MECCG at Gateway 2017, LAX Hilton - Labor Day Weekend!

TradewindRider
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Greetings All,

Am pleased to announce that there will be MECCG at Gateway 2017 over the Labor Day weekend, 2-3 September 2017, at LAX Hilton in Los Angeles, California!

Following is the tentative schedule for MECCG events that I've submitted to the convention staff, though we can be flexible depending on attendance and the players' wishes:

(1) Saturday, 2 September: 9:00 AM-12:00 PM - Middle-Earth CCG 101

Introductory session for the Lord of the Rings Middle-Earth CCG! Veterans and beginners alike are welcome--bring your own constructed and/or challenge decks, or you're welcome to use ours! We will be based in the CCG room at the con, look for the Lidless Eye T-Shirts!

(2) Saturday, 2 September: 3:00-6:00 PM - Hero Constructed

Hero Constructed Deck Middle-Earth CCG tourney! Standard 30/30 decks, 3-round Swiss format but with relaxed environment and timing rules. Veterans and beginners alike are welcome--bring your own constructed and/or challenge decks, or you're welcome to use ours!

(3) Saturday, 2 September: 7:00-11:00 PM - Multi-Player Hero Arda

Be one of the five Istari in Middle-Earth and vie for the right to lead the fight against Sauron! Gather treasures, persuade allies, and recruit armies while avoiding the lure of corruption!! We supply all the cards and the play map, just bring yourselves and your lucky dice!!!

(4) Sunday, 3 September: 1:00-5:00 PM - Open Constructed (Hero/Minion/Balrog/Fallen Wizard/First Folk)

Open-format Middle-Earth CCG tourney! Hero, Minion (Sauron/Nazgul), Fallen Wizard, Balrog, and even Dream Cards constructed decks are most welcome--standard 30/30 decks plus 10 additional against Fallen Wizard decks. 3-round Swiss format but with relaxed environment and timing rules.

Please message back to let us know if you'll be attending, so we can prepare accordingly. As always, It will be an awesome weekend--looking forward to seeing everyone!

TradewindRider
Last edited by TradewindRider on Thu Aug 10, 2017 5:54 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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rezwits
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90% sure I am going, can't wait, an addtional 3rd event this year, I feel lucky.

Will be my 1st event with the Council of Elrond Folks.

I am going to try and see who I can go with, but worst case, I fly out by myself.

1 question, when you say standard 30/30 decks, do you mean the deck are MANDATORY 30/30/30sb?

Or are those minimums? i.e. we can go to 36/36/30 + 8 char, = 72 + 8 = 80? (even 4 avatar, DC)?

Thanks
As of 4/3/21 4:03:21
my current rulings foundation is based on:
All of the rules and rulings found in these PDFs at:
https://cardnum.net/rules
If you have other collected rulings that are not
listed please feel free to email them or PM me...
TradewindRider
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Joined: Sun Apr 05, 2015 3:07 pm

Greetings,

30/30/30 is a minimum, and yes, per the new DC rules you can go to a 4th avatar if you have an 80-card deck. Only a few folks in our play group have the DC cards, so if you have a DC deck put together, that would be great!

We're actually a *very* relaxed environment here, and we're more interested in seeing your deck/decks operate to their maximum designed intention and get the most fun out of them!

Looking forward to seeing you!
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rezwits
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I am booked!

But I just wanted to give people a heads up, the $110 room rate discount from strategicon.net for the Gateway Convention, has a 3 day minimum.

So, if you are all going crazy finding prices on travel websites, the $110 you can't get for just 2 days, 3 day minimum.

