Nathan Miracle (GooeyChewie) Tournament Report - 2E 2015-06-06 - 12:00 PM Big Sky Country Introduction I built several decks ahead of this tournament, but did not feel terribly comfortable with any of them. Instead of playing one of my older decks, I borrowed a Maquis deck from Scott "Neelix" Baughman. I've played against it before, but I've never piloted it. Round 1 Greg Hodgin FW (+25) Greg knew the style of my deck the moment he saw my missions, but in return I also knew the style of his deck the moment I saw his missions. Locutus and Borg Queen fell to an early Necessary Execution, and Casualties of War took out three more personnel. At that point, I dropped Biogenic Weapon on Plot Invasion. Greg completed Assimilate Resistance, taking command of Ro Laren. The process allowed him to attempt Mediate Peace Treaty with my Federation personnel, at which point I stood up and tipped my proverbial hat to him. I knew he couldn't complete the mission, but I drew He Wasn't Nice and named Ro Laren, at which point we stood up and shook hands. On my side of the board, Tactical Disadvantage and Back to Basics slowed me down considerably at Elude Federation Forces. Once I completed that mission, I did some math and figured out I could complete the other missions with five personnel, if I had just the right personnel. Greg pulled off a masterful move by burning the Manheim Effect to get Polywater Intoxication, stopping one of my attempts. Fortunately for me, Greg had trouble drawing into event destruction, and without Expand the Collective on Mediate Peace Treaty and with Biogenic Weapon on Plot Invasion, he was not facing any dilemmas to swap in event destroying drones. He spent a couple turns drawing seven cards, which gave me just enough time to complete my final two missions, sealing the victory. Round 2 Michael Shea FL (+60) Michael played a Terok Nor deck not terribly dissimilar to the one I used at the NC Regionals. I knew I would be in for a tough game when Dukat hit the table early. Inevitable Triumph threatened to prevent For the Cause, which forced me to fuel Untapped Influence just to have a chance at my missions. The Persistent dilemma pile thinned out my Maquis personnel, so at times I wanted to play Alarming Rumors and failed to have six personnel in play. With most of my deck shut down, I felt lucky to have completed a single mission. Round 3 Kevin Reitzel FW (-25) Stakoron missions work very well with the new Dominion HQ. Kevin played Mobilization Points and a ton of Jem'hadar, but had trouble drawing a ship. Friction slowed me down, but I was able to get out and start attempting fairly far ahead of the Dominion. I needed that extra time, though, because by the time Kevin started attempting, he sent 13 personnel, and my dilemma pile does not do well with such large attempts. He blew through Stage Covert Fleet in a single attempt. I stopped him for a single turn at Stakoron II, using Necessary Execution to scout out skills and He Wasn't Nice to target Tozara'Kesh, leaving him with a single Engineer. I dropped Biogenic Weapon on Stakoron II. By this point, I had completed Elude Federation Forces and Evacuate Colony with Debate Over Dinner, and I started in on Investigate Maquis Activity, putting four dilemmas under it. Cosette missed on protecting Biogenic Weapon, so Kevin blew it up with a 0-cost Tacking Into the Wind. Swashbuckler At Heart had put Alarming Rumors on top of my deck, so I was powerless to prevent the event. Kevin started the turn with over seven minutes left on time, and attempted Stakoron II with another megateam. I knew my dilemmas would not stop him, but I wanted to prevent another megateam at his next mission. I brought him down to five personnel, who completed Stakoron II with ease. Kevin proceeded to Teplan Prime with just over two minutes left on the clock. I had gone first, and despite having completed two missions for 40 points each, the new Dominion homeworld had me down at 70 points to Kevin's 35. I needed to stop him quickly to avoid the modified loss. I wasted no time in picking Tragic Turn, Compassionate Interference and Demands of Duty. By the time we got to Demands of Duty, Kevin only had one Exobiology, so I targeted that personnel and asked if he'd prefer to kill two and fail or just stop everybody. He stopped everybody and ended turn with 45 seconds left on the clock. I breathed a sigh of relief, but I still needed to complete my final mission. I had already calculated what I needed to do. I drew five cards, looking for a Maquis Leadership personnel. I then played Self-Replicating Roadblock on the mission, naming Pillage and Plunder, which Kevin had used earlier. With Kasidy Yates, Tuvok, Tamal (with one discarded personnel), two personnel with base strength 6 and Not Easily Taken, I could manage 37 strength while only allowing a single dilemma draw. That dilemma? Secret Identity. If Kevin picked Tuvok or Tamal, I would not have the Strength and I did not have another team ready to go. I handed Kevin my personnel with Ro Laren on top and said "If you're looking for the skills, Ro has them all." Sure enough, he picked Ro Laren, who turned into Thomas Riker. I ditched Macius from hand to pump him up to 8 Strength, giving me just enough to claim the full win.