The Thrill of Victory (Star Wars Insider)

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The Thrill of Victory is Ryan Morris's article in Star Wars Insider #43 (April/May 1999, pages 64–65) on the 1998 Decipher World Championship.[1][2]

Morris covered Matt Potter of Duluth, Minnesota, beating Michael Riboulet of England in a two-game final. Lucas Hernandez of Oregon placed third. Adam Ankrum placed fourth on tie-breakers. The 56 players built from Special Edition before public release.

Star Wars Insider #43, page 64.
Star Wars Insider #43, page 65.

THE THRILL OF VICTORY
DECIPHER CROWNS ITS STAR WARS CUSTOMIZABLE CARD GAME WORLD CHAMPION FOR 1998
BY Ryan Morris

It was a weekend that would live on for Star Wars fans and gaming enthusiasts alike: November 20-22, 1998—the final showdown between the top Star Wars Customizable Card Game (SWCCG) players in the world. Although Decipher's third annual World Championships were held in Virginia Beach, Virginia, the competitors had all traveled in some cases from as far away as Japan to obtain their seats. Now would be their long-awaited moment of triumph.

The grand prize: an all-expense paid trip and VIP pass to the official Star Wars Celebration at the Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum in Denver, Colorado, April 30-May 2. Let's just say these competitors were playing for keeps.

It was quite a lot of commotion for a seemingly mild-mannered game that features no flashy multi-sided dice, no shiny pewter replicas of the Death Star, and no over-arching game-board—only a deceptively simple-looking deck of cards and a healthy spirit of adventure.

Unlike a simple board game, Decipher's SWCCG is an intricately strategic two-player card game where players take on the powers of either the dark Empire or the Rebel Alliance. Each player must construct both a "Lightside" and "Darkside" 60-card deck using any combination of the hundreds of cards available. The cards each feature different Star Wars locations, characters and starships, some of which have only minor roles in the movies but are given a whole history in the SWCCG, as well as various other game-enhancing cards that hinder your opponent or assist your deck. Through battles and other game actions, players must successfully force their opponents to lose all of their cards to win the game. It is a challenge that is often compared to chess due to its reliance on thought and strategy.

For the 1998 World Championships, players had to first win one of the qualifying tournaments held in various cities around the world in order to earn one of the 56 seats at the world finals. Only one player was not required to qualify to compete: Philip Jacobs, the 1997 world champion from Germany, whose championship status earns him a special invitation by custom. With 56 competitors, including over 10 repeat participants from previous world finals, the competition was assured to be tougher than ever.

To raise the stakes even higher, Decipher had a special treat for the third year's participants. Each player was given a complete set of the brand new Special Edition expansion, Decipher's biggest and most anticipated Star Wars card set yet. For the first time ever at a World Championship, players would be allowed to construct their tournament decks with cards before they were released to the public. It was to be a testing ground for new strategies and ideas, and an opportunity for each player to analyze the new cards and manipulate them more efficiently than his peers.

The event began Friday night with a special banquet at the beautiful Cavalier Hotel on Virginia Beach, where the format for the weekend's events was laid out: Saturday would consist of eight Swiss-style games which would determine the 12 players who would proceed to Sunday's final round. In Swiss-style games, there is no elimination. Each competitor plays a full eight games, four games with their Lightside deck and four with their Darkside deck, alternating decks throughout the day. First round pairing is random, while subsequent rounds are paired based on each player's wins—resulting in increasingly exciting play. For the 44 players who didn't make the finals, Sunday would feature a traditional Sealed Deck tournament, in which players are given sealed packs of cards and must construct one 40 card deck with only those cards. This involves a different deck-building strategy but is still played out in a Swiss style.

At the end of the dinner there was one final surprise before the players retired to their rooms for an intense evening of deck building. As the lights dimmed in the banquet hall, all eyes turned toward a large screen where the now familiar words faded in and out: "Every Generation has a Legend... Every Journey has a First Step... Every Saga has a Beginning." The Episode I trailer had only been released to the public a few days earlier, and for many excited fans, this was their first time seeing it.

Saturday's event took place in a large conference room holding 28 playing tables, a slew of computers running news updates, live web cameras, and audio feeds. Hanging from the ceiling were all the flags of the countries with participants in the finals. As the first round commenced, the true spirit of the card game was in full force—there were decks with Rebel speeders on Tatooine, Imperial operatives infiltrating planets, Rebels guarding their hidden base, and Darth Vader hunting down the last of the Jedi. Finally, after an intense eight games, the 12 players were picked for Sunday's final four games to determine who would go onto the final one-on-one match.

On Sunday, the dozen finalists were quickly boiled down to four players. Lucas Hernandez of Oregon had the lead with three wins. He would be paired up against England's Michael Riboulet in a game that would determine who would go to the final match; the second determining game was between Matt Potter from Duluth, Minnesota, and Stuart Jones, all the way from Australia. After four intense games, the final duo was determined: it was Matt Potter vs. Michael Riboulet.

With the crowd watching, Michael and Matt would play each other twice, and the player with the better score after the two games would be the 1998 World Champion. After winning the first game, Michael had the upper hand. But in the last few seconds of the second game, Matt played a special card that allowed him to retrieve a large amount of his cards, and in a swift turn of events secured his spot as World Champion.

The crowd cheered as both players stood up and shook hands, and Matt turned to face the audience with a huge smile on his face.

With the same powerful John Williams music playing that enlivened the triumphant ceremony at the end of Star Wars, each of the finalists was awarded a special medal from Carol Wisely, Decipher's Vice-President of Marketing, and a handshake from no less than Warren Holland, Decipher's CEO. Huge applause greeted the final award, for 1998 World Champion Matt Potter. It is not often that the true Star Wars spirit is reenacted with so much energy and excitement, and for a group of avid players and Star Wars lovers alike, it was as close to being in the movie as you can get.

Ryan Morris is a volunteer representative for Decipher.

WITH 56 COMPETITORS, INCLUDING OVER 10 REPEAT PARTICIPANTS FROM PREVIOUS WORLD FINALS, THE COMPETITION WAS ASSURED TO BE TOUGHER THAN EVER.

• Lucas Hernandez (3)
Elite card player assigned to the Endor region. Responsible for monitoring perimeter Rebel outpost.
POWER 4 ABILITY 3
Deploys at Western Oregon University when he's not burning through CCG tournaments. Placed 3rd.

• Matt Potter (1)
Equipped for harsh, high competition environments. Primarily assigned to search and destroy at the 1998 SWCCG World Championships.
POWER 4 ABILITY 3
Deploys at any card tournament at +4 power. Immune to Sandwhirl when deployed in Minnesota. Won the 1998 championship.

• Michael Riboulet (2)
This English guy is good. He's been in two finals in a row.
USED INTERRUPT
If a battle was just initiated, Michael deploys anything he wants to and kicks your butt—and finishes 2nd overall.

• Adam Ankrum (4)
An Illegal Weapon purchased on the black market in St. Paul, Minnesota.
POWER 4 ABILITY 3
May target any other card player using 1 Force. Draw Destiny. This medical student sneaks into 4th place on tie-breakers. Good show.

•SWCCG World Championship Trophy Case
May only be deployed at the Cavalier Hotel in Virginia Beach, VA

Photographs

See also

External links

References

  1. ↑ Ryan Morris, "The Thrill of Victory", Star Wars Insider #43, pp. 64–65. Scan: Star Wars Insider Magazines (1 to 153 + Specials), Internet Archive.
  2. ↑ Star Wars Insider 43, Wookieepedia. Preserved copy: Internet Archive
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