A Worlds 2017 report from the 3rd best Adam player
Conphas wrote a great article about his experiences as a first time player at worlds. As I'm all about hype like this, I thought I would share it :)
Call me Ishmael. Some years ago- never mind how long precisely- having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore….
Wait. That’s not right.
Call me Thomas, or conphas if we are on jinteki.net or Slack. Some years ago- really just 3- I got into a little game called Netrunner. I found a local meta, went to some tournaments, and had a lot of fun. One of my meta-mates is a gentleman named Dan Spinosa, aka CodeMarvelous. When he suggested we go to Worlds this year I thought he was a bit nuts. Me? Go to Worlds? He knows I’m pretty rubbish at this game. I’ve never won a GNK, let alone placed well at a Regional. But he assured me I’d have a good time so I agreed. Bit of a spoiler: he was right. Worlds 2017 was an amazing time, and I met amazing people.
Going to Worlds I had simple expectations.
- I was not going to win it all
- I was probably going to be weak link on KoS team
- I was going to be Dan’s arm candy and meet a lot of people I wouldn’t have otherwise
My hopes were likewise simple
- Don’t be an embarrassment at KoS
- Win Top Adam
- Don’t Tilt
- Have Fun
Day 1: Travel and Settling In
Dan and I flew in together. We entirely forgot to coordinate flights with our friend and teammate, Sanjay, but that ended up being fine. We got in, got situated, and went to Surly’s Brewing for some lunch and beers. Dan told me that we’d be meeting Seamus from UK afterwards. I figured it would just be a handful of people chatting and drinking beers. While Dan and I were on our second beers, the doors open and in comes all of Team UK. We immediately go from two dudes having a beer to a party. Introductions all around. It was a who’s who of some of the best netrunners in the world. Listening to Run Last Click, Dead Channel, and Theophilus Bagpiper I had heard of every person introduced. I had a brief moment of being a bit star-struck, but then I remembered it’s just a game and they are just here to play it. It’s kind of amazing to me how hearing about people on a podcast can make them feel a bit like celebrities.
I half expected them to say hello and then sequester themselves away. Instead we were welcomed with open arms. We chatted about Netrunner, Beer Laws, Open-Carry of Firearms, and everything in between. Then someone broke out Doppel. Turns out Brits have a different name for everything. