Rian Fike is one of the most well-known members of the Vs. System community. You might not recognize the real name of this South Florida art teacher, but everybody knows the handle: Stu Barnes, or “The Sentinel Guy.”
Rian truly deserves his reputation as a great card player and an even better human being. A dedicated supporter and active member of the Vs. Realms community since the beginning, Rian’s choice of decks and his positive, friendly attitude have endeared him to the Vs. System community. While checking out the X-Men #1 tournament on Sunday, Rian had some interesting things to say about yesterday’s tournament, the Vs. System community, and DC Origins.
“I thought the tournament was great. I’ve been to both [the 10k tournaments] and five PCQs, and I’m really impressed with the way [everything] runs. It’s been really great, really professional. I’ve liked it a lot more than competitive Magic.” He took a minute to consider that statement. “This game allows everyone to have a chance every week. I’ve seen really good decks fall apart, and I’ve even seen bad decks win…Any player can win at any given time.”
Rian had only good things to say about Vs. System from a design perspective. “I like the fact that we’re almost four months in, and the archetypes are still changing. I think by Indy we’ll see a [decline] of New Brotherhood.”
Rian’s been interested in Vs. System from the very beginning. “I was already a Marvel addict. When I heard there was a new game coming, I jumped in with everything. It’s been a lot of fun. I might break down and play a more traditional deck to win, but for now I’d rather have fun, be creative and bring something original to the competitive scene.”
And, speaking of originality, why does he play his now-signature Sentinel deck? “I play Sentinel swarms because I love Squirrels and Saprolings [in Magic], and I love the tricks that the Sentinel swarms can do. As hard as it is for me not to win, I love the fact that they created Flame Trap to control the swarms. It just shows how brilliant the design, planning, and testing is for this game.”
Rian also contributed some thoughts on the impending DC Origins set. “I haven’t had the time to study DC [Origins] enough to give a strong opinion on it yet – I do hope that the archetypes that we have now can survive for [GenCon] Indianapolis, and I think they will.” He leafed through a stack of cards that he’d traded for over the weekend, pointing out some of his favorites. “I’m liking Fizzle,” he said, the gears in his head almost visibly turning. “I’m thinking maybe I can pull off a Rigged Election with my [Sentinel] swarm.”
As mentioned previously, Rian’s an extremely active member of the Vs. System community. “I like the sense of community that the game has brought to my life. I’ve met a lot of great people, and I’m surprised at how few bad people there are in the game.”
Rian had several anecdotes from the 10K tournament to share. He played a new Sentinel variant, which used Cyclops: Slim; Marvel Team-Up; and Fastball Special to pump a Wild Sentinel swarm as much as possible. “The best game went like this…I had Longshot: Rebel Freedom Fighter, Slim, and ten Wild Sentinels. [My opponent] swung with Sabretooth [Feral Rage], I use a Cover Fire, and Sabretooth misses. He swung with Magneto [Eric Lehnsherr], I play Cover Fire, and he misses. I team-attack Sabretooth for eighteen. Team-attack Magneto for twenty. I Primary Directive for ten cards, then play another for another ten cards, and do it yet again to draw another ten cards. On the last Primary, I only had one card left to draw.” He chuckled at the recollection.
Rian hasn’t gotten an invitation to the Pro Circuit yet, but with all the sources of passes between now and GenCon Indy, he’s not particularly worried. “[If] worst comes to worst, I’ll play Brotherhood in the Last Chance that weekend!” Though Rian’s path to the Pro Circuit isn’t clear, one thing is: If the Vs. System Pro Circuit invites a lot of fun, creative, and skilled players like Rian Fike, the Pro Circuit should be one heck of a show.