normal-il-8-3-00
Title: normal-il-8-3-00
Author: David "Wedge659" Marincic
Date: Aug 7, 2000
This all actually started a week or so after the D*II prerelease. Basically, the Peoria crew decided it was about damn time to get organized, so as a response to the disturbing lack of SWCCG "squadrons" that featured only crappy, inexperienced players, we formed Bastard Squadron with four charter members; Chris Caras (aka Jackal), Sean Tucker (aka Wormsbane82), Chris Loberg (aka...I have no idea), and myself. In theory, this meant we'd go to tournaments together and get some experience, which is pretty much the biggest thing we lack...well, no, the biggest thing we lack is money. And pack luck. Damn, we suck. Anyways, the first Bastard Squad "road trip" was to a tourney on the 29th of July run by Jason Lumsden. Chris Caras, being the fearless and trusting guy that he is (sucker!), joined me for the drive to Springfield. I gave myself 2 hours, operating under the assumption that I'd get lost. I did, but it was like 5 minutes from home because I don't know the bloody highway numbers and couldn't find the entrance to 74. Fortunately, I had blind luck behind me and we got to Springfield without further incident, only to walk into the back room and find Jason and ONE other guy. Result...unsanctioned (shudder). Still, I wanted to get some games in and so did Chris, and at least we were playing against different people, so Chris played against the other guy (sorry I don't remember your name), and I sat down across from Jason.
Springfield (7/29/00)
Game 1: My DS vs. Jason Lumsden's Endor Uprising
I'd come up with my Dark deck just a few days ago and it was a machine. I started Set Your Course, Mob Points, Oppressive, and Secret Plans, he started Endor and the Farm, with Strike Planning of course so I couldn't generate from Endor, Squad Assign, and something else. My first turn, I grab the Docking Control Room, deploy Janus there, drop docking bays for Coruscant, Executor, and Endor, then move Janus over to the DS:DB. I do my once per game and grab Executor w/ Mob Points. His turn he gets out Gen. Calrissian on GS1 to Endor and I know he's in trouble. My next turn I save, draw a couple and get 2 Imperial Commands. His turn I take a drain of 1 and he drops Tycho in GS3 to Alderaan, then moves to the Death Star. I play an Imperial Command and grab Ozzel from my reserve, cause Piett wasn't in there. My turn I drop CHYBC (hehe), and by this point I'm activating a TON and I've saved for a couple turns. Gold Squad 1 gets Lateral Damaged, and the Executor is deployed to Endor w/ Ozzel and Chiraneau piloting. I initiate, add a destiny w/ the other Imperial Command, and crush him even though he draws a five...unfortunately, he dropped Savrip the turn before so two mains from his hand satisfy the damage, but he never regains control of Endor...good thing, too, cause this deck only had one ship at the time :) He takes a couple turns to regroup, then drops Jedi Luke and Han w/ Heavy to the Swamp at Endor. My turn I drop a Dune Walker w/ Igar piloting and Veers as a passenger to the Farm. Next turn, Boussh goes to the Farm to block my drain, so I dump Palpy and Mara w/ Saber to the DB and I'm outdraining him 4 to 1, then move over to the Swamp to take care of Luke and Han. Boussh breaks cover and drains me, and he initiates at the Swamp...Han gets Trampled, but my destinies were ass and I don't get Luke...he draws and 4 so we're even...damn. He moves Boussh over, and I know I've got him cause I saved in Imperial Command since I figured that two destinies would break Luke's immunity the turn before. I initiate and my 3 destinies are huge, total of 13, so he loses everything. Next turn he drops a Bacta Tank and ANOTHER Jedi Luke to where Palpy and Mara are, plus a bunch of backup since he'd been saving. Next turn I drop We're In Attack Position now and run like a scared little girl, the rest of the game was the same and I was outdraining him bigtime, so he finally spread out in desperation and I hammered him, by the time I drained him out I had complete control of Endor...there were no survivors, and his guys running around on the Death Star couldn't drain me at all. Win by 4.
Highlights: Beating Jason (1865) with a totally original deck that I made MYSELF
Lowlights: My draw was total ass, it was closer than I expected...couldn't find Battle Order, that would've killed him since Endor was the only BG system
Game 2: My DS vs. Some Kid's EBO
He really didn't know how to build/play EBO, so I was helping him out a lot this game and letting him back up a lot. I had a good draw for activation, and Executor was parked at Endor second turn. Fearing the Super Falcon, I deployed Chiraneau to the Landing Platform and shuttled him up w/ Alert My Star Destroyer...the Big Ship o' Fun wasn't going ANYWHERE. He set up in four turns and dumped all his ships to Kashyyyk...he was playing Y-wings and Vette's. He couldn't handle the damage I was dealing him every turn, though. Between my drain locations and the AO, I was getting him for 9 a turn after about 5 or 6 turns, and I shredded him pretty quick. Win by 29ish.
Highlights: Good draw, the deck worked like a charm despite not getting many locations out after the first wave
Lowlights: He was afraid to come to me, prolly expected a bunch of other ships to join the fight, so it was just a drain race
Game 3: My LS vs. Jason's ROps
I was running RTP with ASP tech, he mentioned that he wanted to see how it worked since he'd never seen an RTP deck that was actually decent before. I took one look at my opening hand and laughed out loud, telling him we'd need to play again if he wanted to see it work. I had all red and it took me 3 turns just to draw what I needed, and once I did he'd already flipped...it was really brutal and he beat me by like 18 since he had to deploy a lot once I flipped and started hitting him back.
Highlights: Placing Lord Vader out of play
Lowlights: The deck totally stalled, I couldn't draw what I needed, and I never got the retrieval going
Game 4: Rematch
He still wanted to see if it would work and I wanted redemption, so we play again...and my hand was sweet. First turn I drop 8D8 to Y4 DB, and an ASP and a Lift Tube to the DS, then Lift Tube Escape and drop another Tube there for free. I move 8D8 to the cell first turn. Next turn, I pop a Lift Tube to Reserve and draw it to free Leia, then move her as far as the Y4 DB, with ECC Lando for backup. He flips his objective that turn with this insane amount of people, but I wait for him to come to me while adding characters to the DB. I do go after him once with Romas and Orri against a lone Vader, placing him out of play yet again but losing both my characters. After a couple of On The Edges for 5 thanks to the ASP/Lift Tube combo, he realizes that he needs to take out my force, so he dumps a couple walkers with pilots to the DB since they still have immunity, battles, and my destinies hammer him...his attrition was 13, 11 for bd. Next turn I blow him away there with some overflow and complete DS Plans for 17, drain him out in a couple more to win by 22.
Highlights: When this thing works, it works...he flipped very quickly and I still recovered...his out of play pile was big and included Mara and Vader
Lowlights: IAO kept me from going to Ralltiir aside from a brief attack w/ Romas and Orri
The games were a lot of fun, and Lumsden is a really cool guy. I managed to get called a bastard in game one after Lat Damaging Gold Squad 1, so that was pretty funny since I AM in the "revered" Bastard Squadron. Meanwhile, I watched some kid pull a Jedi Luke out of 4 packs...the day after pulling Palpy out of 6. I was up to 41 packs without even getting a main, so I was pretty pissed at my "luck." On the way home, though, we wound up behind this truck with a total burnout in the back, smoking a joint and bobbing back and forth rythmically...I can't believe I stayed on the road, I laughed that hard. Guess you had to be there.
