Weekly 1E Roundup - 12 MARCH 2020

by Charlie Plaine, Director of First Edition

12th March 2020

Welcome to the Weekly 1E Roundup, a weekly column looking back at the past week in the world of First Edition as well as a preview of the week ahead. If you have questions, comments, or suggestions for content, you can contact me at cplaine@gmail.com or on the forums via PM to MidnightLich. I'm happy to write about your tournaments, get togethers, or other 1E-related goings-on. But for now, let's get into the column and see what's been going on in the world of First Edition!

The Big News

Did you happen to see this graphic on the front page?

If you've been following the Project Status updates, or this column, for any length of time, you'll know that there is a new expansion on the way. The Neutral Zone is what it's called, and it's the second expansion in the Original Series block. The quote in the teaser graphic seems to be talking about the in-universe Neutral Zone. Did you see the icon? Those blue and green colors look awfully familiar, too. Do you think it's related?

Tournament Reports

Last week we had two (2) tournaments take place, one in San Diego, California, USA and one in Austria. We'll start with the four (4) player event in San Diego, an OTF Complete Constructed event at the newly rebuilt Arby's (the Arby's-A) on Saturday, March 7th. Both Johnny Holeva (jjh) and Rogue Shindler (SirRogue) played decks, earning the 1st and 2nd place spots respectively. Neither Johnny's deck ()OTF Federation TOS - MAR 2020) nor Rogue's (Where no TOS non-binary entity has gone before) seemed to be slowed down too much by last week's bans of Five-Year Mission and Classic Communicator. Dan Hamman (SirDan) played a deck to 3rd, and Thomas Vineberg (Exon) played some flavor of Romulan deck to 4th. I hope that my old friends had a blast, and enjoyed the day.

On Sunday, Stefan Slaby (Winner of Borg) hosted an OTF Constructed Complete event that also drew four (4) players. Julius Melhardt (Clerasil ToB) won the day with "Never heard of that 'Neutral Zone'...," a fast-looking deck. Stefan was the runner up with a deck, while Helmuth Auberger (Aubi) and Martin Felber (Enabran) rounded out the day, playing another deck and some flavor of Federation, respectively.

If you're playing Star Trek, I want to hear about it! I'm happy to cover tournaments and casual games in this column - you just have to let me know. You can find my contact information at the bottom of every column, and you're welcome to email me, PM me, or just post on the forums. So if you're out there, playing 1E in any way, shape, or form, tell us about it!

Tournament Previews

We've got two (2) events this weekend, including the first Trek Masters Series event of 2020. But first up, Paddy Tye (KazonPADD) is hosting an Open DS9 Sealed tournament, using honest-as-can-be starters and boosters from 1998! With eight (8) players pre-registered for this blast from the past, it's looking to be a big, nostalgic, and old-school day in the United Kingdom!

On Sunday, March 15th, Trek Masters New York City will take place, hosted by powerhouse player Robin Honeycutt (robin1234). As of writing this column, a baker's dozen players are pre-registered and will be fighting for this season's first big prize. While this area, and many of the players, are relatively new to the game, they've been trained by and playing with Robin for some time - it would be foolish to dismiss any of them out of hand.

Still, there are some big and notable names planning to attend. Aside from Robin, players will have to content with the genius mind of Michael Van Breemen (The Ninja Scot), the speed mastery of Lucas Thompson (edgeofhearing), the determination of Ben Hosp (bhosp), and the diversity of experience brought by Austin Chandler (DarkSabre). Any one of these players could sweep the day, but I'm putting my money on Robin; as long as he's prepared for a Borg battle deck, I think the tournament is his to lose.

Upcoming Championships

APPLY FOR A REGIONAL

Brooklyn, New York Trek Masters Series Sunday, 15 March OTF Complete Constructed

Online Regional Championship Friday, 3 April OTF Complete Constructed

Glen Ellyn, Illinois Regional Championship Sunday, 5 April OTF Complete Constructed

San Diego, California Regional Championship Saturday, 18 April OTF Legacy Constructed

Ypsilanti, Michigan Trek Masters Series Sunday, 25 April OTF Legacy Constructed

If you have upcoming events, get togethers, or anything else scheduled that's 1E related, let me know. I'd love to feature you and your friends in this column. I typically only see them if they're scheduled in our tournament software, so if you're not using that, please let me know!

Short Treks (In Other News)

• Discussion continues about the recent bans and their power. In particular, forum user princedetenebres started a discussion about the ban of Classic Communicator, arguing that Dr. McCoy is a more damaging card for the game. Debate has been healthy and continuing, so join in if you have an opinion.


• Which dual dilemmas are almost good enough to use? Last week's Friday Question was all about the dilemmas that are almost good enough to use, but not quite there. Perhaps they need another stop, or a kill, to be great? Go share your favorite cards!


• What are your favorite decks to play? Last week's Friday question was all about favorite decks to play. Do you have a favorite deck, even if it doesn't ever win a game? Please go share, especially if you have a link to the deck. Playing 1E isn't always about winning, and sometimes it's about trying to nuke some whales from orbit. Hop into the thread and share the decks you just love to play.


• Which earlier cards would be done differently if made today? This question, posted by forum user Joelin02, has generated some good discussion. It's something I've been thinking a lot about lately. With another quarter-century of development knowledge, how would 1E look if it were made today? I don't know, except that it would be radically different.


• How would you build a Sybok deck? Caretaker's Guest posted a first draft of such a deck, but is looking for help. Hit up that thread and weigh-in to see if you can help make a killer "Release This Pain" deck. Fun fact: Sybok and company are due for some love in the block after the Original Series block!

First Edition March Madness

There was some carnage in the first round of First Edition March Madness for 2020, including the downfall of at least one #1 seed. You can check out all the results from the first round in this thread, and see which cards won handily and which struggled. But it's time to march on to the Round of 32, and halve the field of personnel once again!Here are the two (2) brackets, each with eight (8) games for you to vote upon. Click on the link to open the poll; for fun, I've also listed a featured match for each bracket.

Bracket	Link to Poll	Feature Match
Alpha/Beta Division	Vote in the Alpha/Beta Division	Battle of the Nexus: (6) James T. Kirk vs (3) Guinan
Gamma/Delta Division	Vote in the Gamma/Delta Division	No Picard Spoilers: (10) Jean-Luc Picard vs (15) Seven of Nine

To sweeten the pot, we'll be giving away five (5) random First Edition borderless promo cards - one each week - to a participant who votes in the polls. You'll need to enter your email address to win, and an email address is required - if you don't care about winning, then feel free to enter in something like "no@nope.com" instead. But if you do enter your email, you'll be entered each week into a drawing to win a gorgeous foil promo! Each poll you complete is an additional entry, so if you vote in each division this week, you'll get four (4) chances to win!

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That's all for this week's roundup of First Edition news and events. For more news, you can follow The Continuing Committee on Facebook, Twitter, or bookmark our front page. News about upcoming First Edition projects can be found in the most recent Project Status Update from March 2020. If you've got an event coming up and you'd like to be featured in this column, or if you have comments about this column's content, feel free to contact me at cplaine@gmail.com or on the forums via PM to MidnightLich. Until next week, may you expand your power in the universe and live long and prosper.

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