Steve Marshall Phoenix Mega Tournament 11-4-00 (tournament report)

Steve Marshall Phoenix Mega Tournament 11-4-00 (tournament report) is the tournament report Steve Marshall posted on DeckTech on 5 November 2000 about 2000 Phoenix Mega Tournament (4 November).^[1] Steve Marshall finished 32nd of 56 at the 8-game Mega-Tourney of the Phoenix Grand Slam weekend on 4 November 2000, going 3–5 with PalpyOps and an EBO capital-ship deck; Kevin Shannon beat Brian Hunter in the final.

Report info

Author: Steve Marshall (byline: Steve "BlackViper" Marshall)
Published: 5 November 2000 (DeckTech)
Report title: Phoenix Mega Tournament 11-4-00
Event: 2000 Phoenix Mega Tournament (4 November)
Event date: 4 November 2000
Site: AZ Gamer, Arizona
Players: 56
Finish: 32nd
Record: 3–5
Points: 6 (+11)
Dark deck: PalpyOps
Light deck: EBO Capitals

Games

Games as the author describes them; margins are as stated in the report.

Round	Opponent	Author's deck	Opponent's deck	Result	Margin
1	Matthew	Dark PalpyOps	Hoth with Elom reacts (not EBO)	Win	+19
2	Jonny	Light EBO Capitals	BHBM	Loss	−13
3	Mike	Dark PalpyOps	Hidden Base without flip	Loss (timed loss; opponent is Joel's brother)	−12
4	Michael Sinclair	Light EBO Capitals	Hunt Down with duels	Loss (report: 'Mike Sinclair')	−13
5	Andy Marcantel	Dark PalpyOps	MWYHL to 6 (B-wings)	Win	+16
6	John Towner	Light EBO Capitals	—	Win (conceded before the game to play Star Trek)	+30
7	Joel	Dark PalpyOps	Profit M+T	Loss	−11
8	Van	Light EBO Capitals	ISB with ORS	Loss (out-of-state player)	−5

Other results named in the report

Original report

phoenix-mega-tournament-11-4-00

Author: Steve "BlackViper" Marshall
Published: Nov 5, 2000

  I must apologize for any typos: my ’n’ key sticks, so it might be wierd

at times.

So I set the alarm for 7:00am and go to bed at around 4:00. I wake up to

Batman Beyond and Pokemon, then I drag myself out of bed, nuke a couple

Pop Tarts, count my decks again and again, and head off to the

tournament. This isn’t actually the Grand Slam; this is the 8-game Mega-Tourney, part of the Grand Slam weekend. I’ve been hyping myself up all week, telling myself I’m

gonna win it all and all that. I was ready to go! I had a new EBO deck

that has the potential to be a killer if I get it set up right, and I

have been working on my old PalpyOps from long ago for DS. As a note to

all my readers: Diamond sites are NOT dead unless you’re playing the

LS card! Same goes with numbers; it’s not retired unless you play the

card. I get to AZ Gamer and realize that my pop tarts are still in the

microwave. Oops. I see Andy Marcantel, David Teeters, and a couple other

buddies and fill out the decklist and command card. Brandon Allen

informs me that I put my email addy above my player ID and I need to

change it before he can put it on the command card. The lady next to me

rolls her eyes and just writes the information down. I tell Brett that I’m gonna win, and he encourages me instead of the laughter I was expecting. Cool! We finally get

settled for our first pairings.

GAME 1: PalpyOps vs. Matthew’s Hoth w/ elom reacts (not EBO)

I haven’t seen this guy before, so I don’t know what to think. There are

a lot of out-of-state players, but there are also newbies from AZ. I

decide before the game starts that I’m gonna open a can. I present to

you, ladies and gentlemen, God’s starting hand: Lord Vader, Palpy, Mara,

Mara’s Stick, Royal Guard x 2, Abyssian Ornament, and the Exec DB. I

pull the Prefect’s Office and the Coruscant DB from my deck, drop the

EDB, and a Royal Guard at each DB. He drew his Force into his hand. I

still don’t know what to think of him. I couldn’t set up Ralltiir

because I activated my Forest and Spaceport DB in my God-like generation

next turn. He deploys AFA in the deck after I deploy everybody, DRAT! I

have Fett in S1 in my hand, and I pop AFA in the generation. I activate

2 and use it to search for ghhhk. I’m gonna deploy Fett on the ground

with his little "army" and soak the damage. IT’S NOT THERE! So I pull

U3PO instead and take the 4 damage. He tries to give someone a jedi

lightsaber to drain with, but Weapon Of The Ingrate takes care of that.

