mansfield-oh-4-21-01-out-of-nowhere
Title: mansfield-oh-4-21-01-out-of-nowhere
Author: John "jpvz" Veasey
Date: Apr 23, 2001
*Pre Tourney stuff*
I had been testing a bit for the state championship for a while but settled on my decks the week before after going 4-2 at tourney, loosing once to a good deck and once by playing flat out stupid. My WYS deck was pretty fun, using all the unique smugglers and lots of fun interrupts. My dark was an ISB that concentrated on setting up decree and getting an agent to where they were at to shut them down. I play tested in the days leading up to states, my WYS had a huge weakness to TIE’s with guns but I didn’t like the results last time I tried to play Hidden Mains so I ran with the smugglers. I was questioning my ISB deck the night before and didn’t finish making changes till I submitted the deck list. The trip to Mansfield was pretty uneventful, even thought we got there way early. Anyways on to the big show. I came with a rating of 1508
Game 1 vs. a new kid from Utica??? EBO with out ANSB
When he starts the game with HFTMF, I’m a little worried but then he shows his effects to be Insurrection, Staging Areas and Do, or Do Not. Not much to say about this game. I dropped agents at Y4 DB and the North Ridge, flipped, and started draining for mondo amounts. He didn’t have any of the 2nd Anth effects so he set up with mains. Once I had him locked down, I just stopped deploying and cycled my stuff.
FW 2(+34)
After the game I tried to show him some stuff he could do make his deck better This was one of my biggest differential wins ever.
Game 2 vs. Tyler Martin’s MKOS Skrillings
Well a big win put me at table #2 against a member of Team Milford. When I saw Pote I was kind of worried, as my playtesting buddy said Skrillings are just as bad as Abysians. I flipped quickly with ships at Kessel and Tat. He had a lot of trouble flipping his objective. An assault on the AC failed miserably as Talon and Lando got their asses kicked by Jabba and fellows. I set up Battle Plan and Menace Fades to make him pay for piddly drains while I drained at the Cantina and Tat DB with I’ll Take the Leader out along with ships at the systems. He brought the Sail Barge to the Tat DB against Luke with stick, the Skrillings laid some nice beats and I lost Luke and 2. I reinforced and got the DB and got my hands on a fallen portal. When Bib and another Skrilling arrive as reinforcements, the door falls on them and they clear off of my side of Tatoonie. I spread to my DB’s and the Cantina and begin celebrating. He tries to mount 2 final attacks at the Tatooine system and Spaceport DB, but Zuckuss is barriered and the door falls on the Skrillings, and when Dash joins the party he decides he doesn’t want to come and get some. I drain him out for the win.
FW 4(+51)
Whew that turned out nice. I thought I was going to face Matt Scott last game after we both had large wins. But as it turns out I face an adversary from the past.
Game 3 vs. Ken Cross’s ISB
I’m still at table #2 this time against a Ken, whom I used to play back at home when there were tournaments around Cleveland. His start was a little strange, starting the Coruscant DB IAO, MP and Crush. I set up quick with Mirax and the Skate controlling Tat on turn 1 and Captain Han going to Kessel on turn 2. He set up with Rebel Base DB’s for the flip. The Chimera and Thrawn came down on the Falcon and Han bit it. The return strike hit hard as another copy of the Captain and Melas got on the Falcon, a battle and 3 BD’s later Thrawn bit it with his ship as I was immune with Take the Leader out. The Emperor and Janus came to the Cantina, but Chewie, Luke and some smuggling friends made a stand in front of them. I set up Battle Plan and Menace fades and Palpy and Janus ran back to the DB to be backed up by ISB chums. Later Palpy and Janus went to Hoth where they got lost in the wilderness. After 5rad6 dropped down, the ISB went to Hoth to look for their missing leader. Luke stepped out to the DB, where next turn a Blizzard Walker and Commander Igar met him. Everyone there died and Tat drains were back. He finally came to space with Fett and IG88 in ships to stop paying for the drains. I made a game ending strike there, putting down Wedge in RS1 and Dash in the Outrider along with X-wing Cannons for Wedge. I initiate, use 3 to charge the cannons, toast IG88, turn down Fett’s power by 6 and draw to BD’s to end the game
FW 6(+70)
Despite the win, some of the other big guns are now starting to rise to the top. I thought I’d finally get my crack at Scott, but it seems I actually drop to table 3 against a friend and mentor
Game 4 vs. Jamie Abel’s AITC Klantoonian Revolutionary Swarm
Jamie and I go far back; when I started he was one of the local top players and is still one of the best in Ohio. I still do not have a full win over Jamie in over 3 years. Jamie was at the bottom of the undefeateds because he had a timed win in his first game against his rival James Booker. He told me he might has well stayed at home; after Booker he played Gabe Michaels in game 3 whom he gave a ride to the tourney, then me who he gave a ride to a Mansfield tourney last weekend. I had a crap starting hand except I had 3 locations to get generation going early. Then I look for the DB not in my hand and of course it’s in my force pile. So get to see all the changes I had made from last week (not many) and I draw up. He drops Tessek, a monk and Klantoonian Rev in his AC. I drop in for the kill with DVDLOTS but he uses Ke Chu Ke Kututa to bounce Vader back to my hand. He drains and drops a monk at Tat JP. I have a chance for a strike, but decide to pass to set up ISB. He starts big draining between Monks and Tessek. I set up a walker at the Hutt Trade route with an ISB and get Decree going. One small problem, Decree is not on the table. D’oh! I keep eating drains and cant do much except drain, and I dare not even do that at the 3rd marker, because I know how much he like lost in the wilderness. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop and the mains and harvests to hit the table, as that has been his deck for like the past 3 months. Decree pops out two turns too late after reinforcing my position. Between Bargaining Table, Harc Seff (his rep) and Proj of a Skywalker I’m draining for a grand total of 1. He gets Underworld Contacts out, and I know I’m toast. I try and mount a few last ditch attacks, and make him lose a few Monks and Revolutionaries. He drains and retrieves as do I but those Monk drains are killing me. My Walkers get beat on by his aliens when the make it to Jabba’s Palace and I’m finished
