I played in my first ever regional and card tournament this weekend to share my experiences, the decks I saw, and how I prepared for the event. Event occurred post A Dark Time and the new objectives saw a lot of play.

When deciding on decks I wanted something that was consistent, resilient, and methodical. When I first started playing this game right after SfS came out I was big into rebel decks because I wanted to try and end games quickly. This led to mixed results, and mostly losses so I transitioned into Jedi and taught myself patience. The build I decided on was 1,1,2,2,5,5,15,15,44,44. Standard build that ended up being very solid for this event as I saw a rainbow of DS decks and had every trait in the deck allowing me to caverns in a variety of situations.

For DS I went with the "devastating sith" build 19,19,20,20,23,23,29,29,40,46. I feel that this is really a versatile deck that can lockdown, stall for time on defense, or be aggressive on offense and utilized it in each of those ways throughout the event. I knew it was important for me to have a lot of experience with my decks so I play tested them extensively for 2 weeks before the tournament without changing any pods around. Obviously play testing is essential as mistakes made in practice should never occur again during the big event. During these two weeks I learned not to attack hoth objectives while evac is out, not to attack DS hoth objectives in fear of desolation, reminded that targeted strike is offense only, not to forget Palpatines text, and so on. The majority of situations where I made mistakes during play testing presented themselves during the regional.

After my decks were built I focused on memorizing all of the pods with special focus on fate cards and events. Being able to predict what the opponent is capable of doing and how many times they could do it is essential in this game and with the Pod system I was able to work out most decks by turn 2. Card knowledge is key, and the less surprises the better.

My final step of preparing to the tournament was to listen to The Smuggler's Den Podcast hosted by TinyGrimes and Ben Tully (sp?). I fully adopted Tiny's philosophy regarding Edge battles. #1 Don't enter an edge battle that you need to win and #2 you don't need to win every edge battle because by forcing your opponent to drop a Main into the edge is losing the battle but setting you up to win the game. This was the most crucial adjustment I made and honestly won me a lot of games. I remember one time in particular I could have ended the game with Luke, however to do so I absolutely needed to win the edge battle. It was very tempting to aggressively attack, but a loss could swing the game out of my hands. I held Luke back and was able to win the next round potentially avoiding disater. On the way down to the event I listened to a podcast where Tiny advised to "use your scrubs, they are on the board to die". This resonated with me and changed the way I approached certain situations.

The event itself was held at Games and Stuff in Glen Burnie MD. Great store in a great locations. I am from the eastern panhandle of WV and it took me about an hour and 15 minutes to get to the event. Arrived pretty early and was able to get pre registered for some slick affiliation cards. A total of 17 players turned up for the event, many from further North. A large group of great players from a New Jersey meta made the trip and they had a very strong showing on the day. Tournament was 4 rounds with a cut to 8, then single elimination to the finals. Please excuse me if I got some of the players names, decks, or events of the games mixed up, I took notes but it was a long day of wars.

Round 1 vs Matt Waldt from NJ
Game 1 Jedi Caverns vs Starck Navy (something like this 28,28,30,30,46,46,51,51)

He gets both defense protocol and a dark time for the rebellion. I get two x in you must go and QC. He pings away at QC and gets down stark and some guys. I get caverns out first turn and play some scrubs who start doing damage. He defense protocols down to 4 cards for the first two turns leaving me with little board presence, however I am able to utilize caverns on defense and some scrubs to keep the damage light and the force in my favor. By defending well I was able get him down to hand size 0f 0-2 cards setting up easier edge victories on my turn. I was able to use crossfire to tactics down dev and the Game ends at 5




Win (1-0) 2 points
Dial: 5
DS objective destroyed: 3
LS Objective Destroyed: 1

Game MVP: Caverns. I saved it for defense one turn allowing me to cavern two turns in a row and win the game.

Game 2 Devastating Sith vs Rebel Protection (10,10,15,15,44,44,45,45,49,49) I think

Vader first turn for me. I'm able to utilize vader text all game with self inflicted force choke, precog, and force lightning. and was able to get rid of Han twice. He was able to get out a very strong fleet of protectors, two of those lunch box ships, and some heavy hitters but ultimately vader, palps, and dev were out and I was able to dial up to a victory. Play of the game was allowing my 2nd objective to be destroyed, grabbing FC back with palps, then tacs, force choke, and vader ability his side away. Very close game




Game MVP: Palps event grabbing text
Win (2-0) 4 points
Dial: 12
DS objective destroyed: 2
LS Objective Destroyed: 2


Round 2 vs. Tom P

Game 1 Devestating Sith vs Pure Jedi (1,1,2,3,3,4,4,5,5,48)

My first round puts me in second place overall against Tom P from the New Jersey Group. Tom is a fantastic player and overall good guy. He had one a prior regional in NY,NJ, or Atlantic city. I was able to get a first turn devastator and maintain balance of the force and keep pressure for the early to mid game however Tom was able to double Heat of battle palpatine which was a turning point in the game. I entered that edge battle with the calculated risk that he would not have two heats, but unfortunately he did. I don't think it was a bad play on my part. He had early Red 5, gotal outcasts, and one other main out and was able to wipe my objectives in 1-2 turns after that.




