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Post by highlander1988 on Aug 27, 2014 11:04:32 GMT -5
Hello Everyone!
I haven’t played Highlander competitively in a long time. I played a lot back in the early days and always enjoyed it and thought it had the best player base of any card game. I had a great time and wanted to make sure I thanked Nigel for bringing the cube. Below is my tourney recap.
Type 1:
I played the new Corda and Reno. I made this choice because I thought they would beat all of the stall decks and I didn’t think attack decks would fair well. The deck would let Reno die and keep swapping so he took the ability loss in end time. I did well, but ended up losing to the eventual champion. I was not prepared for headshots that cannot be defended from my hand.
2 Headed Giant:
I went with Consone Ramirez. I thought the decks in this format would be very fast so I wanted to go 1st. I also needed a way to make blocks and dodges not ride. Consone solved these problems. Secondly I wanted to use Rebecca’s Combination with a pressed advantage so that I could play the Midwest champ hilt for the Kriss. I would also play 12 attacks. Since Rebecca and Consone are both TV I chose Ramirez because he has teacher of many. His master block was also nice. I ended up winning the tournament.
Lean and Mean:
I had been toying with a Graham Ashe idea and it crashed and burned horribly. I will be posting a different Grahame Ashe idea as a strategy article soon.
Type 2:
I played Marcus Constantine. The deck was a cheese deck that used General to Historian to protect me from getting attacked and allowed my Kristen Q to work. I used 2 You’re Mine via teacher of many to deal with Really?. Thanks to playtesting I added a test of wits and a +3 check premium to get back my Kristen Q because it really made the deck go. I ended up losing to Bill Vick at the top of winners and then again in the finals. My kingdom for a selective memory! Well played Bill!
I have a few comments and concerns after the weekend. I feel that Highlander the arcade game should be banned from tournament play. It ruins the lean and mean format. I believe it was never meant to be a tournament card anyway. Some of the decks that won and did well in the tournaments (my 2HG included) have a common theme that they draw through most if not all of their endurance to pull off a combo. I am not sure how to combat this. I am however positive that it is a negative experience for a new player. It was great to see a growth in the player base and I hope there are more people next year. Some officially sponsored cubes would draw new players because they could experience a great game without having to buy a ton of cards.
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Post by prowler7 on Aug 27, 2014 13:45:03 GMT -5
Thanks for the post, Scott!
We are going to be featuring our first Cube tourney in next months KC City Championships. I agree that the cube can be a way to bring in new players.
We are putting a Diamond Icon on Highlander:The Video Game so that no more than 1 copy can be in play at a time. This will make it so that combo will not work. The card was meant to be a joke giveaway, and was not intended to be used in this way. But then again, it was created by Tim, who is a mad genius sometimes, so you never know.
The "negative game play experience" was mentioned several times at GenCon. I get that, and understand the feeling. I will say the following in answer to that:
1. These were all World Championships. Players worked for months to get these decks ready. I can attest that these were the top players in the world (with a few absences). If you are a new or inexperienced player and you can walk into a World Championship, you have to expect to get your head handed to you, no matter the game.
2. All of the winning decks were beatable. I noticed that toolbox was thin, if not non-existent in most decks. I believe that these cards were trimmed out to make decks run faster (you pointed out most decks ran through their Endurance in 1 or 2 turns). I predict that the lessons learned from this years Worlds will carry over throughout the upcoming season and we will see different decks next year.
3. With the negative play experience in mind, the Design Team will work over the next year to make introducing new players easier. The Cube and minor changes to Vs. decks are a part of what we are looking forward to.
I was very pleased by the game play at GenCon. As always, we have a great group of players, people who aren't jerks to new people and try to help out those who are still learning. I want to thank everyone for a great year, and I want to let you all know we are looking forward to another great year ahead.
