This was my first GenCon/Worlds, since I’ve only been playing UFS for about 6 months.
I had been playing a Gemini Man deck since the Omaha PTC (where I played Lilith) and decided to stick with it for Worlds. I chose Water over his other 2 symbols because I like how defensive it is compared to the other two. Choosing Reversals over other attacks, like “Kunoichi” and Ice Slasher, was because I like to block. I like the feeling of blocking an attack that seems impossible to block. Since I like blocking, it only seems natural that I reversal. Here is my full decklist:
Main Character: Gemini Man
Symbol: Water
Main Deck: 62 cards
Actions/Assets
…Surprise! Here’s a Napkin… x1
Kim’s Dobok x1
Roll x1
Attacks
KERSPLAT!! x4
Gemini Slam x4
Double Gemini Slam x3
Spreggio x3
Étoile – Filante x2
Extra Characters
Gemini Man x3
Foundations
Ophidiophobia x4
Narcissist x3
Wisdom of Castor x1
Designed for Combat x4
Balanced Fighter x4
Where the Seas Meet x4
Lesser Half x4
Conflicting Ambitions x2
Short Fuse x2
Stunning New Look x2
Ever Hopeful x2
Caught Red Handed x2
A Matter of Heads or Tails x1
Celestial being x2
The Out of Control Giant x1
Second Chance x2
Side Deck
Swarm of Bats x2
Houou Hiten Kyaku x3
Reactive Style x2
Caught Red Handed x1
To go over some of my deck choices I’ll start with the top and go down. Surprise and Roll are simple they are close to staples for every Water deck. The Dobok was a last minute tech that neither helped nor hurt me. Kersplat and Gemini Slam are staples. I chose Double Gemini Slam because it’s an okay multiple with a +0 Low Block. Spreggio for my playstyle is better than Skull Barrier, because I like to draw, gives you more options. Etoile is good reversal with practically 7 base speed with Gemini Man and it forces you to block.
Ophidiophobia, Narcissist and Caught Red Handed are staples and for me, so are The Seas and Lesser Half (because I feel that they simply help me win games). Ever Hopeful being the most powerful card in the game right now (IMHO) is a must play. Heads and Tails, Out of Control Giant and Wisdom are great defensive 1 ofs. Conflicting is a spam that draws and Second Chance gets me momentum for a multiple or for Roll. Celestial and Stunning are great in Reversal decks. Short Fuse is a 1 drop that stops Breaker and Skull Barrier. I play 4 Balanced Fighter because Felicia and Gemini Man are popular right now. Designed is a great spam that combos off of Balanced and lets me sculpt my hand.
Swarm of Bats stops things that would hurt me on my kill turn. Houou Hiten and Reactive Style are there to slow down Felicia and Snake Man. The extra Caught Red Handed stopped decks that like to draw. and the high block was a nice bonus.
GenCon Teams Report
After some deck changes and some late night playtesting, I was ready for teams. Being the newest edition to Team RunningWild (along with Myles LegendaryWolf Tyler with his Terry deck and Danielle “BlueMary” Tyler with her Felicia deck), I had some major expectations to meet, but playing Gemini Man I felt I could get there.
In Round 1, I got paired against Team You Betcha’s Proto Man/Fire Man. I don’t remember much outside of our last game. It was a really good game but I took it in the end. We started the day in a good way with a win.
For Round 2, I played against Iori. This match ended in a draw, because as time was called we were 1-1 (him starting second and on his turn) and he felt he would of lost if he attacked me, which I also believe would have happened. With 1 win and 1 draw, we were still in a good position.
Paul Bittner, playing Paul Bittner, was my opponent for Round 3. I had never played against a Paul Bittner deck before and had no clue what to expect. In Game 1, I got Trinity Rolled on turn 2, didn’t even get a second turn. Game 2 was a little better, but with a good push late in the game, he got me. We lost that match as a team and were now; 1 Win, 1 Draw, and 1 Loss. Being 1-1-1 we were not out of the running, but we would have to win our last 2 games, a loss would knock us out.
Felicia was the deck I would have to play for Round 4. This was a great opportunity to test out my side tech (Houou Hiten Kyaku). I won Game 1 and going into Game 2, I sided into Houou Hiten. Game 2 was longer but a few bad checks (Houou Hiten Kyaku) led to a loss. For game 3, I kept the Houou Hiten’s in because I felt that if I had drawn them instead of checked them, I would of had complete control of the game. Sadly we were unable to finish our match. Snake Man had gotten the better of Terry and Athena beat Felicia. With this loss we were now out of the running for top.
The last match we played Team Champions of Throw Town (Still liked their other name better. “Betty White Tit Fuck”), also from Omaha. Being comprised of everyone else who came up with us, it was looking like it was going to be a fun match. Since we were both no longer in the running for Top, the match was more for Pride and Bragging Rights. Winning the dice roll, we made our selection, then I was called out by my friend Tony for theirs. We all knew what the others were playing, so it was going to be some fun matches. Being Pitted against Protoman, I knew our matches were going to be fast. Game 1 was as fast as I thought it was going to be. I won because he likes to play very aggressive and sometimes it doesn’t work out for him. Game 2 was just as fast as the first but he won. Game 3 was slower but my deck is better in a slower game and I won. We won as a team, finishing the day at; 2 Wins, 2 Losses, and 1 Draw. Finishing in an unimpressive 14th, we had to just forget about it, and do some last minute deck polishing for Singles.
