wizards-of-the-coast-michigan-6-14-00

Title: wizards-of-the-coast-michigan-6-14-00
Author: Jason "TrenchRunner" Aubry
Date: Jun 14, 2000

Wizards of the Coast Lakeside - June 14 2000

This was a two round tournament run by Jason Ogden, with 10 players showing up.

I was the first to show up, and just hung out with my friend Jay, we discussed the winning decks of the week before. I asked him if our friend Casey (Galvan) was comming. Jay says, "he said he was probably not comming" and that was it. Well I had a feeling Casey was going to be there, and that my chances for winning (and subsequently raising my rating) were pretty slim. Casey and I have been playing Star Wars almost from the begining, the only difference is that since I am a TD, I usually ran the tournies and he played. So this was one of the few times I am able to actually play. I had decided to play my new DS deck "Hunt Down and Please Cancel This Visage!" and my LS deck "False Profit" - both will be posted today.

Casey walks in.... I say high, I @#$% about how there is no chance I am gonna win and than laugh cause we all knew I was kidding. Jay, Casey, and I are great friends, to us it doesn't really matter who wins, as long as its one of us....

Anyway the others show up and the tournament begins.... with me deathly afraid of having to play Casey (1969 rating - number 1 in Michigan).

Game 1 my DS "Hunt Down and Please Cancel this Visage!" vs. Rich Smith's LS "Forfiet Scrubs"

Well I was glad that I didn't have to play Casey and even happier that he was playing the same side of the force as I was, so I started my game against Rich pretty confident. As a side note, for those of you who do not know me, my playing style is non-interactive. Meaning, I'll leave you alone as long as you leave me alone. So he starts some CC sites and I start Huntdowns usual stuff minus the epic duel. I proceed to set my hand up the way I want it and get everything I need to defend myself as I take my first step. I purposefully forget Visage (for now). I deploy kashyyyk and a tie defender with SFS laser cannons. I have a rebel barrier and an all power to weapons, not to mention a ton of ships in my hand. He deploys some scurbs to CC. I deploy endor and kiffix and do the same, by now its turn 3 or 4 and I have my sites packed with enough for a destiny draw and the ability to smoke any starfighter that deploys. I am draining him for 6 in the sky, haven't seen a single main or starship yet. I drop vader to an unoccupied CC site and hit him for another 1 drain. I then suddenly remember the visage....I don't know, its crazy! He folds pretty fast after that only draining me for two a turn tops near the end of the game.
I win +21
High - Finally I have a DS deck that can win!!!!! Woo hoo
Low - none really everything went according to plan.

Game 2 my LS "False Profit" vs. Drew Innes DS "Gamorrian Court"
Drew is a newer player to Star Wars, and I felt bad having to play him in the second game. Turns out that Casey, Chris Wynes, and myself were all playing Dark while only Clint Prong played Light. Therefore the balance of decent players was skewed to one side of the force. I was very confident going into this game expecting to play Casey next round. I figured I could get as many differencial points as I could, and maybe still have a shot at second. The game starts and drew makes mistake after mistake. I really felt bad about beating him so badly.
I win + 27
High - winning I guess....
Low - I messed up only once this entire game. and it cost me 8 force....never again will that happen.

Game 3 my DS vs Chris Wynes "Throne Room Mains"
I was actually really happy about this match up for two reasons... 1 Casey was the same side as me, wich ment I wasn't going to play him at all! 2 if I won this game I was probably going to win the tournament, mostly because my light side has lost only twice since it was built (going through Michigan State Championships, Corellian Regionals, and Motor City comic con as well as a number of local tournaments). The game begins and it was a better start this time than last, if thats possible! But after a few turns Chris reminds me that we should be losing to Visage....damn. so we lose for a couple turns until finally he cancels the damn thing (thank you!). He ends up nabruning to the Holo theater than spreads over to the med chamber. He is draining me for 4 and I am hitting him for 6 in space and 2 were vader and GMT are camping over on Endor at the Ewok Villiage. He ends up retrieving 12 force with off the edge, which I caught the first time. But I still out ran him in the end.
I win +11
High - Chris miss tracked a destiny and it screwed his nabrun to jump Vader and Tarkin.
Low - losing CBHYBC early to a blind force drain. Really kicked myself for that one.


Side note - Between games Chris tells me he was hoping to play my LS deck cause he put in all sorts of anti Arcona/OTE stuff to hurt it... He went as far as to tell me what exactly that stuff was.....


Game 4 - my LS "False Profit" vs Chris Wynes DS "Skrilling Numbers"
I had heard about this deck earlier this week, it had won the week before. I was worried though, because he could put two aliens at the AC and insert numbers staright off and really screw me. Also I knew I wouldn't be able to use my Arconas unless I REALLY needed to, and even then it was gonna be risky. I drew my opening hand. The first card I drew was a don't forget the droids.... I stifled a smile and start the game. Luckily he didn't insert to start like I thought he was gonna. In fact it took him all game to get to an insert card, and by that point, I could activate my entire force pile. As the game went on, he tried to sniper my undercover spy, I grabbed it, and then played its a trap. He got all his skrillings out and droped secret plans. I droped undercover spies at all three sites and Rennek and Tessek at the AC. I droped Yoda to his hut, and jedi test 1 to train an ithorian, droped encampment and then moved him to the forest. Next turn another ithorian to the swamp on the other side of the hut, and barganing table and order to engage. He abandons the AC and deploys Bubo to the forest and eats my ithorian. bummer. I move yoda over to cover the other ithorian and drain him for three the rest of the game. Late game he drops kessel with a presence of the force and a zuckass and hits me for 2 a turn, I cancel twice with bargaining table, then lose two for the next 4 turns, as soon as I had ten force in my lost pile, I released han and paid the ten force....funny how I planned that... and saved the last two it could be worses in my hand dumped everything else to the traffic control and drained him out two turns later. He played numbers once, when it came up I canceled with the DFTD, he didn't play numbers the rest of the game.
I Win +27
High - he retrieved 10 force with abyssin ornament and his skrillings and I still beat him by 27.
Low - no low point, everything went according to plan.

All in all I had a good day, second tournament I have ever won, though I didn't have to play Casey(thank you God) or Clint (Beat "False Profit" by 2 force at States. 1 of the 2 loses its ever took.) and my rating will go up some now.... Finally.

Final Standings -
First - Jason Aubry
Second - Casey Galvan
Third - Clint Prong

End of the Day High - knowing my DS deck with a little more tweaking can be just as reliable as my LS deck.
End of the Day Low - knowing next week, I have to use my back up decks.....thats gonna be an adventure....

Till next week,
See you guys.