Han Heinrich Tourney Report - March 6th, 1999

Location: Münchner Trading Card Treffen, Munich
Time: 06. March, 12.00 (high noon)
TD: Stefan Kiesel

This was my first tournament this year. In the last years I normally only played in one event, which was one of the regionals. But thanks to Decipher this won't be so easy this year. Now some notes about my person: I am a 28 year old musicologist and I play SWCCG since it came out; I am in it mainly for the fun and because I love Star Wars. To a tournament I go in a Han-Solo-style "smuggler-gambler" outfit (= white shirt, black suede vest, belt with blaster [I never blasted anyone (yet) and that one singed jawa was an accident, believe me)]); seeing me like this my girlfriend called me Han Heinrich and I rather like that name. So my main reason to go to a tournament is to have fun and bring home some memorable stories (like two years ago when I managed to land Vader w/Saber on Dagobah and slice Yoda in half - really cool). OK - but now for the tourney report.

Although Munich is a real metropolis, only nine people showed up, so we had to do with byes (what I really hate - I don't drive 3 hours to a tournament to not play). Thank God I did not get one. My decks were: LS - Mains (mostly EPP) on Tatooine; DS - Space-Mix (TIEs/SDs/some of the new stuff [TIE Defs/Sentinel/Vaders Shuttle]) with Imperial Decree in Clouds

1. My DS against Holger Schulz's LS "I stop every drain" - Deck
I start with Y4 and he with Holotable; that made me think about my starting effect (I normally put out ImpDecree if my opponent plays Ground, OppEnf if he plays Space). My bad feeling told me to begin with Resistance, which was a good decision, as he had some AFAs in his deck. We start and he puts out two Proj. of a Skywalker, one to the holotable and one so he gets +1 drain. I can grab an ICBW quite early wirth TBHTP. After a few turns, he had all kinds of drain-stop effects out: Entrenchment (w/Rebel Troopers/Guards), Bargaining Table (W/Eloms/Bothans), Rebel Fleet (w/X-Wings/B-Wings), so he stops three of my drains almost every turn. He gets only one location out, The Cantina, and secures it with lots of Eloms. I finally have most of my systems/clouds out, unfortunately I had lost ImpDecree quite early to a drain. He finally commits four of his X-Wings to space - just what I was waiting for: He battles my lone Obsidian TIE, I react by deploying a TIE Defender, AllPowToWeap my TIES, DarkMan w/Tallon Roll takes out an X-Wing. But before he looses this starfighter he does something, I now know is not legal, but at that time I didn't want to be a spoilsport so I didn't say something: as a 'response' to loosing the Tallon Roll he plays All Wings Report In on his starfighters (including the one he had to loose), draws 3, retrieves 3 Force [I think something like that is possible in Magic], then looses the ship. Allowing that may well have cost me the game, as you can see later. Next turn I deploy some more, battle, he forfeits everything - I am able to get PrideotEmpire out. Now I am ahead in the Drain race. He retrieves some more with a Wind Chimes on his Eloms. I forget my PrideotEmp for at least two turns - and loose by 6. Damn!

Summary: 0 (-6)
Downs: When being uncertain, call the TD. NEVER forget Pride Of The Empire!
Ups: Being able to pull of some of my space battle combos.

2. My LS against Urban Neuner's DS "JP capture" deck
Before the game he tells me that he doesn't own any SE cards. I start with Jabba's Palace and so does he (thats exactly why I use this starting location). We choose anew, he takes Audience Chamber and I go for Mos Eisley, starting effects are Bad Feeling Have I for him and Scrambled Transmission (w/Don'T Tread on Me) for me. Shortly after he plays All Wrapped Up, places Jabba/MyiomO and some backup at the Audience Chamber; so now I'm quite sure that I'm up against an old-style JP capture deck. I get out EPP Obi at the Cantina, Alter the BFHI; he blocks Obi with U3PO, I SorryatMess him. After getting out Draw Their Fire, I use EPP Leia with KFC to attack him at the Audience Chamber. He really has bad drawing luck, so every time we battle, KFC makes his destiny =0. I get out Bacta Tank, we battle some more, finally he captures Leia. I deploy Luke at that site, Nabrun over Obi, Captive Fury on Leia, Skywalkers for two more destinies, Smoke Screen for a 6 destiny. It adds up to 23 battle damage, of which he has to lose 18 as cards. Too late he gets out Kashyyyk with a SD and Vader w/Saber. I win with 22 differential.

