Shadowfist Tournament Report: GenCon UK 2001
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> GenCon UK 2001 > Final Round Play-by-Play
[posted 12 Sep 2003]
Originally posted to Shadowfist-uk group on Yahoogroups 8 Oct 2001 by Andrew Davidson. Republished with permission.
The players in the final of the UK Championship at Gencon UK were, in order of play:
John Davis - Software
engineer. Also plays Magic and On The Edge.
Steve Bailey - Politics lecturer. Also plays Doomtown and Mythos.
Michael Rogers - Chemistry student. Star Wars ace
Dave Martin - Chemistry teacher. Doomtown, L5R, 7th Sea, Vampire.
Most players were long-standing veterans of the Finchley tournaments. Steve Bailey is a comparative newcomer, having only played the game for a couple of years, but is coming on strong. See [dead link] or [dead link] for a picture of all four. John is the blond giant. Steve has a beard. Dave is in the grey Shadowfist T-shirt and Michael is in the black Shadowfist T-shirt.
In the following notes, site coordinates may appear as (col,row), e.g. (1,2) means 1st column, 2nd row.
Turn 1
------
John played a feng shui site and a Sinister Priest.
Steve played a feng shui site and The Pledged who killed the Priest.
Michael played a feng shui site and a Hacker.
Dave played a feng shui site and a Golden Candle Society. John revealed his Proving Ground.
Turn 2
------
John played another feng shui site behind the first. The Proving Ground made
some Walking Corpses who attacked Steve's feng shui site. This was a Cave Network
but John cancelled this with a Whirlpool. The Cave Network took 4 damage.
Steve played a Family Estate which made a Student of the Bear.
Michael played his second feng shui site behind his first.
Dave played a Shaolin Sanctuary behind his feng shui site.
Turn 3
------
John played a Bandit Hideout to start his second column. His Proving Ground
made more Walking Corpses who joined the first in attacking the Cave Network
again. Michael revealed Fox Pass (1,2) and John cancelled it. The Hacker, Golden
Candle and Student intercepted and killed one set of Walking Corpses. The other
Corpses burnt the Cave Network for power and gained 1 power from the Bandit
Hideout too - 6 power in total.
Steve played a feng shui site behind the Family Estate which was now in his front row. He also played two Shaolin Students.
Michael played a Hacker.
Dave started his second column with his second feng shui site. He also played The Pledged.
Turn 4
------
John had 7 power but couldn't spend it all. He played a Drug Lab behind the
Bandit Hideout and a Sinister Priest in front. The Proving Ground made a White
Disciple in column 1.
Steve started his second column with his second Family Estate. He played two Faked Death to replay the Student and The Pledged using both Family Estates. Michael revealed the Phlogiston Mine (1,1) and made 2 power from the events. The Pledged and Student attacked the White Disciple. The Hacker and Dave's Pledged joined the attack. The White Disciple killed the Hacker and Student.
Michael played Ting Ting who attacked John's Proving Ground and burnt it for power.
Dave played The Pledged and Golden Candle Society. The Pledged attacked Ting Ting and the Golden Candle Society killed John's Sinister Priest.
Turn 5
------
John played another feng shui site behind his Whirlpool and revealed it to be
another Proving Ground. He then played an Evil Twin of Ting Ting, made stronger
because of the revelation. The Walking Corpses attacked Dave's feng shui site
(1,1). Steve intercepted with a Shaolin Student so 3 damage was done to the
site - a Petroglyphs. The Bandit Hideout generated 1 power. John played an Eater
of Fortune and Earth Poisoner who attacked the Petroglyphs with Evil Ting Ting
and burnt it for victory.
Steve played a feng shui site behind his Family Estate in the second column.
Michael did not spend much of his 7 power, playing an Abominable Lab to start a second column and a DNA Mage in column 1. Good Ting Ting seized John's Whirlpool of Blood and placed it behind the Abominable Lab.
Dave played a Family Estate behind his Shaolin Sanctuary in column 1.
Turn 6
------
John attacked the Abominable Lab with the Walking Corpses, Eater of Fortune
and Earth Poisoner. Steve intercepted the Walking Corpses with The Pledged and
Student. Michael killed the Corpses with his DNA Mage and used Fox Pass to divert
the Eater to the dead Mage. The Poisoner did 2 damage to the Lab.
Steve played Shan Tsu who attacked John's Proving Ground and burnt it for power.
