Several things lead to my disappearance from the PC Message Boards. I think I’ve spoken about it before so I wont reiterate much here, but a lot of it had to do with burnout. I spent a ton of time on V15 only to have it knocked over new starting effects. Competitive balanace began to dominate conversation and that bored the shit out of me. Then the MPC happened and I didn’t go very far, followed by the shit with Dinelle and I had just had enough.

Between the MPC and Y4 Regional I only picked up cards once, for a local, and played mystril and an eh version of farming with Luke’s skyhopper.

Going into the Y4 regional, steve and Justin spent a weekend testing but I was in NYC visiting a friend and couldn’t play. H2o came in the wednesday before we left to get some games and hang out and despite my despondence from the game, I played really well. I was intuitive and instinctive and most of my game plans just worked. My normally less than stellar deckbuilds were running fine and I was feeling really good about a lot of my card choices.

I decided on huntdown for dark pretty early despite messing around with tanks some. I think tanks are super strong and we had some really neato ideas about different ways to run them but we always came back to the same problem: activation. Tanks just suck ass at activating unless you do IAO/Mob Points start, and then you can’t start droid racks AND combat response and that’s just janky.

I had no confidence in huntdown beating light senate even though justin thought it was fine (as evidence, Justin demolished the guy at the y4 regional playing light senate who also demoilshed me with the same deck). And I was even worried about Huntdown beating profit (though I luckily avoided having to play it all day).

Funny/embarassing story: we’re driving down to the great state of maryland and come up with the ROC combo to beat senate and profit and think it’s the bomb. I labored over the decision to play the combo over a more solid version of HD all night and into the morning and decided on playing it. Until we got to the tournament, cut out location location location and read that it doesn’t let you deploy warrooms. We is retarded.

For light I knew I was going to run WYS though not the spies version I had been playing. It’s a list Tom Hollingsworth gave us and I tweaked some. It starts Wokling, Squadass and We Didn’t hit it, which lets you activate +1 at systems you control; it’s not that huge of a card, but it’s pretty good. I’m not completely sold that it’s better than I must be allowed to speak V with a farm, or even without the farm, but oh well.

One note to Tom: Thanks for convincing us that Old ben is a good card, but you almost ass-fucked me by telling justin it let you survive force lightning, choke and other removed from battle tactics. It doesnt. It only works on forfeited dudes. I would’ve tripped you down some stairs if I had gone for a beatdown on the gemmeperor and been assfucked by that card.

The trip down was pretty uneventful save the revelation of tech and tech yet to come, that I choose not to discuss. We got into the hotel around 330am due to justin getting stuck in major traffic coming out of boston in the pouring rain.

I will say this about the brand new La Quinta hotel in edgweood MD, it’s fucking sick. It just opened, we got our room for 80 a night with the AAA discount (regular 89 per night). It had two double beds, a pull out couch, a big fridge, microwave, flat screen AND complimentary breakfast. Fucking bomb. The KTOD has had a longstanding tradition of staying at courtyard marriotts, originally due to the fact that I worked for them and got sick discounts and then of the dope pool area. The only thing this hotel is missing is a pool/hot tub combo, which the courtyard has on lockdown– this situation is akin to Chic-Fil-A vs. every other chicken chain. Chic Fil A would take everyone down if it were simply open on sundays and offered free refills. Bastards.

After the Location V debacle and getting our dark decks straightened out we decided to run Wipe them out all of them V for profit hate and imperial justice for profit/senate hate. Me Justin and Steve all ran the same list, card for card. For light I ran wys, justin ran profit though I think he only ran 2 warrooms, and steve ran hidden base. Andy ran Mystril and Profit, though he and Justin played different lists.

Game 1, my WYS vs. Mighty Joe Young’s Hunt Down Duelling

I didn’t even realize that Joe started Epic Duel, but when I did I was glad he had 4-10 cards in his deck that could do nothing to me whatsoever. The only thing I worried about was Lord Vader coming down.

Early on I went to Tatooine system with luke and drew for my atst and admirals orders. He came down with Lord Vader to the cantina and I was pissed, but on second look it was Lord Vader V, so I paid 3 grabbed Fury and that was about game. I could never find Trans Term (all day in fact) but I was able to get luke into the atst with considerable backup, retreived a bunch with him and Edge, while draining at kessel with Dash and eventually tatooine. I don’t remember much happening in this first game except drains and retrieval and I took it pretty easily by 24.

