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MWCC Interview Derrick Dembrath |
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Written by scubadude
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Thursday, 01 May 2008 |
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Today
we talk to Derrick, the recent winner of the Madison AOP Hosted by
Dani Carpenter and a new force to be reckoned with!
Scuba: What character did you choose to play during the team event?
Derrick: I chose Nakaruru since I wanted to play an agro deck I was accustomed too. I also thought for the well being of the team to have an agro, control, and tank hybrid character. So I took the agro deck since Jeff, my other teammate, played a control deck.
Scuba: How did teaming with Vik, the 2008 South Coast champion from FL, affect your team judgment and deck building for this team event?
Derrick: We banked on Vik playing a tank character or a hybrid control deck from his track record.
Scuba: Did your recent success at the Madison AOP hosted by Dani Carpenter influence your decision for choosing your deck for this event?
Derrick: The Madison AOP definitely influenced me to play RURU since I did so well and was so familiar with her. Teaming with Vik made me want to play something I know like the back of my hand to minimize any playing errors that I might encounter.
Scuba: Was the Meta like you expected during teams or were there any decks or players from places like Ohio, Florida, or New York that took you by surprise?
Derrick: Yes, I expected evil decks and only 3 teams didn't have an evil deck. But the Astaroth, Sanquro decks by Vik and James were amazing and I was totally blown away by their deck building skills.
Scuba: The meta right now is one deck type dominating everything. Apparently there are some resources other than Evil mirror match that have a way to deal with the impenetrable wall. What are your thoughts on this?
Derrick: I do believe that other resources have a chance. Is it a 50/50? Hell no. Evil is still far more dominant and with far more answers regardless. If you are best player in the world it is still an uphill battle.
Scuba: Jonathan stated higher caliber would not be banned as of now and to wait for set 9. What are your thoughts of what will need to come out of set 9?
Derrick: If the new answers have evil then it will still remain a problem. Good needs some help and earth needs more control characters. Instead of printing answers for answers ban or errata, what needs to be done is do not worry so much about the players opinions of banning certain cards. We do need to have an open watch list so we know what FFG is thinking about for the current state of the game.
Scuba: All right on to the singles event. What character did you choose for this event?
Derrick: I wanted to play an earth deck modeled after Vic's Astaroth deck so I picked Mr. Karate. I think it is fast enough with the damage pump to make top 8 even in this highly competitive environment.
Scuba: Alright Derrick thanks for your insights of current state of the game for UFS and your deck building decisions. Now let's talk about some of your experiences this weekend at the MWCC.
Scuba: Was this your first big event besides that of an AOP? If so, what are your thoughts about how this event turned out both on the competitive side and the mingling of the different players attending this event?
Derrick: It was my fir st big event other than an AOP. It was a blast all around. Nick did a good job running the event. The players did a good job. The competition was fierce with the best players there. The players were all awesome. No complaints, and this being my first big event and getting top 4 in the team event I was really impressed.
Scuba: How did you like teaming with Vik? Did you guys get along outside the arena? Would you like to team with Vik in the future?
Derrick: I love teaming with Vik. He's a smart guy and we all had similar personalities so cracking jokes all day was great. I would drop anybody to team with Vik. He is definitely my number one choice.
Scuba: How do you feel about playing girls in big events? Coming off my article series, I know there are many girls in your area. Do you ever play the match differently?
Derrick: All I have to say to that is, being that Dani is in my state, I don't ever want to play her after watching her match during the team event. If I do she will destroy me.
Scuba: After playing with some of the best players in Wisconsin such as Dani Carpenter (arguably one of the best female players in the world), JDUB and his team, and Jack Chang how did you feel playing against the other top players in the United States? These players include 2006 World Champion Matt Kohl's as well as his Team OOFS House, 2007 World Champion Andrew Olexa and his team mate Jeremy Ray, 2008 South Coast Champion Vik Sareen, 2007 Nationals, East Coast, and Worlds Team champion James Hata, and finally 2007 World Team Champion Omar Chavez?
Derrick: Going into the MWCC I was really nervous. The Wisconsin crew is really over looked. After playing Omar Hata and Kohl's they were all awesome guys and after their matches I have confidence in playing against these types of guys and I can't wait for Nationals or Worlds.
Scuba: After playing against the top-level metas of Ohio, New York, and Florida how do you feel the Meta of Wisconsin stacks up to the rest of the United States? Is there something in these other regions that have set themselves apart from the other metas in the United States?
Derrick: Creativity is big in these other regions. Hata's deck that he built on his way up to the singles event was insane. Having so much experience and access to so many different ideas I learned a lot from them. Paul and Jeremy's Alex's decks also have tremendous creativity from what they showcased over the weekend. Throughout our state we don't have the card pool to test against certain control deck like the typical Evil Ibuki so it is sometimes hard to prepare for decks of that caliber.
Derrick: I loved watching James' and Scuba's match. They were so cool to each other, treating it like any match. I could tell for sure these guys were top level and consistently top 8 at events. When Scuba played a moonbeam for game James casually said yep you got it dude that was epic.
Scuba: After meeting the various top players from Matt Kohl's, James Hata, Omar Chavez, and Vik Sareen and their massively different personality types, what did you think of everyone and did you have any problem breaking the ice with anybody?
Derrick: Everyone was so cool and very casual and willing to talk to everyone. Omar, Vik, Scuba, Andrew, and Matt had great personalities. Andrew writing heavens knight on his deck list was hilarious.
Scuba: What was your most memorable moment of the MWCC and who do you think was the most outspoken player there?
Derrick: Omar is the funniest player in the world and random things driving cars were the funniest things ever. Everyone was laughing the entire weekend. Dani and multiple other people said they never laughed so much in their lives before the MWCC. Then Vik holding ground a multiple and Omar having to clarify the ruling and treating the entire room like kindergarteners was priceless.
Scuba: Are there any stories or special moments that occurred at the MWCC that you experienced?
 Derrick: The whole weekend was amazing and I wish everyone could watch the entire weekend on video. The Kohl's dice roll was so epic, then my game with Omar and "OMG bears are driving cars".
Scuba: Alright, to wrap up Derrick overall how did you enjoy the event? Did you make any new UFS friends that you will be chatting with on aim or the boards? Was it your best event thus far in your career? (I personally had the most fun of any UFS event yes even more then Gen Con 2007)
Derrick: Definitely my best event. Top 4 in teams was my greatest accomplishment. Meeting Vik and Scuba was the best ever and meeting the rest of the players in Wisconsin was great to see our overall state meta.
Scuba: Alright once again I want to thank you for your time and insight Derrick. It was great meeting you Jeff, Dani, Stefan, and all the other great Wisconsin players. Are there any parting words you want to leave for our listeners?
Derrick: Thanks to Scuba for coming. It was great meeting you and bringing all the big names like Vik, Matt, Omar and James to arena and making all of us super nervous. We were freaking out and we had to step up our game to keep up with you guys.
Side Note: Don't thank me for getting all the players to the MWCC. All credit goes to Dani Carpenter. If not for your generosity none of this would be possible.
Thanks everyone who attended the MWCC it was a great experience and I can't wait for nationals. As always if you have questions email me
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or contact me on the forum.
Thanks,
Scubadude
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 06 May 2008 )
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