hell-in-a-cell-enduro-01
Title: hell-in-a-cell-enduro-01
Author: Alfred "ThaBraHmaBuL" Dong
Date: Mar 21, 2001
Prelude
This isnt the type of thing any sane SW player would do, but hell, its SW, and if youre not crazy you wont play it. Everything leading up to this kind of fell into place, I honestly didnt know if I could make it out there or not until literally a few days before the thing.
Friday night I get off of school and head home early to clear some mail and take care of work so I dont fail all my classes. I get some junk together, some pre-built, untested decks, some other card games to indulge in between games, and Im off to my friend Gibson Yims to spend the night. I drop off and get some food and I get there about 2 hours later than I said. I get there and find Nghia Nyugen is there and we get into playtesting a ton of games and making decks clear until 4 A.M. the next morn and Im about to drop Enduro to sleep because I feel like sh*t and Im cold.
Gibson wakes me up at 6 after 2 glorious, refreshing hours of sleep. I struggle like hell out of bed and clear the sheets and eat something before Alex Sheynis’ folks come down and were off to Enduro. The car ride down was pretty much a snore(heh) because everyone was out of it and I slept like a log the whole car ride down, but I did get to meet Louis, a new player in SW, a rare commodity nowadays.
I woke up feeling like I just came out of a coma when we get there, and we realize were about an hour or two early. We hang around outside the store when Steve Daniel comes driving down and he tells me he got here about an hour before us.....I guess traffic is light at 7 in the morn on Saturdays. So Steve and I engage in some L5R on some tables they have outside the place and then Mike Hardy(the TD) shows up and the store finally opens.
I walk inside and realize Im about to spend the next day here. So I settle down with my car and Im out of it, but everyone else is working on thier decks. People start rolling in and we have one hell of a tourney to go at for the next 24 hours. I look around and I spot Paul Feldman, Jeff Field, Kevin Shannon, Dan Mochizuki, and a host of other players from all over CA and maybe Arizona. I play Alex with my LS and start working it and things get underway and its about to be HELL all over again......
The Decks
For Enduro I made several decks to switch in case I get sick of them or whatnot....All have been playtested and did pretty well against most match-ups....I really hate making decks, but this was a different case so I went with these 4 decks...
LS
TIGIH Scouts: TIGIH Scouts with heavy drain potential, battle winning power, Vader crossing capability, and insane destinies, with some retrieval thrown in the mix.
QMC: Honestly I dont know what possesed me to make this deck but it works occasionally which is more than I can say for some of the other Light decks I made. Its your basic QMC.....you hold CC Celebration and you win the game.
DS
ISB Scum: ORS based ISB with a hellacious drain potential, battle avoidance and power all rolled into one solid deck.
BHBM Lewis Style: It is what it is. Interceptors, space beatdown, numbers, and Vader. I was too lazy to make a 2nd DS deck to I took this one off Decktech because Lewis makes decks like a champ and I suck at it.
FIRST QUARTER
Decks for this quarter were:
LS - TIGIH Scouts
DS - ISB Scum
Game 1: LS vs. Randy Hicks DS Beginners Court
Im feeling pretty psyched after that fun game with Alex before this game and so I get off to a good start. I set up activation with Crix at the Home 1 Dbay and move Luke out to the dbay and start draining. Hes having a hard time with his objective and Im starting to think hes a new player so I help him out a bit. He gets Jabba and Boelo to the AC and sits to drain for one. I drop JPSD Lando, Corran and EPP Obi and I battle. Jabbas excluded and Boelo cancels one after he gets hit but he still owes me 14 more. He comes back with Jodo and EJP Bossk and he captures Obi. I missed excluding Jabba and I draw high so he loses Jodo and Jabba and runs with Bossk. I drain, and come back with some scouts and kill Bossk off and I get Obi back. From there, I take over JP, secure Endor, and retrieve a few to end the game real fast. Win by 27.