Summary: 2 (+16)
Downs: It's no fun pounding on someone who doesn't have the new cards: I felt sorry for him.
Ups: Seeing that the cards in my deck work well together. Finally being able (thanks to EPP) to play a Mains deck. Beating a capture deck, the one strategy that can spell disaster for me as I only have seven different characters.

3. My LS against Laurent's (sorry I forgot the last name) DS "Ralltiir Ops w/gambling" deck
This was the best game of the day: it was close, we had interaction and it was absolutely fairplay with each one reminding the other not to forget the force drains. Where I live not a lot of people play, so I have never been up against an Objective deck - it was going to be interesting. We deploy, each one to his own territory (he Vader w/Saber and some Imperials, I EPP Luke at Cantina w/Lightsaber Prof) and start slow draining. He flips and I realize, I will have to fight him on his home turf. I get out all the effects I need: Mantellian Savrip, Bacta Tank, Draw Their Fire and finally Scramble. I send EPP Obi to Ralltiir and beat up some Imperials, he loses about 6 Force. Unfortunately my Luke is stuck on Tatooine draining, so Obi has to hold out alone. Vader moves over, Circlecompletes Obi. I had seen him losing Epic Duel and Vader's Obsession earlier, but didn't keep a Sense for The Circle. He deploys CC:Casino, I deploy EPP Han, he attacks with Lando/Lobot/backup, I play Warrior's Courage, we have a little SAC war that I win (note: I won all the SAC wars in this game; man was I lucky); still Han goes to the Bacta Tank and I lose some force. Having Lando at the Casino he begins playing Sabacc; we had about four games of it and he won only one of them (real bad luck), so I end up with two of his TIE scouts won as stakes. In the endgame I bring EPP Han and KFC over to Ralltiir and we begin a Hide-and-Seek, moving every turn, so no one is in a position for a good battle. I have two SorryatMess and Don'TTread in my hand, but I know I lost all my destiny 5s already, so no chance with Han's blaster against Vader here. I bring down Taws Khaa and, having drawn a Weapon Levitation, manage to move him to Vader, intending to at least make him loose his saber and slow his drain. He battles me, I steal his weapon, we draw destiny and up comes: Bionic Hand - destiny 7 (!!!). I was so surprised I let out a loud shout. I thought I had lost it some turns earlier but must somehow have retrieved it with DTF. After that my opponent, who really had some bad luck this game, practically conceded. I win by 7.

Summary: 4 (+23)
Downs: Seeing a good gamer and nice person have so much bad luck.
Ups: A great game long remembered. Playing Sabacc in a tournament.

4. My DS against Peter Hausmanns LS "Mains & Monks" deck
So now I played against the number One. He was 6 (+73) so far, so to win the tourney I would have to beat him with more than 25 differential - no way. The only possible thing would be to win by a narrow margin and be second. Well I've never done so well in a tournament, normally ending in the lower third with more games lost than won - so it already was a great day and I could play this last game without too much pressure. He starts with (I think) Mos Eisley/Scrambled Transmission/Ultimatum; I go for Y4 and ImpDecree. I am quite sure now that it will be a tight game. Then he does something I was absolutely unprepared for: deploying Bomar monks. I thought my decree would take care of everything, damn. He starts draining and I loose everything I would have needed - starships, systems, effects. All the time he drains me for at least two more than I can do. He sends the Falcon w/BoShek against my lone ships, I try to Tallon Roll him - he senses everything I have (I have already lost OppEnf). I finally manage to get rid of his ship with Gravity Shadow drawing a 4. Actually I would not have been able to do this, as he was moving from clouds to a system, but both of us didn't realize it (sorry, Peter). So I keep controlling space, but I only have four locations out, and never got more than three ships in the game. EPP Vader visits a monk in the Cantina, he loses 2 force and the monk, I loose Vader, next turn he's back. In the end he drains me for 8 and I drain him for a measly 4. I loose -8.

Summary: 4 (+15) and fourth place overall.
Downs: Not being prepared at all for this strategy. Never seeing my U3PO in any of the games.
Ups: Being able to think that with some tuning my DS deck might become good.

So much for my report; thanks for reading it, I hope you liked it and please ignore my sometimes bad English.

May the Force be with you...always (and especially when playing SWCCG)

Han Heinrich (achenry@aol.com)