enduro-7-15-modesto-ca
Title: enduro-7-15-modesto-ca
Author: Alfred "ThaBraHmaBuL" Dong
Date: Jul 18, 2000
WARNING: If you aint HARDCORE, dont bother with this report.......youre not gonna finish it.
This is Enduro......a 16 game, 4 tournament spanning, hellhole of an arena, where players compete for some nice prizes and the chance to see how much of this game you can really take. Taking place from Saturday morning to Sunday morning, if you aint HARDCORE you dont wanna head into it, cuz if you drop you get nothing but five bucks taken from your wallet.......tournament report is NOW.......
Prelude
Going to this event was a huge question mark for me, and I knew the S.F. crew wouldnt feel up to it, so I had planned on not going. Along the week I talked to Steve Daniels from San Jose, who told me he was gonna make it down there.......I asked him if he could get me in on the ride, he agreed, and I went down his place to stay the night on Friday.
I got ZERO sleep that night.....so I was in no shape for Enduro but what could I say, I was here, minus well go. So we headed down there with Nick and Alex Stefanko, and get there on time after some trouble on the road. I walked in and Clayton Atkin and Kevin Shannon greets me with a "warm welcome".......34 people showed up in all for this thing....not bad at all. About now I was wishing that I found out sooner you could change decks......I mightve bought more than 2 with me.
The Decks
LS: THE BEST DAMN Speed Profit ........modified version of my infamous deck, speedier and ready to take on anything.
DS: This is The Rock's show.......awesome Ral Ops deck that can dish out as well as take in.
On to the games.......
Game 1: LS vs. George Shwimmers DS JP Expand beatdown
First game into the tournament and I face an out of date player.....he starts JP, and I convert with Profit, ruining pretty much the game for him. Hans freed 3rd turn due to a JUNK opening hand, and he decides to leave a lone Navy Trooper at JP.....down comes Luke and Leia, smack was laid down, trooper plus 12 more. The rest of the game, I run around with Profit, he cant catch me, and he sends Fett on a suicide mission to end it. Win by 34.
Cumalative Score: 2(+34)
Highs: Good start
Lows: Out of date player
Game 2: DS vs. Rufino Sanchez's LS EBO Baragwin Retrieval
Rufino I knew from awhile ago, recently returned to the game after a long break. I get a decent start, set up on Raltiir fast and he sets up on Hoth just the same. Brings out Ishi Tibs to manipulate his hand and gets cards hes needs, Baragwins to retrieve green cards he loses......I cant drain at Raltiir, everytime he loses a green card he retrieves it so it doesnt matter. I set up Decree and now its pretty much dreadlock until he drop Figrin Dan and starts retrieving......we lock it up, a few battles here and there, and a few drains at Raltiir slips through, and times running out. I think about timing out on him, but I dont want to be shady and screw Rufino like that, so I battle against his fleet at Hoth to end it. Loss by 17.
Cumalative Score: 2(+17)
Highs: Playing Rufino and seeing him getting back into the game.
Lows: Nothing much.....good deck.
Game 3: LS vs. Andrew's DS Carbon Chamber Testing Beats
The game was fast and furious.......I give him Chewie as a captive so he sets up Were the Bait as soon as Hans free.....which does 2 to me for the rest of the game. I free Han 2nd turn and he draws like mad. Drops Vader, battles, I Narrow Escape. Vader spends the rest of the day chasing Luke and Han. He drops Mara and company to Mos Eisley for drains, forcing me to react to him. Vader catches up to me one turn and kills off Han, but Ive got one in hand and waiting for the moment. Luke and Ben moves to Mos Eisley. He Disarms Ben, drops Dr. E and operates. He battles, Luke steals her saber. I miss the pop on Dr. E, play The Force is Strong and take out Mara. He leaves Dr. E and decides to run away to Jabba's Palace. Han comes down and offs him plus 3 more. He's running real low on cards now, a final battle between EPP Vader vs. Luke and Han clinches it. Win by 10.
Cumalative Score: 4(+27)
Highs: Lots of battles.....
Lows: We both got kinda unpatient with each other, but it was cool.....
Game 4: DS vs. Trevor's LS Speed EBO
Pretty standard fare......I set up Raltiir 2nd turn, he does the same with EBO. I drop Decree and he knows its game. I set up on Hoth with Vader and a walker, set up in space with Zuckuss, Bossk and Devastator, and he spends the day running from me while I drain him at all those nice LS systems. Win by 23.
Cumalative Score: 6(+50)
Highs: Nothing much.....
Lows: Nothing much.....
Thats the end of Round 1.....and guess what? They start the whole random pairing thing again.....I thought it was one big tournament instead of 4 normal ones? Oh well whatevers.....I guess whats the reason youn can change decks......
