Shadowfist Tournament Report: Pandemonium 21 (2004)

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[posted 7 Mar 2004; updated 11 Apr 2004]

Pandemonium 21 was held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on Feb.20-22, 2004. The local playgroup ran several tournaments including the unofficial Canadian National Championship. The winners were announced by Braz King in the Shadowfist Forum on Yahoogroups on 24 Feb 2004. Read the original in the archive if you're a member.

A bunch of stuff for you:

Canadian National Championship 2004 game play-by-play by Braz King, originally posted to the Shadowfist Forum on Yahoogroups.

Pandemonium 21 pictorial by Troy Duffy (perhaps better known to the community as The Lord High Troy, Winner of the Friday Final Brawl at Origins 2003 :) with help from Charles Soong

Originally posted to the Shadowfist Forum on Yahoogroups on 24 Feb 2004 by Braz King. Republished with permission. If you're a member, read the original in the archives.

Tournament Report: Pandemonium

This con featured four Shadowfist events. Two Final Brawls and a multiplayer Comrades in Arms were played Friday and Saturday. Braz King won the Friday Final Brawl, Tim Linden won the Saturday Final Brawl, and Troy Duffy won the Comrades in Arms. The top five players by accumulated points went on to play in Sunday's championship game.

See Troy Duffy's (with Charles Soong's help!) photos at the ShadowfistON yahoo group.

Pandemonium Championship Game Play-By-Play
5-Player MegaBrawl

This was a 4-hour time limit, single game, winner take all event and the (*Unofficial*) Canadian Shadowfist Championship. At stake was the top prize of a custom embroidered RedWolf Apparel shirt and an engraved Trophy Mug.

Players, seating, and turn order:
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Decks:
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Braz King: "Big Fatty" (Hand/Dragon hand-size manipulator with Fatty Cho and Tong Su Yin)
Kel McKay: "Here Comes the Bride" (Red Wedding theme deck with Dragon-Monarch hitters)
Colin Donaldson: "Monkey Madness" (Ook Ook OOk OoOooook! Ba-BOOOOM!!!)
Tim Linden: "What WAS That Number Again?" (Purists-Architects featuring Mutator mayhem)
Troy Duffy: "Broken Arrow II: Revenge of the Cheese" (200+ card multi-multi-faction deck featuring Peacock Summit and every 1-resource broken card in the game!)

Play-by-Play
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Play-by-play includes all attacks or significant moments. Early buildup turns are reported lightly.

Turn 1.

Kel: FSS, Ice Healer, Amulet. Attacks Braz' FSS (Sunless Sea Ruins, 1 dam).

Colin: FSS, Big Macaque Attack. Attacks Kel's Ice Healer to prevent the Amulet from growing.

Turn 2.

Building. Nothing significant

Turn 3.

Braz: Attacks Kel's unrevealed FSS (Ancestral Sanctuary, 1 dam). Much salivating as opponents eye the vulnerable site. Kel declares he is abandoning it and welcomes takers.

Kel: Plays Blood Fields.

Tim: Secret Pact using 2 DNA Mages and a single Mathemagician. Applause.

Troy: Weenie buildup now gives him Lotus, Arch, Hand, and Dragon resource by T3 from a 200+ card deck. Opponents hurl accusations of breaking 5-card limit rule, stacking deck, making deals with dark forces, etc. Troy laughs.

Turn 4.

Braz: Slow start due to early reveal of SSR. Not doing anything.

Kel: Tried to use Blood Fields to copy SSR. Discussion. Doesn't work. Rants against Family Home ruling. Plays House on the Hill for his first Dragon resource.

Colin: Plays 3rd FSS.

Troy: Plays Asc weenie and attacks Colin's unrevealed FSS with three weenies.

Turn 5.

Braz: Plays Fatty Cho (5 fight), takes Kel's Ancestral Sanctuary and Burns for Power so he can afford to discard (SSR problems).

Kel: Now has 2 FSS, House on the Hill, and Blood Fields, guarded by one Ice Healer.

Colin: His first Ba-BOOM! hits the table. Attacks Blood Fields with BOOM and Big Macaque. Kel uses BlFields to copy Tim's Diamond Beach. Braz and Troy join up to kill the Macaque with weenies. Kel intercepts BOOM with Ice Healer, Blood Fields not taken.

Tim Linden: Plays Hexagram Spirit, attacks Blood Fields. Hex Spirit makes two power by guessing Monkey Boy (Braz says Hexagram's Subtitle should be "I-Made-Colin's-Deck-Construct" given that Colin was playing a deck of Tim's). Troy throws a DNA Mage with Iron and Silk to stop Tim's attack. Braz yells at Troy "why don't you just piss on a Sacred Ground while you're at it!!!" Much laughter.

