nj-states-may-20th
Title: nj-states-may-20th
Author: Michael "faramir" Dalton
Date: May 20, 2001
So, states finally roll around and I’m somewhat excited about actually playing in them. During the week I talk to Tom Hermley-Keen and we make some plans on playtesting. So, I get my school stuff done, by mid-week and talk to him on wednesday about playtesting on thursday. So, thursday I bail on playing ultimate and head over to Tom’s early to get in some games. I get to Tom’s and he’s got all kinds of decks made (which is good, cause I have like none). He’s got every "net deck" you could ever want to play built, and a bunch of other crazy randomness going on, I’m like a little kid in a candy store. So, we play, he picks ISB/Imp Command and I go w/ HB Mains. HB Mains loses, but it’s not by too many, and I see some potential in the deck. Then I play the ISB deck against his WYS/Raiders and the ISB rolls again, so that’s looking pretty solid. We eat some food (Tom grills a mean cheeseburger) and it’s back to playing. I mention a desire to try out the Dark Surgeon so he pulls it out for me. This deck is pure beats. It rolls over WYS/Raiders consistently. The HB/Mains really doesn’t fair much better, I’m loving this deck... So, I jet home, make plans to go out friday night and head to bed. Go out friday night, have fun, crash at my sister’s apartment in NYC and get treated to a nice little brunch the next afternoon (sweet). So, train it back to Jersey saturday and get in touch w/ Tom to make plans for more playtesting. Head back over his place after writing down modifications to be made to the HB/Mains deck (adding in some S/A, less recycleable 6s). So, we try the HB/Mains vs. ISB/Imp Command and again the ISB wins, but it’s closer, and since LS sucks that’s good enough for me. Then Tom wants to try out the Dark Surgeon deck after seeing it’s power 2 days earlier. Again, the deck is pure beats. It beats HB/Mains 4 out of 5, all big wins, mostly over on like turn 5 when I get a huge @#$% beatdown and concede defeat. I do manage 1 victory and it gives me some hope for beating the deck when it comes time. So, it’s late, and I was kinda hung over all day so I really needed the rest, so at about midnight we decide on decks. He’s playing the Dark Surgeon, we lack the Emperors to play 2 of it (but not by much, Tom has sick sick amounts of cards). I take the ISB and make a few modifications to fit my style. For light we throw together a 2nd copy of the HB/Mains deck and both play pretty much identical decks. (I’d give deck lists, but I don’t actually have the decks on me as I gave them back to Tom). They were entitled "Good Enough for Me, Part 1" and "Good Enough for Me, Part 2".
So, we get there and there’s like 26 people or something, bunch of people I don’t know who the hell are (from here on refered to as "townies"). I used to know like everyone who played this game in NJ, but alas, that’s no longer even close to true. All the favorites to win are there, including myself, the self-proclaimed favorite. Whatever, you really don’t care so I’ll just get on w/ the games... As mentioned previously, my decks are ISB/Imp Command and HB/Mains w/ some S/A and Edges.
1st game: LS vs. random "townie"’s Court w/ Imperials and whatnot
This guy wasn’t actually that much of a "townie", but I don’t remember his name and didn’t know who he was so that will have to do for now. 1st turn he goes SE Jabba and Gallid to the AC. I go EPP Leia, hit Gallid, Proficiency him, and pull a crappy destiny so Jabba lives while he loses a few force. Down comes Boelo, I miss him, Leia dies, blah. I drop EPP Obi at Tat:DB to avoid losing from Court. He goes to drain at the AC but I point out he started Battle Order so that’s no good (he’s getting like 7 force). So he drops Zuckuss at my Corulag and I have nothing for it. Next turn he drops Dengar, the turn after it’s Guri in Stinger and I give up all hope of going to space. He fortifies the AC a little but Jedi Luke comes down w/ his Saber and w/ help of Savrip he clears the site and he runs to the Dungeon. So, now I’ve got a drain of 3 going, he’s losing to his own objective and Obi moves to the Sarlacc Pit to cut off his guys next logical move. I drop Corran Horn at CC:DB and do some On the Edging (holding Barrier and Portal in hand). Vader comes down to fight Corran but he’s Barriered. EPP Han comes down and some Off The Edging is done and we battle there w/ my Savrip’ing and eventually he runs to the Tat:DB. I follow, we battle some more. Dark Lord, and Jabba the Hutt on Jabba’s Sail Barge vs. EPP Obi and Corran Horn, Jabba gets Portaled, I pull a 5 so Vader dies. From there it’s just me draining, trying to retrieve, and him losing to his own objective. The Sarlacc came down and ate Lando, but whatever. I win by like 18 or something.
