naboo-national-championship-2000
Title: naboo-national-championship-2000
Author: Alex "Greedo" Tennet
Date: May 12, 2000
On with the games!
Game 1 Vs. Alex Elliot (ISB with IAO)
Alex always (I mean always) gives me a tough game. He's one of two people I tend to struggle to beat, when often I shouldn't need to thanks to deck matchups (the other is Dave Crane - see Game 3). I can't explain it, but that's the way it is. On the plus side, he's an extremely nice guy, so it would be a pleasant, if hard, game.
He starts ISB/Coruscant and IAO. Mine's HB and Wise Advice. Alex fetches a Docking Bay and draws some. I activate, fetch Alderaan and revolve Coruscant. He fetches another Docking Bay and plays Scanning Crew, which I grab with WYTTPOU, thinking manipulation. Sadly it turns out he only has 3 in the deck and never saw the others all game. Mind you, it made me keep my hand size at 12 cards. For a while he just grabs his Docking Bays every turn, before I take the plunge and throw down Jeroen Webb at a DBay and play Civil Disorder, keeping hold of a Barrier. He’s managing on 6 force and gets down Torent and puts him undercover. Oh for my It Can Wait to administer some damage. Sadly it has not shown up. I decide to drop Luke and Obi to different DBays to put the pressure on. Keep Han and Chewie in hand. Play Tawss to keep Jeroen company, and they are followed around by Torent to block the drain. I also put down the Massassi Ruins to boost my generation. Obi-Wan thinks with his stomach during a drain, but apparently hermit food is filling and Alex draws a 1, so Ben's safe from going missing. Eventually he plays Evader (sadly no grabber) and saves his force. I revolve Coruscant again and also save some. Alex drops 5D6 to the DBay with Obi, then EPP Vader and 2 random imperial agents to the Endor DBay against Tawss and Webb; ISB Ops flips over, I Barrier Vader and he doesn't battle. Now I have him where I want him.
My turn, I revolve the Endor DBay, drop Han and Chewie there and move Obi and Luke over. Alex activates and realises that he doesn't have enough force to move his guys away because of the LS text that now affects him, so I get complimented on my clever play. Probably the most sensible thing I did all day really. He battles me instead in case I have more characters in my hand; I play Don't Get Cocky but he senses it. It trundles off to my used pile. I hit all the characters I aim for and end up smacking him for 10 damage, but he Ghhks. Ahh well. I spread out and keep my barrier at the ready. Put out the Bacta Tank while Alex saves force and plays Secret Plans. I keep some force spare and throw down a Civil Disorder to replace the one that was cancelled earlier. My drains are minimal thanks to undercover Torent and 5D6 unfortunately, but I keep him using his force by moving my guys around. Finally I decide to play Tatooine and go for Our Most Desperate Hour. A YT-1300 and Biggs are dropped to the system and I target the moustache man with OMDH. Move over, but unfortunately haven't got enough to pay for every character so it's all cancelled (I was running off an incorrect ruling here, so it serves me right for not keeping up to date I suppose). Time is creeping up on us, and Alex manages to hit me for 5 damage with DV, DLOTS choking Chewie and beating Han up (he sensed my barrier and both Leias were in my force pile when I played I Know. Typical). Han goes to the Tank, but he alters it so it makes little difference. I manage to get out Leia eventually, but Alex just avoids my mains for the rest of the game and we’re called to time. He's got the edge thanks to retrieving agents every draw phase and I get a timed loss by 22.
Score: 0 (-22)
Haven’t lost my first game at any tourney for a good while now, so I'm a little discouraged. Going to need a good few wins to boost me up again. Sit down to play Gareth Walters, who didn’t do too well last game either. Seeing as we'd tested against each other, we both knew the score and it was in his favour if he could find a Yarna early. I had a few tricks up my sleeve though...
