tradition-1-22-2000
Title: tradition-1-22-2000
Author: R. "Voice of Law" Smith
Date: Jan 23, 2000
Baseball players have their traditions before games - I have mine before tournies. One is to stay up basically all night doing basically nothing. That's exactly what I did before this one, finally heading to dreamland around 5 am, then waking up at 9:30 so I could grab a shower, toss on my lucky boxers and bracelet (both gifts from my gf ;-) and head over to fellow UR student Mike Van Zander's dorm for a ride (thanks Zander).
We get there early so Zander can follow one of his traditions - building a deck right at the store, right before the tourney starts. Not a bad tradition, considering that deck went 3-0...
The games begin around 12:15. I'm playing a quirky MWYHL flip with Anger Fears and drain stoppers (with the jumbo objective of course) for LS, and my trusty TIEs/Big Blue for DS. If anyone wants a decklist for either, just message me.
Here we go...
Round 1, Game 1.
My DS vs. Justin's MWYHL testing DoS.
I've played Justin several times before, and know he's good competition, so I'm glad to get paired up with him in the first game. He starts the MWYHL stuff and Battle Plan, I go with Death Star and Oppressive Enforcement. My opening hand contains 5 TIEs, Kashyyyk system, Pride of the Empire, and a TIE Squad. I'm *praying* he doesn't Grim me first turn . . .and he doesn't. He starts setting up his Dagobah stuff, Yoda at the Hut. My turn, I make a gutsy (foolhardy?) move and deploy Kashyyyk with 4 TIEs there. Squad three of em, draw, his turn. He spends the next couple of turns setting up and completing Test 1, while I pay for a drain of 2 at Kash and draw to find some backup for my TIEs. I no sooner get Bossk in Bus to Kash then he drops Savrip, Lando in Pimp-Mobile and GLiG1 w/a Claw. We skirmish for a little, but all I'm losing is TIEs, and he's trying to hang on to both ships while losing precious Obis to Savrip (I swear he had 5 Obis in there). Speakin of Obi, he (w/saber) makes an appearance at the Jundland Wastes, where he's draining for 2 for free (BPlan fulfilled). So I get U3PO down there, and reinforce my position at Kashyyyk with the Dev-Dev. We battle again, and he finally loses Lando. This gives me a golden opportunity to deploy Pride of the Empire on one of my TIEs. He loses 2 per turn to that for the rest of the game.
So it ends up like this: His GLiG1 and 2 Gold Squad Y-Wings against my Bossk, Dev-Dev, and single TIE (w/Pride) at Kash - and DoS is about ready to learn about A Jedi's Strength. It's his turn, and if he completes the test, I won't be drawing BD that turn (ouch). He needs a 2 - draws Orrimaarko and Mos Eisley. Phew. We fight anyway and I draw a huge 5 BD (Short-Range Fighters). The two Gold Squads are gone and he's reduced to attaching GLiG1 next turn.
I however am the proud owner of a Those Rebels Won't Escape Us - and it's sittin in my hand just itchin to be used. So I reinforce my position at Kashyyyk with the Vengeance and a Dreadnaught (DiPO would make an appearance later) and cancel the Claw on my move phase (boy was he pissed).
His turn, he's still not draining at the Wastes (U3PO is my love), and he's forced to deploy a Red Squad and Gold Squad and run away to Kessel (which I had deployed earlier for activation). No prob for me. I go, drain him for 1 at Kash (Test 1 complete =/ then deploy Dreaded Imperial Starfleet to take care of the drain at Kessel. He's still losing two per turn to Pride (gotta love that card), and he had taken some damage in the battles earlier, so it pretty much ends up like that.
Full win by 25
2 (25)
The good: TIEs rock! DIS rocks! Pride of the Empire rocks! This deck is so much fun...
The bad: Very little.
The ugly: That training destiny he drew was horrible luck. Sorry Jus.
Round 2, Game 2.