Michael drew 4 power and played Kiii-YAAAH! on Steve, giving him 11 power in total! He then played a Student of Dragon and an Arcanotechnician who toasted a Hacker to recycle the Kiii-YAAAH! and steal Steve's remaining 3 power! He then played the White Ninja and attacked Dave's 2nd column feng shui site. Dave aborted this with Operation Killdeer. Good Ting Ting tried the same attack so Dave used Into the Light to recycle the Killdeer and abort that attack too.
Dave then counter-attacked by playing a Shadowy Mentor on the White Ninja and using it to take Michael's Phlogiston Mine and burn it for power. Steve tried to restore his lost fortune with Bite of the Jellyfish but Dave cancelled this with Confucian Stability (using power from the burn). Michael played a free Claw of the Dragon on good Ting Ting.
Turn 7
------
John played a Pocket Demon on Michael for 4 giving him 6 power in total. He
played a feng shui site to start a second column for the second time - he had
now lost all of his original first column. Kan Li was played there to protect
it. The Earth Poisoner attacked Steve first-column Family Estate so that he
could use the Bandit Hideout to gain 1 power.
Steve gave Shan Tsu the White Ninja's abilities using Rigorous Discipline and Shan Tsu then burnt Michael's Fox Pass for victory. He then played Yen Fan in column 1 who attacked Michael's Arcanotechnician. Michael characteristically Imprisoned Yen Fan but Dave cancelled this with Confucian Stability. and the Arcanotechnician died.
The Arcanotechnician made a Golden Comeback and Michael also played The Prof. Good Ting Ting attacked John's new feng shui site. Her Evil Twin intercepted her but Michael responded with Imprison. John cancelled this by Memory Reprocessing a Confucian Stability. The Arcanotechnician toasted a Student to Imprison Evil Ting Ting again but John Reprocessed the Confucian Stability again. Good Ting Ting met her Evil Twin in battle and died, doing 8 damage to the Twin.
Dave's Family Estate made some Pledged then he played the Violet Senshi Chamber in column 1 behind the Shaolin Sanctuary. His Golden Candle Society attacked the Arcanotechnician and John's Eater joined the attack. The Prof intercepted the Eater so that everyone in this battle died. With the Arcanotechnician now dead, the Violet Senshi Chamber copied its ability onto The Pledged who got back the Confucian Stability. Steve now revealed a Wall of a Thousand Eyes (2,2) to deter the White Ninja and John did likewise by revealing the Sacred Heart Hospital (2,1). The White Ninja was impressed by all this and so seized the Bandit Hideout from John instead and used it to gain more power. John used the Hospital to heal Evil Ting Ting.
Turn 8
------
John played another feng shui site. Evil Ting Ting killed Shan Tsu. Kan Li retook
the Bandit Hideout and used it.
Steve played a Wandering Teacher and a cheap Student of the Bear. They attacked Michael's Abominable Lab and seized it, placing it in his third column. Steve played a feng shui site behind it and then Yen Fan attacked the now exposed Whirlpool of Blood for the win. Dave used Shaolin Surprise to temporarily move his Shadowy Mentor from the White Ninja to Yen Fan to abort the attack. Steve's Desolate Ridge retaliated, putting two points of damage on Dave's Petroglyphs (2,1).
Michael played Dragon Dojo behind the Whirlpool in his first column.
Dave played the Yellow Senshi Chamber. The White Ninja then burnt Michael's Whirlpool for victory. John's Evil Ting Ting went to Hospital and the damage she had taken while beating Shan Tsu to death was healed.
Turn 9
------
John just accumulated power, adding 3 to give him 5.
Steve played the Shield of Pure Soul and a Wandering Monk in column 3. He then played Realpolitik on the Shadowy Mentor so that the White Ninja returned to Michael. I was watching his hand and saw that he was husbanding two more Realpolitik - he was used to playing against Dave and knew to expect more Mentors.
Michael's prodigal White Ninja made up for her absence by burning Dave's Petroglyphs for victory. Each player now had one site burnt for victory. He then played a feng shui site behind his Dragon Dojo.
Dave played a cheap Pledged and the Orange Senshi Chamber. He used the Violet Senshi Chamber to copy the dead Arcanotechnician's ability and bring back the Shadowy Mentor to take control of the White Ninja again. She was too scared to attack though.
Turn 10
-------
John accumulated more power and played a feng shui site behind the Bandit Hideout
in his third column.
