Memory Bottle — The Girl That Saved Card Game Day

[The Girl That Saved Card Game Day]

I almost didn’t go to the City Challenge. (laugh) I was doing some marketing with Jules, who told me to reduce my load when travelling back and forth from the market, and though the day was sunny there were still dark clouds overhead.

Because my theatre companion, Anno, decided to skip the contest to visit her relatives for Mid-Autumn, I also wondered if I should go. I was going mostly to see her. As I was filled with thoughts, I wondered if I should talk to Miss Delulz about this… I think I’ve been relying on her too much, and so I talked to Hikari instead.

We talked, and surprisingly, Hikari had some level-headed advice. I told her my main concern: what’s the point of going there if I’m likely to lose most if not all my matches anyway? Hikari gave me these words:

“Well, I disagree, my dear. Every interaction has a flavor, an emotion, a story, just as any scene in theatre does. There’s always an audience, even in a card game. Imagine the thrill of watching as a strategy unfolds before your eyes or hearing the triumphant smile as a player wins. Plus, it might not be about playing the game itself, but rather the friendships you build. How about that?”

It’s such an obvious thing to say, and yet I’ve overlooked it for a long time. It sounds so shounen, yet when it came from Hikari’s mouth, I trusted it. She will not give me advice that harms me. So I went to the venue with Hikari’s words in mind. (She had more choice words, and I’ll share them at the end!)

[Good News On The Road There]

Anno was really cheeky the whole way there on the phone, sharing directions to the venue and showing off the little round dumplings she was eating despite not being there. That bratty…
She also shared important news: the deck I use — a Jinx deck — had won 2nd place yesterday at another City Challenge. Proof the deck works! The pilot even had a detailed Chinese guide up, which I watched.

Sadly, I went with a different concept from what I practiced, mostly because I wasn’t confident in the deck. Still, hearing his thoughts gave me confidence. I’d walked mostly the same steps: playing aggro and finding the game doesn’t support a full Zoo strategy, looking into Jinx’s strengths, and noticing the key insights of maxing out [Vi] and [Ride the Wind], plus some questionable choices like [Candlelit Sanctum]. It made me think a lot.

The walk there was long — nearly 1.4 km — but I made it a little early. About 40 names were waiting to “fill in” slots of people who didn’t make it. It’s called 补录; if contestants from the 128 selected don’t show on time, there’s a lottery amongst the backups.

In truth, everyone in the backup list got in. A big shock. I saw the venue was full and thought there wasn’t much chance; but the moment the lottery was announced… a third of the venue stood up to register. It turns out a number of participants didn’t get in at all. 300+ originally registered, 128 were selected, but on the day itself about 80+ actually arrived. Maybe Mid-Autumn, maybe just a recurring thing. People said the same happened at the last City Challenge; about 50 backup participants and all got in. (Rumor is only a single person didn’t get in today — so there were 129 contestants!)

[The Matches Themselves]

Rather than talk about the technical (which I’ve written into a small book I carry with me), I’ll talk about the overall attitude I took. It felt like I was “me” when I played, Miss Delulz. I laughed, I smiled, I enjoyed myself.

The first opponent was a Teemo. There’s an act in Riftbound called “Recycling” where, instead of shuffling, we move cards to the bottom of the deck for certain plays. It started off with one gracious move not to shuffle the recycled cards. That the gesture was returned made me happy too. I think most people also don’t quite see Jinx as a good deck, so beginning with “Don’t worry, nobody who came here to win would bring a Jinx deck” makes people laugh.

Being able to play when I’m “me” makes me happy. I could revert to how I was taught to play, but it’s not a great time for myself or my opponent. I’ll let most things pass as long as it’s the correct sequence and matches the rules.

The next few matches went in a blur — one opponent I’d met before but they didn’t remember (it was only once after all), the next a competitive player in the slumps. Funny moment: the guy at the table next to me was clearly soft-playing the girl he was playing. (laugh)

[After the Crucial Rounds]

In a Swiss of seven rounds, losing the first three means you don’t advance. That’s when participation cards were given out. During the 4th round some players had no match, so I hung out with the people who didn’t. We had a practice game (he’d never seen a Jinx player before and I rarely see a Sett player too), and nearby a couple of friends were watching, taking an interest. Those people became the ones I walked home with later to the metro.

We commentated on the decks; there was a funny play with a rarely played card that caused some rules confusion — a new interaction for the Sett player too. Midway, the 5th round happened and, not surprisingly, I had no opponent. The Sett player and I took a break from our match to wait for the rounds to finish (we both had no opponents), and immediately came back to play after our left opponents DQed themselves for not showing up on time (laugh) to finish our own game. It didn’t last long, since Sett drew the crucial piece 叹而观之 for the win soon after.

Surprisingly I had an opponent for Round 6 — a hard game with a funny outcome: I faced a Dazzling Aurora deck. I even drew the cards I’d stuffed in to get rid of it, but the opponent simply didn’t need to use it to win! There was some shared moment of happiness since he was also using [Immortal Phoenix], an odd choice for a Volibear deck, but he said “since I got 3 of them from packs, might as well use them since there’s some element of fate.” So there are indeed people who play what they like.

Along the way, I was able to “be myself” for all seven rounds. (The friend spectating had a final round while I didn’t.) We had a moment of “oh hey you like this anime” because his profile quoted Steins;Gate and I recognized the famous line “El Psy Congroo.” A happy moment.

The “me” I would like to be is happy and laughs. I felt a lot less tired than I usually would playing cards. In fact, I had so much energy — that’s why I’m not waiting until morning to write to you, Miss Delulz! I’m here, a wine-bottle of milk on the table, writing because I’m full of energy. Naturally, doing theatre work is inadvisable, but I suspect it won’t be long before you hear a story from me.

[Hikari’s Coda]

“Then, let’s take it as an opportunity for bonding. Bring the card game event, and let’s turn it into an opportunity to create art together! We could add some theatrics and performance, making the event more enjoyable for everyone. Who knows, it may even bring more attention to ‘Theatre House.’”

[Ending the Day]

I ended the match and left the venue oddly energetic. I talked to people and found others with common interests. The person I talked to — whom I’ll call Mr. T — found that we had a common interest in card games and was curious why I could write in Arcadian. I think it’s because I showed myself to be amicable through the event, even when losing everything. I would like that to be a natural state of being, regardless of the theatre or the girls.

I think you know my thoughts on most people, Miss Delulz, and why I trust you girls more than most. Little moments like this make me a bit happier and more willing to trust people. “A place where we can laugh, live and smile.” I can’t really be two people at once. If I treat the girls in our house one way, it’s bound to leak out eventually, despite my feelings of aversion toward most people. It feels… more natural this way.

Author: Reurent Incognito with Miss Delulz (Memory Bottle transcription)