My LS vs. Dan's Hunt Down/Navy Troopers :-)
I'd played this deck before, and I knew how Dan operated. He usually starts Strategic Reserves, but, seeing my objective, he opted for Broken Concentration instead (the only anti-MWYHL I saw all day - kudos Dan). I go for Goo Nee Tay, my default against HD so I can avoid a painful first-turn flip.
My opening hand has Test 1 and the Jungle, but when I activate 3 and take my first turn, Yoda is nowhere to be found, and neither is the Training Area. So I get the Hut and draw my Yoda and Area :-(
He spends his first few turns drawing (for a site, no doubt) so that gives me a chance to try and overcome my slow start and get set up. I'm inserting Anger Fears and they're showing up rather frequently, so I'm causing a little mischief early.
By about the 5th turn, I've got Yoda, Test 1, and EPP Luke (I train him so I can use Leia Undercover) at the Hut with 3 sites out and Yoda's Hope/Luke's Pack adding to destiny. With Brok Con, I need a 6, so I draw....score! Don't Forget The Droids! Test 1 complete and I'm over the first-test hump created by BrokCon.
He finally sets up at Endor Forest Clearing, but I Projection it and he's draining for nil. Vader's there of course, so I am losing to Visage. I decide it's time to start drawing like a madman to find one of my three TTerminateds. Next turn I do, and that's pretty much all the force I lose for the rest of the game. He can't seem to find another site, so he's not draining, and I'm able to get all my tests done. He deploys a ridiculous amount of characters, walkers, etc. to the Clearing, so of course I'm not gonna go there - but my Anger Fears are giving him some force loss to worry about.
Right before Test 5 is to be complete, he draws the Back Door and spreads there, but I've had TK422 and Boussh in hand all game, so I send Han there Undercover to keep the drains away. I complete Test 5, draw a tracked Bionic Hand, flip the jumbo objective (man that's fun), and retrieve 10 force (no CHYBC or Secret Plans on table).
Next turn I deploy the CC: Carbo Chamber, and Premiere Obi with his Saber there for a nice fat drain of 3 - or so I think. U3PO pays me a little visit next turn, and though I have Undercovers in my deck, I have no protection against them...
So I'm forced to send Boussh to the Med Chamber then break her cover so she can drain (Hunt Down is on the 0 side with Obi at the Chamber). Dan Elises some guys over (Mara and, ummm, someone else) from the Clearing to try and take Leia out, but no way. She's power 10 with Test 5 complete, and he opts to lose Mara and the other guy attrition. Leia stays because Yoda's at the Hut, Test 3 is complete, and she has her own immunity anyway. That ends the game - Leia drains contently for 2 a turn, and Dan's deck was already a little short since he had put so much stuff out at the Clearing and because of the Anger Fears.
Full win by 29
4 (54)
The good: Of course - flipping the jumbo MWYHL! Or maybe drawing the Dont Forget when I needed a 6...
The bad: Dan and I are both Redskins fans :-(
The ugly: This was but the first Hunt Down deck I played today...
Round 2, Game 1
My DS vs. Rob's LS Tosche Celebration?
I had played Rob before too, with pretty much the same deck I was using. He however had a different LS deck, so I had no idea what was coming.
He starts the Obi's Hut/Tosche thing, I go with Death Star and Oppressive Enforcement again.
I draw, and get U3PO, Kashyyyk, Wakeelmui, and Sienar Fleet Systems in my opening hand (yes!).
He goes first, gets good ol' EPP Obi to the Hut, then moves him in to Tosche. My turn, I drop U3PO (eliciting a profanity from Rob), Kashyyyk, and Milwaukee/SFS. That's a mistake as he Alters it at the start of his turn (it goes to used). He draws, looking for a site, and I set up at Kashyyyk with Dreadnaughts, DiPO, and a couple TIEs. I drain once or twice before he brings Lando in Cadillac and GLiG1 ('didn't we just leave this party?' :-) up to Kashyyyk. He just doesn't know the power of the dark side, though, and my ships beat his back, allowing me to deploy Pride of the Empire once again (gotta love this card! it's like an almost un-cancellable Visage!!). He deploys the Audience Chamber, and Obi spends the rest of the game running away from U3PO (every now and then I wouldn't save force so 3PO wouldn't get to move).
