Team O Player Interviews - Part 7 (Nate)

Well we finally got somewhat moved in; our entire house and most of the garage is pretty much just a sea of boxes that need to be unpacked though. It's ridiculous how much stuff my wife has amassed over the past 2 years, but then again she pretty much has everything she has ever owned at the house too, as well as a ton of stuff her grandma owned. I still have a bunch of stuff at my parent's place but I'm not even wanting to get it all that badly. I'm just not that materialistic tbh (as much as a tcg player can't be I guess lol). Half the crap she's got I just want to throw away because I know she's never going to use, wear, or do anything with, but almost everything she has she can justify as having sentimental value. It's so frustrating. Personally if I don't use or wear something for like 9 months, I figure I'll never use/wear it so I don't mind throwing it away or selling it. The move itself was ridiculous since our washer and dryer weigh like 350-400 pounds each (carrying up and down stairs is not fun), and her parents decided to give us a very heavy bed set, a very heavy oak desk, and some other heavy crap. My whole body is so freakin sore lol. Fortunately some of her friends helped us, which ended up helping out a lot.

So I'm not sure what has happened with the game over the weekend, hopefully I didn't miss any bombshells in terms of news or reprints but I'll look into that stuff later. Without further ado here's Nate's player interview; I think all we have left is Alan's, and maybe Dwight's (not sure on his status):

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Nate is an incredibly self-less and nice guy, he's the type that will help you get stuff for your deck even if he doesn't own it. In that case he'd trade his stuff to get it from someone and give it to you in most reasonable circumstances (no free Tour Guides lol). I actually hadn't met him before I left for boot camp, but now that I am back, I am very glad to say he is a part of Team O. Danny did a good job picking Nate.

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1. How long have you been playing this game, and when did you start playing competitively?
I started playing about 3 years ago, around May 2008.  I would say that I started to at least try and play competitively a little over 2 years ago, but it wasn't till september of 2010 that I made it on Team Overload.

2. What "kind" of player would you consider yourself, or what is your particular playstyle? Aggressive vs conservative vs mixture, original vs strict net-deck, budget vs "money is no object", bling vs everything common, etc.
My playstyle would be a mixture, but isn't everyone's?  A good player can't always be aggressive or conservative, it's going to depend on the situation.  But in general my playstyle is conservative until I feel confident enough to push for control, and feel that I can keep it. 
-As for if I net-deck, that is also a mixture.  I generally netdeck something, just to get a good starting point and learn as much about a deck as I can before I even build it.  After that I proceed to make a deck my own, making changes here or there, some big some small.
-I would have to say that I am a budget player.  I wish I wasn't, and that money was no object, but it is. I wind up playing Machina Gadgets a lot because that is what I can afford.
-Lastly, I don't usually have the ability to bling out a deck but when I can then I do.

3. What do your think about net-decking? Does it hurt or help a player's ability to play the game?
I believe that net-decking is what each person makes of it.  But overall I believe its good to get ideas out there.

4. What do you think of the current format? If favorable, what do you like about it? If unfavorable, what is it you don't like about it?
The current format is ok.  Tour guide is too expensive, and if it weren't for cards like effect veiler and maxx "c" the format would be awful.

5. What is your current main deck and why do you run that deck?
I run Agents right now, but only because it is all I have.  After I lost my cards tyler gave it to me, so its what I'm playing with.  If I could choose a deck to run it would be Gemini beat.  I think that it is an extremely strong deck right now, it just doesn't have the number of people playing it like other decks do.

6. What was the first holo you ever pulled out of a pack?
Not sure, all I remember is that it was a dinosaur.  Obviously it was pretty good.

7. What is your favorite format/deck of all time?
My favorite formats were fish FTK (way too much fun) and the first plant format.  I love plant synchro.  It's crazy how seemingly random cards can work together so well.

8. What do you think of reprints of expensive cards/reprints in general?
I think that reprinting expensive cards is a great idea, and not just because I'm a budget player.  It makes Yu-Gi-Oh a better game for more people.

9. If there was one thing that you could change about the game, what would it be?
It would have to be how hard it is to pull anything good out of a pack.  That is one advantage pokemon has, and is why it is so much cheaper.  But other than that I think it is an overall great game.

10. If there was one thing that you could change about your own ability to play, what would it be?
It would be money.  If I had more money I would be able to play with whatever cards I wanted to, and travel all over to the big tournaments.

11. A lot of players online raged at the news that Black Luster Soldier and Heavy Storm were coming off the ban list. How do you currently feel about both of them being back in the game?
Heavy storm is good for the game.  It causes players to play more conservatively and help separate the good players from the bad.  And BLS is an amazing card, but I have no problem with it being in the format.  Just like any other card, all you need is to know how to play around it.

12. Do you think Black Luster Soldier will be re-banned in March? Why/why not?
I can honestly say I have no idea.  If I had to choose I would say yes, because konami has made their money off of it so why keep it around?

13. If you could play against any one "pro"/big-name YuGiOh player, who would it be?
If I could play against any pro it would be Alex Vansant.  From his creativity to his playstyle I think he is one of the best players out there.  That and he's not a dick about it.

14. What do you think of the current state of Spokane-area (Spokane, Valley, CDA) YuGiOh?
I don't get out to Spokane much, especially lately.  But as for CDA, Team O decides what the format is.

15. If there was one thing that you could say to the Spokane-area playerbase, what would it be?
Find someone good to help you.  Mentoring is huge in Yu-Gi-Oh, best way to improve.  That and read the feature matches from the YCS' and learn from them.  The people at the top tables know what they are doing.