GenCon Report part 3

Okay, it's been a hectic last week and a half or so, but I've finally
gotten around to finishing this.  Whew.

At the championships, I played a Katana deck, nicknamed "General
Street Punk."  Here it is:

Katana Persona
Nakano Quickening
Kane Quickening
3 Thunder Castle Games cards

9 Basic attacks
6 Basic blocks
5 Back Away (Katana)
5 Dodge (Katana)

2 Focus
3 Careful Planning

3 Angry Mob (LE)
2 Darius
3 Divine Intervention
2 Do It Yourself
5 Holy Ground (LE)
3 Kate
3 Kirk Matunas
3 Street Punk (LE)
1 Toadies

4 Collect
2 Disguise (Kurgan)
3 Illusory Terrain
3 Master (LE)
2 Master's Stratagem
1 Nexus
2 Scorn (ME)

2 Quality Blade (ME)
========================
73 cards + 6 pregames


	At the heart of the deck is the premise of card cycling.  You
don't want to hold onto much.  If it's not useful now, drop it; 
there'll be something else coming along in just a moment.  A few key
cards (Kate, Do It Yourself) can be held onto, but for the most part,
you want cards to flow through your hand.  Draw a card with the ME
Quality Blade, then discard up to two to get two more.

	Obviously, this deck isn't big on swordplay.  If an attack 
comes at you, dodge it or flee to Holy Ground.  One weakness I ran 
into was against Master's Advance; as such, I may just bump the 
Focus count up to the full 6.  I mean it when I say every deck needs
6 Focus in it -- including Katana decks. 

	Also obvious is the fact that this deck is based around 
direct damage.  If a Greenfield Hobby goes down, just exert to remove
it.  If it goes down when you fire off three Kirk Matunases, however,
you may have to rip a TCG.  I've since acquired a second Toadies to 
go in the deck (another must).

	The Darius'ed Disguises serve two purposes.  First, they
hinder any non-Katana players from removing your situations, and, 
second, they keep the opponent from using Police: Prevent Damage to
stop your direct damage.

	Getting the Master/Collect combo down is mostly gravy.  It
isn't neccessary unless you happen to be a paranoid, extremely unlucky
exerter like myself.

	Illusory Terrain is just an all-around useful card.  There 
are few locations that help this deck, and several that hurt it.

	ME Scorn is a *highly* underrated card.  Try it; you'll love
it.  It can be either a finisher or a mid-game weakener which allows
you to get the drop on the opponent.

	The Quickenings generally serve to disrupt your opponent.
You can steal his best stuff (with Kane Q), copy his events (with 
Nakano Q), and/or blow up his stuff (with Katana).  The deck does not
depend on them, so if they're lost, it's no big deal.  Probably the
hardest thing to learn about playing this deck is when to use your
cards, when to steal his/her cards, and when to copy his/her events.
If you feel adventurous, explore a Chessex deck based around this one.


GENERAL THOUGHTS (no pun intended)

	Bill won because he was the best player.  Hands down.

	I am concerned about the level of scouting going on (where 
you finish your match early and go watch the game your next opponent
will come from).  I'll admit that I did it some at Origins, but it
bothered me, so I stopped.  It strikes me as horribly unfair that 
your opponent can know every card in your deck without you having the
same benefit.  Any chance we can get a "floor rule" on this?

	Wasn't there supposed to be a HL players' guide coming out?

	Top 10 ME cards: (1) Focus, (2) Katana, (3) Destruction, 
(4) Bassett & Hotchkiss, (5) Charm, (6) Master's Stratagem, (7) new 
Quality Blade, (8) Katana's Taunt, (9) Master's Advance, (10) Catwalk.
Honorable Mention: Disguise, Mirror Image, Toadies, Bloodlust, 
Slashes, Upper Hand.

	Possible deck ideas I haven't heavily tested: Kastagir with Charm +
Factory + Patience; Kastagir + Battlefield + Charm + Master's Guard + B&H;
Nefertiri + heavy defenses + Battlefield; Katana + Destruction + Taunt.

	That's (finally) all for this report.  Join me in 5 short days for
the report for ChipCon '96. =)

-Jeff