dpc-montreal-8-18-01
Title: dpc-montreal-8-18-01
Author: Jonathan "jonnychu" Chu
Date: Aug 19, 2001
Pre-report:
What’s better than a DPC only 4 hours away? Hot Canadian chicks.
Clint Hays flew up from Nashville Wednesday so we could have a few days to make decks. TJ was OOC for this weekend and with the release of Coruscant, we needed some strong decks. Bottomly was unusually quiet so we were on our own.
Conclusion after 3 days of deckmaking and trial: I completely suck at deckmaking.
So we hop in the car around 4 (just in time for rush hour) Friday and head up the interstate towards Canada. Armed for dark side is our Brangus deck (check out Bottomly’s or Clint’s -- they’re the same) with like 5 cards changed, and for light side: nothing. Absolutely nothing. WYS seemed to get raped by Hunt Down so it was unreliable, and we couldn’t hammer out anything else. Actually what we had going up was a LS WYS Panic deck with 9 Panics, 4 Don’t Underestimate, and then a slew of guys. It’s pretty tech.
So we get to Yannick’s pod around 9 or 10 or something after dinner and getting very lost in French Canadia. Everybody is there besides Hodur and the Jersey/Philly crew consisting of Ghetto Leader and Chris Gogolen (Gogolembo). We’re waiting on them, so Clint plays some games of Wars and Deal and I get killed by Dom in Smash Brothers. Around 12:30-1 Hodur finally arrives in the area and we head over to Burnt Toast’s to spend the night.
Burnt’s hospitality is very generous and his house is great. We fix up decks and crash pretty quick. In the morning, we wake up around 7:15, go over to the place by around 8:15, and help set up.
For decks, I’m running Brangus as mentioned, and for light, WYS (also on Bottomly’s page) with like 5 cards changed, because that’s the last deck I played that won a game.
***DPC
42 people (or so) show up, which is a little disappointing. Decktech didn’t send anybody the prizes, so without at least 60 people, it would be impossible to offer $1000/200/etc. So it has to be scaled down to a Master’s event, which is unfortunate, but whatever. So it starts.
Game 1: Brangus vs Andy Klema (1902)’s Random.dagobah podracing deck.
I get a decent draw with a relatively early Brangus and the ultimate anti-MWYHL card: Broken Concentration. So when he puts down 2 Dagobah sites from hand and one more from deck first turn, I’m extremely happy. Bam. The card hits the table and I look for his face to turn sour.
Unfortunately, Yoda didn’t decide to train anyone and I was left to my own devices. We podraced and he won after awhile. He started DTF, kinda random, but I soon began to feel the pain of Jar-Jar bombs with an EPP whacking my dudes at the Death Star War Room. The one insert hit him for like 18 or so damage until it got lost from hand because I’m an idiot. I did some Trooper Sabaccs too but I think he grabbed it. AFA tore me apart, and so did infinite Jar-Jar bombs, but luckily he wasn’t retrieving because Coward is a good card.
So it came down to this: He killed all my dudes and I killed all his guys except friggin Jar-Jar. So Jar-Jar is happily draining (at the cost of 4 a turn) at the Death Star: DB, one of two battlegrounds on the table. AFA tears me up a few more times before I find my last guy: Darth Maul. So he visits the Death Star... and the game is locked. Locked! Jarjar can no longer drain. Andy looks through his deck of like 10 cards left and finds no guys. I have an AFA in my deck of 4 cards and it would be stupid for me to activate, and I had lost all characters anyways. So we declare a timed game with 20 minutes left. Weird. :)
ML 0 -10
Highs: The game was really fun. We were jokin around the entire time. We also both made some mistakes -- more on my part -- but it was a cool setting and he is a cool guy.
Lows: Getting a disadvantaged matchup. I felt like I was playing some ancient deck everyone had already seen and knew how to beat. Oh yeah. And losing the podrace because of bad luck. He had a bunch of 5’s and 4’s and one 2, and of course the Collision hits the 2. WTF.
