The Road to Worlds 2012, Week 9

by James Hoskin, Director of Organized Play

24th May 2012

This is a weekly series that aims to preview upcoming Regional tournaments, review Regional tournaments that have just taken place, highlight winning decks, interview players, and more. Last week's article was The Road to Worlds 2012, Week 8.

How can you contribute to this series? First and foremost, I am relying on results and deck lists being promptly entered into this site. I can't write about them otherwise. Other ways you can help include: taking photos, interviewing players, writing previews, and providing background information. Any other way to help the community be a part of your Regional tournament would be appreciated, too. Contact details are at the end of this article.

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Week 8 Review

Saturday 19th May		Sunday 20th May
Second Edition (Standard) Oliver's Sickbay Kurt-Weill-Strasse 41 D-06844, Dessau Germany [Results]	Second Edition (Standard) Buck Creek Township Fire Department Community Room 5809 West Airport Boulevard Greenfield, IN 46140 United States [Results]

Oliver's Sickbay: Five players participated in this Second Edition Vandros IV Regional, which was run as a round-robin event. It was a tightly contested affair, with three of the top four players in Germany fighting it out for supremacy. Sebastian Kirstein (Caretaker's Guest), playing a Romulan deck titled "Stefan's Deck", drew first blood by defeating Tobias Rausmann (garetjax), playing a Next Generation deck titled "No REM for cadets", in the first round. Following another win, Sebastian then defeated Johannes Klarhauser (Kaiser), playing an Original Series deck titled "I could have stayed home and played Diablo III instead", in round three to cement his position. To further rub salt into the wound, Sebastian leap-frogged Johannes to become the number one ranked player in Germany as a result of this game. A bye and then one further victory in round five gave Sebastian his third Regional title in five years, while Johannes was runner-up after defeating Tobias, who finished third. The two other decks played were Mirror Starfleet and Dominion / Maquis. Four deck lists and one tournament report can be found on the tournament results page.

Statistics from Oliver's Sickbay:

Total achievements awarded	5
Most achievements won	Sebastian Kirstein (Caretaker's Guest), with 3
Average achievements per player	1.0
Biggest ratings gain	Sebastian Kirstein (Caretaker's Guest), up 42 points to 1867
Average rating of all 5 players	1696

Winner	James' Prediction	Kris' Prediction
Sebastian Kirstein	Tobias Rausmann	Sebastian Kirstein

Buck Creek Township Fire Department: An attendance of 13 players saw this Qo'noS Regional become the joint-third largest Second Edition Regional this year. The local Indianapolis players were joined by a group traveling around 200 miles (330 Km) from Chicago, Illinois; and four of them earned an achievement for playing in a new Region as a result. The tournament itself comprised four rounds, so it was winner-takes-all going in to the final round. Eric Bieche (biecheer), playing a Dissident Borg deck titled "What no QUEEN minor tweak???"; and Al Schaefer (ltkettch17), playing a Starfleet deck titled "Starfleet Invades Indiana"; were both undefeated after three rounds, and contested the title on the top table in round four. Eric lost two copies of Quintessence early on, one to Al's Lustful Distraction, and another to his own Energize; which gave Al the advantage. Eric then held him off at his space mission with Tactical Disadvantage for a couple of turns to catch back up. Once the mission was complete though, Al was able to blow through two planet missions quickly thanks to Jonathan Archer (Damaged Captain) and Lorian (Displaced Descendant), for a 100-0 victory. Four players finished with just one loss. Casey Wickum (MrCub21) took second place ahead of Joel Skon (RedAlucard), both of whom played Original Series. Among the 13 decks played on the day were ten different affiliations, with none of them being played by more than two people. While most of the usual suspects were not represented, perhaps the only surprise omission was Klingon. Twelve deck lists and six tournament reports can be found on the tournament results page.

Statistics from Buck Creek Township Fire Department:

Total achievements awarded	24
Most achievements won	Carl Blackford (Blackjac), with 5
Average achievements per player	1.8
Biggest ratings gain	Eric Bieche (biecheer), up 56 points to 1498
Average rating of all 13 players	1526

Winner	James' Prediction	Kris' Prediction
Al Schaefer	Al Schaefer	Casey Wickum

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Interview

This week, Al Schaefer (ltkettch17), two-time Regional winner this year and the top-rated player in the Deep Space 9 Region, steps up to the plate.