2nd game: DS vs. Michael Lee’s Profit
He starts Signal for Seeking an Audience and I think that it’s either "tech" or crap (more than likely the latter). I start Arica in the AC. I setup at my Exec:DB, he drops BoShuda, frees alien Han and leaves him in the AC as Master Luke w/ Saber and some friends move out to Tat:JP w/ Arica. He breaks Arica’s cover w/ Corran Horn. I drop Lord Vader to the AC (cancels BoShuda) and then an ORS and he loses Han and a bunch of cards, Arica moves into the AC. I deploy to space and setup a nice little drain there. He drops like the Liberty or something to Kessel. I drop Devestator, Tarkin, Fett in Slave 1, Lateral Damage it, battle, it’s game over. Win by like 26.
3rd game: DS vs. John Lolli’s HB/Tatooine Celebration
John and I are both playing pretty much the same DS deck, and we both know it really doesn’t lose, so this looks bad for him. I get my early Imp. Command and setup Piett and later Merrejk at the Exec:DB. He’s playing Squadron Assignments and he sets up matching ships in space. I go to space w/ Executor and Ozzel and Zuckuss in MH w/ an ORS. He comes down w/ some X-Wing guy and a Cannon and moves his ships over to Kessel where I was and I just run and he’s pretty bumming that his drains are limited to 1 cause he doesn’t flip his objective. He sets up on Tatooine w/ the Tat:DB and a Spaceport DB w/ EPP Obi, EPP Luke, Artoo and Threepio and a Palace Raider on a Patrol Craft. I drop 5d6 but he just battles him away thanks to Artoo&Threepio. I drop Walkers on Tatooine to get the -1 drain from ISB going and run from his forces when he consolidates. Eventually he gets Tatooine Celebration out and when I get enough of a force I go challenge him w/ a bunch of big ships. It costs him a fortune to run away thanks to Something Special Planned for Me but he has to do it as I outpower him and have Lat Damaged the Outrider. So I cancel Tatooine Celebration and am hitting him pretty hard w/ drains in space and the Endor:DB. Eventually I kill off his guys on the ground and drain him out as he gives me the last turn I need to do it just before time runs out. Win by like 16 or so.
4th game: LS vs. Brian Kim’s BHBM
He drops Emperor at CC:DB 1st turn and fetches I Have You Know so I really don’t want to go fight him. I draw up 1st turn to get Yoda’s Hut and Luke’s Lightsaber and 2nd turn I drop him and move out to the Tat:DB. He comes and captures Luke w/ Dark Lord I think. I drop Savrip, Order to Engage and send EPP Leia to go battle Vader. I play Blaster Proficiency and Leia hits Vader while I Savrip something and stack a card (freeing Luke). We trade drains a little, I drop Ben Kenobi w/ Obi’s Saber and he and Leia transit over to my CC:DB next to his. We battle some as he comes down w/ Xizor and Guri and some friends, he wins another battle or 2, forgetting to stack a card atleast once. I move Luke to CC:DB as he sits IG-88 in front of him. So, he drops Lord Vader and Vader’s Saber to capture Luke but he gets Barrierd and then next turn I drop a beatdown squad on him. He misses the swing at Ben Kenobi, so he can’t play the Dark Strike he’s holding and he loses the battle pretty bad. We trade more drains, I setup a drain in space and do some retrieval w/ On and Off the Edge but he’s got SSPFT so my Edges all go out of play. I win by like 16 or something as not much more happens that I can remember.
After 4 games there are 3 undefeateds, John Terkovich in 1st, me in 2nd, Greg Hodur in 3rd coming off a victory over Lingrell. Those 2 would play again in game 5.
