Gencon Saturday Tournament Report

by Adam Molnar

Playtesting

Unlike Lord of the Rings, I'd been playtesting for .hack Worlds since just after Comic-Con, as I could; an hour here, an hour there. I know I'm not the best deckbuilder around, and I'm alone, so that worried me. Still, I went through most of the decks: Crazy PC, Blademaster/Fire, Axeman/Gorre, Axeman/Gomora, Kite's Bracelet, Plant Slum. And I reached a bad situation - there was no "Best Deck". Crazy PC won most matchups, but had serious trouble with Plant Slum decks that splashed Mimiru and Recorder. With six or seven ways to block Guardians, and lots of monsters that beat 1 strength PCs, Crazy PC lost about two-thirds of the time. So I modified the PC deck, with 2 Tsukasa's Guardians, then Wiseman 2.0 (a painful cost, but more playable than Helba, the other 2 strength Wavemaster). Finally, I removed two monsters for pumps; PhaRai Kruz gives a +4, letting me draw at +2 or +3. At worst, it would trade one card play for one card play, letting me extend the game and dig through my deck. With Annri, though, I could hide it for free, stopping one attack with a free card and gaining a Tempo. Plus, I could use it to counter the reward Tempo from Thousand Trees. (A Tempo, as introduced by Gregory Austin, is shorthand for a card play or a card destruction. In .hack, you normally get one card play and one Tempo per turn. Good cards and good decks break that, which is the fundamental way to win.) I also swapped Nega Guardians for Spin Figures, to let me have destiny 5 for Mistral and targeted destruction. That got the matchup to almost 50/50, though I knew I weakened the mirror match and some others.

I'll put my other two decks on the Deck Designs board: Plant Slum and Axemen/Gomora. I had a Roshambo (rock-paper-scissors): Plant Slum beat Crazy PC, which beat Axemen/Gomora, which beat Plant Slum. This became my conundrum for the whirlpool spa. In the end, I decided to recall the basic rule - "Play the Broken Card!" Since that is Sphinx Menhir (Three PC Tempos, plus generally a point), I went with my modified Crazy PC. That list is on the Gencon board.

Deck Title and Pre-tourney Stuff

So, what about that deck title? Given last year's good luck with Janelle, it was time for her again. I hadn't used her name all year. I asked her for ideas a week or so ago, but she didn't offer a suggestion. Oh; here's a picture of Janelle and I from my 30th birthday party in January. You can click for a larger image, including my party hat.

Judge Mike Meunier wondered where I get the titles, so here goes. I chose "Janelle with the Gift at the End of the WORLD." Like last year, it has an apocalyptic theme. It signifies a trinity of Ends, or at least declines. The first is the World of .hack; with no more sets, and tourney counts decreasing, and Decipher's financial woes, I'm not sure if there will be another World Championship. The second is my decline in card gaming activity, as my final year of doctoral studies will be difficult. The third is that Janelle is starting the doctoral program at Emory, in Atlanta, and so our friendship will likely decline. As for the Gift, there are private and public parts. The public reference is Buffy. Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a favorite show of myself and Tucker, one of my normal teammates. The final episode of the fifth season is "The Gift". It is melancholy, sad, and downright spectacular cinema. In it, there's a really relevant quote from Spike, responding to Buffy about protecting Dawn: "'Til the end of the world... even if that happens to be tonight."

Oh yes, the costume. I decided that if I was to play anime, I would be an anime hero. That meant bright colors. So I went with the red Star shirt, from Homestar Runner, and hair to match. One person even correctly noticed that I touched up my face a little, to show the anger running from the shirt through my head. I was trying to make my eyes big, like the anime, and scream a lot. That didn't work so well, but I did make a decent zombie.

There are 18 participants, about one-third of last year. Nevertheless, I will point out that this is more than Megaman or WARS. Mike decides to stick with the stated 6 rounds, plus a Top 2 Final Confrontation; I'm pleased with this. I am displeased at the fact that I'm level 9. Because the tourneys were never listed by Decipher, the Comic-Con results were not entered, else I would have another level. Ten is a nice round number, and would let me use two of each Level Up. At the time, I didn't think it would have other consequences ... (Cue ominous music.)

Round 1: Greg, Long Arm Net Slum

This is a matchup neither of us want, two Chicagoland players in Round 1. Furthermore, it's a matchup of the only two returning Top 8 players from last year. I know his deck, and he mine, as we checked lists together beforehand. In Game 1, he goes first and rolls. Game 2 is also looking bad, as Greg scores a Black Death (!) and I am down 5-2, but with decent board position. I can play Phoenix Queen, which not only gets me to 5-4, but lets me play Metal Emperor, sacrificing a hidden Metal Emperor, then playing that card. He doesn't have a Net Slum or the PC, so he scores his sixth point. I can then use another Metal Emperor to pull the two and win 7-6. In Game 3, down 5-1, I must Mu Guardian to slow down the game. I then get Wiseman 2.0 down, and he does his job - he wins two fights! Phoenix Queen comes to my rescue again at 4-4, making it 6-4 and letting me replay a pump and Mistral. With that, I can beat basically anything, and I do, then Aurora Feather for the win. That was hectic. Also, our match took 33 minutes, which was the longest of round 1. I miss Scorpioid already.

