# Flashpoint Finchley XVII - Report

by Andrew Davidson
January 28, 1998

A moderate turn-out this month - the proximity of Christmas meant that several regulars were away.
The players were:

    Alex Wargacki        .....L. Archangel's Carnage
    Andrew Davidson      A.FH... Tickertape
    Andy Holt            ...H.L. Lords of Discipline
    Anil Das-Gupta       A...... "I am Sam Waller"
    Bart Sobieszczuk     ..F.J.. Tonguelash
    Colin Burton         .D.H..M Mortal Wombats
    Dave Martin          .....L. Reprocessed Memories
    Ivan Hartley         ..F...M Cuddly Toys
    Michael Rogers       A.....M "Too many cards!"
    Sam Waller           .DF.... Can you say "Winning Attack"?
    Stephen Biggs        ...H.L. Drunken God
    Yuit Sum Vong        .D...L. Stick Insects

Faction Popularity
5 Lotus
4 Flesh Architects
4 Guiding Hand
3 Ascended
3 Dragon
3 Monarchs
1 Jammer
Round 1
Andy Holt beat Alex, Bart, Stephen
Sam Waller beat Andrew, Dave
Anil Das-Gupta beat Colin, Ivan, Yuit

Round 2
Andy Holt beat Ivan, Michael, Yuit
Dave Martin beat Bart, Colin, Sam
Andrew Davidson beat Alex, Anil, Stephen

Consolidations
Alex Wargacki beat Colin, Ivan, Yuit
Bart Sobieszczuk beat Michael, Stephen

Final
Sam Waller beat Andy, Andrew, Anil, Dave

I took a checkpoint of the state of the game after an hour:

Dave Martin:
3 Feng Shui sites
2 Infernal Temple
1 Abominable Lab (taken from Sam)
1 The Hungry
1 Kun Kan
1 Evil Twin of CHAR
1 The Pledged (Shifting Loyalties)
1 Student of the Bear (ditto)
1 Sinister Priest
10 power
3 sites burnt for victory
3 Glimpse of the Abyss played
Sam Waller:
1 Kinoshita House
1 Feng Shui site
1 Chinese Doctor
1 CHAR
1 Vivisector
1 DNA Mage
1 Ting Ting
1 Friends of the Dragon
1 Power
2 sites burnt for victory
Anil Das-Gupta:
1 City Square
1 Family Estate
1 Golden Gunman (Shadowy Mentored from Sam)
1 Kun Kan (Shadowy Mentored from Dave)
1 Vladimir Kovalev
11 Power
3 Sites burnt for victory
Andrew Davidson:
1 Inner Sanctum
1 Shaolin Sanctuary
1 Family Estate
1 Infernal Temple
1 Test Subjects
1 Arcanowave Researcher
1 Sam Mallory
Andy Holt: 4 Feng Shui sites
1 White Ninja
1 Mirror Dancer
1 Gnarled Marauder
1 Evil Twin of The Golden Gunman
1 Sinister Priest
2 Power

At this stage, most of the players were within sight of a victory - I was the main exception. I was concentrating on holding the other players back while I developed my position. I had played a Year of the Rat to steal a tempo from Sam when he looked too threatening and was the main source of stoppers when he made many repeated attempts to win in the second hour.
All players were generating a fair amount of power and I gave them plenty more by playing Bull Markets. This lead to an amusing incident when Dave burnt yet another site for victory - he had to burn plenty to make up for his many Glimpses. Anil played a Bite of the Jellyfish on him. This wouldn't normally be a big deal after a burn for victory but in this case, Dave had 35 power. He was able to spend three of it on an Evil Twin but then Anil got the rest. Not that he really needed it as he had 42 power already - a total of 75! I have a good photo of him grinning over this mound of glass beads - look for it on my web site in due course.
With about 30 minutes left from the 3 hour time limit, I made a big play for the win with a flurry of recycled events, including a Neutron Bomb. I ran Andy Holt out cards with a Curtain but, when I started to do the same to Dave, he responded by hitting me with a Discerning Fire and a Reprocessed Curtain. The latter knocked some key cards out of my hand and so I called off my assault. My Bull Markets meant that all the other players now had mountains of power. Andy Holt was next but the Curtain meant that he now decked - his 42-card deck had won both his qualifying games but it didn't have the stamina for a 5-player final. It was now Dave's turn. He played an Inauspicious Reburial which toasted most of my resources and then went for the win himself. Sam and Anil were just able to stop him though and then Sam had a go. Now that my stoppers were neutralised, he was able to break through the remaining defense and win the game with just one card left in his deck.
Sam's prize was his first White Ninja. Like last month's winner, Daniel Victor, Sam is one of the UK's top Magic players - and it's interesting to see how this background influences their approach to the game. The only downside is their habit of arguing their corner aggressively when there is a rules issue. For example, when some Lodge characters were smoked, the effect upon my Family Estates was not noticed until later. My normal ruling would be to let this stand but Sam didn't like this and so, as I was affected, I let Sam make his case to a neutral third-party. Still, there is no nastiness and it's good to highlight these awkward cases.
So, congratulations to Sam and thanks to all those who took part. This does not include the landlord of the Catcher in the Rye - another churl who would rather have no customers at all than a pub full of temperate card players. This month, we move up the road to the Tally Ho where the management will be pleased to see us, youngsters are welcome and the food and drink is worth buying. If this venue works out as well as I hope, 1998 should be our best year yet.

Last modified: March 11, 1998.
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