Here is the deck I played while visiting the Phoenix Proving Ground.
I wents 2 for 2 winning a four-player game and a three-player game.
None Shall Pass
Foundation:
Wah-Shan Clan Warriors x5
Mountain Hermit x3
Kunlun Clan Assault x5
Black Helicopter Squad
Coyote Clan Scavangers x3
Characters:
Wudang Monk
Monsoon
Ghost Wind
Li Mao
Red Bat x2
Gold Lion
Wu Man Kai
Jade Willow
Queen of the Ice Pagoda (old)
Hunger of the Jackel
Events:
Unexpected Rescue x4
Monkey Fools the Tiger x2
Wing of the Crane x2
Violet Meditation x3
Operation Killdeer x2
Beneficient Tao x2
States:
Occult Kung Fu x2
Living Legend
Fortune of the Turtle x2
Edge:
Balanced Harmonies
Site:
Mountain Monastary
FSS:
Martyr's Tomb
Bamboo Forest
Puzzle Garden x4
Grizzly Pass
Floating Restaurant
Fox Pass
Devil's Mountain
Cave Network x2
The Steam Laundry Company
Wudang Mountain
The site structure is very defensive and is backed up with extra defensive events - U Rescue, Ben Tao, Monkey Fools the Tiger. This allows the deck to focus on trying to get out winning attacks while the opponents beat their heads against the site structure.
Some of the synergies included are: Unturn hitters with the Mountain Hermits. Use Occult Kung Fu to add their unturning to a hitter. Use Occult Kung Fu to give a hitter ambush against non-foundation cards. Reload Ghost Wind and Red Bat once their 0-cost play conditions are fulfilled.
In play, Jade Willow was the unstoppable beating stick for both games.
Possible changes would be strip out the Ascended to make it more reliable. Either that or add in a Bite of the Jellyfish just to keep the opposition wondering. The site structure might be better off trading the current defensive sites for Great Walls. The a Golden Spike might be in order.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Plattecon 2011
Back in March was the Wisconsin State Championship held at Plattecon. We had a record turnout of eight players this year. Our regular crew of Willow, Tim, Rebecca, John, and me were joined by Chris and Jeff from Milwaukee and Matt who drove all the way in from Chicago. So we had two rounds of two 4-player games and then a 4-player final.
Round 1:
Table 1:
Chris (Hand/Dragon goodness)
Jim (Jammer Rebel)
Tim (Lotus Detonating Corpses)
Rebecca (Monarch Fire)
Table 2:
Willow (Dragon / Monarch goodness)
Matt (Darkitect sacrifice)
John (Architect)
Jeff (Dragon hitters)
Willow won at table 2, and I won at table 1 with a Violence Junkie taking Chris's Arctic Fortress with the assistance of a Disco Inferno.
Round 2:
Table 1:
Willow, Jim, Jeff, and Rebecca.
Table 2:
Chris, Tim, John, Matt
Chris won at table 2 to get into the final. I secured my spot with a second victory. Two Deep Cover Rebels were able to sneak past the King of the Fire Pagoda and Dr. Amanda Snow using "Trust me, I've got a plan" to take Willow's LaGrange Four. Rebecca had enough Game Points to sneak into the fourth spot in the final.
Final Round saw Chris push his way to victory with a Big Bruiser against Willows damaged Temple of Celestial Mercy. Congratulations to Chris, the "Big Cheese"!
My deck was a slightly modified Rebel site destruction deck. I chose this deck for the protests (rebels) going on in Madison and across the state for the two weeks before the convention.
