Sydney beckons to us with a Silver-plated format, and I have a hunch that this will be the direct opposite of every other PC (since Amsterdam, at least) because many US players are skipping Sydney to save their coppers. But the hall will be overflowing to the rafters with Aussies, Kiwis, and a plenitude of players from the Pacific Rim. I expect the SE Asian crews from the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, and so on to flow forth, and a large Japanese contingent will almost certainly be a certainty.
With the horrible hours of transit from one continent to the other—it can take over 30 hours to get to Australia if you’re not so lucky, 20-plus hours if you are—the teams and players from Oceania and Southeast Asia haven’t been at the top of their game at the various other PCs, even with extra time taken to defeat the inevitable jet lag. This time around, the Australians and Asians have the home-field advantage. Expect the majority of the Top 20 at the end of Day 2 to consist of names you may not be so familiar with. Half of TDC, most of FTN, nearly all of TAWC, all of the KG / YMG crew, and Team AttaQC are sitting this one out, and no word has come forth from the Edgeworld camp about their participation . . .
The Field
Ah, sweet Silver Age. With the Frankie Raye ◊ Nova, Optimistic Youth and Nenora bans, the field has widened considerably, and I have high hopes that this PC will have a diverse field and a distinct lack of broken decks.
Checkmate is the hot team right now, teaming-up in various combinations and fighting for superior affiliation status. Villains United is close behind, with Good Guys unwilling to go away—and I’ve seen several interesting deck ideas posted here and there that could certainly be contenders.
Inhumans and Kree / Skrull are also contenders, and Brotherhood reservist is solid, even without The New Brotherhood to help.
And let’s not forget the new sets, with Future Foes and Legionnaires each bringing many options to the field, and Marvel Team-Up bringing four (that’s right, count ‘em, four) new affiliations to the format. That doesn’t even include the Wild Pack, a team that is definitely not to be discounted.
I’m definitely sensing a little less toolbox and a little more mono-team and team-up in this format. No matter the field, I have a nagging feeling that the top decks will be a surprise to everyone!
But Shane Wiggans already inked all of that last week, so let’s move on to:
The Players
Australia / New Zealand – Aussie Aussie Aussie! Oi oi oi!
I put the Australians ahead of the various teams this time because, well, the PC’s in Australia (unless it was moved to Sydney, Nova Scotia when I wasn’t looking). I have seen neither hide nor hair of an Aussie in the last several weeks; my hunch is that they’re all hunkered down in their bunkers testing.
I’ll run down the seven players from Oceania you should keep an eye on in this PC, in alphabetical order—that is, assuming they’re all playing, and not judging or whatnot.
Alex Antonios
53rd in Constructed
11th in Sealed Pack
Top 8 - $10K Melbourne, 2006
Winner - $10K Adelaide, 2006
Winner - $10K Brisbane, 2006
Top 8 - $10K Sydney, 2006
Honestly, was there anyone hotter in 2006 than Antonios? He came out of nowhere and started devastating all challengers on the Australiain $10K scene, and he will definitely be a major threat at the PC.
Luke Bartter
132nd in Constructed
13th in Sealed Pack
Top 4 - $10K Melbourne, 2006
Top 8 - $10K San Francisco, 2006-2
Top 8 - $10K Melbourne, 2005-2
Runner-Up - $10K Melbourne, 2005
Top 4 - $10K Sydney, 2004
Bartter has always been a stalwart on the Australian scene, though he hasn’t tasted the gold quite yet. Like many of the Australian players, he’s a Draft specialist, and that will help him when he makes Day 2 (I’m fairly certain that he will make Day 2). He’s come close to victory a few times, but can he bring home the bacon?
Shaun Hayward
75th in Constructed
54th in Sealed Pack
Top 4 - $10K Gen Con So Cal, 2006
Top 8 - $10K Brisbane, 2006
Winner - $10K Auckland, 2006
Winner - $10K Brisbane, 2005
Known primarily for his deckbuilding prowess instead of his Draft skills (I suppose that’s because he’s from New Zealand and not Australia!) and more specifically known for his High Voltage concoction, Shaun started off with a bang, plowing through $10K opponents like Thanos pining for Death. He later proved he wasn’t a one-trick pony, becoming one of the few Oceanians to Top 8 an event in North America last year—but he did that only after plummeting out of the PC. Can he bring it in Silver Age with no Voltage in sight?