Cumalative Score: 2(+27)
Highs: Getting off on the right foot
Lows: Beating down a scrub in the first game
Game 2: DS vs. Brian Wehlers WYS Basic
This is first WYS I will face and its by far not the last. I draw the first few turns because JP is eluding me and I dont think he runs Grimtaash anyhow. He draws the first few turns as well. I drop JP and start up Scum and Jabba with 4 ORS for a one-turn flip. He draws some more. I Twilek for Presence and set up the AC and Lower C with them and spread inside the palace. He drops 2 Raltiir Captains to the Cantina and starts to drop space. I drain for a bunch and I draw Gailid. He drops more space and realizes he cant drain. I drain and he loses Kessel and Menace Fades off the top. I fight off his Raltiir Captains and retrieve a few. From there, he pretty much gives up, seeing as how he cant drain, cant battle me effciently, and is biting about 8 off the top every turn to Mosep. Win by 33.
Cumalative Score: 4(+60)
Highs: 2-0 and still running
Lows: Nothing much
Game 3: DS vs. Dan Mochizukis LS WYS Harvest/Palace Raider hell
Third games against Dan but Im playing Dark so we both know I should have this. First turn, down comes JP and AC from reserve. I draw for stuff and Dan draws for stuff. I Twilek for Scum and AC for SE Jabba and down comes 4 ORS for the quick flip and Boelo from reserve all to the AC. I draw for some stuff and find Gailid. He drops Lar’s Farm and O&B combo and starts Harvesting, but he cant do damage to me so thats not helping too much. Down comes Gailid to the AC and I move some ISB dudes to the Lower C and drain more there. He cant catch up to me, and after a few futile attempts at Harvesting and Controlling my drains, he falls. Win by 24.
Cumalative Score: 6(+84)
Highs: Playing Dan....always fun
Lows: Dan had to play this.....
Game 4: LS vs. Jeff Fields DS SYCFA TIE Interceptor Hell
I play Jeff to end this first quarter of Enduro and it should be a good game. He grabs Wakeelmui to start and drops DS War Room from deck first turn. I grab Crix and Solo with Strike Planning and Crix hangs at the H1 Dbay for force and Luke comes out of the Hut to play. Down comes Emporer to the DS Dbay for some force. I meet him with a few scouts and win the battle to force him to stack one. He moves Emppy over to the War Room and draws. Corran and Wedge RSL come down and win me a second battle and he loses Emporer this time after stacking. I drop the Back Door and Solo, Midge and Blount there to max my drains at Endor to 6(with Luke and stick at the Dbay). He slowly gets things going with Merrejk on a Dread and gets the TIES going in space. I drain for tons on the Death Star and Endor and down comes I Hope Shes Alright. He takes a few turns of that damage and loses when his Undercover Spies bite it to Double Agent. Win by 15.
Cumalative Score: 8(+99)
Highs: Going 4-0 in the First Quarter and going over Jeff to get there.
Lows: That game was retarded on Jeffs account.
Its the end of the First Quarter and Im in the lead going undefeated. I check with my car and they all have at least a loss or two. Gibson, Alex, Louis and myself go over to this Japanese place next door because we heard we get free drinks if we tell them were playing. I walk out of the place half-full after paying about 12 bucks for a 2 dollar steak and an ice cream scoop of rice, and trying to get that Japanese lady there to calm down. I shake it off and head back to the store and get ready for the second round after shooting the breeze with a few other players.
SECOND QUARTER
Decks for this quarter were:
LS - TIGIH Scouts
DS - Lewis’ BHBM Ties
Game 1: DS vs. Brian Wehlers LS WYS Basic Modded
I play Brian again so I decide to spare him my ISB and play the BHBM instead, which isnt much improvement. I go and grab Wakeelmui and down comes DS2 and Emporer there for force gen early. He doesnt get a first turn flip so I get my force as he just draws a few. I activate and draw it all. He draws a few and then he plays Grimtaash....used. So I breathe a sigh of relief as I shuffle my hand with 5 TIEs and both Tech Mors as he picks a random 8. I activate and draw again. He drops a few guys to the Cantina and draws. I drop 4 Interceptors to Tatooine to hold the system the whole game. I drop Endor and drop the Sword and Shield there to secure that as well. He drops to space at the other end of the spaceline and trys to slow me by occupying Wakeelmui but its already too late for that. The rest of the game goes by smoothly for me as I drain at the systems and he drains me for half that at the Cantina. I eventually drop Tech Mor and Vader, insert numbers and he pops it on the next turn to end the game. Win by 18.
