Admin: Trandosite interview 24 August 2000

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Trandosite interview 24 August 2000

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'''Philipp Jacobs''' is the 1997 SWCCG World Champion (defeated [[Michael Riboulet]] in the final). [[Trandosite]] interviewed him on 24 August 2000.<ref name="trando-iv6">[https://web.archive.org/web/20050405/http://trandosite.mcmail.com/iv6.htm Philipp Jacobs interview], [[Trandosite]] (24 August 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, 24 August 2000 ===
Interview conducted by Rod Latham on [[Trandosite]].<ref name="trando-iv6">[https://web.archive.org/web/20050405/http://trandosite.mcmail.com/iv6.htm Philipp Jacobs interview], [[Trandosite]] (24 August 2000)</ref>

Site player profile:

''Philipp Jacobs is 27 years old and has been one of Germany's most reknowned players for several years. He has won around 10-15 tournaments, including the World Championships of 1997 where he defeated Michael Riboulet. He recently finished second in the German Nationals. He has recently finished his studies in Chemistry at the University in Aachen in his native Germany.''

'''1. How did you get involved in SWCCG, and what attracted you to the game?'''

I saw the films and played other card games before. When the Star Wars CCG was released I bought a display of the premiere cards but didn´t find anyone to play with. A few months later I met some people who played on a regular basis and got deeply involved in the game. In the beginning we played 4-6 times a week but today we are playing only once in a month. The problem when you are not playing on a regular basis is that you don´t play that good anymore.

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

Well, this answer is very difficult. There are many things that should be changed. What botheres me most is the fact that the playtesting for the different sets seems to be malfunctioning. In every set there are cards that are destroying game balance. I remember the WC 1998 where nearly everyone was playing Ops. That wasn´t fun anyway. But in DS II there are cards (namely the new starting interupt for the three effects) that in my opinion should have never been printed.

'''3. How do you view the mentality and level of play in Germany? The region has a strong reputation for destiny tracking, a determination to win and for decks with intrigue. Is this a fair summary of the Ralltiir region?'''

Gamers in the German region are very good today. There are a lot of excellent players around and all are good at tracking destinies. The fact is, tracking your destiny can win you the game, because a badly needed 6 as destiny can then be easily drawn. I think decks aren´t that different in the other regions. You always look for the deck that fits you the best and that will have fair chances of winning against most other decks, so you will adopt your strategy to the decks that are most dominant at the moment.

'''4. What do you think of the most recent SWCCG expansions, including the enhanced characters and Death Star II?'''

My feeling about this is the the cards are very strong in gameplay, but make older copies of some cards useless. For Decipher this is the right strategy, becase they are making lots of money with this, but gamers have to buy all the new cards to be competitive. I think some players can´t buy all the new cards and get disappointed when they are losing all the time. Especially the last expansion (DS II ) had some very powerful cards that gave way to new strategies and deck types. Because of the many cards now available to players the game has changed a lot. In the early days there were only few deck types and you could easily adjust your deck to the other strategies but now there are so many good decks that you can´t win against all decks and the matchup has become a major fact for winning or loosing a game. I think you have to be more lucky now to win a tournament then in the beginnings of Star Wars CCG.

'''5. How did you feel playing in - and eventually winning - the World Championships of 1997? What were your favourite experiences from this championship? What was it like to become the World Champion?'''

That as an awesome experience. Especially the WC 1997, but also the WC 1998. I´ve never been to the U.S. before and the people at the WC were all very friendly and good players. The location for the WC 1997 was the Marriott Hotel in Norfolk, which looked like the best hotel in town. You met players from around the world and made many new friends. When tournament play started you always hope to make it to the second day but never think of winning the title. When the first day was over I merely made it to the second day. In the evening everybody playing on the second day was building new decks. On the second day with each game won, you dreamed more of becoming World Champion. When I made it to the final, I was very nervous, but knew that my opponent played a Dagobah deck for the light side that I had beaten in the previous round. That gave me a little advantage, because I knew I would win that game. When the final games are finished you first don´t realize what has happened. I think it took my about a week to fully realize what it meant becoming Star Wars World Champion. And the prize I won was really gigantic for a European. A 10 day trip to U.S. going from Washington to Las Vegas and on to Los Angeles. Thanks for this great experience Decipher.

'''6. Has your success at the World Championships put pressure on you as a player to perform?'''

Well, because everybody in Germany knows you for a long time pressure wasn´t that high. You are playing the same people. Maybe they got a little nervous when playing me, but only for the next 3-4 month after the WC 1997. Players in Germany have become a lot better since then and it will only be a matter of time before the next German player will succeed in the WC.

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

My strongest part was the knowledge of the game. I knew every card and almost every sttrategy. So I knew how to play against the different deck types. Today I don´t know all the cards exactly and that gives rise to some problems when playing decks you´ve never seen before. Because I´m not playing very often I also begin making faults and playing badly. But hopefully I will be able to play more now and get back into the game

'''8. Do you have any favourite cards or decks? What do you enjoy playing with?'''

Most of the time I´ve been playing mains and toys. My favorite cards are the stacking effects ( What are you trin´to push on us and the other card). These cards can destroy a tactic very efficiently.

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

There is no special person I would like to play against, but it is always fun to play against someone you have never played against before.

'''10. What is the biggest mistake in SWCCG? Any final words?'''

I really like this game especially the game concept ( the force activation and managing the cost of your cards, etc.), but I dont´t like inventing cards that didn´t show up in the films, like Mara Jade. I also didn´t like the many "extra sets" that were released. Most of these sets included very strong cards and you had to buy all these sets to be competative. But these problems show up in the other card games too, so I think DECIPHER has done a good job and let me say these last words :

May the force be with you

Many thanks!

== See also ==

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

== Sources ==

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050405/http://trandosite.mcmail.com/iv6.htm Philipp Jacobs interview] on Trandosite (24 August 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 24 August 2000