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April 1, 2004
Zach has been playing LotR Online since Beta was released, while I’ve been on ever since the days of Alpha. Zach goes by the alias Rubber_Chicken, and I’m known as Black Barney online. Zach decided to attend his first PSE in Las Vegas this month and I had the chance to sit down with him on Day Two right after his elimination of last year’s champ, Ryan Jones.
Pat: So here you are coming fresh off your win and elimination of last year’s Vegas PSE champion Ryan Jones in a 2-0 sweep. How are you feeling?
Zach: I just stepped in a mud puddle, a bird unloaded on me, and I had Taco Bell for lunch – I’m feelin’ great. Seriously though, I’m very excited to be here and doing so well (thus far.) This is my first time at a PSE, and it’s only my third real sanctioned tournament that hasn’t been on LOTR Online.
Pat: That’s a good point. You’re very active (as am I) in the Online game. Do you attribute your success today and yesterday to playing a lot online?
Zach: I attribute my success entirely to Patrick Sullivan (laughs out loud). I’m just kidding. Pat’s a scrub. Honestly though, I’ve improved SO MUCH just by playing online and having exposure to a variety of decks and players.
Pat: Zach, will you marry me?
Zach: Yes. Next question.
Pat: How do you find match play so far? Best two out of three is an entirely different play experience to what most people (including you) are used to. Adjusting strategies to the second and third games can be very difficult.
Zach: Umm…. I think the biggest thing is finding out what both sides of your deck are capable of doing to your opponents in the first game. For example, in round one, I found after a single game that if I threw my site path at Ryan hard enough, I could knock him out and win with ease shortly after he regained consciousness in a clearly delirious state. Oh, and I also realized that my fellowship could conceivably win, while also putting enough pressure on his fellowship to pick up a shadow kill. Plus, my shadow was getting several stops, so I knew that all I needed were a couple of key double moves in future games and I’d be set.
Pat: I know that your day one deck was the one you’ve been playing online for a long time. However, your deck today, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you play online. Where did you get the idea for your first-ever Day Two deck? You should also talk a bit about your deck here since no one knows what the heck you’re playing since you probably won’t end up winning this event.
Zach: I’m playing a Slaked thirsts deck today which I played in Beta test for LOTR Online a while back. I remember spending countless hours developing a deck list on paper before realizing that playing four copies of Guma in a deck with no Rohan companions was not the answer.
(note from Sullivan: I think Zach is being sarcastic here).
(second note from Sullivan: I think Zach is starting to come onto me).
(Note from Zach: Yes, I am definitely coming onto you)
Pat: How different do you find the online Meta with the Vegas meta?
Zach: Oh – tough question. I have hardly seen ANY Rohan in Vegas, which is quite common online. Furthermore, you can really see the difference in established physical collections vs. restricted online ones – I see a lot more Arwen/Legolas starts here in Vegas, and many less starts like Eothain/Gloin that plague the online world. Also, the online PSQ had plenty of stupid swarms running rampant, which I have yet to encounter here in Vegas.
Pat: Didn’t you run into a stupid swarm yesterday? (sheds tear as Zach has obviously forgotten about his match up against the Sully Swarm)
Zach: Ok, correction: I was never the victim of stupid swarm cuz my swarm was far stupider.
At this point, Zach is called away into his second round pairing against Mike French. We shall continute the interview later. Meanwhile I’m playing in the LOTR Team Tournament where my team, KwyjiboKardz, is currently 5-1. I had the misfortune of getting paired up against Dominic Gaudreault (who I couldn’t put on my team since there was a 3-member limit) and he schooled me as only he can. Apparantly Rosie cannot take the ring after both Sam and Frodo die.
Pat: Welcome back, Zach. Sorry about your loss. Anyway, so since the online game has managed to train you to the point that you make Day Two of a 103-player DGMA PSE event, it must be an effective tool for playtesting purposes. If you don’t mind me asking, how much money have you dropped on the online game so far?
Zach: Just short of $53 – I started with the $30 registration package, a draft pack (the key to playing online with minimal damage to your wallet) and have paid for two months of Fellowship membership. I think the real key to minimizing your expenditures is to avoid paying $21 for an Eomer *cough PAT cough*.
Pat: What’s your favourite thing about the online game? And how does that differ from the offline version?
Zach: I think my favorite thing is easily the warm, fuzzy feeling you get every time you get blasted with a ping-bomb – it just shows that you’re loved.
My least favorite thing is probably accidentally pinging myself. Sure, nobody witnesses it, but it’s still pretty demoralizing.
(Note from Sullivan: For those of you not familiar with the ‘ping.’ It is a command available in the online game to get someone’s attention in case they are no longer in front of their computer and you wish to engage in a trading session or casual game with this individual. It sends a sharp monotone noise thru the speakers of the recipient. It didn’t take Zach and I long to figure out that it’s no fun when you just send one ping. Like roses, they’re more beautiful in dozens.)
On a more serious note, however, having exposure to so many players and being able to get into a game whenever you want is absolutely amazing. In the offline world, I usually can’t join a draft tournament at 11pm in my pajamas. LotR Online totally opens up the doors to nude gaming.
Pat: You seem to be known as the creator of the organized pingbomb. Please share with us what genius went into play to come up with such a complex and elaborate scheme?
Zach: Well, I honestly don’t remember who the creator is (it could very well be you, Mr. Sullivan), but regardless of the origin, I think I have a pretty good idea of why the pingbomb was created – there’s just something oddly fulfilling about sending dozens of little obnoxious noises through somebody’s speakers on the other side of the globe. One day, I hope to coordinate a 1,000-ping salute to Bruce and/or Scott (of Worlds Apart fame.) As of now, I believe the largest ping-bomb ever was 100 pings strong, as Doombreed and I launched fifty pings apiece on a single target.
Pat: Is this possible offline? And if so, have you done it? And if so, what were the consequences of your actions?
Zach: As I stated earlier, I’m really not sure who invented the pingbomb, but I do know who pioneered the offline pingbomb – an innovative genius by the name of Patrick Sullivan. You see, Pat had a dream – he envisioned a world where we could inspire terror in the hearts of mortal men as we yelled, “PING PING PING PING PING!” into their unsuspecting ears.
I’m proud to say that I was involved in the first-ever live pingbombing. It was a glorious moment, which resulted in an official warning from a DGMA judge.
Pat: How do you feel your chances are for this month’s 250 US$ cash prize Online PSQ?
Zach: Not so good. My online collection isn’t really that great (though I’d say 2,400+ cards for $53 really isn’t all that bad), so the decks I can make are limited. The most successful deck I have online is a stupid swarm, but I’m afraid the meta is shifting to include far too many Drearys and Curse Their Foul Feets (or would the plural be Curse Their Foul Foot?)
Pat: That’s all I got for now. Thanks for taking the time to sit with me, Zach.
Zach: Anything for my 16th favorite Canadian.
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