[dragon] Worst L5R pt1

[Rick Beidleman]

Yeah, it'll be painful, but maybe somebody can learn from it.

So Friday night, I show up for week 2 of our Season of the Crab league.  It's open play, you make your challenges, get in as many games as you can and at the end of the night the person with the most points (wins + losses) gets a crab box and a seat in the final 8 for out SotCb tournament.

I was actually running my dynasty at 40 cards this night.  Hoshi was in a deck that I'd lent out but I some how doubt that his presence would have made a difference, although Shawn McWhirter has suggested that it would have been a psychological boost for me.  Eh, who knows.

Game 1:  Scorpion Yogo Towers (Everett Mercer)

When I did go 12-1 previously, my only loss was to Everett.  That loss though was caused by special tournament rules in which the event Short Season was in effect every round.  Being able to take only 1 limited or open action a turn for the whole game sucked, and cost me the match.  Anyways, aside from that one loss, I had pretty much been beating Ev consistently of late.  Before the match started I had a bad feeling I was going to lose.  Kharma coming back I guess.  Anyways, on to the report.  I go first and get some gold. His turn 1 he flips a Sunetra, SF, Geisha and Honor's Lesson.  I heard him say "Sweet!" and figure I'm in for a bad time.  He buys the geisha house.  Turn 2 I buy more gold.  His turn 2 he buys Sunetra and Honors lesson.  Turn 3, I buy gold and a Chieko I have no real defensive cards to speak of.  His turn 3 he attaches hvy inf and attacks.  I defend, thinking Chieko a sacrificial lamb.  He resolves an undefended province, we both pass, then he Honor's lesson and uses Sunetra's moving ability.  Down 1 province.  Turn 4, I get another shug and gold.  He takes a 2nd province.  After that I have enough defenders to slow him down.  I get into the upper 20's in honor, kill a few peeps with ToD before I lose.  The early HLD did it I think.

0-1.

Game 2:  Scorpion Yogo Towers (Robert Haime)

I can't think of a time I'd ever lost to Robert....until now.  Turn 1 I buy gold.  Turn 1, he flips Kwanchai, Yudoka, and some gold.  He buys the Kwanchai and Yudoka.  Turn 2, thinking he can't possibly take a province, I buy gold.  Turn 2, he attaches some 2F follower and attackes.  Yudoka burns his essence and takes a province.  Turn 3, I get chieko and gold.  Turn 3 he attaches another 2F follower to Yudoka and attacks.  I defend with Chieko.  I have a BSL and ToM in hand.  I hoped to trick him into thinking I had a duel and so I block the Kwanchai.  He buys the bluff and instead of tactitioning Yudoka, he hits Chieko with that action which gives -2/-2 but they can't be reduced below 1 chi I think.  I know I got a -2/-2.  Anyways, this played into my hand (I thought) so I ToM.  He strikes and then dropped Poisoned Weapon and giggles as he tells me Chieko dies before duel resolution.  I'm sorta shocked at this point.  He tacticians for 3 and takes province 2.  Turn 4, I flip no gold.  Normally, I don't concede games but in this case, I was going to be down to one province at the start of my turn 5, so I concede.  Now that I've calmed down, I'm not so sure Chieko should have died, oh well, too late now.

0-2.

Game 3:  Phoenix Kyuden Agasha (Ron Kettler)

Until this deck, I'd been losing badly to Ron for quite some time.  One of my 12 wins was against him and that wasn't even close.  This is no different.  The first few turns we build our economies.  When we play, it's a race to see who gets our dishonor first.  I win that race.  Drop a Secrets on some shug, and dishonor a Taeruko (he as two in play and two ppg's).  I attempt to shame when he cancels with Hamanari (?)  I'm ok with that as I get the shame back.  I bow for a card and draw a second shame.  My end draw I get ToD.  I also have Shaitung, exp in play.  Next turn I bow his Hamanari and Touch him.  I secrets his other Taeruko and shame her.  I bow for a card, and get ToD.  Drop scroll cache and Touch a dishonored Taeruko.  With my 2 cards, I get my third touch and kill off his other dishonored Taeruko.  He's at negative and game is basically over.

1-2.

Game 4.  Crane Kosaten Shiro (Brian ??? )

Brian's playing an almost all samurai deck.  The only non samurai who also happens to be the only personality with less than 4 chi is the Ki-Rin.  On top of all that, all his crane samurai, except Kurohito have a 3ph.  We get into an arms/honor race.  I bring in Shaitung exp and his next turn he user the underhand to check out my hand.  He doesn't see anything he thinks worth popping so he challenges a chieko.  I strike and TWT the honor.  He said he expected that so I'm not sure why he bothered.  We keep up the race, very boring at this point, until his next challenge, he looks at my hand again, and sees I have only one 4 focus card.  He picks a chosai this time.  Thinking I've lost the challenge, I attempt to get him to focus away his hand.  I focus a 3 and he does some duelling trick to get rid of it.  He was expecting the 4.  We focus the rest of our hands, and I win the challenge by 1.  A turn later, I cross 40.

2-2.