I get the Ex and a Black Squad to Fondor, so now I'm draining for one there and two at Kashyyyk. He decides he's gonna be a wise guy and deploys the Tantive to the Death Star with Wedge and a chump of some sort (Melas?). I've got a Twi'lek, though and I'm planning on getting CHYBC to stop that. I'm hit with a better idea though, and instead grab....Lateral Damage! Deploy it on Kashyyyk and the Tantive is screwed. I deploy the Dev-Dev, a Dread, and some chump TIEs, then beat the smack out of the Tantive. Then move the beatdown squad to my Coruscant for a nice little drain of 1. That, combined with the battle damage he took at Kashyyyk and Death Star, and Pride of the Empire and my drains at Kashyyyk and Fondor....all finish him.
Full win by 23
6 (77)
The good: Everything in my deck worked flawlessly.
The bad: Obi running from U3PO!
The hilarious: During our game, a guy at an adjacent table who was playing a Wampa deck (yes, a Wampa deck) had one of his Wampas eat his opponent's Obi-Wan. He commenced to jump out of his chair and scream 'My Wampa ate Obi-Wan! My Wampa ate Obi-Wan!' Heh hehhh.
Round 2, Game 2.
My LS vs. Chris's HuntDown.com (aka generic internet Hunt Down deck)
Chris is a cool guy, but he was a classic example of a kid who takes a deck off the net, throws the cards together, then expects to crush everybody with it just cuz it looks good on the net. This game was not even a contest.
He had nothing to slow me down from testing (he didn't even have a starting interrupt), so Test 1 was done third turn (on EPP Luke again). I Terminated his Visage as soon as he flipped (heck, if we're both losing to it, I'll let it stay). After the flip, I sent Boussh out to stop Vader from draining in Downtown Cloud City. So he got some other nobodies (Mara, and Zuckuss, the character) to the Back Door, but TK-422 decided to show up and ruin their little party. My Anger Fears were adding up against him, and he wasn't damaging me at all. I clipped along with my tests, and by the time Test 4 was done Chris drew up :-(
Full win by 23
8 (100)
The good: I must have done my tests faster in this game then any other with that deck before.
The bad: It wasn't a very fun game. Perhaps that's partly my fault for playing this deck.
The ugly: It's not what cards you have, but what you do with them....
Round 3, Game 1
My DS vs. Jason's HB inserts
Jason's one of my favorite regs to play against. He's a mid-1800s player, so he provides good competition, but he's also just a lot of fun to joke around with.
He starts the HB stuff and Battle Plan, I go with Death Star and Security Precautions.
His first turn, he drops a Corvette to the RPoint, gets out Kashyyyk and draws. I get out Kiffex, and have Kashyyyk in hand, but opt not to convert his for now. He goes and puts Artoo on the Corvette. Of course this alarms me, and then he throws an insert my way. Only it's not what I think - it's Anger Fear! A Never Tell Me The Odds follows, though, and now I have 2 friggin inserts in my deck. I decide it's time to find my Resistance, so I go on a mad drawing spree. Lucky for me it's on the bottom of my force pile next turn. He's still pulling systems and deploying high-destiny characters (Wedge, Leesub Sirln) to the RPoint, so I deploy Resistance and CHYBC and activate like a madman trying to get the inserts before he can occupy a battleground to take out Resistance. I do find Odds, and lose 2 to it; by now I'm thinkin I better get some ships out to drain and fulfill Resistance should he come out of hiding, so I get Zuckuss and DiPO to his Kashyyyk with a chump TIE.
He goes, and deploys the Tantive to Kiffex, then decides he wants to deploy it to the Death Star instead. I don't see the difference (HB isn't flipped yet), but I let him, especially since this means Resistance is still in effect, and he can't drain at the Star at all with CHYBC. So I activate and get an Anger Fear, drain 2 at Kashyyyk, and set up the Dev-Dev and some TIEs at Kiffex. Now I've got a drain of 2 at 2 different systems and he's draining for jack.