See ya guys there!

p.s. the check-in time for the hotel is 3:00pm, hopefully I can make the tourney at 3:00pm being late, or check in later that night around 6:30pm...
As of 4/3/21 4:03:21
my current rulings foundation is based on:
All of the rules and rulings found in these PDFs at:
https://cardnum.net/rules
If you have other collected rulings that are not
listed please feel free to email them or PM me...
TradewindRider
Posts: 130
Joined: Sun Apr 05, 2015 3:07 pm

...the 3-day minimum is new/news to me, maybe the LAX hotels have more of a surge than usual for the Labor Day holiday weekend. As much as I'm a fan of the convenience of staying at the Hilton, I'm not a fan of the Hilton--it's an older airport hotel, the food is overpriced, and they don't allow outside food in the gaming areas. There also aren't enough elevators and they are very very very slow.

If you've not booked yet and you have ground transport, recommend other hotels in the LAX area away from Century Blvd. Recently stayed at the Cambria Hotel in El Segundo, it's a new property with $127 per night during that weekend.

No worries if you're late, just join us when you can.
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rezwits
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Actually, I'm good.

I didn't want to drive back and forth from Vegas on Labor day, to me that sucks more than anything.
So I am just home airport shuttle play sleep play shuttle airport home.
It's going to be NICE!

The only thing on my mind is they said "NO SELLING" unless you have a "gateway seller's pass" or whatever.

But I am hoping to do massive trades if possible. I am bringing my goods, and I hope I can get some scrappy METD (The Dragons) trades with someone who wants to get closer to another full set if not missing just 3-5 or so, you know? Extra R2s and R3s...

And then I have some of the other Blocks I have been gatheriing, MELE etc...
Hopefully we'll at least be able to go 4 cards for 5 etc and get our trade on.

I assume you guys will be selling perhaps I don't know..

Thanks
[-me_gi-]
As of 4/3/21 4:03:21
my current rulings foundation is based on:
All of the rules and rulings found in these PDFs at:
https://cardnum.net/rules
If you have other collected rulings that are not
listed please feel free to email them or PM me...
TradewindRider
Posts: 130
Joined: Sun Apr 05, 2015 3:07 pm

Greetings All,

I've made a long-overdue correction to our MECCG schedule for the upcoming Labor Day weekend--hope to see you there:

(1) Saturday, 2 September: 9:00 AM-12:00 PM - Middle-Earth CCG 101

Introductory session for the Lord of the Rings Middle-Earth CCG! Veterans and beginners alike are welcome--bring your own constructed and/or challenge decks, or you're welcome to use ours! We will be based in the CCG room at the con, look for the Lidless Eye T-Shirts!

(2) Saturday, 2 September: 3:00-6:00 PM - Hero Constructed

Hero Constructed Deck Middle-Earth CCG tourney! Standard 30/30 decks, 3-round Swiss format but with relaxed environment and timing rules. Veterans and beginners alike are welcome--bring your own constructed and/or challenge decks, or you're welcome to use ours!

(3) Saturday, 2 September: 7:00-11:00 PM - Multi-Player Hero Arda

Be one of the five Istari in Middle-Earth and vie for the right to lead the fight against Sauron! Gather treasures, persuade allies, and recruit armies while avoiding the lure of corruption!! We supply all the cards and the play map, just bring yourselves and your lucky dice!!!

(4) Sunday, 3 September: 1:00-5:00 PM - Open Constructed (Hero/Minion/Balrog/Fallen Wizard/First Folk)

Open-format Middle-Earth CCG tourney! Hero, Minion (Sauron/Nazgul), Fallen Wizard, Balrog, and even Dream Cards constructed decks are most welcome--standard 30/30 decks plus 10 additional against Fallen Wizard decks. 3-round Swiss format but with relaxed environment and timing rules.

TradewindRider
TradewindRider
Posts: 130
Joined: Sun Apr 05, 2015 3:07 pm

Greetings rezwits,

Please see the updated schedule I posted yesterday.

Our turnout is expected to be very light on Saturday--I've kept the 3:00 PM Hero event on the schedule, but we probably won't hold anything until Hero Arda at 7:00 PM. It also takes a long time to check into the hotel--in addition to the convention attendees, there are a lot of holiday vacationers and airline crews who stay at this hotel.

