tacoma-washington-2-19-00
Title: tacoma-washington-2-19-00
Author: Douglas "Douglas" Harvilla
Date: Feb 19, 2000
Thirteen players showed up on this bright sunny day to compete, including Martin Norris, local champion of the SW:CCG cause, who was so kind as to give me a ride down from the University District along with a gent participating in his first tournament, Brandon Smith.
My decks
Light: 'The Third Apparition,' a MWYHL mains deck with loads of high-destiny cards.
Dark: 'The Last Command,' Hunt Down with the best (or rather, worst) of the bounty hunters and Mara Jade.
Game One
Light versus Brandon Smith's troopers on the Death Star
While I deploy my Dagobah locations and Yoda from the Reserve Deck, Brandon piles up Stormtroopers at the Death Star: War Room with General Tagge and a Cadet. Mosep and a Death Star Trooper hold the Detention Block Corridor.
He isn't draining me anywhere, so I have plenty of time to draw up for Traffic Control and some mains. I then invade the War Room with Jeroen Webb, EPP Luke, Han, and Leia. Deploy Draw Their Fire, initiate battle. The site is cleared of Imperials, and I forfeit Jeroen.
Brandon gets a couple more troopers to the Corridor, and I try to move over with Nabrun for a battle. He cancels it with Tarkin's Orders. So I move Luke and Han over in the move phase instead. After Brandon plays Imperial Reinforcements and retrieves six troopers, these two heroes of Yavin are pounced on with Trooper Assault and I forfeit Luke.
Deploy Tawss Khaa, Chewbacca, battle. Flip a pair of fives and the battle damage is too much for the Dark Side.
Win by 41
2 (+41)
Highs: Getting good differential as a cushion in case I lose the next game. I was hoping to face one player in particular (never did in this event) early with my Dark Side deck, as it is the better of the two.
Lows: This was Brandon's first game in a tournament, and it really couldn't have been much fun. Sorry, man, hope to see you on the 4th in Seattle.
Game Two
Dark versus Steven Harpster's Rescue The Princess
He starts with Goo Nee Tay, I get Bad Feeling Have I. The usual. On the second turn, I deploy Darth Vader, Dark Lord Of The Sith and his lightsaber to the Death Star: Docking Bay to flip and move him to take Leia into custody.
Steven cancels Visage with a Bothan Spy at the Holotheatre and puts the spy undercover. Prior to the game I made a joke about RTP/inserts. We have a good laugh when he inserts Never Tell Me The Odds and deploys Artoo. Vader force drains at the prison and moves to the docking bay.
ASP-707 at the Yavin 4: Docking Bay brings Steven's total for numbers up to 9, while Vader is my only character on the table. I use the Detention Block Corridor game text to search the deck for IT-O now and then, letting Steven verify but stopping the insert card's steady climb to the top of the Reserve Deck.
Move Vader and his captive all the way to the Massassi War Room to drain. Deploy Dengar With Blaster Carbine and 4-LOM With Concussion Rifle to back him up and improve my total for Never Tell Me The Odds.
On my next turn, I get rid of Artoo (sitting at the War Room) with Sniper. Steven inserts Anger, Fear, Aggression. I deploy Tarkin to the Holotheatre and move Dengar over with Elis Helrot. Masterful Move for a replacement Visage of the Emperor.
8D8 brings Steven's total for Never Tell Me The Odds back up, and I now stand to lose eleven cards if it ever goes off. Mercifully, his total hovered around 6 long enough for me to build up a force pile. With Battle Plan on the table and two insert cards in my Reserve Deck, I let Visage do the work and choose my drains carefully.
Win by 36
4 (+77)
Highs: Using the text on my opponent's own location (Detention Block Corridor) against him.
Lows: It was sobering to have face the possibility ot losing eleven cards to a single insert card.
Game Three
Light versus Walter Zylowski's Hunt Down
Walter is a great player whom we haven't seen in quite a while. It's good to see him, but I know that I could easily lose this game.
We both get strange draws, and Visage takes its toll on both sides of the Intergalactic Civil War for a while. Controlling the Jundland Wastes with Tempest Scout 6, Walter drains me for a couple turns while I get my force activation up and running and deploy Obi-Wan's Apparition to shut down force generation at the Executor sites.
