Making the top 32 Cut

I'm specifically targeting this blog post to Mike Ting, yes, the dude that has yet been seeded to top 32, and all of his hopes falls on this Saturday.

Landing a seat in the Top 32 before the Tournament even starts is huge. But many don't realize how important this can be, me myself included until recently. For many, you auto-seeding to top 32 means you play lesser rounds. That is true. But that is not the only benefit, and above all, that is the least of the many benefits.

I'm gonna break it down into point form.

(1) Unlike the dude who would be playing 3 or 4 rounds (yes, thats so low as compare to a standard YCS's 11; but its single elimination and this is Malaysia), you get to sit back and relax for the first 4 hours of the tournament. You get to have a proper lunch (a luxury most people playing on Tournament day won't have) and enough time to clear your mind. I find trading, buying and selling cards a way to clear my mind of stress, but this is me. Normally I don't have time to do that.

Getting enough rest, water and a clear mind is important if you want to top. Of cause, there are those who would only get into mood after a few rounds, rather than going through single elimination, do some practice rounds with your fellow teammates or even fellow seeders (I doubt any one of them would show case their deck so easily).

(2) Side decking. This is the main advantage of the seeding, preparing your side deck. When going through the preliminary rounds, you face a lot of rogue decks. I've heard some people saying they rather not play a single Inzektor the entire day. For me, I would rather ALL my opponents be Inzektors, cause I know how to side against them and play against them all too well. Not facing a single Inzektor the entire day in this format is only possible if you drop. It is Inzektor format, half the field would be Inzektor. And facing these top decks, you better be prepared. But, what if you faced this rogue deck that you had not prepared a side deck for? That would be disastrous.

I'm not saying a rogue deck can't place itself in the Top 32, but I'm pretty sure at least half of the field would be Inzektors. Your chances of facing a deck that your used to fight against is significantly higher. You could go into the tournament main decking a pair of Chain Disappearance without too much fear of rogue match ups. That is huge!!

Also, I say 80 if not 90% of the top 32 would be top tier decks. This means bad news, only to those who are not prepared. This means your side deck can be concentrated for these match ups, especially the Big 3, in Malaysia's case, Inzektors, Machina and Hieratics (yes, Rabbit dropped out).

If your playing Inzektors, side in those Mind Crushes and Electric Virus. Hieratics? You can actually consider main decking Macro Cosmos because the chances of meeting another Hieratic are actually quite slime (due to their price tag). Machina can have both Imprisoning Mirrors in their deck and lock the field down with Fortress's 2500.

That said, all of the players you'll be playing are at least above average if not Malaysian-God level. But hey, if your just starting out, Top 32 in WCQ is good accomplishment!

(3) Tech cards! Similar to side decking, you can now main hate cards to your worst match ups and not feel bad about it. Nightshot says Hi! Since I don't think there's gonna be any Chaos Dragons, Lightlords and Junk Doppel making the top cut. You also have the luxury to test play only against the top decks (not advisable, but possible if you are busy or just flat out lazy).

A couple of techs that I would like to try are : Wise-man Chalice, Solemn Warning (this card is no longer a staple if your not playing Inzektors over here, even in Inzektors, some took them out) and Return from a Different Dimension.

Conclusion is, don't waste your seedings (I need to remind myself that too) cause you don't get these luxury that often. Also, don't waste your last chance to grab it, Mike. :)