So, take your time and we'll see you in the CCG room when you're available.

TradewindRider
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rezwits
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Ok cool thanks for the info.

Just as a heads up. I wanted to offer a "play style" option.

If on the 1st day we are playing in the Hero event, I would assume the rules would be NON-DC, and Classic MECCG with all CRFs, of course, using the beautifully crafted URD 4.2 (universal rules document) by Benjamin A. Sorensen (from various conversations over the years).

If there is not a 1st day tourney, and I am going to play someone, I am just going to ask if you want to play 100% DC, 50/50 Classic/DC, or 100% Classic.

I will assume this will be possible for the 2nd day also.

The reason I am suggesting this is: Basically, if you build your deck, you build it for a format. Either DC or Classic, you might go as far as to build it to "transform" to either format, which is EVEN MORE WORK. But that aside, either DC or Classic the question is there, since this is a relaxed rules environment.

The other reason I am suggesting this is: Besides sites, there isn't any reason why a DC-deck using DC rules can't play against a Classic-deck using Classic rules and vice versus. I have no problem with this myself.

I just feel as a community as some of us are transitioning from Classic to DC and then some not wanting to bother with DC at all

you need a "Negotiations" process. I feel this could work.

Laters...
As of 4/3/21 4:03:21
my current rulings foundation is based on:
All of the rules and rulings found in these PDFs at:
https://cardnum.net/rules
If you have other collected rulings that are not
listed please feel free to email them or PM me...
Vastor Peredhil
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What is 50 % DC?
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rezwits
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one person is playing DC and the other is playing Classic.

Meaning the game is 50% DC and 50% Classic.

i.e. Half of the 2 player game is DC rules while the other half uses Classic rules.

It's funny but I don't see a problem with people using two different rule sets.

There are some advantages, but unless we start just allowing game play with WHATEVER deck vs WHATEVER deck, things will suck for a while.

I have another post that explains further:

viewtopic.php?f=32&t=3033&p=25149#p25149

It's just like lets play and see what BROKEN situation arise.

Like if sat down and I played a guy and he wanted to use DC and I was playing just basic Minion/Hero.

He goes: 3 minor items
and I go: 2 minor items

COOL WITH ME! I don't care, let just play!

He lays his characters out, and I mine.

Done we start playing.

He has to honor Mountain Regions, I don't! I am classic etc etc

There are advantages and dis-advantages to both RULES situations.

Let's just play and at this point (Mind BOTH sets of rules/differences)

It's too hard to say I am just going to go ALL out DC only and just forget the old rules, because you will run into people who still want the old rules!

And that's life in DC-Middle-earth vs Middle-earth!

Laters...
As of 4/3/21 4:03:21
my current rulings foundation is based on:
All of the rules and rulings found in these PDFs at:
https://cardnum.net/rules
If you have other collected rulings that are not
listed please feel free to email them or PM me...
TradewindRider
Posts: 130
Joined: Sun Apr 05, 2015 3:07 pm

Greetings rezwits,

Just to clarify, as I mentioned earlier, we are *very* relaxed and casual in our playing environment. We've been able to handle everything outside the Dream Cards, even though we've had to refer to the Balrog rules more often than not. :D Even in a casual 1v1 game, we encourage everyone to imagine an "unlimited" sideboard in order to fully realize the potentials of their deck--i.e. ask what card would be most useful in a given situation that you've otherwise not planned for or thought about, but you wish you had.

Regarding the Dream Cards, we've had folks bring in fully-legal Dream Cards decks (i.e. at least 25% resources and 25% hazards) as well as Hero decks incorporating *some* Dream Cards (though not enough to meet the 25%/25% threshold). In a potential DC vs non-DC game, merely allowing the classic deck to use a third minor item and to use the extra avatar cards for untapping has been sufficient. We've really found each game with the Dream Cards to be much less of a competitive game and much more of an learning and exploration experience.

