INTRODUCTION
Let me begin by saying that I am horrible at tournament reports. I have attempted multiple times through the years to generate a tournament report I would want to read, never with success. Hopefully someone will find this worth reading.
The tournament was held at Gamer's Haven in north Colorado Springs, Colorado. We had a late afternoon start time and even a lunch break. There were 10 players in attendance, and we played four 70-minute rounds. No final confrontation was played - there were 3 points that separated first from second place.
DECKLISTS
--LIGHT--
2x Defense of Yavin 4
2x The Rebel Fleet
2x Hoth Operations
2x Renegade Squadron
2x Prepare For Evacuation
--DARK--
2x Counsel of the Sith
2x The Emperor's Web
1x Imperial Command
2x The Killing Cold
1x Shadows on the Ice
2x A Dark Time for the Rebellion
Before I begin I wanted to thank those on OCTGN who helped me play test through these decks. I got a suggestion from (djjeoff) to include a second Rebel Fleet OSet, and that definitely ended up being the right choice. I also wanted to thank (videnfra) for helping me realize how to properly utilize the Killing Cold.
MATCHES
My first match was against John, a member of the SWLCG_CO group. I believe he traveled the farthest to play - props to you!
1 - My Sith/Navy vs. Smuggler's Den
John won the coin toss, and chose light side. He was playing Smuggler's Den with Obi-Wan instead of Old Ben's Spirit. This first game took just over 50 minutes to play. A few factors drove the game to be that long; The Killing Cold, shielded Guardians, and Yoda controlling for Force struggle after his turn 3. We did some early game objective swapping: I took an objective turn 2 or 3 and then a second on the subsequent turn, so it looked good for the dark side. A super sized Luke hit the table, nearly obliterating my entire force in one turn and queuing a single turn, two objective strike for the light side. At this point I had to switch my strategy to defense and ride them through. Because I did not get a single resource enhancement the ENTIRE game, I was relegated to one or two units max a turn. This made playing cards like Desolation of Hoth or Force Lightning problematic, as he had resources to spare. I managed to take out Luke twice and Obi-Wan once (the second being tossed in edge) with those interrupts, also saving A Dark Time from eminent destruction. The Killing Cold became a superstar; often I would strike and then sac a unit to remove the damage he was dealing. It was effective enough to get the dial to 11 before a 6 card draw with all my resource enhancements happened and I had no units. The game ended with the LS dealing the final blow by controlling the Force and taking out the object of his frustration - A Dark Time for the Rebellion.
1 - My Rebel Smugglers vs. Navy
As mentioned earlier, our first game took over 50 minutes to play, so I had serious concern that I could 0-2 scrub this match. Despite having a slightly above average opening hand - a Renegade Escort and a Y-Wing and a ToA - I was devastated to see him turn over Endor's Gambit, followed by a first turn AT-ST with Aft Armor Plating. I assumed the worst, but decided with the roughly 10-15 minutes I had, I would either win quickly and break the tie, or lose: there would be no timed point for me. I went for it, and though he won edge, I was able to deal 3 obj damage and keep a unit alive. In true navy fashion, he played Devastator, wrecking an objective. My refresh hand was fantastic - Rogue 3 and Home One. My turn two I was able to take out an objective (the Gambit) and the Force, as the Devastator was exhausted. I retained Rogue 3 in hand. John attacked with the Devastator during his turn 3, taking out another objective. In my hand - my turn 3 and less than 5 minutes remaining - I draw Red 2 and Echo Caverns. Dumping my hand minus two cards and with all three big hitters in the lineup in play, it was just a matter of attacking. I get all of their attacks through, at the cost of H1, but am able to strike with Red 2 twice to end the game turn 3 and 2 minutes remaining (with the help of Echo Caverns). With the dial lower for my LS victory, I win the break-point. Three points for me.
My second match was against Mike, a local from another store where we both game night, and a member of the SWLCG_CO group. I had actually never played against him before the round, so I had no idea what to expect. Props to Mike for playing a Smuggler's deck that I had either a) never seen before, or b) never seen the way he played it.
2 - My Sith/Navy vs. Smugglers/Jedi
I don't remember too terribly much about this game other than the number of smuggler cards he played. I got swindled, Jedi Mind Tricked, and my units beat up left and right. I was really impressed with his deck. I started Dark Time again, as well as Imperial Command. Mike chose every turn to place the damage from Dark Time on an objective, which made Stark and my MTV (that's right, I want my MTV) to get some good bonuses. I got my Councilors out, and locked him down just enough to get the dial to 12 with only one Objective lost (he used Prepare for Evacuation to bounce my good units twice).