James: Congratulations on your win. What decks were you considering playing?
Al: After playing Borg at the Illinois Regional, I decided to go back to play-testing the other decks I had at the time - primarily Klingon High Council, and Ed's Cadets. I really wanted to play High Council, but I just couldn't find a balance I was happy with. Ed's Cadets were extremely solid and easy to play, but I just can't bring myself to play Federation right now. I had made a copy of Soren Ramme Nielsen's Starfleet deck from the London Regional. Michal Moskop was running Starfleet in Illinois, and it looked like my usual dilemma pile wasn't prepared for his deck. After several rounds of play-testing, it was easily the most powerful against the dilemma piles I expected to face in Indiana.

James: What decks did you expect to face?
Al: I expected to see Dissident Borg, Original Series, Cadets, Damaged Starfleet, Voyager and maybe a Donatra build as well.

James: Did you make any changes to Soren's build?
Al: I added Alvera Tree Ritual with the plan of shuffling my opponents' bad dilemma draws back into their pile. I feel Klingon Tea Ceremony is a powerful card that can slow down a Borg deck that gets a good draw and tries to take advantage of multiple copies of Quintessence in play. I also swapped out a Columbia for an Enterprise (Damaged Starship). Unfortunately, one of the changes I made removed a copy of Lustful Distraction, which is a very useful interrupt. The dilemma pile is completely different. I had a dilemma pile that I typically use in decks that have 40-point missions that worked seamlessly with Soren's draw deck. It's smaller than most of my dilemma piles at 32 cards, but utilizes 6-costers like Unfair Terms and Slightly Overbooked as well as Well-Prepared Defenses to stop key personnel for dilemmas like Dignitaries and Witnesses, Rogue Borg Ambush, and Breaking the Ice.

James: Can you describe how your Starfleet deck works?
Al: The deck list is here. Damaged Starfleet builds generally rely on the on the strength of Damaged Archer and Lorian to make the opponent's dilemma stacks incredibly challenging to create. Soren's build pours the pressure on by the addition of Nathan Samuels and Noble Intentions. Quickly playing multiple non-humans each turn, fuelled by additional counters scored from A Sight For Sore Eyes and At What Cost?, can leave most other decks in the dust. The toughest hurdle is completing Eliminate Sphere Network, but once that is complete you typically have enough personnel on the table to start double attempting your planet missions immediately.

James: Are there any special tricks in the deck?
Al: The Vulcan Tricorder can be used much like an interlinking drone to empty your hand to help pay for the skill gaining on D'Vela. Borg players often use interlinking multiple times to get a particular drone into their lost pile to swap in with the Queen or to power Back to Basics. The Vulcan Tricorder can be used the same way to help get past a skill based dilemma that Archer can't help with. Having Lorian and Archer on table at the same time, leading separate attempts, is also very frustrating for the opponent. If Archer's attempt fails, the opponent has to take special care not to stop Lorian or he will be placed out of play with the Future Enterprise instead and unstop Archer's entire team.

James: Who was your toughest opponent?
Al: Eric was definitely my toughest opponent. He had gotten off to a rocky start after I destroyed a Quintessence and he Energize'd a second, but he was able to stop me easily at Eliminate Sphere Network with Tactical Disadvantage. He didn't draw into any of his copies of Gorgan to continue his free stopping. After I had finished Eliminate Sphere Network, it was off to the races and I was double-attempting my planet missions. Eric had a difficult time stopping me and the game ended in a shutout.

James: How did the rest of your games play out?
Al: Incredibly well! I had excellent draws all day and never had trouble finding what I needed. I really had an ideal draw through the tournament. Casey and Joel had to play each other in round one and we were only playing four games, so I knew I wouldn't have to face both of them. Then Eric defeated Casey in round three, so I didn't have to play a game against two of the players that have had some great success so far this year.

James: Now the tournament is over, how would you improve the deck?
Al: I would definitely put the second copy of Lustful Distraction back in. The interesting choice of "shuffling" an opponent's event back into their deck, instead of just destroying it, helps get around B'Elanna Torres (Mostly Assimilated).

James: With two Regional wins under your belt, you must be feeling confident about your chances at this year's Continentals?
Al: Actually, I'm more excited about attending Iowa's Regional Championship. I won there last year and I'm looking forward to putting up a solid defense of my title. With so many strong players in Iowa and in nearby Minnesota, I'm hoping for a good turnout and another fun road-trip. As far as Continentals goes, I'm not planning on attending. I'm not ruling it out completely, but GenCon takes such a toll on me that I'm planning to take a pass this year. Illinois will still be represented, our player group is as strong as ever and extremely excited to play.

