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Don't Judge a TR by Its Title -- NYC 2012 Regional
Posted by
FATMOUSE
,
03 May 2012
·
349 views
Let me start off by saying I make no apologies for grammatical errors both intentional and unintentional.
Thank you Dan, Rich, Matt, and Jim for helping promote/organize/run an awesome tournament. I usually do a bit more when we have tournaments in NY, but all I really did this time around was suggest where we should have it and agree to be the rules TO if any questions came up. Thanks to my friend Eliot, who came to play and hung around to support me after the cuts even though he really hasn't played since the CCG days. Also, thank you Jason (who sadly could not make it) for ordering the very nice tournament trophy now in my possession. Lastly, thank you EVERYONE that came to the tournament. You are all the main reason why I even bother to attend these things anymore.
Oh, before I forget: THANKS FOR NOTHING PAUL. I realize most of you don't know Paul, but those of you that do will probably appreciate the fact that we stayed up to 3 o'clock in the morning the day of the tourney trying to build him a deck. We did finish, but then he decided it was too late for him to be able to make it. YEF&F(@#$GF(@#FHOHLK
ANYWAY, on to the TR:
Martell KoTTH -- Erick (finitesquarewell) 1-0
While most people would probably begrudge playing someone like Erick in the first round a tournament, I was pretty content. I've gotten to know Erick pretty well both as a person and player through AGoT, and it felt too long since we last spoke to/saw each other last fall. So I was glad to try and kick his butt first round
The game went pretty smoothly for the most part. He played First Snow first round. It slowed me down a bit, but I was able to maintain enough board position to pull off a 2-claim intrigue challenge, which pulled two He Calls it Thinking. A round or two later he used the third to cancel my attempt at cancelling his Game of Cyvasse. I was a bit annoyed to have my Mauraders go back to hand, but I knew having all 3 He Calls it Thinking in his discard pile was a huge boon. I think at that point he also had GG out and was using it to slow me down, however a round or so later I was able to discard it from play. That and playing Valar allowed me to restart my push. Erick eventually got GG out again, but I was able to keep it under control and push through challenges. He made one last effort to hinder me before his Valar by playing Favorable Ground, but I was able to cancel it, ensuring my victory in the next (and 6th? 7th?) round.
Stark Seige -- Matt (???) 2-0
Matt was playing Stark Siege, which I expected quite a bit (Stark that is, not just Siege) in addition to Martell. Fortunately for me, I pretty much had control the entire match. An early Wendamyr and some other saves prevented him from really every gaining board position over me. I think I had a better flop, which probably helped.
Stark Kings of Winter -- Dennis (dcdennis) 3-0
This match was much bumpier than the previous two. I made it Winter to take advantage of an early Mauraders. It allowed me to make a good push and rack up some power, but both of our agendas were making sudden changes in our strategies. Between the agendas and intrigue challenges, so much of the game felt like luck of the draw (or randomly picking the right card in your opponent's hand). Dennis was able to turn around my early lead though through a First Snow. However, my deck and a few good picks from his hand kept me in the game through the next couple of round despite him racking up some serious power and me slightly losing mine. Ser Kyle Condon was definitely being a pain and was arguably winning him the game at one point. Nevertheless, I was able to yank it from his hand with my agenda and I think I top decked into a Mauraders that turn as well. Without his repeatable chud/draw, I was able to retake the board and race my way to 15 before he could get there (finished with about 11 or so I think). It really was a great match. More randomness and changing directions than I would have like, but in the end I was able to make it swing in my favor.
Martell KottH -- Jim (OrangeDragon) 4-0
Jim was playing KottH as well, but one quite different than the "Bruno" build. I had a really strong setup, most of which bounced back to my hand due his first round First Snow. However, I manipulated the round so that we actually had the same number of cards at the end of it avoiding a potential Rule By Decree. Jim didn't have any extra influence on the board and I still had my whole hand, so I decided to play very aggressively before Jim could establish any silly Martell shenanigans control. My deck really came through on draw this game, and Jim really couldn't keep up. Overall, the game was pretty clean (for me at least, Jim might feel differently
), but I wouldn't be surprised to see things go the other way in a rematch.
Martell The Maester's Path -- Pavel (???) 4-1
Both of us had pretty strong starts. I made it Winter early to take control of his Maesters but Pavel was able to discard my Raven with two Ill Tidings (I canceled the first one). Without me being able to control his Maesters, Pavel got his chains out and I decided to Valar 3rd or 4th round. Unfortunately, he made a decent recovery and was able to get more chains off of his agenda and recurse some in his discard pile. It was difficult to keep up with both the control and aggro, but I was hanging in there. The game ended 6th round since time ran out. I believe he was up 12-9, and his Valar was coming next round, so I might have been able to win it had it gone a couple of more rounds. It didn't though, so I had to take the loss. It didn't really matter because I already made the cut.