Game Two: WYS vs another guy from Kashyyyk (Matt something)?’s Court.
Sorry I didn’t catch his name, but I know he knew Andy and Justin Desai from Kashyyyk. Anyway I got some good luck early on and OOC’d a Guri he topdecked. Then he drew some bad destiny in a battle on the ground. Then he got low on cards after I drained him for a lot at Kessel and the Cantina. On The Edge retrieved about 15 cards for me that game. We had a few skirmishes but nothing of note.
FW 2 +22
Total: 2 +12
Highs: Yeah, positive diff.
Lows: Nothing really.
At this point, Clint is 2-0 +36 or so after winning against Chris Twigg by 6. Brian Twigg is 2-0 +40something and in first place.
Game Three: WYS vs Justin Desai (1889)’s Hunt Down Jizz
I had played Justin a few months ago with a Hunt Down Jizz deck before it hit Decktech in a local and he was unprepared for the jizziness of the deck. Now he was seeking revenge. :)
Unfortunately the game before he ran up against weekend superstar Gogolembo, who won the box’ed podrace with his WYS stuff because Justin didn’t stall him out in the beginning, cuz Gogolembo didn’t start a racer. After a few A Step Backwards that didn’t affect his own destinies, it sucked. So in our game, Justin stalls me out, draws high for destiny, and draws while I TT his Visage. I get set up in space and on the ground, flip early to deny him force, suck up some draining at the Cantina, lost the podrace in a spectacular fashion, retrieve some cards, drain at Kessel. Nothing spectacular really happened this game either. I was prepared for Hunt Down Jizz mentally and I don’t think there was much he could do without pulling out any wacky stuff. But the game was a lot of fun and Justin played a very good game.
FW 2 +18
Total: 4 +30
Highs: At one point, he had just retrieved all his cards to the race. I Grimtaashed him for 2 Mauls and OOC’ed one. :) That’s twice the OOC has been big for me...
Lows: Nothing really.
I believe Clint and Brian Twigg were still among the top of the list of undefeateds. So is Chris Gogolen and Yannick, I think too.
Game Four: Brangus vs a Canadian playing WYS
Sorry again for the lack of name. His deck wasn’t the standard slosh -- he put down a pretty early Nightfall and dropped Boussh to the Cantina, Lando with Axe to Lars’ Farm and Corran Horn to the Arena after I won the race in a spectacular fashion. Here’s the game very quickly:
1) I won the race, but Emperor gets Lost In the Wildernessed. Damn.
2) He Harvests, and I grab.
3) I put down the Combo on Luke and Maul in front of him. He loses to it the whole game.
4) I Counter Assault Corran Horn draining, twice, for 4 cards each.
5) Insert pops? I don’t remember, I think it does.
6) I rescue Emperor with the help of Maul.
7) I Trooper Sabacc.
He has to pay for some of his drains of 1, and I am doing a lot of Brangusing, so it doesn’t get anywhere fast. The Brangus worked like a champ.
FW 2 +22
Total: 6 +52 or so.
Highs: everything
Lows: nothing really.
Both Clint and Twigg lose, but Gogolembo continues his unblemished record.
Game Five: WYS vs Chris Schaut (1865)’s Senate mains
Chris is from Albany and moved to Seattle for about two years between Dagobah and umm DS2. Back in the day he was one of the strongest forces in Albany, and with his return he is making a fast move back to the top. Our game was very close, very tight.
He got Lott Dod quick to the Senate chamber and I suffered the effects of a Tunnel Vision every turn for the game. I didn’t deploy Kessel because he was only activating about 8 force a turn, while I was doing 9 when I was flipped. Unfortunately I took some heavy hits in the beginning by drop-strikes by Maul and some cronies like Ig-88. His destinies were gross and I fell behind quick.