GenCon Singles Report
After making my last changes to my deck, I felt like I had a really good chance with Gemini Man, I took a nap for an hour and a half and then we were off to the convention center. I started Singles off against Chris Smith and his Skull Man deck. No one in our play group plays Skull man and I didn’t really know what to expect. Our first game was a little slow, but I got him. In game 2 I got Kunoichi rolled. Game 3 went into time with him going second (So Much Advantage going Second), and he decided to end the game in a draw. No complaints, as a Round 1, I have no problems with taking a Draw.
For Round 2 I played Nick Brown and his Dr Cossack deck. I won game 1, we went into time game 2. He conceded I’m guessing he felt he couldn’t get through my substantial boardstate with what was in his hand.
In Round 3 I was paired against Ryan Field and his Skull Man deck. Game 1 was rough, as I didn’t really know the strength of “Golden Ticket” yet, nor was I expecting what he played. After losing that game we moved on to Game 2. Going into the game, I knew what to expect, even so the game came down to the wire. It was his turn, It came down to a Skull Barrier on a ” 9 ” with only his character uncommitted. He passed it. Nothing I could do. Elec Slam + “Golden Ticket” + Reprogramming, these cards used together are really good, they are what helped him pass that Skull Barrier and what I believe helped him make Top 16.
Going into Round 4 I was 1-1-1. My opponent was Chris Nixon and his Jedah, being a player from Omaha, I had played him before and knew the match was not going to be easy. After winning 1 game and losing 1 game, it was down to Game 3. Though with little time left, we could have just drew, I knew if I wanted to beat Diversity ( Phil Birch Playing Evil, Keenan Meadows playing Air, and both of them sitting near the top tables), I needed to win. So we played it out, after time was called it was his turn, and with no cards in my hand, he commits everything on his side to pass his last attack for game. I was now sitting with; 1 Win, 1 Draw, and 2 losses. I needed to win out and have both Phil and Keenan lose. Not the best of odds.
Coming back from lunch I had to face yet another player from Omaha, Tyler Clark and his Goro deck. Being my cousin and my best friend, his deck was the deck I knew the best. Being a Throw deck I knew I would have to get my Ophidiophobia’s out as fast as I could. In Game 1 I could not do that leading to a loss, but in Game 2 I got ’em out leading to a victory. Game 3 went a little like Game 2 but was a little closer, I’m going to give Ever Hopeful the “Win” since in the late game I practically left him with no foundations, leading to my win.
After winning, I carried some confidence into the next round. Andrew Olexa was my opponent in Round 6. I didn’t really know what expect, since I had never played against a Kyo deck before. I took Game 1 and going into Game 2 I sided into Houou Hiten, since it would of been very advantageous to get it off against Kyo + Kyo’s Jacket. And just like every other time I sided into Houou Hiten, bad checks led to a loss. With time running short at the start of Game 3, I felt the same urgency I did in the match versus Chris Nixon. Running off that sense of urgency, I started my first turn by playing; 2 Gemini Man, a foundation, then I failed my next check because of Houou Hiten. During the next turn I decided to just go all in, and I threw a Gemini Slam at him (12 high for 8 Damage). Being basically unblockable Turn 2, it took a good chunk of his life away, afterwards I played 2 or 3 foundations and passed. During what would be the last turn, I passed all my attacks on rolling 5 checks to win the game. The game was very exhausting and stressful, since it could have went the complete opposite direction.
Before Round 7, I learned that I was going to be diversified (Keenan winning 5 games). Now I was playing to try and Top 16 (Before Diversity). Aaron Lindo and his Snake Man would be my last hurdle for the day. Since the defensive side of my deck likes to ignore progressive difficulty (Stunning New Look, Kersplat!!, Gemini Man) and I have more low blocks than any other zone, I felt like I had a good shot against it. I won Game 1 for those exact reasons (Double Gemini Slam +0 Low Block FTW). Game 2 I just did what my deck does best which is block everything and reversal, disrupting your kill turn, which worked. I won the match, finishing Singles 4W-1D-2L.
Even though I knew I would be diversified, I was still excited to see whether or not I had made Top 16, and unfortunately I finished in 21st place. Even though I didn’t make it, for my first Worlds, I’d say it went pretty well. Plus having the best Water Gemini Man Deck in the World is pretty nice too.
Closing Thoughts
I really wish that I thought to play Making a Killing, I feel it would have helped me a lot during the weekend. Lesser Half and Where the Seas Meet put in a lot of work as did Spreggio. Houou Hiten Kyaku was nothing but a hinderance the entire time, and will probably be taken out of my side deck. Putting in a 4th Gemini Slam the day before Singles was a great idea. I wish I had played a 3rd Étoile – Filante.
My GenCon / Worlds experience was terrific. I had fun the entire weekend. St. Louis is next, they better be ready, because Team Omaha is coming.
———————–About the Author———————–
James Stephens is a UFS player from the Omaha, Nebraska area. He has a love for all things Eva from Red Horizon. When he’s not playing UFS, he likes to watch anime and animated series such as RWBY. Coming from a Yu-gi-oh/Weiss Schwarz/Pokemon background, he has been playing UFS since for about 8 months and has traveled to both Las Vegas and Indianapolis to play in the National and Worlds events, as well as several PTCs throughout the Midwest. He most recently sported this Gemini Man deck at Worlds.