Cumalative Score: 2(+18) (Note that is is an entire new tournament, so it is possible to change decks, play the same people etc, hence why I am back at 2(+18) instead of 10(+117))
Highs: Nothing much
Lows: Playing Brian again and using numbers to win
Game 2: LS vs. Rufino Sanchezs DS SYCFA TIE Interceptor Hell
Another TIE deck, another day in the life of LS. Rufino I havent seen in almost a year(well, maybe not THAT long, but close), so hes a bit rusty. Hes feeling a little hardcore and he drops Endor with a lone Interceptor first turn. I cant go after him, so I set up Crix at the H1 Dbay for activation and drop Battle Plan instead. He pays and drains and draws for more stuff. I drop Chewie and Wuta comes from deck and out comes the Back Door. He drains some more and drops Kashyyyk and another lone TIE there. I come back with Solo and Midge to the Back Door, and leave Luke at the Endor Dbay to max out the drains. I draw and find I Hope Shes Alright. He drains and draws a few and I drop IHSA and set up at the Death Star to drain some more. He finally draws Dread Starfleet and SFS and starts dropping TIEs to get about 5 back. I counter by dropping the CC dbay and shuffling Crix there to Off the Edge twice for a total of 10 back. He doesnt have many TIEs left for Starfleet, and eventually loses out to my higher ground drains and the direct damage every turn. Win by 11.
Cumalative Score: 4(+29)
Highs: All things considered he played well and it was a good game.
Lows: Nothing much.
Were heading into the 7th game of Enduro and all of a sudden all eyes are on me, Kevin and Feldman. Im really surprised my Light hasnt fallen yet, but my Dark is just cleaning up. Steve Daniel, Frank Pinkela and I do Triple Threat in Raw Deal and I beat out Mankind and Stone Cold with a devastating comeback with Triple H. Its ALL ABOUT THE GAME......
Game 3: DS vs. Eric Brummels LS WYS Done Last Night
Basic game. I dropped TIEs to Tatooine from the start and he never truly establishes a space presence the whole game. He sets up O&B at the Farm and starts Harvesting early, nixing my drains for the first few turns. He tries and picks up a few more while I just sit there draining. Eventually he starts pelting me at the Cantina, but I set up SFS and get it all back. I drop Lord Vader and stick with Emppy to a POTFed Throne Room and start draining there as well as getting around Battle Plan. I never found Techmor so I dropped the numbers. He’s still Harvesting, but I get Secret Plans out so he has to pay for it, which eventually stops him from doing any retrieval at all. He never touches me in space or at the Death Star, so my retrieval and bigger drains finish him. Win by 18.
Cumalative Score: 6(+47)
Highs: Playing Eric....havent done that much since the SF scene died.
Lows: Nothing much.
So Im playing Eric and Gibson walks over to me and were not even half done yet. He tells me he just got DQed vs. Robert Selby with the QMC deck I let him borrow. So Im all, "WTF?" and heres the deal.
I made that deck on Thursday night before hitting the sack and I used Elehek Rue in the deck, which has THE single most ugly picture in all of SW. So I throw on a Pokemon sticker I get in my Cracker Jack(I will kill anyone who makes fun of Cracker Jack) over the picture(leaving the text free) and slip it in a sleeve. This is a normal sticker, as thin as paper.....and lo and behold, he got DQed because appearantly, the card is "thicker than the rest" and "is marked". Please....saying that, he might as well DQ anyone using foils because they are 10 times more "marked" than a card with a sticker on it.
But rather than start a rabid uproar in the midst of Enduro, I let Robert have his little "DQ" and run with it, despite the news of this which just got my friend DQed for no reason. And yes it wouldve been alot better if he gave him a warning, or at least the oppurtunity to replace the card, but no. AND, it turns out that Gibson was reaming Robert all the way to hell when it happened. Classy, especially for someone who just made Squadron Member. But enough of that story, on to the next game.....