Scott Hunstad
80th in Constructed
78th in Sealed PackTop 4 - PC Amsterdam, 2005
Runner-Up - $10K Adelaide, 2006
Top 8 - $10K Melbourne, 2005-2
Top 8 - $10K Sydney, 2005
Top 8 - $10K Auckland, 2005
Scott Hunstad remains, to this day, the only Australian to Top 8 a PC—and his $10K Top 8s kept rolling in. He doesn’t always choose to play in the events, which is probably the only reason he doesn’t have twice as many Top 8 results. He’s unlikely to skip the hometown PC, and it’s probably not a coincidence that his one PC Top 8 was in Amsterdam and not in North America, as the former has an easier case of jet lag to deal with. Assuming he does, in fact, show up, his opponents in Sydney better watch out!
James Kong
185th in Constructed
87th in Sealed Pack
Top 8 - $10K Sydney, 2006-2
Top 8 - $10K Adelaide, 2006
Top 8 - $10K Brisbane, 2005
Top 8 - $10K Auckland, 2005
Top 4 - $10K Melbourne, 2005
Top 8 - $10K Sydney, 2004
James Kong is one of the more underrated Australian players—at least outside of Australia. A repeatedly featured drafter in Alex Brown’s columns, James knows his stuff, but his mid-level rankings and lack of appearances outside of Oz lower him in the sights of other players, and most don’t really know much about him. Well, people should pay attention, because six Top 8s is nothing to sneeze at, especially in the tough Australian Vs. System landscape! He’s a dark horse, perhaps, but a major contender for the crown nonetheless.
Kakarot Turker
22nd in ConstructedWinner - $10K Sydney 2006-2
Runner-Up - $10K Melbourne 2006
Top 4 - $10K Adelaide 2006
Top 8 - $10K Brisbane 2006
Runner-Up - $10K Sydney 2006
“Honestly, was there anyone hotter in 2006 than Antonios?” Well, as a matter of fact . . .
A lot of Aussies are hot on the heels of Antonios, but Turker is right up there with him. A potential weakness in Draft won’t help much, but some of those Top 8s were in Sealed Pack $10Ks, so any weakness is minimal. Besides, Turker loves Sydney! He made the finals in both $10Ks there last year. Coincidence? I doubt it. This PC may just be the Kakarot Turker show, so keep those eyes focused on him.
Paul Van der Werk
26th in Sealed Pack
Top 8 - $10K Melbourne, 2006
Top 4 - $10K Adelaide, 2006
Top 4 - $10K Brisbane, 2006
Top 8 - $10K Brisbane, 2005
Top 8 - $10K Auckland, 2005
Paul Van Der Werk is another one of the leading Australian players, and one who never seems to miss a chance to money at a $10K. Like a couple of others, though, he just can’t seem to break into the finals. A solid Sealed Pack player, his Constructed ranking is still good, though not elite. Are his Constructed skills solid enough to get him into Day 2? Only Sydney will tell!
Team Mxyback
With Team Alternate Win Condition sitting this one out (mainly due to job-related reasons), Aqualad has gone to the dark side! (Or would it be the Darkseid?) Tim Batow is testing with and playing under the banner of Team Mxyback for this PC only, a shift not uncommon in Sydney; several teams have temporary players joining them for this one.
What happens when you take the top short-man in the game and team him up with the Big-Deck Maestro / PC Champion? You get a near-lock on the Top 8 and a good bet to make the finals.
Tim “Aqualad” Batow
11th in Constructed
9th in Sealed Pack
Top 8 - PC San Francisco, 2006
Top 8 - $10K Gen Con So Cal, 2006
Top 8 - $10K Orlando, 2006
Top 8 - $10K Austin, 2006
Winner - $10K Las Vegas, 2005
Top 8 - $10K Chicago, 2005
Runner-Up, $10K Gen Con So Cal, 2004 (DC)
Brian Gates
14th in Constructed
187th in Sealed Pack
Top 8 - PC Atlanta, 2006
Top 8 - $10K Denver, 2006
Top 8 - $10K Las Vegas, 2005
Adam Prosak
2nd in Constructed
18th in Sealed Pack
Winner - PC LA, 2006
Top 8 - PC Amsterdam, 2005
Top 8 - $10K Columbus, 2006
Top 8 - $10K Orlando, 2005-2
Winner - $10K Atlanta, 2005
Winner - $10K San Diego, 2005
Top 4 - $10K Detroit, 2005
Top 4 - $10K Los Angeles, 2005
Runner-Up - $10K Las Vegas, 2005
Top 4 - $10K San Diego Comic-Con, 2004
Tim Rivera
50th in Constructed
142nd in Sealed Pack
Niles Rowland
21st in Constructed
31st in Sealed Pack
Top 8 - PC Atlanta, 2006
Top 4 - $10K Orlando, 2005-2
Top 8 - $10K San Diego Comic-Con, 2004
Who’d have thought that this fledgling team would walk into So Cal thriving on bravado and walk back out again with a Champion’s trophy? Well I did, for one . . . which is why Adam Prosak was such an easy pick for my Top 8 list in my PC: L.A. Primer. And few are as deserving—Prosak was due, and nobody can begrudge him his trophy.