Kill the Bill:
Foundation (13)
Just Another Consumer x5 (state workers)
Punks x5 (students & TA's)
Rebel without a Cause x3 (nonunion protesters)
Characters (12)
Buffalo Soldier
Curtis Graham
Two-Face (protest drummers)
Violence Junkies x4 (troublemakers planted by GOP)
Johnny Amok
Deep-Cover Rebels x4 (police and firefighter protesters)
Events (16)
Monkeywrenching x3 (senators leaving the state)
Disco Inferno x4
Who's the Monkey Now? x2 (FOX news discredited reporting – there are no palm trees in Madison)
"Trust Me I've Got a Plan"
Close Call
"There's Always One More"
Scrounging (Ian's free pizza)
Potlatch
Uprising x2 (Do you know what is actually in the budget repair bill? You would rebel too)
Edges (6)
Frag the G! x2
Payback Time x2
Black Market Connections
Burn, Baby, Burn
Sites (2)
Bomb Factory
RedGlare Chapel
FSS (13)
Rust Garden x5
Ancient Stone Arch
Family Home
Hydroponic Garden
Pinball Arcade x2
City Hospital (UW Hospital)
Nine Dragon Temple
City Park (The Capitol Square)
The deck plays through a slow build up. Attack sites where possible. Disco Inferno can make an underpowered attack into a site taker. Get some Violence Junkies into the smoked pile. Build up to Deep Cover Rebels then start throwing waves of characters at the opponents. With the fighting that comes back from the Rebels going down can be overwhelming. Then use Uprising to start the attacks over. Control the board with site destruction as needed. The big weakness in the deck is its vulnerability to having the Uprising cancelled.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Gen Con 2010 Ritual of the Unnameable
Sunday's only event was a Ritual of the Unnameable. I had two RotU decks made before GenCon, a BAD Architect deck and a BAT Monarch deck. I got an idea for an Ascended OMG deck, but did not have time to pull it together before the event. I ended up playing the BAT deck, which I have fun playing.
Nine people showed up for the tournament, so there were four rounds of 3 3-player games scheduled. My first game was against Red and his CDCA deck and someone else's Monarch BAD deck (I think. It's amazing how much I forget in two weeks.) I was able to win this game with the Thunder Bird in Butterfly Armor leading the winning attack against Red's Devil Mountain.
In the next round, I faced Josh's Monkeys In Black deck, and I think another BAD deck. If memory serves (which I would not bet on at this point), Josh won this game.
The third round I faced Willow's PMS Jammer deck and Daniel's CAD Architect deck. Willow won the game, but I had one of my favorite in game moments here. On Daniel's turn, he played an Abomination Serum on my Butterfly Knight. In response, I played Bear vs. Fox to start a Faceoff with Dr. Klaus Herrbruck. Daniel tried to save the good Dr. with a Cellular Reinvigoration, which I Brain Fired onto the Butterfly Knight. The Knight won the Faceoff and played Daniel's Arcanovirus to smoke Willow's Professional Killer. I love being able to mess with other peoples plans in unexpected ways. It is one of the best parts of the game. Later in the game, Daniel attack me to the right. I told him was going to use everything to stop him and leave the board open for Willow. He continued with the attack. I stopped him. Willow won. (Willow, I have one of your Safety Third cards from this event.)
After this Willow left thinking the tournament was only three rounds. So for the final round, I ended up in a four player game with Braz, playing a DIE Lotus deck; Joey, playing a PIS Monarch deck, and Red again. I'll give Braz credit for playing the most interesting deck in the tournament. I started fast, but could not maintain the momentum. Red cleared the board with an Arcanovirus, and I couldn't come back. We went to time. It was a fun game, but I don't remember who won. Josh, I believe, won the tournament.
I apologize for the inaccuracies that I am sure are this report. By this time all events were blurring together along with who I was playing and what decks were being played. Any corrections people have are more than welcome.
Blood And Thunder
Foundation (12)
Thunder Gladiator x5
Thunder Knight x7
Characters (14)
Thunder Squire x4
Thunder Captain
Butterfly Knight x4
Bonebreaker Jun x2
Thunder Bird x2
Avenging Darkness
Events (15)
Blood and Thunder x5
Bear vs. Fox x2
Tiger vs. Crane
Brain Fire x3
Blood Lust x3
Avenging Thunder
States (3)
Thunder Sword
Butterfly Armor
Bandolier of Throwing Knives
Edges (2)
The Book of Wrath
Blanket of Darkness
Sites (2)
Thunder Pagoda vPAP
The Thunder Dome
FSS (13)
Birdhouse Cafe
Bird Sanctuary
Blessed Orchard
Ancient Stone Arch
Temple of the Angry Spirits
Temple of the Monkey King
The Blue Moon Club
Thousand Sword Mountain
Turtle Island x2
Turtle Beach x2
The Pinnacles
A simple straight forward attack deck. Build an army and attack using Blood and Thunder to pump it up and avoid a lot of redirection / damage reduction denial. In this tournament, I avoided redirection from Devil's Mountain, and damage reduction from Diamond Beach and Puzzle Garden. About half the games I have won with this deck have been with the Thunder Bird with Butterfly Armor. I really like that this deck lends itself to the out of faction Faceoff events.
Nine people showed up for the tournament, so there were four rounds of 3 3-player games scheduled. My first game was against Red and his CDCA deck and someone else's Monarch BAD deck (I think. It's amazing how much I forget in two weeks.) I was able to win this game with the Thunder Bird in Butterfly Armor leading the winning attack against Red's Devil Mountain.
