ramapocon-ii-final-report-5-6-5-7-2000
Title: ramapocon-ii-final-report-5-6-5-7-2000
Author: Jonathan "jonnychu" Chu
Date: May 9, 2000
Back in Nashville to write the final part of the RamapoCon report.
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Final Duel, pre-game notes
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So after the final round ends, Chris Terwiliger is soundly in first place, the only guy to go undefeated all day. I'm 2nd with a not-so-high differential of 88, but enough to get highest of all the 5-1 people. Chris has an extremely high rating of 21something, soon to be near 2200, if not over, and IMHO he deserves every point of it. The kid knows his decks and knows how to play them - this is reinforced by the fact that he plays in almost every local tournament and wins all of them almost all the time. This kid is all about consistency.
I figure I have a little advantage because the Terwiligers never really tried out ROPs to its full advantage - they know Hunt Down and Y4 mains in and out and all the way through, but only tested a sketchy version of ROps that worked pretty good, but isn't as good as the version that most people run now. In my mind, it's all coming down to the draw for both games.
Also, coming from Albany, I've had the opportunity to play little Twigg a bunch of times, so I am familiar with his play style and not fazed at all by his rating or the fact that he mows down most of the people he plays. The game would come down to draws and who could work best with what they got.
THE DUEL
We played in the corner of the main room as a bunch of other tournaments started. Juz was on standby with rulings if needed, but the direct judges were Scott and Rich Haman. They kept real good track of the time and kept people watching from a comfortable distance away.
Chris won the coin toss and elected to play his Hunt Down beats against my Yavin 4 mains deck first.
Game One:
I drew up my hand looking for 2/0 sites... but not this game. Luckily, I got a Transmission and killed his Visage. I got a nudj and put it out, and drew for some sites. Chris took his turn and dropped... the Death Star and Coruscant. Ouch. I put out a site and saved a few force. Vader came out at Cloud City: DB, followed by his saber. I couldn't find an EPP with a saber for my life to reflip, but he wasn't doing all that much damage to me. To do some damage, I put out Leia EPP in the Tantive and Uncontrollable Fury'd Vader, knowing full well I couldn't drain at the Death Star, but he You Are Beaten'd it right away. During his turn, he reinforced the docking bay with Blizzard 2 and a 2/2 pilot, piling out a bunch of effects also including Crush and IAO. He was drawing a whole bunch though, so the differential was being trimmed down.
I needed to pull some sites and find my Luke or Obi to flip his objective. He put Igar in Tempest 1 at CC: Downtown Plaza, and I took the drain of 4 for a turn - finally found an Obiwan. Obi hit the table with his saber, battled Igar and cleared the site with a Smokescreen. He lived to tell about it. I ate another drain by Vader and stick - he put out Endor and two ships, I believe Zuckuss and Boba, and Battle Order. During my turn, I paid six to drain for 6, and he cursed - turns out he had Coward in his hand but didn't deploy it because he forgot about the drain at the Death Star. He sucked that one up and I drew for guys - Han and Luke. Things began to look like they might turn around.
I ate a drain of 4, and he threw Tarkin in Blizzard 2 and moved the whole crew to Obi's site, after dropping Coward. I had Bacta out from earlier, but not really enough force to do anything with it. I didn't want to surrender the Downtown Plaza and get drained for 5 next turn, so Luke EPP and Han EPP came out - with just barely enough force. I figured three EPPs should be enough to handle the junk he had there.
Of course, I was wrong. He snipered Han EPP - drew a 6 and 5, ouch - and You Are Beatened Obiwan. Luckily I had a Glancing Blow to lower the damage, but I missed Vader with a swing and my destiny got cancelled. Luke hit the Tank and a few. The rest of the game was maneuvering around and deploying guys to try to get around coward to get a few more drains in. Mara and saber absolutely wrecked Orrimaarko (or was it Tawss? it didn't matter) sitting at the Swamp, and a late It's Worse for 7 on my It Could Be Worse topped off the game.
FL 0(-10)
Highs: Making it a decent game coming off of a bad start. Draining for a decent amount for a turn or two.
