alderaan-regional-7-29-2k
Title: alderaan-regional-7-29-2k
Author: Ryan "Mage" Schueller
Date: Jul 30, 2000
Our plan originally was to rent a place near the regional the night before...get a good night's sleep...and be ready for action the next day...but my friends want to test their decks in Rancho Cucamonga at a tourney Friday night...and by the end of it...we're all too lazy to drive up to Goleta. We crash at Andy Chen's house in LA...and decide to head up the next morning
We don't wake up until 10...and we got a big drive ahead of us. We get through traffic and show up in front of the place where the regional is, at quarter 'til 2. Mike Bento...one of my buddies from school is already there, because he's been up there all summer at his dad's place. He tells us it doesn't look like things are gonna be running on time, so we head over to Wendy's. We run into Kevin Shannon (the guy who won the ComicCon Open) along the way...and talk with him. He's a real cool guy...and me and him played a few games during ComicCon. He's cool to talk too, if you ever get around too it.
In any case...we get our lunch. We head back to the regional. And the thing doesn't even start until closer to 3. And it looks like we got some 57 players here.
For LS I'm playing a quick activation deck using the new LS Objective out of DS2. For DS I'm playing good old Ralltiir Ops. I should have the decks posted on DeckTech before too long. My rating is 1912 at the start of the day.
Game 1: My Dark Vs Ian McInturff's (1456) Squadron Assignment/Hidden Base
Welp, its the first game of the day...so I'm nervous. There's alot of good guys in the room...and quite a few players I've never seen before. I get a slow start on Ralltiir...but he leaves me unopposed...so I'm free to set up in 3-4 turns. Once I flip...he doesn't have any systems down with the icons to drain me at. So I just do the search thing...and drain for 3 every turn. He doesn't flip until he brings out Kessel...but by then I got a handful of starships, and Search and Destroy down. Things just went downhill from there for him.
Full Win by 28
2(+28)
Highlights: Getting my deck to work
Lowlights: Playing a kid...who after turn 4 couldn't be competitive against me.
That win puts me on top of things, but against a good player.
Game 2: My Light Vs Paul Feldman's (2019) Set Your Course/Beatdown deck
Welp, I've never played Paul...but I've heard alot of good things about him since I started the game. I'm nervous at the start of the game, and I play like an idiot. I put Lando In Falcon at Death Star. Crix Madine and Cracken at the Landing Platform with Luke. And two good scouts at the home one docking bay. Two turns and 1 lateral damage later I had NOTHING left on the table. I tried to keep the game close...but after the damage I took in the few turns...it was all bull@#$% to even try.
Full Loss by 18.
2(+10)
Highlights: Getting to play a player who has always been a figurehead for the game.
Lowlights: Playing like an idiot.
At this point in the tournament I'm ready to go home, but my friends keep me in the thing, and we get ready to see if I can get my Light deck to win a game.
Game 3: My Light Vs Matt Smith's (1851) Ralltiir Ops Deck
He starts off by pulling a docking bay...playing one from hand, deploying a Ralltiir site, and sticking DS-61-2 at the landing platform. My generation is real low...so I pull my docking bay, and move Luke over for pickup. On his turn he drops Vader, and moves over to Ralltiir with his mini-crew, so it doesn't look like he'll be losing any to my objective. He deploys out 4 of his Ralltiir sites. I get out 3 scouts to the far left site (the Jungle), and Wedge, Hobbie, and a Scout to the far right site. Welp, it looks like he's only playing with the 4 sites...so he can't flip. He drains me for a few turns for 1 and 1. Eventually I pull my fourth scout, and drop it to the Forest. Then I move over Wedge's crew, and we camp out in front of an AT-ST. He deploys a second AT-ST and battles. Wedge cancels his destiny, and I get my first card on "I feel the conflict". On my turn I battle, he tries to trample Wedge, but misses, and I get my second card. He moves over his Vader crew...so ALL his characters are at the Forest. I deploy down some scouts, battle, he hits Wedge, but I win the battle. He forfeits Vader, and moves the AT-STs always to the far right site, and Luke is mine again. I got my drain of 2 at Luke's site. He deploys Mara against Crix at the Home One docking bay, but misses, and Crix covers. My turn I drop my hand on Mara, and get my 4th card on I feel the conflict, and kill Mara. He deploys Vader against Luke...but on my turn I turn Vader. 4 cards on I feel the conflict, and I draw a 3. I get the auto-win.
Full Win by 15.
4(+25)
Highlights: Daddy Came Home.
Lowlights: The slow start.
