Guardian Hot Mess - Kessel Cup Tournament Report 1.0

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• 1.0

I took this deck to the Kessel Cup in Indianapolis yesterday and ended up going undefeated with it (9-0 in games). This was a team event, and the tournament structure was 3 rounds, with each round being a best of 5. Each team consisted of 6 players (and up to 1 alternate) and you had to have 3 hero decks and 3 villain decks. Each round, teams took turns picking matchups. The decks we brought were Sabine Ezra, R2P2, Qui-Gon Kanan, Kylo Grievous, 5 Die Villain, and this Guardian Hot Mess deck.

I played against 5 Die Villain, Qui-Gon Kanan, and Cad Bane Ciena Ree throughout the day. I wanted to share this list because a couple people were interested in it, and it was a pretty fun deck to play if you're looking for something different.

Round 1 - Our team was paired up against a team from Fort Wayne, and they brought some interesting decks that we definitely weren't expecting to see, including a Planned Explosion vehicle deck that almost took out our Qui-Gon Kanan player.

Game 1 against 5 Die, he rolled a ton of modified damage and very little base, so I was able to use guardian to force him to constantly reroll and he just couldn't hit the base sides he needed.

Game 2 I rolled like fire. Ancient Lightsaber and Pig Man rolled their 3 damage sides multiple times and that was it. I also think it was in this game that I noticed he was setting up a Bait and Switch play and I used Seeker droid's discard side and nabbed it.

Game 3 went a lot like the first. I used guardian and my removal aggressively and kept his damage to a minimum.

If you're able to stop Bala Tik from activating, then this match isn't as bad as it seems. This matchup can go sideways real fast though if Bala starts resetting. Deflect and guardian are key in this match, and Sound the Alarm gives you good insurance vs their nut rolls.

Round 2 - We were matched up against the Nerfherders from Indy, and we knew this was going to be a really tough round. We actually split this round evenly with them, which we were pretty happy with.

Game 1 against Qui-Gon Kanan I focused on Qui-Gon while he focused on Pig Man. He thought he had lethal on Pig Man, but I used the Royal Guard to soak up a 2 damage side, and he was 1 short of lethal. I took out Qui-Gon and Kanan couldn't do enough damage to finish me off. Intimidate was MVP this game.

Game 2 I ended up winning with a mill victory. He had 2 Handcrafted Light Bow on Qui-Gon, but once he died I only had to deal with Kanan and 2 Force Speed. My opponent went through his entire deck, and I discarded his last cards using Seeker Droid.

Game 3 was a pretty standard game where I was able to use guardian to keep him off damage, and Intimidate was MVP again.

Qui-Gon Kanan can be a tough match if they get Qui-Gon upgraded quickly, but if you can land some timely Intimidates and play around their Force Misdirections then you can catch them off guard with the amount of damage you're able to put out. You also have a ton of health that they have to chew though, and spreading your upgrades around really forces them to make some tough decisions on who to focus. Keep shields off Qui-Gon and they won't be able to circumvent guardian by pinging.

Round 3 - We were paired up against Team Lobot from Cincinnati, and we weren't sure how this was going to play out. They had a couple decks that we weren't expecting and it definitely threw us off.

Game 1 against Cad Bane Ciena Ree. My opponent didn't get any big damage spikes with Cad, and misplayed by Electroshocking the wrong die because he didn't realize I had 2 Seeker Droid dice in the pool. I was able to resolve 2 damage and kill Cad who had no redeploy weapons on him, and that was basically the game.

Game 2 my opponent rolled very poorly. Round 2 he was rerolling 5 dice 2-3 times and only hit a couple damage sides that were picked off by guardian. I had a Sound the Alarm in case of a big damage spike, but I was fortunate enough to not need it.

Game 3 came down to a fully kitted out Ciena vs a fully kitted out Pig Man. I aggressively rerolled to hit damage sides or focus from a Seeker Droid and ended up getting there.

Overall I was extremely happy with the deck, although I would change some things for sure. I played a ton of Awakenings Phasma/Guavian/Trooper, and this deck plays pretty similarly. I was originally going to play Phasma, but the 7 health on Stormtrooper felt like a liability, especially against 5 Die Villain, and Deflect is basically a 2 of in every blue deck right now. Also, this deck is way more fun.

Feel Your Anger - Having 2 of this card felt unnecessary. Between guardian and other removal, you don't have a ton of opportunities for big blowouts. Moving forward I would only play 1.

Enrage - This card was either clutch, or terrible. You don't have a lot of resource sides with this deck, but you don't need to use them that much either. Having 1 feels good, but 2 might be excessive. This is just kind of a personal preference I think.

Friends in Low Places - I didn't end up including this card in my deck, but it was probably a big mistake. Being able to nab a Force Misdirection or another blowout card can end the game on the spot. Pig Man usually lasts a long time, so having to spot a yellow character isn't a big deal. I'd recommend trying it out going forward.

Mind Probe - I never got this upgrade out all day, and never really wanted it. It can bail you out in certain games, but I'm probably going to cut a copy for a Force Throw.

I'd like to thank my team mates on Kentucky Fried Porg for being awesome and doing some serious work. Also, thanks to Family Time Games in Indy for hosting this event, and the tournament organizers for running it. And lastly, thanks to The Destination in Louisville, KY for sponsoring us.