Comic-Con Sunday Tournament Report

by Adam Molnar

Now it's time to get down to business, the .hack national championships. I even went to bed at 12:30 to get ready for this. While swimming in the pool Saturday night, I decide to go with Blademaster/Fire. I don't think it's the best deck, but the Heavy Axeman deck needs more work. The style of play I've seen so far this weekend has been aggressive, so I want the aggro-control deck which has few bad draws. Overall, it's less powerful than Gorre and Piros, but won't fall on its face. Also, I play Fire better and it's less likely to go to long, potentially time-out games. I tweak the base build a little, since I haven't seen a lot of fields or destiny manipulation. Today's name is Minsun and the Confidence of Fire Within. Minsun is a Korean grad student in Statistics at my school. We've been helping each other this summer. I'm helping her learn the strange twists of conversational English, and she's helping me with fashion and general self-image, that confidence thing again. Speaking of fashion, I'm going clean and obvious today, with the Kite shirt and "Are you my ../ENEMY?" on the back. Here's a picture. I stopped by the Archaic comic booth again, to compliment the male twentysomething writer and illustrator on their work. The young attractive ladies talking about the comic were different, so I get another photo showing today's shirt. They're wearing wigs, so I couldn't get any tips about hair dye.

Round 1: Melody, Twin Blade / Darkness-Thunder

I played Melody on Thursday, but she said she updated her deck. And she did, and it's better. She's also a joy to play against. Unfortunately, in game 1 she gets a bad draw, I get a good draw, and it's 7-1 pretty quickly. In game 2 she goes first but mulligans, which lets me Magical Goblin. Her draw is better, and she pushes through some points with Nobanga Soul and the like. I Sled Dog a bit and win 7-1 again. Today's pictures are of my opponent and myself together. All my opponents today, and really all weekend, were quite cool.
Full Win, 1-0, 3 pts

Melody and I took about 20 minutes, and the other games take at least 20 more. So I go out and see the reenactors, the "real steel" people and Kimmy the belly dancer. I just say hi for now, since they're not demonstrating until 3. Depressingly, I find out that Kimmy is not yet 18. Sigh. I do get a picture of me and her alternate jersey. I should have gotten a haircut.

Round 2: Lynn, Wavemasters / Aliens

He's new to the Decipher room, as he didn't play Thursday or Friday. I go first. I haven't played Aliens before, which is a bit of a challenge. They refill the portal very well, but have low destiny. He's playing Razine and Fake Money to try to fix that. In game 1 I roll pretty well, destroy a couple of monsters, and win 7-2. The Inferno I added is key because it lets me pull the portal earlier. Game 2 is tougher, not least of which because he goes first and scores Napylon. I don't draw well, and he gets a 7 strength Elk 2.0 + Weapon + Guardian + Armor. I have to do things like send a Dragon Puppy alone to wound Mistral and weaken his resources. Also, I didn't see an action, which makes my Doberman Packs grunty fodder. The key battle is when he gets a 5, 4, 2, and 1 against 5 strength Balmung and 7 strength Sieg. I misplay, assigning the 5 to Balmung so he gets 8. Of course, this is why I play Ruem Spiral, and that plus a timely Magical Goblin for destiny give me the win and clear his portal. From there, I build and win 7-2 or 7-3.
Full Win, 2-0, 6 pts

Round 3: Sean, Heavy Axemen / Gorre

Sean is running the same deck as Thursday, in basic structure. He asked for ideas after our earlier match, and took some of the advice. He's Level 6 - well, 7, but doesn't have a ticket - and I go first. Magical is 1-0 and I'm off. In the first game, he plays three PCs, and I take advantage of the weaker ones to punch points through and Sled Dog his scores. Also, I know enough to cycle PCs past the first one, and play and use Ruem Spiral to slow him down. Doberman Pack is huge this game, as I keep pulling it back into hand to take away his hidden card tempos. It's a great card. I get to 6 points and wait. He wonders why, but until he gets 3 points Gorre just loses him the game on my counterattack. The Ruem Spirals let me win one or two fights. Once he gets two points I go, for a little safety, and a lot of people wind up on Kaochin. In game 2 he's smarter, starting with Subaru 3.0 directly when I can't take advantage. Then he plays no more PCs. I only play one too, and start mad grunty cycling. Subaru eventually gets to 10, so I have to build to 19-22 to score one point. Of course, that removes some of his as well, as he's having trouble finding monsters, must skip his normal play to heal Subaru once she loses, and loses a couple fights via 7 strength BiG and Ruem Spiral. I actually misplay, blocking a Sand Hill when he could have had Junichiro. Later he tells me his 2 copies are with his friend, not in his deck. Oops. I play, and cycle, and Komura, and score slowly. Two Easter Rocks get through, but I'm ahead 3-2. At the end, I start playing the endgame, grunty-cycling out my deck. I could attack with 9 monsters, but instead I draw my last card and hide a Magical Goblin for the win.
Full Win, 3-0, 9 pts

Round 4: Ben, Long Arms / Gomora-Plants

Ben has been around all weekend, but he hasn't played me until today. He says his decks haven't been good enough. He has two wins and a draw so far, making the winner of this match the National Champion. It scares him a bit. In game 1 I draw really well and get out and roll. In game 2, he correctly tries a monster rush with small plants and Gomora, but I win a even draw, Mad Grass Patch vs Sieg, and that slows him down. Eventually he sputters, and his PCs don't build quickly enough to stop me. Up 6-2, I count my deck. Chris, who's judging, and Ben wonder why. It's to make sure I count 60 to pass the deckcheck. Then I win with Skate Rat Ark against naked Crim.
Full Win, 4-0, 12 pts

I win! I win! Sean finished second at 3-1. I donated a Kite shirt, small grunty, and 25 or so rares to form most of the prize pool. Well, except a signed Helba Level Up and Newbie (I choose the Helba) and Astro Prince. I win three and trade 2 Puchi for a fourth, which means I'm now just 5 cards away from the full playset (Mimiru 2.0, Tarvos, and 3 Coma). Also, because we played just 4 rounds, the event finished at 3, and I can watch the swordfights. Kimmy and friends were not dancing, though. Sorry. You can see fight photos, along with more from the convention floor, on the photos page. There are a few good stories, like the free-hug girls, but some things have to remain for those who attended, correct? Janelle's sadly not free for dinner, so I just head to the airport to type this report and start on the Harry Potter novel. Conventionwise, it was a really good trip. San Diego is so different than Chicago, more open, more affable, and more charming. It was great to be able to attend. I hope you enjoyed the coverage, and see you at Gencon.