Battle Plan came out mid-game to slow things down -- I lost Honor off the top during battle damage so I couldn’t limit his Senate drain that way. Vader with his premiere Saber and Maul with saber were rampaging on Coruscant along with the unbattleable Ig-88. I couldn’t find a safe hold on the ground to satisfy my side of Battle Plan and I had barely made him lose a handful of cards. He had all 4 political effects in play and I was dying to them.
Gradually I solidified my hold on the ground with some random jabronies and Luke with stick (even though he had died earlier). His high destinies were intense and I was just poking drains in and running from his big guns. Menace was holding him down a little too and I made use of Controls. Gradually I was wearing him down -- he was force choked a lot and deployed a lot of cards. Tikkes came down but Wedge and random.guy made an attack run in the senate and cleared two guys, including Tikkes, to hold off his activation (Edcel only works at battlegrounds). The tide was turning... and time was approaching.
The game sped up, and I started to plink some more drains in. I also found my Threepio and began tracking my destinies. On the Edge had gone to Code Clearance but it was okay. He put down Zuckuss and hit me for a ship in space, but I reinforced my remaining Theron Nett and ship with Dash and Outrider -- still not enough for destiny. He battled just as time was running low, drew only a 1 for destiny, while I tracked a 6 for power destiny. So it was 17 to 1, and he knew it was done -- in good sport, he conceded and I squeaked it out.
FW 2 +14 or so
Total: 8 +66 or so
Highs: He played a hell of a game. It was intense and very fun. Thanks dude.
Lows: the battle at the end, for him. If he hadn’t and just landed Zuckuss I think he would’ve earned a timed victory.
Gogolen.... 5-0??
Game Six: Brangus vs Alex Klammrodt (1965)’s Patented QMC
I know TJ beat him with a similar matchup at Origins, so I hope I can repeat.
I get down Brangus pretty quick and race. My destiny draws completely suck and I don’t stack much. He puts out Ric Olie in his ship at the system and I come down with Maul in Zuckuss to hold off the inevitable torrential drain for a moment. He follows through with Wedge RSL and Corran Horn piloting but makes the Canadian mistake of having Wedge pilot, so he gets no destiny. Maul dies. I put the combo on Wedge and hold onto my Ghhhk with white knuckles.
Meanwhile he has flipped and is draining me for some. He alters the Responsibility and loses it and some cards but hammers Zuckuss. I take back the Ghhhk. He drains me for more, I set the combo back up, he retrieves his Alter with Off The Edge which I grab, and I win the race. He drains me some more. I think I have monnok’ed him by now for the third time but I don’t get anything because he rarely draws, tracking what he needs and getting whatever else he needs with the sick gametext of Keeping The Empire Out. Boba Fett goes down in flames because of a suicide’d Wedge and he buries the combo deep with huge, Pucumir-backed drains. I die.
FL 0 - 16
Total: 8 +50
Highs: getting the combo set up not once but twice! And having it do no good whatsoever.
Lows: He killed me! Thanks for the beating, Avatar. :)
GOgolembo decides to be unstoppable today and beats Yannick by 2. What a machine. Near the top are Yannick, Raphael Asselin, Matt Sokol, Chris Twigg, myself, Martin Paquette, Clint Hays, and Alex Klammrodt, in no particular order.
Game Seven: Brangus vs Chris Twigg (2162)’s Shmi site mains
He beat Hodur earlier in a similar matchup, so I knew it was going to be tight.
I draw and get.. crap. Brangus comes down relatively early but I’d like to back him up with the Emperor because I fear spies, but no. I dig for Janus, but find him relatively late. He piles at the Slave Quarters with Shmi, Threepio, Han EPP, Quigon with Saber, and eventually plays Bomarr Monk. Battle Order hits the table. Thrown Back does for him, and he limits my hand size in my quest to find good cards. All the while he is setting up his 2/0s and crushing me in the activation war.
