livinston-nj-4-27-02-another-big-crowd
Title: livinston-nj-4-27-02-another-big-crowd
Author: Kelly "dr_divot" Krieble
Date: Apr 29, 2002
My decks: I was inspired by watching The Empire Strikes Back the other nite so,,,
DS: Walker Garrison Hoth deck, starting 5th marker site and No Escape, Imperial Arrest Order/Secret Plans, and You May Start Your Landing.
LS: QMC (typical...with retrieval, battle evasion, etc.), starting Keeping the Empire out forever, Squadron Assignments, and either Colo Claw Fish (preferred) or Menace Fades.
Game 1: My QMC vs. John Turcovic Watto deck
John starts with Inconsequential Losses and An Entire Legion of my Best Troops, so I suspect lots of Battle Droid Blaster Rifles, and I am not disappointed turn 1 when he drops Watto and a couple of Security droids to flip turn 1. He bluffs a card and I lose 2 right off the bat (not a problem since I will retrieve a lot later). He continues to drop droids and blasters while I set up and flip (usually with enhanced Qui Gon and Leia, RP with Luke, Wedge, and Elyek at Bespin in X-wings). I get Celebration going and he decides to come to Bespin with Vader to battle Leia at her hut. I just Path away. Then on my turn I path Quiggy over to Vaders site and play Sorry About the Mess to cap him. Next turn down comes EPP Vader to Quiggys site. Barrier. I play another SATM to cap him again, and next turn down comes ANOTHER EPP Vader. I Path away, then pull the Path, SATM trick again to get him a third time (you would think Vader woulda learned by now). Anyway, I have Battle Plan down, and he is paying to drain at his Tatooine sites and I am retrieving with CC Celebration and the new virtual Luke (he is GOOD). He just draws up. I was losing two every turn to his flipped objective too (except for the last turn when he bluffed but I called him on it by paying two and HE had to lose the card and pay two himself.)
FW by 21 or so.
2(+21)
Highs: A good win, even though I took a lot of damage. Killing Vader 3 times.
Lows: none really
Game 2: My Walkers vs. Scott Lingrell RST Boomrace
COOL. Major cool. The man who made the deck. If I had only one game of Star Wars left to play in my life Scott would definitely be in the running as to who I would play it against. Hes just a class act all the way around. I saw Scott when I showed up and hoped I would get to play him. I played him once before in my very first SW tourney and almost beat him (remember that Scott?). Hes playing his patented RST Boomrace too. Great, I got NO chance, right? (As Scott informed me later, the deck has not lost a game, which I can believe). Anyway, this game turns out to be the answer to the question: How do you win a game when you get beatdown for 7 cards turn 2 (not a whole lot, but it hurts none the less), lose the podrace, AND have the bunker blown up in your face? Read on...
Scott starts Strike Planning as his effect. Turn one I see that I must put early pressure on him (which the deck is designed to do), so I drop an Imperial Walker to the 5th marker, get down the 6th marker and a couple of 1/0 docking bays, as well as pulling and deploying the 3rd marker. Scott pulls General Crix and also the bunker and draws a few. I drop another walker at the 6th marker and get out the 4th marker as well. On his turn Scott drops Blount (damn spy!) and Lando, Scoundrel against my lone walker and draws two destiny to my none. Walker and 7 cards please. On my turn I get out another walker at the 4th marker and deploy an Ice Storm, which Scott It Can Waits...crud! I grab it then try to sense it (with commander Igar) which fails. I also get out the Come Here You Big Coward shield, which was HUGE in this game (no draining at my 1/0, 2/0 sites and NO retrieval unless he occupies BGs). Scott is HEAVILY force choked, as he cannot find his The Shield Is Down effect for the first 7 turns or so (5 in the deck plus two Signals...UNBELIEVABLE) - Hes generating 7 force a turn, while Im getting about twice that. Meanwhile, I lose the podrace, but he doesnt get to retrieve (CHYBC). Ive got walkers at all four sites which is hurting him a lot from the direct damage (YMSYL), AND the Ice storm eventually catches up to Lando, Blount, and someone else (Luke I think) who he deployed to beat down some more guys I had deployed at the 3rd marker (cmdr Igar, Temp 1, Blizz 2, Imp. walker...ugly stuff for LS). I also have Zuckuss orbiting Endor with Thrawn aboard (and an Imp command in hand) in case he decides to get frisky in space. He eventually makes a play for the bunker with Cracken and one charge but fails to blow it up once. Next turn he deploys Leia and blaster to the rebel landing site and
EPP Han to the Back Door, and another charge. I see that he now has enough to blow the bunker AND two battlegrounds to satisfy CHYBC. I must dislodge one of the EPPs, so luckily I have Blizzard 4, deploy it on Han, check my reserve for a free Imperial...none...AND not only that, but theres a site in my reserve (only 3 cards in reserve!) I shuffle and draw battle destiny...a 3...whew...which clears the site. He blows the bunker the next turn, but my damage and drains just do him in. WOW! A BIG win for me. Thanks for a great game Scott (you DID say before the game that I would have fun). FW by 8.
