Tournaments | trekcc

Jeremy Benedict (flrazor)
Tournament Report - 2E Standard - Andoria Regional
2012-05-05 - 12:00 PM
Purple Rain 1.6
Introduction
Before coming in there were 16 players I knew were coming, but just incase something came up I packed my Cardassian deck just in case. A happy but unexpected 17th player later, I was roped into playing to avoid the bye by the assembly of players. I knew that I had a good deck despite it being something that might have to weave around some meta cards, but this is one of the most competitive tournaments every year so it wasn't going to be easy.

Round 1	Kevin Jaeger	FL (-50)View opponent's Report View original Report
Kevin was rocking a combination of Basso, Integrity Bajorans, and Tongo rigging to put points on the board and go for a two-mission strike. He was able to get a few Tongo hits right away, including a ship I would have liked to draw, but it became clear quickly that he needed Winn Adami to set it up. I Ensnare her to stop the tricks, and he tries to pull off a few in the sark which end up giving me points instead. I'm able to get through a mission and some additional bonus points, but can't get through my second before Kev closed the deal with the damage already done thanks to Tongo. Great match with a guy I don't see very often.
http://m.youtube.com/index?desktop_uri=%2F&gl=US#/watch?v=3VRORhGNYFE

Round 2	Nate Lindgren	FW (+55)
Nate was also going for the two-mission game using Enterprise-B for extra points. Nate used lots of different people including a healthy non-aligned mix that's good at busting through dilemmas, so I tried to stick with solid walls whenever possible. I got off an early Evek and nabbed two personnel with Number One already in play, but Nate played a Chekov on his next turn to bounce Number One and get them both back at this HQ. Central Command gets me through most of the trouble dilemmas and I'm able to complete three missions with Nate only completing one. A well played game, and Nate kept me off balance most of the time we played.


Round 3	Matthew Hayes	FL (-30)View opponent's Report View original Report
Voyager seems to be my tilt in Trek. 3rd two-mission deck in a row! Matt plays Tallera and Revised Chakotay early along with a Hurried Departure and naming Ezri Tigan at Seek Savior (letting her get tossed by a dilemma so I'd command his copy). I know I can't shut down all his avenues of bonus points, so I chose to pull his Revised Chakotay with Ensnared so I don't have to deal with unstopping. (Note: Ensnared is awesome against Voyager since they have no HQ mission to hide at.) I got a couple people later with an Evek, but no one that's vital to Matt's cause. I get through two missions with Central Command and Comfort Women before Matt finishes his first, but I can't get rid of Ezri or Tallera and he gets big extra points. He gets a stop at my third mission and I get a terrible dilemma draw (after his Rebuilding the Fleet removed Back to Basics as an option) which gives him the win - the next attempt at my mission would have solved it. I only run one copy of Ensnared and Evek, just enough to get a captive for points and shut down personnel-centered strategies (despite Matt's exaggerations) but it was a really well played game on both sides!
Our TD. As we had 17 players just before the start of the day's kickoff, the majority of us (myself included) voted to have Jeremy play so that nobody would be visited with a dreaded bye. As our game progressed, I started ruminating that maybe it wasn't such a good idea. Jeremy's got a very good, yet very mean, Cardie capture deck that utilizes the usual tricks of Legacy Evek, Ensnared, Prison Compound, and of course The Central Command to blow past stoppers. When its' mechanics roll, it's nearly impossible to beat. And when operated by a strategically good player like my fellow Ambassador, a soul crushing experience, oftimes. Jer got ahead 70 to my 0 (his two 30 pt'ers + 10 from two copies of PC off my lone captive at the time). I scored Savior for 55, and while he was working on his third mission for the win, I snagged RNC for its' 45, after two attempts, iirc. Two things to note: This game I didn't use a single Chakotay, Revised Chakotay, or Seven of Nine Analyst, as none of my three copies of either hit play. Also, my decision to use Rebuilding the Fleet when I did was the best call I could make. As Jeremy had burnt through most of his deck (thanks to his Cardassian Protectorates, Evek, and Ensnared) with something like two or three cards left in the draw, my initial thought upon the RTF hitting the table was that "Oh, crap! now I've just given him his deck back, and I'm going to regret it!" turned out to not be the case, as he Alvera Tree'd his dp (and mine) did draw into his Back to Basics which would've cold stopped me at RNC, giving him the turn for the win. He showed me the BTB in his draw and I breathed one of the biggest sighs of relief I've ever had to. So, I got the mission, my FW 100-70. As always, Jeremy's a great opponent and it was one of the better nailbiters I've had in recent times. Thank you.

Round 4	Justin Kaufman	FW (+35)
Justin is playing in his first Second Edition event and is just coming off his first 2E win when we sit down to play. He's playing Delphic Starfleet so I know I have to shut down Archer who he gets out on his first turn. As soon as he gets away from Earth, I Ensnare Archer. Unfortunately I don't have much to slow him down with at first, but I manage to stall him out at his second mission with Insurrection (also in space so playing more personnel is risky). Justin makes one of the most solid moves against me all day by hitting me with Greater Needs at Escape Gulag where I have to have a ship with Transporters to solve. Without a second ship, I had to spend a turn going home to repair before coming back to solve the mission for the win. Clutch play that lets Justin get back in the game and keep it close.


Round 5	Ben Johnson	FW (+70)
Ben brings one of his best decks to the table - TOS mixed Integrity. I know from experience that I have to stop lots of people to make sure he can't solve. He gets through his first mission in one attempt and I'm already worried that I won't be able to catch up. I Ensnared Sarek and then immediately score points off of him, then forget for a turn that I can kill him with Corbin Entek to get rid of the Debate Over Dinner he played to get more points at one of his easy missions. I do manage to get rid of it and also top-deck Insurrection and a Skeleton Crew against a four-person mission attempt with two dilemmas underneath. Between good luck and Central Command I finish off three missions to wrap up the day 3-2. Ben started the day 2-0, so he had a great go at it early!