framingham-ma-7-8-2000
Title: framingham-ma-7-8-2000
Author: Michael "rayc" Hawley
Date: Jul 10, 2000
There was a fairly small turnout due to a couple of other tournaments being held in other parts of the region on the same day. I think we started with 9 or 11 people and had several people drop along the way for various reasons.
I got back from a family vacation the day before. I had not really even given a serious thought to SWCCG in a couple weeks. I decided to go to the tournament anyway just to try out my new EBO deck. I did not really have a dark deck prepared. I was getting sick of the Hunt Down deck, although it still performs well. So I decided that I would drag out the Skrillings for a little last fling before DS2 brings the magic Bullet that kills Odds.
So --
LS: EBO (Echo Base Operations -- My first)
DS: COTVG Skrillings (Pote Holds Court) Variations of both decks are posted.
Game 1
My LS vs. Eric Hunter (1848) SFS Ties with Tallon Rolls
Eric started Kashyyyk system and I forget the effects. It may have been Surface Defense for Secret Plans, Resistance and There is No Try. I started the Main Power Generators and the North Ridge and used the Signal to get New Secret Base. Man, this is a deck I just did not prepare for! And I paid for it. He deployed lone Ties to Kashyyyk and another system he got out on the first turn and started to put the hurt on me with anoying drains. I got EBO set up somewhat quickly -- turn 3 I think; but I had a lot of trouble finding ships. When I finally came to space, he Tallon Rolled my leaders and beat down everything else with his Ties and Dreadnaughts. The few drains I got in he was able to retrieve via SFS. Again, this is a deck I just did not prepare for; and Eric played it very smart. He waited to deploy Milwaukee and SFS until he needed the retreival. I did not get my grabbers early enough to stop his nasty Red Cards and I did not get enough ships and force to administer a serious beatdown. Poor preparation against a well prepared opponent. Got what I deserved.
FL (-23)
Highs: I learned a lot about the weaknesses of my deck. I devoted too much deck space to stopping things on the ground and not enough to controlling space. Also, need to streamline the deck for more speed.
Lows: I hate to start with a loss.
Game 2
My DS vs. New Player -- I think it was Michael something (1500) EBO
This was a new player. He did not have a New Secret Base. I asked him if he wanted to start any effects and he did not. I started Court Of the Vile Gangster and used Surface Defence to get There Is No Try and Secret Plans. This was not pretty folks. I got Pote and a couple of Skrillings down to the Audience Chamber and inserted. I got that sick guilty feeling when he had to read the insert card and still seemed uncertain about what it did. He brought a few Mains down to Tatooine to try and stop the force loss from COTVG. When 3720 to 1 popped and he lost the 8 force, he had a better idea what the card did.
I could see by the way he was playing that he had no idea of what to do about the deck. I could not bring myself to insert again. So I just battled and retreived with Scum and Villainy and First Strike. This poor kid was getting crushed from all sides. He and his friend left the tournament early. Too bad; because I was going to give him my prize packs.
This, of course resurfaces the whole cheese debate. I know the COTVG deck is cheese (Almost everyone else at the tournament has used cheese against me at one time or another, so I had a fairly clean conscience as far as the better players went.) but any tournament worthy deck probably would have hammered this kid with the deck he was using . So, did the fact that it was odds make it worse somehow?
FW (+22)
Highs: no
Lows: Guilt
Game 3
My DS vs. Jimmy Schiemer (1786) EBO
He started the Main Power Generators and the North Ridge and used the Signal to get New Secret Base. I started Court Of the Vile Gangster and used Surface Defence to get There Is No Try and Secret Plans. He set up EBO pretty quickly, using Hnmths to occupy the required Echo sites. I got Pote and his Pals set up at the audience chamber and inserted.
This game is where the COTVG objective paid off. I was able to get the ships I needed to challenge him in space take my losses and use Scum and Villainy + First Strike to retrieve the cards as fast as I lost them. The Combo of Zuckuss in Mist Hunter, 4-LOM as a passenger and Bossk in Hounds Tooth is downright nasty when your deck is packed with destiny 4 Skrillings and destiny 5 interrupts and effects. That's 3 draws (avg. 12 battle destiny) and he has to have ability of 7 to even make one count. With First Strike and Scum on the table, I would retrieve 3 force and he would lose one each time I initiated battle. He ran out of gas long before I did. The Odds only popped once I think and they hit for 5.
FW (+20 ish)
Highs: Even without the Odds, this deck can hurt EBO
Lows: None.