Steve played a Swiss Banker and a Righteous Protector and then freed the White Ninja by smoking the Mentor with Realpolitik again. Having done Michael a favour, Steve then ordered Yen Fan to attack his Dragon Dojo. Michael was not very grateful and Imprisoned him.
The White Ninja was braver now that she was back with Michael. She attacked John's Hospital and burnt it for victory without opposition. Maybe Kan Li and Evil Ting Ting were intimidated by Michael's Architect events? Anyway, Michael now took the lead with two sites burnt for victory. He played a Vivisector and a Student of the Dragon, drawing a card from the Dojo. He then played Lusignan's Tower to start his third column.
Dave just played a Golden Candle Society and cheap Pledged.
Turn 11
-------
John played a Pocket Demon on Steve for 6 power and used this to play the Mad
Monk. The Monk couldn't attack anyone because all the other players had Hand
resource, even Michael who had seized Dave's Shaolin Sanctuary when I wasn't
looking (turn 8?).
Steve gained 6
power of his own giving him 10 in total. He played Yen Fan again and a Wandering
Teacher. They attacked Michael's Dojo with another Teacher and, after a minor
scuffle, seized it, starting Steve's fourth column. This exposed a feng shui
site and Sun Chen now appeared to attack this for the win. No-one could intercept
so Dave used his Violet Senshi
Chamber to copy the Arcanotechnician again and replay Operation Killdeer to
abort the attack.
Michael's White Ninja now attacked John's exposed feng shui site for the win. A Golden Candle Society intercepted but when the Yellow Senshi Chamber was thrown in too, the White Ninja used her stealth to bypass it. John revealed the site to be a Whirlpool to convince the others that further action was required and declined to intercept himself. Nothing was forthcoming and so everyone started to acclaim Michael as the winner. John expostulated that he wasn't done yet (he'd been holding out) and played Tortured Memories on the Ninja. Michael Vivisected her in response and then played a Neutron Bomb which Dave cancelled with Confucian Stability. With no puff of smoke in which to make his entrance, the Golden Gunman declined to appear and CHAR went on in his place.
Dave played a Shadowy Mentor on Sun Chen who was ordered to attack his former master's Dojo. Steve played his last Realpolitik to cancel the Mentor and regain control of Sun Chen.
Turn 12
-------
John spent his accumulated wealth to play a the Thing with a 1000 Tongues, a
White Disciple (entree) and a Sinister priest (dessert). The Thing attacked
Michael's exposed feng shui site and was promptly Imprisoned. In revenge, the
White Disciple zapped the Vivisector.
Steve played a
cheap Swiss Banker and Student of the Shark. His two Bankers did currency swaps
to generate two more power. Steve had effectively generated 11 power this turn
from 7 sites, 2 Family Estates and 2 Swiss Bankers. Shan Tsu's death now proved
to have been Faked and he reappeared. Into the Light brought back Rigorous Discipline
and this was used to give Shan Tsu superleap like Sun Chen. With Yen Fan too,
Steve now
had three mighty superleapers and these all attacked Michael's exposed feng
shui site for the win, along with 2 Wandering Teachers and the Student!
Dave intercepted in a small way then John made more of an impression as Kan Li and the Mad Monk killed the two Wandering Teachers. John then played an Infernal Pact to summon a Shifting Loyalties for the Pledged Yen Fan but Steve cancelled this with a Confucian Stability. He should perhaps have held back because Dave then played a Suicide Mission to destroy the site - I never did find out what it was.
There is then a hiatus in my notes as I rushed to intercept a woman who was taking away the uncut rare SS sheet from where I'd posted it. The clean-up crew were moving in as the convention closed and the players were increasingly conscious of the time-pressure. I'd told them that the game would be timed out if it came to it. But if there were players tied on game points at the end, I told them that there would have to be a rematch - we weren't going to settle this major prize event with an ad hoc tie-break.
Turn 13?
-------
I then sorted out a couple of other matters before getting back to the game.
I'm not sure how many turns were taken while I was away - perhaps just Michael,
Dave and John's next turns. The players were taking an average of about 3 minutes
per player-turn and I suppose I was away for about 10 minutes. Anyway, I returned
to find Steve launching another massive assault for the win upon John's Whirlpool
of Blood. This was a case of deja vu as it was against stopped by Dave using
Suicide Mission to blow up the Whirlpool. Dave's Violet Senshi Chamber was destroyed
by John in response. This wasn't much of a reward for saving the day but the
Violet Senshi Chamber had it coming - Dave had made too much good use of it.