Anyways, Sean, Chris and I decided later that week to go to a tourney in Normal. Chris was hell-bent on running 5 It's Worses, thinking that w/ Wizard World only scrubs would be there...thankfully he didn't. We took a break from deckbuilding the night before to go to Chris's house since he somehow forgot to bring his dark deck, then to Sean's to pick up some C/UC to help him build a deck, and then it was on to Denny's to eat the Damn Brownie. This was Chris's idea, but I figured I could use some luck and so we dragged Sean out and found the place, then sat down to order. The other two hadn't eaten, so they ordered dinner, and I was given the task of ordering the Brownie. So I say "We'll take three of these, too" and the waitress thinks I said 2 of them, so we fix that and the other two guys look at me like I'm an idiot until I point out that their sorry asses were too afraid of jinxing us to even order the Damn Brownie...that shut them up. They ate and then the Brownies came, they were big and I was the only one who hadn't eaten. I tore through the thing and finished pretty quick (they're really good, a little rich but oh well), but Chris and Sean were fading fast. It was hilarious. Chris ran out of ice cream about halfway through and got through it with great difficulty, but Sean was on the brink of death. He tried to dilute the powers of the Brownie with water and french fries, but failed utterly. As a result, I have never heard a person cuss out a food product so thouroughly as Sean did that night. He must've called the Brownie a @#$% 4 or 5 times. He got through it, though, but we figured he was screwed due to the blatent disrespect shown to the Brownie. By the time we got home, he was barely able to move and kept moaning, he collapsed and fell asleep around 1:30 after searching desperately for something to sooth his stomach and finding nothing. I scrapped my LS deck around 3:30 cause it was total ass and rebuilt my RTP w/ some modifications, but it was 4:30 by the time I finished and I knew I'd forgotten something, but I was too damn tired to care and went to sleep. Next morning we get there before the store has even opened and hang w/ the TD (Aaron Komar) and a couple other guys, then go inside for what he'd dubbed the tourney as "Cheesy Deck Con 2000." Before playing, though, we find out that the store across the street is selling D*II for 2.50, so I blow 40 bucks without pulling a main...the count is now 49 packs, no URs, no mains. This sucks. I got back in time to do some final tweaking and then the pairings were called and I sat down across from David Fairbanks.
Normal (8/3/00)
Game 1: DS vs. David Fairbanks' Cheesy Ass Sabbacc
I saw him start the Casino and I'm thinking he's dead, but my opening draw is ass...Ozzel and red. I drop Ozzel to the Control Room and there's only one friggin Docking Bay in there, I draw up and I get the other two plus Endor. His turn he drops Lando and plays Trooper Sabbacc, I lose, he gets rid of Battle Order (@#$%!). Basically, I got set up on Endor with almost no characters cause I wasn't drawing @#$% and he would take my characters out of the game after winning Sabbacc...he placed Vader out of play w/ Sabbacc and some Out Of Commisions, and I lost a grabber and wasted the other on an Out Of Commision, thinking I'd just grab the other w/ the Twi'lek in my hand. This game sucked, and we attracted quite a crowd becuase he was manipulating my deck so bad and yet I was still hitting him hard, plus I was going crazy every time he played Sabbacc (twice per turn, I felt like killing him). I finally got some characters out and killled everyone but Lando, then with only 2 cards left I activated one...he couldn't play Sabbacc on me anymore. I got up and did a little dance (no joke), then hit him for 10 between my drains and the AO, he got me for 1, and the next turn I finished him off for a win by 1.
Highlights: beat total cheese despite him getting me locked down
Lowlights: having to play against cheese, getting a crappy draw so I couldn't go after him, realizing later that night that I COULD use my leaders as wilds in Trooper Sabbacc since the Casino only affect CC Sabbacc so I should've won almost every hand of Trooper Sabbacc, many more but I won't get into them now
Score: 2(+1)
Game 2: My LS vs. James Bottoms' Speed TDIGWALT
I get a decent draw, but he's set up with lone srubs at 3 sites, Dark Deal, and a TIE on like the 3rd turn. This is the game I realized I'd forgotten Draw Their Fire, because every time I'd attack his scrubs he'd Lone Warrior or Ghhhk, and I couldn't hurt him much. Even after flipping and killing everything in sight, his drains were destroying me and I was running out of options. I lost all my retrieval to drains (damn!) and couldn't recover, he drained me out and won by 4.
