milwaukee-wi-03-25-00
Title: milwaukee-wi-03-25-00
Author: Chuck "Sonn" Sonnenburg
Date: Mar 25, 2000
I'm pretty confident with my Dark Side deck: Tatooine Hunt Down with Dueling. It uses all the Bounty Hunters with their built in weapons and Jodo Kast carrying Ponda Baba's Holdout Blaster, and has Jabba's Through With You (I like destiny adders). I've played it in two previous tournies and it hasn't lost yet, so I'm pretty comfortable with it. Light side is another story. I'm trying out a deck loosely based on Techmaster's Hit and Run. Two each of Obi, Luke, Leia, and Han with their built in weapons, Bacta Tank, Draw Their Fire, Anger Fear Aggression, and some solo destiny adders. Idea is to deploy, hurt them, go to the tank, and repeat. I'm a little concerned about this.
Anyway, first game vs. Eric. I'm playing dark, he's playing a Test 2. While I start Bad Feeling Have I he's putting out Battle Plan; Force is going to be flying today. Things start slowly as both of us are trying to find some locations, but finally he puts out Endor: Back Door, allowing me to drop Vader and Jodo and finally flip the objective. He cancels Visage with Transmission Terminated. I redeploy it the next turn. He cancels it again with Transmission Terminated. I redeploy Visage, he deploys Jeroen Webb and pulls the plug before slipping undercover. This time I drop Mara down there and redeploy it (yes, I pack four Visages). Meanwhile I was draining on Tatooine when he deploys Han and Orimarrko, so I Elis Helrot over during my move (Insurrection), to block any of their drains (Projection of a Skywalker was limiting to only one on Endor). He puts out Chewie and Chewie's AT-ST and Han climbs inside. I've got four characters, he's got three and a vehicle, both are drawing two destiny, and I have weapons and Crossfire. I start a battle, he plays Life Debt, I miss Orimarrko twice. So in the end, he loses Orimarrko to the Bacta Tank, I lose all my characters due to attrition. Then Orimarrko is redeployed to the Holotheater where Webb has betrayed Mara by revealing his treachery and the two proceed to beat her senseless. Then they cancel Visage again. Peeved, I drop down Vader and Tarkin, choke Webb, and pummel Orimarrko. After that, it's over.
Results: Full Win, +23; 2(+23)
All the Dark Side decks won the first round with only one exception: Damien. Damien is the top Light side and, as it turned out, I was the top Dark side. This didn't fill me with a lot of confidence for my first real test of this deck.
So, second game vs. Damien. I start Quiet Mining Colony, Bespin, Guest Quarters, Do or Do Not, and Scrambled Transmission. I use the objective because I can get out my sites quickly, but in this case there was a nice side benefit: he's chuckling because he says he knows what deck I'm playing. He confidently starts Hunt Down and begins with Secret Plans. I had a nice opening hand: Bacta Tank and Draw Their Fire and two different Mains. Except I don't dare deploy them until I get my anti-duel cards in hand, so it's draw, draw, and draw (third turn I pulled my Transmission Terminated and canceled Visage). By this time he's consolidated his forces on one site on Cloud City (this is also a nice benefit: people can't help but come there when they see those tempting two drain sites; if your enemy battles on your terrain, you always have the advantage): Vader, Tarkin, and two aliens. I've finally drawn a Glancing Blow and decide to give it a try: I drop down Obi-wan. No duel. Before the battle I Off the Edge him (retrieving one, not a very good draw for this deck). I start, retrieve the Off the Edge, Obi swings for Tarkin: 1, doesn't cancel, 4, doesn't cancel. He's probably planning to deal with the battle destiny, so I use Blaster Proficiency to kill Tarkin, and I kill the other two aliens while Obi goes to the Bacta Tank. Next turn, repeat, and this time Vader is off the table (and stays off for the rest of the game). Bossk and Jodo Kast show up. I send in Obi-wan again and play Off the Edge. I draw Obi-wan for destiny. The two, unable to cope with each others existence, disappear into the lost pile to struggle for all eternity over which is the real Obi-wan. So I deploy Leia, retrieve Obi-wan, and battle. I shoot Bossk, but he manages to capture Leia, ending the battle. Luke comes and kills the remaining characters, freeing Leia. IG-88 with Jodo Kast. I send in Obi-wan, who is actually captured (I Am Your Father for 6 destiny). This time Leia returns the favor, but only succeeds in killing Kast. I fear the worst, but then he makes a critical mistake: he lands Bossk in Hound's Tooth and moves IG-88 on board. I deploy Leia, draw my destiny, and kill the droid, freeing Obi-wan. He draws up, surprising me with a victory. He confides afterwards that his deck is designed to hit Luke, play All To Easy, and move him to the Detention Block for The Emperor's Prize.