I go too the lobby to pick up a bottle of water, and a snack. When I come back, Eric Bruen tells me he checked the pairings before the director had announced them. Me and him are gonna be playing. He knows my deck, I know his. But in playtesting he beat it every time. Welp, BATTLE UP.
Game 4: My Dark Vs Eric Bruen's (1961) DS2 Objective plus scouts (i.e. Daddy Come Home)
He's got my number from the start of the game, but I drop Evax to his docking bay to slow him down a turn. He moves over Luke, and I pick 'em up. I deploy Lord Vader on my turn, and move back to Ralltiir. He starts to pad out his hand, and I realize if I don't flip Ralltiir now, I never will, so I flip the objective on principle. Next turn I lose a couple when scout invade Ralltiir, and he gets his first card. I try to keep him on the ropes by battling with the Ralltiir bonus, but its too much, so the Empire bails on Ralltiir. We all move over to Endor, curtesy of docking bay transit, Zuckuss and Bossk take the system, and I get a drain of 2 unopposed. We bounce between Ralltiir and Endor...and at one point I flip Ralltiir a second time. I find a spy, and I beat down Crix at the docking bay. He moves Luke over to Ozzel, and Ozzel's gotta pick him up. I start losing 2 a turn. In the end, he's got cards, and I don't.
Full Loss by 12.
4(+13)
Highlights: Playing a good game, and keeping Vader part of the Empire.
Lowlights: Nothing, besides losing.
Welp, I'm 2-2. Life sucks, because there are still LOTS of undefeated players, and I'm told that only the TOP 2 get prizes. BULLSHIT. But I'm Andy and John's ride, Andy is undefeated, so why not keep going, and take my beating through games five and six.
Game 5: My Dark Vs Damon Looper's (1636) Profit deck.
Last night at Rancho, I had some real problems with Profit. I did a couple card changes and hopefully this game will be different. I get a good hand and flip turn 2. I'm not draining, and he doesn't want to free Han until he has a lost card pile. I'm searching my deck for any card, and buffing out Ralltiir, so I guess he takes the hint. He frees Han with a Bothan, and drops Master Luke at the next site over. I got Lord Vader in hand, along with Tarkin. We drop on Han, and add 2 to our destiny for 2 Ralltiir sites. He loses Han, and the Bothan, and we flip him back. After that not much he could do. He played lots of Eloms, and he used them Vs Ralltiir, but in the end, he didn't do much damage. I got lots of characters, and he was never able to flip me back. Still, he forced me to deploy guys, and he kept it close. Regardless, the game was mine.
Full Win by 9
6(+22)
Highlights: Beating Profit
Lowlights: I HATE PROFIT
My differential is still low. John Patchell is 2-3, Mike is 2-3. And Andy is 4-1 with huge differential. He's sitting on top of 3rd place going into game 6...and he makes a dark deal with 13-year-old Greg Miller. If Greg wins, he wants to take Andy as his 'Guardian' welp, now Andy has two chances at DecipherCon. Greg is undefeated before game 6.
Game 6: My Light Vs David Chafin's (1445) Hunt Down deck
The game is real quick. He uses Vader to pick up Luke. I deploy some of my spy scouts to Executor to cancel Visage...and drain. Eventually my scout fleet comes down to his sites, to screw with Vader's crew. Not much to do...I deploy a big chunk of my deck. I drain him out.
Full Win by 28!
8(+50)
Highlights: Big win
Lowlights: Having to deploy so much to do so little.
In the end I finish 11th. Andy's differential is real low...so he finishes 5th. Greg lost his last game...sticking him at 3rd. And Paul Feldman and Jason Makohon play for the trip. John and Mike scrub out. But such is life, huh?
All in all it was a good day. The director game up with a little something something for prizes afterall (Cloud City, and Special Edition). Star Wars is a *FUN* game.
[PROPS]
-To my boy Mike Bento: For coming to the regional, although he just got Death Star 2 that morning
-Andy Chen: For kicking ass, and being a positive/cool guy regardless of how @#$% goes down.
-Eric Bruen: For the light side deck concept
-Nhat Lai: For finding a great place to eat dinner
-Kevin Shannon: For being a cool guy to chat with between (and during) games.
-Ian McInturff: For making the first game real casual, and his sister for coming along and hanging out, even though she didn't know the game. Both cool kids.
<SLOPS>
-Dan Lujan: For building counter decks to what I was playing and making playtesting HELL. Keeping us up 'til 5:30AM, the day of the regional, then deciding not to go.
-The TD: For giving bad rulings (Fallen Portal CANNOT knock people out of walkers)...and just giving people an all around hard time (yes, that IS an empty soda can. So?).
-Paul Tartagio: Where ya at buddy??? Star Wars is a *FUN* game
Peace out...
---Ryan Schueller