UH Mid Cycle Champion - Prenaka 1.0

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• 1.0

Before another big (ish) event I knew I'll be going with something that can pack DMs. Iden took a major hit, but in my opinion Cassian reset is one of the best deck in the meta right now.

So I was thinking about Gideon Garindan mill, as well as something with Bossk, but at the end of the day I decided to go with the only top deck that didn't get hit by last Holocron update (it's beyond me why does Den of Thieves still exist in current meta) - Hondo/Pre/EC (introduced to the top tables by Becon or Mawloc).

So was my choice a correct one? Well, deck name already spoiled it, so yes, it definetely was, although it wasn't that obvious in the begining...

Game #1 vs Gameslayer with eBala Tik/eTarkin/Crucial Intel I played against this few days earlier and even though I've won (due to much more favorable matchup) I knew this deck can be scary. And Gameslayer proved me right. Right after I commited to kill Tarkin, Bala got a Pulse Cannon and knew how to use it. I might've made a mistake by not switching targets, but I don't know if it would make any difference. But still the game got real close and was decided, in no small part, by my lack of removal for the last two turns. But the fact was, I've lost my first game and my ony chance of making top cut, was to will next four. 0-1

Game #2 vs DarthSmallz with eKi-Adi/eOld Man Luke/Jedi Code I didn't really know what to expect from this pairing, but I knew that between Luke's PA and Ki-Adi's sick PA and passive, the later will definetly be my first target. Fortunately I was able to ramp a little and put Mundi out of commison relatively quick. Lone Luke was much easier to contain and in the end I was able to secure a win. 1-1

Game #3 vs Porucznik Daltymo with eLando/eNien This was a game against one of the new players (from Poland no less), but since he was using Galactic Struggle hero deck, there's really not much to talk about and Pre and Hondo made a short work of heroes of battle of Endor. 2-1

Game #4 vs Strmtrpr81 with ePre/eTarkin/Crucial Intel I don't remember this game too well, but I think I was able to deal insane amount of damage turn 1 (like 9 or 10). My opponent did tne same, but a lot of his damage came from indirects, so it was much easier to manage. I was able to kill opposing Pre fast and although I didn't get his Darksaber, the game was over soon. 3-1

Game #5 vs Samc137 with eYoda/eKi-Adi/Solidarity It was another game where I was able to dish out a decent amount of damage early while also avoiding most of Yoda's big sides . That resulted in geting rid of Ki-Adi before he could get his shield engine going. That sealed Yoda's fate as well as my top cut trip. 4-1

Top4 vs Gameslayer with eBala Tik/eTarkin/Crucial Intel So I got my (unspoken) wish and a chance for revange ;) In the first game we went back and forth but with much improved rolling and removal I was able to secure a win in game one. I game two I had another big turn one damage wise and put 9 into Bala. But then Gameslayer made a huge mistake which allowed me to kill Bala at the start of turn two which was effectivley game over.

Final vs Eric with eAnakin/eKi-Adi It's not often I find myself at the wrong end of Anakin and Ki-Adi, but I felt that with both of my characters being on the tanky end of spectrum, I should have a good shot at winning this. The first big decision I had to make, was who to target first. I decided to go after Ki-Adi first, fearing that even if alone in the late game, his inevitable Jar'kai might be too much for me to overcome. So we traded punches. I killed Ki-Adi, but lost Hondo somewhere along the way. It went down t the wire with Anakin with two healt left, and Pre with three (I choose to play Inflict Pain to put preasurre on Anakin and hoping I can a kill with Act of Cruelty if he doesn't get Pushing Slash or misses with it. Unfortunatelly he did get it and he refused to miss. So of to game two. Being able to take his battlefield and denying Anakin early shields made me go after him this time. And this proved to be the right call and by the end of turn two troubled Skywalker was out of the picture and I had secong game in the bag. I was thinking about going after Anakin in game three as well, but Eric forced my hand when Ki-Adi got two weapons AND Jar'kai turn one. I knew if I won't kill him fast, I'm as good as dead. And kill him I did, but Pre was about to die as well, with Vader coming out to play. I knew I couldn't afford it, so Hondo made a hard choice of killing Pre preventing both Ani flip, as well as Darksaber going the other way. At this point I was almost sure I will win, but Anakin had other plans. He was able to put Hondo at 14 (fortunately he had a Black Market Arm), while we was at 7and I was left with one last Loyalist die and a few rerolls. I knew I had to get him to 9 to prevent loosing on Anakin's activation. I was able to do it and Eric didn't get Pushing Slash or anything to heal or shield, so he couldn't activate. And since I drew Act of Cruelty, after an intense final, the day was mine.

As for my card choices and why I use Mercenaries... I wanted something that can pose a serious threat once one of my guys go down. And although Mrcenaries don't fit this bill most of the times, there were games, where they were very effective. Besides I didn't find anything else worth includng (Canto Bight Security is just aweful in my opinion).

As for the MVP (besides Den of course), for me its definetely Kyuzo Petar and it's a thing I'm always mulliganing for.