In the next round, I faced Josh's Monkeys In Black deck, and I think another BAD deck. If memory serves (which I would not bet on at this point), Josh won this game.
The third round I faced Willow's PMS Jammer deck and Daniel's CAD Architect deck. Willow won the game, but I had one of my favorite in game moments here. On Daniel's turn, he played an Abomination Serum on my Butterfly Knight. In response, I played Bear vs. Fox to start a Faceoff with Dr. Klaus Herrbruck. Daniel tried to save the good Dr. with a Cellular Reinvigoration, which I Brain Fired onto the Butterfly Knight. The Knight won the Faceoff and played Daniel's Arcanovirus to smoke Willow's Professional Killer. I love being able to mess with other peoples plans in unexpected ways. It is one of the best parts of the game. Later in the game, Daniel attack me to the right. I told him was going to use everything to stop him and leave the board open for Willow. He continued with the attack. I stopped him. Willow won. (Willow, I have one of your Safety Third cards from this event.)
After this Willow left thinking the tournament was only three rounds. So for the final round, I ended up in a four player game with Braz, playing a DIE Lotus deck; Joey, playing a PIS Monarch deck, and Red again. I'll give Braz credit for playing the most interesting deck in the tournament. I started fast, but could not maintain the momentum. Red cleared the board with an Arcanovirus, and I couldn't come back. We went to time. It was a fun game, but I don't remember who won. Josh, I believe, won the tournament.
I apologize for the inaccuracies that I am sure are this report. By this time all events were blurring together along with who I was playing and what decks were being played. Any corrections people have are more than welcome.
Blood And Thunder
Foundation (12)
Thunder Gladiator x5
Thunder Knight x7
Characters (14)
Thunder Squire x4
Thunder Captain
Butterfly Knight x4
Bonebreaker Jun x2
Thunder Bird x2
Avenging Darkness
Events (15)
Blood and Thunder x5
Bear vs. Fox x2
Tiger vs. Crane
Brain Fire x3
Blood Lust x3
Avenging Thunder
States (3)
Thunder Sword
Butterfly Armor
Bandolier of Throwing Knives
Edges (2)
The Book of Wrath
Blanket of Darkness
Sites (2)
Thunder Pagoda vPAP
The Thunder Dome
FSS (13)
Birdhouse Cafe
Bird Sanctuary
Blessed Orchard
Ancient Stone Arch
Temple of the Angry Spirits
Temple of the Monkey King
The Blue Moon Club
Thousand Sword Mountain
Turtle Island x2
Turtle Beach x2
The Pinnacles
A simple straight forward attack deck. Build an army and attack using Blood and Thunder to pump it up and avoid a lot of redirection / damage reduction denial. In this tournament, I avoided redirection from Devil's Mountain, and damage reduction from Diamond Beach and Puzzle Garden. About half the games I have won with this deck have been with the Thunder Bird with Butterfly Armor. I really like that this deck lends itself to the out of faction Faceoff events.
Monday, August 16, 2010
Gen Con 2010 Comrades in Arms
Saturday night was the Comrades in Arms tournament. To me this was a fun, relaxed event. I am interested in the deck designs and designator choices. I choose an old standby Monkey deck. I wanted to try Beast but the card pool is too small (Alpha Beast, Beta Beast, Gamma Beast, Paradox Beast, Jigsaw Beast, Roar of the Beast, and Tomb of the Beast) with some marginal cards. Nine people showed up for the tournament, which had four rounds. So everyone played everyone once.
First round was Braz and John Wengler. Braz was playing his Paradox deck from Origins, and John was playing a Darkness deck, which he had played earlier in the World Championship. At one point, John attacked me to the right to try to get a vulnerable site. Braz then Discerning Fired and had I wide open board. John and I couldn't muster a defense. Braz won.
Second round, I played John Monnett and Josh Kronengold. John had a gun deck, and Josh had a Pawn deck, which I think was the most unique designator in the event. I came out hard and fast and was able to overwhelm them. When Josh got his Stand Together in play, it became more difficult, but I still pulled it off. Two Buffalo Soldiers helped keep the Monkey horde safe in this game.
Third round, I played Tim Lindon and Jeremy Dale. Tim's deck I think was a Rebel deck and Jeremy had a Student Deck. Again, the Monkey horde was able to overwhelm the opposition and claim victory. I am foggy on the specifics of the the game, however.
