BEWARE: Geek Moment Ahead
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Originally uploaded by Iam2814sGL.
I went down to the Javitz Center this morning to the Upper Deck 10k VS. tournament. My friends and I occasionally play the VS Card Game, but nowhere NEAR the level that these guys play at. This is of course primarily designed to be a kids game, sort of a Pokeman, or Yugi-Oh with super-heroes, so when I play I am usually more concerned with the fun that I can have (Teaming up Spider-man villains and Batman villains for instance... yes, I usually play villains). Sound effects, discussions of what would happen if the various characters "really" met, and attacks based not so much on strategy as on how cool it is that Green Goblin is attacking Superman are the norm. (I warned you that it was getting geeky in here.)
On the other hand the players at this tournament are all business. With thousands of dollars on the line, and the right to progress towards tournaments worth millions, I guess I can understand. No screams when their opponents whip out a particularly devastating card, no laughs about a supremely one sided match-up (Aunt May vs. Superman), no discussions of... well... anything really. These guys (and I do mean guys, I saw maybe 3 women out of about 300 players) shuffled decks, and turned cards in complete silence. No one had to read a card, or study the text before they played a hand. This was a PRO tournament. Someone in the room was leaving with $10,000.
Now, I'll admit that everything that I have mentioned so far places me squarely in the geek category in almost everyone's eyes. The sheer fact that I have played this game more than once plants me there in a fairly permanent way. However, I was in the presence of uber-geeks. Guys so far above me on the scale of geek that I am next to normal in their eyes. I longed to play one of them just to see how quickly they'd beat me. I'm sure it would be like an average guy facing a boxer, and going down in one punch. I may be lucky enough to land a good card combo or two, but in the end, I'm sure it would be a futile effort. But still, it would be an honor.
UPDATE: For information about the VS Card Game, go HERE.
I don't even know what VS card game is but be as geeky as you want, we still love you :)
Thanks Anonymous! For those that are interested I updated the post with a link to the official site for the card game, just clock the title of the post!