30 minutes pass and all I have done is stacked like 3 destinies and deployed Brangus. Janus eventually joins him and helps me get the Emperor. Chris spreads tentatively to the Death Star: DB with Obi-wan EPP and Journal, Tawss and somebody else (Corran Horn?). Vader and Dr E combo come down to mince Tawss, Put All Sections the EPP and do some damage. Dr E runs to the bunkered War Room and Vader back to hand with a docking bay. I have to be careful because I know he has Advantage, and that is death. I win the podrace.
He is plunking away at the Shmi site and the Docking Bay and refuses to throw Insights so odds is useless. He grabs my first Trooper Sabacc so that method of force loss is gone. I set up the combo but in my stupidity put Maul in front of Han like a moron. He has Han separated so he can still drain with a lot of guys at the Shmi site, and Shmi and Threepio follow Han to the Podrace Arena so he doesn’t have to fear Counter Assault as much. By now I have stacked 4 senses (all from sensed Lost Monnoks) so I think everything will get through. I am down to like 10-12 cards in my deck but they’re almost all 6’s and he knows it. I have to kick the combo into gear, and have EPP Vader and docking bays for the recurring strikes with First Strike. So I track a 6 and 5, deploy Vader, battle Bomarr and Quigon at Shmi Site and prepare to take them all down.
But no! He plays Too Close For Comfort to deny me the swing. Vader is hit but he has no more force saved to smokescreen and I draw a 6. He chooses to lose Quigon (prolly has another in hand) and Vader dies to be resurrected. During his turn, he slops down Tantive and RIc Olie to the Death Star and ends. I retrieve Vader and put him down with Han, and move Maul to kick the combo into gear. So now he is losing a lot to the combo but punishing me in space, but Control is helping me out. But it gets buried ultimately and time is running out... Boba goes to the Death Star, survives the battle and takes out Ric Olie. He loses 4. Arica blocks the Death Star drain. He loses 4. He loses 4. The combo wins me the game in an extremely close match. I’m not sure what he could’ve done short of playing On the edge and killing Han (but he didn’t play any) or not deploying him altogether.
FW +8
Total: 10 +58
Highs: close, intense, fun game. Thanks Twigg.
Lows: none
Game 8 standings. Gogolen in first and in first no matter what at 7-0. He is matched with Martin Paquette, who has two losses. Yannick and Raphael Asselin both play; I don’t know which is higher. I am at the third table with Alex Klammrodt and at the 4th table is Justin Desai. Us 6 are in contention and most of us have low diffs so it comes down to the big victory win.
Game Eight: WYS vs Alex Klammrodt (1965)’s Patented Hunt Down.
He gets a quick jump with Vader to the Cantina but I TT his Visage so it’s not so bad. Talon Karrde goes to the docking bay and Mirax to the system to flip and keep the force activation down. He drains and Janus kills Talon Karrde to unflip. I have only Han in my hand and feel like I need to flip to keep the game close because I think I can win in the long run if he doesn’t get too fast a jump, so Han EPP goes to the Hoth Defensive Perimeter with a Barrier for backup.
Crucial moment. Alex has one force saved, and activates one. He then plays Neimodian Adviser for the Endor: Forest Clearing, which he reveals. Unforunately for him, it says "deploy", which forces him to put the card out and ends his two previous phases, saving me 3 force, and screwing him out of a turn.
So I get a free drain in, draw up to fill my hand. I play OOC and knock Vader out of his lost pile of 6 cards. That’s three for OOC. I swarm Vader with little dudes and knock him out with attrition, and the rest of the game he is playing catch up while I set up. He gets some drains in, but he is slow to find Maul and I set up some late-game retrieval to up the diff.
FW 2 +23
Total: 12 + 81
Highs: I dunno. Winning I guess, but it was all because of text he wasn’t aware of. It could’ve swung very easily both ways at that point and it sucks that that, combined with the OOC which was so big, decided the outcome.
Lows: same.