Round 2: Scott, No PC Darkness Swarm

Scott is doc8466 on the boards, and trades me the last two cards I need for my full playset in exchange for my Astro Prince (since I have four from Comic-Con). He is Level 10, and surprised that I'm so low, but he gets to go first. I didn't test Darkness Swarm, because it's slower than Plant Slum and I expected people to just choose the better option. Unfortunately, it attacks PCs, my source of Tempo advantage, and it's still faster than me. I have to choose my plays carefully, often leaving PCs logged out, and trying desparately to keep Mimiru on the table as much as possible. Game 1 takes 22 minutes, as my Guardian and replaying pumps help me win fights. I get down to three cards in my draw deck, but he scores his seventh point the turn before I can. Game 2 is perhaps the best game I have ever played. He scores 12 monsters, while I score 5. But I destroy or force sacrifice six of his scored points, and score a Phoenix Queen. I suspect that Scott regrets not running Mimiru when I can deck myself at 6-6. Again, this takes about 20 minutes, so we have roughly 8 minutes for Game 3. To my great relief, I finally get a good draw with Elk and Annri early, plus an early Phoenix Queen. Right before time, I can play Spin Figure and sweep his board. At time, I'm up 5-2, with Elk 2.0 as well, while he just has two scored monsters. We both agree I had board control and would win, making the draw the proper result. Scott is absolutely amazed, as am I. I could use a cigarette, and I don't smoke. At least I'm playing like a Champion. The draw is not great, though, because 4-1-1 is trouble, but at least it's not a loss.

Round 3: Sean, Long Arms / Birds

Sean is from Comic-Con, and I'm pleasantly surprised to see him in Indianapolis. He's not running Axewall, thankfully, because in Game 1 I'm sort of on autopilot after 50 minutes of pain. I wake up when he's up 5-4, realize I have to Mu Guardian to avoid a potential Phoenix Queen win, and properly do so. I can then get out at 7-4. In Game 2, my deck finally functions well, and I win 7-2. Even better, I'm not last to finish, so I can take a break.

Round 4: Gavin, Darkness Swarm with Mimiru

Gavin is Level 10. I curse Decipher again. Also, his match in Round 2 was next to Scott and I. His match took about 6 minutes, but he could glance and see how hard I was working. As such, he plays a little more conservatively, which is the right call - patience is good. Game 1 is his 7-3, as I don't draw well. Game 2 I win one or two fights. Plus, he makes a mistake, using Franken to sacrifice a wounder to take out my PC instead of Death Head to reuse a Mu Guardian reward. The one extra card I can keep, a scored monster, is the difference as I win 7-6. In Game 3, he plays Mimiru early, then gambles with Specter. I win with Elk 2.0 and have board control. I get ahead 6-4, but in the process played a Sphinx Menhir with Kazu so he got Mimiru back. I have Mimiru in play, one hidden card, and one logged out PC (Kazu). If I can draw a Metal Emperor, Mu Guardian, or Sphinx Menhir, I win. Counting a Mailer play, I get four card draws, but can topdeck none of my outs. I have Spin Figure, which would reset things, but Mimiru blocks that. So I go down 7-6, and am now 2-1-1, in sixth place.

Round 5: Jonathan, Net Slum with Natsume

Jonathan is Level 9, part of the same Maryland crew as Gavin and Scott. Of course, I lose the destiny cut I shouldn't have to make. On the brink of elimination, I know this will be another nailbiter at best. In Game 1, he gets to 5 points quickly. I stabilize the board with Elk, Tsukasa's Guardian, and pump, but he has Net Slum. In Game 2, going first, I also get a good draw. Even two consecutive two-point Slums for him (to my zero) aren't enough and I win 7-6. Game 3 is classic. He loses 2 Net Slum early to destiny draws, and I've mostly stabilized the board. But he scored a Magatumkuro making my life harder. I made a mistake, using a pump at the wrong time and needlessly giving him a point. Later, I use a golem to take out two points, and I have Annri and Elk on the board. Plus I get lucky and win some fights. At some point, I realize I have to get to the endgame, and start rolling through my deck. Here's the key situation: I am ahead 6-4, but he has Magatumkuro, and he does not have two monsters of the same element. I draw and have two cards left in my deck. My hand contains Spin Figure, Phoenix Queen, Elk 2.0, and two other PCs. I have Mimiru on the board. He has healthy Natsume 2.0. I don't know if he has Net Slum in hand. He is not playing Thousand Trees or Hungry Grass. Plus, he's playing Moonlighter instead of Baby Wyrm. As Phil Gordon might say, how would you play it?