Round 2
Game 1: LS vs. Jeff Field's DS Raltiir Ops Gay Biker's Heaven
For a moment I thought they reconsidered the pairings thing when I had to play Jeff. This was possibly the most fun game I played the entire day.....I get a GAWD opening hand and free Han with Master Luke and saber first turn. Jeffs in awe and is all like, "Wow.....that was fast...." So he picks up the pace and sets up the gay bikers on Raltiir and flips 3rd turn. I drop Cantina, Mos Eisley, Ben and his saber, and Boushh and start spreading. He drops Kashyyk, Battle Order and tries for numbers but I cancel them off the bat. I drain, drop 4 from Profit every turn, and hes starting to feel the hurt. The next card he grabs is Decree, which gives him an edge, but his drains and my Profit damage is even, so it makes no diffrence. He looks for his last site, and drops Mara with saber there.....giving the edge in damage. In the end, that was enough, and he edges me out by 2.
Cumalative Score: 6(+48)
Highs: Playing some good people.....
Lows: Nothing much.....
Game 2: DS vs Brandon's LS Throne Room Mains
I started IAO instead of Crush this game, which turned out to be a mistake. First turn he Revoes Raltiir, my turn I grab the Docking Bay and Swamp. Every turn I look through the deck with IAO and see if my twix sites are coming. I manage to find the Death Star and Corsucant after a little while, and start from there. He never drops anything to Raltiir and instead just waits on me. I set up on Raltiir in 1 turn, and it goes downhill for him from there. I drop Kashyyyk and Bad Feelings, making his mains even more costly. He sends a few strafing runs of mains down my way, but ends up doing nothing more then taking battle damage and losing them and he just gives up after awhile......win by 31.
Cumalative Score: 8(+79)
Highs: Nothing much.....
Lows: Nothing much....
Game 3: DS vs. Mike's LS Throne Room beats
He starts off by dropping Tantive and Gold Leader at Raltiir.....not bad I thought. I get 2 twix sites to satrt the game, drop them for tons of activation and flip 3rd turn(dropped Zuckuss in front of Tantive and Gold). He drops a few mains to CCity to start his Off/On the Edge retrieval, but hes not doing any damage so it doesnt really matter. I move Zuckuss to Kashyyyk, he follows with Tantive and Gold Leader. I drop Bossk and Devastator and battle, he drops Spiral. He draws a 6, I draw a 5, and down goes Spiral and Bossk. His turn he drops Lando to reinforce. My turn, DS-2 and Ozzel pilot Devastator....battle, get in 10 attrition, and kill off Tantive and Gold Leader and I lose Ozzel. He forgets to move Tantive so I get in a huge battle, drop Fett and cause him tons of damage for the game. Win by 18.
Cumalative Score: 10(+97)
Highs: Nothing much......
Lows: Nothing much......
Game 4: LS vs. Clayton Atkin's DS GAY SKRILLINGS ON A BARBIE
Aitte same game as States......I free Han faster this time, 2nd turn with Ben and Luke. I keep the gang together most of the game so he thinks twice about beatdown. He sets up Skrillings at the Cantina, Jundland Wastes and Lar Farm, and I know Ive got to do something about it. Boussh comes down at the Cantina, Artoo for the Gift, and Claytons impressed. He inserts numbers, and like an idiot I cancel them off the bat. He grabs DFTD, and now I know Numbers will kill me. He drops Zuckuss to Kashyyyk and Battle Order to make me activate. I break Boussh's cover, drop Lando and taken on some 4 Skrills and knock off 3 and Lando bites it. He goes for beats, drops Vader, and I Narrow Escape.....thats gonna hurt his numbers. Numbers hits, and I lose about 6 to it, not too bad. I try to make Order to Engage work, and get off about 9 to him and he retrieves some 6 force with Abbyssin. I know I cant catch up now, His drains at Kashyyyk and Tatooine plus numbers wear me down. Loss by 8.
Cumalative Score: 10(+89)
Highs: Playing his candyass again.....
Lows: Losing to his CANDYASS AGAIN......
So there goes 2 rounds of play....I finished 3-1 the first one and 2-2 the second, which doesnt make me too happy. I blame some of it on myself being tired, but I know Ive made some dumb decisions I shouldnt have. Im getting bored of my decks, so I talk to Kyle Ishimaru, who tells me about his Hunt Down.....I take a look at it, and its not done, but I figure I can finish it in 5 minutes. Come game time, I go hardcore and play the 5 minute Hunt Down. Heh......lets have some fun since I cant win.
Round 3
Game 1: LS Speed Profit vs. Thomas' DS TDIGWATT DDeal hell
This guy has been accussed of cheating so I watch his every move. He sets up Dark Deal and starts to play Scanning Crews.....ow. He takes out a few of my guys but I still get Orrimaarko through and free Han with him. Luke and Ben get through with thier sabers as well to the Cantina and Mos Eisley.