TradewindRider
TradewindRider
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Joined: Sun Apr 05, 2015 3:07 pm

Greetings All,

Thanks so much to those who were able to attend our MECCG events this Labor Day weekend! Turnout was regrettably light again, but those of us who were here held some great games with Hero Arda as well as our customized Hero, Minion, Balrog, and even Dream Card decks! I got an opportunity to exercise a standard Hero deck for once and lost to a last-turn points rush and a last-minute Align Palantir, which gave my opponent the edge by 1 point!

Thanks especially to rezwits for flying out from Las Vegas and joining us on both Saturday and Sunday! His deep knowledge and enthusiasm for the game were quite evident, and in my game against his Minion Deck, I had the privilege of seeing most of my main company of Thrain, Balin, and Fram Framson succumb to a A Malady Without Healing delivered by a Ren the Ringwraith on the prowl. Turns out the MPs from Thrain were the difference in what was another close game!

Thanks as always to Gandalf Gene for flying down from the San Francisco Bay Area and being our chief rules guru and game mentor. And finally, thanks to the staff at StrategiCon at the LAX Hilton for kindly accommodating our often hours-long games. We'll see everyone again at the next convention, so please mark your calendars for Presidents Day weekend, 16-19 February 2018!

TradewindRider
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rezwits
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LAXHilton - GAME 1

"What I consider, a SIX Turn Ring Dunk against a Faction Heavy Radagast drawing max cards every chance, with Noble Steeds! even)

LAX->Hilton – http://www.strategicon.net – Gateway 2017!

From Las Vegas to Los Angeles back to Las Vegas.

First of all I would just like to preface, that I had a really incredible time due to the fact that I got destroyed cleanly without any fuss on Sunday, by Gene twice (ha)!

Saturday -
I get to the Airport at 3:00 am with my flight departing at 6:00 am. I get my Starbucks at 4:00 am and have a seat. Didn’t really have a hard time staying up because I slept on Friday from 2:00 am till 7:00 am and then napped from 2:00 pm till 6:00 pm. Get on the plane with my playmats, deck bag with 5 decks, and Laptop, with a couple shirts and underwear, ha! The plane takes off and lands in less than an hour.

I walk out, no luggage, just carry-ons and head for the LAXHilton Shuttle. I wait about 10 minutes and there is the shuttle among 20 other shuttles, zooming by. I decided to stay at the hotel where Gateway 2017 was being held, to ease the pain. The hotel was $195 with the flight costing me $159 for United round trip. I get to the Hotel in about 15 minutes.

I am at the hotel and grab another drink before going up to registration. So I am there about 8:00 am and registration opens at 9:00 am. I pre-registered for $50 and got my badge with no delay.

I figure out where the CCG/TCG/LCG room was and had to wait till about 9:40 before they opened the doors and turned the lights on, after getting more coffee there were like two people in the room. I sign up for the MECCG events and just have a seat. Start pulling out some decks and start shuffling.

A player shows up about 8:50, really nice guy named Stephen, he’s got a deck with some cards from his older brother and a challenge deck and he is like wanna play? I am like yep let’s just start going.

While playing we are having no problems with rules things are going nice and smooth, I am making every roll, except 2 body checks on his guys with my Pass the Doors of Dol Guldur deck. Stephen is racking up his factions just the same. In the mean time a really cool cat named Gene shows up and TradewindRider.

I got off to a really great start the adrenaline flowing and dice were hot, I play an Elrohir, and went to Ost-in-edhil and got a precious gold ring for Celeborn. Next they go get a Scroll of Isuldur right off the bat and play it at Moria along with a Knowledge of the Enemy with Haldir, we lose Orophin and Galadriel tucks the scroll away. My company wraps up travel to Lorien, and we got some Waybread. Next I play Gandalf and she gives him the scroll, and Elrohir gets the Star-glass and Knowledge, I Long Bottom The One Ring, and Cracks of Doom, and we went straight to Dol Guldur with full combo in hand.

