Damage card tricks in play

By slimeball, in X-Wing

Some people can't help themselves. There's something in their mental makeup that's not quite right. They're in the newspapers everyday.

Often under the headline "Florida Man..."

Best super hero ever, and he lives in my county. Though he causes more collateral damage than Spider-Man to the Daily Bugle.

I had a friend who once said, about gaming: "he plays to have fun, and hopes to win." However, after playing in games with him over time, it was the opposite. He "played to win, and hoped to have fun." This culminated when he was getting bad rolls in a game of Nascar racing (don't remember the name of the game) and got so upset, he flipped the table. Really. Not only that, it was a game for money (I didn't play; never play for real cash). It ruined the results for the other players, and everyone went home mad.

However, he wasn't banned. Gamers are hard to come by. Rather than just kick someone out, work with them. Recognize the cheating, do things to eliminate it, and maybe take the person under your wing. Show them the good aspects of play and the fun of playing, not just winning. Rehabilitate them and they youv'e done more than just saved a gaming compatriot, you've helped a friend.

Some people can't help themselves. There's something in their mental makeup that's not quite right. They're in the newspapers everyday.

Often under the headline "Florida Man..."

NO state has a corner on this insanity. Father kills son over drumstick at Thanksgiving dinner(OH), mother leaves kids in car to shop (CA) and the list goes on. Cheating at a game is minor but an indication of a wider anti-social mentality.

Very Disappointed that this thread wasn't about how things like Rexlar Brath and Saboteur would benefit from the new damage deck relative to the old one. Partly because of the situation in the OP and partly because I really wanted to see the math on how (legal) damage manipulating effects would pan out with the change

I always offer someone to cut my deck, even if it is casual. It is good practice so it becomes habit than to just forget and have someone accuse you of cheating.

That and the best way to cheat is to act like youre not... People need to learn how to keep a poker face. got a modified deck? throw in one or 2 direct hits to keep them off your trail. One will pop up and no one will be the wiser. Offer your deck to the other player. Let them shuffle and cut! The more you act normal, the less susicious you are.

That being said why cheat in xwing? the only person you hurt is yourself. You did not win fair and square. You will not get the same enjoyment out of winning than if you won it fair a square.

I've always thought it was odd that both players don't use the same damage deck. It might not eliminate this completely, but at least you'd be getting off just as easy as your opponent.

I've always thought it was odd that both players don't use the same damage deck. It might not eliminate this completely, but at least you'd be getting off just as easy as your opponent.

When we play casually we always use the same deck, it's just easier and means we can't mix them up. Not only would using the same deck reduce cheating it would stop everyone complaining so much about the new core set.

A little off topic, but what's the most direct hits anyone has pulled in a single game? My record with a 4 ship build is 6 total; 4 face up and 2 down. And yes, I lost this game.

Anyone find it funny that a thread about "Damage Card Tricks" was started by somebody named "slimeball?"

=P

Don't back down, don't be a doormat. Don't hesitate to call the TO over. A cheater knows that they can guilt you into 'flying casual' and calming down because it's just a game about plastic toy space ships, right?

Next thing you know, that player that was cheat-y that you let slide because you were losing anyways is now at the top table.

Clearly this guy was cheating and got caught. Or he's a super 'militant' casual. Either way he's a D-bag and needs to change his ways. I wouldn't ban him, I'd let him play and watch over everything he does like a hawk. He won't be able to stand it, and if he can stand it then he's been fixed.

I played against someone today who plopped down two identical first core set large asteroids and a 3rd. I should have made a bigger deal of it as I knew he probably used them in the previous games. He was flying triple TLT K-Wings, so it would benefit his list greatly to have large ones. I told my opponent that he can't field two identical obstacles and he changed one of them, and I told the TO and he didn't seem to care. $5 3 round tournament I can understand not going iron fist, but I've made my opponent aware of this same ruling before. We had a good game and all, but there are some newer players in the group that probably missed it.

Next time I think it might be better to just see his illegal obstacle set and immediately go to the TO and try to get a free win out of it. Sink without fail.

Edited by ParaGoomba Slayer

The obvious way to cheat with the damage deck is to take the weakest cards from several decks and create one rigged deck. I am not saying the person in OP's message did this, but the standard rule of shuffling your opponent's deck does not solve this. You have to actually look at the cards to spot it.

Playing by the rules, once you destroy a ship you should put the damage cards in a discard pile FACE UP.

