Dominic Ortega

 

Location: Macati City

Occupation: Student

Age: 25

Deck: Concealed (MK/Underworld)

 

Dominic is a veteran TCG player who has done well in a number of games. He calls his deck “Dinuguan,” which in Tagalogue literally means “to cause someone to bleed”.

 

His deck was chosen for its remarkable consistency and the ability to do well against all decks in the format. “It has many redundant characters,” Dominic explains, “to minimize the chance of missing a drop.” He also likes the fact that it allows him to use everything as a resource, including the cards in his hand and the cards in his KO'd pile. His inspiration for this tournament came off the Internet from Kristian Kockott's deck.

 

For those aspiring to play “Dinuguan,” he has this advice. “Just cross your fingers and hope you don't die until the turn when you have the initiative.”

 

 

Edgar Leroy De Pedro

 

Location: Quezon City, Manila

Occupation: IT Consultant

Age: 29

Deck: MK/Underworld Rush

 

Edgar went 10-0 yesterday, and is the favorite coming into the Top 8. While he runs many concealed characters, he wouldn't classify his deck as a Concealed deck because he doesn't run cards that are a staple of the build, like Sucker Punch. What he does instead is run a lot more offensive pumps. This allows him to “out-pump” any deck in the format, including the more aggressive builds like Honor Among Thieves.

 

He thinks that the Sinister Statix deck played by Malaysian Ong Tze Hong is a powerful contender.

 

 

Michael Tom Batac

 

Location: Caloocan, Manila

Occupation: Student

Age: 20

Deck: Honor Among Thieves

 

Michael is also a veteran TCG player. He has played Honor Among Thieves at two prior PCQs and managed to finish in the Top 8 of both.

 

He likes this deck because it's aggressive and easier to play when compared to most other decks in the format. For those who want to play Honor Among Thieves, he advises you to play aggressively and vanquish your opponent by turn 5.

 

 

Charlman Domingo

 

Location: Tay Tay, Rizal

Occupation: Student

Age: 24

Deck: MK/Underworld

 

Charlman is a Marvel Knights fan. That and the consistency of the deck are the reasons that he's playing MK/Underworld. The deck revolves around curving out. Charlman explained that with Wild Ride and Evil Awakens, there are so many character searchers that he shouldn't miss drops.

 

He thinks that Spider Friends is a great matchup for him, as he has Asmodeus on turn 6 to stop the opponent from reaching more than 6 resources. He also likes playing Honor Among Thieves and Syndicate-based decks because he has concealed characters that allow him to counter-attack effectively.

 

Bad matchups for him include X-Statix and mirror matches.

 

 

Ong Tze Hong

 

Location: Petaling Jaya, Malaysia

Occupation: Store Owner

Age: 26

Deck: Sinister Statix

 

Tze Hong is the only Malaysian to have made the Top 8. He owns a store in Amcorp Mall. It's called Toybox, and it sells figurines, toys, and TCGs.

 

Tze Hong saw a post on VsRealms about Sinister Statix. He found the deck interesting and began tinkering with the deck from then on. He tells me that he doesn't like to play established decks.

 

The concept behind Sinister Statix is to get out the “big guys” in the later turns. It excels in the late game, and should win at any point from turn 7 forward. It differs from traditional X-Statix builds, because you can have multiple characters in play and remove them all from the board at once, allowing for greater flexibility in play.

 

For those thinking of playing the deck, Tze Hong warns that it takes a great deal of practice. Even traditional builds of X-Statix take a while to master.

 

 

Edgar Zamora, Jr.

 

Location: Makati City, Manila

Occupation: Student

Age: 18

Deck: MK/Spider Friends

 

The metagame in the Philippines is dominated by Honor Among Thieves and X-Statix. Hence, Zamora wanted something with the defensive elements of Spider-Friends and the offensive elements of Marvel Knights. “Dr. Strange with boost is also a sure way to win against X-Statix,” he explained.

 

Other highlights of the deck include the Spider-Men, both Amazing and Spectacular. These allow you to keep your opponent's characters exhausted all the time. Edgar also runs War Wagon and Quick Kill to maintain board control in the early game.

 

He thinks the best deck in the current format is X-Statix, for utility cards like Dead Weight and Spin Doctoring. It also has X-Statix Cafe, “which makes even a one-man army difficult to beat,” he griped.

 

 

Jose Maria Estrada

 

Location: Cubao, Quezon City

Occupation: Store Owner

Age: 38

Deck: MK/Sinister Syndicate

 

Jose Maria owns a hobby store that sells Vs. System at Sta Lucia Mall. He is playing MK/Sinister Syndicate, because he dislikes long games and finds the drops easier to hit. He advises players tending towards MK/Sinister Syndicate to not miss the curve, and to give your opponent everything you've got on turns 5 and 6.

 

 

Jonathan De Joseph

 

Location: Cacloocan City, Manila

Occupation: Student

Age: 24

Deck: Four Affiliation Special

 

Jonathan ranks second in the Constructed ratings for Asia. He is running a MK-based deck that has three other affiliations for the ability to run their individual powerhouses. A more detailed breakdown of his deck is available at this link.