Game 4: LS vs. Dan Mochizukis DS ISB Power w/ Walkers
So this is worse kind of deck I can play with my TIGIH and I get to play vs. it. Oh the joy. So he drops some random ISB Imp at the Endor Dbay to screw my mad activation first turn, along with a Dbay and Rendili. I drop the H1 Dbay from deck, drop Crix alone like a moron and move Luke over to flip. He comes down with EPP Vader to take Luke and Tempest 6 w/ scrub ISB guy to kill Crix. He starts securing his 2 Rebel Base Dbays and flips. I drop the Back Door and sit there to drain with Midge and co. He wont mess with my scouts on Endor(smart boy), so he drops the 3rd Marker and hangs out there instead. I come back with Blount and a few guys, vs. Tempest 3, pilot, and 2 ISB dudes. I Double Agent 2 of them away, and battle the remaining to stack a card and clean him out. Vaders next door so he walks over. Down comes EJP Lando and I get some excluding action in and win my 2nd battle. I drew high so he loses Vader and now he has to lose force for Luke. He tries draining on Yavin by gets Surprise Assualted for 10. Unfortunately thats all the damage I can do to him......I get a few back with Off the Edge, but its not enough to stop his drains elsewhere on Cloud City and Tatooine. Loss by 12.
Cumalative Score: 6(+35)
Highs: Playing another good game with Dan.
Lows: Biting that first loss.
So that puts 2 rounds of play to an end, but we have 2 more to follow through with. Night has fallen and the rooms getting stuffy. Steve, Frank and myself engage in some more Raw Deal and this time I cream both of them with ease. Me and Stone Cold(Frank) go at it for the first few turns while Mankind sits there. Steve starts complaining and so I turn around and Pedigree him. It was brutal. Anyways, me, Gibson, Alex, Nghia and Eric head down to Jack in the Crack for some dinner. The monkey working there screws up, delays, and overcharges our orders, even tried screwing Eric out of a drink from the meal. So we cough down the undercooked meat and get the hell out of there after shooting the breeze about our games.
Im really happy with my LS taking only 1 loss thus far, and Im surprised Im doing so well.....didnt happen last Enduro. Next event is split in 2, players choice of whether they want to do constructed or sealed(Reflections 2 Draft). Against others advisement to me, I play in the sealed deck, which I decided to try since Ive never done it before. This pretty much puts me to a loss for the tournament, because I suck in sealed and have the worst luck with packs for it. I’ll go into detail in another TR(watch for it) after this, but I will tell you that I finished 2-2 in the event which brings me down from my standings a bit. More details on that later, for now, its time for round 4, where people black out, minds fail, eyes close, and fuzziness reigns all. Its about 3 in the morning and were about to go 4 more games. Lets roll.....
FOURTH QUARTER
Decks for this quarter were:
LS - TIGIH Scouts
DS - ISB Scum
Game 1: DS vs. Gibson Yims DS TIGIH Scouts Atkin style
Gibson creamed me in the sealed event, so I get some payback in constructed. Hes playing Claytons version of TIGIH, which is pretty much my version made Claydo style. I have a bit of trouble finding JP so I draw the first few turns as he sets up activation and drains. I drop JP, Twilek for Scum, AC for Jabba, and down comes 4 ORS to flip again. He sets up Midge and co at the Back Door and Endor Dbay and starts draining himself. I draw and find Mosep and Gailid and Twilek for a POTF and move a few guys over to the Lower C. He tries dropping Boussh but she gets NSPed back up for the next few turns. Down comes Mosep, Gailid and POTF and its over from there. He has a huge hand and Mosep eats away at his deck, and he loses, but not by much. Win by 14.
Cumalative Score: (Once again we reset) 2(+14)
Highs: Payback is a @#$%
Lows: Nothing much
Game 2: LS vs. Randy Hicks DS Beginners Court
This game was pretty much the same as the first one(first game played all day), but less battles and more draining. Im tired so I wont bother with rewriting the details since theyre all above. Just replace the beats on Tat with drains on Endor. Win by 25.
Cumalative Score: 4(+39)
Highs: Nothing much
Lows: Playing Randy again, who seems even more confused this early.
Game 3: DS vs. Paul McKelveys LS HB Mains
Pauls had my @$$ with his DS the past few tourneys. Time to return the favor. Pauls unusually bright and uplifting, which keeps me awake this game. I get a good hand to start and drop JP from hand, AC from deck, SE Jabba and POTF first turn. Paul gets smart and drops JPSD Lando there, battles and draw a 1. Thankfully Jabbas immune, and I only bite a few force for it, but one is the Lower C off the top. Great. I retaliate though, I drop Iggy, Scum, and Boelo there and capture Lando and retrieve the Lower C in the process. It comes back out next turn, and I set up shop in JP. He drops the Tatooine Dbay and starts dropping guys there moving them into JP. He gets into the AC, but I drop some Bounty Hunters and wreck him out of there. He cant stop my drains, and he cant retrieve, so it ends. Win by 24.
