report from Nordic Cup in Turku 2007

[ordagnir]

I arrived in Turku saturday morning there Miguel met me at the ferry terminal. We went to the event site where Tomi Kareinen already was (embarrasing but I completly failed to reckognize him). No hard feelings though and we had some nice conversation before the main tournament.
I played a Shreck (L. Morgul) and donkey (L. Angmar) going up north deck and started against I think it was Illka (not Trossell). He played minion as well but we didn´t bounced anything and had quite different decks. Hoarmurath is a safe way to play so I wasn´t hit hard by his hazards and won 5-1.
Next game was against Miika (Karmi) Karmitsa. We had very similar decks and bounced all characters in startpool. Karmi had only 3 in his so he started without characters and I started with my B-team (Shagrat and a troll-chieftain). Stupid me, I should probably have started just with Shaggy and awaited one of the big fellas well, well.
Karmi played very good and recovered quickly from the opening and when he got Hoary out before me I was in trouble. A well placed "veils flung away" removed one of my characters who carried some badly needed points and I lost 6-0.
Last game was against Eero Halikainen who played hero. Steroid elves (SoHH)... I started and got in place with my guys but didn´t got anything useful to play. the second turn he went with his pumped up elves and attacked my Lieutenants! And I had not drawn any of my I´ll report you or swift strokes.... It was a massacre there L. Morgul was killed and Angmar wounded.
Luckily enough he went for points so I had a chance to recover, heal Angmar and get out some trollbros. I wasn´t able to do much to Eero with my hazards so I wasn´t able to turn the game and lost with some points for 4-2. Very good playing Eero!
Karmi won the tournament and Trossell the mainprice due to the ringbearer style. I ended up 6th or 7th.

After this we had a break before the drinking game.
I got nice resources but bad luck with the sites prevented me from using much of them. Well isn´t it the thing about sealed...
Then it comes to drinking game I always has problem first round to remember to use all the extra possibilities.
I started against Karmi who had got a decent deck. He hit me real hard the first round perhaps I could have done better recovering if I had used the possibilitie for moving extra but that I ofcourse forgot. Loss 4-2.
Next round was against Tomi. It was a fun game, tight and lots of little happenings. In the end Tomi won 13-11. So another 4-2 loss for me.
Last round and I have completely forgot the name off my opponent. Perhaps because it was the third round of drinking game. Perhaps because we never had met before. Probably a little bit of both.
He killed Theoden (one of my better characters) early so it didn´t looked good from start. But after what I wasn´t hit by much and managed to get my points and eventually give him hard time killing and corrupting some of his characters including Pallando. So in the end he had very little left on the table. 6-0 victory gave me third place.
We had some more beer and nice chat before we went to bed.

Sunday morning and time for doors of night tounament. Also time for revenge as I ended up at the last place last time I played Doors of night (Worlds in Turku 2005). We where 3 players from then this time. Including the ruling champion from then, Tomi Kareinen.
I played wizardless squatting Galadriel deck with roadblock hazard. Boring and perhaps not very innovative but I have been toying around with the idea to and fro for a while and wanted to get it tested.
Started against Eero who played Thranduil and hobbits. It was a quite strange game. He couldn´t almost hit me with anything but I didn´t got much of my resources to hand so I couldn´t play much. While he was hit hard by my hazards and got delayed in playing his resources and also lost some off it due to kills.
In the end I got out enough points and won 4-2.
Round 2 was against Tomi who sent dwarves and Beorn hunting rings. It was one off those games there almost every card comes right and I had good rolls through the whole game while Tomi had lot´s of bad rolls.
First turn on their run to Lorien Galadriel and Celeborn killed an desolated Scorba ahunt! And it continued in that way. When his assassins came out I had my forwarneds in hand and Theoden killed 2 IIRCR. My resources came in almost perfect fit to the play off characters and I got my MP´s out with ease. Meanwhile my boring hazard totally ruined Tomis play. Must mention the coolest thing that happend also; Tomi turned Blue mnt. Dwarf-hold into a ruins&lairs and attacked and killed my dwarves there with Itangast!
But nevertheless a 6-0 victory for me.
Last game and grand finale against Karmi. He played Elrond and hobbits in the underdeeps.
It was a very stealthy deck so I couldn´t do much (annoying hobbits backed up with secret entrance). But he couldn´t do much about me either save for some tapping. I got some points out each turn while Karmi got nothing, bad luck with the draw of cards. I also prepared for a chance to hit him and sideboarded over my second nameless-thing. So when I finally got the chance I could hit him with both and next turn with the pukelmen. That ruined his chances to get something out with them and as his wizard was late and after he finally arrived the snowstorm held him in place. 6-0 for me and 1st place in that tournament, nice!

Thanks to Mikko for a nice event and it was also nice to see you guys again!