Results: Full Win, +17; 4(+40)
Third game vs. Aaron. My Hunt Down vs. his Hidden Base. I start Security Precautions, he starts Yarna; yup, X-Wing swarm. My second turn Vader is on Tatooine and I commence drainage. After only a few turns he's deployed Kessel, Tatooine, Hoth, Corulag, Kiffex, and Coruscant, with seven X-Wings on Rendezvous Point. Again Visage is canceled by a spy who goes undercover, and again I send in Mara (only this time she has her lightsaber; Visage will remain in play). I'm draining for 2 at the Moisture Farm, so he decides to flips (a move he later regretted). I deploy Zuckuss in Mist Hunter to Kessel and probe. Since he'd moved all 7 X-wings to Kessel I decided to move to Tatooine. Next turn I probe: successful. 9 force lost. Meanwhile, he deployed Luke with Lightsaber to the Cantina to help with my Battle Order. I move Vader and his entourage over. Next turn I give him a saber and duel, playing focused attack. We flip: me a character for 1, him Artoo for 6; me another character for 1, him an X-wing for 2. Luke looks up at me smuggly 'Your overconfidence is your weakness' Shut up Luke. I flip the last destiny: Vader's Obsession for 6. He doesn't even waste time thinking, just passing Luke over and losing 5 force.
Vader: Luke, give in to the dark s-
Luke: Ho hum, quit twisting my arm.
Visage and the drains were really doing some damage now, and he tried spreading out to increase his drains (Coruscant, Kessel, Kiffex and Tatooine). I deployed a Dreadnaught to Coruscant and attacked his lone X-wing, and he opted to lose it, allowing me to move over to Kiffex. I also moved Zuckuss back to Kessel to block that drain (there were now only three X-Wings). The one drain at Tatooine wasn't enough damage to really make a difference.
Result: Full Win, +26; 6(+66)
I look at my score. Six....Six....Six. Oh dear, I don't think this is a good omen. I then find out that I'm playing David, who's in the top spot on his side, as I am on mine.... except I need to play Light Side.
Fourth game, vs. David. Goofy Hit and Run vs. Ralltiir Ops with Bad Feeling Have I (I hate poetic justice). My opening hand has nothing but red. I draw, still nothing but red. I insert AFA and draw, finally pulling Han and Luke. I drop a Frozen Assets on his pile deploy Luke, go to deploy Han.... not enough force for both. I battle, he reacts (AT-STs, of course), I die and lose five force (not good). Then he Alters my Bacta Tank, killing Luke. I retrieve it with Effective Repairs, deploy Han and Leia to Cloud City to attack lonesome Vader, but with Crush the Rebellion out I'll only be drawing two destinies, a 5 and a site. Han goes to the Bacta Tank, Leia stays. He Alters my Bacta Tank again. No problem, because my Reserve Deck is empty, which means that the 5 I just drew for battle destiny is now on top, so I Off the Edge.... oops, I put the site on top by mistake. I'm an ass. So, instead of retrieving four I lose one plus the card. He attacks Leia and kills her. By this point he's draining me eight a turn, and it's all over but the spanking.
Result: Full loss, -20; 6(+46)
Good enough for a tie for fourth place. But of course, no prize support means no prize. Oh well.
Curiously, I saw no There'll Be Hell To Pay during my light side games, and no Main Courses either. I learned that inserts really don't do well against a deck that can continually reshuffle itself. As fun as Hit and Run was, it's far too weak against Ralops to really be effective. Time to go back to the drawing board.