Shadowfist Tournament Report: Kublacon 2007

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[posted 26 Aug 2007; updated 2 Sep 2007]

Kublacon 2007 (May 25-28 in Burlingame, CA) was back to basics for Shadowfist events - none of the unusual events of years past, just solid butt-kicking. The winners were more or less announced by Erik Berg in the Shadowfist Forum on Yahoogroups on 31 May 2007. Read the original in the archive if you're a member.

Three reports for you so far:

Michael Stadermann posted a report to the Shadowfist Forum in response to Erik's post. Reposted below, with Michael's permission.

Max Hufnagel posted a report to the Shadowfist Forum, and also has it on his blog [livejournal.com, 26 Aug 2007]. Reposted below, with Max's permission.

Eric Lui posted a report to the Shadowfist Forum. Reposted below, with Eric's permission.

Kublacon 2007 Report
by Michael Stadermann, 8 June 2007

Originally posted to the Shadowfist Forum on Yahoogroups on 31 May 2007 by Michael Stadermann. Republished with permission. If you're a member of the group, you can read the original in the archive.

--- In shadowfist_forum@yahoogroups.com, "Erik Berg" <galtwish1@...> wrote:
>
> Saturday night Whirlpool of Blood:
> Eric Lui won on time, but Earl Miles won after they played it out.
> Steve Viadollid was in the final as well.
>
> Sunday morning Final Brawl:
> Warren Snider won after 3 rounds with a Bull Market deck.* A final
> was skipped as Erik Berg (2nd seed after 3 rounds, big surprise) and
> Warren Snider dropped to play Team Sealed World of Warcraft with
> Max, Joe, and Eric Lui.

Actually, Dan Hoffman and his Senoritas deck were the 2nd seed, and Erik was 3rd, with Randall making the 4th. Dan did very well in this tournament, playing a strong deck and being the newest player in the final. The two finalists that didn't drop decided to split the win between themselves.

> Sunday night Whirlpool of Blood:
> Quyen won on timeout with the most ridiculous draft deck I've ever
> seen. 2 Big Bruiser, 2 Black Ops Trooper, 2 Imprison, 1 Nerve Gas,
> 2 Is That All You've Got, 1 Golden Comeback, 1 Rise of the NeoBuro.
> Paul Meyers, David Rakonitz, and Erik Berg donated sites in the
> final game.

The second draft had much better decks overall than the first one. It seemed like everyone needed one Whirlpool to get warmed up; in the first round, many games were decided by who drew 4 FSS first and then took the last one. The second round had several very good decks in it.

The numbers:
- the Whirlpools had 15 players apiece
- the Final Brawl had 12 players
- 2 Demo victims (I can send you the names, Braz)

Overall, there were more than 20 Fist players present throughout the Con. I was under the impression that we had fewer participants than in previous years, but was very happy about the Whirlpool attendance.

It was great to see everyone again, particularly the SoCal people, who I only see once a year. Maybe we should establish a 2nd annual event to get together more often...

Props:
- Dan Lugo, for actually getting Jormungandr into play with his draft deck
- Max, for managing to actually get into the game with his draft deck after forgetting to put Feng Shui Sites in. I still don't know how he did it.
- Dim Sum. Great Stuff!

Flops:
- emergency brakes. 'Nuff said.
- the Horde of kids who followed Kubla around to yell "KUBLA!!" in high-pitched voices whenever they entered a room.
- demo decks. At least the ones I put together from excess Standard cards. They suck and are no fun to play with. Next time I'll demo with 10KB starters.

[writeup by Michael Stadermann]

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Kublacon 2007 Report
by Eric Lui, 8 June 2007

Originally posted to the Shadowfist Forum on Yahoogroups on 8 June 2007 by Eric Lui. Republished with permission. If you're a member of the group, you can read the original in the archive.

>
> The question we gotta ask ourselves is: was it delicious?
> Well, Eric, was it?
>

Well, yes, it was in fact, delicious. On several occasions. (For the uninitiated-- this is one of those inane catchphrases that we throw around in our local playgroup for any play which brings deep, psychic satisfaction. Whether it's good, bad, or zero-sum, if it feels so good that I want to lick my cards, I ask myself, "Is it delicious?" Like anything viral, it took on a life of its own over the course of the con.)

