Last Sunday, I participated in a Mortal Kombat Tournament hosted by TorontoTopTiers.com.  Find out where I placed in the tournament and watch my matches after the break.

The tournament was stacked with 27 entrants. It was a great day for Mortal Kombat.
Sadly, I lost to Johnny Cage and could not retain my previous title.  I’ll be more ready next time. You can watch my matches below.

Standard Matches

Winners Finals

Losers Finals

Grand Finals

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Watch me play on Saturday and Sunday for SCV/KOF/UMvC3/SFxT.

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Last week, I participated in one of our weekly gathering tournaments for UMvC3.  Check what place I came in after the break.

As you can probably tell, I completely dropped Phoenix Wright.  I personally like the character but using him makes it feel like i’m playing with a broken leg.  He certainly has the power to be a great character but against fast characters like Magneto or locked down specialist like Spencer, the battle is just too one-sided.  I will still use him casually but for tournaments, Deadpool has taken his spot.

This brings back my original Team Members of Deadpool and Amaterasu.  I do not use Dormammu anymore since he has been dumbed down.  He is just too easy to use now and his complex nature has been taken out.

Back to the tournament last Wednesday.

I’ve been quietly improving my UMvC3 skills as of late.  Basically going around challenging players to find out what works with my team.  This process, although long and tiresome, has paid off.

Deadpool can certainly do the damage I need and keep away from fast type tri-dashers.  Rocket Raccoon saves me a lot when i’m being hounded.  I also attack and call him out to cover my Deadpools ass.

Amaterasu balances the team with her fast and dubious mix-ups.  On level 3 xfactor.  All characters a certainly helpful.  The dog has saved me many times.

As for my Rocket Raccoon, he is still an anomaly that not a lot of players can figure out.  With AgeJoe’s performance in Final Round, we will see more of RR players.  Hoping the bandwagon stops though.

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Last weekend, I competed in a Soul Calibur V tournament.  I fought my way through 26 people.  It was a fun tournament filled laughs and salt.  Read my exploits after the break.

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Sorry for the late post.  I have been very busy in the past few months.  I am trying not to neglect my site but I also manage TorontoTopTiers.com and the events that follow with that site.

In any case, the Soul Calibur V tournament last weekend boasted a collection of Toronto’s finest.
I went through a few clutch matches and it certainly thought me to be more patient when it comes to Yoshimitsu.

My matches can be seen here:

Watch live video from TorontoTopTiers on TwitchTV
I lost to Partisan, one of the best players in Canada.
Hoping to get my revenge in the next tournament.

Hey Everyone.  I just want to say Happy Holidays to everyone.  Everyone enjoy your break and hope that next year will be better for everyone.  2012 here we come!!!

Have you ever hit an opponent with Air Objection to get to Turn-About Mode? I played one of the best players in Toronto last night and he certainly made me aware of things I should do with our beloved Lawyer. Air Objection Combos being one of them.  Watch after the break.

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The transition to Patched Phoenix Wright certainly required even more skills to be used on my end.  Thanks for unintentionally helping Phoenix Wright players Capcom.

There are many ways to hit Air Objection, but I have not seen anyone follow up with a combo.  I found this out yesterday while playing against a human opponent.  I played around with the possibilities when I got home.

Wright has certainly lost a powerful tool but because of people who are adamant (like me) in making him work, I am figuring out New Technology.

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Video Summary

After you hit Air Objection, they somewhat float long enough for you to land and hit with Jump C during Turn-About Mode.  This of course leads to damage.

A few things to keep in mind:

• You have to end the combo immediately if you hit them mid-screen.
• It gets tricky but still possible to throw Paper-to-Court Super as shown in the video.
• The Tag Exchange to Objection leads to actual combos since you land even faster while they are still floating.
• After hitting them with Jump C during, feel free to tag in any assist to save Phoenix Wright.
• It’s easier to combo in the corner so play around with it.
• Last advice, DO NOT BE GREEDY.  Do the damage and Tag Phoenix Wright out.