Loss (2-2) 4 points
Dial: 7
DS objective destroyed: 0
LS Objective Destroyed: 3


Game 2 Jedi Caverns vs Navy Strack (29,29,30,30,31,31,46,46,51,51) I think

I don't remember much of this game but it was fairly close. I think he was able to kill 3 objectives fairly quickly and I made a strong come back with Han who with direct damage and targeted strike and caverns was able to clear a lot of his board. Ren Squad came out too and I think I had him down to 1-2 damage on last obj before he closed me out. His deck was very fast and put on a lot of pressure and I think similar builds may become the go to dark side deck. After the games Tom was super friendly and told me he thought I would do well in this tournament which was nice as I just lost 2 straight and my mental game was shaky.





Loss (2-2) 4 points
Dial: 12
DS objective destroyed: 2
LS Objective Destroyed: 4

Bathroom break and a power bar and tried to mentally get back in the game after two hard fought losses. I was kicked back down to mid bottom of the playing field.

Round 3 vs Steve Skilton (sp?)

Game 1 Jedi Caverns vs Navy build
Steve was a great guy from Philadelphia who made it down to the event. He had on a sweet Flyers T shirt with the rebel alliance logo in the middle of the Flying P. This game is another blur. I set up with guardians, luke and was able to spread out damage pretty well. Eventually yoda and an attachment came out and I blew up all three objectives pretty quickly for the victory. This game took forever to play and we had little time for the second match.
MVP: again caverns. The card is so versatile and I was able to force the opposition into some tough situations and decisions using this cards unpredictability.




Win (3-2) 6 points
Dial: 7
DS objective destroyed: 3
LS Objective Destroyed: 1

Game 2 Devastating Sith vs Jedi smugglers
Unfortunately this game ended in a time out just as we entered mid game. We both had a decent set up so who knows how it would turn out. I remember I had dev and palps out with a solid hand and had just put defense upgrade on my only damaged objective so I was some what confident that I could win flat out and certain I could win tie breaker.




Time out (3-2-1) 7 points
Dial: 7
DS objective destroyed: 3
LS Objective Destroyed: 1

With 7 points I was in 9th place and matched up against Mike who was a local player at Games and Stuff in Glen Burnie Md. At this point I found out that top 8 get play mats so I was focused to win because I thought that getting into top 8 and getting a play mat would be a pretty good showing for my first regional / tournament.

Round 4 vs Mike

Game 1 Devastating Sith vs Jedi

Again had a standard start of palpatine and dev within the first 2-3 turns. This deck is pretty consistent and plays similarly each time. Mike didn't draw into any of his mains and had a twilek loyalist with saber and OBS. He was force Lightning and then force choked out and I was able to destroy his side and crank the dial up to 12 pretty early in the match



Win (4-2-1) 9 points
Dial: 12
DS objective destroyed: 2
LS Objective Destroyed: 0

Game 2 Jedi Caverns vs ???
Started with two x in you must go. Got some combo of luke and yoda with Mindful out and some protectors and ended the game early.



Win (5-2-1) 11 points
Dial: 4
DS objective destroyed: 3
LS Objective Destroyed: 0

At this point we learn that 10 points was cut off and one player with 10, who unfortunately ended up being Steve from Philly, did not make the cut. So I accomplished my goal of top 8 and was matched up with Matt Waldt who I had played in round 1. Sudden death rounds begin.

Top 8 Round 1

Game 1 Jedi Caverns vs Starck Navy (something like this 28,28,30,30,46,46,51,51)

He did not have the Starck objective and multiple defense protocols out this game which took some pressure off. Play of the game was when he took out a second objective and used officer and dev to crank the dial up 4 bringing it to 10. I was able to pull out the win next turn, but I was not in good shape for game number 2.




