Admin: Trandosite interview 15 September 2000

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Trandosite interview 15 September 2000

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'''John Shields''' was a 1998 World Finalist. [[Trandosite]] interviewed him on 15 September 2000.<ref name="trando-iv10">[https://web.archive.org/web/20041026204829/http://www.trandosite.mcmail.com/iv10.htm John Shields interview], [[Trandosite]] (15 September 2000)</ref>

This page is a '''fan encyclopedia''' stub. Facts below are from published SWCCG sources (Trandosite interview and, where noted, Squadron Member tables). It does not add unsourced biography.

== Interviews ==

=== Trandosite, 15 September 2000 ===
Interview conducted by Rod Latham on [[Trandosite]].<ref name="trando-iv10">[https://web.archive.org/web/20041026204829/http://www.trandosite.mcmail.com/iv10.htm John Shields interview], [[Trandosite]] (15 September 2000)</ref>

Site player profile:

''John Shields has consistently been one of the United Kingdom's top SWCCG players since 1996. A former regional number one, he has had a terrific run in the Regional Championships - finishing 2nd in 1997, 2nd in 1998 (losing to Michael Riboulet, who went on to finish second in the World Finals) and 2nd in 1999 (losing to Gary Carman, who went on to win the World Finals). In 1998, when the UK had two regionals, John defeated Gary Carman to take his place at the World Finals - where he finished 13th. John has also had huge success in local tournaments, scoring victories at several locations across England.''

'''1. How did you first get involved in SWCCG, and what do you enjoy most about the game?'''

I've always been a gamer, and started playing Jyhad (now Vampire: The Eternal Struggle). When SWCCG came out (autumn 1995 in UK) it was a natural- the art was great, I loved Star Wars, and OK, the game wasn't multiplayer, but it was a great duelling format. I only started to take it seriously in 1997 (just after Dagobah).

'''2. If you could change one thing in SWCCG, what would it be?'''

Card rarity. As a non-collector, I think the entire game should be open to everyone- some great deck designers have been stifled by limited availability of cards. It has saddened me to know I've won games because I have more money than my opponent. Problem is, card rarity doesn't stop the obsessives, it just stops the masses...you spend more, you win. There has to be something deeply flawed about a game that does that. Chess and bridge did not become truly great by saying 'You have to pay £100 to get a queen. Oh, and if you pay for 4 of them, you can use them". The logic isn't quite that clear-cut, but you get the idea.

'''3. How did it feel playing in the World Championships of 1998 - any highlights? Were you pleased with your performance, or frustrated to just miss out on day two (finishing 13th)?'''

I was annoyed at a couple of mistakes- my differential would have been boosted by 4 (enough to get me into Day 2) if I hadn't messed up a retrieval on operatives. The highlight was spotting operatives (or rather being told about ops). The lowlight was so many other people finding out about ops at about 2am, after I'd gone to bed :-). Nah, really ops were not a good thing, as we all know. My personal highlight was finishing 13th...that's not bad. My personal lowlight was finishing 13th ;-). But, I got to eat and drink for free for 3 days, and that's OK.

'''4. You helped to prepare Gary Carman for the World Finals of 1999. What advice did you give him, that paid off so well?'''

'Prepare' and 'advice' are a bit strong. Gary doesn't take the advice thing. You have to suggest things, then wait for him to work it out for himself (usually takes a month or so). It took a few months to convince him Lateral Damage was a good card. The key to helping Gary is to accept that he already has the ideas, then just act as a sounding board as the ideas bounce around. It's also useful to remind him of old school things like rules and *ancient* cards which he may not have seen, as he came to the game quite late.

'''5. How do you rate the level of play in the United Kingdom?'''

Well, everyone says this about their own region, but it's high. It hasn't been helped as we have always had a dominant player- Michael Riboulet up till 98, then Gary to the present. Other players don't get the credit they should because of this. When we travel, we do well. I'd say game processing is good in the UK, although deck design tends to be dominated by a few people. We're not as techy as the Germans, but certainly more non-linear than US deck design and play.

'''6. What's your opinion of Decipher and their latest sets - are you pleased with Death Star II?'''

Oh, as a game it's superb, but see comments on card rarity above...it's a shame cheese is dying, as there only seems to be room for battle at the moment. DS2 is a very good set- the faster generation curves bring a lot of subtlety to the game (the decision now isn't about generating as much as possible mid-game, it's about shifting that generation to the early game, and knowing how little you can get away with generating, cos over-generation is nearly as bad as under-generation, IMO)

'''7. What are the strongest and weakest parts of your game?'''

I can card count...the most over-rated skill in SWCCG, but it's impressive to call destinies before they come up. I'm also pretty good at metagame calls and efficient card selection to beat certain strategies. Weakest part is end-game analysis...if I'm winning, I'll win big, but in a tight game, I miss options. SWCCG becomes chess in the end-game- if you have more stuff on the table, and it's balanced between ground and space you'll probably win.

'''8. What do you enjoy doing outside of SWCCG?'''

Eating. Drinking. Working for The Man. But mainly playing with my daughter Jess.

'''9. If you could play any player in the world, who would you most like to play and why?'''

I'd quite fancy an away game against someone who lives somewhere exotic. The old Jedi Academy players? Cos then I'd be in Hawaii. Which is nice.

'''10. What is the greatest misconception in SWCCG?'''

I reckon there are a few (off the top of my head):

'''1. Money doesn't matter'''

'''2. Card counting is important.'''

'''3. Your opponent will give you icons'''

'''4. Lateral Damage was never broken'''

'''5. Games are won by decks, not players...I love to read the words 'auto-wins against Deck XXX ' on Decktech. Hahaha.'''

'''6. Luck isn't important. Every tournament winner is lucky.'''

I'd put 5 and 6 as most important, reckon.

Many thanks!

== See also ==

* [[Trandosite]] · [[Interviews]]
* [[DeckTech]] · [[GamePlayers Network]]

== Sources ==

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20041026204829/http://www.trandosite.mcmail.com/iv10.htm John Shields interview] on Trandosite (15 September 2000; Wayback)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050405092737/http://trandosite.mcmail.com/interview.htm Interviews index] (Wayback 5 April 2005)

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Admin: Trandosite interview 15 September 2000