He sets up Dark Deal 3rd turn, and spreads out on me. He flips by accident and now he cant get Occupation to go anymore(Endor Celebration, baby). Boussh goes down to the Downtown Plaza, and Someone Who Loves Your nixes the prison drain. It turns into a drain race, and in the end, my Profit damage plus drains all over Tatooine are more than enough for him to handle. Win by 12.
Cumalative Score: 12(+101)
Highs: Beating out Dark Deal
Lows: Nothing much.....
Game 2: DS vs. Mike Mooney's LS EBO Blitz
So now I get to try out the stupid DS. I expect to lose, but Im gonna try, starting Decree. I drop Cantina and Vader 2nd turn, and he cancels Visage about 3 times, but Ive got more(7 in the deck). He thinks about putting Momaw there, but he knows thats stupid and just tries and set up EBO. He pulled out everything but EBO, waiting the last turn for that. My turn, I drain, he lsoes from hand, and he loses Visage off the top.......EBO. GAME. Win by 19.
Cumalative Score: 12(+120)
Highs: Beating EBO with Hunt Down
Lows: Nothing much.....
Game 3: DS vs. Brad Rowell's LS Ewok Hell
I play Brad and he's on a roll.....just beat out some good players and now its my turn? Aint gonna happen. I drop Vader and Cantina 3rd turn since I drew him kinda late. He comes down with Luke but rather than lose a blind duel I decide to let him try and battle....he wusses out and Nabruns Luke away. He sets up all over Endor with Ithorians and Ewoks and some nice sites in between where walkers cant make it. Visage nips at our Force one by one, and our drains are pretty even. I drop Veers and Tempest to halt a drain, he battles and loses a few Ewoks. I drop Fett and 4-LOM for backup, and he barriers. His turn he drops Obi w/ stick and a few Ewoks, and the battle commences. Missed Fett, Fett hit an Ewok, 4-LOM and a few more Ewoks die. I still own the Cantina with Vader, but hes not coming over so I pick him up with the objective and leave Tarkin alone, who remains alone for the rest of the game. He drops Battle Plan and continues to battle, taking out both Fett and Veers.....fearing Vader, he loses Obi.......good call. Visage is killing us both, and Vader comes down alot to stop his drains at places, but ends up dying alot too. In the end, I have 7 cards to his 5. He drains at once for 2 and draws one up......I sit and let Visage work......with Battle Plan out, he cant pay for his drains, and it ends in a TRUE TIE.......so we go down to the TD and he says a coin flip since weve cleaned up already, and I win the call, and the game.
Cumalative Score: 13(+120)
Highs: Playing Brad again......
Lows: True tieing out......
Game 4: LS vs. Mike Mooney's DS SYCFA Mains Beatdown
He's kinda upset about playing me again, and so am I, but we start anyways......he forgets aliens at the AC, with proved fatal. I free Han 1st turn, and he's getting upset about that. I drop Mos Eisley for activation, and he sets up there with walkers and Imperials. I make my way over there and drop Ben with stick. He drops a few guys and battles, I cancel with It's a Trap!......he cant run(no force) so he's in trouble. I drop Tawss Khaa and Orrimaarko, battle, hit 2 Imperials, bounce Niado Duegad, and kill off a walker with attrition, in addition to canceling his with General Solo. He runs away and now its cat and mouse. I drop Order to Engage and proceed to chase. He loses tons to Order to Engage and Profit damage and theres no way he's catching up. A final battle ends it for him. Win by 28.
Cumalative Score: 15(+148)
Highs: Nothing much.....
Lows: Nothing much.....
Thats 3 rounds and its getting kinda dark now. Everyones kinda groggy and wishes they were home. I head to Taco Bell for some dinner with Clayton and Kevin and find myself eating something sour thats not quite a burrito..... A big discussion erupts between the Modesto guys about how prize support is junky and should change.......I listen in and they pick up some interesting points. I head off to mod my decks for the final round.
Round 4
Game 1: DS Raltiir Ops vs. Mike Mooney's LS EBO Blitz
WHAT THE HELL.....I played him not twice but 3 times this tourney alone. I switch back to my Raltiir because weve done the Hunt Down game before. I set up Raltiir 3rd turn, he does EBO in 4. I spread on Raltiir with Mosep and Tarkin, 2 walkers to save them, and Zuckuss at Kashyyyk. I have everything set but Im not activating too much so Im forced to make a decision.....get Decree going with Vader and a walker, or play it safe and do it next turn. He has 7 cards in hand so I figure I'd go do Decree. Bad decision. Tarkin and Mosep gets worked EPP Leia and Bron Burs, making me flip back. He drops a few ships to Kashyyyk and makes me lose 7 off the top or Zuckuss and 2(which I chose the 7). I lose alot of Imperials, and everytime I look for more, Im at a loss, so it looks like Im not flipping back. I have a steady drain at Hoth and 2 Raltiir sites, and as long as Decree worked I'd be fine. I drop Bossk and Vaders Shuttle to back up Zuckuss, and clean off alot of his ships. His forces get withered down, and he decides to spread.....his mistake. He leaves Lando in Falcon and Tantive at Kashyyyk. I drop Devastator.....he loses both plus 9 more, and ends the game. Win by 11.
