Star Wars World Championships (InQuest)
- For the tournament, see 1996 Decipher World Championship.
Star Wars World Championships is a special report by Michael Mikaelian in InQuest #22 (February 1997, page 14). Mikaelian covered the 1996 Decipher World Championship of 7–9 December 1996 at the Vail Cascade Hotel and Club in Vail, Colorado.[1]
SPECIAL REPORT
Star Wars World ChampionshipsPhoto caption: Michael Mikaelian (left) at the Star Wars worlds. Photo courtesy of Decipher.
Editor's Note: Michael Mikaelian of Brooklyn, N.Y., author of InQuest #20's "Killer Decks II" Yavin 4 Counterstrike deck for Star Wars, qualified to play in the Star Wars: Customizable Card Game world championships Dec. 7-9, 1996, at the Vail (Colo.) Cascade Hotel and Club. He filed this report after completing the hyperspace jump back home.
It was snowing when I arrived on Hoth.
Most people think of Colorado as, well, Colorado. Not Decipher, to whom Colorado is the ice world of Hoth from George Lucas' "Star Wars."
Thirteen of the 38 competitors were stranded on the road for five hours while safety workers conducted avalanche control above the Vail Pass—the only road between Denver and Vail—but even the wintry weather the Friday night before the tournament started didn't prevent everyone from arriving in time. (But why aren't the snowspeeders ever ready when you need 'em?)
The championships began Saturday morning with two-player matches. Competition was stiff: Many of the world's top 20 Star Wars CCG players were there. In the first round, my opponent was Joe Alread, whom I'd defeated in the finals of the Gen Con Star Wars tourney. Joe's X-wing knew A Few Maneuvers, and every time we battled, I lost half of my forces. Joe ended up squeaking out a three-Force (three-card) victory, thus avenging his earlier loss to me.
After each match, point totals (two for a win, one for a tie, none for a loss) and Force differentials were totaled, and each player was assigned a new opponent with similar ratings. Everyone was friendly, I noticed: Players wished one another luck before each game and congratulated opponents afterward for putting up a good fight.
My second opponent was Rusty Zion. Every time he tried to block my Force drains, my Jawa manhandled his spies. I surprised the Empire by hitching a few rides with Nabrun Leids ("Game Breakers," InQuest #20), and Obi-Wan Kenobi said Sorry About The Mess en route to my five-card victory.
When the day was done, my earlier opponents had finished in the top 12—Joe ranked first, in fact—and advanced to Sunday's finals. Me? I came in 29th (hey, somebody had to!).
Sunday's competition started at 9 a.m. with random pairings. It ended up coming down to a championship match between Norwegian Bjorn Sorgjerd and Canadian Raphael Asselin.
In the first of two games, Sorgjerd, playing the Dark Side, used Darth Vader and Grand Moff Tarkin to coordinate guerrilla tactics on Tatooine. Mosep, a very annoying Dark Side alien, was effective against Asselin's all-space deck. Asselin was forced to discard Obi-Wan from the top of his deck, and Sorgjerd continued to a nine-card win.
In game two, Asselin deployed an intimidating fleet of Imperial-Class Star Destroyer and used Scanning Crew to survey Sorgjerd's hand. Before long, Asselin's ships were draining his opponent's Force at every system on the table. Sorgjerd's attempt to control the surface of Tatooine was crushed by the Star Destroyers.
After the Millennium Falcon was destroyed with all hands aboard, including Han Solo, Sorgjerd said, "It is a dark time for the Rebellion." Realizing that Asselin would win and that the championship would come down to a two-game Force-differential tie-breaker, Sorgjerd attempted to reduce Asselin's Force to nine or less.
But when the Light Sider succumbed, Asselin had enough to claim the championship.
His prize: a plaque and an all-expenses-paid trip to Tunisia, including a visit to the remnants of George Lucas' Mos Eisley Cantina and Lars homestead film sets from the original "Star Wars."
1996 Star Wars World Championship Finalists The following 12 players qualified for the Star Wars world championship finals after action wrapped up on Saturday, Dec. 7, 1996. PLAYER HOMETOWN MATCH POINTS FORCE DIFFERENTIAL Joe Alread Libertyville, IL 14 99 Kevin Reitzel Santa Barbara, CA 14 54 Raphael Asselin* Lachenaie, Quebec 12 94 Paul Todd Feldman Turlock, CA 12 91 Dennis Shea Long Beach, NY 12 62 Brent Johnston Kamloops, British Columbia 12 20 Rusty Zion New Smyrna Beach, FL 10 81 Maarten Logghen Heverlee, Belgium 10 74 Bjorn Sorgjerd† Trondheim, Norway 10 54 Greg Hefner Louisville, KY 10 45 Sergio Domenech Madrid, Spain 10 41 Wayne Martinez Plano, TX 10 25 * 1996 Star Wars world champion
† 1996 Star Wars world champion runner-up
See also
- 1996 Decipher World Championship
- 1996 GenCon Open
- InQuest
- Michael Mikaelian Yavin 4 Counterstrike
- Michael Mikaelian · Raphael Asselin · Bjørn Sørgjerd · Joe Alread · Kevin Reitzel
- Championships
- Magazines · Media
- List of SWCCG tournaments
External links
- InQuest Magazine Issue 22, Internet Archive (Wizard Press, February 1997)
References
- ↑ Michael Mikaelian, "Star Wars World Championships", InQuest #22 (February 1997), p. 14. Scan: InQuest Magazine Issue 22, Internet Archive.