 8. “Big Brotherhood is a dominant, top-tier deck, and we had it before the game was even released,” Eric commented. It seems that early preparation and extensive playtesting is the key to many players’ success with the game. Eric also mentioned that not making mistakes while playing the game is another important aspect of playing Vs. System. “You can make one mistake and lose games really easily,” Eric said. “Not making mistakes is essential.” That’s sound advice for anyone considering professional-level play in any game.
However, Eric did make his share of mistakes last night in the first round of the Top 8. “I lost last night because there were four minutes left in the round, and I wasn’t focusing on what I should be focusing on,” Eric mentioned. “But I’ll take the $400.” It’s certain that we will see more of Eric this summer, as he plans to travel to as many 10K events as possible to get experience with high-level Vs. System play.
In the real world, Eric is an economics major at the University of Washington, and plans to graduate next year. His background in economics helped him realize the fiscal potential of playing Vs. System, though the competition is attractive as well. Eric is definitely someone to watch out for as one of the rising stars of Vs. System.