Cumalative Score: 6(+63)
Highs: Payback
Lows: Nothing much
Final Game: LS vs. Paul Feldmans DS SYCFA TIE Interceptor Hell
Its never free sailing into the end for me. Ugh.....I get to play Feldman and its about 4 in the morning, WAY too early to deal with Feldman. But anyhow, I go into the game. He starts off by drawing a few cards after dropping Wakeelmui from hand. I drop Crix to the dbay to start the force flowing and move Luke out. He comes down with Kashyyyk, Dread, and Merrejk and pulls Endor from deck. I drop Wuta and he gets the Back Door from deck. I drop Midge and Solo to the Back Door and move Wuta over. He drops Miyoom and starts milling my guys away. I sit on Endor draining for 6, when he decides to capture Luke with Ozzel and he runs to the Death Star. Ive already infested the War Room with Scouts there, so I drop Orrimaarko to Ozzel but he Barriers and runs. He sets up Dr. E combo and Tempest at the Endor Dbay and sets up there. He takes 2 a turn as opposed to 3 a turn, but Im still draining for alot. He eventually moves over Tempest and Ozzel to the Back Door, and I battle them and fry Ozzel but forget to make him stack one. He keeps draining and milling, I keep draining, but hes draining for alot more. I get some back from Off the Edge, but then hes just doing more damage to me that I cant stop. It comes down to the wire, and he edges it out, but barely. Loss by 1.
Cumalative Score: 6(+62)
Highs: A close game with a good player to end the hell
Lows: Forgetting to make him stack, in addition forgetting Midge doesnt give drain bonuses where Ewoks are present.
So its over. Everyones drowsy and out of it and people are passing out left and right. Im so disoriented its not even funny. But to hell with that, me and Steve play some more Raw Deal. Everyones sitting around ready to check out, as Mike Hardy runs through his comp for the final tally and here are your results......
Winner: Paul Feldman
2nd: Kevin Shannon
3rd: Mike Mendoza
4th: Alfred Dong
5th: Dan Mochizuki
I finished 12-4 in the day, with 2 of the losses in sealed so thats nothing to be ashamed of. I clinch 4th place get a gift certificate I use on only the store remembers what. Feldman walks away from this the winner of a Jedi Luke shirt from Decipher, and a new Mara foil. Of the 40 people that showed up, 32 made it through the entire ordeal.
So we everyone starts leaving and Im reading to die. Alex’s dad is going to be a few hours(!!!) late getting us, so Gibson, Eric, Alex, Louis, Nghia and myself head outside where I pass out on the table as they round up a few games of spades. Nghia’s barking keeps me half awake during the whole thing and rewards me with a big headache to follow.
He finally gets to us and we head to McDonalds for some food when I get some yogurt(I think) and skip on the burgers because they look nasty right now. Everyone eats up as Eric is boggled by a game called Lunch Money and tries to relay how to play it but to no avail. We check out of the place and I drop dead in Alex’s car as I head on home to sleep for the next day or so.
All in all, the whole thing was fun but it took more out of me than I thought it would. Would I do it again? In a heartbeat. Did I whip that @$$? Oh hell yeah. Does LS suck? Indeed it does. Does Raw Deal rock? If Ya Smell..... Am I sick of typing? You know it. Anyhow, heres your props and slops.......
Props
Alex’s father for being a machine and driving us down there and back
Alex for hooking it up with the ride
Gibson for letting me stay over the night before and playtest
Nghia for playtesting with me
Steve for playing Raw Deal and L5R
Nick for that Threepio foil
Eric for giving me a dollar for my yogurt
Frank for getting his @$$ owned by HHH
Rufino for showing and shotting the breeze with me
Dan and Kevin for being Champs
Mike Hardy for getting me the results for me to make this TR possible, as well as running the whole thing smoothly
A-1 Comics for letting a bunch of SW junkies hang out at thier store overnight
Slops
Robert for that whack DQ
The Japanese restaurant next door for overcharging, even though its not techinically thier fault
Jack in the Crack for everything
Nghia for keeping me up
The Sealed Deck tourney is NEXT. So keep an eye out and if you made it this far youre hardcore as well. Thanks for reading.....until next time...
Alfred Dong
The Crippler
The Brahma Bull
I AM THE PAIN