episode-i-sealed-deck-tacticon-denver
Title: episode-i-sealed-deck-tacticon-denver
Author: Chris "Artwo" Fanchi
Date: Sep 5, 2001
It all starts a few hours before the tournament during the DPC. I haven’t decided whether I would be able to make the sealed deck because it would overlap with the final confrontation of the DPC. Despite this, I decide to go for it and sign up for the tournament.
So it turns out that it will be booster draft with 4 Coruscant and 3 Tatooine packs per player. There are 11 players at the start with the TD Patrick Napier making it an even 12. Going into the draft none of us really know what to expect from the distribution because this is the first EPI Sealed in CO. So the pairings are announced and I’m Light Side slated to face Cory Degroot for the first game.
My pulls are decent with the highlights being 2 Jar Jars, Ric Olie, Phylo Gandish, and Speak With The Council. The rest is assorted random high-destiny cards (including 4 Eopies), a few Senators, and a couple sites. From what I hear around the room, it turns out the Light Side got the total shaft since there were 5 Tatooine Mauls pulled and zero Qui-Gons (of any kind).
Game 1
Random Pile of LS Cards vs. Cory Degroot’s Random Pile of DS Cards
I decide that my 5 or 6 Senators (actually, characters with politics, only about 4 were Senators) might in fact be enough to hold a senate majority, so I start the Galactic Senate. The game starts and I get a quick jump with Jar Jar in my opening hand. Cory started a random Naboo Site (a 2-1 with Force drain minus 1 for me) and gets P-59 down right away. I don’t panic and start attacking him hoping to wipe him out with attrition. Eventually, with help from suicide Jar Jar, I manage to kick him off of the site and I also take over the Tatooine Marketplace and Naboo Battle Plains. Cory would get a quick jump on the senate and I’m forced to divert my forces. Cory would be unable to launch a successful attack after the start of the game and I would slowly drain him out while retrieving the 1 Force of damage that he did to me each turn. FW +20
2 (+20)
Highs: Jar Jar tech taking out P-59 with ease.
Lows: Losing the Senate without even playing a card there.
After this I find out that there are conveniently 3 Light and 3 Dark wins, and I’m the top Light deck at this point, followed by Tom Kathman.
Game 2
Random Pile of LS Cards vs. Joseph Diniega’s DS Power Deck
Well, as I found out earlier, Joseph pulled 2 of the 5 Mauls, so I know that I’m going to have my work cut out for me. He is currently in first in the tournament with 2(+27), so if I want a chance at this tournament I’m going to have to win this game. Not an easy task. I decide to start the Outskirts (despite my only Jedi being Plo Koon who I can’t deploy) this game and take the Senate site out, while leaving the Senators in to keep me at about 13 characters. Not good. He starts the Battleship Bridge. Damn. This is not going well. He gets Maul down second turn to add insult to injury and throws down Maul’s Electrobinoculars. So he has the Outskirts under control. During his first turn he also deploys the Naboo and Coruscant Docking Bays, which would be a poor move on his part. I get down Phylo on my second turn to the Naboo DB for the drain of 3 and back her up with a Jar Jar and an Eopie. From then on it would turn into a drain race with me taking over the Battle Plains and him taking over the Senate. There would be some minor skirmishes, but in the end my drains would become too much for him and I win. FW +10.
4 (+30)
Highs: Beating a deck with 2 Darth Mauls. What the hell?
Lows: PLAYING against a deck with 2 Mauls.
It turns out Tom Kathman has also won his game and is now slightly ahead of me in differential. The Light and Dark players have begun allying with each other and discussing the oppositions decks, and all players agree that the draft was greatly in the favor of the Dark Side. There is only one DS deck that I do not want to face, and going into the pairings, I would be able to avoid it, until I get paired against my previous opponent and it all get’s mixed up...