Davod Jon an appearance and overpowered his army of 4, taking out

everything except a droid and sacrificing himself to the 3 attrition.

DRAT! I had a drain of 9 going to his 0, and there was nothing he could

do. I didn’t have enough Guards to make Abyssian work, but I should have

used Weapon Of The Ingrate to put the sabers and Pikes back in the deck.

Too bad.

FW by 19

2(+19)

PROS: I’m getting settled in. I’m not used to a tournament this big, but I’m getting relaxed now.

CONS: None, really. I kinda wish I had used my Weapon of Ingrate to add to my dif.

In the middle of my Game 1, the large ominous shadow of Michael Girard

hovers over me and asks for my LS deck. I had counted this deck 10 times

over and over again; I know it’s 60 cards! I was worried sick about it.

Turns out I forgot to add the "x 2" to my YT-1300s, giving me a warning.

I take my deck back with a thousand apologies, feeling very glad we

didn’t abide by DecipherCon rules. Thanks again, Mike!

GAME 2: EBO Capitals vs. Jonny’s BHBM

As we’re setting up our starting cards, Clint Hays beside me tells his

opponent not to stack his effects. If he does it again, it’s a game

warning! A couple jokes about the rules and penalties broke out, then we

started the game. As I’m typing this, it just doesn’t have the same

impact it did at the time. It was funny when it happened; I guess you

had to be there. Anyways...

So my hand consists of Strikeforce (you need it in EBO!), Chasm (a

painfully powerful card), Honor, and Menace Fades for effects, 2

capitals, Endor, and a Signal. Nothing to help get EBO going at all. I

deployed my effects, and he nearly choked when he read Chasm. "So, how

many Vaders are you playing with today?" It’s just awesome. He put IG88

w/, Dr. E, and Mara with her stick at a drain 3 location, so I signaled

for Undercover instead of Squad Assign and dropped my newly drawn

Cracken. I couldn’t stop pulling Signals, and it was kinda annoying.

Squadron Assign didn’t help at all because I couldn’t get a pilot or a

ship. I lost too much blue to drains, too. Cappy Han, Home 1, and the

Independence made quick work of Ozzel in the Exec, but allowed Zuckuss

to escape to Kiffex. Unfortunately, I wouldn’t get any more blue the

entire game. I gave him Luke JK from my lost pile as soon as Lord Vader

hit Endor to give him a little Direct Damage. Here’s where I’m a bad

player. He’s draining for 3 at each of 3 Endor sites; 1 icon, a +1, and

a saber. I have Menace Fades on the Table, Hoth belongs to me and Kiffex

I’m working on, and Obi is holding the 4th Marker. I didn’t cancel his

drain modifiers the entire game, and it killed me. I’m a bad player. I

don’t know what my cards do. Palpatine left his home on the DS2 for some

reason, I don’t know why. I would have won this game if I had known why

I put the cards in my deck that I did. Keep count; this is game 1 that I

should have won.

FL by 13

2(+6)

PROS: Definitely the starting hand! Seeing his face when he read Chasm.

CONS: Gee, there’s so many to list! I won’t forget Menace Fades again. I wish I remembered how to use spies.

GAME 3: PalpyOps vs. Mike’s HB w/out flip

This was by far the most fun game I played all day. Wedge RSL and Gen

Cal showed up in their respective ships at Tatooine, but I flipped, so

he didn’t have a drain. He pulled Dagobah and the Hutt, Tatooine, and

Alderaan, but that was it. I flipped turn 2. He tried to bring his EPP

army against my Royal Guards. I wouldn’t have minded being that I had

the ghhhk in my hand, but I decided to tell him that all his guys were

+2. He pulled back and waited a little. We battled all over space and on

the ground. Putting Palpy or LVader at the Prefect’s Office creates a

beast! My power 4, Def Value 4 Royal Guards were kicking all kinds of

butt. And Goo Nee Tay can’t touch em! He won our Sense/Alter war,

putting all my cancellers in my lost pile because I didn’t get out

Oppressive Enforcement in time, and he used Our Most Desparate Hour 3

times to retrieve 6 or 7 Force each time. He had to work for it because

CHYBC was on the table, but he managed. I flipped that objective back

and forth more times than I can remember. Fett in S1 and Bossk in Bus

took on Wedge and the Falcon, leaving Calrissian all alone against

Bossk. He deployed Nien Nunb and battled me, I played Res Luk, but he

Sensed it! That is the best use of that card; in space with the perm

pilots! They don’t count as bounty hunters, but the OR works with Bossk

and Fett. Anyway, that single battle probably lost me the game with the

amount of cards I lost. Time was called, and after a battle, I played

Abyssian Ornament, knowing full well that I only had 3 guards on the

table and my destiny was a 3. I just wanted the 5 in the deck and on the

top! Now, had I actually used it during that battle before I lost my 4th

royal guard, it would have been much better! Time was called on my

deploy phase, otherwise I would have grabbed Weapon of the Ingrate and

pulled 4 pikes and 2 sabers back in the deck. We counted; I had 11 cards

in the deck, and he had 12. :-(   Still counting? This is game #2 that I

should have won but didn’t because I’m a bad player. But this was a

completely awesome game. He had me sign his Sense in memory of our

little war.