Game 2, my HD vs. Chris Westergard’s WYS

He started I must be allowed to speak and I started first strike, Establish Control and I can’t remember what. Maybe no escape, I don’t think it was abililty V though I like that card because of all the battling you do. I had Vader turn 1 and went down to the docking bay to get some extra activation going, then backed him up with emperor pretty soon then drew up for space and emperor’s power. he went to space with just dash on his second turn and I came down with Zuckuss and 4lom and lit him up on my fourth after he gave me kessel and I could draw up for space. He didn’t save a force to be able to play moving into attack position and with two destinies I took dash out easy. He came down to fight zuckuss later with Booster and Melas but didnt play MIAP because he thought it didnt work without a correllian there. My destiny ended up taking them out and I think he drew a 2 making me only lose 4-lom. Him taking visage damage all game, the drain at the dbay and space and emperor’s power was pretty devastating and I ended up winning by 29.

4 (+53)

So now I’m sitting in first and have to face my nemesis Brad Eier.

Now Brad has had my number since the MPC two years ago when I got bored, lost focus against his rops and let my obi wan get beat down by 29 force late in the game that I wouldve clearly won, yet lost by 9 when he reacted with a bunch of walkers from 7 sites. Keep that in mind.

My WYS vs. Brad Eier’s Imperial Entanglements

Justin had just seen this deck so he told me that it plays tons of deserts and tatooine sites and drops guys at each to drain and ping. This is kind of bad for wys because it doesnt play a lot of guys and only 2 of those guys draw destiny on their own, which when you think about it, is pretty bad.

I went to kessel early and started retreiving with luke. then I went down with a stacked chewie’s atst to a drain of 2 site for me and then melas to the cantina. He dropped tons of guys on the devastator and shuttle them down to drain/ping. I moved to block his drains as best I could and drew up for an admirals order every turn (i run 4) to get his commander ping AO off the table. He let me have the kessel/cantina drains for a long time and I refused to fight him for fear of reacting, though after the game i realized that he really had no power. This was driven home when against justin in the finals brad dropped like 6 guys and 2 walkesr against a lone chewie and was only 15 power.

I got weapon’s display out and that only added to my retrieval, I even got a nice edge off. The big problem here was mirax. I couldn’t find her, and I couldnt get her with the pulsar skate because I decided to try out booster. If i had been able to loop my we’re doomed for the last three turns of the game, or even it could be worse, I think I win no problem, but no mirax = no win for me and I lost by 8.

4(+45)

Game 4, my HD vs. Charles Clarkson’s LS Senate

First thing first, I flipped over my first card to put on imperial justice: Endor:backdoor. That spelled about game over for me and thusly, it came to pass. for the first five or so turns I just drew up with nowhere to go and waitedf or him to play senators. He waited until he dropped 3 and I went down with Vader to get the back door off justice. I eventually dropped Vader to the back door with some backup but he came down with Epps about 7 turns in a row and beat down whoever I put there. Late game I tried to get anything going by putting zuckuss at the system but it didnt matter. Without being able to get to teh back door and set up early while he had to pay for his expensive senators, I was pretty fucked and was damn lucky to only have lost by 16 forces.

4(+29)

I’m pretty bummed out now. I just have shit luck. That happened. Twice this day I went for fondor with establish control and it was activated. Twice I went for kessel for my free search this day and it was activated. I just have shit luck. I need to win my last 2 to have a shot at the final four so I get back to work.

Game 5, my HD vs. Wojchek Jankowski’s HBX

Justin played this guy earlier in the day and won when he luckily probed this guy’s hidden base on the last turn. If justin hadn’t probed, he would’ve lost… to a guy who got a free first round bye because he didnt come with decks put together… to a guy who was just starting to fill out his decklist when I sat down across from him in game 5…

from a guy who put out the three effects he would start with HFTMF before I put mine out… one of which was Your Inishgt Serves you well. Somehow the guy was shocked when I started no escape.

Justin was shocked I won this game so handily but I went to the back door with vader turn 1, emperor and janus turn 2 and emperor’s power soon after. he never cancelled visage. He could never cancel my drain on account of bane malar. I probed him on the second try and he had to lose 7. I battled him three or four times in space retreiving 2 every time (with ability V and first strike) and he only ever drained me with dinky 1 drains at systems. He never came to fight me and I simply didnt draw once I had my shit set up and I won by 20.

