Replicating Perfection - 12th at FFG Store Championship

I took this with me to the FFG Store Championship torunament. There were 35 players and 6 rounds of swiss play. A lot of the matchup's felt good but a couple were REALLY bad for me.

For almost a year now, I'd been running what most would say is a copy paste RP build that was starting to feel stale. After Bringing that same deck with me to the Meadery, I decided it was time to try something new. I always wanted to play trick of light in faction but advancing an Ice Wall just to take the counters never felt like a solid plan. The space ice package from O&C was what ended up giving me the tools I needed to advance my game state and trick counters without losing progress in the game.

I got a lot of surprised and positive responses from my opponents with the trick of light combo. Almost every player audibly said "What?" when they saw a space ice on top of R&D. It sunk in after I got a 3 credit rez on a big piece of ice and then fast advanced a Nisei MK II the next turn.

Overall the deck went 3-3. I think a lot of work can go into it to try and make it improve in a tournament setting. I really do like the ice package for fast advancing ICE however, using up a LOT of my influence to do so makes the deck very VERY narrow. Moving forward, I really think the package might just belong in a different deck however, it certainly has it's merits.

Moving on to the matchups!

Rd1: Chaos Theory My first round was against a newer player. I think this might have played into my success a bit since he had a full rig and decent econ. Questionable single accesses on R&D let me build a card lead and create scoring windows based on hand size. He had a very aggressive playstyle that I liked but I felt too many resources were used on singular access instead of getting agendas in my scoring remote. RP won this one with standard Nisei protected in a big remote. 1-0

Rd2: Chaos Theory This match felt like much more controlled running. I managed to sneak out a Future Perfect really early before a rig or econ package was really set up. As his rig developed, I focused on advancing my ice and setting myself up for my next play. With two Tricks in hand it was just a matter of time before I dug for a Nisei and FA'd it. At this point it was an axe looming while I waited for my last agenda to win the game. 2-0

Rd3: Exile This match was kind of dull for both of us. We both dug and dug and dug for econ but couldn't find it. His entire rig built up on a single Scheherazade got me really looking for a nebula face check. I got my Nisei scored but he found his Aesop's before I could establish control and attacked R&D until he scored his 7th. My only hope was double Nebula on R&D but he never bit until he had all the tools he needed to stop it. 2-1

Rd4: MaxX This match really really sucked for me. I never got econ rolling and it felt like I got siphoned a million times. At one point he had over 30 credits while I clicked back up to 3. With no econ to speak of, he attacked me relentlessly with keyhole runs, killing any econ I had coming. The final ax was two Wanton Destruction to bin my last agenda's before heading in to steal them away. Needless to say it was a convincing loss. 2-2

Rd5: Valencia Estevez At first, it seems like your typical bad pub stacking Valencia Deck. In the early match up, I trade 3 Sundews for Black Mails. This felt like an alright trade but not having the econ was a little sucky. He quickly stacks me up to 3 bad pub and simply sues that BP to trash my mentals whenever they come out. As my archives fills up with agendas, I start worrying about being able to close out the game. His own The Source makes it impossible for me to lose but I need 8 advancements on an NAPD. I manage to get a Nisei scored with 5 advancements but in order to win, I have to score two 6 advancement Future Perfects in the same turn. (Otherwise he can afford to steal archives). Eventaully I just have nothing left and he's able to mill me out with keyhole runs. 2-3

Rd6: Rielle 'Kit' Peddler This was easily my favorite match of the day. Turn one he reveals the kind of Kit deck we are playing by dropping Decoder and Lock Pick. When the match began I was REALLY loving my Wormholes but now, they lose their appeal a bit. He drops an early Fem and Magnum on a Personal Workshop and I know that it's a threat. Before the Magnum is ready, I decide to go for an early NAPD bait. Either, I get a 4/2 or he goes broke leaving me open to score the Nisei in my HQ. His turn begins with 5 credits and he double Sure Gambles for 8 more credits. I'm worried now because he can easily make my remote and still afford the NAPD without being too far down on credits. What saves me is his decision to go through 2 pieces of ice fora single access on R&D. This leaves him with only 3 credits when he stares down the NAPD. I make a mistake now by getting greedy and going for a Future Perfect that he takes with prefect credits. The big play fo the day however is my immediate follow up with a caprice and Nisei MK II down. With Trick in hand I don't advance it and he starts questioning everything as he tries to figure out what it is. Ultimately, he decides it's a snare and ignores it completely. Double advance and trick of light reveals a Nisei and we both share laughs. The game is over when I slap down a 5/3 single advanced and he has to spend two clicks making money just to pressure me. His first run on R&D (for 2 with interface down) sees an NAPD that he handily purchases. I pop my counter on click 4 and win the next turn with Trick.