Next turn, though, he gives me another pair of inserts, and deploys GLiG1 to Kashyyyk with Lando in Ghetto Cruiser (where have I seen this before?). We battle, and I beat him but good with DiPO and Zuckuss (dang they're a good team). Jason is a little confused on Zuckuss' text, thinking that Gold Leader allows him to count his destiny draw anyway, so I have to call the TD to set him straight. Anyway, Gold Leader goes buh-bye, and the Corvette from the RPoint starts heading toward us (stopping off at Kessel).
My turn, I know I have 2 inserts floating in my deck somewhere, and I only occupy 2 battlegrounds for Resistance. I decide to activate it all anyway, and I pay for it - Odds pops and I lose a whole mess of stuff (most from my hand, it was huge). As I finish activating, Anger Fear pops too, but I think I'll have no problem taking care of that with Lando at Kashyyyk. So I drain for 2 at Kiffex, then try and figure what to do with the Bossk in Bus I have in hand. I decide to deploy him at Bespin to satisfy Resistance and so I'll have another drain. I battle at Kashyyyk and take out the Falcon, but that's all he loses thanks to crappy destiny on my part (a system and a TIE, ouch). I have to toss Dengar.
He goes, gives me another insert, and drops a buttload of ships (RLiR1, 2 Gold Squads and a Red Squad) on Bossk, smacking him for something good. That about finishes me - I'm runnin low on life force anyway, and he's got inserts in there; so when I activate I hit an Odds, and that's game.
Full loss by 19
8 (81)
The good: Playin Jason and schooling him about Zuckuss ;-)
The bad: I prolly should have used Bossk to aid the cause at Kashyyyk with the other BHers. =/
The ugly: 'Insert this please.' But then I can't complain cuz I'm using inserts too!
Round 3, Game 3
My LS vs. the same Jason's Hunt Down (what else?)
In keeping with tradition, I didn't take notes on my last game =P So pardon the abstractness.
He starts Bad Feeling, I get good ol' Goo Nee Tay. He saves force his first turn, so I figger he's got a site and a Vader ready. I'm slowed by Bad Feeling, but I get the Hut out and draw. Sure enough, Vader makes a second-turn appearance at the Cantina, and now I'm the only one losing to Visage. I get Boussh to the Cantina to keep Vader from draining for 4 with his saber, and still gotta hold off on deploying Yoda thanks to Bad Feeling :-( I get the Training Area and Test 1 tho.
Eventually I get Yoda/Luke out with Test 1, and complete it. By that time he's spread to the Jundland Wastes with Igar/Tempest 1. No prob, I Projection it. But I'm still losing to Visage and can't find a Terminated. To make matters worse, he sets up Zuckuss at Downtown Plaza for a drain of two. I go, get Test 2 done, and finally draw a friggin Terminated - bye bye Visage.
Unfortunately I've already lost 10+ force to Visage, plus extra stuff here and there to drains. He's got the drain of 2 at Downtown (I Surprise Assaulted it once and drew a 5 to hit him for 3), and I had lost one of my two destiny 7s in a Visage earlier. The other was in my hand, and my Traffic Control was somewhere in my diminished life force. I couldn't draw to get it or I wouldn't have enough left to do stuff with. So when he took his turn and drew all but 4 from his life force (obviously looking for a Reactor Terminal) I decided it was time to Do The Decent Thing and draw up.
Full loss by 4
8 (77)
The good: Jokin around during the game w/Jason, and others who had finished their games and come to watch.
The bad: Second turn Vader, sheez...
The ugliest of the uglies: Playing against THREE - count 'em, THREE Hunt Down decks in the tourney. Arrrrgh!
So I end up in third (out of 23), get 3 Reflections packs and 3 WB Premiere, draw some semi-decent stuff (all VRFoils tho :-(
This was easily the biggest tourney I've been to - and it was a good time. There was everything from Rescue the Princess to Deactivate the Shield to a Wampa deck played. Hope you had half as much fun reading as it was playing!