2 - My Rebel Smugglers vs. Big Blue Navy
I was a little concerned about the second match when I saw him turn over some Deploy the Fleet and Lord Vader's Command. I was even more concerned when I saw a first turn Tarkin. I had Wedge, Echo Caverns and Rogue 3 in hand, so I thought I could get lucky. I played through and won Edge, getting in 3 damage after Tarkin spoiled my Wedge fun. He responded the next turn by wrecking an objective with an unopposed Star Destroyer. I manage the second turn to take out an objective as I deploy Home One and attack with Rogue 3. He does not block so Tarkin can stay alive and maintain the Force Struggle. He plays two units during his turn and attacks again, dealing critical damage to the objective. H1 takes minimal damage through my use of Echo Caverns. The Dark Side now controls the Force, has taken two objectives, and has unit advantage. My turn three comes down to draw. If I draw well, I will get through enough damage to win, otherwise, I will need to take a more defensive posture and look for the critical strike later in the game. As fortune would have it, I was able to draw into an Escort and a Y-Wing, and the second - I had the first in hand - three pip fate card. Armed with two decent fate cards and two additional units, I am able to finish off an objective outright with H1, Rogue 3 and the Escort, using the Caverns to protect me against Tarkin's Focus token, allowing me to deal damage + unopposed to his most damaged objective. A second 3rd turn victory for the LS deck. Four more tourney points for me.
For me, round 3 is kind of the critical point in the day. Generally, round 3 will either set you up for the top tables or relegate you to the bottom half. It was at this point I had my most difficult overall matchup of the day. This match was against Sal, another mate from the playgroup and a member of the SWLCG_CO group.
3 - My Sith/Navy vs. Forceful Jedi
So at this point in the day, I have not had an opportunity to chose my first deck, and this round was no exception. Sal turns over Smugs & Spies and I immediately begin debating how I am going to play this match, based on how it did first round. I had never played against Sal at game night (it really sounds like I don't play much there, doesn't it!) so I had no idea how it was going to play out. My hand was decent enough, but I wanted a better one, so I mulligan; second worst mistake from the tournament. I draw into an equally decent hand minus any ramp. This means that even though I have seen Emperor for the only the second time today in my hand, I have no way to play him. Sal is a great technical player, so it was nice watching him play through his turns. He turns over two copies of Self Preservation and I realize that I am in trouble. I set up some decent defenses, getting a Wampa and Tromper drop on the first turn. With two copies of Self Preservation, he has the ability to quickly swing the Force Struggle in his favor, so I REALLY need to get Emperor into play, else the game is going to screech to a halt: which it does. He gets an early Obi-Wan and then Luke and a sup'ed up Gotal Outcast. I manage to use my tricks to keep most of the damage off Dark Time, which made it's 3 for 3 start on the day. He has distorted the damage pretty evenly across the objectives when Stark game down for the first time, taking an objective. We go to all out war over Dark Time, but when the dust settles I am focused out and looks like he is on his way to a tactical win. Then the miracle happens - I get resources to play Emperor! I mill through 2x Dark Precognition and get the needed resource cards to play Emperor. I strike with Emperor to take an objective, then take Dark Precognition and play it a 3rd time on the day. A properly timed Force Lightning on my next turn takes out Luke long enough to get my damage through; moving the dial to 12 by destroying 3 objectives in the game.
3 - My Rebel Smugglers vs. Sith Control
So I don't have much more to add to how this deck plays this round vice any other. The only real tactical difference this game is that I blow both Rogue 3s turn 1 and two to set up a single turn kill with the Home One and 2x Rebel Assault. The 3 objective kill turn ended up being turn 4 vice turn 3 - technically on my opponent's 5th turn - making it my longest LS game on the day. Four tournament points for me.
My last game was again Regan, a store local and someone I had never played before. He has 10 tournament points and I have 11, so if we split games I need to win the tie breaker to win the day (I am assuming out SOS is comparable since we have similar points ourselves).
4 - My Sith/Navy vs. Pure Jedi
This first game in the round was sort of anticlimactic. He has a hard time drawing units, and I drew resources, defensive units and Emperor. I had a pretty quick lockdown, so NOT getting A Dark Time in the final match was not a big deal. I even think there was one turn when I played Dark Precognition 3 times. In the end, he had some good plays and was able to get Obi-Luke and an Outcast with shielding down, but it was too little too late.
4 - My Rebel Smugglers vs. Sith Control
In this last game, I was curious just how quickly I could end at this point. With a 3/0 DS kill ratio, I needed only to take one objective to realistically win a tie breaker. Just like in the previous games, Rogue 3 came down and began wrecking objectives. I played two Y-Wings and he played Vader. He attempted to Force Choke one of the Y-Wings, which I explained to him he could not do. He then proceeded to throw the Force Choke in an edge battle. Turn 3, with two escorts, Rogue 3 w/Wedge and 2x Y-Wing, I won the edge with ease, taking out the second objective, and leaving one Y-Wing back to finish off the final objective with it and a ToO. Four points for me and a clear victory on the day.
LESSONS LEARNED
Whew, that was a lot. I hope it was helpful. Some things I learned (or forgot and needed to be reminded)
1 - Deploy the Fleet is not a Hoth Objective
2 - Hoth Operations works when you have MORE Hoth objectives than opponent
3 - Rebel Assault, especially when you only have two of them, should be used with care
4 - No deck should be built around a certain unit in play. It is just too hard to play consistently (though Rogue 3 AND Home One did see play in every game)
Thanks again to all the players that came out. It was a ton of fun.
Look for an announcement soon about a CO State League Championship sometime later in the fall!