Game 4
My LS vs. Steve Baroni (1710) Hunt Down with Dueling
Steve started the usual Hunt Down w/dueling stuff. I forget what effect he used. I started the Main Power Generators and the North Ridge and used the Signal to get New Secret Base. I really thought I had planned for this type of deck. Steve got down the Endor 2/1 exterior location with the +1 to drains (Forest Clearing?) and got Mara Jade and her saber down there quickly followed soon after by Vader and Tarkin. He set up a steady drain of 4.
I, meanwhile, got EBO set up. It took me an extra turn or two because I only got the expensive deploy cards (Mon Mothma, EPP Han, EPP Obi) in my hand and it took me a few turns to draw and deck dive for what I needed. It also took me the longest time to get any ships. Meanwhile, I am losing a steady 1 per turn to Visage and 4 to his drain. I was scared to go after him with Obi because I had no Anti Dueling stuff except Rogue Speeders.
I finally put Luke in Rogue 1 at the North Ridge to flip the objective back. Unfortunately he came right after me with Elis Helrot (damn, I should have tracked that Insurrection when I had a chance). He had a lot of sevens and sixes in his deck and hurt me pretty badly. He also pulled off a counter assault against one of my space drains with 2 tracked sevens. Steve played it out well and I could not recover.
FL (+20 ish)
Highs: Learned even more about my deck. I need to tune it for speed. Need to get more ships and cheaper characters, maybe with some helper cards to get them deployed from reserve.
Lowes: I should have know this stuff before -- actually I did but I just had not had any time to work on the deck or playtest.
Game 5
My LS vs. Michael Schiemer (1750) Balanced Huntdown no Dueling
Michael started the usual Huntdown stuff with no Epic Duel and I think he started Imperial Arrest Order with T'wilek. I started the Main Power Generators and the North Ridge and used the Signal to get New Secret Base. Well, I was much better prepared for a balanced deck. Michael made, what I thought was a critical mistake. He deployed Vader and Tarkin at the North Ridge and started to march them in alone under the shields. He could not have cancelled EBO this way and I was not going to fight him.
He challaenged me in Space and won some battles. Again, I just did not have enough ships to overwhelm him and the Visage did its steady work (on both of us once I got Luke down at the North Ridge). I really felt in control of this game most of the way. It was close because Michael is a good player.
FW ( +5 ish)
Highs: Winning with the deck and seeing some hope for it.
Lows: Well, if Michael had done something else Vader and his pal, I might have gone 0 for 3 with this fool deck.
Game 6
My DS vs. Michael Scheimer (1750) Dagobah y-wing strangeness
Michael started Mind What You Have Learned and Dagobah. I started Court Of the Vile Gangster and used Surface Defence to get Secret Plans. I did not get There Is No Try because I figured that he was not relying heavily on Sense and Alter with that Objective. As near as I can tell, Michael was playing some kind of Mains and Y-wing thing. He was deploying starfighters to the bog clearing, flying up to Dagobah, landing them in the swamp and letting them sink to the used pile. This was helping him get around Ability, Ability, Ability and recycle destiny 3 y-wings but I am not sure what the plan was. Michael, if you are reading this or if anyone else knows the reason for this little cycling trick, could you please let me know.
Anyway, Michael did the smart thing and came right after Pote, sending him and a Skrilling to the Lost Pile. The moment of truth came right then because he drew and played and out of commision on my lost pile. However, he did not get Pote. Soon after, I retrieved Pote and he never went to my lost pile again.
Michael was very good at shuffling his deck each turn and he was playing several Don't Forget The Droids so I think 3720 to 1 popped 5 times without doing any damage. The 5th time, however, I grabbed Don't Forget The Droids with There'll be Hell To Pay. Then it was really just a matter of time. You can only refuse to activate for so long. Michael's deck had a strong fighting element to it but it had no other means of dealing serious damage and with a deck that retrieves as much force as a Skrilling Deck does, it has a very hard time keeping up. Between the Tatooine Drains and that final 3720 to 1 when he did not have any more Don't Forget The Droids, Michael Ran out of options
FW (+19)
Highs: Pote and his friends are 3 and 0 in their (probable) last hurrah
Lows: None.
1st Eric Hunter
2nd Michael Scheimer (I think)
3rd Michael Hawley (me)
Conclusions: I was surprised to see nobody using the 3rd anthology DS objective. If I had had any chance at all to playtest, I would have used it. There were a lot of EBO decks being played. I am not sure how they fared generally but I lost 2 out of three and the two I faced lost rather miserably. Tie decks are pretty evil against EBO (well mine anyway). Huntdown is still the most popular DS deck type and grabbers still rule.
Thanks for reading.
rayc