Rolling With The Top Dogs, 13

I’ve been down with a cold and tons of work to complete lately. Haven’t had much time  to update the blog. But, nevertheless, welcome back to another segment of Rolling with the Top Dogs. Today, let me introduce another player from Singapore to you, my readers. He may not be a very popular name but I find him worthy to be included in this segment. A duelist that has gave Dino Rabbits some credentials in Singapore. Please welcome, Ryan Stark from Singapore! Without further delays, please go ahead and enjoy today’s interview. I’m not sure if he is related to Tony Stark or not.

Ryan Stark a.k.a Rabbit Ryan

1.Let's start of by introducing yourself. Please tell us a little bit of who you are.

Hi, I'm Ryan from Singapore, start playing Yugioh around December 2010. Start play competitive at 2011 till today, my achievements are Singapore Showdown Top 16, Asian Championship Qualifier 3rd place with Dino Rabbit and currently seeded Top 16 for Singapore World Championship Qualifier.

2.Before going into serious business. Do you've a favourite deck, which deck(s) is it?

Erm...Before March banned list 2012 my previous favourite deck I been playing is Junk Doppel. Due to important cards like Grow-Up Bulb, Spore and Trishula banned now I’m playing Infernity. Haha yes I love stunts combo decks.

3.This is a 'lil something everyone wants to know. Are there any YGO cards you especially like? I mean, favourite card(s).

My favorite card is of cause Rescue Rabbit!! This is one of the reason I play for tourneys and the picture explain all for you ^^ and Effect Veiler. 

4.Okay, going into business. How long have you been playing YGO and what is your personal opinion on the state of the game right now?

Since around December 2010, i found current state of game is very interesting with new exceed monsters and new archetype decks + new structure decks keep coming out we will have a lot choices to choose which decks we want to play.

5.Apart from improving skills, being competitive means understanding the current situation of the format. What do you think of the format as of now and how is the Meta in your country performing at the moment?

My current local everywhere can see Inzektors and Heroes, seriously opponent top deck a Damsel while you are winning and you have nothing to counter him is too broken, Hero Beat/Arrive Hero with their amazing control base cards and OTK engine is very fast and strong too. They also not very expensive so a lot peoples choose to play these decks. Apart from the 2 decks, Hieroglyphs, Machina Gadget are also included and Chaos Dragons are getting popular in Singapore. I also start playing them.

6.What deck are you running at the moment and how is it performing in the format, in your opinion? And, just out of curiosity, why do you choose that deck as your weapon of choice?

Currently, I'm playing Infernity aside from Dino Rabbits, it’s one of the deck I like other then Junk Doppel before March banned list so now Junk Doppel get hit so hard,  It’s pretty stupid to use Infernity during this format where everyone main x2/3 Veiler+Inzektors+OTK decks flying around Infernity pretty much stand no chance. Why I still choose Infernity was because their result they giving me by 1 card within one turn its too strong and its fun. So, I choose to continue my Infernity deck till now.

7.This is a personal interest of mine. Do you think TCG exclusives are capable of making an impact in the OCG competitive scene by the time they arrive? Will they be positive or negative changes?

Yes they will make huge impact in OCG as long as they have very strong effect. Example, Tour Guide. They will be heavily used once reaching OCG.

8.YGO is serious business nowadays. Are there any specific preparation taken by you to get yourself ready for major events? How does it help you?

Keep deck testing with friends in DN or in real life, especially before major important tourneys. Know your own cards and current Meta deck ruling properly.

9.Side-decking has always been an important part of the game and many players still aren't familiar with it. What does you focus on in your side-deck and how do you decide on which card is effective enough to be included?

My side deck mainly focus on Meta decks, decide by thinking that this card is it good to go against them,  if not then take out after that I surf my side deck, take out cards that is good against and analyze how many cards I can change/side-in/side-out. I try to prevent over-siding or lose focus on it and turn inconsistent.

10.Continuing from the question before. Side-decking sometimes reduces the synergy in your main-deck. Do you side in a specific order to  prevent that from happening, is there a formula you apply while side-decking?

Not really in specific order nor any formula, depending on what deck you’re facing off with. It’s important to put balance between main and side deck. Try not over-side it and play properly during matches.

11.I'm sure a lot of players are interested in your methods of seeking improvement as a competitive player. What do you do exactly to be a better player?

I read deck-lists topping in major tournaments like YCS and OCG Championship, you can learn their skills and knowledge why they put those cards inside their deck and brought them to top place. Play with your friends/local tourney and analyze your mistakes while made during games.

12.The banned list has always amused us. So, let's say Konami gave you the right to ban a card, which card(s) would it be? Why?

Heavy Storm.  I hate that card.

13.By banning a card, what if Konami again gave you the chance to unbanned a card, which card(s) would it be? Why?

Rescue cat. Rabbit need his friend to join the party.

14.Apart from the banned list, if you given an opportunity to change a part of YGO, what would it be and why?

Life Points? Haha 8k is like too little. I would like have more tag team tournaments in Singapore.^^

15.Last question, are there any players out there that you think should be in this section? Who do you think Digital Mortal should interview next?

HoroHoro from Japan. He’s a very strong player and one of the reasons why I played Scrap deck while i just started playing YGO competitive during 2011.

Here comes the end of another interview with a good player. HoroHoro huh? A good name indeed. Regardless, I’ll do my best to find him. Last but not least, I would like to thank Eustace for helping me get in touch with mister Stark and thank you to the man himself for giving some time and effort to complete this interview. Much appreciated! Also, best of luck to all the Singaporean players who are attending WCQ this week! Until next time, remember to play smart, fight hard, or go home a loser. Thank you for stopping by!