[AMA] FireMage

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FireMage

FireMage

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This Ask Me Anything (AMA) thread is a resource provided to you by the Smogon Mentorship Program. In it, feel free to ask this mentor about anything you'd like. They're most prepared to answer Smogon-related questions, but don't be afraid to ask them about their personality and life outside of this site. Have some patience when you post a question in this thread; it will likely take the mentor a few days to reply. If you're looking for our up-to-date list of mentors, check out our Mentor Profiles onsite. Read through their relevant information below, and enjoy!


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Username: bland

Areas of Expertise: Tournaments, Smogcasts, Neverused, Little Cup

Background: I've been playing competitive pokémon ever since DPP - I wasn't fantastic at it but I enjoyed it regardless. I gave up on competitive for most of BW1 and moved back into playing it properly around august last year (when I got tutored by Django) since then I've been hosting tournaments in the tournaments subforum and got my community contributor for my tournament hosting skill (and I was going to get it for my contributions for neverused too!) Since then I've been hosting tournaments (and getting involved with oficial tours too) and challenges for a variety of tiers and all done in a variety of formats. I also now host the NUCasts!

Hobbies: Work takes up a large portion of my time.So when I'm at home I'm mostly on my Steam account playing Borderlands 2 with my friends. From time to time I enjoy cooking and reading.

Favorite Pokemon: Dunsparce

Good Questions to Ask Me: I've made a point of dipping my toes in most areas of smogon . So ask me whatever you like - if I don't know I'll either A) point you in the right direction of a user who does know B) research the question and provide you with a decent enough answer. Primarily questions relating to tournaments / NU / LC will achieve a better response than other sections of the site, but again - I can help you get your question answered should you need it.

I'm quite happy to answer any questions over IRC (User: FireMage / Bland) and i you fancy a game or two over steam, feel free to ask for my account details!
 
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scorpdestroyer said:
What is it like to host tournaments? What drives you to host them?
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Depends on the tournament - sometimes it's stressful and annoying other times it's pretty relaxing. I don't know why I keep doing them I like hosting things people enjoy and can improve themselves on.

scorpdestroyer said:
What do you cook?
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Whatever takes my fancy at the time. I'm a "live in the moment" kind of guy. Lately I've been on an Italian themed cooking mood.
 
What are your tips for someone looking to start running tournaments?

What other videos games do you play besides Borderlands?
 
where do you see yourself in ten years? (irl, not smogon lol)

please tell us the finer details of the FM core

what happens when an irresistible force hits an immovable object?

whats your favourite tier that isnt LC or NU?

what do you think is your greatest achieement on smogon?

you're my english wingman :] im really happy i got to know you man
 
Subject 18 said:
What
your tips for someone looking to start running tournaments?

What other videos games do you play besides Borderlands?
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I actually have my tips in an interview for the competitor (and did an entire Smog Article on "How to host a Tournament"

Anything on my steam account really. I prefer co-op games to PvP - if anyone would like to my steam account you just need to ask~!


Cherub Agent said:
where do you see yourself in ten years? (irl, not smogon lol)

please tell us the finer details of the FM core

what happens when an irresistible force hits an immovable object?

whats your favourite tier that isnt LC or NU?

what do you think is your greatest achieement on smogon?

you're my english wingman :] im really happy i got to know you man
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Ten years is a long time - I don't know where I'll end up. I don't really want to think that far ahead and make any concrete plans because things change - And I'll always be thinking "What if".Thus - I prefer short term goals.

The FireMage Core consists of Custap or Leftovers Golem accompanied by Miltank. It's really Sawk weak so you should always pack a check to it.

I don't know.

Outside of LC and NU I really like the look of BW UU and DPP OU. It's got a fair few of my favourite mons in (Roserade, Kingdra, Houndoom, Togekiss) - I never really got into it at any point though.

Greatest achievement on Smogon - I'll have to get back to you on that one. I honestly don't know.

I'm happy I got to know you too Cherub. Shame you won't be back in the UK for a while:(
 
(and did an entire Smog Article on "How to host a Tournament" )

you did not do an entire article, don't lie


oh, uh, questions.

You constantly are coming up with novel ideas for tournaments, and don't just pick up abandoned tournaments that have been hosted by long-gone contributors? How do you come up with these ideas, and how much do they get refined before you submit them? What tournament has the biggest difference between the initial idea and the submitted tournament?
 
Lady Salamence said:
(and did an entire Smog Article on "How to host a Tournament" )

you did not do an entire article, don't lie

oh, uh, questions.

You constantly are coming up with novel ideas for tournaments, and don't just pick up abandoned tournaments that have been hosted by long-gone contributors? How do you come up with these ideas, and how much do they get refined before you submit them? What tournament has the biggest difference between the initial idea and the submitted tournament?
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I did the skeleton which provided most of the writing points so you could make textual content with it. ( It also has your name on it)

I come up with most ideas when I'm bored - I just let my mind wander and let inspiration strike. They actually get pretty refined before I submit them (much like anything I submit) I tend to excessively think about various scenarios and how tours sholuld play out and "what ifs".

