norm-strikes-back-6-16-01
Title: norm-strikes-back-6-16-01
Author: Norman "Norman" Horn
Date: Jun 18, 2001
Game 1: My WYS Choke-Pods vs. ???? Jabba’s Palace Mains
He starts All Wrapped Up, No Bargain, and some other effect that didn’t matter. I start the podracing stuff and Squadron Assignments. The first significant action was when he deployed down Devastator, Zuckuss (the character!), and Dengar in P1 to battle my Lando in Falcon and Pulsar Skate with Wedge at Kessel. He dealt me six damage so Wedge bought the farm. I move to Tatoine. Basically I’m draining for about 3-5 a turn while he’s dealing me about 1-2 with some interspersed battles. I’ve won the Podrace, so I Did It is helping me out a bunch. The Tremors are popping up at good times about 50% of the time so that is annoying the living daylights out of him. I even popped an Odds for 7 damage on him once! Later on Jedi Luke (with Saber) and EPP Han beat up on 4-Lom, Djas, Lyn Me, and Boba Fett by taking out everybody and now he’s gone. My drains and retrieval are eating at him and I win by 31.
Score: 2(+31)
Highs: Working the lock decently, though it could have done better
Lows: He seemed to have the right cards at the right time, whereas I had to actually work for it. ;-)
Game 2: My Hunt Down Pods vs. Dustin Horn’s New-Age Profit
If you’ve read most of my tourney reports you know I hate playing my brother. This time wasn’t much different... until after the game was over when we realized we had played one of our best games ever. I start Pod stuff and Watto’s Box and he starts Insights, DDTA, and The Camp. The first turn I draw for Vader and start working at pulling interrupt combos. His turn he draws some. My turn, I draw more (I don’t deploy Vader until my opponent deploys something). His turn, he deploys Qui-Gon and E1 Threepio to release Han and retrieve 5. My turn, I deploy Choke Vader and a Saber and it all goes downhill. I battle, try choke Han, draw a 1. Try to hit Qui-Gon, draw 6 - then a 1. DAH! Bad! He smoke screens, I draw a 3 for destiny. DAH! All that happens is that Vader dies and he loses Threepio. AAAAGH! My next attempt is a duel versus Ben Kenobi and his Saber and he plays Jedi Resilience. Gee, will I ever get a break? I move away to Jabba’s palace. I win the podrace and catch up force-wise for a while. But he deploys Boussh and Padme to the Holotheatre and takes out big-bad Visage. Next big thing is when I had Emperor and Vader at JP and he has Qui-Gon, Ben, Han, and some other character. I move over Vader and blind duel Ben again. I win by 1 and Dustin takes a big hit. No matter to him, his next move is to Nabrun to fight Palpatine. He fights and Palpy tries to Lightning away Han. Draws a 1. DAH! Not again! So I end up forfeiting Palpy and losing only one more because I drew a six for destiny. He forfeits Han? Why? He didn’t want my Vader draining at the Audience Chamber for 3. I move over cuz now I got tracked destiny! He deploys another Han and battles. I’m like "So what!" Qui-Gon gets slashed and I clear the site completely by drawing a Visage for battle destiny. Eat it! I don’t care because I have 2 more Vaders in my hand, including an EPP. He’s in a major dilemma, because he has no Hans and his only drain is the Holotheatre. So he bites the bullet, betting I don’t have another Vader, and deploys Master Luke to the Holotheatre with a saber and moves to the Meditation chamber. I’m like, "Ha, you lose!" as I deploy my EPP Vader to the City Outskirts for a drain. He thinks for a second, then draws up and Nabruns Luke to Vader’s site. I say, "You have no destiny after that one, you lose!" and I initiate a duel. Bam he’s down to about 3 force and I drain him out. This was some game with guys dying all over the place, THREE Epic Duels, and lots of action. This was definitely one of those memorable games! Win by 23.
Score: 4(+54)
Highs: Great game, three duels, what more can you ask for?
Lows: having to play my brother, as usual.
Game 3: My Hunt Down Pods vs. ??? Michael’s Dagobah Drainer
This guy obviously has no silly idea what’s going on, I almost go straight out and ask if he’s ever heard of Come Here You Big coward, but I stop myself and resort to being nice the entire game, explaining all the rulings he thought he knew that were wrong and basically being Mister Patient. The significant portions of this game basically included me winning the podrace, 2 inserts popping (one for 9 force the other for 5), and a Counter Assault for 13! Get this, he even tried to use Signal to take my insert card out of his deck! (I didn’t let him). Goodness gracious people, can’t you use the rules here! My main problem was that his deck was less interactive than mine was, though even my deck used Vader as super-strike-man-who-attempts-to-take-down-everything. The closest thing that came to interaction with him was kessel. Yep, that’s it! At any rate, his recurring drains on Dagobah got really really annoying and whittled me down quite a bit, but I still won by 17.
Score: 6(+71)
Highs: Uh, Pods?
Lows: Stupid Dagobah drain decks!!!
Game 4: My WYS Choke vs. Michael’s Dark Deal
Aw man, I have to play this guy again?! Well, at least I know I’ll probably end up undefeated. He starts I’m Sorry... and nothing else... and I start pod stuff and Insights just in case. He was so overmatched it wasn’t funny. I podrace him, retrieve my stuff, play I Did It, and beat down his scrubby characters he attempted to set up dark deal with. Of course, Luke had a good time beating down Bane Malar in one battle, Janus in another, and Lando in another. Too bad for him that I can retrieve my way into a big win, and I managed to end with only about 4 cards in my lost pile and a win by 32
Score: 8(+103)
Highs: Woo-hoo! I broke 100! ;-)
Lows: playing the same guy again.
Well I took first and got a Tatooine pack. Since this was only Greg’s first sanctioned tournament he’s run, he had no prize support, but that’ll change. But hey, overall it was a good time and I learned some interesting things about the rest of the meta from my brother and friends. As usual, everybody is trying out crazy strategies and is either getting hit hard or is finding a bit of success. People seem to like the new LS effects and a little bit of Pods, but Dark is kind of varied from either Dark Deal to Hunt Down to Tatooine M&T.
Props: To Dustin for taking the game real well and for giving me one of my best games ever...
To Greg cuz he can hack! ;-)
To Matt for at least offering me a way to go to Origins (though I can’t go)...
To Counter Assault for being so cool that one time...
To Michaels for having the nerve to trade for as many Jar Jars and Munchies as he possibly could (granted, it was freaky weird!)
To Elly, Boise’s 13 (?) year-old sister who had the courage to come to a tournament and shake everybody up (she’s not too bad folks, she’s got promise!). Really, she did a great job for her first tournament and had a great time.
Slops: To the inserts, for not popping up as much as I wanted...
To how tournament software just won’t work...
It was a good day...
Until next time,
~Norman Horn