Nathan W (Naetor) Tournament Report - 2E Standard - Cardassia Regional 2011-04-02 - 11:00 AM AND Then? Introduction It's always a treat to meet new Star Trek players. Neal (Omony) and Josh (prylardurden) both traveled about 4 hours to attend our regional. I found that they're both exceptional people, and wished we could play more often (Atlanta in 3 weeks, guys?). I played a version of a Romulan deck Mike O'Shagay (shagg08) and I had been bouncing ideas off on each other for the past two month. In the last few weeks I took those ideas, spun it on its head, and tried to make a monstrosity that I could clearly call "my Romulan deck". I'll post the decklist (and strategy) as soon as I come up with a fitting name; but in the meantime I'll just say that I think this is the best Romulan deck out there (after some changes I'll implement after truly seeing it in action) and definitely tier 1. Round 1 Neal Lawson FW (+70) Neal is a newer player, and so a big part of this game was helping him with some strategies that he could use in later games and others down the road. It's these types of games where I'm so glad I haven't fallen into only playing powerful interaction, NPE, or Tragic Turn-kill them all decks. WTF?!? A Romulan deck without their typical interaction? I was able to set up my general strategy without putting him in a "well, I guess I can't win" situation. In general, I was able to slow his solver down enough to pick up the win. He had a nice play of Parting Shot (damn I need to figure out a deck for this card), which postponed the game one turn; but I was able to regroup and and finish with a full win. Round 2 Kyle Matusevic FW (+70) This is the game where I knew my deck was something special. This deck is an incredibly powerful mid-game solver. However, there is a good chance the pieces can align and it becomes a brutal speed solver. That's what happened here. I solved Assess Contamination on turn 3; and Investigate Sighting on turn 4. Assess Contamination, Donatra, Navaar, and Power Shift puts an incredible amount of pressure on an opponent drawing dilemmas. Meanwhile Kyle's Vintner build got out on turn 4, down 2 missions. He solved one mission, but it was only a matter of time before I finished off my last mission in a surprisingly one-sided match. Round 3 mike gillespie FW (+100) Mike was playing a version of KRiS, but ran into the same problem Kyle had against me: dilemmas don't work. Mike was able to casually destroy my events thanks to Korath and bouncing ETUs, but it had little effect on this deck's efficiency. I solved Invesigate Sighting and Assess Contamination in two attempts each, and got through Advanced Battle Simulation in one. Meanwhile Mike had trouble finding mission skills and I slowed him down with the usual dilemmas. Round 4 BamaFan FW (+20) This deck is designed to be fairly robust to interaction -- so it is fitting that all my games were against proven speed solvers. I was nervous if it could hold up with speed solvers as I usually get out 1-2 turns behind, but then rely on my dilemma busting to catch up. This game, then, was the measuring stick as Matthew was playing speed cadets. I don't know how Matthew finished 1-3 on the day. His deck was good, and he played it well. In our game he busted out on turn 2 and started crop dusting Practice Orbital Maneuvers. Meanwhile, I drew the worst opening hand all day filled with high costers and nothing to make them cheap. When I finally got out (turn 5 -- which is about the latest it gets out in practice draws), I immediately got hit with WNOHGB after being 1 attribute away even counting Power Shift. From here the rest of the game was a grind to catch up. In the next few turns, I found my Energizes and AWC? Meanwhile my dilemma pile was playing great and I even caught Matthew fake-attempting and told him "prove it". That's a great feeling, but even then I thought it was only a matter of time before I lost. However, when I went back to space with Navaar, Donatra, and Power Shift points, completing Investigate Sighting was easy. However, I took a big hit on Assess Contamination when Matthew hit me with An Issue of Trust (getting Navaar), and hitting me with Whisper. Unfortunately Secret Agenda wouldn't let me gain my second Honor or Geology, and Data, Karina, and Rekar all died. OUCH! After that I swore, "why the hell do I even play high cost personnel?" However, my next attempt with Navaar and Donatra couldn't be stopped and I walked through the mission. Out of range I ended my turn. This put me in a strange predicament on my next turn. Matthew was crop dusting his last mission, and thanks to ample bonus points I could either Favor The Bold Assess Contamination or Investigation Sighting. I chose Investigate Sighting. Navaar is just a dirty hooker there and with a Bridge Officer's Test in hand, that mission was the way to go. However, I was worried about An Issue of Trust. Since I didn't have a second personnel with 2 Treachery out I decided against doubling up mission skills (I had 3 or so people with 1 Treachery I left at my HQ). Matthew out of luck, or remembering what I had told him about this deck a few weeks ago plays He Wasn't Nice, avoiding Donatra and cold-calls Navaar. Risky, but it worked. However, he couldn't finish his last mission on his next turn. I ended up playing a 2nd ship, some more personnel and double attempted Investigate Sighting for the win. Crazy game.