Win (6-2-1) 13 points
Dial: 10
DS objective destroyed: 3
LS Objective Destroyed: 2

Game 2 Devastating Sith vs Rebel Protection (10,10,15,15,44,44,45,45,49,49) I think

So I have to either win, or prevent him from winning before 10. My hand is an officer and three limited locations so I mulligan into a hand that has palps but no ability to play him turn one. I play a resource and end my turn. This is a nightmare start. He blows up an objective next turn and on my turn it is one objective down with dial to 3 b/c he was not able to take the force. At this point my hand is set up for a good lockdown, but I am already far behind. I get palpatine down and am able to stall for a few turns getting the dial to 6 or so with one dead objective and not much damage on my other objectives. So i figure at this point after a horrific start I am in a better spot, but still playing from behind. Eventually I am able to get out the officer and Dev and destroy a few objectives and click the dial up to 12.



MVP: Palpatine held strong all game and really brought me back. The Officer and Dev being able to advance the dial was big as well
LVP: That same officer who I mulligan'd away leaving with a nightmare turn 1.
:-( moment of the game: Apparently his leah was captured in some other guys deck so he was unknowingly playing with 49 cards.
Win (7-2-1) 15 points
Dial: 12
DS objective destroyed: 2
LS Objective Destroyed: 1

Top 4 is Scott E, Tom P, Robb (I think sorry I forget this players name), and myself. The other three are all from the NJ meta who made the trip down so awesome job to those guys for such a strong showing.

I am paired with Robb.

Final 4 vs Robb

Game 1 Devastating Sith vs Rebel Protection (some combination of 8,11,,38,,44,,45, 49)

I start with Counsel, killing cold, and fall which sets me up for great deck cycling. I get a decent starting hand and grab the force. He is able to get a Y wing and some protection and swings at Killing Cold for 3 with battle for hoth. I had 2 cards in my hand and I remember thinking to myself "Desolation of Hoth would be really good right now." First card I drew was desolation and this allowed me to clear his board and clear all damage off my objectives with the dial around 5. Next turn I get a defense upgrade which resets some more of his damage. Dev and palp lock down and clear the way to a victory,




Win (8-2-1) 17 points
Dial: 12
DS objective destroyed: 2
LS Objective Destroyed: 1

Game 2 Jedi Caverns vs Sith Navy (palps, dev, tarkin, motti, deploy the fleet, and obj set 20)

This game my opponent had out three sith libraries, motti, death star control room, two of the two resource locations. He also had devestator and palps. It became clear to me that I was not going to be able to win this game and started to think about the tie. I was able to slow him down with Luke and saber because I bluffed a second luke into the edge when he guessed that I had Twist. This allowed me to kill palpatine. Some turns later dial was at 10. He had the force and two objectives dead. I needed to destroy one for a true tie and was able to with Han, crossfire, and caverns as well as renegade squad. Very close, down to one damage. Dial clicks to 12 next turn and game end.




Loss (8-3-1) 17 points
Dial: 12
DS objective destroyed: 2
LS Objective Destroyed: 1

Tie breaker Devastating Sith vs Rebel Protection ((some combination of 8,11,,38,,44,,45, 49)

This was an insanely close game. He destroyed an objective early and had damage on counsel and D&D. I drew into a defense upgrade which is a demoralizing card in such a close game. Last two turns went something like this. Counsel 4 damage with 8 life, D&D had 4 damage. one objective dead. He has out rebel fleet, and two hoth evacs, one with two damage. I had earlier destroyed defense of Yavin. I can win the game with two objective kills and dev ability so dial was at 6 or 7. Problem was He could protect with the smug ships and prevent unnoposed so I wasnt able to put enough on rebel fleet and only had one vehicle. I also could not attack evac 1st with palps without getting double bounced. I attacked the undamaged evac with palps. and focused down his fleet which included rouge 3. Passed to his turn. He got down a y wing with astromech and wedge. Swings at counsel. I defend with Kuat, gaurd, and dev. I think I play a heat and in doing so am able to have him kill both his protectors and the Y wing and take two damage my objective alive. This leaves me open to destroy rebel fleet and get the unopposed and then palps killed the hoth evac for the win. Very fortunate he did not draw a rebel assault that game.




Win(9-3-1) 19 points
Dial: 12
DS objective destroyed: 1
LS Objective Destroyed: 3

So after the grueling Final 4 match up with an extra game I am mentally at the end of the line. I think back to the podcast where Tiny and Ben talked about regional and the toll it takes on you mentally and believe it. I gather myself for the finals against Scott E who had defeated Tom in a tiebreaker. Scott has also won a regional prior to this event. I know that he has been in this situation before and has the mental edge on me, I know that he is a top notch player and won't make many mistakes, and I know that I have been playing for 9 hours and am exhausted.