I've been on travel for the last two weeks, counting KublaCon, so I've only just now cleaned up my KublaCon report for public consumption.

We went to Zachary's on Thursday night. Somehow, the table for 10 worked out perfectly, even though we had 11 people. Shortly after Joe sat down with his wife Noelle, who are expecting their second child.

Dim sum was less than a smashing success because of car trouble. Both Pete and Leah expressed disappointment that Mike didn't make it. I met Max's wife. Good for Max.

I spent the rest of the con eating chili and microwaved lasagna.

- I forget what happened Friday, except that I recklessly spent money on used DVD's at amoeba. Yay, used.

- I drafted Magic with Joe, Warren, and Berg. I suck. 2-1 finishes don't count when your wins come against the foul-mouthed 15-year-olds playing 45 card Sliver decks.

- I'm sure there were casual games of 'Fist. I was unable to steal any wins with the Kung Fu Prodigy deck.

- Joe bought a WoW collection worth $25, and I taught him and Max how to play. We built a deck using only set 1 cards for the common/uncommon event the next day.

- Joe won the common/uncommon WoW event. I got two game losses for an illegal deck, because I can't read the class icons. No one noticed until my last round opponent, who caught me twice because, as he said, "I play a Pally online, and we can't use daggers." An hour later, I realized Pally = Paladin. No wonder Berg hates this game. The players talk like gangsters from the Godfather.

- Everybody hates Joe, that smug bastard.

Three Shadowfist events:

- At the Saturday night draft, no Berg and no Jan means something-something-something. Weird drafts, I think. Actually, I played two Gorilla Fighters on Turn 6 or something of my round 3 game to just dominate the board. Gas masks are still relevant in draft!

- Sometime during the third round, Max and I went to play in the live-action Aliens boardgame with an army of elementary school kids. Who are these parents who let their kids crawl around on a hotel lobby floor at 11:30 at night? It was the most high-energy thing I did all weekend.

- I actually didn't get to play in Aliens. Earl was unhappy that the only other 2+ game winner dropped, so I had to go back and play the draft final. Blah blah, boring site takeage, blah blah blah. I cancelled some takeout Event with The Ape is Loose. I should have jumped on the table and pounded my chest, since that was the highlight of the game for me. FWIW, Earl, Steve, and I went to time, and I won at time. We played it out. Earl played a bunch of expensive edges and ground us down. Steve played his 4th site wide and "went for the win" with 0% chance of getting there, Earl took the last sight. I blame myself. I was upstream of Earl in his draft pod. I passed him plenty of those cards!

- We played Caylus after the Sat. draft. Berg immolated me on the 4th turn, so I spent the rest of the game (3 hours) trying to roll him for spite. He still finished third. I should bring more haterade to these things.

- On Sunday, I dropped after 2 timeout losses in the Final Brawl. I think Berg and Warren were in the final, but they played quickly with Paul so we could play WoW Team Sealed (3 players).

- Max took a million notes during the Final Brawl. I'll put an even money line on whether Max publishes a tournament report based on this, or if they disappear like all the other notes he's taken for the past 7 years.

- In WoW, because of the awkward numbers and the stupid slacker kids who show up a half hour late to events, we had to split up the Four Horsemen (Warren vetoed "Tom and Harry") and rope Tim and Max into playing as my "team." We won. Yay. We had to beat Berg, Warren, and some odd lot kid to do it. Boo. That kid is going to USC in the fall, so he might game with us. Yay. Berg hates WoW even more now. Boo. I chucked our prize packs at the 2nd-place team, who really did play very well.

- Warren made the 2nd draft final on 0 hours sleep against Paul and Quyen. Quyen rolled them.

- Darren missed his first role playing session, but got into his second. Two years ago, he was the best roleplayer, so they gave him all the "prizes". (at KublaCon, they offer KublaBucks, random dead game stuff like L5R playmats, and a collectible set of Kubla pins) Last year, he tied for the rewards with another player. This year, he says, "Everybody is friends, and everyone was great, so we just rolled for the prizes." What is this?! World of Warcraft??? =P Darren is slipping.

- I never got to open my copy of Thurn and Taxis. I blame Joe, who didn't come on Sunday.

