Hi everyone! I new month. This last month has seen a lot of great things. It's an awesome step in making the next months even better. Star Wars isn't dead in this state... It was just sleeping. Let the sleeper awaken! This month is going to be one HECK of a wild ride! So, strap yourself in and let's hit the updates! >> Young Jedi CCG<< Already, you've read about the future of Young Jedi CCG. I can't tell you how excited I am about the upcoming Battle Of Naboo expansion. Speculations are already hitting an all new high. Cool new weapons for your Gungan Armies, Dueling, Effects! Whooo baby! There's been sooo much talk about these tank decks that are out there. If you've got the tanks, this is a really great deck type. I don't know, I'm still not sold because of the destiny problem (you can patch that up by tossing in a ton of Probe Droids, but, those are a weak compliment to those mighty tanks). Of course, I'm such a prima-dona, I'm still trying to make my Pod-racer deck go... :) I'm also trying to figure out how to get more umph out of the new Jedi from Jedi Council... Talk about low destiny! Sheesh. I however, do have a nifty Jawa deck that absolutely rock! "Utinni!!!" Additionally, my future Young Jedi Tournaments are going to be even better because now I've got Foil Sebulbas! Yep, that's right... You want a shiny sebulba? You talk to me... Congrats to Abby Goldthwaite for whooping up in my last tournament. She came in with a couple of really nasty decks that just goes to show what a great player she is! I'd also like to welcome Laser Marquez and Karry Cannon to my tournaments! This was the first time I got a chance to host a tournament for them! Hope to see them again really soon! >> Star Wars CCG<< Well, you'd have to have been buried under a rock if you haven't cought wind of these new EJP cards! In just last month's tournaments, I saw enough Dark Side Court Of The Vile Gangster decks to know this baby is something special. But, what I sisn't see and I'm quite surprised that I didn't was Light Side's You Can Either Profit By This/ Or Be Destroyed. Good God almighty, I've read other websites describing the tech behind decks like this. For instance, go with Uh-Oh as your starting effect, pull Bo Shuda on your first turn and you can rest easy at the Audience Chamber! If you keep you Rebels out of there, there's no way the Dark can hurt you in Jabba's Conference Hall... This opens a lot of really cool strategies, Alien Representitives (here's a nice comfy place to jump start your Jawa Decks!), Numbers (Wioslea, A Gifted Artoo and 8D8... Can you say 16 destiny?), even Jabba's Palace or Dune Sea Sabacc (I'm always on the lookout for a safe place to play a friendly hand of cards... :) ). What really hurts is, if you toss in Order To Engage, you force the Dark to lose Force if they stick around in the Audience Chamber. If they stay, they lose 3 Force ('cause they can't battle you there (Bo Shuda with Uh-Oh, remember?), if they leave, you can release the frozen Han at your leasure (a nice easy 5 or 10 Force retrieval). There are simply so many uses for Order To Engage with this deck... Who'd have known. Reflections has worked miracles in revitalizing the Star Wars playing community! If you've been gone a awhile and you're thinking about getting back in... Now's the time!!! If you're back, welcome back! Congrates to Alfred Dong and Clayton Atkin for rocking everyone's world at my tournaments last month! Big thanks goes out to you Chico dudes! Thanks for coming out to my Sacramento tournament! You made it a real blast, and I hope to see you again! Stay tuned for some juicy info about the upcoming Death Star II expansion. >> The Grand Slam Tournament Event<< OOOOhhhh Boy! This is going to be the event to remember!!! An entire weekend of exciting Star Wars, Young Jedi and Star Trek tournament play. With uncut sheets of cards as the grand prize... Not to mention the tons of boosters to be had! I will be the pointman for the awesome event, so, if you're wondering why I'm not running many tournaments this month, it's because my efforts are focused mainly on making this event a huge success! And you can help! We're out to show the whole world that Alderaan and the West Coast is THE best tournament arena in the country. In fact, we have a kind of unspoken competition with the Grand Slam events of the East Coast. Let's see if we can't pack Neutral Ground to the rafters!!! If you're going to any tournament this month.... This is IS IT!!! These cool events will be held at Neutral Ground in Mountain View, CA on Saturday, Feb 19th and Sunday, Feb 20th. Young Jedi CCG is at 11:00am. The entrance fee is $7.00 and the Prizes will be uncut rare, uncommon and