Matthew Zinno (commdecker) Tournament Report - 1E - Online Event (Mission to Talos IV) 2013-01-07 - 12:00 AM We can help you, or they can help you (DS9 sealed) Introduction Played Talos sealed, chasing my 5th win. I'm writing this based on chat logs about 10 months later, so there will be less detail than is customary for my reports. Round 1 Meinhard S. Rohr FL (-60) Spaceline solitaire, for the most part -- my Badlands mission that's hard to solve was over in his half. We both quickly cleared a mission next to the outpost, and each solved it soon thereafter. We both had about half mis-seeds. Many of his actual dilemmas stayed in play -- I got Untrustworthy Associate on my ship (yay solitaire!), Subspace Seaweed, and Vantika on two different people. I cleared all my space missions, but they needed officers to solve, and I just couldn't get them. (One died to Misguided Activist.) Mogh then solved two more missions and cleared two others, despite the Dal'rok and taking damage from his own Navigate Plasma Storms. The 3rd mission got him to only 95 points (not a lot of bonus points in sealed). I was still stalled when he solved his 4th to win. In the end, I had just 35 points from my mission, and 5 points from Vendetta. Round 2 William Hoskin FW (+5) We had an amazing 6 duped missions. (I think we both just threw away most of our mis-seeds, rather than encounter them and invalidate a mission. Though I probably left some under the mission I can't solve.) Our treaties and outpost were duped too. Again, I put my OP in the badlands ... and again, I faced NPS. Over the course of the game, we went through all the dilemmas and solved all the missions. First Will got 25 for Rescue Prisoners, after finding and killing my Dalrok. Then I got 35 for RDS, finding his Dalrok and using Odo to pass my own Vendetta. Then Will got 30 for S+R. Soon after, he cleared Intercept Renegade but didn't solve, due at least in part to hemorrhaging people to an Aphasia Virus. I got 30 for Eliminate Virus, then 25 for Kressari. Will took 30 for Intercept Renegade, at which point all the missions on the spaceline were solved, with the score 90-85 in my favor. We both admitted that we had no more ways to score points, and we concluded there. FW, since we would deck out before running out of time. Round 3 Chris Morse FW (+100) 3 duped missions, and so only 3 for each of us that were really safe to attempt. I think I put all my mis-seeds at his solo missions, in case I needed to attempt the shared. He had Cardassians, and amazingly got enough cards in his sealed pool to process ore! Nor, Docking, OPU, PO, and even Ops. I put my outpost in the badlands, figuring I couldn't be facing another opponent with a copy of NPS. No, he had two. So I held off on playing ships until when I was going to use them, and quickly flew them away. I had two ships out and a mission solved before Chris did any attempts (no ships, beamed down to the planet), and that hit my Garak/Vendetta combo. After a while I realized I could download the cardassian officers I needed using his ops, and get them off using my NA ships. That helped me solve two more missions for 100 points, including one gun at Kressari. Round 4 Michael Van Breemen FL (-35) 4 duped missions. Michael thought that was high, but he didn't see my R2 game. And again, NPS. Every opponent! At least I didn't put my OP there this time, the badlands were all the way at the end. Unfortunately, one of my solo missions, the only planet, was the one I can't complete. My first mission attempt was my unduped space mission (RDS); I hit a Vole Infestation, after which TNS played a Galor and damaged the ship. I repaired it quickly. Trying again, I got hit by Fightin' Words and Aphasia Device. I suffered under that for many turns, with no way to cure it and also no backup ship. Within a few turns, Michael solved two missions for a 60-0 lead. Odo was my only command star and only Bajoran, and he was the first to succumb. Michael and I decided that since he was disabled, it wouldn't violate compatibility for me to then beam Cardassians aboard, so I did in order to staff it with Jasad. Once Fightin' Words counted down, I was able to fly to, and solve, RDS for 35. A bit later I added Jural and zipped over (with a range boost from Reaction Control Thrusters) to Intercept Renegade which Michael had just cleared, and stole it from him. That put me at 65, but delayed me from a now-visible cure for the Aphasia. I had by now drawn Surmak Ren. But he couldn't beam on while the Cardassians were there! So while I played more people, and eventually a ship which headed for the badlands mission, I waited desperately for the Aphasia Virus to get around to my cardies, so that Surmak Ren could beam on and cure everyone. I think I even beamed a few extra people on to stop the virus from reaching the end of the crew. Eventually it happened -- the cardies got sick, Ren reported and beamed on, curing the dilemma. Then I had incompatibility, so the cardies immediately beamed to a Galor I'd since reported. However, Michael was the next to score, getting the skills for Establish Station and 120 points. Closing Thoughts Sealed can be very rough if you don't get complementary cards. This was one of those times.