West Coast Qualifier Report
by Damon Erickson, Top 16

So after Gen Con, I and Minnesota transplant Max Ayco decide that we should do a fall qualifier. So do we go to New York in the cold fall and face a 100+ person tourney, or go to sunny California and face a 40 or so person tournament… California here we come!

We arrive late Thursday night and crash at our hotel. We do a few pods on Friday and then play in the Money in the Bank tournament Friday night. I let Max pick my superstar at random and it ends up JYD. I had an All Together Now Lashley deck together that I like quite a bit, but it can’t beat Andre, so I thought I would play JYD for fun and switch to a First of All Lashley for the qualifier tomorrow. Of course my first match in the Money in the Bank tournament is Jeremy Peterson and his All Together Now Lashley. I do well in the MitB tourney, my only loss before losing in the finals being Matt Hatcher’s Andre who started the game with Headbutt and Obey in his opening hand, and I still was really close to taking that game. JYD was looking mighty tough, so it’s back to the hotel for a few deck adjustments for the qualifier.

The next morning we arrive for the qualifier and the rounds go down like this, unfortunately I forgot to write down anyone’s names, just their superstars:
Rd 1-DX: She doesn’t active Cerebral Assassin immediately so my big grapples hit and its over pretty quick. 1-0

Rd 2-Matt Hardy: He switcheroo’s my Vince GRA and unblanks the Cell, so its time for plan B, plunge the chain, wipe out his hand, Title into a big grapple, and then reverse everything. I eventually win with the Thump. 2-0

Rd 3-Shane: This one takes a while as I have few ways to stop HR’s, but the Takedown’s I keep fishing out of the ringside allow me to reverse a lot of his actions and eventually get the pin. 3-0

Rd 4-Undertaker: The deck has no submission reversals at zero, so I have to quickly get fortitude on the table and then Spinebuster him into submission. 4-0

Rd 5-Andre: So here is the match up I have been waiting for wanting to see if I could take down the giant, fortunately I get extra time to decide my prematch as there was an error in the pairings. I decide to drop my entire prematch and not worry about the hit to hand size, as the Chain will make it back up for me. Our game lasts forever, and I finally have him to only a few reversals left in his arsenal and with 3 action reversals in hand to stop the Davari’s when time is called so we get a double loss. With just a couple more minutes I would have won, but that’s the way it goes. 4-1

Rd 6-Kurt Angle: (Anthony Escobar) I had been wanting to see Anthony’s Kurt in action all day. We have an extremely back and forth game, but the Chain and its recursion allow me to keep my hand size up against his chain maneuvers. He forces me to use my Vince GRA to reverse and his First to Tap Match is unblanked, fortunately I have both a reversal for his Sharpshooter and a Don’t Try This at Home for his Collegiate Champions. The 3-minute warning is called, and Anthony concedes as he can see that I will beat him in a matter of turns. 5-1

Top 16-Randy Orton: (Wilson Fisher) He hits both Thunder Bulldog and Ego Cutter first turn, sure wish I had found room for that Restricted Use now. Using Major Announcement with the Chain and a lot of sustaining I survive though two finishers. I correctly guess that he has RKO in his hand, so I begin throwing the Chain as an action, hoping to kill his hand and then remove Destiny from the game. Unfortunately he saves the King Interferes rather than reverse the chain with it, and he uses it to reverse my next maneuver, uses his ability to get an Ego Boost, and draws a Revolution of the Mind to reverse my Double Leg Takedown when I get Destiny in the ringside again. Eventually he draws back into the RKO for the win. Great game.

We play through the replica belt tournament the next day, and then enjoy some sun and sand before heading back to frigid Minnesota Monday night.

Here’s the deck list:
Backstage 3 1 5th Anniversary 1 Backstage Signature 1 Backstage Signing Appearance Prematch 10 1 A No Show 1 Fans Love an Underdog (O) 1 I Have a Major Announcement 1 Managed by Jimmy Hart 1 The Champ Is Here! 2 The Title Is On the Line! 1 Through All of These Years 1 Vince McMahon, Guest Ring Announcer 1 World Heavyweight Title Belt Mid Match 10 1 Backlash! 1 How Important Is It? 1 Introduce Your Brain to Your Mouth… 1 Living the Good Life 1 Really, That’s Enough 1 Sustained Damage 1 The King Interferes! 1 The Road to Victory 1 Unscrupulous S.O.B. 1 You're as Graceful as a Cow on Ice Maneuvers 17 2 Airplane Spin (O) 3 Back Breaker (TB) 3 Brainbuster (TB) 1 Double Leg Takedown (TB) 3 Neck Breaker 3 Rib Breaker (TB) 1 The Thump 1 Wheelbarrow Slam Actions 3 1 JYD's Chain 1 Puppies! Puppies! (TB) 1 Take It Back Reversals 40 1 Anything and Hate It 2 Chained Heat 1 Cowboy Bob Orton Interferes 1 Divine Intervention 1 Don't Hate da Playa, Hate da Game 2 Don't Try This at Home 3 Elbow to the Face 3 Escape Move 2 Escape the Rules 1 In My Day, a Maneuver Was a Maneuver 1 Leg Drag (TB) 2 Manager Interferes 1 No Chance In Hell (TB) 2 Oversell Maneuver 1 Power Slam (TB) 2 Raw & Ready 1 Sidewalk Slam 3 Spine Buster (TB) 3 Step Aside 3 Takedown 1 The Raw Deal Revolution 3 Volley This