James: Your rating has now risen to the highest it's ever been under the Continuing Committee. You're constructed rating has just past 1700. How long do you think it will take to get to 1800?
Al: It will probably take quite some time [laughs]. I just don't play enough games to get my rating very high. I haven't been concerned with my rating for quite some time, I'm much more interested in developing ways to become a better player. For the last two years I've tried to follow a plan to help improve my game-play and have more fun. The first part of the plan was to write a tournament report for every event that I play in and review them often. This has helped me to re-live mistakes I've made in the past that I might otherwise have forgotten. The second part of the plan was to play more different decks. I used to be a die-hard Cardassian player. Two league seasons ago, I forced myself to play a different headquarters at every event I played in. This really helped me to understand other decks that I probably wouldn't play otherwise. In the most recent season, I reverted a little bit, vowing to play a single deck until I had won a tournament with it. This resulted in many lost games, but forced me pay closer attention to games and take note of what cards worked and what did not. This also helped me realize just how much more important the dilemma pile is than the draw deck.

James: Do you have anything else to add?
Al: Just a big thanks to all the Volunteers at the Continuing Committee. You guys are doing an excellent job keeping this game not only alive but growing as well. The website is fantastic, the achievement system is incredible, and the Road to Worlds articles are among my favorite things to look for this time of year.

Thanks for taking the time to answer these questions, Al.

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Byes

This week, three players won a Day One, Round One bye into their local Second Edition Continental Championships:

• Sebastian Kirstein (Caretaker's Guest), winner at Oliver's Sickbay
• Casey Wickum (MrCub21), second place (bye handed down) at Buck Creek Township Fire Department
• Eric Bieche (biecheer), fourth place (bye handed down) at Buck Creek Township Fire Department

Congratulations to all players, and I wish better luck to anyone who didn't make it this time. These bye winners have been added to the list of current bye winners for the Continental Championships and the World Championships here.

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Deck Statistics

There were no First Edition tournaments this week, so the statistics have not changed. The total players at First Edition Regional Championships is 71 - an average of 5.9 players per tournament.

The best performing First Edition affiliations to date are Starfleet, averaging 11.5 victory points per tournament; Bajoran, averaging 11.0 victory points; followed by Vidiian, averaging 9.0 victory points. The worst performing affiliations are Terran Empire, averaging 6.0 victory points per tournament; followed by Non-Aligned, averaging 6.8 victory points; and then Borg, averaging 7.3 victory points.

The most popular First Edition affiliations are currently:
1.	Klingon	Used by 13 (18%) players	1 Regional win
2.	Federation	Used by 11 (16%) players	3 Regional wins
2.	Unknown?	Used by 11 (16%) players	1 Regional win
4.	Dual Affiliations	Used by 10 (14%) players
5.	Triple Affiliations	Used by 7 (10%) player	1 Regional win
6.	Ferengi	Used by 5 (7%) players	2 Regional wins
7.	Bajoran	Used by 3 (4%) players	1 Regional win
7.	Borg	Used by 3 (4%) players
7.	Hirogen	Used by 3 (4%) players	1 Regional win
10.	Romulan	Used by 2 (3%) players	1 Regional win
10.	Starfleet	Used by 2 (3%) players	1 Regional win
12.	Cardassian	Used by 1 (1%) player

There were 18 players at two Second Edition tournaments this week, taking the total players at Second Edition Regional Championships to 199 - an average of 7.7 players per tournament. Ten different affiliations saw play this week. Original Series and Starfleet were the most popular, played three times each; while Borg, Dominion, Maquis, Romulan and Next Generation were all played twice.

The best performing Second Edition affiliations to date are Bajoran, averaging 12.6 victory points per tournament; followed by Voyager/Equinox, averaging 12.5 victory points; and then Earth Space 9, averaging 12.0 victory points. The worst performing affiliations are Dominion, averaging 8.8 victory points per tournament; followed by Maquis, averaging 9.0 victory points; and then Non-Aligned, averaging 9.4 victory points.