Final round, I faced off against Red and Daniel. It turned out that Red was the only other player with two wins going into this round. So in a way, this game was a true final unless Daniel won. Red was playing a Fire deck, and Daniel had a Secret Deck. This was a long game with lots of sites (mostly mine) being burned. In the end, time was called just after I played Potlatch to get enough power to launch an attack against Daniel. When the points were tabulated, Red came in first for the tournament, Josh sneaked into second, and I was third by a single game point. If I hadn't played Potlatch, I would have been second. Oh well, it was still a fun tournament.
Deck Eunuch Monkeys
Foundation (11)
Big Macaque Attack x5
Marmojet x5
Rebel Without a Cause
Characters (12)
Brass Monkey x2
Funkey Monkey x2
Furious George vPAP
Gorilla Fighter x2
Buffalo Soldier x2
Orango Tank
Wild Gorillas
Monkey Pirates
Events (18)
"There's Always One More" x4
Close Call
The Ape is Loose! x2
Who's the Monkey Now? x3
IKTV Special Report
Scrounging x5
Potlatch x2
State (1)
Single Action Devolver
Edges (2)
Mo' Monkeys, Mo' Problems
Payback Time
Sites (3)
Ape City
Bomb Factory
Genocide Lounge
FSS (13)
Eagle Mountain x4
Monkey House x3
Proving Ground x5
Whirlpool of Blood
This deck is simple play monkeys and attack. Use Proving Grounds to pump out the two cost Monkeys. Generate power through Monkey House, Scrounging, and non-FSS sites. Recycle Monkeys with There's Always One More. Worst case is you get a Marmojet or a Buffalo Soldier, either of which will help the Macaques. For the CiA tournament I subbed in 2 extra Who's the Monkey Now? for Close Calls. Discerning Fires can wreak this deck by taking out monkeys or Proving Grounds.
First round was Braz and John Wengler. Braz was playing his Paradox deck from Origins, and John was playing a Darkness deck, which he had played earlier in the World Championship. At one point, John attacked me to the right to try to get a vulnerable site. Braz then Discerning Fired and had I wide open board. John and I couldn't muster a defense. Braz won.
Second round, I played John Monnett and Josh Kronengold. John had a gun deck, and Josh had a Pawn deck, which I think was the most unique designator in the event. I came out hard and fast and was able to overwhelm them. When Josh got his Stand Together in play, it became more difficult, but I still pulled it off. Two Buffalo Soldiers helped keep the Monkey horde safe in this game.
Third round, I played Tim Lindon and Jeremy Dale. Tim's deck I think was a Rebel deck and Jeremy had a Student Deck. Again, the Monkey horde was able to overwhelm the opposition and claim victory. I am foggy on the specifics of the the game, however.
Final round, I faced off against Red and Daniel. It turned out that Red was the only other player with two wins going into this round. So in a way, this game was a true final unless Daniel won. Red was playing a Fire deck, and Daniel had a Secret Deck. This was a long game with lots of sites (mostly mine) being burned. In the end, time was called just after I played Potlatch to get enough power to launch an attack against Daniel. When the points were tabulated, Red came in first for the tournament, Josh sneaked into second, and I was third by a single game point. If I hadn't played Potlatch, I would have been second. Oh well, it was still a fun tournament.
Deck Eunuch Monkeys
Foundation (11)
Big Macaque Attack x5
Marmojet x5
Rebel Without a Cause
Characters (12)
Brass Monkey x2
Funkey Monkey x2
Furious George vPAP
Gorilla Fighter x2
Buffalo Soldier x2
Orango Tank
Wild Gorillas
Monkey Pirates
Events (18)
"There's Always One More" x4
Close Call
The Ape is Loose! x2
Who's the Monkey Now? x3
IKTV Special Report
Scrounging x5
Potlatch x2
State (1)
Single Action Devolver
Edges (2)
Mo' Monkeys, Mo' Problems
Payback Time
Sites (3)
Ape City
Bomb Factory
Genocide Lounge
FSS (13)
Eagle Mountain x4
Monkey House x3
Proving Ground x5
Whirlpool of Blood
This deck is simple play monkeys and attack. Use Proving Grounds to pump out the two cost Monkeys. Generate power through Monkey House, Scrounging, and non-FSS sites. Recycle Monkeys with There's Always One More. Worst case is you get a Marmojet or a Buffalo Soldier, either of which will help the Macaques. For the CiA tournament I subbed in 2 extra Who's the Monkey Now? for Close Calls. Discerning Fires can wreak this deck by taking out monkeys or Proving Grounds.
