Sure, Marty. I'll take you on.
1) How did you get interested in the PTCG?
I, like many others like me, became interested in the TCG when the fad hit at the start of 1999. It was never uncool to like Pokemon and leagues were all the rage. I went to a league at a ZanyBrainy toy store near me (if you remember what ZanyBrainy is, you are as old, if not older, as I), but I only went there once or twice as I had no idea what I should be doing there (I was 7 at the time). However, I did get a Beatdown starter deck (the one with Hitmonchan) and kept to myself with that. Then I lost all the cards and I didn't find the deck for another 10 years. But fortunately, some random guy I met on the street when I was 8 just gave me a huge stack of Pokemon cards and said I could have them (no, seriously). That kept me going. I'd say more, but this question is just how I started out; the rest can come later.
2) How long have you been playing?
Started in 1999, played with friends and brother until the end of the Neo sets, then took a hiatus that lasted for all of e-series and Hoenn. (That's as far as TCG goes, anyway. For the video game, I have constantly played it since 1999 without breaks.) I didn't even know Leagues still existed until my mum did some poking around, and about the release time of DP Mysterious Treasures, I got back into it, and have stuck with it ever since. So...how many years is that? 8? Something like that.
3) Do you ever feel underestimated when playing at an event?
Nope! I suck at this game as much as I look like. However, I always love to bring a few surprises along with me when I build my decks. I'd tell you, but that ruins the secrecy of the build. I don't play at events very often, though. I am a judge first and a player second.
4) Event-wise, how has this season been going for you?
I love judging, and no mistake. It's one of the most fulfilling things I've ever done, and that I continue to do. Playing in a tourney is usually only something I do if I can't get a judge opening for it, and then I just place mediocre. I'd love to strike it big and top-cut one day, but in my heart I know that's never going to happen. But the judging sphere is fantastic.
5) Your most memorable tournament moment?
Ah, this. This is something I'll never forget. It was at States one year, I believe it was 2010. (It was the same States I met DukeFireBird. Awesome guy, by the way.) In the first round, I was facing off against one of my best friends (Ruben), so I knew I'd enjoy the first round. He was playing his usual Grass, with Shaymin LV.X and Wormadam Sandy Cloak as the 2 key cards, plus a bunch of other things (like both Sceptile) as well. I myself was using a combination of Dusknoir LV.X and Gardevoir LV.X. We were both fairly new at this, but we were comfortable with the decks we picked. I get set up pretty fast (for me), getting Dusknoir LV.X out by turn 4, and swinging around. Unfortunately, after that, I don't get much else, while he gets everything. He succeeds in KOing Dusknoir, allowing me to Ectoplasm. I draw dead, I can't get energy to build up anyone else fast enough, while his active Shaymin LV.X just goes after everything I put up. However, he runs no Stadiums, so Ectoplasm is basically filling up his field. By the time I FINALLY get an attacker up (a Kirlia), it's my 4 prizes to his 2 (or maybe even 1), his whole field has 12+ damage counters on it, each, save for the active Shaymin LV.X which had 5. It wasn't much, but I used Telekinesis to hit his Shaymin for 40, putting it at 10 HP left. In between turns, Ectoplasm activates, knocking out the Shaymin, and by extent his whole field - letting me take my 4 last prizes. I got applause from the players surrounding me. It was a moment I shall never forget. (I try not to bring it up too much around my friend since he was on the receiving end, but even he admitted it was an amazing play.)
6) What would you say is the primary reason you stay involved in the tournament scene?
The PEOPLE!!! With BW cards making the power creep to big basics becoming a lot more obvious, thus disenchanting me with the current format. The main reason I have stuck around is because of all the wonderful people I have met and continue to meet at tournaments. They are all such amazing folks and great to get along with, and I wouldn't trade that for all the 1st-place finishes in the world. They are what make this game truly fun for me!
7) What is your favorite card in the modified format and why?
I'd have to say Terrakion NVI. It has come in handy for me so many times in both the HS-on format and this one. I especially loved using him as Durant NVI's partner in crime to clean up Darkrai EX and what have you...plus, he keeps up on the prize trade phenomenally! He just smashes everything in his path once set up and can do a lot of harm before he falls. A close second is Zekrom BLW for a similar reason.
8) Talk about what you would change in the format?
I'd shift this format away from the creep of big basics taking over everything. Legendaries are nice Pokemon, yes, but they shouldn't be stronger than stage 2 Pokemon. That was the way it always had been before BLW was released - you get out what you put in. Now the prominent cards are all basic Pokemon with very high amounts of HP, which are just as good, if not even better, than stage 1 and 2 Pokemon that exist. I know that basics taking over a format is by no means a new thing (SPs, anyone?), but in the days of SP, they sacrificed power for speed - they did not hit as hard, nor did they have as much HP, as other evolved Pokemon of the time - they used their speed to their advantage, and it worked. That was their gimmick. Now? Now it's just Mewtwo EX, aka the Pokemon version of the Cold War...and other things so much worse.
9) How would you improve organized play?
Didn't I just answer this in question 8? Or are you referring to how tournaments are run and such? The only thing I can think of is find a way to reasonably lower the cost of packs and prereleases again, maybe even to the level of $20, but I know with inflation that may not be possible. Oh, and before I forget: they desperately need to update the Professor Exam. Seriously, it's been the same questions from DP-on format for years.
10) Which event of the season do you look forward to the most?
The parts where I judge, of course. I don't have to worry about winning or losing, I get to interact with all of the players instead of just would-be opponents, and I get free packs out of it! Seriously, what's not to love?
