Written by Liam Bosecke
Dragon's Lair Salisbury Skirmish
Skirmish season is upon us once again as seventeen players battled it out over four rounds at Dragon's Lair Salisbury this weekend. This season we see the return of competitive blitz following the recent release of the all popular set, Tales of Aria.
There was a diverse selection of heroes to choose from and players wanted to keep their cards close to their chest in regards to what heroes they were playing. We saw representation from almost every hero in the game (minus Dash and the Crucible heroes of course). Three Kanos, three Ira's, three Duskblade Chane's and then at least one of each of the other heroes.
Many players were surprised that Ira wasn't represented more than it was, however, more optimal strategies have presented themselves in recent times, and players wanted to either build around those, or just try something different.
A great turnout of seventeen players
Main Event
As the first round commenced, I was paired up against a player who didn't show up, so I received a bye, others weren't so lucky.
Some of the matches I viewed included Dindo Malanao winning round one with Ira, using a sneaky yellow razor reflex against Nathan Hunter's Dorinthea, a true surprise attack. Martin Hodge came out on top against Kano using Ice Lexi, being able to mount enough pressure to close out the victory. Duskblade Chane was a scary match up for anyone that came within it's path and found victory on all fronts in round one.
Dindo Malanao
The second round saw my Rhinar deck go up against Dindo with his Ira, that he's been playing consistently since he picked up the game. I was fortunate enough to have the first turn and was able to knock off 9 life through intimidation. In the end, however, with us both being on less than 3 life, I had the misfortune of having two Smash with Big Tree's in my hand and was unable to block.
My next few rounds saw me come up against Joe Azzurro's Boltyn and Nathan Hunter's Dorinthea where, due to misplays and lack of skill, saw me lose through two close matches; having cards which couldn't block and not utilizing my weapons/equipment.
Meanwhile, Runeblade heroes and Ira were leading the standings as the sole Briar and all three Chane's closed out on their victories.
Nathan Hunter
Top 8
After four grueling rounds of game play we reached the cutoff point. Sadly, myself along with eight other players didn't make the cut to top 8. The games that followed though, were all very interesting as they all brought different experiences, playing in locations all around Adelaide.
Hannah Quirk-Meeks' Briar came up against current number one player Alex Fordran's Bravo and was able to close out the win in a very close match. Joe Barbaro's Ira defeated Kenan Kopic's Chane with Joe's very tight and controlled play style and some unlucky banishes on Kenan's part. Alex Mcdonald's Chane had a clean sweep against Martin's Ice Lexi and Dindo managed to close out the match against Alvin Yeap's Kano.
From left to right: Alvin Yeap, Joe Barbaro, Dindo Malanao, Hannah Quirk-Meeks, Kenan Kopic, Alex Forndran, Alex McDonald, Martin Hodge
Top 4
With the final four remaining players, we were left with two Runeblade heroes and two Ira's.
Alex McDonald's Chane managed to pick up enough steam against Hannah Quirk-Meeks' Briar, which just didn't have enough defense to hold out (mostly 2 defense or 0) and wasn't able to draw enough attack actions throughout the game. We also had an infamous Ira mirror match, featuring Joe Barbaro and Dindo Malanao. As stressful as it is to be the player of one of these games, it's very exciting to watch. Joe was able to play a very consistent and well thought out game. Managing to secure the victory over Dindo by a slither of health.
Alex Mcdonald (Left) Dindo Malanao (Right)
Final
We were now left with just two sole players. These two very skilled and experienced players feature regularly at the top of the leader board both locally and nationally.
The usual suspects Joe Barbaro and Alex McDonald faced off for the top prize today. Having such a tight and controlled play style helped Joe over the finish line today as he took the prize with 10 health to spare, winning ironically with a razor reflex. The randomness of Chane's banishes didn't help Alex compared to Ira's consistency.
Joe Barbaro is the skirmish champion
Congratulations to Joe Barbaro for taking out the victory at Dragon's Lair Salisbury.
There will be another skirmish on at Good Games Adelaide on Saturday the 20th, which will be a draft format. You don't want to miss that!
Joe Barbaro's deck list
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