Gen Con 2010 World Championship
Saturday was the Final Brawl World Championship. I felt woefully under prepared for this event. Leading up to Gen Con, most of my decks had been greatly modified to try out Empire of Evil cards, and none of them were well tuned. I was working on Lotus recycling deck ideas (Hopping Vampire with or without Mysterious Return, or Unholy Legionaries with Dragon Throne) but nothing seemed like a solid build. I finally decided to go back to an old standby - Yakuza Enforcers and Final Brawls with a few updates. Again, the deck is not well tuned, but the basic concept is simple and simple to play.
First round was against Robert Stetler and Greg Zimmerman. I got off to a good start and wrapped this up quickly. Robert was quite upset when he found out that Sword of the Master cancelled the fighting bonuses his Twelve Thousand Skulls put on Feng Kan. Then when is cancelled the Escalation bonus, it added insult to injury. I ended up with a 10-Fighting Hacker going for the win.
Second round was against Willow and Braz. Willow was playing her Ballad of Jade Willow deck. I warned Braz not to burn any of her sites or a free Jade Willow would come flying out of her hand. We were able to make her pay full price for Jade Willow, but we couldn't quite put stop Jade Willow from dominating the rest of the game. Willow won the round.
The third and fourth round games I was able to win to lock a seat in the final. The other finalists were Julian Leighton playing Eating Brains in the Service of the Lotus deck, Tim Lindon playing a Morse Code Poet deck, and Mike Lansinski playing a Monarch deck.
I got a quick burn with two Redeemed Gunmen taking Mike's front row turned site. I burned for victory, which was a mistake. I really should have burned for power, which I needed over the next couple turns. Julian build up a formidable army of undead and vampires. He was taking Tim's battleground sites to fund his army. Tim played a long site structure of big FSS (The Great Wall), Hall of Portals, and battleground sites. In front, he had up to three Morse Code Poets. Mike was having a hard time getting started. I don't think he ever quite got back from my taking his site.
During one of Tim's attacks, which I believe was an early attempt for the win, Julian asked for help stopping it. I foolishly mentioned that I had Final Brawls available. Julian then Tortured Memories the Poet to stop the attack. I believe Julian then spent part of the rest of the game trying to draw out the Brawls. Because most of his characters were four fighting or lower, the Brawls potentially could devastate his position. On his last turn he attacked me to the right. I had seized his Death Ring earlier and he claimed he was coming back for it. No one intercepted. At the last minute, he revealed and turned an Endless Corridor to switch my back row unrevealed FSS with the Death Ring which now made this a winning attack. I still sat on the Brawls. He hit for 7 and left the Disco with 1 body left. Tim when next. He took my damaged Disco and then launched the winning attack. When I tried to Brawl (twice), he had two Delay the Inevitables to save his attackers and win the game.
Looking back I made several mistakes that I remember (I'm sure there are more that I don't)
1) Burning for victory rather than power when I took the early site. This would have funded at least one hitter and given me some sustainable forward momentum.
2) Revealing that I had Final Brawls in my hand. Unfortunately between when I spoke up and the final turn of the game, I did not draw any additional ones or Equal-Opportunity Butt-Kicking.
3) Not playing the Brawls earlier. There were a couple opportunities (When Julian started a Face-Off with Lin when I played her, when Julian played Sword of the Master on a Hopping Vampire before attacking the Death Ring, when Julian attacked the Death Ring) that could have been more advantageous.
Ah well, live and learn.
Deck - Last Man Standing (57):
Foundation (11)
Brave Villagers x5
Redeemed Gunman x3
Hacker x3
Characters (10)
Yakuza Enforcer x5
Lin
Marisol
Big Bruiser x2
The Spirit of Kongxiangsi
Events (20)
Final Brawl x5
Equal Opportunity Butt-Kicking x4
Escalation x3
Dirk Wiseley's Gambit x3
Never Surrender
Ashes of the Fallen
Is That All You Got x2
Kiii-YAAAH!
State (1)
Sword of the Master
Edge (2)
Pony Express x2
FSS (13)
Sacred Heart Hospital x2
Whirlpool of Blood
Temple of the Angry Spirits
Festival Circle x2
LaGrange Four
Gambling House
Disco
Ancient Stone Arch
Cave Network x3
A somewhat updated version of an old deck. The basic core is play Yakuza Enforcers and Brawl/Kick-Butt as much as possible to keep other characters off the board. One new combo that I like in particular is Escalation with Sword of the Master. My character's fighting is doubled until the end of the attack and you get nothing.