TL by 12

2(-6)

PROS: This was a fantastic game. I played my strategy very well against him.

CONS: Having time called just after my control phase ended. Timing out in the first place.

Okay, okay... I came into this not wanting to suck as bad as I did at

Pat’s tourney. At least I won a game today!

GAME 4: EBO Capitals vs. Mike Sinclair’s Hunt Down w/ Please-Rape-Me

Duels

I hate playing Mike. He always beats me, even though it’s never by a

lot. But I’ve never won a game against him. Before the game, I get all

@#$%y with him in fun. I’ve got 5 characters, 4 of them pilots, and 2 of

them spies. How cool is that! He didn’t start No Escape, so I signaled

for Honor instead of cancelling Visage. Vader came to play on Hoth, and

I lured him under the shield as I deployed Obi to his CC to flip him.

Igar in Tempest 1 make short work of hero and Vader comes out of the

base to flip again. Jedi Luke wants to see if he can survive longer than

his mentor, so he visits the city in the sky next. All the while, EBO is

set up, but I’m only draining at Hoth because Zuckuss, IG88 w/, and 4LOM

w/ took control of Kiffex too early, and I’m not going anywhere near

that little combo. He eventually gets Bossk out to Hoth and moves the

Z-crew over. I know the true power of bounty hunter ships and realize

that he is getting 4 destinies, but for some reason I stay there. I was

hoping in those destinies he would get a dupe and lose it to Chasm, the

little effect hiding on the corner of the table. BUT NO! I draw a 3 and

a 2, and he draws 3 destiny 6 cards!!!!! And they’re all interrupts, so

Chasm doesn’t touch them! I got royally screwed, and there was nothing I

could do about it. He lost his droids, I lost nearly everything. I can’t

do much against attrition of 20! I’m not immune to that. He pulled

destiny 6 every time, and it was painful. Luke held his ground on CC the

entire game until I knew I was gonna lose, so I left him alone with

Igar. He pulls a couple destiny 6 cards again to my 5. It was fun, but

painful!

FL by 13

2(-19)

PROS: Not losing by more

CONS: Playing Mike

Remember when I said I didn’t want to screw up like I did in Pat’s

tourney? Well, it’s not looking good for our hero today.

GAME 5: PalpyOps vs. Andy Marcantel’s MWYHL to 6

My starting hand had 3 docking bays in it. That’s not normal! I like

playing Andy; he knows how to have fun. I easily set up Ralltiir, but it

takes him 3 turns to begin training. Overseeing It Personally comes out

a turn too late, so I don’t get to double my drains. Fett blocks his

B-Wings at the system to flip me over, and he lands amidst the army. I

soon realize he’s playing a version of Chris Shaner’s MWYHL that I lost

to long ago before I really knew how to play. He’s holding Coruscant

with 7 B-Wings and S-Foils! When I finally get Bossk, Zuckuss, and 4LOM,

I take the trip to the center of the Old Republic. I also held onto a

ghhhk. We battled over and over again, but my recurring bounty hunter

ships and cool use of Res Luk was too much for him. He got beat off the

planet, and Fett held control for the rest of the game. He couldn’t draw

his test 5 destiny because he didn’t have a reserve deck (he was low on

cards), and he couldn’t retrieve his 10 because of CHYBC. Too bad! I

drained him out after a few turns. He’s always fun to play, and we

chatted with the guys beside us. My losing streak brought me to the fun

table!

FW by 16

4(-3)

PROS: I like Andy. He’s fun. And PalpyOps does it again. He was a couple places higher than me in round 3, so I’m glad I took it to him. Beating down the B-Wings

CONS: Letting him control Ralltiir with his b-wings for a turn.

GAME 6: EBO Capitals vs. John Towner

He decided to concede the match to me before we started to go play Trek.

I still think leaving StarWars for Trek is blasphemy or something, but

hey, I’ve got 30 points and an even record at 3-3.

FW by 30

6(+27)

PROS: Hey, it’s 30 points!