Lows: He drew Death Star and Coruscant in his hand - that was pretty much game. He played it well and didn't mess around when he had the advantage.
This was as good as I had hoped - I don't remember ever beating his dark with my Y4 deck. 10 differential wasn't so bad - I needed a good draw with my ROPs deck. 2/0 sites needed to be in my hand.
Game Two: ROPs vs Y4 mains
I remembered pretty vividly two recent losses to this deck, both to Steven Turner, one coming at States and the other, a total rout, at a local tournament. We cut and drew. My hand... one 2/0, and also Kashyyyk. Not bad. He went, dropped one 2/0, pulled a nudj, and drew. I could tell from the way he kept going through his cards in hand that he wasn't very happy with the draw. I dropped my 2/0, Kashyyyk, and pulled the docking bay and jungle - counting my sites - there was one in my pile! Excellent. I drew for it.
He dropped two more 2/0's in his turn, and I think this turn he threw Obi-Wan at my docking bay. That wasn't a problem - I could suck up the drain of 1 for as long as it took to flip my objective solidly. I dropped Oppressive, drew a few and got two chicken walkers in hand, along with a bunch of guys. He drained and put Luke EPP at the Lower Corridor - that's two mains down. My sites were arranged like this:
<Docking Bay> <Desert> <Jungle>, and I put the forest down to the right beside the Jungle, pulled an AT-ST pilot and threw it in Tempest Scout 5 at the desert, Tempest Scout 3 at the forest with another AT-ST pilot, put out Evax at the docking bay with Vader's Shuttle (for 1!) blocking Obi-wan's control, and some 2/2 guy at the forest to flip. I moved the 2/2 at the forest over to the Jungle, moved (for free) the Shuttle with Evax up to the planet, and drew one. The downside with this move was that I was only left with three or four cards in hand, but it reduced his drain down to 1 and left a site open to encourage the re-flip at the expense of another main. Two of my cards left in hand were Mara and Grand Moff, and I was hoping to bait him to the forest for a small beatdown with immunity.
Twigg went for the reflip, droppin Leia EPP at the forest and drawing a few. I wasn't worried about Barrier - Twiggs don't run them usually - so Mara and the Moff came down for like a two card and Leia dying beatdown. Tempest 1 came down to block Obiwan for the re-flip yet again, and I moved the AT-ST pilot at the desert over and into the AT-AT and the 2/2 scrub sitting outside the jungle over and into Tempest Scout 5. He was paranoid about the desert - I was talking a little trash about it too - so I figured he wouldn't go there. The game was looking pretty solid from here.
It only got better - I sucked up the drain of 1, but knowing where Luke was all the time was a relief. He threw Savrip down and put TK-422 at the forest, laying down his trump Han, so I didn't have much to worry about after that. I pulled a guy during my turn, beat the hell outta Obi-Wan, and drew to refill my hand. During my turn, I pulled Masterful from my deck to cancel Savrip, he sensed as expected, and I tied it down and Masterful went used. I wanted to kill Savrip badly - it is so key - so for three more turns I pulled Masterful from my deck and played it for that purpose. Two senses were grabbed total before he let it go. By now Battle Order was out, along with First Strike for some additional damage. I put a 2/2 scrub in Zuckuss in Mist at Kashyyyk for some free drains. He briefly challenged with Redemption, Lando with Blaster and Melas, but with all the bonus destinies, it didn't matter that I was drawing ass 0's for destiny. I eventually cleared out every guy except for TK-422, retrieved each time, and the game was mine.
FW 2(+21)
Highs: The deck worked like a charm. Preventing a destiny draw by putting Vader in his shuttle the turn before last. Saying 'battle, destiny... 9' is too cool. This objective is a wrecker.
Lows: nothing really, it was a fun game and well played. He got a @#$% draw and that's what decided it.
So I ended up 11 diff over him, getting the DS rares sheet and the cool trophy. All in all, the tournament was run damn well - we made up time so it ended almost on schedule.