My notes are a bit disjointed now as I'd lost the thread somewhat and the players were playing quickly now - anxious to beat the clock.
Michael didn't do much more than draw power on his turn.
Dave played Shaolin
Surprise to move a Shadowy Mentor on to Yen Fan who attacked a site. Steve played
Operation Killdeer but Dave cancelled this with Confucian Stability. Yen Fan
did 5 damage to a City Square and
John's White Disciple finished it off before any more could be done to it. Dave
then used Shaolin Surprise again to move the Mentor to Shan Tsu who took the
Bandit Hideout and used it. This opened up a feng shui site which
was behind the Hideout and this gave Dave a chance to win. He used Shaolin Surprise
for third time to take control of Yen Fan again and attack for the win. Steve
aborted this attack with Operation Killdeer.
Turn 14
-------
John played a Pocket Demon on Steve to generate 7 power. He then played an Evil
Twin of the White Ninja who attacked the Abominable Lab. Shan Tsu intercepted
but was subverted by Tortured Memories. Steve's Desolate Ridge shot the Mad
Monk who turned to heal. The Abominable Lab was seized and this now exposed
the Desolate Ridge which was now attacked by Kan Li and Tortured Shan Tsu. Dave
gave a weakened Sun Chen Iron & Silk so he could blocked Shan Tsu. Steve's
other interceptor, a Swiss Banker, did some damage to Kan Li and the Ridge took
2 damage.
Steve drew no power so that he could draw a new hand. He then played Adrienne Hart, a Righteous Protector and a Wandering Teacher. These then attacked the only open feng shui site which belonged to John. Along with them went Shan Tsu, a weak Sun Chen, a Student of the Shark, two Swiss Bankers and Yen Fan. Michael and Dave intercepted some of these in a small way. I suppose John did too because Yen Fan died. Dave played Operation Killdeer to neutralise Shan Tsu and Adrienne Hart must have been taken care of in a similar way because insufficient damage was done to the site which proved to be a City Park and so healed at the end of the turn.
Michael drew 2 power for a total of three and played a feng shui site to start a second column again.
Dave played a feng shui site, Xiaoyang Yun, The Iron Monkey and a Shadowy Mentor on Shan Tsu. The Iron Monkey and Shan Tsu attacked Michael's new feng shui site. This was for the win, of course - everyone was desperately making winning attacks now if they could and it seemed that, after so many, this one must now work as there was nothing to stop it - Xiaoyang Yun was suppressing many possible events. But Michael displayed sangfroid as he revealed the site - a Puzzle Garden! I groaned as this only took 6 damage from the two characters - would this game never end?
Turn 15
-------
John played another Thing with a 1000 Tongues and this attacked the Puzzle Garden
for the win. Someone stopped this with Operation Killdeer - I'm not sure if
it was Steve or Dave.
Steve now made yet another major assault on the Puzzle Garden using a Wandering Monk, a Student of the Shark, Yen Fan, Adrienne Hart and Shan Tsu. I'm not sure how he had got the control of the latter - maybe he played a Shadowy Mentor on it. Ting Ting intercepted the Wandering Monk (now where did she come from?) and Xiaoyang Yun intercepted the Student of the Shark but that wasn't enough and so Steve won. This was only just in time as the hall was now closing and we were the only event left in the entire hall - phew!
The game took about 2 hours 45 minutes. John got off to a fast start with his
Walking Corpses and always had an army of strong characters. Michael took over
as the leader in the middle game and would probably have won the game if it
had timed-out, having two sites burnt for victory. Dave had winning chances
too but his main role in the game was a spoiler, using his strong denial to
stop other players winning. Steve was the strongest at the end because of his
large site structure which let him play many powerful characters. He made repeated
strong winning attacks and so his victory was well-deserved when one of them
managed to break through the others' defenses.
The losing finalists were awarded uncut sheets of Shaolin Surprise and sets of promo cards. Steve Bailey's main prize was the trip to Gencon in Milwaukee next year to play in the World Championship. His nickname in Doomtown is "Bad Maps" and so he was given a program and map of the area to help him find his way. Also, so that he would have something solid to take home, he was awarded a limited edition print of the saucy new Shadowfist gunslinger, Katie Kincaid - just the thing for a Doomtown fan like Steve. Here is a final picture of him hugging her: [dead link]
There were still plenty of players left - they'd all been playing consolation games for promo cards. They gave Steve a good round of applause and their congratulations. We all then had to pack up and make a hasty exit.
Andrew [Davidson]
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