CONS: Leaving SW for Trek? Come on!

Yes folks, we’re still going! Our 4 round / 8 game tournament continues.

This is fun! We should do it more often.

GAME 7: PalpyOps vs. Joel’s Profit M+T

I just finished playing his brother Mike in game 3, and it was fun. I

decide not to put Mara in the Aud Chamber. I set up quick, and he

battled against 5 of my power 4, defense 4 royal guards and lost over

and over again! I LOVE THE PREFECT’S OFFICE!!! He failed a Fallen Portal

draw against a single royal guard at one point. Like before, there was a

lot of battles on the ground, but neither of us took to space. He was

unfortunately killing all of my characters, leaving me with fewer and

fewer cards. DVDLOTS got lost cruising around DB 94, and I never

bothered to find him. The constant killing and Profit DD did me in. This

was another really fun game, and there was no way I could have won this

game by doing it differently. I even tried to abyssian ornament for 5

with just a couple cards left in the deck, but I drew Palpy! DRAT! This

was fun.

FL by 11

6(+16)

PROS: Another fantastic game. Putting the Prefect’s Office in the deck.

CONS: I should have killed Han earlier.

GAME 8: EBO Capitals vs. Van’s ISB with ORS

Finally; and out-of-state player! This game was just ugly. I have never

played against an ISB deck, so I already knew that this could suck for

me. I don’t know how to play against it. On top of that, I got set up

too late. He set up his drains big and fast on me. I was draining for

10, but he cancelled the 4 @ Kiffex with the Den Of Theives. I couldn’t

find Strike Planning to stop him from cancelling drains, and he couldn’t

find a trample to get rid of my undercover spies. I took out Bossk and

Fett at the expense of the Spiral (it deploys as a react for 1 with EBO

in effect!), and he never tried space again. He won the drain race

because he beat me off the 4th marker, cancelling Menace Fades’ effect.

It was a fun game, he was a good guy, and I’m glad I finally got to play

against this deck type.

FL by 5

6(+11)

PROS: Finally playing an ISB deck.

CONS: Losing to an ISB deck.

So I almost scrubbed out. I guess it was borderline. I came 32nd out of

56, so I was right there in the middle again. My prize support of 1 CC

and 2 DS2 packs along with a "grab pack" with Vaper Crall and DS2

commons (just what I needed) worked out great; I pulled a Jedi Luke!

That was worth the $15. Thanks a lot to AZG for hosting us on this late

event, Mike Girard, Brandon Allen, and Jay Webb for running an amazing

tournament, and everyone else that helped out for doing so. I wish I

could have recorded the top 10 scores, but I didn’t get them all. Brett

Kitani took 6th place overall. I stayed after for the final

confrontation, and after the dust settled, Kevin Shannon beat Brian Hunter to

take sole possession of 1st place and the entire BB StarWars set. They

agreed before the match to give 2nd place the set of Reflections and 1st

place everything else. I’m pretty sure that was the arrangement; we

couldn’t hear what they were saying over everyone talking! j/k. Thanks a

lot for a great time!

The Good:

* Arizona Gamer for hosting the event

* Michael Girard (Gold 120) for running a HUGE yet flawless tournament

* Kevin Shannon for winning the thing

* Brett Kitani for placing 6th overall

* All the out of towners that made the trip, especially Clint Hays, Kevin Shannon, and Brian Hunter.

* Everyone who stayed at AZGamer from 8am til 9:30pm for the whole shbang.

The Bad and The Ugly:

* Me for scrubbing hard

* P.H. for placing lower than me - When he said he was having a Steve day, he meant it!

* Mike Sinclair for constantly saying penis throughout the day ;-)

* The traffic on I-17 for making me late (8:45)

Thanks for reading.

Sources

phoenix-mega-tournament-11-4-00, stephenskilton.com
phoenix-mega-tournament-11-4-00 (GitHub Pages)

References

↑ phoenix-mega-tournament-11-4-00, DeckTech (Steve "BlackViper" Marshall, 5 November 2000). Preservation copy: GitHub Pages.

[tr-d1419-1] x-mega-tournament-11-4-00, DeckTech (Steve "BlackViper" Marshall, 5 November 2000). Preservation copy: GitHub Pages.

[1]

Steve Marshall Phoenix Mega Tournament 11-4-00 (tournament report)

Contents

Report info

Games

Other results named in the report

Original report

See also

Sources

References

Navigation menu

Steve Marshall Phoenix Mega Tournament 11-4-00 (tournament report)

Report info

Games

Other results named in the report

Original report

See also

Sources

References

Navigation menu

Search