For any of you that have not already seen this insane thread and all the controversy and whatnot surrounding what happened I highly recommend reading it as it is both very entertaining and quite funny too to be honest as well as quite eye opening and sad. People from almost every LCG have gotten involved or posted (our very own alexbobspoons and Eu8L1ch are on there!) in the thread and it has blown up big time:

http://www.cardgamedb.com/forums/index.php?/topic/28384-us-nationals-video-shows-winning-eldorath-player-repeatedly-drew-3-cards-in-the-hq-phases-of-finals-and-semi-finals/

Essentially someone got caught cheating BIG TIME at the US nationals for Warhammer Conquest. Yet another reason that our glorious co-operative game is better than all the competitive ones!
I feel the worst for FFG more than anyone as this will essentially sully that game for a long time and will not be forgotten by its players any time soon. Yes many people got cheated out of their victories and were eliminated from a tournament when they should not have been but as many have pointed out it had no monetary reward. Yes prizes and glory are important and I do feel awful for those who were cheated at this event but ultimately the community for that game as a whole and FFG suffer the most from this. So glad the guy got caught and honestly I am with all the rest who think he should get as punishing a verdict as possible, life time ban from the game on a competitive level and any game store or group that doesn't want to include him in their events should have every right to exclude him. Man I thought we had some controversy from time to time! So glad I never took magic to a competitive level and stumbled across the amazing co-op/solo game that is LOTR LCG instead!

Wow, the way he drew the cards should be called into question as well, in addition to how many he drew. It should be one card drawn after the other and clearly visible, like his opponent did in the semi-final video, not in a tight bunch.

There should definitely be a card draw rule change to one at a time. I know some people on cardgameDB are calling for a judge to sit at each table, but that's a mess. This problem goes away by stipulating only one card may be drawn at a time.

Doesn't hurt to ask your opponent how many cards they have in hand too. I know if I saw my opponent drawing cards like that I'd be asking! But maybe too many things were happening on the board to keep track of that? Sometimes you need to make your opponent clearly go through the phases and not allow them to bleed into one another.

This sucks big time but cheating is actually kinda a common occurrence in card games, in Magic it happens relatively often and they play for money. Still, Magic is as popular as ever and I am sure FFG and their competitive games will be fine if they crack down on the cheaters.

Look look.... Im famous wow

It really is a pretty interesting thread, very entertaining.

Sad that so many people put lots of time effort and cost into something that somebody else ruins.

Another player that felt in the dark side.

Another player that felt in the dark side.

Things like this are a big part of why I've avoided competitive CCG/LCGs in the past. The "must win at all costs" attitude and the shuffling of people's decks because you can't trust anyone really turn me off. Except I got lured into Game of Thrones 2.0. We'll see how long it lasts...

Things like this are a big part of why I've avoided competitive CCG/LCGs in the past. The "must win at all costs" attitude and the shuffling of people's decks because you can't trust anyone really turn me off. Except I got lured into Game of Thrones 2.0. We'll see how long it lasts...

Insisting your opponent clearly announces the beginning and end of each phase, and what they're doing during each, will help.

I typically look at my opponent as I draw and count off each card as I draw it, moving it from the top of my deck onto the table. Then, then it is clearly visible how many cards I took, I pick them up and add them to my hand.

I WISH a referee would sit next to me when I play LotR. If I had a ring for every time I completed a game, then looked at a quest card or other encounter card and think: "did I trigger that extra encounter card reveil last turn? I didn't did I
?" I'd be the frigging Lord of the Rings.

Honestly? To cheat in that way you are really leading a miserable life, with no values nor honor. I know it's a game. But especially because it's a game (no questions of life or death involved), then you should play honestly. You win, you lose, who cares? Have fun, and enjoy the ride.

Thanks for sharing the link, PsychoRocka

I win, I lose, I WIN AGAIN!

Honestly? To cheat in that way you are really leading a miserable life, with no values nor honor. I know it's a game. But especially because it's a game (no questions of life or death involved), then you should play honestly. You win, you lose, who cares? Have fun, and enjoy the ride.

Thanks for sharing the link, PsychoRocka

There are some really interesting psychology studies about cheating (click here for an awesome and short example) and personality is just one factor. There are many situations in which almost anyone would cheat or lie a little, and others in which most people will not.

Some people have the perspective that cheating is a natural part of gaming, and others are going to do it to you, so doing it back just levels the playing field a bit. There are all sorts of perspectives that can justify it in someone's mind. Some people just enjoy the thrill of it. Maybe for some people winning is so important to them (perhaps it would be too painful to spend many hours practicing and still not do well; the implication perhaps being that you're just not a very good player) that they are able to cheat a little bit, rationalize it by assuming that everyone does it, and walk away still feeling really good about themselves.

If a person felt bad enough when they cheat, then they wouldn't do it. So, obviously cheating doesn't bother this person very much; we don't know exactly why, and can only speculate. It doesn't make them a horrible person, but they also need to understand that the rest of us don't want them at events and that it is reasonable to request that they be banned.

I have read that thread earlier today. Man, that was some interesting reading.

Honestly? To cheat in that way you are really leading a miserable life, with no values nor honor. I know it's a game. But especially because it's a game (no questions of life or death involved), then you should play honestly. You win, you lose, who cares? Have fun, and enjoy the ride.

Thanks for sharing the link, PsychoRocka

Winning is overrated.

*back to getting my day ruined by a random LOTR LCG encounter deck*

Slightly off topic but... What is this "this is from him" quote from? What is its meaning? My Google-fu has failed me.

It's from that thread. The cheater had been using a sock puppet account to make it appear like somebody was on his side. Then, he accidentally posted a response as himself while still logged in as the sock puppet account. So he immediately made another post that said "this is from him" to try to cover his tracks, as if he had told this other person to post on his behalf. That pretty much sealed the public opinion of the thread and there were many jokes made about "this is from him".

It's from that thread. The cheater had been using a sock puppet account to make it appear like somebody was on his side. Then, he accidentally posted a response as himself while still logged in as the sock puppet account. So he immediately made another post that said "this is from him" to try to cover his tracks, as if he had told this other people to post on his behalf. That pretty much sealed the public opinion of the thread and there were many jokes made about "this is from him".

So, basically he cheated again? *rolling eyes*

Just got through few pages of that thread. Ouch. And that fake account screw-up on top of it, oh my. Altogether it is almost poetic.

Well, back to the thread I go.

Thanks for the link Psy, that was a very good read.

Loved it when he blew his own sock puppet cover.

So FFG states they are investigating.

Haven't seen a official verdict yet.

Does anyone know if they gave one?

Also, I must say the relatively young Conquest community handled it outstanding overall.

They show their quality, maturity and combined passion for the game in their posts.

I applaud them. Good work.

(Would post it there, but I promised myself long ago not to start on cgdb with my limited time.

And I must hold on to what I promise myself. It's what I teach my kids)

After being spotted by PsychoRocka I kind of felt the need to post here, but there's actually nothing I can add to what has already been said in that thread.

Also, I must say the relatively young Conquest community handled it outstanding overall.

They show their quality, maturity and combined passion for the game in their posts.

I applaud them. Good work.

I couldn't agree more.

Read up to page 13, laughed a lot with the guy ... it is so obvious he is cheating, but the fact he made a second account and messed it up makes it pretty clear, very funny indeed

Hope he gets a lesson out of it

Nice new meme, by the way.

Just caught up with the discussion. Hilarious thread. To be honest "this is from him" is one of the funniest meme origins I've seen in a while.