No Disintegrations - Tournament Report

Welcome one and all to another week of No Disintegrations. Even though this is normally my off week I am pleased to bring you a special entry; a tournament report from the Greer, SC event held on 5/12/13 at Big Robot Games. Special thanks go out to the entire staff from the store who hosted a very well run event and were even kind enough to provide free donuts!! The event had 8 players and we played 3 rounds (had some time restraints due to store hours). I ended up placing first at the regional with the following deck lists:

Big Red Bus (I thought this name fit as Vader and the Emperor are both big and red, then you throw in all the Star Destroyers and things roll over you.... like a bus!)


Afflilation:
Imperial Navy (Core Imperial Navy)

Total Objective Sets: 10

2x Fall of the Jedi (19-1)

Darth Vader (19-2)
Dark Side Apprentice (19-3)
Vader's Lightsaber (19-4)
Force Choke (19-5)
Heat of Battle (19-6)

2x Counsel of the Sith (20-1)

Advisor to the Emperor (20-2)
Kuati Security Team (20-3)
Sith Library (20-4)
Dark Precognition (20-5)
Twist of Fate (20-6)

2x The Emperor's Web (23-1)

Emperor Palpatine (23-2)
Emperor's Royal Guard (23-3)
Sith Library (23-4)
Force Lightning (23-5)
Force Choke (23-6)

1x Imperial Command (26-1)

Admiral Motti (26-2)
Duty Officer (26-3)
Heavy Stormtrooper Squad (26-4)
Heavy Stormtrooper Squad (26-5)
Orbital Bombardment (26-6)

2x Death and Despayre (29-1)

Devastator (29-2)
Imperial Officer (29-3)
Control Room (29-4)
Defense Upgrade (29-5)
Heat of Battle (29-6)

1x Deploy the Fleet (46-1)

Death Squadron Star Destroyer (46-2)
Death Squadron Star Destroyer (46-3)
Fleet Navigator (46-4)
Death Squadron Command (46-5)
Admiral's Orders (46-6)

Rebel Caverns:


Afflilation:
Smugglers and Spies (Core Smugglers and Spies)

Total Objective Sets: 10

2x The Defense of Yavin 4 (8-1)

Red Two (8-2)
Y-Wing (8-3)
Astromech Droid Upgrade (8-4)
Hidden Outpost (8-5)
Rebel Assault (8-6)

2x Fleeing the Empire (10-1)

Leia Organa (10-2)
Fleet Officer (10-3)
Stolen Plans (10-4)
You're My Only Hope (10-5)
Twist of Fate (10-6)

2x Hoth Operations (38-1)

Wedge Antilles (38-2)
Rogue Three (38-3)
Snowspeeder (38-4)
Hoth Survival Gear (38-5)
Target of Opportunity (38-6)

2x Renegade Squadron Mobilization (44-1)

Renegade Squadron (44-2)
Renegade Squadron Operative (44-3)
Munitions Expert (44-4)
Echo Caverns (44-5)
Target of Opportunity (44-6)

2x Preparation for Battle (45-1)

Hoth Scout (45-2)
AAC-1 Speeder Tank (45-3)
AAC-1 Speeder Tank (45-4)
Tauntaun (45-5)
Shelter from the Storm (45-6)

Tournament Breakdown:

From what I was able to tell from walking around between rounds and talking with everyone there the following decks were being played:

Light Side --
3x Blue Man Group - Luke, Han, Obi-Wan, Prep (two of the decks ran 2x Secrets of Yavin, not sure what the other was running; and yes I think calling this deck Blue Man Group works because its all the big beats guys, plus shields which are blue haha)
1x Rebel Preparations - Prep, Hoth Ops, Fleeing, Defense of Yavin, Rebel Fleet
1x Rebel Caverns - Prep, Hoth Ops, Fleeing, Defense of Yavin, Renegade Squad
2x Rebel Vehicles - Fleeing, Defense of Yavin, Hoth Ops, Rebel Fleet, A Journey to Dagobah
1x Smugglers Den - Luke, Han, Yoda, Protectors, Obi-Wan's Spirit

Dark Side --
2x Big Red Bus - Vader, Emperor, Devastator, Counsel and one of Imperial Command and Deploy the Fleet
3x Sith Control - Vader, Emperor, Counsel, Killing Cold, Cruel Interrogations
2x Big Navy - Devastator, Kuat Reinforcements, Endor Gambit, Defense Protocol, Deploy the Fleet
1x Boba Fett/Capture -- I only had one quick glance at this deck so not sure what all it had, but I did see Take them Prisoner, Bespin Exchange, and Jabba's Orders

Tournament Report:

Round 1: Joseph

Match 1: Joseph (Blue Man Group) vs Ketricel (Big Red Bus)

This match started out pretty crazy from the get go, I had a first turn Darth Vader who was quickly committed to the force. Joseph had a few small guys out that I was able to get rid of with a Force Choke clearing out the board. Turn two saw Vader's Lightsaber and a bunch of resource producing stuff; including Death Squadron Command which is down right amazing. I think Joseph played a Han on his next turn which I was able to again Force Choke (yay for top decking another one from Counsel of the Sith). Turn three was an Emperor Palpatine for me followed up by a Devastator on turn four. Eventually Joseph was able to take out an objective when I over extended trying to close out the game a little too early. We ended that match with the dial at 12, DS getting 2 objectives and LS getting 1 objective.