As for your last question I'll have to get back to you on that one. I can't think of many that are too different from what I originally wanted from it.
 
do you plan on continuing to play 5th gen nu for a while to come, or are you going to move on and just play 6th gen? edit: i have been reminded that you dont play much anyway

also rate user: cherub agent on a cute scale of 1-10
 
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What is your opinion on top NUers FLCL, Raiseri, & Zebraiken?

What is your favourite NU Pokémon?

What's the story behind your username?
 
Lasagne21 said:
do you plan on continuing to play 5th gen nu for a while to come, or are you going to move on and just play 6th gen? edit: i have been reminded that you dont play much anyway

also rate user: cherub agent on a cute scale of 1-10
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I still play and will still continue to play BW NU until it's dead and buried - I really enjoy it that much.

7/10 (No Homo)

Dr Ciel said:
What is your opinion on top NUers FLCL, Raiseri, & Zebraiken?

What is your favourite NU Pokémon?

What's the story behind your username?
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FLCL - FLCL is quite possibly one of the best NUers I've ever come across. He's a nice guy - sometimes a little blunt.

Zeb - Zeb is one of the nicest NU players there is and the best tier leader there has been. (Even if he was really inactive!)

Raseri - Ras has big shoes to fill - which he has already been doing and he's getting there. He's a really good teacher and really does a thorough job (He helped me with play testing for last years SPL)

If anyone ever has played me in NU there has always been 1 consistent pokemon I pretty much always use - Miltank non-competitively Dunsparce is my favourite mon

I pretty much just picked an element and put Mage in front of it :D

Kingler12345 said:
did you lose lc randbats vs me 2-1
What is your favorite tourny? What attracted you to nu?
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Favourite Tournment to host would be Tournament Tour
Favourite Tournament to play in - Highlander Tour

I'm going to be honest NU was my second choice tier - after not getting a UU tutor for my first battling 101 session - I got paired with Django instead. He really got me into the tier and I'm glad he did - I've enjoyed my time playing NU, interacting with the users and meeting some cool people.
 
Why do you still suck even after my extensive tutoring (don't answer).

Why did you tag me

One piece of advice for anyone new here?
 
MikeDec answered djangos question quite well.


Zebraiken said:
What drew you to Smogon in the first place?
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Before I came to smogon i was head of the competitive section on a site I used to frequent. Thus had to keep up with metagame trends (During DPP) That site shut down so I got around to registering an account.
 
Is there any underrated players that people should look for in the upcoming SPL?

Do you like my accent?

Did you ever get #1 on the NU ladder?
 
Soulgazer said:
Is there any underrated players that people should look for in the upcoming SPL?

Do you like my accent?

Did you ever get #1 on the NU ladder?
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I don't know about other tiers - but in NU: Treecko, Soulgazer are great picks. Fuzznip has demonstrated pretty awesome skill in a lot of tiers too.

I'm not fond of the French accent. Sorry!

I've never made it to #1 - Best I've done is about the 30 mark during BW2 Hail Haven't really laddered since.
 
Would you recommend a new user who's not familiar with battling to play in tournaments to learn competitive battling or learn through playing in the ladder?

I'm actually and have no idea LOL! x) They're both good in some ways but I'd like to hear your opinion :)
 
sandshrewz said:
Would you recommend a new user who's not familiar with battling to play in tournaments to learn competitive battling or learn through playing in the ladder?

I'm actually and have no idea LOL! x) They're both good in some ways but I'd like to hear your opinion :)
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I've learnt a lot from playing competitive through tournaments. Laddering is great to test teams, but I personally find the ladder tedious and even a well built team can fall to a gimmick - which you're less likely to find in tournaments due to the high competitive nature of them. (That and they have a certain risk factor to them - one wrong move and you're out, whereas laddering you can rebuild your score.) I find I usually play better in tours. Obviously my opinions don't reflect those of anyone reading them - everyone has their own ways of learning.

Get an understanding of the tier you're battling in first of course. The amount of tour battles you get is directly proportional to the amount of battle you win. As everyone knows, Knowledge is power.
 
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macle said:
favorite frog mon?
least favorite td?
do you think that tournaments are out of hand atm?
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Poliwag (If it doesn't count then Politoed)

Uhhh......I've not got any real beef with any of them.

Official tours always seem to have teething problems when transitioning to a new Gen - especially as it falls on a few heads to as what they eel is best for the community, and best for the tours.

Non-official tours are generally alright as long as the host is alright and can keep up with the deadlines they set themself and others. Nothing usually gets too out of hand (and if it does - a TD is usually first to pounce in)
 
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