5th game. DS vs. John Terkovich’s Throne Room Mains
I get lucky to play his LS deck as his DS is Hunt Down duel and I’ve got little for him. This matchup is far better. He drops a 1st turn Wedge to Home One:DB and grabs my Imp. Command as I pull Ozzel (doh). I decide to try and beat up Wedge cause I’m silly like that. So, w/ my 3 force I drop an ORS and Ozzel and battle hoping he doesn’t have the Fallen Portal which of course he does. He pulls a 0 though, so Wedge dies and I have the site and the activation. He does drop Honor though, so I don’t get to drain there. I drop Blizzard 2 and latter Merrejk and start pulling systems. He puts Leia to the Hoth:DB for activation and later Hasshn there and Jedi Luke to Tat:DB. Meanwhile I go to space w/ the Executor and Chiraneau. He drops Home One w/ Ackbar soon thereafter and moves Hassshn over to the bridge. I drop Guri on the Exec and move to block his drain. We fight there and I outpower him by a bunch. Eventually his ships just resort to running from me. I setup and drain at the Endor:DB (moving from Home One:DB). Vader and his Saber come down. He drops Boussh there so I just move all over to the Tat:DB and he runs. I have control of the entire table pretty much, lots of draining ensues, and I win by like 24.
So, Lingrell beats Hodur in their rematch, so I’m left as the only undefeated. Terkovich has to play Lingrell, the 2 of them as well as Gogolen are 4-1 w/ big diffs, I’m 5-0 w/ a decent diff and only need a close game to make the final duel.
6th game: LS vs. Gogolen’s SYCFA/Space/Inserts
This is where I play like an utter idiot. I’ve seen this deck before, but yet I’m still stupid and decide that I should ditch YISYW to go get Honor before I see any of his characters and he drops Emperor, Tech M’or and some 4 destiny droid and inserts, blah. I’ve got Jedi Luke, EPP Obi and Corran Horn out (destiny 3, dropped him after I saw Tech off top of reserve to a drain). So, I’m at 10 to his 16 which isn’t too bad. I drop Order to Engage and move Luke and Obi over to the D*:DB to face off w/ the Emperor while Corran sits at the CC:DB blocking his escape route. He’s got ships in space, but Battle Order is out, so the battleground site is important. He drops Dengar to battle Corran Horn, I prolly shoulda Barriered him but I didn’t so instead I just Fallen Portal him so I can keep Corran’s 3 destiny around. The insert pops when I lose to First Strike as the Emperor battles Obi and Luke. I miss both swings of the saber, which means the Emperor lives while Obi bites it. So, my turn I track my draws and SatM his Emperor, drop EPP Leia to the D*:DB and move Jedi Luke w/ his stick in front of Tech M’or. He pays to drain and loses to Order to Engage. I pay to drain w/ Luke as Tech M’or runs further into the D*. Luke follows more and he loses to Order to Engage some and eventually just gives up on the insert as Tech M’or battles Corran Horn. He spreads to drain in space at 3 systems, but he’s paying 9 to do it. I’m draining for 3 w/ Luke and sometimes w/ my other characters. I do some retrieval but mistrack 1 draw and Leia gets killed by an On the Edge (doh) and replaced by Lando w/ Axe. Anyway... nothing much more happens, we both pay to drain and I edge him out in the drain race. All I really needed to do was lose by less than 15 or something, but I win by 4 in the end.
Lingrell beat Terkovich thanks to an OOC that found Vader, so it will be the 2 of us in the final duel. Prizes are given out, I run and grab a soda and get ready for the final duel. I know he’s playing AotBS for dark, and I don’t really like my odds in that matchup, so I decide to play the ISB deck 1st and see how big of a differential I can get and just lose by less than that in the 2nd game.
1st game final duel: DS vs. Scott Lingrell’s HB/Mains
I have Merrejk and Piett opening hand and fetch Chiraneau w/ Imp Command as I drop Merrejk and fetch a system. 2nd turn I drop Blizzard 2 w/ Merrejk and get another system. He pulls his locations out as well and later drops Masta Luke to the Tat:DB and transits back to Home One:DB. I drop Executor at Fondor w/ Chiraneau and Piett and move to Endor. He comes to battle w/ the Super Falcon, hoping I don’t have an Imp Command (I’ve got like 5 cards in hand, haven’t really drawn much), but unlucky for him I do have 1 and he doesn’t have a Sense so he gets outpowered pretty bad, loses Leia and runs Han away. I try to Lateral Damage his Falcon and drop down w/ Zuckuss but he Alters it, so I need to fetch my There Is No Try. He moves Luke out to CC:DB. I move Blizzard 2 and Merrejk out to Endor:DB and move to block his drain in space. He Off the Edges and then replaces Luke w/ Jedi Luke. I ditch YCHF to get SSPFT and draw up TINT. We battle again in space, him getting 2 destinies w/ Capt. Han as he Senses my Imp. Command but his draws aren’t very good and he loses again. I spread to drain some in space, as I drop more ships and more guys and w/ Chiraneau out my drains are pretty large. I get out 2 Walkers w/ Tarkin and Vader but he stacks up all his guys and w/ Ben Kenobi and Jedi Luke I really can’t get anywhere by battling so we play the docking bay run game which is always fun cause he can’t really follow to the Endor:DB too easily so I sneak in more ISB enhanced drains. Clearly I have the game in hand, he tries to keep pace w/ his Edges but he’s rarely getting in drains when he avoids my 5d6 and U-3P0. Late in the game I retrieve my final ISB agent from lost, find a destiny 1 so I can Abyssin Ornament for 3 more retrieval and that’s game as I win by 23.