Highlights: I took the fight to him and kicked his ass on CC
Lowlights: my retrieval wasn't popping and I couldn't recover from the early drains...damned Draw Their Fire would've saved my ass, but unfortunately my deck was made really late at night
Score: 2 (-3)
Game 3: My LS vs. Keith Brown's Carbon Chamber Testing
I give him Orri, and after seeing All Wrapped Up I decide not to Nabrun since getting captured would screw me completely. I get set up fast, free Leia and retrieve, then move her to where EPP Obi is holding the fort at the Y4DB. Meanwhile, he misses his first two tries at frezzing Orri, then finally gets him and I suck up the 8 Force loss. We flip our objectives within a turn of each other (me first, though), and I get to verify his deck when he searches for a CC site and doesn't find one...yup, Oota Goota Solo's and All Wrapped Up's up the wazoo, so I drop Projections at both the sites he controls to stop the drains and sit back and drain away. I finally go to CC when most of his guys are at Tatooine, and EPP Luke, EPP Han, and Don't Get Cocky rips through his defenses in one battle. He comes after me a couple of times and gets killed, I retrieve my entire lost pile between On The Edges and Death Star Plans w/ my ASP/Lift Tube combo, then he deploys Mara w/ Saber to block my Lone EPP Luke from draining, but doesn't initiate since he doesn't have enough Force left after draining (RTP flipside rocks). My turn I pop a Lift Tube back to my hand, then Sorry About The Mess Mara, drain, spread, and two turns later I drain him out to win by 38.
Highlights: damn, when this deck works, it kicks ass...this was the biggest win all day and shot me into second behind the as-yet undefeated Sean (despite all the crap he gave the Brownie...wierd)
Lowlights: he put Vader's Bounty on Prisoner 2187 and a bounty on EPP Obi...didn't hurt me, just annoys me in principle
Score: 4(+35)
Game 4: My DS vs. Tyler Naziger's Profit
The theme of the day for my DS was a terrible draw, and this was no different. Meanwhile, Tyler actually laughed when he drew and said it was the best hand he'd ever gotten. I didn't let it get to me, figured he might just be trying to psyche me out...he wasn't, first turn Master Luke and Ani's Saber drop to Mos Eisley (which he deployed), and Ben frees Han. This sucks. I draw for a while and manage to set up on Endor, but by the time I have enough to come after him he's already garrisoned both sites and is draining away despite Battle Order. I was hitting him for 9 a turn, but it took me a couple turns and more cards to do it, he just killed me and I lost by 19.
Highlights: none, the draw was ass and I'm sick of losing w/ my dark...I hadn't lost with it even once until today!
Lowlights: he only had 3 Bens, 3 Lukes, and one saber...and drew every friggin one of them...great googily-moogily
Score: 4(+16)
Game 5: My DS vs. James Bottoms' EBO
He got set up fast, and I was once again slow (you guessed it, @#$%ty opening draw...what the hell??!!). Still, I was outdraining him and the first time he deployed any ships, he dropped to Alderaan and the Death Star...CHYBC the next turn stopped that. I killed off some invaders on the Death Star, but made the mistake of letting Tycho stay there for the drain of one since I couldn't afford to lose characters (I had no more in my hand), but was still outdraining him 10 to 8...couldn't find the damn AO, though! It was a drain race, there wasn't another battle all game. I finally found the bloody AO, deployed it, and kicked the damage up to 12, but all he had to do was move over to Endor in force the last turn since I had only 1 card left and he had 10 total, and he'd win, but instead he draws a couple cards and I'm like wtf??? So I drain at Endor first...huge mistake, he drops Spiral to cancel it while he still has enough, but I hit him for everything and still win. Anyways, he's picking up and then we realize I'd misread a location and he should've had one left after the drains, so while I cuss myself out in a corner for being stupid, the td gives him the win by 1.