Game 2 Vs. Gareth Walters (Profit with Eloms and Fallen Portal)
He starts Profit with JP Hansicle and Insurrection. I start TDIGWATT and Downtown Plaza, throw down Mara and Jabba the Hutt as my aliens, then plump for AAA as starting effect. Monnok him first turn and remove 4 Eloms. So far, so good. I do spot a Tessek and a Yarna in there though. Anyway, I grab B:CC then throw down the Upper Walkway. He plays Yarna, drops Tessek to the Audience Chamber and fetches Bo Shuda. I Screw him to check I'm safe, then play Ozzel to the DtP and Zuckuss to the UW. Fetch Bespin and play CC Occupation from hand. He continues to deploy Docking Bays from his deck with Insurrection. I Alter his Yarna and Monnok him again to get more damage through unhindered. He finds and plays another Yarna in the meantime and starts drawing. Eventually he drops 2 Eloms to the Yavin 4 DBay, another 2 to the Back Door and 1 to the Hoth DBay. Wisely he’s not deployed the CC DBay in his hand, and I can’t find a third site for Dark Deal. I make a calculated risk and drop DV, DLOTS with his saber and Djas Puhr to the Back Door. Battle. The doors start closing as he plays a Fallen Portal, but the Dark Lord walks casually out of the way. I choke, slash and draw a 3 for battle destiny. No Houjix? Hit him for 8 damage. The loss from Occupation and my drains is putting the pressure on, and Djas moves to block another drain late game. He gets a Nar Shadda in, but it's not enough. I get a large win by 33, mainly thanks to my multiple Monnoks.
Score: 2 (+11)
I return from the Gent's just as they finish calling pairings. Check the tables for my command card and get a wave from Dave Crane from across the room. Well, so much for getting an easy couple of games! This might be a bit muddled as it was quite long and tense.
Game 3 Vs. Dave Crane (ISB/IAO Force Choke/Mains)
This was basically an exact replica of the matchup at the Grand Slam. Consequently we both knew pretty much what to do and what not to do. I can’t quite recall his starting effect, but I'm pretty sure it was Come Here You Big Coward. I plumped for Civil Disorder however, the beginnings of a plan already in my mind. First turn, he puts down the Ice Plains and Coruscant (his starting location was the Imperial Square). Good start for Dave! He then threw down Vesden to the Ice Plains, cancelling Civil Disorder. It was fine by me though, that's what I'd been hoping for. He also managed to get the Wampa Cave out either this turn or next turn, I can’t remember which. I just sat and drew for a few turns, fetching Alderaan in the meantime and revolving the Square and Coruscant. Dave wisely backs up Vesden with Igar and plays Kashyyyk. I go and grab Tatooine then play the Bacta Tank. Next turn, I decide to go for the beatdown. First thing I do is drop Frozen Assets on his force pile to stop any nasty barriers or kisses from desperate wookiees. Then it’s Momaw Nadon to the Ice Plains and EPP Leia, Han, Orrimaarko and Chewbacca to administer the damage. I play Draw Their Fire and battle. Hit Vesden but miss Igar (damn) and manage to get plenty of force loss through. That’s good, but unfortunately I'm stuck for draining thanks to CHYBC, and the Alter hasn’t made an appearance except as a destiny draw. I lose Han to the Tank.
The following events happen in short order: Mara, saber and Evax are dropped to the revolved Square for drain. The Redemption deploys to the RPt and Han jumps in from his swim. Lando backs Han up in the frigate, which moves to Tatooine. The Devastator deploys to Kashyyyk with a couple pilots. We play cat and mouse in space. The Tantive IV, Biggs, Hobbie, Melas and Luke in the Falcon hit the table at various points. I've been trying to save enough for an OMDH with Secret Plans while remaining safe, so have been dumping cards back with Traffic Control. I lose Lando to the Tank from one space battle so that I can afford it, and get OMDH off the next turn (moving a YT-1300 to Kashyyyk first so that I occupy 2 battlegrounds). I begin to pay for it and Dave asks what I'm doing. I glance at his cards and Secret Plans isn't there. Of course, it was long since in the lost pile and I'd been worried for nothing. So my OMDH is all free. Dave scares me with a Gravity Shadow on my Tantive (which later becomes Lateral Damaged) but he draws a 2 while Lando is on board and neither effect of the card will touch me. Rattled me a bit though. EPP Ben comes down to try and take out Mara, but he misses his swing and only succeeds in killing Yularen. It's hard to track destinies because I have to remember to move my starships each turn to prevent a bad battle, which would end it all. We're about 4 minutes from time and I've succeeded in getting Tawss to the Carbonite Chamber, also enabling me to drain at the Hoth locations I've occupied all game. I believe a character was dropped to oppose her but was barrier'ed. We come to the last turn of the game, and I nod and say 'I think I drain you out.' Quite relieved as I only have 2 force left. We go through it and he's left with one card. I can't believe it, and scan the table for anything I've missed. Spot Draw Their Fire. Phew. Battle at Tatooine and he loses his last force. Tense game. I forget to retrieve 1 however. Win by 2.