The most popular Second Edition affiliations are currently:
1.	Next Generation	Used by 39 (20%) players	4 Regional wins
2.	Starfleet	Used by 17 (9%) players	3 Regional wins
2.	Original Series	Used by 17 (9%) players	2 Regional wins
2.	Voyager/Equinox	Used by 17 (9%) players	6 Regional wins
5.	Klingon	Used by 15 (8%) players	2 Regional wins
5.	Dual Affiliations	Used by 15 (8%) players
7.	Cardassian	Used by 13 (7%) players	1 Regional win
8.	Romulan	Used by 12 (6%) players	3 Regional wins
9.	Deep Space 9	Used by 10 (5%) players
10.	Borg	Used by 9 (5%) players	3 Regional wins
11.	Ferengi	Used by 7 (4%) players
12.	Dominion	Used by 6 (3%) playerss
12.	Earth Space 9	Used by 6 (3%) players
12.	Maquis	Used by 6 (3%) players	1 Regional win
15.	Bajoran	Used by 4 (2%) players
16.	Non-Aligned	Used by 3 (2%) players	1 Regional win
17.	Terok Nor	Used by 1 (1%) player
17.	Triple Affiliations	Used by 1 (1%) player
17.	Unknown?	Used by 1 (1%) player

There were no Tribbles tournaments this week, so the statistics have not changed. The total players at Tribbles Regional Championships is 118 - an average of 6.6 players per tournament. Excluding preliminary heats, a total of 32,705,341 Tribbles have been scored to date, an average of 277,164 Tribbles per player.

The most popular Tribbles powers in each deck are:
1.	Go	Used by 22 (19%) players	5 Regional wins
1.	Unknown?	Used by 22 (19%) players	4 Regional wins
3.	Bonus	Used by 15 (13%) players	2 Regional wins
4.	Rescue	Used by 12 (10%) players
5.	Poison	Used by 10 (9%) players
6.	Clone	Used by 5 (4%) players	1 Regional win
7.	Freeze	Used by 4 (3%) players
7.	Discard	Used by 4 (3%) players	1 Regional win
9.	Tally	Used by 3 (3%) players	1 Regional win
10.	IDIC	Used by 2 (2%) players
10.	Clone/Go/Utilize	Used by 2 (2%) players	1 Regional win
10.	Clone/Go/IDIC/Recycle/Safety	Used by 2 (2%) players
13.	Battle	Used by 1 (1%) player
13.	Draw	Used by 1 (1%) player
13.	Masaka	Used by 1 (1%) player
13.	Replay	Used by 1 (1%) player
13.	Reverse	Used by 1 (1%) player
13.	Safety	Used by 1 (1%) player
13.	Scan	Used by 1 (1%) player
13.	Time Warp	Used by 1 (1%) player
13.	Bonus/Rescue	Used by 1 (1%) player
13.	Clone/Score	Used by 1 (1%) player	1 Regional win
13.	Copy/Freeze	Used by 1 (1%) player
13.	Copy/Replay	Used by 1 (1%) player	1 Regional win
13.	Discard/Go	Used by 1 (1%) player	1 Regional win
13.	Discard/Recycle	Used by 1 (1%) player
13.	Go/Utilize	Used by 1 (1%) player

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Predictions

James' Accuracy	Kris' Accuracy	Public Predictors' Accuracy
20/56 (36%)	17/56 (30%)	15/54 (28%)

Kris and I both made one correct prediction last week. With no public predictor to compete against, we both edge a little further away from the masses. This week's interviewee, Al Schaefer (ltkettch17), needs a good deal of luck to catch us up.

Past Public Predictors
Week 6 (b)	Tyler Fultz (DJstormtrooper)	6/11 (55%)
Week 7	Matthew Hayes (karonofborg13)	3/7 (43%)
Week 3	Ben Hosp (bhosp)	2/5 (40%)
Week 6 (a)	Jim Sharp (jss_hobbie)	2/10 (20%)
Week 5	Michael Van Breemen (The Ninja Scot)	3/16 (19%)
Week 4	Shane Brierley (Shanebrier)	1/8 (13%)
Week 1	Will Hoskin (Gumbo)	0/3 (0%)
Week 2	Kenneth Tufts (Worf Son of Mogh)	0/4 (0%)

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Week 9 Preview

The complete schedule can be found in the article 2012 Regional Championships Schedule. There are six Regional tournaments this week:

Saturday 26th May		Sunday 27th May
First Edition (Block Sealed) Nava's Locker Schellingstrasse 17 97074, Wurzburg Germany [To be Rescheduled]	Tribbles (Standard) Nava's Locker Schellingstrasse 17 97074, Wurzburg Germany [To be Rescheduled]	Tribbles (Standard) Good Games Brisbane 74 Little Edward Street Spring Hill, QLD 4000 Australia [Discuss] [Pre-register]	Second Edition (Draft) Good Games Brisbane 74 Little Edward Street Spring Hill, QLD 4000 Australia [Discuss] [Pre-register]
First Edition (OTF) Arby's Restaurant 7110 Clairemont Mesa Blvd San Diego, CA 92111 United States [Discuss] [Pre-register]	Second Edition (Standard) Lakewood Public Library 15425 Detroit Avenue Lakewood, OH 44107 United States [Discuss] [Pre-register]	First Edition (Block Sealed) Dogs of War Gaming 1501 Robert J Conlan Blvd. NE #1 Palm Bay, FL 32905 United States [Discuss] [Pre-register]
First Edition (Block Constr.) Lakewood Public Library 15425 Detroit Avenue Lakewood, OH 44107 United States [Discuss] [Pre-register]

Nava's Locker (First Edition + Tribbles): With no players pre-registered for these Regionals just three days before they were due to take place, they have been cancelled. They will be rescheduled for another date, so keep an eye on the Regional Championships forum for announcements.

Arby's Restaurant: Attendance has been on the rise at this Risa Regional for the past three years. There were six players in 2009, seven in 2010, and ten last year. There are five players pre-registered at the time of writing, but the final number could be vastly different if any of the other First Edition play groups in California decide to stage an invasion. Since the turn of the year, there have been four First Edition tournaments at the venue. Matt Kirk (CaptMDKirk) has two wins under his belt, but he finished dead last in the other two tournaments; so he'll be a risky proposition. The highest-rated pre-registered player Johnny Holeva (jjh) has a similar record, with one win and two fifth (out of six) place finishes in his recent record. His 64% winning record exceeds that of everyone else, bar one, by some margin. Only Rogue Shindler (SirRogue), with a 60% winning record, gets anywhere close to Johnny's record; but he has yet to win a First Edition tournament this year. Thomas Vineberg (Exon) looks to have the consistency though, with two runner-up spots and a third place to his name at recent events at the venue. TV to win.

Kris: Rogue Shindler to win. Why? Despite running in reverse at Regionals since winning gold in '09, The Rogue is looking to hit the trifecta after collecting a pair of Battle Royale titles and an Ironman title this past month. With all that on the line, I'm sure that just like a broken drum he'll be hard to beat.

Al: Dan Hamman is my pick, because he is 2-0 against Johnny Holeva in First Edition sealed deck.

Past Regional results at Arby's Restaurant:
2011, won by Thomas Kamiura (Bosskamiura) playing Cardassian.
2010, won by Franklin Kenter (MilesStuntDouble) playing Ferengi / Romulan / Original Series / Starfleet.
2009, won by Rogue Shindler (SirRogue) playing Bajoran.
2008, not held.

Lakewood Public Library (Second Edition): This is the inaugural Second Edition Qo'noS Regional to be held in Cleveland, Ohio. It forms the first half of a double header, with a First Edition Regional following once this event concludes. The local playgroup only began sanctioning tournaments six months ago, with five Second Edition tournaments under their collective belts. Tournament director, James Booker (Shooter McGavin), has two wins to his name; as does Bradley David Eier (hoganheelturn); and Joshua Sheets (prylardurden) was the other win. When it comes to picking a winner, James and Bradley are almost inseparable. They both have 53% overall winning records. They have played the same number of games (43), they have won the same number of games (23) and their record against each other is three wins each and one tie. The only difference I can spot is that Bradley has four tournament wins to his name, while James only has two. Given that their records are so similar, I think James will bring his record closer to that of Bradley by winning this tournament.

Kris: Joel Skon to win. Why? Syxx is one of Hollywood Hoffman's n.W.o. acolytes, and a recent Regional Champion in his own right. Despite the fact that Booker T is the special guest referee, I can't see past the original black and white express for this one.

Al: Finally, a Second Edition event. I'd better not blow this! Joel Skon will put his loss to Casey behind him and win his second Regional this year.

There are no past Second Edition Regional results at Lakewood Public Library.

Lakewood Public Library (First Edition): The double-header concludes with the inaugural First Edition Regional to be held in Cleveland, Ohio. There have only been two previous First Edition tournaments at the venue since the playgroup began, and they were both sealed events. James Booker (Shooter McGavin) and Joshua Sheets (prylardurden) were both victorious once. At first glance, it would appear that James' 73% winning record is superior to Joshua's 61% record, but James has exclusively played sealed tournaments to earn that record. He does not have any constructed experience. For that reason, I think Joshua will win this one.