Turn 6.

Braz: Plays 2nd FSS.

Kel: Plays Ice Tiger and Ice Warriors.

Colin: Attacks T-Duff's unrevealed FSS with Ba-BOOM! And Monkey Boy. Revealed monster Peacock Summit, damaged it.

Tim: Mutator and Hexagram Spirit attack damaged Peacock Summit. Troy plays Tortured Memories on the Mutator (note Troy showed us 3 TortMem in his discard pile, so he drew 4 in the first 6 turns!). Troy intercepts Hex Spirit with the Mut, killing both. Tim is not happy. Much pondering over the Mutator in combination with the Peacock Summit... wow.

Turn 7.

Braz: Plays 3rd FSS and 2 weenies. No dragon resources yet.

Troy: Plays Iron Monkey. Attacks Kel's Blood Fields. Ice Warriors intercept and the Ice Tiger at the adjacent column turns to claw for 2. Blood Fields copies Diamond Beach and once again stands up to the attack. Kel keeps it.

Turn 8.

Braz: Fatty Cho attacks Colin's Temple of the Monkey King for 5 damage.

Kel: Ice Tigers attack Monkey Boy with Dirk Wisely's Gambit. Ba-Boom intercepts and now has 4 damage. People start saying goodbye to their characters. Kel plays Golden Gunman (announcing him as the best man at the wedding).

Colin: Ba-BOOM attacks Fatty in revenge for desecrating the temple of his king. Tim intercepts with 3 DNA Mages and a Purist Initiate to ensure the monkey blows up. After first Mage dies Kel plays Larcenous Mist on Ba-BOOM who then kills one more DNA mage and dies quietly. Colin plays Funky Monkey, seized KM's Blood Fields finally, Monkey Boy drew a card. C plays Big Macaque who is around 5 (with the Iron Monkey's boost). BMA attacks Fatty Cho and kills him finally getting revenge for the Monkey King.

Tim: Plays Primus. Attacks Colin's Blood Fields and seizes it (This is dubbed "The Blood Fields Sideshow"). Plays 3rd FSS safely tucked in behind the Fields.

Troy: Heals Iron Monkey.

Turn 9.

Braz: Invites everyone to a Dragon Boat Festival (hand size now at 10 with two SSR). Played Tong Su Yin and attacked Temple of the Monkey King. Why? Because Braz is a dough-head. Temple turns, the big snake gets flaccid and is killed by the Monkey Boy. Braz blushes with shame.

Kel: Golden Gunman attacks Colin's Temple of the Monkey King and Burns for Victory (1st of the game).

Colin: Plays 3rd FSS.

Tim: Plays Mathemagician.

Troy: Plays 3rd FSS and then an Evil Twin of the Golden Gunman (many jokes about the Gunman's coked-up sister trashing the ice sculptures at the wedding).

Turn 10.

Braz: Plays Hacker. First Dragon resource. Attacks Funky Monkey with weenies for 3 damage. Attacks Primus with weenies for 4 damage. Plays Final Brawl. Colin threatens "who's the monkey". Troy jumps in with another Final Brawl. Primus is in the Floating Restaurant drinking Seabass Soup like a house on fire. Colin makes good on his threat and "Who's the Monkeys" Braz, who has no characters in play. Colin decided to let the Iron Monkey survive. Braz plays another Final Brawl. Board is now cleared except for the smirking Primus at his private table in the Floating Restaurant. Braz plays Fatty Cho at 4 fighting.

Kel: Plays 3rd FSS (has 1 BfV).

Colin: Plays Gorilla Fighter at discount.

Tim: Blood Fields copies Colin's Monkey House for power gain. Plays Mutator.

Troy: Plays Alchemist's Lair.

Turn 11:

Braz: Attacks Troy's still-damaged Peacock Summit with 4-fight Fatty. People think Braz is crazy. Troy turns DNA Mage to change location and then intercepts with two turned characters. Braz plays Rigorous Discipline to give Fatty the Iron Monkey's abilities. People look at Troy's mound of power. Troy plays Shaolin Secrets to cancel Rig Dis. Braz plays Shaolin Secrets to cancel Shaolin Secrets. Troy plays Confucian Stability to cancel Shaolin Secrets. Braz plays Confucian Stability to cancel Confucian Stability. Troy Imprisons Fatty Cho. When the beautiful subtleties of the Guiding Hand fail you, resort to police brutality. Braz plays Art of War (hand size at 12) and Novice Students.

Kel: Plays Ice Vixen (announcing her as the maid of honour). Hoots and catcalls ensue.

Colin: Plays Big Macaque. Ooks and ooks ensue.

Tim: Plays Quantum Sorcery, DNA Mage, turns for power, plays 2nd Mutator. Now has two Mutators, weenies, and Primus. Looks scary.