Much easier to catch a deck-cheater ;)

My damage deck has 33 direct hits. :(

Mine is evenly distributed between Direct Hit and Blinded Pilot.

A little off topic, but what's the most direct hits anyone has pulled in a single game? My record with a 4 ship build is 6 total; 4 face up and 2 down. And yes, I lost this game.

My record for Direct Damage cards in a game is 10!!! That was 6 up, 4 down. This was in the final round of an Escalation tournament where I was flying 8 TIE Fighters and 3 TIE Bombers for the ultimate swarm. And I also lost that game, but it was very close. Had a couple ships that the Direct Damage card killed and 1 ship that was overkilled by 2 Directs as well.

Some people can't help themselves. There's something in their mental makeup that's not quite right. They're in the newspapers everyday.

Often under the headline "Florida Man..."

"In Texas, today..."

FYI to a few of the people bringing up the rules about shuffling and cutting - that only helps if he brought a legal damage deck to begin with. If he got his hands on two or three of them, took out all of the Direct Hits and other potentially fatal ones, he's already stacked the deck and doesn't care much if it's shuffled and cut.

I see this sort of garbage all the time in youth sports. People who cheat, bend rules, yell at kids, yell at umpires, yell at fans, run up scores, and, generally, be despicable "human beings" all for the sake of winning something that nobody will care about in a week or so. I, and my wife, were once threatened by a 65 year-old woman at a baseball game because I had the nerve to suggest that people (I use the term loosely) should stop calling our players names from the stands. This was at a 9-year-old game and all the perpetrators were "adults". I don't like to be put in a position to strike an elderly person, but if she would have laid a hand on my wife or son...

This a reason why there always has to be someone in charge. To make sure that scumbags are dealt with. Yes, if you knowingly cheat during a game, you are a scumbag.

Now if this was a tournament where me winning ensured the survival of the human race...

But, since there's only supposed to be 2 of each card besides Direct Hit, it should be pretty easy to spot as soon as that 3rd identical one flips over. Which in the OP's case probably had a good chance of happening with Mangler Cannons.

Assuming you're keeping track of that kind of thing - and that some of the duplicates didn't get played face down as regular damage.

Assuming you're keeping track of that kind of thing - and that some of the duplicates didn't get played face down as regular damage.

True, but as mentioned earlier, destroyed ships get their damage cards discarded face up, so you should get a chance to see them. And if you're already suspicious from the ones you've been dealing face up, you'd probably notice.

Personally, crits are a nice bonus, but I'm more concerned with the number of cards I'm dealing whether face up or down. Don't care if they're all Munitions Failure on Soontir Fel if I just dealt your 3rd and 4th one!

I was once in 2 separate tournament a week apart. On the second tournament after first game I counted my cards and had 37 - 9 direct hits lo!!. I asked around and discovered that someone had only 29. I had his missing cards.

I realised that he had been on the table next to me in the last tournament, so I must have been picking cards from his deck,

I remember there was not much room and we had set token cards etc both on the same side.

Moral always check your cards after each game. Its very easy to pick from the deck next to you in crowded tournament.

A little off topic, but what's the most direct hits anyone has pulled in a single game? My record with a 4 ship build is 6 total; 4 face up and 2 down. And yes, I lost this game.

My record for Direct Damage cards in a game is 10!!! That was 6 up, 4 down. This was in the final round of an Escalation tournament where I was flying 8 TIE Fighters and 3 TIE Bombers for the ultimate swarm. And I also lost that game, but it was very close. Had a couple ships that the Direct Damage card killed and 1 ship that was overkilled by 2 Directs as well.

How did you vet so many DHs? There's only supposd to be 8 in the deck. Unless you use a second deck because of escalation.

A little off topic, but what's the most direct hits anyone has pulled in a single game? My record with a 4 ship build is 6 total; 4 face up and 2 down. And yes, I lost this game.

My record for Direct Damage cards in a game is 10!!! That was 6 up, 4 down. This was in the final round of an Escalation tournament where I was flying 8 TIE Fighters and 3 TIE Bombers for the ultimate swarm. And I also lost that game, but it was very close. Had a couple ships that the Direct Damage card killed and 1 ship that was overkilled by 2 Directs as well.

How did you vet so many DHs? There's only supposd to be 8 in the deck. Unless you use a second deck because of escalation.
Edited by Plainsman