Some of the details are sketchy, but I will try to be as acurate as possible.
Seeing as this tournament was the final one in Gainesville before Special Edition, I wanted to make the best of it. I was hoping to create decks I had never played before. This weekend I finally broke down and arranged my cards, and while I was doing that, I thought about decks I could play. I couldn't think of anything fresh.
There wasn't much I hadn't played in a Sanctioned Tourney. I thought about a Jedi Test Space drain deck, but that didn't pan out. I thought about DS jawa's, but I chickened out. Finally, at 3:30am I gave up and went to bed.
The next morning I decided to play Dagobah Baragwins (since I didn't have enough time to put anything else together). I also played the unthinkable... Numbers on Wheaties.
When I got there, the tourney director (GAWD on the BBS) announced that the shirt was the Falcon. I had attempted to win that shirt twice before and fell short both times. To quote Darth Vader "I want(ed) that ship."
But anyway...
Game 1 Jon's Dark Side Space vs my LS Dagobah Baragwins.
This game was one of the best of the day for me. It was a tight game right from the start. He started with the Death Star and got his systems out quickly. I got one baragwin trained rather quickly, but the other two were slow coming out. I finished test 1 before he could drain for anything substantial.
It took a long time for me to get the Falcon, Capt. Han, and Rayc combo. He had left himself vulnerable with a ship and one pilot, but I couldn't get there before he put down some more back up.
We had some great battling in this game. He lateral damaged me twice and so the falcon took a pounding. The second time I forfeited it all and then redeployed everything. I also put down RLR1 and drew a 7, taking out a piloted ISD. But I still thought Jon was coming from behind. He made some key plays, but the Baragwins retrieving saved me. I slowly diminished his forced with the Falcon, battling when necessary until he had nothing left on the board. I won by 9.
Game 2 -Eric's "Suped" up Luke at JP deck vs. My Scrilling/Odds
I started with the Audience Chamber and Scum and Villainy. He started with Do or Do Not and Mos Eisley. This game went fast. It wasn't very pleasant. I hadn't actually played a numbers deck before (save an EBO numbers deck when I first started playing in Jacksonville) and so I was a little worried by his starting site. I had played this deck against my bounty deck and he had creamed me.
I got the Scrillings going pretty quickly and did some early 3720 to 1 damage. Then I SCrewed him twice, getting rid of Obi and SOS. He had a hoard of SOS effects that, once down, would have cost me the game. It was lucky that I SCrewed him when I did, because one more round and I would have been history.
He managed to get chewie and someone else down, but we never battled. He just hid at the hut. The inserts did their damage, and it was all over. Obi made a final apeearance at the end of the game, too late to help aganist 4 power 4 scrillings.
This game was pretty miserable. Eric wasn't having fun, and as Eric put it, "he didn't want me to have fun playing it either." I felt bad for Eric. He is one of the better players in town and has beaten me more than once for all the cookies. (I would also like to note that he plays Space numbers on occasion, and this was one of the reasons I played inserts in the first place.)
Matt Clarke - Hoth, Imp Decree. My Baragwins
He started with Hoth and Imp Decree, I started with Dagobah. This was the best game of the day for me. Matt is one of the newest players in town (though he's been playing for a while) and is very good. He started out furiously quick, draining at Hoth with the Devistator and Ozzel, soon followed by Vader and a Blizzard Scout at the Judland Wastes. My baragwins came out quickly as well.
I figured with ground and space he couldn't be too strong in either theater. Ozzel and the Devistator were weak to the power of the Falcon and a couple high destinies, but I couldn't get the Falcon combo going.
Finally, I got everything into hand, and he deploys the Executor and transfered Ozzel over. Great. I knew I could with stand a pounding or two, but the big nasty in space.I had nowhere to drain, so I said what the heck, deployed the Falcon, Rayc, and Capt. and used the electrobinoculars to bring up a 7 and battled. I got luck because I drew TWO 7's. Bye executor and Ozzel. I've never had that happen before. I was exstatic. It was like the rebel rout at Endor. From then on, I ruled the skies.
The ground was another matter. It nearly cost me the game. Obi and Luke made a brief appearance in the Cantina to bring the beat down. Vader and the Bliz scout were draining for two at the waistes. I knew he had CINC (and possibly trample) so I didn't go there. In the first battle at the Cantina, I lost Luke. Next turn he deploys Much anger in him, Responsibility of command combo on ObiWan. It goes for the rest of the game. I
U3PO came down to block Luke's drain in the Cantina. It seemed everytime I caught him without a force to move the spy, he would helrot it the next turn. He deployed a lone imperial to drain at the war room so I was losing 5-6 force a turn and retrieving most of it back, but he was still doing more damage than I could take once my controls ran out. I moved Obi to block his drain at the Wastes. I figured he would not circle me and I was saving myself two force in the long run.
It was getting close. I was only draining for two at Hoth, and we wee neck and neck. I finally found Kessel and RLR1. Matt turned white when I deployed the two. I knew he didn't have anymore Star Destroyers left. It was the saving grace. I must have retrieved 40 force in this game. It was unreal.
It was a close game. This was a great game of skill. Matt is a great player and I am glad he has started playing in Gainesville.
Matt C. LS Mains Versatility vs Scrilling odds
The one thing I've noticed about Matt's style is in his deck constructions. His decks are versitile. The are meant to bend, but not break. He tries to mold his strategy to be able to compete against most decks. I really like it, and it is quite good. I also believe this is one of the hardest decks to make and play because of the amount of intuition involved.
He started with Yoda's Hut and Do or do Not. He deployed Projection of a Skywalker on his first turn and I knew I could be in for a long game. I had to wait until I had enough power to hold two places. So I waited for the first insert to come up while I gathered my forces.
On the second turn I SCrewed him. Lando and Momaw. I had Ability^3 in my hand, so I deployed it and a couple scrillings. This forced him to deploy early, putting him on defense.
The first insert didn't come up for a long time and he WAYTTPOU my SCrew. I did manage to Helrot to Cloud City to battle Momaw and and Lando. He drew a system for destiny and houjixed my damage. Now I was stuck there until he put down Luke and Gimer stick. Bo Shuda was next and then order to engage. Bubo was hanging out in the cantina (I forgot to move him.)Bubo came to the Audience Chamber and had a couple of snacks. I helrotted the Scrillings away from Luke so I wouldn't lose more force from Order to Engage. He was draining with RLR1 at Kyshyyk, but it wasn't enough. The inserts did their damage... game over.
He admited that he made a bad judgement call, starting with the wrong Effect. He went with DODN instead of Resitance. That could have changesd the game.
Going undefeated wasn't enough. There were FIVE undefeated people going into the last game. But I managed to scrape by and pulled out my first tourney win in a while. I got the shirt and several packs including a WB Han Solo which I gave to QJ (she didn't have one).
But I must admit one thing. If pergatory does exist... I will be spending extra time there for playing the two decks I did.
Beakman