First round was against Robert Stetler and Greg Zimmerman. I got off to a good start and wrapped this up quickly. Robert was quite upset when he found out that Sword of the Master cancelled the fighting bonuses his Twelve Thousand Skulls put on Feng Kan. Then when is cancelled the Escalation bonus, it added insult to injury. I ended up with a 10-Fighting Hacker going for the win.
Second round was against Willow and Braz. Willow was playing her Ballad of Jade Willow deck. I warned Braz not to burn any of her sites or a free Jade Willow would come flying out of her hand. We were able to make her pay full price for Jade Willow, but we couldn't quite put stop Jade Willow from dominating the rest of the game. Willow won the round.
The third and fourth round games I was able to win to lock a seat in the final. The other finalists were Julian Leighton playing Eating Brains in the Service of the Lotus deck, Tim Lindon playing a Morse Code Poet deck, and Mike Lansinski playing a Monarch deck.
I got a quick burn with two Redeemed Gunmen taking Mike's front row turned site. I burned for victory, which was a mistake. I really should have burned for power, which I needed over the next couple turns. Julian build up a formidable army of undead and vampires. He was taking Tim's battleground sites to fund his army. Tim played a long site structure of big FSS (The Great Wall), Hall of Portals, and battleground sites. In front, he had up to three Morse Code Poets. Mike was having a hard time getting started. I don't think he ever quite got back from my taking his site.
During one of Tim's attacks, which I believe was an early attempt for the win, Julian asked for help stopping it. I foolishly mentioned that I had Final Brawls available. Julian then Tortured Memories the Poet to stop the attack. I believe Julian then spent part of the rest of the game trying to draw out the Brawls. Because most of his characters were four fighting or lower, the Brawls potentially could devastate his position. On his last turn he attacked me to the right. I had seized his Death Ring earlier and he claimed he was coming back for it. No one intercepted. At the last minute, he revealed and turned an Endless Corridor to switch my back row unrevealed FSS with the Death Ring which now made this a winning attack. I still sat on the Brawls. He hit for 7 and left the Disco with 1 body left. Tim when next. He took my damaged Disco and then launched the winning attack. When I tried to Brawl (twice), he had two Delay the Inevitables to save his attackers and win the game.
Looking back I made several mistakes that I remember (I'm sure there are more that I don't)
1) Burning for victory rather than power when I took the early site. This would have funded at least one hitter and given me some sustainable forward momentum.
2) Revealing that I had Final Brawls in my hand. Unfortunately between when I spoke up and the final turn of the game, I did not draw any additional ones or Equal-Opportunity Butt-Kicking.
3) Not playing the Brawls earlier. There were a couple opportunities (When Julian started a Face-Off with Lin when I played her, when Julian played Sword of the Master on a Hopping Vampire before attacking the Death Ring, when Julian attacked the Death Ring) that could have been more advantageous.
Ah well, live and learn.
Deck - Last Man Standing (57):
Foundation (11)
Brave Villagers x5
Redeemed Gunman x3
Hacker x3
Characters (10)
Yakuza Enforcer x5
Lin
Marisol
Big Bruiser x2
The Spirit of Kongxiangsi
Events (20)
Final Brawl x5
Equal Opportunity Butt-Kicking x4
Escalation x3
Dirk Wiseley's Gambit x3
Never Surrender
Ashes of the Fallen
Is That All You Got x2
Kiii-YAAAH!
State (1)
Sword of the Master
Edge (2)
Pony Express x2
FSS (13)
Sacred Heart Hospital x2
Whirlpool of Blood
Temple of the Angry Spirits
Festival Circle x2
LaGrange Four
Gambling House
Disco
Ancient Stone Arch
Cave Network x3
A somewhat updated version of an old deck. The basic core is play Yakuza Enforcers and Brawl/Kick-Butt as much as possible to keep other characters off the board. One new combo that I like in particular is Escalation with Sword of the Master. My character's fighting is doubled until the end of the attack and you get nothing.
Gen Con 2010 New Heroes
Friday night was New Heroes. I was here to defend my victory from last year. I fell into the alluring trap of trying to play a Syndicate deck as they look like they have even footing with all the other factions in this format. I, however, think the Ascended with all of the additional power generation available and Shadowy Mentor are the faction to beat. Mars Program Executive looks to be the key to ramp up the power with the Syndicate at this point.