Cumalative Score: 17(+159)
Highs: Coming back from a near loss......
Lows: Playing Mike 3 times......
Game 2: LS vs. Jeff Field's DS Raltiir Ops Gay Biker's Heaven
Read the game above.......same story, same result, he wins by 4 more this time, and had I gotten out Order to Engage I wouldve won. Orrimaarko ran all over Raltiir halting his drains. Good game though.....
Cumalative Score 17(+153)
Highs: Jeff, youre moving up in the world.....
Lows: Nothing much......
Game 3: LS vs. Micheal Carey's DS Raltiir Ops Lone Warrior Hell
Ive been meaning to play him, but MAN this guy needs to CHILL. I free Han 1st turn, and start the Profit damage.... he flips 3rd turn and starts draining on Raltiir. I spread on Tatooine, and he goes after Luke with Mara and her saber, I Narrow Escape. He drops Dark Lord to JP with his saber, and hes got a deadly drian there now. I drop Boussh to cover it, set up Ben and stick with the Mos Eisley/Cantina shuffle, and Order to Engage. I drop Orrimaarko to Raltiir to battle a lone DS-61-2 and cause him 3 battle damage in addition to 2 from him. His turn he drops Igar and battles me, I Narrow Escape and now he needs to lose OTE damage......when that happens, he throws his hand all over the table and has a fit......thats gonna be what I need at 4 in the morning......So the OTE damage goes on for awhile, Vader and Mara cant get away from Boussh, and I drain him out. Win by 12.
Cumalative Score: 19(+165)
Highs: Nothing much......
Lows: Throw a fit somewhere else dude.....
FINAL GAME: DS vs. Micheal Carey's LS EBO Blitz
NO MORE EBO......basic stuff here......I set up Raltiir in 2 turns, he does EBO in 5 due to 2 Monnoks, one used, one lost, which cost him about 3 Red Squadron X-Wings, 2 X-Wing Cannons, and a few interrupts. He drops Hoth and Chandrila, both of which I beat him off of, and I set up 2 walkers and Decree to lock him down. He tries to take out a walker with Boshek, which gets Trampled, and again with Jereon Webb and another pilot, and Webb gets trampled too. He pretty much gives up, and I try to have some fun and battle it to the end. Win by 27.
FINAL Score: 21(+192)
Highs: Finishing Enduro
Lows: Him throwing another fit after that last Monnok
So Enduro is over and everyone's exhausted. We all sit and chill as the sun rises and wait for the final scores. I finished 12-4, not bad, coming in 9th because of that true tie. Here are the final standings......
1st: Kevin Shannon
2nd: Brad Rowell
3rd: Jeff Field
4th: Paul Feldman
5th: Peter Nordstrom
6th: Clayton Atkin
7th: Eric Field
8th: Rufino Sanchez
9th: Alfred Dong
Eric Field takes thier previous discussion over prize support to a new level as he takes it public to Carl Hardy and Robert Selby about the unfairness of it, spoiling the atmosphere. 1st place got a shirt, a Third Anthology, and a Foil Vader, 2nd a shirt, some packs, and a plaque, and everyone else got 2 packs of Reflections and 2 packs of Cloud City(which was kinda weak for 15$)
I pulled a grand total of 17 rares out of my 4 packs, as did everyone else......here they are:
Punishing One(foil)
Luke's Blaster Pistol
Bib Fortuna
Bacta Tank
Punch It!
Lando Calrissian (LS)
This Is Even Better
Smoke Screen
Image of the Dark Lord
Captain Han Solo
Wampa (foil)
Protector
All My Urchins
Wookiee Strangle
I Dont Need Thier Scum, Either
Were The Bait
As you can tell, Decipher really needs to clear CC out of thier factories, which is why my Relfectiosn packs were flooded with Cloud City. Granted, I got alot of rares, but its still a sad attempt by them.
We leave the scene in quiet after Eric's little outburst. Shake hands with Carl Hardy, Robert Selby, Kyle Ishimaru, and some other friends and head out.....I make it home at 10 am on Sunday, and pass out immediately....Comic Con is less than 3 days away.......Death Star 2 even closer......until next time......
Any questions, comments, or feedback, please email me at IfYaSmLLL@aol.com, or visit my page at Decktech.net under "ThaBrahmaBuL" and drop me a line.
Qui-Gon Jinn, The Brahma Bull
"Always Remember, Your Focus Determines Your Reality"