The prizes were damn cool - everyone got a random foil and a bunch of packs, and there was a big raffle fulla random Star Wars collectible stuff, as well as a Sony Playstation. Plus the shirts were dope - the front had a little RamapoCon II logo designed by Scott's roommate Chris; the back had a pic of Obi-Wan and Luke levitating a green ball, also drawn by Chris. I guess you gotta see them.
I'm not sure of the final standings, but the top six included Mike Dalton (3rd for sure), Greg Hodur, Derek Halpern, and Chris Praskac.
Props go to Scott and everyone who helpd him out to make it run so smoothly - Bart Robinson, Thomas Hermley-Keen and his wife Blythe, and Rich Haman. It was cool as hell (not to mention lucky) to be able to defend the title against so many qualified players. Team Albany and Ghetto Squad both had strong showings. Props to Juz for beating two 2000's - Brian Twigg and Ray Bordier.
Slops to the cafeteria, who wouldn't let us in to eat until Scott had to negotiate.
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Sunday's team tourament, pre-game notes
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These will attempt to be brief.
After discussing with Charlie about decks, we decide ROPs and Yavin 4 mains are still the safest way to go. Hell, like anyone is really going to change their decks.
There are 9 teams that show, the strongest of which are Team Gout (Hodur, Praskac, Ray Bordier and John Lolli), Wazzzzzuuuup? (Chris Twigg, Brian Twigg, Daddy Twigg and Matt Sokol), and ours, Charlie's Angel's (me, Brentson, Dalton and Charlie). Because teammates couldn't play each other, it was an altered format than normal Team Constructed so it couldn't be sanctioned, but nobody cared-
everyone was playing hard for the cool trophies and prizes, and for bragging rights. Besides, everyone was too tired to argue.
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Tourney
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First round draws some interesting pairings, including me vs Ghetto Leader, and Brentson vs Brian Twigg.
I didn't really remember much detail from Sunday because I was ass tired, so these will be much more brief than the first two reports.
Game One: my ROPs vs Hodur's Hit and run techmaster tech
He started Dejarik Hologameboard and Scrambled Transmission and Ultimatum. The deck is surpisingly good for an ass drain at the holotable and a bunch of Anger Fear Aggressions - once ROPs is flipped and you do your max drain of six (2 at Kashyyyk and four drains for 1), you're deployed all over and there's not much room for losses to AFA. Well I had seen his deck the day before so I could sit Zuckuss in Mist at Kashyyyk alone because the only space he played were 3x of each Gold Leader in G1 and Red Leader in R1. Search and destroy put the pressure on, as did Ability^3. AFA popped four times; I lost 8 and beat the hell outta somebody the other two times. Once I flipped he had to pay for his ass drain of 1 at the holotable (with Projection giving it +1), and his hit and run mains couldn't clear a site with my guys in walkers. A monnok also trimmed down some cards.
FW by something
Brentson had won, and so did Dalton and Charlie, so our team was the only one with four first game wins!
Game two: My Y4 vs Dan Bordier's Scans and hunt down
Man... this game sucked right from the beginning. No pretense here - I got spanked silly outright. I couldn't draw a shock for the life of me, and Luke with saber came down twice for a hit and run against an early mara at CC: Downtown PLaza and oculdn't draw enough to hit or kill off with attrition. I never saw a 2/0 the entire game. The only redeeming feature in this game was Boussh winning small SAC wars here and there. I swear, in my smallass pile right before he drained me out, were six locations and 2 shocks.
What ass luck.
FL by 23
So i scrub out that game, but the rest of my team wins. Wazzzzzuzpp? has the same record as we do, but every other team took hits - Ray had lost in game one to his brother, so two of their guys already had losses.
Game Three: y4 vs Chris Erwin's Hoth start beatdown.
I got a great draw and the 2/0's were flying out. I went all over his planet with Bacta and Savrip backup and there's just nothing you can do to stop the beatdown when you got the full activation and tracking capabilities going. I absolutely ripped him a new hole.
FW +32
Overall 2-1 +ass diff
Charlie had lost, but no biggie. Brentson and Dalton were still going strong.