Score: 4 (+13)
So, at this point if I'm going to make the final it's going to be via the back route. Not my style at all. Prefer to bash through to the top spot and go from there. ('Bring 'em on, I prefer a straight fight to all this sneaking around!' :)
Game 4 Vs. Ian Ericson (MWYHL fakeout with beatdown)
Ian apparently knows me from my Reports (always nice to know someone's reading) and seems to be a very nice chap. For some reason I started Ability, Ability, Ability this game. For WHAT reason I cannot fathom. Anyway, I SCrew him first turn and see Obi, Luke and Leia along with some anti-duelling cards and Tawss Khaa. Get rid of Obi, scan again and get rid of Luke. Doesn't leave me free to play anything though, so all I can do is draw and have my AAA cancelled as Yoda is fetched and played to the Hut. I get Vader down to the Plaza and scan a Leia from his hand. He's drawn another by now however. He plays Scramble next turn, draws a few and saves force. Got Bespin, Cloud City and the Upper Walkway with Security Precautions out now, and I drop Mara to the UW. Try to grab her stick but it isn't in reserve deck, so Ian gets a look through. Doesn't particularly bother me. He does feign vomit at the amount of Scanning Crews though. Get Tarkin down with Vader and Jabba the Hutt with Mara. She also gets her saber that I drew for last turn. Scan twice and remove Han and Luke. He drops Tawss and Leia to battle Jabba and Mara. Tawss levitates Mara's saber (how wude!) but Leia misses Jabba and Ian only draws a 3 for destiny, so both of my characters are safe. I pull a 3 also. He loses Leia and Tawss runs to the West gallery. A scan reveals no characters in his hand. I move Vader/Tarkin to the UW, Mara to the DtP and Jabba to face Tawss with Mosep as backup. He battles me and draws a 5 for destiny, but I lose Mosep and the Hutt stays where he is. Tawss, on the other hand, is crushed. Ian draws over 12 cards and I get a used Monnok in. Scan the other character left in his hand (Obi) away. Then I drop Boba in Slave 1 to B:CC. Make a Dark Deal. Occupy Cloud City. Boba flies up to Bespin to guard my Occupation. Now the damage really sets in. Ian manages to get RLIR1 to Cloud City, but it's late game and I'm just leaving force in my deck now. EPP Luke pays Brangus a visit in Ian's last turn, but he covers the damage. Win by 30ish thanks to some big drains.
Score: 6 (+43)
That game is a little blurred in my mind, so the order of events may be a little iffy. The events themselves are right though, I'm sure. Anyway, Nick Rice and Gary Carmen face off this round as the only undefeated players. There's been no real dominance other than those two, and differential is quite low all round. I'm on table 3.
Game 5 Vs. Michael Rogers (Throne Room Mains)
We've both lost one game, so it's an eliminator for both of us. Air of relative seriousness therefore. I was quietly confident about the matchup though, and started Security Precautions. As I said, quietly confident...at least until his first turn. He drops FOUR 2/0 locations, a nudj from hand and then fetches another from his deck. My jaw drops and a naughty word jumps out. I do manage to contain the half-digested contents of my lunch fortunately. Still, 17 activation for him on the second turn can only be bad for me.
I race for some force myself, grabbing the allowed cards from my deck and scanning his hand as much as possible. I get rid of Han, Obi, Luke and Orrimaarko within a couple of turns. Unfortunately he gets the Tantive IV to Bespin and begins lumping pilots on board. I've seen the ECC Lando, Melas and Tawss in his hand, so I can't very well leave anyone alone on Cloud City. I get him to count his hand many times, but he's always being sensible and keeping it at 12 cards or less. Michael looks for a nudj every turn, so I get to see his deck (no surprises of course, but I do note the one Shocking Info and one Scrambled Transmission there). Eventually he verifies and the Scrambled isn't there, so my scans aren't going to work after he draws and plays that. I set up Dark Deal in that turn and group my people as is sensible. Leave Boba at Cloud City. He drops Lando to my weakest location, but I barrier him. Tawss and Melas follow. He shuttles people down from the Tantive IV and cancels my Dark Deal before it can do any damage. I had guessed it was going to happen, but sadly there wasn't much I could do. His people (including EPP Han, Leia and Chewie - from the period I'd been drawing very few SCrews) have a hold on my locations and I know now it's only a matter of time. The Dark Lord, Zuckuss and Ardan do a little damage to Lando and his alien buddies, but a failed choke doesn't help matters. I play to the bitter end, landing Boba to get in one last point of damage, but it's still a win for Michael by some 15 differential. At least I forced him to deploy a lot so he could safely sift through his deck. Wonderful psychological tool that the fear of a Monnok.
