fort-worth-tx-6-2-01
Title: fort-worth-tx-6-2-01
Author: Justin "hoostino" Warren
Date: Jun 4, 2001
For DS, I had built a TDIGWATT Trooper deck with mad FSA tech. But I never had the chance to play one game with it, so I really didn’t know if it would hold up or not. Plus, I am rather inexperienced with trooper decks, so I was uncomfortable using it, despite the fact that the deck generally auto-wins if the opponent deploys to Cloud City. Jeremy and I had been kicking around the idea of a Hunt Down Podracing Dueling deck, but I never really worked with it. Then, Kohman posted his Hunt Down Podracing deck that also used Numbers. I discussed it with him a bit, and I made my changes to the deck. I tested it once and saw it’s power. My decks were done.
I’ve never been to a Ft. Worth local, because they usually are held on Sundays, and I work Sundays. In fact, only once had a Killeen player gone to play in Ft. Worth, and that was Matt, who set a personal tournament differential record at that event. Fortunately, this one was on a Saturday, and I managed to get the day off, and was set.
My friend Jeremy was away all week, but I finally got in touch with him on Friday, when our cards arrived. I already had my decks built pretty much, so I just added the Tatooine cards I needed. But Jeremy did not have a chance to do anything SWCCG for over a week. I had a DS Tatooine Mains deck built, and pulled the Mauls to play it. We tested the deck a few weeks back, and he liked it then. So, his dark was ready. The only other LS I had built was a decent Profit mains deck, but neither he nor I thought much of it. So, I sent him my QMC deck, and he built it and we were ready to go.
The drive up was pretty uneventful, we arrived about 30 minutes early thanks to my speedy driving. The tourney was slated to start at 10, but the store sign said the shop didn’t open until noon, so we figured the TD just posted the wrong time. So we went to a local mall until about 11, then headed back to wait. Turns out the tournament has just started, and the shop in fact opened at 10. Bastards. But, the number of players is even, so the TD allows us to play each other in game 1. Better than a bye.
Game 1
My QMC vs. Jeremy Losee’s Tatooine Mains
I built the Tatooine Mains deck, which starts Desert Landing Site/Combat Readiness/Jabba’s Palace, and plays 4 Mauls, 4 Vaders and support characters, along with SAC, and an Elis/Sniper/YAB beats package. For space, it had a basic Imperial Command setup, Fighter Cover, and Tatooine Occupation. It was going to be a challenge. I started the SAC killer, Squassin, and Keeping The Empire Out Forever. I had a pretty good hand to start with, but Jeremy quickly used Sense/Uncertain Is The Future. The new hand I got was even better, including EPP Luke, EPP Obi, and Gift Of The Mentor. Next turn, I deployed both to his Audience Chamber, where he had Mara and Gailid. I battle, hit both of them, and play the adder. He loses both characters and 10 cards. This early loss crippled him and gave me a pretty large advantage. I set up on Cloud City and flip like 4th turn, I think. We have a few more skirmishes, but Path saves me multiple times. I start retrieving with Celebration and Edges, and my drains begin to take a toll. He is unable to find an opening for a beatdown, and eventually he succumbs to my plinks and retrieval.
Full Win by 17
2 (+17)
Game 2
My Hunt Down Racing vs. Glenn Roberts’ Podracing/Mains/Jar Jar deck
I start Hunt Down, Epic Duel, Podracing stuff, and Watto’s Box. He starts Slave Quarters, Podracing stuff, and Brisky Morning Munchen. I use Sebulba’s Racer’s text and initiate the Podrace first turn. I draw a six, he draws lower with his two from Anakin’s Racer. I continue to draw high throughout the next few turns, and maintain a comfortable lead. I enforce Visage each turn. I win the race on turn 4, retrieve my lost pile, while he loses 11 more. I’m already up by 19 cards at this point. I drop Empy and Tech M’or to the Holotheatre and insert. He responds with Jar Jar, but I fry him with Force Lightning before he can battle and use his removal trick. He goes to BMM. The insert pops and he loses 11 cards. He tries it again next turn, but I play my second Lightning to remove him again. He deploys Padawan Obi to join EPP Leia at his Podracer Bay, but a second insert polishes him off.
Full Win by 26
4 (+43)
Game 3
My QMC vs. Kris Dow’s Court Musicians
He gets a quick start with three aliens in the Chamber, and puts the pressure on me fast. I take a good amount of damage for the first few turns from his drains and Court damage. I manage to flip however, and set up Celebration. He Elises a huge crew of musicians and aliens from AC on top of one of my lone characters. I Path away before he battles (so he doesn’t retrieve w/Scum). We play cat and mouse, while I retrieve and he doesn’t. But he’s still up on cards. I have a huge beatdown lined up on him, but a Stunning Leader saves him. I continually avoid the Elis beatdown, until I run out of Paths. I consolidate my characters because I know it’s coming. He brings his crew against my EPP Obi, EPP Luke, ECC Lando, and Melas. I have a Gift in my hand, and two sixes like 3 cards down (just use only one saber and draw them for destiny to balance the power gap). He battles, but excludes Obi with a Nizuk Bek or whatever. Uh-oh. So, I use Luke’s and Lando’s weapons, and draw the pair of sixes for destiny (Lando w/ Melas got me two). But, he has like a power of 41, and subracts 8 from my power with another musician. F.uck. I clear the site and lose like 15 additional cards. He’s pretty thin on cards now though, and I still have about 20 left thanks to On and Off The Edges (I retrieved around 50 cards this game). The attrition clears a large portion of his forces, and I finally have the edge on Cloud City, and Battle Plan finally hits the table. However, time is running thin, and the game times out before I can finish him off.
