The Sitdown Strike - European Edition (5th)

If the American people 'would' be called the Sleeping Giant, the corresponding name for the UK might be the Laughing Gentlemen.

Even if at times at my and/or my country's expense (only one of which I am concerned about), I would say the defining trait that differentiates English from US playstyle is the general sense of humor: the European Marshal, while set at a very competitive level of play, didn't ''feel'' as such because of the relaxedness with which these often well-spoken folks throw down for a ''serious'' tournament.

This deck took me to 4-1 landing in 5th place, but only bolstered by the tea-time advice of Scott Wisely and Dave Hogg - two extraordinary brains and wonderful hosts - which was based upon the assumption that the ''American Meta'' always cheats too much, the (accurate) prediction that the event would smell like horses, and the friendly recommendation to include spot removal. So I steeped in the advice the night before while letting the jet-lag run it's course.

Round 1: Adam's Tricks-up-'is-Sleeve Jia Mein (Exp.1) Condition deck - and by far the best game I played all day, going to time. Noticing immediately that the deck had really light structure and was planning on slowly Putting The Pieces Together, I decided to not only do my best to sit on deeds, but also to try to interrupt the loud Fiddle Games this Full Moon Brotherhood was trying to use to establish safe economy. Early attempts at the latter failed, stretching the game out to a good 10+ days, trading casualties on both sides. He didn't cheat once. So, worried about getting my dudes isolated and subject to Mirror, Mirror, I gave position by Mugging a dude here or there, but ultimately lucked out on a few bad pulls and unlucky near-straights (bolstered by Ace in the Hole) by the very card that wrecked a couple of early shootouts for me: Bottom Dealin'. Game ended with Nicodemus Whateley moving to the town square to fight off my remaining dudes but unable to pull a +3 rank hand with a better base than three of a kind.

Round 2: Vince's nigh-invulnerable Spirit Fortress. I knew going into this match-up that I was both inexperienced (never played against this archetype) and unprepared: I didn't have any specific answers to crack Totems. And so, my thoughts were to both attempt to disrupt the economy and try to be as preventative as possible by not allowing any Shaman to begin setting up at an in-town deed. This first strategy failed readily - in spreading out I was left vulnerable to Kidnappin' by Mariel Lewis somehow hoping my own home's production would work to replace comrades lost to such misdirection. This second strategy, now hampered by the first, seemed to only delay the inevitable: The game ended when all my remaining dudes were booted out and could not make even a half-hearted stand at the Maza Gang Hideout by the time Nicodemus Whateley began his mayorial race.

Round 3: Peter's Philip Swinford (Exp.1) Bounty Hunter Law. This match was absolutely delightful, I think we were laughing at the story that unfolded as we played. Running 6's renders explicit a contradiction that the Law Dogs hold - walking the line between being upstanding citizens and absolute drunks. Yes even 'innocent' Phil. First couple of turns, The Place hits the table and we both decide to do our own thing. A couple of days (and bounties) later, Lucinda "Lucy" Clover decides the fun is over and pulls a 180, stepping into her alter ego (Lucy Clover (Exp.1)) and leaving her saloon days behind her. She calls in some Bounty Hunters, and the fighting and fleeing ensues. Lawrence Blackwood decides to escape to the The R&D Ranch, thinking he is safe, until Steven Wiles chases him out and blows the whole thing up, throwing him into Gomorra Jail. But with a key Mugging to send Lucy home from the Townsquare, the board is ripe with blue chips, and I managed to chess a win.

Round 4: Regulator Ranch Robots and Force Fields - I apologize firstly for temporarily stealing this bloke's home card (in a side game with my former match mate - same color sleeves woops), secondly for forgetting his name (sorry!), and thirdly for what was perhaps the worst love shown by Lady Luck in a Doomtown game I have seen in awhile. The short of it: I contested Wagner Memorial Ranch while he immediately dropped 3 gadgets, cheated like an American, but instead of being stung by This'll Hurt in the Mornin', was gifted a 5-of-a-kind, causing the loss of great minds and wonders of science. With perfect timing, Samantha "Sammy" Cooke rode into Gomorra and parked at his home, making it unable for him to recoup his locomotive losses without first going into a fight with unequipped scientists. Sammy solo 3-drew into a 2-joker legal four-of-a-kind, and a game that might have been long and well-matched was cut upsettingly short.

Round 5: Andy's Janky Baby Science Sloane Rush - my loudest and most enjoyable match that day. Fortunately for me, ''table talk'' doesn't disrupt my thinking at all - on the contrary, I like to talk situations out as a way to process them actively. I asked Andy for tips on how to best play against him, and he I. He wanted to know what I drew with Circle M Ranch that buggered my eyes - I showed him Sloane. Unfortunately, all the talk perhaps led to a play mistake: The Caretaker was not meant to hold the town square (thank you design team). Nice try though! I think between this and not drawing Buffalo Rifle cost him the game, as I was able to play about a dude a turn and win the war of attrition - culminating on him being unable to complete his straight-flush to pull though my steady hand rank seven.

...

Best tournament I've ever been to. And not just competition, but fun. Glad the Canadian and the American left with mats. 1000 years is a long time - but if you want to travel over 1000 miles to get Hamburgers and Stella in a can, listen to Top 100, and get into an argument about cultural differences/similarities, I couldn't recommend traveling to next year's European Championship highly enough. Cheers!