The Special Combo at the end of the video can be continued with a launch.  Not sure why I didn’t do it though.

More Phoenix Wright videos coming my way.  Subscribe to get the latest ones.

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Also trying to finish up my Rocket Raccoon Combos.  Should be done by next week.

After Sol Cal Regionals yesterday, everybody in the stream chat was so hype about the Heroes and Heralds for UMvC3.  Along the way, we were told that a new patch will come for the game to fix the glitches and minor issues.  Behold the UMvC3 patch the killed Phoenix Wright.

Are you attached to your legs? What happens if you lose one of them? That’s how I feel right now with what Capcom did to Phoenix Wright in their recently released patch.  I just lost my left leg and now I have to fight  an opponent with a limp while he gets buffs just by taking off his glasses.  Does this sound fair?

If you haven’t done so yet, when you boot up UMvC3 today, you will be asked to download a patch.
Fixing (laughs) what Capcom has been made aware of during the 1st month of the games release.

Along the way, they felt the need to nerf Phoenix Wright’s Press The Witness Assist during Turn-About mode.  During Turn About mode, if you call him as an assist, he is Completely Invincible.  You can’t even touch him.  (From behind I hear, you can.)

Now, you maybe thinking, that seems like a fair nerf.  If you use Phoenix Wright since the beginning, you’d be mad as hell for this.  That invincible assist is the only reason why people Investigate and try their hardest to hit OBJECTION.  It’s bad enough that you need luck on your side to get 3 GOOD EVIDENCE, you also have to hit them with OBJECTION to get that mode.

Because of this nerf.  I here by declare the death of Phoenix Wright in UMvC3.
Why would people use him now? That Turn-About assist was the only thing he got going for him.
He is now a complete waste of spot in that roster.

You may try your hardest to make New Phoenix Wright work but knowing what he had before the patch will just makes me mad when using him.  I personally do not see the  point of using him now when you got to deal with Teleporting, Tri-Dashing and Super Broken characters like Wesker, Doom and Spencer.  No assists in the world can stop them from coming in.

I made this poster to mourn for our beloved Lawyer. Phoenix Wright, You Will Be Missed.

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Update:

After a few hours of sulking, I have eased my mind in regards to Phoenix Wright nerf.
I will still use him as a character.  I just won’t find a need to gather evidence as much.
We Phoenix Wright players just have to change our way of using him.

We have to use him AS AN ACTUAL CHARACTER.  Fight with him and just find the proper time to investigate.
If we get lucky and get all 3 evidence, we shouldn’t try to go to Objection Mode as quickly as possible anymore.
The benefit of that mode has clearly changed.

Phoenix Wright players, don’t give up.  Just change your way of playing him.

Here are the current positives:

• Maya comes out quicker.
• LVL3 X-Factor on Turn-About is still powerful.
• Careful when calling him out as an assist during Turn-About now.  I am guilty (no pun intended) of this as well.
• Call out Phoenix Wright assist only when your hitting or they are guarding your attacks.  It will at least contain them for you to setup.
• He still has powerful combos.

Here is my combo video again:

Stay true to your characters.  We have to be loyal.

Hey everyone, I recently capped a few matches with a friend in Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3.  As you can see, I use an orthodox team.  You can find the meaning of Team LAF after the break.

Just a bit of history on my end.
My old team in Marvel vs Capcom 3 was comprised of Dormammu, Amaterasu and Deadpool.
They were a really good team and I placed high in a few local tournaments with them.

When Ultimate came out, I just couldn’t make Dormammu work anymore.
He felt really easy to me.  Before, you could strategize A, B and S combo.  To me, he got made into an easy character.
You can do full combos now by pressing ABCS.  I just couldn’t believe how much easier he’s changed and that totally threw me off.
Deadpool is still a good character and maybe someday, I will incorporate him again.
I personally love Cats and Dogs so I couldn’t get rid of Amaterasu even if I wanted to.