6 (+49)

At this point my diff is actually pretty good considering I had two losses. I felt pretty confident that a win would get me in, especially a good sized win. I faced Charles, the guy who beat me earlier.

Game 6, my WYS vs. Charles Clarkson’s HD

So this guy looked like he was playing justin’s decks from the MPC nearly card for card, but definitely in concept. He started conduct for blast door when I had a barrier earliy and that worried me a little. I tried to go to space with dash early but he was missing and I had to pull rayc, and back him up with Talon. Even though if zuckuss came down i wouldnt’ draw destiny, even if he had 4lom, with those two guys he’s not going to hurt me two bad because the forfeit is so huge.

He went to the cantina with DVDLOTS and Emperor and I dropped a fury on him, which he was ready for by starting decree V. I set up luke in space at tatooine while i got my atst stuff ready, backed him up with han in falcon and eventually landed them to put them in the atst. I couldn’t find combine fleet action to protect them vs. i have you now (he started crush) but I also couldn’t find a trans term so I had to press on fast and let visage take us both out. He tried pretty hard to get me at the docking bay with sidous, maul and others but I was always able to keep luke out and retor han, while draining at kessel.

Eventually I got the docking bay on lockdown and he came down with zuckuss and only drew enough to kill one guy on the outrider who I retorted. After I was able to get enough shit going in my hand, I was able to get the falcon back up to space, and through shipdocking, get dash on the outrider and fan out. Zuckuss was no match and eventually died. I wore him down with drains and retreival whereas he only had the cantina drain which was handled by it could be worse and control most of the time. He could’ve limited me at the end of the game, but he knew his diff was too low to get past me and spared me not getting in on his own accord, which was cool of him. I ended up winning by 15.

So that gets me in in fourth which works out since justin was second and we wouldn’t have to play in the finals. I got a tat pack, a theed palace pack a premiere pack and an Se pack. I pulled an after her and some junk.

So I face top seed brad eier in the finals and it’s about the worst i’ve ever played.

Entirely meaningful bonus game #1

Brad decided to play light first and It was a pretty chesmatchish game. I went down to the backdoor with vader super early followed by emperor bane and eventually janus. He altered my emperor’s power pretty early which was huge. But not as huge as me dropping maul and much anger in front of lando and forgetting that cloak was in the move phase. I glanced down at the card and saw ‘end of turn’ and just decided to be an absolute bonehead. He simply battled with lando and i drew destiny because I didn’t have another maul and got effed. Stupid me.

Image at the audience chamber was huge and kept me in the game. I was able to get some big drains in but late had to block his drains in space. His decision not to flip til late was a good one as he just plinked me with small drains. at one point I decided to move zuckuss in front of luke due to his small hand and hoped he didnt have anything. He did and I had to lose zuckuss and 9 which was unfortunate.

Preface: There needs to be an “I really have to poop” mood.

I ended up losing the game by 2 which would’ve been a win had i not forgotten how to cloak maul and even maybe if i didnt let zuckuss get beat down so easily.

Entirely meaningful bonus game #2

I’m already a little shook because of my shit play in the first game, but when my hand of 7 red cards and an xwing cannon revealed itself in the second game, and then proceded to draw up. I was able to get dash to kessel early but after thatn I could only get both hans, none of my tunnel visions and at it’s worst I had 20 red cards in my hand and two characters, both han. Eventually I got a tunnel vision and I ripped it twice for a chewie and an atst, but i was so on tilt at this point i put them at the judland wastes and instead of drawing 4 destiny i got zero. that pretty much cemented the game right there. Though I never got luke out, never got to retreive anything, I only lost by 6. I also played horrible, especially the turn I battled when I tried to play a second interrupt from lost pile, when i played two controls though control was grabbed.

After I drew 11 cards in a row, 10 red and 1 han (who i already had in hand) i was about done mentally and couldn’t hang on. The only solace I can take is that it was only an extra 50 bucks to add to the pool, though it resulted in us getting home about 2 hours later.

Yeah that’s about it. That took a while and I don’t feel like writing anymore, maybe i’ll post up other thoughts later.