Match 2: Joseph (Sith Control) vs Ketricel (Rebel Caverns)

Joseph was able to drop a turn one Darth Vader which had me very worried, but he didn't last long against a Red Two with Wedge on board (this was probably an ill advised defensive move, but after the match Joseph said he didn't realize how Wedge was going to interact and he thought he could win). From that point on the Rebel deck just started rolling with Rogue Three and Renegade Squadron making an appearance in successive turns to finish out a rather quick game. A last minute surge by Joseph was able to knock out one of my objectives and get the dial up to 10 (I hadn't contested the force in the first 4 turns).

2-0 (4 points)

Round 2: Justin

Match 1: Justin (Sith Control) vs Ketricel (Rebel Caverns)

This match was crazy how it eventually played out. Turn one I saw a Darth Vader hit the board and get committed to the Force. I was able to get a Rogue Three, Hoth Scout, and Wedge out thanks to a Defense of Yavin 4. I swung in with Rogue Three and was able to knock out an objective as Justin didn't block with Vader. I found out why next turn when he was equipped with a Lightsaber and silly me I passed initiative without sacrificing my Hoth Scout and let it get Force Choked and Vader attacked to take out Rogue Three. Luckily enough I drew into another Rogue Three and Wedge and was able to take out a 2nd objective on my next turn.Vader was able to take out that Rogue Three on the following turn and a few resource producing things were put into play. On turn 3 I drew some random junk and threw it into play I couldn't really win but I was able to toss some damage around. Justin played some protectors about this time and decided to just sit back as it was looking pretty grim for me. I then proceeded to draw the most amazing hand ever, it consisted of 3x Target of Opportunity and 1x Rebel Assault. All I needed to do was get an unopposed attack in and I was golden. I had 4 units in play and proceeded to attack with them one at a time, on the third attack Justin I guess felt confident I was just trying to bluff and let in a Princess Leia unopposed which sealed the deal because I didn't have to worry about a Twist of Fate destroying my dreams and I was able to pull out the win with the dial at 7 and no DS objectives destroyed.

Match 2: Justin (Rebel Preperations) vs Ketricel (Big Red Bus)

This match was eerily similar to my Round 1 game as Dark Side as I was able to get control early and keep it throughout the entire match with a combination of Darth Vader with his Saber and Emperor Palpatine. Things got a little dicey at the end when a Home One came into play and the avalanche of focus tokens on Rogue Three were removed (via some crazy Leia/You're My Only Hope shenanigans). I was able to just hold on and win but I was a bit scared because I let the game almost slip away right at the end by being too aggressive again. Justin was a really good opponent and ended up finishing in 3rd or 4th.

2-0 (4 points)

Round 3: Caleb (Caleb was awesome and we ended up taking a draw as he already had won a regional and thus handing me the win)

Match 1: Caleb (Blue Man Group) vs Ketricel (Big Red Bus)

First turn for me was rather disappointing as I was only able to get out some resource producing guys, however I did have three Force Chokes in hand and with the objectives Caleb flipped I knew they would be active. I was able to Force Choke a Tauntaun preventing some extra craziness from getting online early and keeping Caleb off needed resources. Turn two saw yet another Darth Vader hit the board and making my Force Chokes even better in this matchup. Han Solo came out for Caleb and was handled before he could gain a shield icon with my 2nd Force Choke. I wasn't able to follow up with any real pressure and Caleb was able to get a bit of momentum taking out two objectives before I was able to stabilize with Emperor Palpatine and some well timed Force Chokes and Force Lightning. I wasn't able to take out any objectives but I was able to keep the force the entire game and win quickly that way.

Match 2: Caleb (Big Red Bus) vs Ketricel (Rebel Caverns)

I was against the ropes from the very start of this match, though I didn't realize it until turn 3. Caleb flooded the field with resource guys and enhancements first turn and was completely focused out. I was able to get out an early Rogue Three with Wedge and that allowed me to take out an objective thinking I was in a pretty good position. Vader with a lightsaber came out and took out my Rogue Three with little trouble. I followed it up with a Red Two pinging away at an objective getting it to 3 of 5 damage capacity which activated my Rebel Assault in hand, instead of blowing the objective right away I sat back on it (in hind sight this was very stupid). Caleb proceeded to have the wackiest turn EVER. Let's see if I can describe this in its full detail. The turn started with the dial ticking up from 3 to 5 because Caleb controlled the force. He drew and Force Choked my Tauntaun; which deactivated my ability to Rebel Assault. He then damaged his Deploy the Fleet with 4 damage to play a Devastator for 2. He then damaged the Deploy the Fleet (killing it) to play a Death Squadron Star Destroyer for 5; I was kinda hating myself for not having played my Rebel Assault when I had the chance. He was left at this point with 2 open resources and proceeded to swing in with Devastator blowing up an objective and paying 1 for the extra dial tick (DS dial at 7). Death Squadron Star Destroyer swung in on an objective and was able to kill it, and he was able to pay 1 for the extra dial tick again (DS dial at 10). Emperor Palpatine and Vader were able to swing in at the last objective to blow it up taking the dial up to 13 and sealing the game.

1-1 (2 points)

Final: 5-1 (10 points)

I had a really good time at the event and was happy to see some familiar faces from previous tournaments in the local area. Everyone walked away with a playmat and a smile on their face so in my opinion it was a successful tournament. Next week I will go a bit more in-depth with the Rebel Caverns deck and go over some of the amazing tools that it has available. Thanks again for tuning in for No Disintegrations, if you have a particular deck you would like to see discussed in the coming weeks please leave a comment. As always without each and every one of the valued members here at CardgameDB.com I would be writing to no one so I thank you for your time and may the top deck always be with you!