The Finals

Game one Jedi Caverns vs Starck Navy

He gets out two A dark time and one defense protocol as his opener and starts off with two damage on secrets of Yavin before the first refresh phase. I play as best I can but my board keeps getting wrecked by his objectives. This game essentially ended on turn 3 as follows. He has a 6 card hand. Attacks with MTV7 and backstabber . He wins edge. He then plays 3 talon rolls, and two heavy fires to blow up three undamaged objectives on turn 3 of the game. After that I lost my concentration and was mentally defeated. I started to play horribly and was wiped out soon after. Fantastic playing by Scott.




Loss(9-4-1) 19 points
Dial: 12
DS objective destroyed: 3
LS Objective Destroyed: 0

So I have to win the next game and destroy 3+x objectives where x = the number of objectives he destroys this game.

Game 2 Devastating Sith vs. Rebel Protections (some combo of 8,8,13,13 with 12,38,49,45)
Devastating Sith CAN in theory destroy 3 objectives, but I have yet to do it and I would have to do it without losing any objectives to a rebel deck. I honestly do not think I had a chance against a high caliber player like Scott and was therefore really disengaged from this match. Scott let me have the force the whole game. He blew an objectives up with red 2 and some x wings while I aggressively over extended to try and kill his objectives. I had vader with Saber who was able to clear his board. His last turn he was able to destroy his second objective and leave another at 4. Thankfully he was not able to draw into any of his 4 rebel assaults allowing me to play Dev the next turn and win the game but lose the championship with only 2-3 objectives total destroyed to his total of 5 in the championship round.




Win (10-4-1) 21 points
Dial: 12
DS objective destroyed: 2 or 3
LS Objective Destroyed: 2

Tie Breaker to Scott E 5 objectives destroyed vs. 2 or 3 objective destroyed. Scott is a two time 2013 regional champion


Props
-Games and Stuff. Awesome store in a shopping center with huge parking Lot. Easy to get to and Accessible to players from all over the North East.

-Scott for winning his second regional and for the whole NJ meta who made the trip down. Again, they had a strong showing with 3 of the 4 top spots and multiple others in the top 8. Talented group of players with good senses of humor. I really enjoyed playing you guys. Thanks.

-My decks performed well. In a event flooded with the new strack decks, devastating sith held up very well and was able to do everything I asked of it. It lost one match on the day. My light side deck lost 3 matches, but overall it was very solid and would not have changed a thing.

- Props to FFG for making this sweet game. The variety of decks I saw during this tournament makes me excited for the future of the game. For those of you with regional coming up, prepare for Strack decks with endor gambit, defense protocol, and kuat as the back bone. Variations of this new Untouchable deck was also prevalent.

Well that's it, I felt I was well prepared for this tournament and executed well. The only mistakes I made were several turns forgetting to draw for renegade squad mob and for counsel and these were spattered throughout the tournament and didn't cost me any games. I played poorly in the finals but I don't think my best could have beaten 3 talon rolls and two heavy fires so I'm not to disappointed in myself for that. Thanks for reading!

Whatever you did to your formatting made your post basically unreadable.

The formatting looks readable to me.

I can't believe that I attacked Killing Cold. That was the only significant mistake that I made all day. Great games; you seemed to have played flawlessly.

Rob Martin said:

And this might explain yet another big problem with the forums. The post also looks difficult to read to me. The font color is almost the same color as the background for me at least.

yeah sorry, I don't know what happened to the formatting, but it is grey on grey for me too.

@Rob Martin Thanks. The three games against you were the most intense of the tournament for me. The desolation of Hoth play was huge and I was very fortunate to draw that card so early in the game.

For guys complaining about the hard to read format. Just select the text and it will turn blue and white. Enjoy!

Despite the multiple comments about the font… lol… I actually read it all, and both enjoyed and appreciated your report!

As a new player to this game (or any game), it's always hard to find useful information that can help when you're first starting out, especially once the forum topics are "more established". Nobody (or maybe it's just my own paranoia… lol) wants to be that noob that jumps into the middle of a seasoned group of players with questions like "do I need a second core set?", "how does this card work?", etc, etc… and disrupt the flow of conversations. So I've been trying to skim through a lot of the recent posts looking for links to decks, synergies, articles, etc…

Your report was really helpful in seeing how certain decks can have potential against some of the more popular or established decks… I appreciated you including comments on what you felt was your "MVP" for your games… having not yet played any competitve games of SWLCG yet, it's useful to find those kind of comments… it can help give us noobs an idea of where to start looking for synergies, combos, or counter-plays. Instead of the usual tactic of throwing whatever looks good together…