Stephen has a Forewarned is Forearmed (he’s playing Radagast btw zooming thru his deck) and we enter Dol Guldur so we only face the Trolls 2 at 10 (his choice), Gandalf taps and Celeborn faces untapped, NEEDS a 7 to parry, this is crucial, he makes the ROLL! So, I play Glamdring on Celeborn, I had to face an on Guard Sellswords Between Charters (you know those Challenge Decks). Celeborn get’s wounded, makes body tho, whew! AND Haldir fails miserably and dies. Gandalf makes his roll while tapped because of a Rank Upon Rank. So with Elrohir untapped still he discards the Knowledge and I play Pass the Doors and Rescue Prisoners, Elrohir taps the Star-glass and we pass all the spiders. Gandalf uses the Waybread to untap Gandalf and Elrohir, I tap Elrohir again and use him for Rescue Prisoners. We are sitting there finished and Gandalf is the only one untapped, with Scroll in hand. I am like what the hell, so I ANNOUNCE, roll for a ring test, and boom 8 and then play the One Ring from Hand for Celeborn. Gene was being cool cause he was stoked that I was doing really good with the Dol Guldur quest. And then he was like and he’s got the ring now too!

On the next turn I have Galadriel untapped at Lorien with a Nenya in hand and Three Golden Hairs (which is put on Elrond later) with Elrond in hand and discard Cirdan, I play Elladan, and Long Bottom again and for Ash Mountains and Free to Choose. We head back to Lorien and no corruption cards played. I forget to play a Waybread because I draw an Ash Mountains and am drooling. On the next ORG I store cards, and play Elrond. Celeborn get’s talked into giving up the One Ring to Elrond, with help from Nenya and Galdriel. I play Ash Mountains and head to, you guessed it, Mount Doom! We draw cards and he draws his 9 cards, we are doing all the combat and battles, and they get thru, he has an Alone and Unadvised but I brought everyone just incase! I am at 5 cards in hand and THE DISCUSSION starts to break out, the game was FLAWLESS up until this point… remember 5 cards in hand (not paying attention).

We get into, is the travel to Lorien legal, how much the ring corruption is 7 versus 6, tap to support, three golden hairs, you name it, we went over it a few times. So I didn’t care my dice were so hot I was like “Let’s FREAKIN do this already”!

So, Elrond with the One Ring, Three Golden Hairs, and Cracks of Doom and Celeborn Taps for +1 support EQUALS = 7-2+4-1 = beat an 8. I was a little upset because I didn’t know about the extra +1 for the One Ring on the Ring Bearer too. SO more arguing and disruption and I am like FINE whatever I am rolling, SIX! FROWN. I look down, and say to myself and everyone WAIT! I didn’t draw up to 8 cards from end of Hazard Movement FROWN again, then more “discussion” about would it have mattered, and I said YES it would have I put a Free to Choose in, and I say let me see if I would have drawn it, guess what the 8th card was (or 3rd)? YEP Free to Choose… I am kinda Fuming because the game “was” flawless. I go oh well I am gonna play it and just see if I would have made the roll 1 and 3 = 4 I was like oh poo, I didn’t even “roll” I just picked them up and dropped them. I never misplayed except 2 times, when I didn’t play Waybread, because it would have SO HELPED cause I could have untapped two guys and got +2 for Corruption check and I didn’t draw up to 8 after the Hazard Movement!

So two “interrupted” mis-plays for a:

0. Rivendell
1. Ost-in-edhil
2. Moria
3. Lorien
4. Dol Guldur
5. Lorien (store re-group)
6. Mount Doom!

A 6 turn Pass the Doors Ring Dunk! At my 1st (sort of tournament)

How do you think I felt? Every card, every roll…
(the SIX ROLL with Waybread+FreeToChoose would have a…)

SO GAME TWO LATER!