- I got to play Coloretto with Max, Michael, and Randall M! Gee. I can't believe the amount of inane slang that one picks up at these cons. Michael asked repeatedly, "Is it delicious?!" in his slight German accent. As I'm sure our friends in North Carolina will attest-- that guy really is a Bond villain. Max won at Coloretto, so he likes that game now.

- We had IHoP on Monday morning. It was not delicious, and we had to wait a really long time. Hence, I didn't get home until 7:20. Frown!

- We salvaged the day by stopping at an Allard farms stand by the gas station on the way home. I don't know what the difference between a pluot and an plumcot is, but they were both good.

--
Eric

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Kublacon 2007
by Max Hufnagel, 9 June 2007

Originally posted to the Shadowfist Forum on Yahoogroups on 9 June 2007 by Max Hufnagel. Republished with permission. If you're a member of the group, you can read the original in the archive. Edited a little based on follow-up corrections from Steve Valladolid (original forum message here).

Somehow, some people got the idea that I take notes during games and at gaming conventions so I can write about what happened – who attended, what decks were played, who won and how did they win, etc.

This is not the case.

A while ago, it occurred to me, as I’m sure it’s occurred to most of you, that one can tell much about people by watching them play Shadowfist. At some point in the future, I may make a bid for world conquest, and I figure knowing more about possible opponents is a good thing. (Or allies – there are certain to be many minion positions available.)

Ha ha. I am, of course, kidding.

Visually … unfortunately, it turned out that my camera battery was dead, and so I could take no pictures. But do not despair! While my only resource was MSPaint on a computer with only a touch pad – no mouse or digital pen-thing – I have still somehow managed to create images that I think realistically depict some of the key events of the weekend

KublaCon weekend officially started for us on Thursday night. No Shadowfist. Instead, pizza and beer at world-famous Zachary’s in Berkeley.

Friday morning, it was off to the Pork Store for breakfast. The Pork Store, located in historic Haight Ashbury, is the best place to get pancakes in the world.

[Steve Valladolid and Erik Berg Enjoying Pancakes]

After breakfast, we head out to Amoeba Records where many DVDs are purchased. I make my Roll to Save vs. Section: Cult/Subsection: Shatner, and manage to escape without purchasing anything I will later regret.

Then on to the con!

Things Noticed During Various Casual / Non-Tournament Games

Quyen tells Steve that General Snuggles (General Senggelinqin) is ineffective. Steve points out that General Snuggles has taken three sites in the last three turns. [The three sites were all taken from Quyen himself who still refused to give Snuggles his due. - Steve V.]

Paul, Steve, and Max in an intense 3-player game. While the decks are more friendly than tournament-level, the players aren’t. The action is fast and furious, sites are taken and retaken, and the balance of power constantly shifts – each of the guys looks as though he’s about to win at a couple of points, and each looks completely out of the game at others. Eventually, with only one Feng Shui Site on the board, Steve draws his last card, makes a bid for the win, and is stopped. Max, with only a Bridge of Birds in play, sees that Paul is at 3 FSS, has five cards in hand, and with but one card left in his deck. With plenty of Power and two Confucian Stabilities in hand, Max draws, smirks, and says, “Done.” Jerk.

Another “friendly” game, and Michael Stadermann has just declared a big attack against Max. Poor Max … until a new guy (Daniel?) comes over, looks interested, and states he’d like to learn how the game is played. Michael is on demo-duty, and thus he goes to demo the game. All Michael’s cards are therefore removed from play, and the attack is declared to have never been declared. Lucky Max!

Lugo manages to play John Fenris, the Iron Man. Yay Lugo! Fenris is almost immediately killed in a Michael’s War of Attrition, though, and his brain eaten by a Michael’s BoneChill. Max’s janky Reverend deck (featuring Reverend RedGlare, Reverend Adam Wither, and Reverend Zebediah Paine) manages to pull through for the win.

[A very eerie coincidence or I played a very similar game. I played my Bonechill deck versus Paul and Alfonso. Alfonso went on and on about his deep love and admiration of John Fenris, the Iron Man. Slightly disturbing. I think a little bit of Alfonso died when I played War of Attrition, taking out Fenris and my Bone Chill. Luckily I had a Reinvig Seed out. *devious* - Steve V.]