Before Ultimate came out, I was recommended by a friend to use Phoenix Wright.
I never played Ace Attorney before so I didn’t know anything about that character story.
My friend stated that since I like to troll, use Phoenix Wright.  I accepted his suggestion.

Rocket Raccoon was a bit of a gamble on my end.  I already knew he was gonna be hard to use.
He is a pretty cool character and you just got to love talking animals in a video game.
He certainly reminded me of a smaller deadpool.

I needed an anchor for this two new characters and although Deadpool was a good candidate, I loved Amaterasu more.

Team LAF was born after that.
LAF stands for Lawyer and his Animal Friends.

Most of the the players I play have dubbed my team “Team Troll” because of the short hitboxes of Rocket Raccoon and Amaterasy plus the nature of attacks that Phoenix Wright does.

The team is still in the early stages.  I seem to be getting the hang of them.
When I started, I just kept losing to anyone.  Of course, that’s what happened with Team DAD in the beginning.
I just have to be patient with them and realize the things that work.
Keep an eye out for my team.

The only worst thing I can say about my team is that they lose to Teleport Characters.
I’m still in the learning phase so let’s see if I can say different in a few months.

Without further adieu:

Comments are more than welcome.
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Follow me on twitter for mindless ramblings with a hint of intelligence.

NEC was a blast.  For anybody who has not gone to any Major Tournaments before, I suggest you do it for experience sake.  Read my exploits in NEC after the break.

It was one of the longest weekends.  Had to be the driver for this trip.
The drive was only 8 hrs but it got longer cause of weather, traffic and the border.
On the drive back, it took more than 12 hrs because I had to drop people off and such.
It’s all good, I had fun.

Here are my placings:

Tekken – lost 2 straight

SCIV – lost 2 straight

SCV – Was part of the SCV Invitationals but lost cause Yoshimitsu was nowhere to be found.

UMvC3 – I won 3.  Lost one to Noel Brown and then another player.

MK – Got 3rd in my pool but 9th overall in the tournament.

It was a great experience on my part.  I should have practiced more on the other games.  I may have gotten better rankings out of them.

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If you want to see pictures, feel free to browse through the following:

• NeoRussell’s Facebook Page
• TorontoTopTiers Facebook Page

That’s right folks.  NeoRussell will be going to NEC 2011.  What business do I have in NEC, you ask? Read after the break to find out my plans.

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It’s always fun to Road Trip with friends.  You make memories and have great laughs.

For anybody who does not know, NEC stands for North East Championships.  This year will be their 12th year running. This is a 2 day event happening in Philadelphia every year.  For 8-10 straight hours, I will be driving with a few peeps.  Hoping to enjoy the laughs in the process.

Tournaments That I Will Be Competing:

• Marvel vs Capcom 3
• Mortal Kombat
• Tekken 6
• Soul Calibur IV

The first american demo of SCV and being an avid fan, it would be crazy not to go.
To top it off, TTT2 will be available as well.  What more can a gamer like me ask for.

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Follow My Exploits in NEC via Twitter

@neorussell
@TorontoTopTiers

I will be updating with everything I see in the event.
I will also take some pics of the place and hopefully get an interview going.
Wish me luck and watch the stream.

NeoRussell

So you want to be a lawyer? Well, you best pay attention in Law School.  You would not be able to pull off these combos without proper attention.  Watch the video after the break.

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I just want to say that this video took 2 weeks to create.
I was personally done on the 1st week but it seems that everyday, there was always a new combo I find.
This video became 8mins when it was only 4 mins initially.  I’m glad that I added new things on it daily.
I also gave it a bit of personality so that I don’t talk like a robot.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDRdPkqOlkk

Why do I use Phoenix Wright?

A friend of mine told me to use him since I like troll characters.  I also like his “No Weapon” style of fighting.
A week after, I actually find him a legit character.  He’s hard to use but pays off in the end.
All and all, I like pointing the finger and saying “Objection” when I get the chance.

Enjoy, comment, follow and subscribe to my youtube.

Next up will be Rocket Raccoon