Bara Knights of the Realm -- Chris (Staglrod) 5-1
It was great to see another metamate make the cut; especially someone I've gotten to know so well in and out of the game. If you haven't met Chris, he speaks the way he types, so it's kind of hard to understand him sometimes, but I've gotten used to it. It's no longer really an issue for me.
Nothing too substancial happened in game other than friendly banter and good conversation. He got TLS out, which prevented me from touching his hand. He also grabbed a good chunk of power with DotN Melisandre, but not enough to win. Once I developed enough board position I was able to clear his board and climb my way to 15 power for the win.
Martell The Maester's Path -- Pavel (???) 6-1
Rematch. The game started well for me with a 7-card flop vs. Pavel's three. He was definitely worried by it and took quite some time to make his decisions about what to do. In fact, he took his time thinking about many of his decisions throughout the match. I didn't really mind since there was no time limit on the games at this point and I figured the more he contemplated what to do, the game the more fatigued he'd become. I tried pushing my early advantage by making it Winter, but Pavel had one Ill Tidings in hand to get rid of it. Immediately after, I decided I'd play conservatively for the rest of the game until I could make a move to win. Pavel took advantage of his Chains, Maesters, and Martell tricks to try and pummel me down, but I defensively took the blows and grabbed power whenever I could. On the 5th round, I played Valar; removing his Chains and Maesters from play. At this point, I felt I could jump out from the corner of the ring and start making some plays of my own.
Even though the game only lasted 6 rounds, it was about a two-hour match. There were certainly instances where I took several minutes to ponder what I should do, but by round 6 it seemed like Pavel had overwhelmed himself with so much thought that it was taking a toll on his ability to analyze the game clearly. Consequently, he used Orphan of Greenblood on the wrong character and I was able to swoop in two unopposed challenges to reach 15 power. I recall being extremely confident about winning round 7 even if he played his cards right, but I certainly didn't mind taking the game a round earlier!
This match was quite gruesome, and much of it felt like I was walking on a tight-rope. Pavel was a fantastic opponent in both of our games, but my stamina and greater composure allowed me to make it through to the finals.
Stark Kings of Winter -- Dennis (dcdennis) 7-1
Another rematch! Dennis was extremely kind to give me a break after the semi-finals. He saw how grueling the match was and said I could take as long I needed. It was yet another sign of how great the community can often be. So I walked around, got some fresh air, jet-packed up and down Park Ave., etc. for about 20 minutes and then sat at the table. Depsite, our previous match in the Swiss, I was pretty certain this game would go much more steadily and be much less intense than the semis. I decided to play the game quite differently from our first match and it paid off. Dennis put up a good fight, but it seemed that I always at least one step ahead of him. By round 4 the game was mine.
And that's about it. Even though the my interest in the game as waned to an all-time low, the event was still loads of fun, and it was awesome seeing both familiar faces and some new. I think this was the most level-headed and calm I've ever been at a tournament; perhaps with the exception of last Black Friday (but a first round bye and unconventional tournament structure kept me out of the cut rounds). Anyway, I'm sure having a clear and focused mind contributed tremendously towards my success. It might not be easy, but for any tournament goers looking to claim a trophy, I recommend being able to find a way to put yourself in a similar mindset. Whether it's not really caring whether you win or lose, meditating, using relaxing breathing techniques, listening to music, making fun of Stga Lord, etc. learn how to bring peace of mind, and I'm sure you'll see improvement in your play.
While I've posted decklists in the past, I'm generally against doing so and won't this time. I encourage posting lists that will no longer be relevant/competitive to the tourney scene, whether it's because of new cards, restriction/ban/errata, or an evolving meta. I think they are great teaching tools as to what a player did to compete and do well in a particular environment. However, I believe this deck is still strong for the Regionals season, and I'd hate to see innovation, creativity, and diversity stifled because people decide to play it instead of coming up with something (possibly even better) on their own. I can't and won't stop others from discussing details about my deck if they choose to do so. Besides, there's a substantial difference between a having a deck list and knowing some cards/tech in a deck. How many people tried to replicate Erick's Lanni hyperkneel deck only to fail?
I don't know if I'll be attending more Regionals, but I am keeping the NJ and DC Regionals in mind. Especially DC -- cube-draft is ever so tempting...I didn't really intend on going to GenCon this year, and even with the first round bye, I don't think I'll be going. Who knows though. I've said in the past that I'd make it to GenCon and never did. Maybe I'll continue to be bad at keeping my word and actually show up.
Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed.
Thank you Dan, Rich, Matt, and Jim for helping promote/organize/run an awesome tournament. I usually do a bit more when we have tournaments in NY, but all I really did this time around was suggest where we should have it and agree to be the rules TO if any questions came up. Thanks to my friend Eliot, who came to play and hung around to support me after the cuts even though he really hasn't played since the CCG days. Also, thank you Jason (who sadly could not make it) for ordering the very nice tournament trophy now in my possession. Lastly, thank you EVERYONE that came to the tournament. You are all the main reason why I even bother to attend these things anymore.
Oh, before I forget: THANKS FOR NOTHING PAUL. I realize most of you don't know Paul, but those of you that do will probably appreciate the fact that we stayed up to 3 o'clock in the morning the day of the tourney trying to build him a deck. We did finish, but then he decided it was too late for him to be able to make it. YEF&F(@#$GF(@#FHOHLK
ANYWAY, on to the TR:
Martell KoTTH -- Erick (finitesquarewell) 1-0
While most people would probably begrudge playing someone like Erick in the first round a tournament, I was pretty content. I've gotten to know Erick pretty well both as a person and player through AGoT, and it felt too long since we last spoke to/saw each other last fall. So I was glad to try and kick his butt first round
The game went pretty smoothly for the most part. He played First Snow first round. It slowed me down a bit, but I was able to maintain enough board position to pull off a 2-claim intrigue challenge, which pulled two He Calls it Thinking. A round or two later he used the third to cancel my attempt at cancelling his Game of Cyvasse. I was a bit annoyed to have my Mauraders go back to hand, but I knew having all 3 He Calls it Thinking in his discard pile was a huge boon. I think at that point he also had GG out and was using it to slow me down, however a round or so later I was able to discard it from play. That and playing Valar allowed me to restart my push. Erick eventually got GG out again, but I was able to keep it under control and push through challenges. He made one last effort to hinder me before his Valar by playing Favorable Ground, but I was able to cancel it, ensuring my victory in the next (and 6th? 7th?) round.
Stark Seige -- Matt (???) 2-0
Matt was playing Stark Siege, which I expected quite a bit (Stark that is, not just Siege) in addition to Martell. Fortunately for me, I pretty much had control the entire match. An early Wendamyr and some other saves prevented him from really every gaining board position over me. I think I had a better flop, which probably helped.
Stark Kings of Winter -- Dennis (dcdennis) 3-0
This match was much bumpier than the previous two. I made it Winter to take advantage of an early Mauraders. It allowed me to make a good push and rack up some power, but both of our agendas were making sudden changes in our strategies. Between the agendas and intrigue challenges, so much of the game felt like luck of the draw (or randomly picking the right card in your opponent's hand). Dennis was able to turn around my early lead though through a First Snow. However, my deck and a few good picks from his hand kept me in the game through the next couple of round despite him racking up some serious power and me slightly losing mine. Ser Kyle Condon was definitely being a pain and was arguably winning him the game at one point. Nevertheless, I was able to yank it from his hand with my agenda and I think I top decked into a Mauraders that turn as well. Without his repeatable chud/draw, I was able to retake the board and race my way to 15 before he could get there (finished with about 11 or so I think). It really was a great match. More randomness and changing directions than I would have like, but in the end I was able to make it swing in my favor.
Martell KottH -- Jim (OrangeDragon) 4-0
Jim was playing KottH as well, but one quite different than the "Bruno" build. I had a really strong setup, most of which bounced back to my hand due his first round First Snow. However, I manipulated the round so that we actually had the same number of cards at the end of it avoiding a potential Rule By Decree. Jim didn't have any extra influence on the board and I still had my whole hand, so I decided to play very aggressively before Jim could establish any silly Martell shenanigans control. My deck really came through on draw this game, and Jim really couldn't keep up. Overall, the game was pretty clean (for me at least, Jim might feel differently
), but I wouldn't be surprised to see things go the other way in a rematch.Martell The Maester's Path -- Pavel (???) 4-1
Both of us had pretty strong starts. I made it Winter early to take control of his Maesters but Pavel was able to discard my Raven with two Ill Tidings (I canceled the first one). Without me being able to control his Maesters, Pavel got his chains out and I decided to Valar 3rd or 4th round. Unfortunately, he made a decent recovery and was able to get more chains off of his agenda and recurse some in his discard pile. It was difficult to keep up with both the control and aggro, but I was hanging in there. The game ended 6th round since time ran out. I believe he was up 12-9, and his Valar was coming next round, so I might have been able to win it had it gone a couple of more rounds. It didn't though, so I had to take the loss. It didn't really matter because I already made the cut.
