When I asked Head Judge Simon Sangpukdee to recommend someone for me to interview, his instant response was Brian Camareno! Other judges, like Simon Choy and Feroze Ramcharan, completely agreed. I’d trust those guys with most of my organs, so I knew I had to interview this Camareno guy.

Turns out that Brian Camareno, who I will now dub “Smilin’ Brian,” is the cheeriest guy in all of Yu-Gi-Oh! play. Originally born in Queens, New York, he currently lives in Orlando. He met Simon Sangpukdee when he used to live in Ft. Lauderdale at Simon’s home store, Comic Connection. Simon really got him into the game, and the two have become pretty tight.

A writer for several gaming sites, Brian is a college student at UCF. He spends his spare time playing games and being exceedingly friendly and likeable.

“Today I’m playing a variant of Wilson Luc’s deck list, a Warrior Removal Chaos, or . . . whatever it’s called now. But I switched it up a bit. I’m using Return from the Different Dimension—it does a lot of great stuff! It techs Kycoo, it works nicely against D.D. Assailant . . . it hasn’t really done much for me today, but it’s worked well in the past and it’s a great little piece of tech. I love it against Bottomless Trap Hole.”

I asked him about other changes he made to Luc’s build. “I’m running multiple copies of Solemn Judgment, too. It’s an investment, but I find the negation is just great. It’s a really versatile card.” Pretty cool, huh? You’ve got to respect someone who can go all in.

Sitting at 5-2, his only two losses were to Beastdown decks. “I used to play Beastdown myself, but I found that after the initial success I experienced with it, its performance went downhill. I couldn’t even really figure out why, but I switched to Warrior Chaos and it’s been doing really well for me!”

What attracts Camareno to the Yu-Gi-Oh! game? “I like the competition. It’s good to get away from college life—it’s stressful and a lot of work. I approach the game with a positive attitude. Sometimes it does come down to that poker type thing—drawing the right thing at the right time—topdecking. But as long as you maintain a good attitude, it’s a lot of fun.”

When I asked what was next for him, Camareno replied that he was hoping to qualify for nationals today, but if he didn’t, he’d be “going to every regional in Florida. You’ll see me there!” He’ll probably be there regardless of whether or not he qualifies today. Look for the smiling guy with the great attitude—you can’t miss him.

While my personal jury is out on the Solemn Judgment tech, I am sure of one thing—Yu-Gi-Oh! needs more Brian Camarenos.