flagship [Updated October 2002]

FLG  Trial Double Elim Continuous 
 
  
   11  Round 2 12 Round 3 13 Round 4 14 Semi Round 5 16 Final      

   Hunt

Marvin Birnbsum, NJ

2002 Champion

2nd: Joel Tamburo, IL

3rd: Brian Jones, MD

4th: Zachary Fietsch, NC

5th: Steve Cameron, PA

6th: John Clarke, FL

Event History
2002    Marvin Birnbaum     30


AREA Ratings


GM: Carrie Lewis

The newest Euro (???) from GMT ...

The inaugural Flagship tournament drew 30 players to a true double elimination format. The first several rounds featured small battle fleets of 10 points. In the last few rounds as players became more experienced and the number of games smaller, the battle fleets were increased to 30 points. Choice of sides was not restricted so it was possible to have a nation fighting itself. Players could choose different sides each game.

The two finalists showed remarkable consistency in both side chosen and tactics. Marvin Birnbaum, who advanced through the winners bracket, played the Standing Nations (Cat People) in all but one round. The Cat People are based on a carrier with fighter wings and are almost immune to boarding parties. Marvin's basic strategy was to take three units, a strong wing, a weak wing and a weak flagship. Tactically, all effort was spent building the strong wing up before using it on attack while the weak wing attacked as a diversion or was sacrificed. Essentially the opponent was forced to choose between trying to kill the flagship or the strong wing before the strong wing became overwhelming.

Joel Tamburo, who advanced through the losers bracket, played the Heisling Dynasty (The Empire) in all rounds. The Empire is attack oriented with most ships having weak defense but packing a strong punch. The exception is the flagship that features good defense and excellent long-range bombardment capability. Joel's basic strategy was to take a number of weak escorts and one strong flagship with the best captain. Tactically all units were sacrificed to screen development of the flagship into an unstoppable killing machine.

Because it was a true double elimination format, Marvin only needed to win one of two games against Joel. This advantage was needed. Both players quickly developed their strong units but Marvin was unable to destroy Joel's screen fast enough. The superior long-range fire of the Empire flagship provided the killing blow one round before it would have been destroyed. In the rematch, both players made slight changes. Joel increased the number of screen ships while reducing their quality. In contrast, Marvin reduced the number of his units while increasing their quality. Both adjustments served to cancel each other out as Joel's screen was sacrificed to Marvin's all out attack. But far more decisive than strategy or tactics was the incredible horrible deal that Joel got. Virtually every card was useless in the first two draws given his choice of force. This made for a very one-sided final in which Marvin did not lose a single unit while completely turning the Empire into a large litter box. All hail the Cat People.

For more current info see http://home.mchsi.com/~alewis161/flagship.html

 GM      Carrie Lewis [1st Year]   NA
    cflewis513@mchsi.com   NA

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