Game 5:  Lion Shiro Matsu (Scott Montgomery)

With the right draws, he can blitz over me.  I still win a few, so I'm not too worried.  He gets a good draw and on turn 3 attacks.  I have a shug in play, but let him take the province since he has a tendency to telegraph his hand, i.e. if he has a rally or multiple Hyuns, he'll use his stronghold for the extra attack phase.  I this case he has neither and sends a Domotai and some tactician with several followers attached.  He takes the province and bows.  Next turn I touch his tactician with the followers.  He mounts several attacks which I defend successfully.  At 32 honor, I have a Chieko, Chosai, Tsuge with sword and Shaitung exp.  Peasant revolt reveals and bows a few of his followers and my Tsuge and Shaitung.  He attacks and I pop my last torrential rain.  My turn I bring in two more defenders, Shaitung and Reju.  I hit 40 honor.  I have no real good defensive cards.  I do have a duel, a tdwwm, and some hitsu-do's but all his peeps have followers.  He attacks with his limited phase.  He spreads his forces over all three provinces, 2,2 and 1.  I defend one province with 2 attackers.  In hindsight, I should have taken the province with only one attacker but I was hoping to whittle down his forces, as I knew he'd rally and come back for a second attack.  I tdwwm with with the first action, then he stands.  I lose all 3 provinces.

2-3.

Game 6:  Shadowlands, spawning grounds (Gerry ???)

Gerry doesn't have a blitz deck.  His is more oni's than goblins.  I can usually hold him off and very rarely lose.  That however is when I'm thinking clearly.  Unfortunately, I was so frustrated that I couldn't think.  I'm down two provinces, and have a few defenders when Imp gift pops.  I add the two honor, putting me in the low 30's but for some reason (frustration) forget to grab my item which would have been bitter.  I realize it after he attacks.  Game over no excuses, just bad play.

2-4

Game 7:  Unicorn not sure which stronghold (Rory ???)

I've only lost to Rory once so I suppose I was due.  He attacks early, turn 3 I think.  I defend, with Chieko, but he of course doesn't attack her province.  He's got some 3/2 guy with a follower and some 4 guy withouth a follower.  I sup into the province he attacked as I have a duel and hitsu-do in hand.  He deadly's and takes the province.  Turn 4 he takes another province.  I hold him off a few more rounds after that, but can't really keep up.  I guess he also got tired losing to duels as he's added poisoned weapons and shinjo shono to his deck now.

2-5.  I leave very pissed off. 

>>> barryakunz at hotmail.com 11/11/02 09:40AM >>>
Kyomitsu-san, I request that you provide the list with details concerning 
your play this weekend.  Since I've been unable to play of late, I have no 
idea how the new cards released into the environment are affecting play.  I 
find that a string of bad tournaments can do wonders for ones clarity as to 
what is and isn't currently working.

So, if it's not to painfull and you can remember, please report on how your 
games went from these two tournaments.  The more details the better.  We can 
all learn from a rough stretch.

Barry Kunz
Togashi Zembu
Herald of the New Dawn


>From: "Rick Beidleman" <Rick.Beidleman at cs.oag.state.tx.us>
>Well, I played in two tournaments this weekend and probably had my worst 
>performances in quite some time.  After going 12-1 in tournament play with 
>this deck two weeks ago, I went 4-8 (2-5 on Fri., 2-3 on Sat.) this 
>weekend.  I'm not really sure what happened exactly, as I'm still sorta in 
>a state of shock.
>
>My deck was fairly solid so I guess I just played badly.  Since I'm taking 
>it apart to regroup, here it is.  Make what you will of it.
>
>Stronghold:  Shiro Mirumoto
>Wind:  Toturi Sezaru
>
>Dynasty:  41
>Personalities:  18
>      3 x Tamori Chieko
>      3 x Tamori Chosai
>      2 x Tamori Hiroko
>      2 x Tamori Shaitung
>      3 x Mirumoto Tsuge
>      Tamori Shaitung, xp
>      Doji Reju, xp2
>      Kaelung
>      Togashi Satsu
>      Togashi Hoshi, xp2
>Regions:  2
>      2 x Sorrows Path
>Events:  1
>      Imperial Gift
>Holdings:  20
>      3 x Gold Mine
>      3 x Hiruma Dojo
>      3 x Mystic Dojo
>      3 x Trading Grounds
>      2 x Jade Works
>      3 x Sanctified Temples
>      2 x Fantastic Gardens
>      Shrine of Stone
>
>Fate:  40
>Kihos:  5
>      3 x The Wind's Truth
>      2 x Hitsu-do
>Spells:  10
>      2 x Walking the Way
>      2 x Torrential Rain
>      2 x Secrets on the Wind
>      3 x Touch of Death
>      Hanabi
>Items:  3
>      Celestial Sword of the Dragon
>      Imperial Standard
>      Bitter
>Actions:
>      3 x Iaijutsu Challenge
>      3 x Iaijutsu Duel
>      3 x Iaijutsu Lesson
>      2 x Shame
>      2 x Block Supply Lines
>      2 x To Do What We Must
>      2 x Scroll Cache
>      2 x Superior Tactics
>      2 x Imperial Edicts
>      1 x Test of Might
>
>Kitsuki Kyomitsu
>
>
>
>_______________________________________________
>Dragon mailing list
>Dragon at michonline.com 
>http://michonline.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/dragon 


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