common sheets from the Manace Of Darth Maul expansion plus boosters gallor. Star Wars CCGis right afterward at 3:00pm. The etrance fee is $7.00 and the prizes will be uncut rare, uncommon and common sheets from the Premier expansion plus boosters gallor. Star Trek is on the following day at 11:00am. The etrance fee is $7.00 and the prizes will be uncut rare, uncommon and common sheets from the Premier expansion plus boosters. Directions to the Grand Slam: You can get to Neutral Ground from the I-680 or 101 to the 237 going west. Turn right onto El Camino Real. Neutral Ground is located in the shopping center on your right side at the corner or El Camino Real and Showers Dr. Need help getting to the Grand Slam? I have two ways for you to get there! *The Smugglers Guild* Do you have room to take a fellow player? The Grand Slam is looking for a few good Smugglers to transport these brave troops past enemy lines to the Grand Slam event. If you carpool with other players you?ll qualify for a generous reward of 1 pack of Star Wars CCG Reflections per player you transport with you. Contact me for details. This offer is good for the Star Wars and Young Jedi Events only. *The Magic Bus* Still need a ride to the Grand Slam? If you can?t find a carpool and you live Northern California, there will be a 15 passenger bus to transport you. The Magic Bus will make stops in Sacramento, Stockton, Tracy and Livermore. Contact me for details. >> Other Tournaments<< There's a megaton of tournaments going on this month! Most important is the Grand Slam (see above). Here's a listing of where they are and whose running 'em: --Star Wars CCG-- -Feb 12, 2000- Sanctioned Swiss...............................12:00pm Chico, CA...........................................Michael Carey (celchu@c-zone.net or (530) 877-6473) Sanctioned Swiss...............................16:00pm San Jose, CA.......................................Stephen Daniel (steve12883@aol.com or (408) 246-5545) -Feb 19, 2000- Grand Slam Sanctioned Swiss................................3:00pm Mountain View, CA...........................Thad Aid (t-aid@hotmail.com or (650) 967-7846) Sanctioned Swiss................................12:30pm Modesto, CA.......................................Charles Palmer (boba522@aol.com or (209) 526-5591) -Feb 26, 2000- Sanctioned Swiss................................6:00pm San Jose, CA.......................................Thad Aid (t-aid@hotmail.com or (650) 967-7846) --Young Jedi CCG-- -Feb 9, 2000- Sanctioned Swiss................................4:45pm Fairfield, CA.........................................Michael Fejarang (odysseymike@yahoo.com or (707) 417-1209) -Feb 10, 2000- Sanctioned Swiss................................1:00pm Stockton, CA.......................................Dennis Lechich (alucras@aol.com or (209) 941-4278) -Feb 12, 2000- Sanctioned Swiss................................1:00pm Modesto, CA.......................................Janice Nichols (babiebliss@aol.com or (209) 572-2685) -Feb 13, 2000- Sanctioned Swiss................................12:00pm Sacramento, CA.................................Abby Goldthwaite (chevygirll@aol.com or (916) 387-0771) Sanctioned Swiss.................................3:00pm Sacramento, CA.................................Trevor Hinkley (groovman@inreach.com or (916) 381-4880) -Feb 16, 2000- Sanctioned Swiss................................4:45pm Fairfield, CA.........................................Michael Fejarang (odysseymike@yahoo.com or (707) 417-1209) -Feb 19, 2000- Grand Slam Sanctioned Swiss................................11:00am Mountain View, CA...........................Mike Hardy (cm_hardy@pacbell.net or (925) 423-7418) -Feb 27, 2000- Sanctioned Swiss...............................1:00pm Chico, CA...........................................Michael Carey (celchu@c-zone.net or (530) 877-6473) >>Lightsaber Tournament<< Because of the Grand Slam, I'm going to postpone the Lightsaber tournament until next month. If you're interested in seeing what this lightsaber looks like, check out the website (www.parksabers.com). >>The State Championships<< As you've probably already have read, Decipher is introducing a new type of tournament event. It's called the State and Continental Champioships! Do you think you're best in California? Do you think you're the best in North America? Well, put your rankings aside gentlemen, this tournament is for you! Coming in April, you will be able to participate in a tournament to determine just who IS the best in the State. This will have some effect on the Regional action for the World Championship. Stay Tuned for that!!! Well, that's it for now. Hope to see all of you at the Grand Slam!