4(+29)
Highs: winning a big game. It was well played by both of us too.
Lows: are you kidding me?
Game 3: My QMC vs. Pat Ziagos COTVG Scum retrieval deck
OK, back to reality. Pats tough. He starts Colo Claw Fish himself and Power of the Hutt and another effect which escapes me. He gets out Chall Bekan and Boelo to the AC and I am taking Court pingage for most of the game. I eventually flip with enhanced Quiggy and Pucimir along with Wedge in RS1. He comes to CC with Mara and 4LOM and I Path Puke away (he grabs Path, then pull the ole Path/SATM trick to cap Mara. Then he deploys more BHs (Dengar, Boba, BH and Dr. E) and Elises over to beat up Quiggy (no Path this time). He deploys Kasshyk with Zuckuss there, so I drop V-Luke with gun there and shoot him down (he Barriered HC&F else it really woulda hurt - I made the mistake of Sensing his Control/SFS that he used on a force drain rather than waiting to use it on the Barrier...oh well). Next turn he comes down with EVERY single BH ship...
Bossk, Dengar, IG2000, Stinger). No problem I think (Life Debt in hand)...until Guri hits the table. crud!! He gets 4 destiny and clears the system and
I am in trouble now, since he can take over Bespin and I cant get CCC going. I drop Leia, RP with Anis stick at the Great Pit to stop the Court damage, but
he comes down with Mara to take her out. Meanwhile hes retrieving a TON with Scum and Villainy and First Strike. He eventually drains me out. FL by 8. Great game, Pat.
4(+21)
Highs: In Pats words, a "players" game, not a "deck" game. Lots of battles. Made Pat do a lot of thinking (by his own admission).
Lows: losing I guess, but I dont mind if its a good game, which it was.
Game 4: My Walkers vs. Pat Zs WYS (rematch)
These next two games were virtually identical, in that I did not get my extra marker sites out and could not put more pressure on the LS with the direct damage. Pat got set up in space and I hastily started drawing for my ships, eventually getting out the Chimera with Thrawn aboard and an Imperial Command in hand. Too bad Pat was playing with the new Artoo, BLD. I lasted about two turns in space since he had plenty of ships and smugglers. The game ground down and eventually the Kessel drain was too much for me. Sorry for the lack of info, but except for a few space battles it was an uneventful game. I got to use the new virtual Vader, though. Shouldve gotten him up to the ships, though. I did whittle him down, and Pat won by 6 cards in the end (I think). FL by 6.
4(+15)
Highs: none really
Lows: gotta fit Imperial Decree into the deck somehow, as well as maybe Guri.
Game 5: My Walkers vs. Joe Gagliardi WYS
Great...another WYS. Except Joe starts Mindful of the Future as his starting interrupt (presumably to pull something later when he flipped), with Squadron Assign. As his effect. Almost the exact same game, though I got the
Chimera out quicker this time, but Joe smashed it good with Dash and a couple of smugglers and some high destiny. And as usual my destiny draws were crap, but thats another story. Joe got off a couple of tracked On The Edges for some retrieval in the end to up his diff. FL by 24.
4(-9)
Highs: none
Lows: stupid smugglers!
Game 6: My QMC vs. Tim Youngs Ralltir Ops
Tim said he likes playing with a good deck and a "fun" deck, and that this was his fun deck. He starts pulling sites and non-unique troopers, plays the Swamp turn 1, and pulls out a Sleen to cut off my force at his site! I pull out the Ounee Ta D-shield for MAD activation at his sites. I get out some sites and deploy Virtual Luke turn 2 to Bespin (with cannon). I flip early with Quiggy at the carb. chamber and Elyek Rhue at the DB (big mistake). Hes deploying troopers to Ralltir and I have to prevent him from flipping, as my deck is not designed to battle him off of Ralltir, so I decide to move Luke over to Ralltir to
prevent him from flipping. Ive got an Organized attach in hand and I figure Luke can hold his own. He comes down with Zuckuss, who I Barrier and shoot down on my turn. Then he deploys some unique troopers vs. Elyek and battles, playing Trooper Assault. I try playing Path of Least Resistance but Tim points out that it only works at INTERIOR sites. DOH! stupid...stupid...stupid. Luckily he draws a site for destiny and I only lose a couple (I had deployed Red 7 to the DB as well and had to forfeit it too. Eventually I get Wedge at the system and Leia on the ground draining, as well as CCC going, so I am retrieving everything he is draining me for (which he has to pay for since I have Battle Plan out). He sees that I am retrieving more than he is draining and elects to draw up. FW by 26.
6(+15)
Highs: a good game
Lows: Elyek getting his head bashed in. Gotta know what your cards do, people!!
So I end up at 3-3, with my 3 losses to excellent players, so I am not at all unhappy, with one HUGE win under my belt.
Oh, yeah, Bill Kefer won the tournament (playing a LS TRM pile and something else I didnt see for DS) and I dont know how others placed cause we had to get out of the store due to a 30+ player Mage Nation tournament that started just when we finished.
Next month...Coruscant regionals....cool!