Score: 6 (+28)
I'm out of the running for the final duel now. Nick lost to Gary, so we know one finalist. The other spot will be hotly contested for. I sit down to play Ian again, pondering that I may not even make 4-2 now. His objective (HDADTJ) is a pleasing sight, but his starting effect is not...
Game 6 Vs. Ian Ericson (Hunt Down battle)
Ian gets Crush the Rebellion as starting effect (What? Against Hidden Base? Who in their right mind would be playing Revolutions in a Hidden Base deck?). I plump for Civil Disorder this time, realising I may have made a mistake when he reveals the Crush. He's not playing Epic Duel though, so that's one less thing to worry about. He does nothing in his first turn except fetch an Evader and takes 2 damage from CD. I play Wise Advice, revolve the Meditation Chamber and fetch Tatooine as Alderaan is in my force pile. He plays Evader and I throw down my push card. Pretty sure he's playing another though, and indeed he fetches his second at the end of my turn.
Tarkin gets dropped to the Holotheatre and cancels Civil Disorder. I'm sadly in no shape for a beatdown, but one way or another the lure has worked. We're still losing to Visage each, which I'm fine with. Next turn I grab Alderaan and revolve the Meditation Chamber again. In my draw phase he throws his Evader to me, I place it on What're You Trying To Push On Us and lose my revo and one force. I think that I've eliminated all those nasty Evaders now, so let's see if the Dokta can't turn this game around (I am nothing if not subtle with my humour). Ian drops a Presence of the Force to his Meditation Chamber, Security Precautions to the Holotheatre and draws a few. I revolve his Holotheatre and drop EPP Leia to battle Tarkin. I was expecting a Lone Warrior or something (Ian just had that sort of look on his face...can't explain it) but it turns out to be a Moment of Triumph. Leia bites it of course, but takes Tarkin down as well. Vader comes down to the POTF-boosted chamber next turn and flips Ian's objective. My chances of winning look slim.
Han and Chewie hit the table in the Falcon at Tatooine. Vader is guarding the Visage but I get Luke and Leia to the Chamber; flipping back his objective. They move to face Vader, but he runs away (flipping the objective again). This lets me cancel Visage though. I also get down Civil Disorder and Ian takes damage from that for the rest of the game. I back up Han and Chewie with Redemption and pilots, allowing them to survive an assault by Bounty Hunter ships and Dreadnaughts. He decides to place his objective out of play and force drains at the Chamber with POTF. Once this is done I attempt to Alter the effect, but draw the only 5 in my deck at that point. Pull off an OMDH run with Han. Drop the Carbonite Chamber and Orrimaarko, who gets faced by Miss Jade next turn. I have a barrier though. Vader moves to confront his kids and I battle him. Play Skywalkers, hit with Luke's saber and do some hefty damage. Crush limited me to 2 destinies and Ian managed to take out both of my characters after slicing Leia, however he had no Vader to play the next turn. Tarkin was removed by EPP Obi and he lost his last force to Civil Disorder. An interesting game, but Ian suffered from his lack of characters. Win by some 25 force.
Score: 8 (+53)
Not my day I don't think. With 40 players present I'm not expecting higher than 10th, but it's been quite a low-scoring day for most people and I manage to take 6th. Mike Burgess is judging the final between Gary Carmen and my fifth game opponent, Michael Rogers, so I stick around because I'm returning up North with him. Gary's phone rings halfway through his second game. A look of horror shoots across his face as he realises it's Mother's Day and he hasn't called home. Looking a little sheepish he goes outside to explain to his mother exactly WHY this is the case, while the rest of us find the whole affair more than a little amusing. Understandably. I'm spared such an embarrassment thankfully, having ensured that the requisite card, flowers and chocolates arrived in the hands of my mother this morning even while I was not there to present them in person. Postmen might not operate on Sundays, but luckily the old man does. Well, Gary takes the championship title. Will he travel to Brussels to complete the set? Quite an achivement if he were to be National champion, European champion AND World champion. He says he probably won't bother, but we shall see. I plan to go and have a shot myself in Day 1 and aim for progression to Day 2. August 12th is the date. See you on the continent. Weekend was great overall. Some people hadn't had enough of course, and we find Bruce Savin, Matt Smith and Chris Moore playing in the bar as we leave. I hand Matt the Guinness that wasn't drunk the previous night because he's all spent up; nice of me eh? He now owes me one of course, which I declined to mention at the time. Get back home at some early hour of the morning and nod off straight away. Major thumbs up to Decipher with these big national tournament ideas. Keep 'em going next year guys. All that's left for me to say is to keep an eye out for my Regional 2000 report. That'll be coming through in about 2 months time. I have something special planned
;-)
Alex Tennet