What deck are you playing today?

Thunderbolts.

What made you decide on this deck as opposed to a more established archetype?

Because it’s a beast. It’s a consistent beast and it loses to only a few cards. It’s not a pile like a lot of the other decks here.

That sounds pretty impressive. Could you elaborate on what your deck does, exactly?

In round 1, I played against Sentinels. On turn 4, he had Boliver Trask, Sentinel Mark II, and Sentinel Mark V in play against my Jolt; Melissa Gold, Songbird; and Quicksilver, Speed Demon. I made one attack—Jolt into Boliver. I played Deadly Conspiracy, Savage Beatdown, and six activations of Mt. Charteris. After that, I used Team Tactics and chained another Deadly Conspiracy. My Jolt ended up with 62 ATK. He tried to reinforce, and I Blindsided him for the game. Mt Charteris is very good with Tactics and Conspiracy—each card in your hand becomes a Beatdown.

What would you consider to be the tech cards in your deck, or what are some unique cards you are playing that really put your deck over the top?

Every single card. When I was testing with Dallas Riordan, I wanted every card that I drew. Dallas got cut pretty fast.

What was your runner-up deck choice for this tournament and why?

There was no runner-up. I wouldn’t come here without this deck.

Is Curve Sentinels still the best deck?

No. The metagame is getting more to the point that skill is more important, not deck builds. Any player with a good build can beat another player with a good build if they have the skill.

What do you anticipate the metagame for Pro Circuit Los Angeles to be like?

After today, a lot of Melissa Gold.