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Post by nkeates on Aug 27, 2014 14:05:17 GMT -5
I have a few comments and concerns after the weekend..... Some of the decks that won and did well in the tournaments (my 2HG included) have a common theme that they draw through most if not all of their endurance to pull off a combo. I am not sure how to combat this. I am however positive that it is a negative experience for a new player. It was great to see a growth in the player base and I hope there are more people next year. Some officially sponsored cubes would draw new players because they could experience a great game without having to buy a ton of cards. Please don't get me wrong and this really isn't a criticism of the incredibly hard work that Steve and Jim put into the game ...and I am not saying anything that I didn't say to Steve in person at Gen Con but I share the concerns that Scott has eluded to above. All of the decks that won - mine included - won in one or two turns which gives a very negative playing experience. I gave out some very negative playing experiences and received some. I played HL the video game in Lean and mean and won most of my games in two turns.(I will post the deck later). Similarly I was on the receiving end in some of the other tourneys.I joked with Lex and Prowler that I played the perfect game against Bill in the 2ed constructed but still lost. I never had a hand so all I had to do was exert and even I couldn't mess that up!!!! As Scott points out players get through most of their endurance by the use of edges and/or the playing of several specials to get to the killer combo. These decks are not unbeatable but if you haven't got the required counter in hand you will lose very quickly indeed leading to a large NPE (Non playing experience) and this will drive people away. In a similar way that new Connor was created to avoid lock decks perhaps a new immortal needs to be created that stops people playing more than one special/edge ...a sort of Kronos for special/edges. It would have to be worded carefully so that concentration et al wouldn't get around it and you must be allowed to play one special/edge in your turn and not be locked. My fave games of the whole event were the cube games. Excellent time drafting and playing cards with some of the best people you would ever want to flop cards with. Several people have asked me to post details of the cube which I will do in another post. Once again thanks to everybody who made Gen Con so enjoyable N |
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Post by prowler7 on Aug 27, 2014 14:15:19 GMT -5
Thank you also for the comments, Nigel.
I wont let too much out of the bag, otherwise Headswillroll will kill me. But I CAN say that the items you listed ARE being looked at and you may be pleasantly surprised by upcoming cards and immortals.
We listen to you guys, and we take your concerns seriously.
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Post by nkeates on Aug 27, 2014 15:04:28 GMT -5
Thank you also for the comments, Nigel. I wont let too much out of the bag, otherwise Headswillroll will kill me. But I CAN say that the items you listed ARE being looked at and you may be pleasantly surprised by upcoming cards and immortals. We listen to you guys, and we take your concerns seriously. Thanks Steve - we do appreciate it. Don't worry about Jim just make him play with the Bo so he can't take your head.....wait he found a way around that!!!!  N |
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Post by Heel Santa on Aug 27, 2014 17:13:30 GMT -5
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Post by kurganfan on Aug 27, 2014 19:11:34 GMT -5
My only concern was the Corda and Reno 'We never die' mechanic. I know head shots are the event that decides victory within the canon of the genre but not every deck wants to head hunt. Nigel having 6 copies of a card not everyone else has isn't an unbalanced proposition. Unless Nigel printed the card in his basement  , but pretty sure that's not the case.  Sadly people lose in 1-2 turns. Some of them never play again after their 'unbeatable deck' is soundly humbled. It's never fun and incredibly frustrating, but it isn't the end of the world nor should it be the end of your gaming experience. Learn from it and be better next time. BTW the cube was great fun. I would have enjoyed it more if not for the 19 hour day I was nearing the finish of. |
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Post by kurganfan on Aug 27, 2014 19:13:43 GMT -5
And after seeing the pic of Lex in what I can only assume are S&M booties, I need a drink.  |
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Post by Heel Santa on Aug 27, 2014 19:52:03 GMT -5
prowler7 Can you please tell kurganfan to stop thinking about me in apparel that he wants to see me in?
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Post by billj on Aug 27, 2014 20:13:50 GMT -5
I would have to agree super lean, fast, one trick ponies turning off new players. At border wars I played in three games in which I had one turn and if I remember correctly in one I didn't get to play a card. That is pretty frustrating. I have no illusions about winning tournaments/championships but I would like to play rather than watch my opponent cycle their deck for 10 minutes searching for the killer combo. You might as well say "I'm going to win this way unless you have blank card in your hand." And get on with the next game. That being said I had a great time at border wars and even though I was crushed everyone I played was a gentleman. I guess I can live with running into those decks because the other games were great. I'm really looking forward to Recruits and I expect to run I to those decks again but I'll have a good time anyway.
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Post by dbaker on Aug 27, 2014 20:23:57 GMT -5
And after seeing the pic of Lex in what I can only assume are S&M booties, I need a drink. They look like Santa boots to me. Black boots with white fur at the top. Is Lex really Santa Claws? Is this picture of him relaxing before his busy holiday season coming up in less tan 4 months? Is that Mrs Claws sitting on him? |
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Post by Heel Santa on Aug 27, 2014 20:26:03 GMT -5
hahaha! Close Dallis. That's Santa after a few pints of beer and my lead reindeer "Reznor" passed out on my lap.
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Post by dbaker on Aug 27, 2014 20:28:44 GMT -5
hahaha! Close Dallis. That's Santa after a few pints of beer and my head reindeer "Reznor" passed out on my lap. Did Reznor Have a few pints also? Better keep it quiet if so, those Californians get kinda crazy when it comes to animals. |
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, but pretty sure that's not the case. 