Kris: James Booker to win. Why? Booker T's wearing the zebra stripes for this match, and is a self-proclaimed former five time, five time, five time, five time, five time WDW Champion. 'Course, Gorilla, you wouldn't know anything about that seeing as all those title reigns happened while you were off "working" for some rival promotion.

Al: James Booker has incredible skill in all games, he's my pick.

There are no past First Edition Regional results at Lakewood Public Library.

Good Games Brisbane (Tribbles): Australia's East coast sees a Tribbles/Second Edition Regional double-header on Sunday. The group began playing Tribbles in January and it has become a firm favorite, with nine tournaments taking place since then. Ben Dillon (Broshak) has five wins; while Greg Dillon (Latok) and Garry Dillon (AdmiralG) have two wins each. Obviously, Ben has the best record, averaging 1.8th place over those nine tournaments. Greg and tournament director Mike Garvey (Mike2E) have very similar records, averaging 2.7th place and 2.9th place, respectively; while Garry has averaged 3.1st place. I can dress the numbers up lots of ways, but whichever way I do, I think Ben has the pedigree to win this one.

Kris: Ben Dillon to win. Why? When it comes to Battle Royale's, the man simply towers over his opponents. And considering this bout looks to be a 3-on-1 handicap match, my big brain says the largest Dillon is gonna come out on top.

Al: Ben Dillon looks like he knows more about Tribbles than I do, he's my pick.

There are no past Tribbles Regional results at Good Games Brisbane.

Good Games Brisbane (Second Edition): This is the second year this Briar Patch Regional has been held; and, for the second year running, it will be an Infinite Diversity draft. Last year's "For the Cause" draft was won by Greg Dillon (Latok), ahead of his brother Ben Dillon (Broshak), who was runner-up. Four of the five decks featured Cardassian cards last time. Let's hope there is more diversity this year! As for the winner, Greg and Ben both have sealed deck records that are far superior to any of their opponents, at 78% and 80% respectively; so it would be sensible to pick one of them. They have only played each other once, and Greg won that time; so I think it will be Ben's turn this year. Although, with my history of picking the wrong Dillion brother to win the Brisbane Regionals, Greg will probably win. But, then if I pick Greg, Ben will win. Maybe I'd be better off sticking to my original prediction? But that will be wrong too. Oh no, I've gone cross-eyed. Ben to win.

Kris: Ben Dillon to win. Why? The man's currently on a 15 game win streak, has won eight out of ten steel cage matches, and captains the most dominate tag team down under in the Brain Busters. Considering he'll have strength in numbers, I expect him to keep it in the "Family," Gorilla.

Al: Mike Garvey deserves the win, for doing all the Infinite Diversity preparations.

Past Regional results at Good Games Brisbane:
2011 (draft), won by Greg Dillon (Latok) playing Bajoran / Cardassian.
2010, not held.
2009, not held.
2008, not held.

Dogs of War Gaming: This is the inaugural First Edition Regional to be held in the Cardassia Region, and is only the second First Edition tournament to be held in the state of Florida in the Continuing Committee-era. The first took place last year, and there are only two players with First Edition records in the whole Region of Cardassia. Eight players have pre-registered so far, so there are going to be six fewer First Edition virgins in Florida come Monday morning. Of those with records, Thomas Kamiura (Bosskamiura) has the best. He has won seven of the 26 tournaments he has played in, and has a 63% winning record - but that all applies to constructed tournaments. Thomas has no history in sealed events. Sean O'Reilly (Jono) does have some sealed deck experience, having played in two tournaments, but he finished in the middle of the pack both times. Perhaps the player to challenge Thomas and Sean will be Eric Robinett (rycar60)? While he has no First Edition experience, he has a 65% winning record (across 40 games) in Second Edition sealed events. Will that experience transfer over? I'm not so sure. TK to win.

Kris: Thomas Kamiura to win. Why? After being run out of San Lorenzo by The Alabama Slamma, my sources tell me Mr. Kamiura landed in sunny Paltamo. Much to the chagrin of the local humanoids, he crashed last month's Regional party, and I expect more of the same this weekend.

Al: Thomas Kamiura has the experience and will win this one.

There are no past First Edition Regional results at Dogs of War Gaming.

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Next Week

A review of the six results from week 9, an interview with a winning player, more statistics, and a preview of the nine Regional Championships taking place in week 10.

Have an opinion about this article? Post it here, or contact the author!

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