Games were three-player games (Daniel is particularly fond of 3-player for conventions as fewer games go to time). My first round was against two other Syndicate decks. John Merrill ended building an unassailable fortress of Great Walls backed by The Steam Laundry Company. From here he was able to fight to victory.
I don't remember the other rounds well. John Wengler was playing Ascended. Daniel was playing Hand. Greg Zimmerman was playing Ascended/Jammers. A few people were playing Monarchs or Monarch / Lotus. Overall though Syndicate was the most popular faction. Purists and Dragons were absent from the tournament as best as I can recall. I believe John Merrill went on to win the event, but I'm not sure.
My Syndicate Deck:
Foundation (13)
Mars Colonist x5
Triad Punks x5
Street Racers x3
Characters (19)
Mars Program Executive x4
Street Doc
Rei Okamoto
Tattooed Man x2
Nihilist x2
Song, the Little Dragon
Akamatsu Mitsusuke
Devendra Chalal
Hiroshi Kata
Xu Mei, the Dragon
Salaryman
Zero-G Sumo
Jessica Ng
Hirake Kazuko
Events (11)
Data Theft
Reprogramming x5
Smoke and Mirrors
The Price of Progress
Catching Bullets
Inconvenient Debt
Data Mining
States (4)
Synchronic Beam Emitter
Hyper Alloy Blade
The Hegemeister
Platinum Upgrade
Edge (1)
Corporate Warfare
Sites (2)
Cybermod Parlor
The Wireless
FSS (13)
LaGrange Four
Moon Base
Hydroponic Garden
Rainforest Ruins
Mah-Jongg Parlor
Ancient Stone Arch
Martyr's Tomb
The Iron Palace
University Library
Endless Corridor
Bamboo Forest x3
The deck really needs a 5th Mars Program Exec. and another Martyr's Tomb. If you can continually recycle the execs, the power can keep on flowing. I also really like the Reprogramming in this format because almost every character has some special ability that is worth canceling. The best cancel I had in the tournament was Shao the Killer, which allowed my winning attack through. Platinum Upgrades also paid the bills in this tournament. Some people were questioning if this state is overpowered. For me it often made a Mars Exec into an impromptu hitter. Cost 5 for 6 fighting with toughness 3 is not over the curve. (But I suppose if you discount the Exec by the 3 power he paid back, it was cost 2 for 6F with Toughness 3. I think this points more to the power of the Exec than the Upgrade.)
Games were three-player games (Daniel is particularly fond of 3-player for conventions as fewer games go to time). My first round was against two other Syndicate decks. John Merrill ended building an unassailable fortress of Great Walls backed by The Steam Laundry Company. From here he was able to fight to victory.
I don't remember the other rounds well. John Wengler was playing Ascended. Daniel was playing Hand. Greg Zimmerman was playing Ascended/Jammers. A few people were playing Monarchs or Monarch / Lotus. Overall though Syndicate was the most popular faction. Purists and Dragons were absent from the tournament as best as I can recall. I believe John Merrill went on to win the event, but I'm not sure.
My Syndicate Deck:
Foundation (13)
Mars Colonist x5
Triad Punks x5
Street Racers x3
Characters (19)
Mars Program Executive x4
Street Doc
Rei Okamoto
Tattooed Man x2
Nihilist x2
Song, the Little Dragon
Akamatsu Mitsusuke
Devendra Chalal
Hiroshi Kata
Xu Mei, the Dragon
Salaryman
Zero-G Sumo
Jessica Ng
Hirake Kazuko
Events (11)
Data Theft
Reprogramming x5
Smoke and Mirrors
The Price of Progress
Catching Bullets
Inconvenient Debt
Data Mining
States (4)
Synchronic Beam Emitter
Hyper Alloy Blade
The Hegemeister
Platinum Upgrade
Edge (1)
Corporate Warfare
Sites (2)
Cybermod Parlor
The Wireless
FSS (13)
LaGrange Four
Moon Base
Hydroponic Garden
Rainforest Ruins
Mah-Jongg Parlor
Ancient Stone Arch
Martyr's Tomb
The Iron Palace
University Library
Endless Corridor
Bamboo Forest x3
The deck really needs a 5th Mars Program Exec. and another Martyr's Tomb. If you can continually recycle the execs, the power can keep on flowing. I also really like the Reprogramming in this format because almost every character has some special ability that is worth canceling. The best cancel I had in the tournament was Shao the Killer, which allowed my winning attack through. Platinum Upgrades also paid the bills in this tournament. Some people were questioning if this state is overpowered. For me it often made a Mars Exec into an impromptu hitter. Cost 5 for 6 fighting with toughness 3 is not over the curve. (But I suppose if you discount the Exec by the 3 power he paid back, it was cost 2 for 6F with Toughness 3. I think this points more to the power of the Exec than the Upgrade.)
