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Interview with Michael aka The Ninja Scot
by The Geezer Kes We're here talking with the Ninja Scot, the top ranked player for online STCCG play at Kedanya and a contributor to Where No One Has Gone Before, the online STCCG magazine. Welcome, Michael. The following questions were composed not just by me but by a number of people, some of whom know you well and some that just want to get to know you better. Cool beans, let's get started This first question comes from the people who miss you at Kedanya (yeah, there are a few). How are you doing? Last time I checked, I was fine although that's a question more for psychologists and psychiatrists but in lieu of their lack of insight into what, who, how and why I am, I'll stick with me being fine. I haven't played a game online for about two months, give or take, which is rather annoying of sorts but you deal with it and move on. I'm almost always on the computer, reachable via AIM (The Ninja Scot) or ICQ (The Ninja Scot - 19741632) and on Yahoo Messager (theninjascot) whenever if anyone wants to chat about STCCG, play a game, whathave you. Work has been relatively slower as of late (Fall on a coastal town has
that effect) so really, all I've been doing is writing (although not the
last month's previously alluded to Travel Log. Apparently it was
deemed trash during our weekly cleaning and as such, my notes went bye-bye.)
Oh well, there's always my next trip which will be in 6 days (written on
Nov. 15th) and a tournament this weekend in Eugene, my first in my own
state since, well, States ;-)
How many years have you been playing STCCG online and how did you get into it? First game was the same day as the first card images were released for First Contact and why I remember that is because I played against someone (7 of 11) who proceeded to seed 6 Dead Ends under my missions and I, not reading said card, didn't know that it had said (Unique) Big key - Read the cards! There's a reason why I have all the card images on the computer and not just because I have horrid card sorting issues. As for how I got into it, I've never been in an area where ST was played,
much less tournaments. In fact, I didn't even have any access to
the Internet until college. So one day I'm putting in URL's that
I knew and one of them was Decipher. So I went there, looked around
and someone asked where they could go to play online. So I followed
the link and I kept going back to Kedanya for at least four years, give
or take summer months away from school and whatnot.
In online play, how would you describe your style as compared to others you have played against? I'm meaner online than I am offline. But more importantly, my
memory is helped online by having a written record of what my opponent
is doing, who they reported, etc. That right there is probably the
biggest advantage that I have online and don't have offline. Offline
however, my advantage is all poker-based. What my opponent is thinking,
whether or not I can bluff a possible strategy into making them think that
I'm doing something entirely different, all of these are quite helpful
to me.
Will people who play you face to face after having played you online be surprised? Probably. I talk more offline during a game, I'm more relaxed
and my decks are not as fine-tuned. All in all, I lose more offline
than I do online but I do pretty well, I like to think.
This question is asked with a whimsical slant: With 178 games played and an overall rating of 1076.22, how long do you think it'll take Dogbert (who is at 833.75) to catch up to you in the online Hall of Fame? I'll say 70 without a loss but I haven't a clue.
What are your favorite hobbies, your "turn ons" and "turn offs"? Hobbies - Writing, reading, photography, singing, dancing, Dance Dance Revolution, the Internet (kinda a given there) Turn on's - Sense of humor, intelligence, being a female (Sorry joE ;-), attractiveness, someone who both compliments and contrasts my ever changing personality, there's others as well but we'll leave it at this for now Turn off's - A lack of openness, lack of sensitivity, inability to share
and talk, and I'm sure there's others but my mind isn't really in the mood
to talk about those.
What is your view on the world?
How many countries have you traveled to in the last five years to play STCCG? Besides the US, just Canada; however there'll be one more on my next trip (which hopefully won't have notes lost from so you'll know all about it). However, this will be the first time with an actual passport so that'll be an improvement. Next year, who knows. I'd like to go to England and get properly
lambasted for my inability to handle alcoholic substances and I still have
a standing offer to go to Australia but who knows just where I'll end up.
Would be interesting to play Star Trek on all continents (not sure if there's
a tournament scene in Asia or South America though).
Do you enjoy meeting people this way? Certainly. Generally people are in a great mood, I get to talk
shop, actually play ST in person which is both great and stomach-churning,
depending on what I'm playing and playing against of course.
Do you have any travels planned for in the near
future?
Blatant plug question: I understand you are arranging a major tournament event in your home town of Seaside, Oregon. Can you tell us a little bit about this event? (Blatant plug answer) What I've decided to do was to hold a large collection of ST tournaments in my town, having a variety of different tournaments of both sealed and constructed varieties over Christmas Break, a total of 10 tournaments all said and done. I figure that if people liked playing ST enough and if I could keep it as cheap as possible, then people might want to come, spend time with other ST players and just have a good 'ol time. That and the added benefit of me actually having tournaments in Seaside for a change ;-) I'm expecting at least twelve but there's always room for more, even the casual tournament player. It costs $400 for all ten days, including all the sealed deck materials, food and prize support but if you can't come for every day, it's possible for you to attend just a couple of days or what have you and that can be arranged on a case by case basis. As it stands right now, the schedule of events looks to be a trading back and forth between Sealed and Constructed as follows: Dec. 27 - Sealed
Which specific formats for each day (except for Farpoint Sealed) has
yet to be determined, contingent on what people would care to participate
in but will be finalized in plenty of time to get all sanctionable tournaments
on the tournament listings.
If this event is a huge success, will you hold another? Certainly, I'm thinking that if this is a success, that I would aim
for near the beginning of June although it'd be only a weekend endeavour
so people wouldn't miss out too much on work or other conventions, etc.
Right now, I'm picturing it as a 24-hour ST tournament idea - Play a tournament,
take a break, play another tournament, take a break, play yet
http://churchofbrad.com/wnohgb/info/seaside.shtml Please note: While lodging will be in a vacation home (My place wouldn't fit even 6 people ;-), the tournaments will be held in a local mall so that they can be sanctioned. In any case, I hope to hear from everyone soon. Michael van Breemen
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