Highlights: none
Lowlights: besides the draw and losing, I realized later that night that he'd deployed Spiral to block my drain...to the same system as Executor w/ Godherdt and Chiranuea and Fett in Slave 1...I would've killed him and won anyway, but I was too friggin mad and he'd already picked up, so I forgot about the damn Spiral...I am an idiot
Score: 4(+15)
Game 6: My LS vs. Erik Frantz's RalOps/Troopers
He's a cool guy who I'd met when Peoria still had tourneys (around the invention of fire, as I recall...), and he hadn't lost with this deck so he was pretty confident. My LS had worked pretty well, but he was using non-uniques so I knew the out of play thing wouldn't hurt him much, but I got set up quickly and it took him 5 turns to flip. Also, I had 2 Projections stopping drains and he had to pay for every other. I got him to come to me, and he actually shot Obi with a blaster but grabbed his Trooper Assault and he lost 3 of 5 troopers to cover damage. Next turn, I drain at the War Room w/ Leia), Clash one of his troopers and drop EPP Han there (I still had EPP Luke there), then initiate and play Don't Get Cocky...I get him for a ton in overflow, and he's getting a little less confident. His turn, Palpy and Overseeing It Personally go to Ralltiir, but I pull off some late game retrieval and he just can't afford to drain me as much late in the game, so I slowly whittle him down and win by 7.
Highlights: beating a ROps deck that didn't have dupes at all of uniques, so a big part of my Obj. was worthless; getting the retrieval working again and using ASP's to ensure HUGE battle destinies
Lowlights: none, really, he's a cool guy and this was a fun game...he even "persona replaced" a trooper w/ a figure at one point, funny stuff
Final Score: 6(+22)
So I end up in 6th, Sean in 4th, and Chris in 2nd...if I'd won against James in game 5 Chris would've won, so I'm even more pissed about that, but my prize support kicked ass (Fett, Cap'n Han, Redemption, and Courage of a Skywalker, sweeeeeet!) so it was worth it even though my rating's gonna take it up the ass. This was by far the most fun I've ever had at a tourney, everyone there was cool (even people who ran cheese, and a lot of them did) and the atmosphere was a lot more laid back without the top players there that often frequent the Normal tournies.
MAJOR Props go to:
Aaron Komar - you're one of the coolest guys I ever met and you ran a kick ass tournament
Props:
Sean - I've never seen anyone closer to death due to a food product, and yet you still managed to do well...gotta be the sunglasses!
Chris - coolest 15 year old I know, damn I wish I'd realized my mistake against James...you'll win soon, man!
Erik Frantz - for running troopers...that takes balls; also, for being one of the only Peoria players that still goes to tourneys
Jason Lumsden - funny as hell, great player, need I say more?
My Light deck - for picking up the slack for my Dark, despite being made at 4 am and having a lot of stuff missing
Everyone at Normal - you guys were awesome...even the Sabbacc players...
Everyone who read this far - hey, this is friggin long, you deserve something!
Slops:
David Fairbanks - you're a cool guy, but you ran Sabbacc and it would feel like I'd left something undone if I didn't add you to this list
Me - for not reading the Casino closely enough and letting myself get cheated out of a win in game 5
My Dark deck - for working perfectly until today...is it too much to ask to get a USEFUL opening hand???
My 49 packs of D*II - the distribution sucks, and no person exemplifies that better than me...stupid pack luck
The kid who pulled a Luke in front of me - 10 packs, both UR's...wtf???
Major thanks to everyone who came to both of these tournies, and I'm sorry if I missed anyone but I've been typing FOREVER and I need a break :) Thanks to all who actually finished this epic tr!!!