Bara Knights of the Realm -- Chris (Staglrod) 5-1
It was great to see another metamate make the cut; especially someone I've gotten to know so well in and out of the game. If you haven't met Chris, he speaks the way he types, so it's kind of hard to understand him sometimes, but I've gotten used to it. It's no longer really an issue for me.
Nothing too substancial happened in game other than friendly banter and good conversation. He got TLS out, which prevented me from touching his hand. He also grabbed a good chunk of power with DotN Melisandre, but not enough to win. Once I developed enough board position I was able to clear his board and climb my way to 15 power for the win.
Martell The Maester's Path -- Pavel (???) 6-1
Rematch. The game started well for me with a 7-card flop vs. Pavel's three. He was definitely worried by it and took quite some time to make his decisions about what to do. In fact, he took his time thinking about many of his decisions throughout the match. I didn't really mind since there was no time limit on the games at this point and I figured the more he contemplated what to do, the game the more fatigued he'd become. I tried pushing my early advantage by making it Winter, but Pavel had one Ill Tidings in hand to get rid of it. Immediately after, I decided I'd play conservatively for the rest of the game until I could make a move to win. Pavel took advantage of his Chains, Maesters, and Martell tricks to try and pummel me down, but I defensively took the blows and grabbed power whenever I could. On the 5th round, I played Valar; removing his Chains and Maesters from play. At this point, I felt I could jump out from the corner of the ring and start making some plays of my own.
Even though the game only lasted 6 rounds, it was about a two-hour match. There were certainly instances where I took several minutes to ponder what I should do, but by round 6 it seemed like Pavel had overwhelmed himself with so much thought that it was taking a toll on his ability to analyze the game clearly. Consequently, he used Orphan of Greenblood on the wrong character and I was able to swoop in two unopposed challenges to reach 15 power. I recall being extremely confident about winning round 7 even if he played his cards right, but I certainly didn't mind taking the game a round earlier!
This match was quite gruesome, and much of it felt like I was walking on a tight-rope. Pavel was a fantastic opponent in both of our games, but my stamina and greater composure allowed me to make it through to the finals.
Stark Kings of Winter -- Dennis (dcdennis) 7-1
Another rematch! Dennis was extremely kind to give me a break after the semi-finals. He saw how grueling the match was and said I could take as long I needed. It was yet another sign of how great the community can often be. So I walked around, got some fresh air, jet-packed up and down Park Ave., etc. for about 20 minutes and then sat at the table. Depsite, our previous match in the Swiss, I was pretty certain this game would go much more steadily and be much less intense than the semis. I decided to play the game quite differently from our first match and it paid off. Dennis put up a good fight, but it seemed that I always at least one step ahead of him. By round 4 the game was mine.
And that's about it. Even though the my interest in the game as waned to an all-time low, the event was still loads of fun, and it was awesome seeing both familiar faces and some new. I think this was the most level-headed and calm I've ever been at a tournament; perhaps with the exception of last Black Friday (but a first round bye and unconventional tournament structure kept me out of the cut rounds). Anyway, I'm sure having a clear and focused mind contributed tremendously towards my success. It might not be easy, but for any tournament goers looking to claim a trophy, I recommend being able to find a way to put yourself in a similar mindset. Whether it's not really caring whether you win or lose, meditating, using relaxing breathing techniques, listening to music, making fun of Stga Lord, etc. learn how to bring peace of mind, and I'm sure you'll see improvement in your play.
While I've posted decklists in the past, I'm generally against doing so and won't this time. I encourage posting lists that will no longer be relevant/competitive to the tourney scene, whether it's because of new cards, restriction/ban/errata, or an evolving meta. I think they are great teaching tools as to what a player did to compete and do well in a particular environment. However, I believe this deck is still strong for the Regionals season, and I'd hate to see innovation, creativity, and diversity stifled because people decide to play it instead of coming up with something (possibly even better) on their own. I can't and won't stop others from discussing details about my deck if they choose to do so. Besides, there's a substantial difference between a having a deck list and knowing some cards/tech in a deck. How many people tried to replicate Erick's Lanni hyperkneel deck only to fail?
I don't know if I'll be attending more Regionals, but I am keeping the NJ and DC Regionals in mind. Especially DC -- cube-draft is ever so tempting...I didn't really intend on going to GenCon this year, and even with the first round bye, I don't think I'll be going. Who knows though. I've said in the past that I'd make it to GenCon and never did. Maybe I'll continue to be bad at keeping my word and actually show up.
Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed.
