travis-at-framingham-3-3-01
Title: travis-at-framingham-3-3-01
Author: Travis "Com Igar" Rumans
Date: Mar 4, 2001
This wass my fourth SWCCG tournament since coming to college, and although everyone I’ve met is really cool and nice, I miss being a simple five minute drive from the tournament. As it is, it took me about an hour and a half to get to Framingham. Walk to Davis, take subway to South station, take train to West Netick, walk to video connection.
I got up at 7 AM to do it because I wasn’t sure how long it would take and I wanted to make sure I got an early train. In retrospect, i could’ve easily taken the !! AM train.
So I get to the West netick station and I’m kind of hungry and its snowing and cold out so I go to a convienance store that says its their grand opening, so since its their opening I buy some pringles and a drink, and then I sit outside on a bench and eat them and drink some even though its snowing out. Then I walk down to the place and its closed, so I eat some breakfast. I go in as soon as it opens and play my decks against each other.
I am playing WYS/Tat Celebration for Light. I’m beginning not to like it because it makes for very slow wins; it shuts down what my opponent is doing to me and retreives, but it can’t hurt them a whole lot. I’m playing an Endor Operations deck for Dark (non-flipping), with lots of Admiral’s Orders for cycling 6s. I played a flipping Endor Operations deck before D*2, and I was planning on playing it with all the new stuff for it but I got an Emporer Palpatine and decided that since I got the UR I would play BHBM for awhile. But my BHBM didn’t do so well back east, so I switch back to what I though I’d know well, although this new deck plays quite a bit different from the flipping one I made almost a year ago. But my DS deck has one problem: its 59 cards. I could not find my DS Kashyyyk. So I play myself, and I fudge a bit because the DS is missing an important card, and the Dark Side barely wins.
Then Steve Baroni and some other people show up, and I play his Mess deck (for those who don’t know what I mean, check out TJ Holman’s DPC winning deck). I have no grabbers so I pretty much auto-lose, and I was stupid and thought Tempest Scout 5 had 2 ability. I manage to get a Dark Kashyyyk from someone, so we can start.
My rating going in is 1724 with 90 games. It was 1770 with just games played in Endor but the tougher state knocked it down quite a bit. Before I had high hopes of breaking 1800, but now I hope to stay above 1700 and break my string of 3-3 and 2-2 tournaments.
Game 1 My WYS vs. The Other Travis’s Tatooine Ground Power deck
There’s something kind of old school about his deck. He uses Combat Readiness as his start. I sdet up Dash+Melas in Outrider, and he deploys Vader, Tarkin, some walkers, and Arica (who breaks her cover). Next turn I get A Gift set up to hurt his drain, and he leaves Arica alone. I smack her down with a mainish horde and he Ghhks. I start moving the gifted Artoo over to block his other drain, which is small because I have Menace Fades going. I hide in the Cantina and drain him there most of the game. He plays some POTFs to build his drains back up. He tries to alter Underworld Contacts and I say he can’t cause me obj is flipped. I put some scrublers at Jabba’s Palace to get celberation up and another drain going, and he blocks it with U-3P0. A lot of this game was spy games, just kind of moving around our spies to block each others drains. At one point I play On the Edge and he Bith Shuffles. I say the lowest number, hoping I can get better than that, and I draw my 6 anyway. He eventually attacks the scrublers when he’s running out of force, but their mega-forfeit keeps me safe from any damage. I win by like twentysomething.
Highs: Getting to use A Gift, him never touching me in space. A bunch of fairly low-power characters getting me an extra drain, celebration, and the game. Playing someone with the same first name as I do.
Lows: A bunch of fairly low-power characters getting me an extra drain, celebration, and the game. A fairly non-interactive game.
Game 2: My Endor Operations vs. Kesa’s AITC/Eloms
I played Kesa at Boxborough, and I’m still probably spelling her name wrong. She’s still a new player. When she shows me her rep is Tanus, I get a little afraid because Eloms ignore Perimeter Patrol, but that’s not as big a factor as I think because she heavily commits to her own planet. Arica comes down to block one of her big drains, but she brings out Corran and breaks her cover. She flees to the Tat DB and Xizor backs her up. Kesa comes after them with some Eloms and Ben kenobi, so I run them to the Endor DB. Meanwhile, Ominous Rumors+Chiranaeu gets set up in space. I drain for 1 at my DB, and she blocks it with table, but since she’s new I tell her that she might want to lose to that drain instead because my drain at Kashyyyk will be a lot bigger. Her drain cancelers keep her alive for a little while, but when she runs out of Eloms my huge space drain potential just gets through her deck.
Highs: She used Squass to pull Lando w Vibro Ax and deployed them to her DB so she could get him out, I thought that was cool tech. My deck doing what it should do.
Lows: Arica being froced to flee so early. I need to rethink the decks ground strategy, especially after the next game.
Game 3: My Endor Operations vs. Rick or Erik’s Hidden Mains
Well, I think I had the name down as Rick in my notes, but I looked throw the ratings and Steve said he was highly ranked and I see no Ricks so it might have been Erik (but not Eric Hunter, another one).
First Officer Thanesspi falls off his deck when he’s shuffling, so I’m hoping to see a HB space deck, which would be a fun game with lots of battling. But his start, with Insurrection and Staging Areas, seems to point to Hidden Mains. He deploys guys at Home One DB and transists over for free to get around Perimeter Patrol. I get a lot of systems set up and Thrawn on the Chimeara. He drops Honme One and LOTS of guys at the Rendezvous Point, and I continue to deploy more ships, like Iggy and Guri+Stinger. U-3P0 shows up to block a ground drain but gets Messed up. The game was mostly a matter of cat and mouse between my massive space fleet and his Home One while he pinged me on the ground. Menace Fades and Imperial Decree are key cards, here, and most of the time I move ships over to Home One to block Menace Fades and he moves to a new system to get it going again.