Winning a championship is no guarantee of future success, but Adam Prosak—with three wins and ten Top 8s under his belt—is a two-time PC Top 8er and is always a threat in this game. With the team he has behind him, considering the addition of Tim Batow as an honorary Mxy for this PC, he has three more PC Top 8s and a lot of $10K hardware behind him. Mark my words, there will be some Top 8 Mxy in Sydney.
Team FTN
*Yawn* Another PC, another FTN member in the finals. For PC Sydney, though, a shortened roster could mean an end to FTN’s seemingly endless streak of finals . . .
Erik Cabanero
36th in Constructed
30th in Sealed PackTop 4 - $10K Los Angeles, 2006
Top 8 - $10K Seattle, 2005
Kim Caton
211th in Constructed
110th in Sealed Pack
Top 8 - PC San Francisco, 2006
Top 8 - $10K New York, 2005
Alex Gellerman
230th in Constructed
70th in Sealed Pack
Runner-Up - $10K Gen Con So Cal, 2006
Colby Gerrish
147th in Constructed
199th in Sealed PackTop 8 - $10K Charlotte, 2006
Ryan Jones
5th in Constructed
20th in Sealed Pack
Runner-Up - PC LA, 2006
Top 8 - PC New York, 2005
Winner - PC LA, 2004
Top 8 - $10K Wizard World Texas, 2005
Top 8 - $10K San Diego, 2005
Top 8 - $10K Los Angeles, 2005
David Leader
7th in Constructed
21st in Sealed PackTop 4 - PC Indy, 2006
Winner - PC Indy, 2005
Top 4 - $10K Charlotte, 2006
Top 8 - $10K Atlanta, 2005
Top 8 - Gen Con So Cal, 2005
Top 8 - $10K Charlotte, 2006
This tournament sees FTN pared down to three core members and three “reserve members,” as Kim Caton calls them. (“They're in the FTN reprint set, with the reservist mechanic!”) What this means is no Vidi Wijaya and his five PC Top 8s, no Michael Dalton on top of the leaderboard all throughout Day 2, and no Alex Tennet to bet the Barnes-acle that Tennet would outplay him.
This is not to say that I’d dare ignore this group’s own hardware; they have six PC Top 8s between them, including two wins. Ryan Jones has made the finals twice—both times in L.A.—including a loss to Prosak in this past PC. The three replacements (Cabanero, Gellerman, and Gerrish) have certainly held their own, with top rankings and a few $10K Top 8s among them, including Gellerman’s near-win at the $10K during the last PC.
The questions with FTN are whether they will be hurt without a couple of their “big guns,” whether Jones can take a step towards Wijaya’s triple PC finals streak, and whether Kim Caton will make a noob out of everyone by becoming the first completely undefeated PC Champion, thereby building on what she started in San Francisco.
Team Donkey Club
Like all of the teams going to Sydney, TDC took a hit. Some of its top players are sitting out, including Nick Little, Gabe Walls, Neil Reeves, and PC: L.A. Top 8 finisher Anthony Justice. Still, Michael Jacob, Jason Hager, and Matt Oldaker (TDC’s other three Top 8s at PC: L.A.) will be making the trip, headlining a fairly solid lineup despite the MIAs. Newest TDC member Casey Tice (wife of Doug) will also be making the trip. Gabe Walls assures me that she’s got TDC blood running through her veins and is as much a threat as any other member—which should be enough to scare anyone off. One Tice in the PC is dangerous enough, but two? Might as well start running now!
