Notes on the Multiplayer Team Tournament - Part 1

by Christian Zipper

22nd September 2010

This year, a great format will celebrate its premiere at the World Championship – the Multiplayer Team Tournament. Maybe some of you already enjoyed a game of multiplayer together with some friends, but this new format will combine the fun of multiplayer sessions with the responsibility of a team competition.

Two players will form a team and will play against another team of two players at one table. The winning conditions can only be fulfilled by both players of a team, so there is a great variety of ways to victory. On the surface, the possibilities include two straight solvers (very boring), two interactive decks (whether capture, battle, assimilation, sabotage – it’s your choice) or a smart combination.

Due to the limitation of unique cards being not only per player but per team, there are some points you have to take into account: Headquarters, for example, are unique, so there will never be two copies of Unicomplex on a team, or two copies of Qo'noS either. But this is also the beginning of fantastic game possibilities: Imagine, for example, the power of the joint Klingon and Cardassian forces. My buddy Oliver and I played this combination at the annual Grand Prix Convention in Celle. Let me say we had a lot of fun during the single matches.

Oliver played a Cardassian capture deck, especially using Ensnared, Evek (Agent of Cardassian Justice), and Odo (Impartial Investigator), combined with dilemmas like Sylvia and Impressive Trophies to capture opponents' personnel. In case anybody was able to evade imprisonment, my militant and merciless Klingon warriors arrived on the scene and battled for some dead (All-Out War, Ferocity, Drex (Arrogant Warrior)), some more Captives (Kruge (Instinctive Commander)), some points via Call to Arms, or some dilemmas via Ja'chuq).

The combination of capture and battle was usually able to take out most of the personnel our opponents needed for completing their missions. Occasionally, it also took too much time, and we were not able to complete enough of our own missions to score a Full Win. But for us, having so much fun by playing two interactive decks counted more than a Full Win.

Of course, this combination is only one example of the possibilities offered within this fantastic format. What about Borg assimilation and Cardassian capture (no more personnel for your opponents)? Or Maquis sabotage combined with Klingon battle for casualties (All-Out War), damaged ships (William Patrick Samuels + Damage cards of your choice), captives (Kruge, Retaliation), and the usual Maquis nastiness (Cascade Virus, Stalling for Time, Organized Terrorist Activities, Biogenic Weapon, Shankar(Maquis Soldier))? Or, or, or...

To make your first tournament easier, take a look at decks based on what Oliver and I played at the Grand Prix last year. Both decks come with a supporting dilemma pile. Feel free to take some inspiration from Oliver's Cardassian Hunting Party and my Klingon War Party.

And now, go ahead and develop your own strategies and decks; we will meet in Frankfurt!

-djl-