I get a huge advantage, though, when I put a Homing Beacon on the Home One. He’s not qquite sure what it does. What I think when i deploy it is: "Hah, now when he drains with Home One I can react over and cancel Menace Fades". What I should have done was put a ship at every system so he could not possibly control one and if he battled me my entire fleet would react over for free. I do that late game and fianlly block Menace, but I only have enough force to pay for one turn of Big Drains because of my OWN Battle Order, which I started. BAfter I’m down to just one force I can’t drain him anymore because I can’t pay, but if I could’ve I might have been able to drain him out.
FL by 8. 1 or 2 turns of Ominous drains would have made the difference.
Highs: A very tight game against a good player. Homing Beacon rocks.
Lows: Not realizing how much Homing Beacon rocks. Menace Fades pisses me off, its better than Decree in this game. My own Battle Order putting the finishing blow on me.
Well my diff is still high enough that I get to play Michael Schiemer next round (who lost to Steve Baroni), and I just hink its cool I get to play one of the top guys in the region.
Game 4 My WYS vs. Michael Schiemer’s HD
A one-sided match from the start. I manage to flip, but Captain Han can’t stand up to Admiral Thrawn and Celebration gets canceled. Xizor stopping destiny adding hurts. I get lucky and make Vader missing late game. I forget to drain a turn. Late game I manage to cancel Visage, but it doesn’t matter because he is draining me out.
Highs: Playing a top-ranked players who is playing an undeafeted deck. I dont mind losing to that. Making Vader missing.
Lows: Not even posing a credible challenge to a highly ranked player. My WYS rolled over and died. I need more Fallen Portals and Palace Raiders.
So I get knocked out of the top bracket and I play
Dave’s ISB vs. My WYS
I’m expecting ORS/ISB and he doesn’t disappoint, although he never gets Scum down. He has lots of AT-ATs, and I get some mains in the Cantina. I put down Underworld Contacts, and Lando and Tallon team up to ignore his bjective. he piles guys and walkers on one site, but when he spreads I come down with a motely crew of Mirax, two raiders and a Racing Skiff. I expect him to win the battle, but I hope to get enough atrrition with 3 destinies to kill his guys (he never put SE Jabba at the AC) and I can use my high forfeit to lose a guy to the Bacta Tank. he end up with even power and I clear the site, but he’s pissed because he thought my used pile was my force pile and I later found out he had Projective Telepathy and could have canceled the battle. Dash gets set up at the system and I start celebrating, and for a long time I just drain him for 5 and retreive 3 and he drains me for 4 and retrieves 1. Menace Fades helps out. He then goes to space with Jabba’s Cruiser and a lot of guys to fight Dash and Melas, and I hold him off for awhile. Zuckuss shows up and He manages to atrrition away my 7 ability, so I deploy Falcon to the DB and Luke and Han show up. I play Don’t Get Too @#$%y from the lost, one of the first cards I lost. Now, Menace Fades is no longer in effect but we both forget it. Its funy how something so critical in my DS game is so pivotal in this one. I forget to drain for 4 one turn when he only has five cards, which sucks because he moves to block one and that game lasts a few turns longer and I’m concerned it’ll be timed out, but I get lucky and finally drain him out for a win of around twenty.
Highs: Taking on some walkers and winning.
Lows: Forgetting how Menace Fades works. Fogetting to drain when it would have cost them the game.
It seemed pretty much everyone just switched sides for the last round and played the same person.
My EOPs vs. Dave’s AITC
I get confused when he shows Tessek as his rep because there’s no LS Quarren and there’s little good reason to use Tessek in an AITC/mains deck. Then I see he has Arconas and Crix starts pulling them, and he’s draining me at Tatooine locations with an Arcona at each. I don’t come after him because I know I’ll get slapped with OTE. Dash comes to Endor and gets attacked by Zuckuss and Guri+Stinger. He still overpowers me because my destiny sucks, but next turn a Star Destroyer comes down and that tips the balance. Most of the game was me trying to grab a system or Merrejk while I lost cards I needed off the top (including Merrejk, Battle Order, and spies) because I wanted to keep my ships in my hand. I draw almost all my deck until I get Kashyyyk. When i get that out, its over. Decree goes up, and I drain him for 10 a turn.
FW by 11 I think
Highs: Palpatine puts in a cameo appearance to drain at the Forest Clearing undisturbed all game. Winning despite losing Merrejk.
Lows: Playing an Arcona deck. Having a hard time getting out systems.
So I got 4-2 with a diff of around +45. I manage to get 6th in the tournament overall, with maybe 20 people there. Steve Baroni wins the tournament.
Props:
Travis Thompson for having the same first name I do.
Steve Baroni because he is the Schiznit
Michael Schiemer for being nice and cool and schooling my WYS
The guy who gave me DS Kashyyyk (I still don’t know a lot of names, here)
The TD who wasn’t TD at this tournament but was around to fill out the command card so I could report my 6th game (someone in Kashyyyk who review this want to give me a name?)
People in Hill Hall, for caring and asking how I did at the tournament despite them having no knowledge of SWCCG
Slops:
Magic players, being loud and noisy and blocking my path.
The Tufts Shuttle service to Davis, for not going to Davis when I need it to
My roomate, for not understanding that his lamp is brighter than the room’s ceiling light and that I needed to get some REAL sleep the night after the tourney
Espresso’s, for taking an hour to deliver my calzone
Me, for losing my tournament notes