Heath Baker
238th in Constructed
142nd in Sealed PackTop 8 - PC Indy, 2006
Kyle Dembinski
47th in Constructed
27th in Sealed Pack
Top 4 - $10K Minneapolis, 2006
Runner-Up - $10K Austin, 2006
Runner-Up - $10K Chicago, 2005
Jason Hager
9th in Constructed
7th in Sealed Pack
Top 8 - PC LA, 2006
Top 8 - PC San Francisco, 2006
Runner-Up - PC New York, 2005
Top 4 - $10K Columbus, 2006
Winner - $10K Charlotte, 2005
Runner-Up - $10K Columbus, 2005
Top 8 - $10K Origins, 2005
Michael Jacob
3rd in Constructed
5th in Sealed Pack
Top 4 - PC LA, 2006
Top 8 - PC Indy, 2006
Top 4 - PC San Francisco, 2006
Top 8 - PC Indy, 2005
Top 4 - $10K Orlando, 2006
Winner - $10K Hamilton, 2006
Top 8 - $10K Minneapolis, 2006
Winner - $10K Orlando, 2005-2
Winner - $10K Toronto, 2005
Winner - $10K Chicago, 2005
Top 8 - $10K Origins, 2004
Matt Oldaker
6th in Constructed
37th in Sealed Pack
Top 8 - PC LA, 2006
Top 8 - PC Atlanta, 2006
Runner-Up - $10K Minneapolis, 2006
Top 8 - $10K Gen Con So Cal, 2004 (DC)
Dave Spears
215th in Constructed
Top 8 - PC LA, 2005
Top 8 - PC Indy, 2005
Top 8 - $10K Austin, 2006
Runner-Up - $10K Toronto, 2005
Top 4 - $10K Chicago, 2005
Runner-Up - $10K Wizard World Texas, 2004
Top 4 - $10K Atlanta/Dragon Con, 2004
Casey Tice
Doug Tice
4th in Constructed
4th in Sealed Pack
Top 8 - PC San Francisco, 2006
Top 4 - $10K New York, 2006
Winner - $10K Austin, 2006
Winner - $10K Los Angeles, 2006
Winner - $10K New York, 2005
Runner-Up - $10K Charlotte, 2005
TDC features the second most dominant player in the game in Michael Jacob; he has four PC Top 8s and four $10K wins, second only to Vidi Wijaya in performance record. Throw in Jason Hager and Doug Tice, and you have a triple-threat of three of the four best all-around players in the game.
There’s no doubt that TDC is due for a finals. If you place four players in the Top 8 every tournament, even Murphy’s Law can’t hold out for that long; something’s gotta give eventually. If there weren’t so many amazing competitors in this game, I’d bet on an all-TDC finals. As it is, I can say with confidence that TDC will make the finals this tourney and may just bring home some hardware . . .
The Rest of the World
A very tough one to call—normally I’d list the top “free agents” and such, but I don’t have enough information on who will be making the trek and who won’t, and it’s difficult to make educated guesses about a PC halfway around the world.
In Canada, the Montreal crew (Team AttaQC) and the Ottawa crew (The A-Team) are all sitting out. Dean Sohnle is likely to make the trip, as he’s always been a world-wanderer. If he does go, he’ll be in the Top 20 without a doubt.
The English front is blank, with Ian Vincent the only likely Brit to hit the Outback. He’ll be looking to start as freshly in ’07 as he did in ’06.
We should see a large contingent of Japanese players in Sydney, with Masami Ibamoto leading the way. He finished in the Top 15 in L.A., and has been tearing up the scene since his first PC appearance in early ’06.
Naoto Ikeda moneyed in the $10K at PC: L.A., and Shota Yasooka and Akihiro Shimizu are among the strongest of the Japanese players.
From Germany, I would be very surprised if Team Zissou didn’t show up, especially after Jonas Skali Top 8ed in L.A. Normally I have a chance to chat with him and Mario Boley before a PC, but they may already be in Sydney prepping—and those red toques jam all transmissions! Andre Müller also moneyed, finishing in the Top 40, so there’s a good chance he’ll be there, perhaps with some of his crew.
As for North Americans—if they show up—look on the leaderboard for Josh Wiitanen, Loren Nolen (after finally hitting the PC Top 8 in L.A.), Stephen King, Alex Bykov (fresh from a $10K win at Gen Con So Cal), and Anand Khare, as well as Pat Yapjoco, Joe Bryan, and Quang Nguyen from the Edgeworld team.
Kergy’s Line
And now, the moment everyone has been waiting for . . . my picks and dark horses for Top 8!
(in alphabetical order)
Top 8: Tim Batow, Erik Cabanero, Kim Caton, Jason Hager, Masami Ibamoto, Michael Jacob, Adam Prosak, Kakarot Turker
Dark Horse Picks: Alex Antonios, James Kong, David Leader, Andre Müller, Niles Rowland, Jonas Skali, Dean Sohnle, Doug Tice
Questions? Queries? Comments? Send ‘em along and I’ll try to get them answered in the column! Email me at:
Kergillian (at) hotmail (dot) com
Also known by his screen name Kergillian, Ben Kalman has been involved in the Vs. community since day one. He started the first major online community, the Vs. Listserv, through Yahoo! Groups, and it now boasts well over 2,000 members! For more on the Yahoo! group, go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Marvel_DC_TCG.