2nd game final duel: LS vs. Lingrell’s AotBS
I get the opening hand draw from hell. Literally it was like 7 red cards and Obi’s Saber. He drops Carida and moves Xizor to Coruscant:DB. I go and draw up my force finding both of my docking bays and laughing at the @#$% in my hand planning to Recoil In Fear next turn. His turn he drops Emperor w/ Xizor and transits them to his newly deployed D*:DB and does his flipped objective tricks. I activate and try to Recoil in Fear but he Controls it and I grab his Control. So instead I just draw up and I manage to pull Jedi Luke and EPP Obi (I also dropped Honor). So he goes and rains, puts a Vigo down w/ Xizor and Emperor transits to Home One:DB. I know in playtesting I lose this matchup when I get beatdown, but I really can’t afford to let him stay flipped for too long and track destinies so I just go and put Jedi Luke and Ben at that Tat:DB and hope for the best (save a force or 2 to play interrupts). He’s getting mad force now, he Monnoks me lost, but I think he makes the mistake of not really looking too closely at my hand (there’s no doubles or anything). So he comes down with EPP Fett, Djas and a Vigo. 1st action he Hidden Weapons but I Sense it. Obi swings at Fett, hits him and Proficiencies him. I then play Gift of the Mentor to try to get some damage through, I pull good destinies, he loses all and like another 4, I lose Obi. So my turn I really don’t have any backup for Luke, but I figure I’ll just draw and see what I get, find a Portal and some other good stuff. He eventually moves Xizor, Guri and the Vigo over to luke’s site after dropping Jodo Kast and some guys. I come down w/ EPP Leia and EPP Han and we fight some. 1 battle he has 4-LoM, Xizor, Guri, Jodo and IG-88 vs. Han, Leia and Luke. I Fallen Portal 4-LoM, IG-88 captures Han, Leia hits IG-88 w/ a tracked 5, and I basically lose nothing as I have Savrip out. We fight back and forth, he’s got Broken Concenctraion out and is abusing my destiny tracking w/ it which kinda sucks. I just keep running away from him, making him deploy more cards as he gets down under 24. The 3 mains face off against Xizor and Guri at the D*:DB and Leia hits Guri w/ a 5 and another 5 beats Xizor’s immunity so they both die. Late in the game I have EPP Han, Leia and Jedi Luke against the Emperor hoping to force him to battle w/ Order to Engage out but he drops IG-88 and I miss the Portal. Han is Set for Stunned, Luke gets captured by IG, Leia misses IG and he forfeits Emperor and Luke is captrued. His turn he draws up his last cards (looking for another Xizor I think, now that Xizor is dead). My turn I just draw up as he’s down to like 13 cards and there’s really nothing he can do to stop me. Loss by 13.
So I’m State Champion go me. I get this crazy sexy cool fanny pack thing (as does Scott) and we’re all psyched to wear them out and about. Well, no, not really but anyway... I dunno what else you want to hear, but I got some props to give out:
Rich Haman - for running a great event as per usual, flawlessly run w/ the help of Blythe Hermley-Keen
Tom H-K - I was playing 119 of his cards, ’nuff said there :)
Tom and Blythe - for giving my sorry @#$% a ride home
Lingrell - for a fun final duel, was cool, wouldn’t have wanted to play anyone else in it.
Slops:
me - for not remembering near enough detail in my games, sorry, I blame it on my crazy busy (and even more fun) weekend. Here’s to many more like it.
I’m out, until next time (hmm, RamapoCon anyone?) - Mike D.