'lo everyone!
Back from GenCon Benelux 2000 and the Benelux Open. Dennis Voss and I decided to go there instead of attending the German Nationals in Hamburg, mostly because it was closer and due to the two deck tournament being played there.
Of course, we left Cologne late and got caught in two traffic jams on the way, so things got a little bit hectic, to say the least. We arrived about half an hour after the official start, but found the tournament location fairly easily - it was hard to miss with a giant print of the Bilbo char card hovering over the tables. Terrific work by Wim, Jean-Paul, Simone and everyone else who helped to run the event.
So I got to play Dennis in the first round in an attempt to catch up with everyone else. Knowing each others deck well sped up the play drastically and we cycled decks within half an hour. Unfortunately this also meant missing my first chance to play a new deck, but oh well.
Dennis played a favourite deck of his, Hoarmurath Unleashed. Multiple companies shuffling around Dol Guldur, plenty of cancellers and combat enhancers at the same time. It's very efficient and has a nice track record, which got confirmed once again in this tournament (two 6:0, one draw). As for me, I promised Wim and Luc at Worlds not to show up with yet another Balrog deck, so I built a One Ring Deck instead.. with Dwarves. Worked like a charm in the first round, wiping out his hand with Khamul and nine Nazgul before dunking sure helped as well. Things got a little bit tense when I missed rolls on two Wizard's Test, the fifth roll came up as a 12 though - 7:0
That's when Luc approached me with an odd smile, informing me that we'd play each other next. To make it short, he was playing Steve's One Ring deck, which completely shut down my deck due to its design. It was an exciting play nevertheless, but Luc beat me to dunking by one turn. I managed to raise his hazard limit to 7 on his way to Mt Doom, but the last five cards of my deck included Khamul (!), Ren and Rolled Down to the Sea. That would have been enough to get rid of his cancellers, hit him with one of the Nazguls in my hand and have My Precious - lurking at the site - hit him. Oh well. Congrats to both Steve for his deck and Luc for being so bold to actually play it :-P
As Steve pointed out after the game I'd been missing a small trick which would have tipped the odds heavily into my favour. Some things are learned the hard way ,-) Next time, then.
Game three versus a Fallen Pallando Squatter who started with a Guarded Haven. I let it slide because I didn't want to ruin his deck because of an errate, but also because I wasn't worried about how many points he'd score. Ended up helping me since his regular visits to the Deep Mines allowed me to play even more hazards. An easy dunk, the highlight of the game being him cancelling a Cave Drake at the mines with Deeper Shadow, only to see the Witchking tapping and attacks by Akhorahil and Adunaphel. Fun!
The last game vs a magic deck, Akhorahil with Maladies, Taladan and the Grimburgoth. Taladan met his fate as soon as he left Dol Guldur and Grimburgoth tried to enter the Goblin-Gate _five_ times, only to be tapped out by Baduila again and again. No idea what resources he was playing, never saw any. Dunking got a bit more complicated this time, though. Marvel Told a Bane at Mount Doom, discard another waiting on Guard with Withdrawn to Mordor, only to see Rolled Down as another On Guard card. This left me with only one ring to test, and given my previous luck I was rather skeptical. Worked, though, and the cc at 15 got reduced to zero, making the dunk automatic.
So, I end up scoring 21 points just as Luc who won the tournament. I sincerly hope you guys are putting that deck to a rest now :-)
It was a fun tournament with great people (only wish Wim, Jean-Paul and Steve would have had a chance to participiate). Got a few new deck ideas - Fallen Radagast in Tiger Form, chasing Minions with the ents and Tom sure looks fun to me. And finally, I was amazed by the amount of work that was put into the event. Flyers everywhere, well-attended introduction rounds, posters, gifts and prices and a terrific atmosphere. I sure hope this pays off in one way or the other.
Best wishes, Oliver