Thanks for Reading!

I was happy to finally get to play, and very happy with the OVERALL RESULTS:
Ring Test Roll Below

Image
Last edited by rezwits on Thu Jan 18, 2018 4:23 am, edited 1 time in total.
As of 4/3/21 4:03:21
my current rulings foundation is based on:
All of the rules and rulings found in these PDFs at:
https://cardnum.net/rules
If you have other collected rulings that are not
listed please feel free to email them or PM me...
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rezwits
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So it's about 12:30 and I am still rip roaring ready to go.

This game was a little hazy but I will try to remember the casualties. :D
I was playing Ren (for my avatar) and my opponent was playing Gandalf.

I will sum this game up which was truly exciting do to the Dragon Hazards my opponent played that Ren had to face while on his Fell Beast (ok, Creature of an Older World)!

The game starts off kinda sweet, as I get my RW on my turn 2. In addition I draw his Helm of Fear and Fell Beast. And play them while he is preparing at Barad-Dûr. His apprentice Taladan goes on a mission to Thranduil's Halls after hearing about a rousing of Elves (Wood-elves). He (Taladan) seemingly walks thru the front door, and plays a Maladay without Healing and makes a successful body check on an 8 body METW Dwarf. I think it was Dain II, DEAD, but unfortunately Taladan fails his CP check :( sad face, which I forgot to do, and Gene reminded me. My opponent then regroups and is on the move. During my opponent's hazard phase he faces an Ambusher, in which I assign strikes to Arwen and Balin, 2 more body checks and DEAD DEAD. I was kinda feeling bad, but after choking my Cracks of Doom game, earlier, I started to feel better :D

His next turn he plays Annalena and I believe a Cave-drake was next. Thrain II and Annalena have a battle on in their midst. Annalena has a Body Check and again DEAD. Rolling Body Checks 10+ like a mad man. By this time his Wizard is in play and he goes to recruit Fram. He goes to a Dragon's Lair and get's Wormsbane. Ren moves to Minas Morgul with Forced March in hand. I believe he goes to another Dragon's Lair and I play some Hazards to tap his guys and a crucial Lure of the Senses if I remember correctly, maybe Nature. But he only had 1 check. My turn Ren is on the move to Dol Guldur, then Forced March, to Caves of Ulund. My Opponent drops two True Cold-drakes and Ren's Fell Beast gets wounded, but is safe from a failed BC whew. Ren Enters the Site faces the 1 strike.

During the site phase, Ren plays Maladay on Fram, but fails. I have a 3rd Maladay but hold on to it. I have two Ren Unleashed in hand and lay the first one down, he succeeds on the first CP check, but the second unleashed is too much and Fram Bites it, DEAD. Gandalf was fine. But it was time for the CvCC, we both roll and PARRY, null result. Lucky!! On the way back to Dol Guldur Ren's Fell Beast has another BC from another True Cold-drake, but survives to make it to Dol Guldur and give me 2 points for Allies, since he lost his Ally,

In the end, my Trolls recruited enough factions and we total the score and it ends at 18 to 18 but I score the 3 from Dwarf kill from the Malady, which I forgot and gives me 21 to 18.

It was a fun redemption game after feeling bad about game 1.

Tomorrow are GAMES 3 & 4 (ass kickings by Gene) some (DC Fallen Gandalf vs some DC Galadriel + Pallando) and (The Witch-king vs an Alatar Hunt Deck, BRUTAL Matchup, I'll explain why later.)

oh (the names were changed to protect the innocent) haha
As of 4/3/21 4:03:21
my current rulings foundation is based on:
All of the rules and rulings found in these PDFs at:
https://cardnum.net/rules
If you have other collected rulings that are not
listed please feel free to email them or PM me...
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