Game Four: ROPs vs Thomas Hermley-Keen's Hidden base corvette insert
This was a cool, innovative deck starting Haven on Rendezvous Point. He played a ton of Corvettes, a few freighter captains, and some droids with inserts, as well as EPPs for hit and Run. I set up quick and set him back with a used monnok - he uncontrollabled' my Vader and piled guys on a corvette so I would have to lose to it. Basically the fury damage matched my drains so it kept it close, but once he flipped and I probed right to make him lose a bunch to Security, and my bounty hunter ships were all over his planets, there wasn't much he could do.
FW +20 sometihng
Overall 3-1 +decent diff
Brentson had lost to Matty Sokol, but Dalton was still on fire and Team Albany had its own problems - Brian Twigg had two losses by now and his dad had one. It was close. Team Gout was also hanging around - Lolli was 3-1 and Praskac was the same.
Game Five: ROPs vs Praskac's Revo y4
Screw this game... I got absolutely hammered. The only Revo protection I run is praying I don't get paired up with one, and it didn't help me much. He drops two 2/0's during his turn and revolves my Ralltiir... sucks. I get lucky and draw 2 2/0's in my opening hand, which makes him feel like a fool for revolving my Ralltiir in a hurry, but not really since he revolves one of my 2/0's instanteously and gets the other one later. Man this kid didn't have a lost pile until he played effective repairs, and then he got it back with draw their fire. I had no guys at all out and he was all over all my sites. Plus this little ghetto kid is talking all this trash, it was funny as hell. This kid is just damn cool. The highlight of the game was altering traffic control with Watts so he couldn't put back his 20 card hand.
FL -23
so i'm on the road to scrubbing out hard. Dalton lost to Small twigg so twigg is looking like he's going undefeated again. EVeryone else won so the team is at 4-1, 4-1, 4-1 and me at ratty 3-2. Twigg dad lost and Brian lost another game, but if Twigg's dad finished at 4-2, Matt at 5-1 and Chris at 6-0, they would probably win outright. Luckily, the pairings went our way the last game and Sokol got paired up with Travis Desell's hardcore y4 revo, which didn't record a loss of less than like 25 differential all weekend long. It was basically an auto-loss, but we needed to have at least two 5-1's. I just wanted to go 4-2.
Game Six: y4 vs John Lolli's Death Star start and beatdown with scans and heavy SAC
This was an interesting game... he got a decent draw and got an early Bubo and Coruscant out for activation... I didn't see 2/0's for a few turns. Vader hit the farm early, but Obi and his saber got put down and he was running away quick. I got some good drains of 2 off early, and Harc was killing his return drains. He won the big SAC war though so he had SAC domination for the game. Blizzard 2 and Evazan hit the Jundland wastes with presence of the force, and I threw guys at them like champs, but he elised Vader over to help hold the site. I plugged away with Obi and saber at my yavin 4 sites, but all the guys I put down at the wastes got totally mauled, by attrition and battle damage mostly. For some inane reason I thought it would be funny to end the game, even though it was close, with a bang, so Lando with and Melas came down to challenge Vader, saber, Blizzard 2, evazan, and 4-lom with, even though Lando getting hit was basically automatic. So it came down to Melas vs the DS squad and I got totally raped.
FL by 15 or so
Chris won again to complete his 6-0 two-day sweep. Dalton lost but his differential was the highest of all the 4-2's, and Brentson and Charlie finished both at 5-1. Travis killed Sokol by 27 to push him down a few slots, and Gout had two guys at 5-1 but two guys at 3-3 also. The scores were tallied up and our team won by 6 points, 14 to their Wazzzzzup's 20; Brentson had finished 3rd, Charlie 4th, and Dalton 7th. I scrubbed out at 17th place, earning a WB physical choke from Scott for going from 1st to ass in one day. But hey, glass is glass.
Thanks for reading about the entire weekend. It was cool as hell - it's hard to say because it just ended and there hasn't been a lot of time to reflect - but between meeting a lot of people and playing with a bunch of great sports and people, the weekend was one of the best tournaments, if not the best, I have ever been to. Just ask anyone who went. MAD props to SCott Lingrell for having the prescience and the commitment to make this thing successful as hell.
Take it easy.
JC