So I win, Yannick loses and has lower diff than I by 3-5 points. Justin Desai wins big but is below Yannick by 5 diff. Gogolembo’s game goes to time, and their cards are tied!! So it goes to Lost Pile, and since Martin was playing WYS, he had the edge and won it that way. Unfortunately the 1 point takes him out of contention.
So the final 4 are:
1) Chris Gogolen
2) Raphael Asselin
3) me
4) Yannick LaPointe.
Next 5 are:
5) Justin Desai -- behind by 5 diff
6) Martin Paquette
7) Chris Twigg
8) Brian Twigg
9) Matt Sokol
All had a very strong tourney.
Playoffs:
I had to Raphael Asselin, who elected to play Light. He had beaten Clint in the same matchup earlier.
He was playing TIGIH with high destinies and had a podracer for the podrace. I got a good draw with EPP Vader, Brangus and Emperor, but he got a first turn Goo Nee tay and 3/0 Coruscant site so it totally sucked. Also an early Battle Plan/DTF. He was activating like 13 or 14 really quick. I put down Vader to the Docking Bay, picked up Luke, and ran him to the adjacent Chief Chirpa Hut. The race was heating up.
Crucial moment. He comes down with Leia EPP, Baragwin, and Orrimaarko. Bacta Tank. Battles. He misses his shot, I chop Orrimaarko, and draw a 3. He draws a 0. I don’t have to stack and Vader lives! Leia runs and he loses both guys, but doesn’t put anyone to the tank. Chalk one up for the big man in black.
The Emperor comes to reinforce the big man, and I insert.
Next turn the insert pops, he loses a bunch, I get it back and he comes down with Han EPP, Tawss, and two other guys. I Force Lightning Han and he battles. He draws a lot for destiny and I choose to lose Emperor while he losest the two jabronies, and moves Leia in to back up Tawss. He still doesn’t utilize the tank.
Next turn, another Emperor hits the table, this time at the Endor: DB. I re-insert and Vader joins the Emperor.
Meanwhile, I am winning the podrace and successfully Collision a few times and even get a mid-late Hit Racer off. The turn I’m about to win the race, he draws 3 7’s and puts an end to my party. So now Brangus has lost 2 of 5 races, and he wasn’t even racing!
Insert pops a few turns later and I get it back with a DB. I trek to the Death Star DB, Put All Sections an invading EPP Obi to keep my guys alive, and walk em to the War Room. He bunkers outside at the Death Star DB with Leia and Melas and has Tawss and Kal Fal at the Endor: DB. I am stupid and come down with Arica at the Death Star DB, break cover, battle to retrieve/lose, but as he draws destiny the insert pops and he only has to lose 1 card. Oh well. Arica dies because it was her job and I have no destiny to draw so his guys live. And I can’t get the insert back. Whoops.
He drains for a few and I lose it from hand. Leia goes up to the Death Star in Artoo in Red 5, which I lateral Damage so Counter Assault is good. I end up using Counter Assault on Tawss/KFC for like 7 cards, but have no docking bay to exchange for it and it gets buried. But he has to pay for his drains and he is getting low on life force. In desperation he moves Obi EPP and Melas to the War Room in front of Emperor, Brangus and EPP Vader. My turn, I have a 6 5 3 tracked in that order, put down Dr E combo, battle, hit Obi and assassinate him, and rape him for a lot of cards. Trooper Sabacc finishes him off.
Yannick defeats Chris Gogolen with his Dark Side and its on to the final.
First game, WYS vs Senate. He draws for the first turn. I set up Dash in Outrider at Tatooine and Mirax at the Cantina. He drops some Political Effects, puts down Lott Dod but has no more force to do anything else but draw. I drain a little. I move Mirax out to the Docking Bay where her ship is waiting and go up to avoid a beatdown, unflipping. I put back Kessel to draw with Mirax for a few turns while he drains at the Senate chamber, backs up his Lott Dod, and Tunnel Visions every turn for a card. Luke EPP, Phylo and Wedge come down to a site to hold down Battle Plan and they get raped by Maul and Saber. Wow. He is semi-force choked but so am I. I need more force and need to flip so I deploy Kessel and put Han in the Falcon there. He draws some more. So do I. Then he puts out all the stuff for the Podrace and races! I can’t do much but in the meanwhile have gotten Luke + stick back with On The Edge and am doing okay. I ICBW the podrace damage but he retrieves all but 3 cards so it’s back to the drawing board.