Gen Con 2010 Draft
Friday morning was the draft event. Eighteen players showed up to draft from Six Guns & Shurikens, Critical Shift, and Empire of Evil. Seven boosters were drafted with two foundation pods and one Feng Shui pod being provided after the draft. The structure of the draft was somewhat disappointing. We drafted in groups of three, which meant you were sure to get stuck with lots of cards out of the main factions you were drafting. You would also see a much smaller card pool from which to draft. I would have preferred to draft in groups of six. The second problem was that the tournament rounds were setup as two separate groups of nine players. So the nine players of group A never played against the nine players of group B. It gave the feeling that even though we could not play all other players, you could not control your destiny. At least there were enough players within each group so that you never played against the same opponent more than once. A more personal annoyance was that the first round of games was with the same three people with whom you drafted. You pretty much knew what you were in for the first round. In draft I expect a greater element of surprise.
I drafted Jammer / Hand and when I was done found that I had good amount of Architect as well.
Draft Deck:
Foundation (11):
Kamikaze Cosmonauts
Suicide Squad
Edge Warrior x2
Mad Scientist x2 (I am fuzzy on this foundation, It's listed to be in Pods but I don't remember)
Rebel without a Cause
Dump Warrior x2
Willow Warriors
Celestials
Characters (10):
Dr. Quentin Higginsbotham
Tunnel King
Turing Machine
Potemkin's Brigade
Andy Di
Monkey Pirates
Cyborg Mermaid
Johnny Amok
Jayne Insane
Shihong
Events (9):
Isothermal Zodiac x2
Out of the Barrel x3
Ape Shall Kill Ape
Auspicious Thermite
The Willow Bends... x2
States (7):
Fingertip Razors
Buzzsaw Arm
Explosive Motorcycle
Steam-Powered Tricycle
Single-Action Devolver
Shurikens
Simple Paper Fan
Sites (2):
Hot Zone
Mountain Monastery
FSS(10):
Ancient Stone Arch
University Library
Forgotten Temple
Moon Base
Mirrored Lake
Arctic Fortress
Endless Corridor
Grove of Willows
Family Home
Blessed Orchard
I only won one of the four round I played in. The first round Josh Shadowy Mentored my Turing Machine (which I should have seen coming). After that he was able to push ahead to win. The second round, I got SEVEN power from an attack on my Grove of Willows. Some how, I squandered that advantage, and failed to win. The third round Shihong attacked as time was called an just took the last site needed for the win. I am drawing a complete blank on the fourth and final round.
I drafted Jammer / Hand and when I was done found that I had good amount of Architect as well.
Draft Deck:
Foundation (11):
Kamikaze Cosmonauts
Suicide Squad
Edge Warrior x2
Mad Scientist x2 (I am fuzzy on this foundation, It's listed to be in Pods but I don't remember)
Rebel without a Cause
Dump Warrior x2
Willow Warriors
Celestials
Characters (10):
Dr. Quentin Higginsbotham
Tunnel King
Turing Machine
Potemkin's Brigade
Andy Di
Monkey Pirates
Cyborg Mermaid
Johnny Amok
Jayne Insane
Shihong
Events (9):
Isothermal Zodiac x2
Out of the Barrel x3
Ape Shall Kill Ape
Auspicious Thermite
The Willow Bends... x2
States (7):
Fingertip Razors
Buzzsaw Arm
Explosive Motorcycle
Steam-Powered Tricycle
Single-Action Devolver
Shurikens
Simple Paper Fan
Sites (2):
Hot Zone
Mountain Monastery
FSS(10):
Ancient Stone Arch
University Library
Forgotten Temple
Moon Base
Mirrored Lake
Arctic Fortress
Endless Corridor
Grove of Willows
Family Home
Blessed Orchard
I only won one of the four round I played in. The first round Josh Shadowy Mentored my Turing Machine (which I should have seen coming). After that he was able to push ahead to win. The second round, I got SEVEN power from an attack on my Grove of Willows. Some how, I squandered that advantage, and failed to win. The third round Shihong attacked as time was called an just took the last site needed for the win. I am drawing a complete blank on the fourth and final round.
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