Timed Win by 22
5 (+65)
Game 4
My Hunt Down Racing vs. Kris Dow’s TIGIH
Since that was Kris’ first loss, we were paired again. This game took far less time, however. I get another huge lead in the race. He deploys General Solo to accompany Jedi Luke at the Landing Platform. Next turn, I drop Vader, capture Luke, and beat on Solo. I win the race, and start inserting. He has no protection, and has already lost a huge amount of cards. Between Vader’s drain, Visage, and the Numbers, he is depleted. He drops EPP Obi in desperation, but Ben gets dueled and the game ends shortly after.
Full Win by 33
7 (+98)
Game 5
My Hunt Down Racing vs. John Sneed’s OMDH Hidden Mains
John is the guy I beat in the finals of this year’s States, and has a pretty good rating. Fortunately for me, he didn’t get his Tatooine cards yet, and was using a standard Hidden Mains deck with only a few new cards. Again, the Podrace goes my way, he doesn’t even bother to stack his race destinies. I continued enforcing Visage, but was forced to save a lot of Force in order to retrieve my cards when I win the Podrace due his Aim High start. After the race is over and his lost pile contains nearly 20 cards, he completes an OMDH and retrieves 8 of it back. Damn, where the hell is my Secret Plans? I insert, and it pops shortly after, causing him to lose another 10 cards. However, I still don’t have Secret Plans, and I watch as he completes another OMDH, this time for 13 cards. Dammit. Vader has been out for a few turns now, and has been uncontested, so I have a decent drain of 2 going. He had invaded the Executor earlier with Corran Horn and few mopes, so Visage was no longer a factor, but the Numbers were. Another insert popped, and Secret Plans hit the table. I was still flipped, thus preventing him from draining with his Super Falcon, so he flipped me back by deploying Ben and docking his EPP Luke over to Tatooine from his Home One docking bay. I responded by moving Vader over, and duel Ben. I win the duel easily thanks to a Focused Attack. I draw a couple cards, and get a Vader’s Obsession, which I use to initiate a second duel with. I win, and the loss the duel inflicts ends the game.
Full Win by 25
9 (+123)
Jeremy has only lost to me at this point, and has beaten some rather kooky decks, including a Corulag Biker Scout Manip Ops deck! What a crazy meta.
I went out to smoke right before the last game along with Jeremy, so we missed the pairings. Turns out we get paired, but have already played the matchup, so we can’t play. The other games are already underway, and director tells to just switch sides. So, I play my Hunt Down for the fourth time...
Game 6
My Hunt Down Racing vs. Jeremy Losee’s QMC
We tested this earlier (the one game of playtesting before the tournament) and the Hunt Down coasted past it. But, Jeremy sacked Insight for Honor in that game because neither of us really knew how to tackle the deck, and the Numbers gave me the win. This time, Jeremy of course keeps Insight out, forcing me to find another way to win. Yet again, I win the Podrace after using Sebulba’s Racer’s text twice. Jeremy begins to recover with Edges though, until SSPFT and Secret Plans hit the table. I go after his EPP Obi with Vader and duel him. I win, but Jeremy cancels the duel with A Jedi’s Resilience and Paths Obi far away. Damn. I draw because I can’t do much but drain, looking for my Elis so I can duel Obi and flip. I keep taking his drains, and continue looking for my Elis. I get it after a couple turns. Obi is sitting at an adjacent site to Vader now (I kept moving towards him). I move over, and Jeremy responds with another Path to move Obi to the other side of Cloud City. I Elis Vader over, and initiate the duel against the trapped Jedi. I win the duel, and the game shortly after thanks to Visage. I forget to count my diff before putting my cards away, so I just tell the TD I won by 5.
Full Win by 5
11 (+128)
I win the tournament as the only unbeaten player, picking up a DS Sense foil and a few packs of Tatooine. I won three previous tournaments this year, and had not gotten a foil, so I was pretty happy. The tournament brought my overall tournament record in 2001 to 23-3. I’m almost feeling like Hunter, and I think Jeremy feels like Van. :)
Not much to Props/Slops about, except props to Jeremy, for riding up with and playing with me. And for not losing to anyone but me. To John Sneed as well, for going 5-1 with hardly any Tatooine cards.
I am looking forward to what decks that see play at Ramapo, and what the post-Tatooine meta will look like. I think that killing docking bay decks was a bad move. It will potentially reintroduce a large random element into the game, and that’s luck in drawing locations. I think the game was in a good state where players could focus on other things like tracking (which Decipher also took a swing at with Tatooine) instead of finding locations to get the Force necessary to play their decks. Mobilization Points/Staging Areas allowed for an environment where skill was far more key to success rather than luck. My two cents.
Darwin bless. Hoostino out.