Game 3
Random Pile of LS Cards vs. Ian Montieth’s Watto Objective Racing
Derp. Ian got the ultimate GOD DRAW. He starts the Watto Objective (fortunately with no Watto’s in his deck), Start Your Engines, Boonta Eve Podrace, Teemto Pagalies’ Podracer, the Arena, and Watto’s Box. I practically mess myself when he reveals his starting effect. This is bull@#$%. The only thing I can think of is who the hell drafted with him and let all this stuff go? Jesus. So anyway, I start my usual Outskirts and start the race at the beginning of his turn hoping to get the damage out of the way quickly. Well, my plan works and I get the Marketplace going early. He gets down DARTH MAUL (with Electrobinoculars, no less) second or third turn and I prepare for the worst. I get my Phylo early and start attacking Maul mercilessly prayer to draw one of my 5s. About 5 characters later, I finally break Maul’s immunity and he is out of my hair. A couple turns before this I lose the race and lose my 11 damn force and he retrieves about 3 or 4. I now know that the rest of this game is going to be all about my strategy: avoid, spread, and drain. Ian makes some mistakes at this point and concentrates his forces on taking the marketplace away from me. I then start pinging him all over Tatooine with Phylo holding the Junkyard for the drain of 2 while letting the forfiet of my Republic characters hole the Arena and Mos Espa. Fortunately Ian’s objective is preventing him from draining for 2 at the Outskirts, so my drains are starting to catch me up. Somehow, my strategy works, and despite a few more minor skirmishes, I manage to hold out and win in a great game. FW +2
6 (+32)
Highs: Winning. ’Nuff said.
Lows: Ignoring Ian’s His Name Is Anakin. Sorry man.
So now the strategizing is really beginning to happen. Tom Kathman is still in first because my differential is low. Ian Montieth is still in the top DS spot with Tom Meade holding second for the DS. Ian is scheduled to play Kathman, while I’m set to play Meade, so we know that if we both win we take the Foil Qui-Gon and Maul.
Game 4
Random Pile of LS Cards vs. Tom Meade’s DS Pile
Tom and I are kind of arch-nemeses, but we’ve could to a state of mutual respect. Our games are always hard-fought and we tend to have a good time. So he starts the Battle Plains and I start the Outskirts. We both do very little early with me setting up at the marketplace while he deploys the Naboo DB and draws a bit. His third or fourth turn finally reveals his plan. Darth Maul (that’s it, I hate SWCCG :P) comes down to the Outskirts, this time with Electrobinoculars AND Lightsaber. He then moves over to the Marketplace to take away my retieval. I also got a decent draw, though, and I manage to take over the docking bay with Phylo for the drain of 3 and the Battle Plains for 2 more. So the game turns into yet another drain race and I’m in a big lead. He is forced to suicidally attack my forces trying to stop my drains, but a well-timed, Jar Jar assisted beat down seals the win for me. FW +9
8 (+41)
Highs: Avenging my Friday night loss to Tom. Going undefeated.
Lows: 4 games, 3 Mauls. Gay.
So after we report the score we head over to watch the end of the Montieth vs. Kathman duel, with Montieth winning rather handily and sealing my tournament win.
So I win the tournament and recieve 4 packs of RII, 1 RI, and most importantly, the Foil Qui-Gon with Lightsaber. Ian comes in second and gets the Foil Darth Maul with Dual-Bladed Lightsaber and some random packs.
Now on to the Infamous: Props & Slops
Props:
to Brian and Hayes Hunter for going to the final Confrontation in the DPC and to Hayes for winning it all.
to Ian Montieth for coming in second
to Patrick Napier for running a smooth event and dealing with the faulty tournament software well
to Scott Gaeta for the prizes and helping with the tournament and DPC
to the DS for being WAY overpowered in EPI Sealed play
Slops:
to LS for being weak, not being able to hold a Senate Majority if their life depended on it, and for drafting ZERO Qui-Gons
to DS for drafting 5 goddamn Mauls
to me for having to play against 3 out of 4 players that got at least 1 Maul
to Podracing. Period.
to Pheonix for holding a DPC and Open a week after DPC Denver and stealing all of our players
That’s all for now,
Chris "Parker Fodder aka Artwo" Fanchi