The game spirals slowly in my favor when I grimtaash him and notice only Vader EPP that is a threat. I get lucky and OOC his Vader out of his lost pile (one of three chance) and there goes the ground threat, enabling me to spread and drain at the Maul site, Tat DB, and Spaceport DB. Luke comes back out with stick to Tatooine DB and gets chased around by Maul. He deploys Tikkes for more activation. When I drain him for a bunch of 1’s, he loses Coruscant Guard and it doesn’t even occur to me that he does until I throw three shmoes down in the Senate chamber and he asks if I waited to do that until he threw out the Guard. Nope. :) 11 for destiny kills two guys and he has to deploy some more senators for forfeit. I track a 6 and 5 to sorry about the mess Maul and eventually, after a long grueling game, win.
FW +13
Game Two: Brangus vs Profit.
My opening hand contains all four of my sites, Responsibility and Brangus. I get Brangus out and end. He puts out Master Luke, Gifts for his saber, Obiwan EPP and flips. Yikes. I Responsibility Luke so he can’t drain. The race has already commenced and I am slightly ahead each time with mediocre destiny draws. He drains for 1, i lose Much Anger off the top and docking bay for it. He doesn’t like that, but he doesn’tk now I have no guys in my hand to set up the combo with. I lose 2 to profit. We race, it’s about 21-15 and he A Step backwards, which I catch. I podrace collision. I’d like to begin the Brangus retrieval but can’t find Put All Sections, surprisingly enough. Dr E comes out in front of LUke for the combo but he gets Sorry About the Mess’ed. I have Vader but a monnok reveals an Uncontrollable Fury, so scratch that. I draw and get Maul. In the meanwhile I have lost a flurry of drains of 1 and 1 and profit for 1 and 1 that is damaging me. Master Luke has gone to the Podracing arena and I put down Maul. The race is still close, always 22-18 or closer, and he has A Step Backwards’ four times. I am running precariously low on life force; he is around 15-20 but has a big hand full of recyclable destinies. I have a Hit Racer in hand and have a 6 on the bottom.
The race is 21-19. I consider playing Hit Racer but don’t for no apparent reason (turns out he had a Too Close For Comfort). I draw my tracked 6 for destiny to put me at 30. He draws either a 7 and 5 or a 6 and 6 and wins by 1!!! Unbelievable. So I am out of tricks, he wins the race and the tournament. Had the race gone my way, I think the 6 loss combined with the combo for a few more turns would have been enough to put me over, but the cookie crumbled the other way.
So Yannick LaPointe is the DPC Montreal champ.
Props!
-Burnt Toast for his hospitality. Thanks for the food, the lodging, being a very cool guy.
-Ghetto Leader Greg Hodur, cuz he’s the boss. Having a good time despite the situation.
-Gogolembo for an amazing run.
-Clint, but I can’t think of a reason.
-Justin Desai, diff is gay.
-Team Albany for having an overall terrific showing.
-Andy Klema for timed winning with 20 minutes left.
-Alex Klammrodt. Finally got to play you, and you crushed me in our first game. Sorry the second game had to be on a technicality. I’m sure we’ll play in the future. Thanks for taking it so well, and being a good sport about everything.
-Dom for judging well, being open to all opinions.
-Yannick for the great win and having us over Friday night. Congrats, and thanks.
-everyone who came for coming, playing, and having a good time.
Slops:
-the takeout Chinese food lady who couldn’t understand English or French
-Canadian roads for being @#$%ty
-Bottomly for not showing
-the cost of Gas in Canada.
Later,
Chu