FL 6(+49{something close to this})
I still don’t have full victory over Jamie. Still I’m only 3-1, splitting against major competition. I’m not out of it and there are still some good games to play. So we enter the final round
Game 5 vs. Matt Scott’s WYS
Well I passed up the last local tournament in Dayton and it seems that Team Milford came up and cleaned house, taking 3 of the top 4 places. Here I finally got a crack at their leader. He started the same thing as my WYS, Squassin, Insight and Insurrection while I pull MPoints, IAO and Secret Plans. I set up my stuff, and do a creative flip, sending an agent to Hoth 3rd marker, Blizzard 1 to the Echo DB, transit an agent from the Coruscant DB to flip, move the other agent and the pilot Bliz 1 to DB 94. He sets up Battle Plan and Menace Fades so we stare at each other while he pings me from for 1 in the Cantina. He put down a lone RFC at the 3rd Marker. Then I stumble on to the tech play of the day! I put down Blizzard 2, Veers, and the searching my hand for fodder, put Arnet in the back seat. It turns out he wanted to play Dodge. RFC and 6 please, I liked seeking Kessel go of the top. So we kept staring at each other at Tatooine. I Endor Occupation his Celebration after 1 turn somewhere along the way. I put POTF on DB 94 to give him some incentive to come outside. He barriers Zuckuss but the following beatdown is not enough to cause overflow. Blast door Controls screws his day over when Vader and the ISB invade the Cantina. Not only can he not barrier, but he was also playing Blast the Door Kid to stop big bad mains like this. I finish the beating and drain him out.
FW 8(+71)
Wow, whatever he could throw at me I had the answer. After the game he asked the rhetorical question who plays Arnet, Nemet and Blast Door Controls. Apperently I do :-)Well after a long day I do make it to the top table. There I get to face the #1 ranked player in Ohio.
Game 6 vs. Brad Chester’s extra large HDADTJ
Not the matchup I wanted. I got a crap hand except for I did have an OOC/TT in it. I pulled the usual stuff plus I got Honor out to get him losing to his own Visage. I swear every possible card that could be foiled was for him. Of course right after I put out HOTJ, he activates 3 and Twileks for No Escape. Then Vader comes down to the D* DB for the flip. My first try at TT get killed by the ANH card. I finally flipped with Wedge in Ship at Kessel and Theron Nett in ship at Tatooine and TT out of the lost. The only thing I have going for me is the drain of the 3 at Kessel. He replaces Visage with S+D, which eats me alive. I finally get Luke on the ground staring down Palpy in the cantina. Palpy calls for help in the form of Dengar with Bazooka and IG w/gun. He initiates with First Strike out which kind of screws me, as I have to pay one to come out of nowhere. Otherwise I would have had Chewie come roaring out of the reserve. Instead I have to settle for Melas. He gets hit and I have to lose both Luke and Melas as the Emperor and Dengar go down. Somewhere along the way Bossk beat up on Theron with the help of Lateral Damage. I forget how, but I get him off the system. I finally get Jedi Luke and put him out with Chewie and an RFC. Guri and friends counterstrike but only get the RFC. I swear I abused the interrupts out of the lost more this game than ever before. I finally get Battle Plan out along with Menace Fades to slow the bleeding. It comes down to the end, as he can’t afford to pay for all his drains. In the end he has all the battleground DB’s covered with Luke and Chewie having returned from a short excursion to his D*. They head back to the Cantina to plug the drain of three He battles and wipes out Chewie and I’ll be damned, S+D is back. On my turn I only have two cards left I activate one and check what’s in my reserve. Hot damn, its Artoo in Red 5. Being the fool I am, I use one to battle, forget about First Strike and Battle Plan. I waste the Dark Lord and lose one to S+D. On his turn I lose to S+D and die
FL 8 (+69)
Damn, on the ride home I figured out that if I initiate for free with BP, use 1 one to retrieve 1 and waste the dark lord. Lose 1 to S+D on my turn then his turn then drain him out. Damn it! Still it was one hell of a tourney and I definitely brought my A game and scored a Bonanza of rating points, as both Members of Team Milford are in the 1900’s and I lost to a 2000+ player and one in the 1900’s. Now to give Props and Slops
Props
Roger and Blair for running a big tourney excellently and smoothly
Patterson for finding a nice place to play for free at (and the outfit)
Team Milford for giving me two great games (and a bonanza of rating points)
All the guys I met from the past like Jason R, Jeremy M, and Russell H
All the guys I met from online like Brad K and Team Milford.
Chester for playing XL Huntdown (it doesn’t loose)
Sato for giving us a ride and placing well
Dave Dalton for playtesting with us
Me for surpassing all my expectations
Slops
Booker for not knowing when to SHUT THE HELL UP
Roger for the camera flashes without warning
Abel for continuing his wining streak over me
Me for missing that last play in the last game.
Thanks for reading
John