The correct play is to hide Spin Figure. If he doesn't have Net Slum, hiding either Phoenix Queen or Spin Figure will work. Jonathan will attack, and I defend to get to one card. Winning the fight means I win 6-4. Losing makes me go to 6-5, then I draw and win. I need to hide an elemental monster because of Moonlighter. On the other hand, if he has Net Slum, I must hide Spin Figure. Assuming he goes 2-0 in Net Slum (a good assumption), it's 6-6. On my next turn, I must attack, else he attacks on his turn and I can do no better than draw. But I can't use Spin Figure, because I have to sac three monsters to get it in play, and thus the best I can do is draw 4-4. Plus, if he thinks not to defend, he can counter-attack and win 5-4. There are clean outs in my deck - Mu Guardian means I win 6-5, and Metal Emperor attacking at even might win, but not Sphinx Menhir because I can't play Elk. I give myself more outs with Phoenix Queen, because then any PC lets me attack at +1 and possibly win. (And yes, I thought of these things before making the correct play.)

Jonathan has the Net Slum, and I again lose 2-0. To make things worse, he scores another Magatumkuro. Thus it's 6-6. I topdeck ... a PC! I slam down Phoenix Queen. My final card is Sphinx Menhir, so I win Game 3 8-6, on a deckout. He is rather stunned, as the picture shows.

Round 6: Chris, Heavy Blade / Earth Sac

I'm still alive at 3-1-1. Gregory Austin at 5-0 is playing Gavin at 4-1. Scott and I are 3-1-1. I must win, Mr. Austin must win, and either Scott must not win or tiebreakers need to work. So I do my part. Chris is a dAgent from Iowa. In Game 1, we both draw poorly. Thankfully, his deck is slow, and I know it. He uses Dungeon Search to knock out a couple of my monsters. Eventually I get out Elk and Annri and start running through the deck. I deck out, winning 5-1. In Game 2, Chris gets visibly frustrated at his draw, having to hide three cards early. Even my average draw is enough, as I get ahead 4-0 and it's academic from there.

Final Results

Scott won his match before I finished, so that wasn't good. But Gregory defeats Gavin; I'm still alive. Mike is using the computer to enter results, so I grab a sheet of paper and start looking at points. Because Scott lost to Gregory, and I did not, things don't look so good. Even with a few games still outstanding, the result is known. I suggest "why not have a Top 3, or Top 4"? But the rules were stated clearly, and I commend Mike for sticking to them. In the end, Scott's SOS is 58 and mine is 49. Thus, I'm done. It sucks that the play of my opponents causes me to lose the chance to defend my title, but as I said, "If I won the games I wouldn't need the tiebreakers."

Prizes are awarded; I decline a Kaochin shirt but take a shiny foil Isolation sheet and the 125 fan dollars. But where's the trophy? I would gladly have taken 50 less fan dollars to have a nice trophy, like last year. This is a big mistake on Decipher's part. Sure, getting another half box of cards is good, but it doesn't have permanence. It doesn't look pretty on a shelf. That's another shame.

After awards are given out, Gregory and Scott sit down for the final confrontation. Mike table-judges and I take play by play, which appears on this page. Afterwards, I do some LotR trading to complete my Black Rider playset and get 3 cards away from Reflections, eat dinner (the chicken fingers basket from the food court is the best value at the Convention Center), and wait around for the dAgent event. I get my Bloodlines, play my one mandatory game, and then head back to the Fairfield Inn. One problem with temporary dye is that it takes 20 minutes to wash out. Sunday, I sleep late, then head back to the center to wander around the dealer hall. There isn't much exciting; most sadly, there are no booth girls or belly dancers. I put a few pictures on the photos page nevertheless.

My Happy Ending

It's Wednesday night as I type these words, and I'm a little worried that my melancholy has been overstated. It's not fun to get eliminated because my opponents didn't win enough games. Then, the next day, have it happen again. That's certainly less enjoyable than last year. It's less fun than my trip to San Diego, with the scenery and the ocean and stuff. But let's face it; it's pretty minor. I could be getting shot at in Iraq because of all those "WMD". I could be nervous in the hospital, because my father had a heart attack. I could be dealing with the aftermath of a priest who had sex with an 18 year old seminarian. Oh wait, one of those occurred this year.

My coworker and I had lunch yesterday. I'm over my turn-down. She's doing a lot better with her broken heart, as well. She asked about my weekend, and I was fair. I mentioned the hurt of losing on strength of schedule, but also the good times. Cashing in two events is nothing to sneeze at. Even converting fan dollars to cash at 5 to 3 (approximately the wholesale cost of cards), I made money on the trip, for the third Gencon in a row - a fact that amazed her. Thus, a good trip. I don't know if I'll be making another. I don't have a girlfriend yet, but this is the final year of my doctoral program, so I really want to bear down and graduate to where I make more than $1800 a month. So we'll see. Until next time, if there is a next time, good luck in all your journeys.

R. Adam Molnar, 24 August 2005