Title: FFG:Plugged-in to New England's Central Servers
Post by: RSSFeeder on 09 October 2013, 06:30:02
Reports from Three Stops on the Plugged-in Tour for Android: Netrunner
The Plugged-in Tour for Android: Netrunner is now officially underway!
FFG staff visited five different locations over the weekend, meeting hundreds of players, running tournaments, and participating in popular challenge matches that offered would-be Runners a chance to see some of the Spin Cycle’s upcoming cards up-close and personal.
Today, we’re recapping highlights of all the action from our New England runs.
Myriad Games – Manchester: Manchester, NH
Myriad Games was the first stop of the tour, and what a stop it was! Players turned out on a Friday afternoon to challenge one another and to vote for one of the tour’s two potential Runner identities and make their mark on the game.
The field at the tournament was quite diverse, with a nearly even split between Corp factions and a solid showing for all of the Runner factions, with Shaper earning a substantial lead.
Still, though Shaper had the most players, Philip Dumala of the Netrunomicon podcast took the victory with Gabriel Santiago and NBN: The World is Yours.
| Gabriel Santiago | NBN: The World Is Yours |
Event (25) Hardware (5) Resource (6) Icebreaker (6) Program (3) | Agenda (10) 3 AstroScript Pilot Program 3 Breaking News 1 Priority Requisition 3 Project Beale Asset (9) Upgrade (3) Operation (5) Barrier (6) Code Gate (4) Sentry (7) |
Notably, there were two surprising decks in the Top 8:
- First, Clint Johnson’s Whizzard deck made it to eighth place.
- Second, Robert Henderson piloted a Cerebral Imaging deck to seventh place, constantly maintaining an enormous pile of credits and a full hand, which he used to pull shenanigans with Biotic Labor.
Staff challenges were a popular diversion from the tournament, and our staff almost always had a line of players waiting for a flatline. The highlight spoiler of day was Hive (Double Time, 117). It never failed to elicit a reaction as runners bounced off of it. Additionally, our staff started a tradition that we plan to uphold throughout the tour: Every player that lost to a challenge deck signed the card that beat them. We’ll be posting the signed cards on Twitter as the tour goes on, but they’re already starting to get crowded!
We also want to thank Tim Schuetz for his help running the tournament and Myriad Games for hosting us. It was a great kickoff for the tour!
Zombie Planet: Albany, NY
Zombie Planet was an impressive two-story building that we packed with Android: Netrunner players. NBN dominated both the field and Top 8 for Corps, and Shaper was the big faction for runners. Interestingly, while Shaper identities accounted for more than half of the field and six of the Top 8, they did not take first or second place, both of which went to Anarch.
Peter Hodges won four out of five games with both his Weyland tag and bag and Noise mill decks, narrowly winning the victory on tiebreakers.
| Noise | Weyland Consortium: Building a Better World |
| Event (6) 1 Demolition Run 1 Levy AR Lab Access *** 1 Stimhack 3 Sure Gamble Hardware (4) Resource (8) Icebreaker (6) Program (21) | Agenda (11) 3 Government Contracts 3 Hostile Takeover 2 Posted Bounty 3 Project Atlas Upgrade (2) Operation (18) Barrier (6) Code Gate (4) Sentry (8) |
Ken Asensio took a close second place with his Whizzard deck, using a straightforward Anarch deck with viruses, clone chips and Anarch icebreakers to grind his opponents’ ice down to nothing.
The challenge tables were always full, and players got to see some exciting new Jinteki cards, one highlight was Shock (True Colors, 73), an Ambush that can trigger even from Archives. Our staff collected a few new signatures on their copies of Scorched Earths, and the players who defeated them collected their own alternative art version.
We want to thank Zombie Planet Games for hosting us and William Ploute for all his help making the tournament run smoothly. Our staff members hope to make it out your way again!
Pandemonium Books and Games: Cambridge, MA
Pandemonium Books and Games was the venue that drew New England’s biggest crowd over the weekend. Its spacious gaming space comfortably seated all the tournament players, staff challenges, and demos. This event also drew a great group of new players, with several curious visitors and families getting in on the action!
While there were only six NBN decks in the tournament, their players acquitted themselves very well, taking half of the Top 8, with Weyland taking three others and a lone HB deck in third. Shaper dominated both the initial field and the Top 8, claiming six of the spots. Philip Dumals, winner of the Manchester event, piloted the Top 8’s single Andromeda deck, and Bredan DeFrancisco made it to fifth place with his Whizzard deck, meaning that a Whizzard deck made it to the Top 8 of every New England stop.
The champion, Alex Noel, fought his way to victory with Weyland: Building a Better World and Kate “Mac” McCaffrey. When asked if he had anything to share, he simply said, “Nerf Criminal.”
| Kate “Mac” McCaffrey | Weyland Consortium: Building a Better World |
| Event (19) 3 Diesel 3 Indexing 3 Quality Time 3 Special Order ** 1 Stimhack * 3 Sure Gamble 3 Test Run Hardware (11) Icebreaker (5) Program (10) | Agenda (12) 1 Corporate War 2 Government Contracts 3 Hostile Takeover 3 Posted Bounty 3 Project Atlas Asset (4) Operation (16) Barrier (3) Sentry (14) |
The challenge tables went in the Runners’ favor for the morning, as players racked up win after win. Once the tournament started and FFG staff had a chance to regroup, the tide shifted, and our staff collected the most signatures yet. We’ll get another chance next week to see who has what it takes to match our overpowering GRNDL and subtle Jinteki decks!
Thanks again to Pandemonium’s Amelia; you were a huge help! Pandemonium is planning to run Android: Netrunner events every Saturday next month, so if you’re in the area, be sure to check them out!
Two Runners Hang in the Balance
Of course, one of the highlights of the Plugged-in Tour is the chance to cast a vote for one of the two potential Runners, The Collective or Laramy Fisk.
After the weekend’s action, the vote is running neck-and-neck, and participants at future events will have every incentive to help decide the outcome.
More to Come
We’ll be uploading more results from the Plugged-in Tour soon, including coverage of our Chicago events. We’ll also have updates on the vote, plus more tournament results and spoilers from our staff challenges.
Until our next update, you can join the Plugged-in Tour conversations on Twitter (#pluggedintour) or head to CardGameDB.com to scan the site for other Spin Cycle spoilers!
...Source: Plugged-in to New England's Central Servers (http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_news.asp?eidn=4401)