I wince as Visage makes Yoda homeless. His Hut is gone, lost from the top of my Reserve Deck, but it isn't the end of the world. Walter (finally) deploys Darth Vader to the Jundland Wastes. Frozen Assets to stop Imperial Barrier, followed by Luke With Lightsaber, his ol' pal Han With Heavy Blaster Pistol, and a H'nemthe.
Battle, miss Vader, flip a pair of ones. Walter draws embarrassingly low, as well. H'nemthe covers the attrition, and Tempest Scout 6 follows close on its heels. Walter activates barely enough force to deploy Grand Moff Tarkin, and deploys Battle Order. He initiates a battle, and I Know deploys Leia With Blaster Rifle free from my hand as a 'react.' Shoot Tarkin, he cancels it. Miss with both other weapons. Flip 1, 2, 4. Vader and Leia are forfeited.
Now, I'm not sure why Walter left Tarkin alone. He could have forfeited the old man first, then Vader. Maybe the Leia 'react' made him forget it was a battle he initiated, and he expected to re-deploy Vader for a counterattack. At the time, I expected a Ghhhk or something. Nope. I deploy Orrimaarko and battle. Hit Tarkin, draw a pair of fives, and Walter takes nineteen battle damage and loses two more cards to Orrimaarko.
He deploys Djas Puhr at the Endor: Back Door. Luke, Han, and Orrimaarko hire Nabrun Leids and battle the hapless bounty hunter. Swing, hit. Draw a pair of fives for a total of 16 power to his 6. He loses thirteen cards and two more to Orrimaarko, who is then forfeited.
We've lost force to Visage from turn one, so the win differential won't be big. Two hits from Limited Resources make me lose six more cards before my drain ends the game.
Win by 22
6 (+99)
Highs: An interactive game. Plenty of battling.
Lows: The way the cards came up was very (hums theme to The Twilight Zone). I think I saw Rod Serling standing in the far corner of the store.
Game Four
Dark versus Walter Zylowski's Bothawui Operatives
He starts off with Yarna d'al Gargan to protect the duplicates. On the first turn I deploy Darth Vader, Dark Lord Of The Sith with his lightsaber to the Farm and cancel Yarna with Alter.
Walter cancels Visage by invading the Holotheatre with a Bothan Spy and a Baragwin. Short on characters who don't speak in deep voices and wear capes, I leave them be. But Bargaining Table? We can't have that. Alter. Drain.
Backing up his aliens at the Holotheatre with EPP Han, Walter deploys Battle Plan. No ships are out just yet, so we are both paying for force drains. I deploy Tatooine: Lars' Moisture Farm and Mara Jade with her lightsaber.
We exchange force drains for a turn, then I decide to do something about Battle Plan. Deploy Dreadnaught piloted by Bossk With Mortar Gun to Bothawui. Walter tracks a weapon retrieved by the Baragwin for battle destiny and flips a 7 to my 1. Ouch. Oh well, no battle damage. He holds the system but not a battleground site, just the Holotheatre.
Hoping to edge ahead in the drain race, Walter deploys Orrimaarko slap the Emperor's Hand with a ruler. Mara swings and hits, and we both flip a 3. I tell Walter I was expecting him to get a 7. Apparently, so was he. So Mara stays and Orrimaarko is forfeited.
Nar Shaddaa Wind Chimes is canceled by Sense, and I deploy Djas Puhr to the Tusken Canyon. Walter deploys another Baragwin and spreads on the Executor. I give Jabba suicide mission at the Holotheatre, blocking a drain. Two aliens smash him with a 7 battle destiny, but Ghhhk stops the battle damage.
My force drains are slowed a bit by Walter's Baragwins as they retrieve the high-destiny weapons, but he leaves no Reserve Deck. Dengar With Blaster Carbine seizes the moment to gun down the aliens at the Holotheatre. Walter draws up.
Win by 22
8 (+121)
Highs: Winning against Ops. Getting an incredible hand.
Lows: Losing control the Executor sites. Getting beat down at the system.
So I took first place, while Seattle tournament regular Mike Mikaelian, known for chivalrous devotion to rescuing the princess, came in second. Up and coming local player Steven Harpster racked up three wins with great differential for a third place finish.
Thanks to all the great players who showed up for this tournament, some of them for their first event. To Ray Scales for running it so well. To Martin Norris for the ride from Seattle. Also to Barnes & Noble for letting us turn their coffee shop into a battleground site.