Early game, after he plays a Railroad Workers and a Wah-Shan Clan Warriors, Max is brutally – yes, brutally – attacked. He responds with an Unexpected Rescue, pulls Red Bat, and follows with Shaolin Hoedown, baby! Five Power for the Maxster! So, he’s the one everyone else beats down for the rest of the game. Le sigh.

Constructed Tournament:
Players were allowed to change decks between rounds. There were 13 players – so, to make things easy, I decided not to play.

Decks seen:
Steve: (1) Unexpected Rescue, (2, 3) ???
Paul: (1, 2, 3) Monster Hunters, Capture Squads, and Sinister Accusations
Eric: (1) Shaolin Agents, Butterfly Swords, Scales of the Dragon, (2, 3) ???
Warren: (1, 2, 3) Ascended power cards with Serena Chase [decklist]
Tim: (1, 2, 3) Architect power cards with Tracer Implants
David: (1) Lotus/Hand, (2, 3) Dragon beatdown
Darren: (1, 2, 3) Dragon deck with Swift Eagle
Randall: (1) Big Bruiser, (2, 3) ???
Berg: (1) Lotus/Dragon, (2, 3) ???
Quyen: (1) Can of Whupass, (2) Fire Ants, Nightclubs, (3) ???
Robert: (1) Commander Corliss, Drop Troopers, Assault Squad, (2, 3) ???
Dan: (1) Jammer/Dragon Gun deck, (2) Yakuza Enforcers/Dragon deck, (3) ???

Round One, 2 out of 3 four-player games time out. Match ups were:
Randall, Darren, Paul, and Erik. Time out.
Eric, Tim, Quyen, and David. Time out.
Steve, Robert, Warren, and Dan. Warren wins.

Round Two: 2 out of 3 games time out. Match ups were:
Warren, Erik, Tim, and Paul
Randall, Steve, and Darren
David, Dan, and Quyen

Round Three: Max did not take note. Bad Max.

Winner: Warren Snider

[Warren is The Man]

Things Noticed During Various Constructed Tournament Games

Berg with a 4th turn Golden Gunman, but Quyen’s Jenny Zheng Opens a Can of Whupass on Berg’s front-row FSS, taking it.

Tim’s Proving Ground has been beaten on by the person to his left and has just 1 Body remaining. The table falls prey to his subtle manipulations, though, and the Proving Ground somehow survives the full round all the way back around, allowing Tim to bring out CHAR.

Steve has declared an attack that is about to take Warren’s Whirlpool of Blood. Before damage is dealt to the site, Steve announces he will use his Bazaar. Eric Lui turns his Field of Tentacles and says, “Cancel.” Steve, displaying the pure chutzpah that is one of the marks of a true Shadowfist champion, points to the site he is about to take from Warren. “Whirlpool?” he asks innocently.

Draft Tournaments

I have few (basically no) notes on the two Draft events.

Drafting Shadowfist is always fun. Besides Quyen’s broken draft deck (2 Big Bruiser, 2 Black Ops Trooper, 2 Imprison, 1 Nerve Gas, 2 “Is That All You've Got”, 1 Golden Comeback, 1 Rise of the NeoBuro, etc.), that is.

During the last round, I sorted out my deck, then somehow neglected to put the Feng Shui Sites back in when I shuffled it all up. I dropped a first turn Student of the Bear, though, and held on to a Bite of the Jellyfish until Dan Burned for Power. I played a Paradox Garden off that, and eventually managed to generate enough Power for both a Mad Monk – who took one FSS – and another reasonable hitter, who took another. My comment: “Feng Shui Sites are for amateurs.”

At one point during the KublaCon weekend, the convention center/hotel was attacked by a huge beast – Godzilla, I believe. The Seven banded together to defeat him, with Paul filling in for Jan and someone else (whose name escapes me at the moment) filling in for John. Eric attacked him (Flying Leap) immediately, and the rest of us soon followed.

[Eric Lui Attacking Godzilla While the Rest of The Seven Look On]

And these were just some of the highlights of Shadowfist at KublaCon 2007.

[writeup by Max Hufnagel]

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