Troy: Plays Kar Fai's Crib, Golden Comeback's the Evil Twin, but this time it is the Mutator's twin. Plays Shadowy Mentor on Tim's Mutator because of course, the Mut would want to be with its twin! Attacks Kel's unrevealed FSS and succeeds. BfV. Also stole 1 power from Kel with Iron Monkey.

Turn 12:

Braz: Kii-YAAAH Colin for 2 power. ~14-fighting Tong Su Yin attacks Troy's Peacock Summit (at 30 body) thanks to Mutators. Braz hoped Troy would intercept with all of his characters (2 Muts, Iron Monkey and weenies) waiting to drop the Blood of the Valiant but Troy didn't take the bait. Tong smashed up the Summit, which smoked at the end of the turn when the Mut's double pump ended.

Kel: Plays 2 Ice Healers and and Ice Courtier. We all try to remember how the Courtier interacts with the Mentor.

Colin: Plays Funky Monkey. Does awesome Chimp Pimp impersonations whenever anyone threatens to attack him uttering his threat "You don't want none of this," and reaching for an imaginary pistol. Much laughter.

Tim: Plays yet another Mutator!

Troy: Plays 3rd FSS (has 1 BfV). Iron Monkey attacks Kel's House on the Hill. Kel Golden Comeback Golden Gunman. Troy curses Golden Gunman as he looks helplessly at the Archie events in his hand. Iron Monkey finally dies vs the Gunman.

Turn 13:

Braz: Big Tong Su Yin attacks Kel's damaged Tangram Alley. Tim makes a deal with Kel that if the Courtier releases his Mutator from Troy's Mentor Tim will intercept. Deal is consummated, Tim intercepts. Braz plays Blood the Valiant and whacks the site. Kel threatens Avenging Thunder, Troy threatens to Bite. Braz BfP safely.

Kel: Turns Gunman to heal.

Colin: Attacks Troy's unrevealed FSS with Gorilla Fighter, Funky Monkey, and Big Macaque Attack. Takes Stone Spirals and BfV. Plays Ba-BOOM!

Tim: Another Quantum Sorcery. Gets more power. Attacks Troy's FSS with Primus and 2 Mutators. Troy plays Discerning Fire and smokes 2 Mutators. Tim plays Shattering Fire and kills T-Duff's Evil Twin of the Mut. Troy Nerve Gases Primus. Attack fails. Tim plays Dr. Celeste who is hampered by the tech Monkeys.

Troy: Attacks Braz's Drug Lab with a weenie advised by Dirk Wisely. Braz interepts with Novice Students hoping to get a power next turn.

Turn 14:

Braz: Attacks Tim's Diamond Beach with Tong Su Yin to try and pull even with Troy and Kelly. Much discussion over whether Ba-BOOM! should interecept. He does. Table cleared. Braz loses lots of characters. Braz plays Old Uncle who sits in his rocking chair and tells a calming tale.

Kel: Plays Queen of the Ice Pagoda and attacks Colin's FSS. Braz realizes if Kel takes the site then Colin will drop out of first place and Braz will move into second place and if someone takes a site from Troy Braz will end up tied for first so joins the attack. Colin reveals and uses Cave Network to play Gorilla Fighter. Kel forgest he has an unrevealed Whirlpool but still takes the site and BfV. Colin glares at Braz.

Tim: Plays Gambling House.

Troy: Plays Big Bruiser. Braz quickly plays Into the Light and Troy plays XXY [Xiaoyang Yun - ed.] in response. Braz gets his card but is screwed by the Spy (holding two Is That all You Got and two Iron and Silk with about 20 fighting easily available in the smoked pile). Troy attacks Braz's undamaged Sunless Sea Ruins for the win, holding XXY in reserve. Thinking the time out is near and hoping to better his final ranking, Colin sends his Gorilla Fighter to join the attack. Braz Fox Passes the Bruiser to stop the win. Kelly also believes he will finish higher if Troy wins so Whirlpools to cancel Fox Pass. Braz reveals his own Whirlpool to save the Fox Pass. Leaves only 3 body left. Troy attacks with XXY. Tim, also protecting his final ranking, does not use Blood Fields to copy Fox Pass and stop the attack. Braz can't play any denial due to XXY. Troy wins!

Two minutes later the time-out buzzer clangs!

Braz presents Troy with a trophy mug with a pewter emblem engraved with "2004 Pandemonium Champion". We take a picture of Troy standing beneath Cavebear's Shadowfist Banner which we proudly displayed all weekend long.

So Troy now takes over from robin (who was in Ireland and unable to defend his title) as the (Unofficial) Canadian Shadowfist Champion!!!

Congratulations Troy! And many thanks to the players who made this a great Pandemonium!

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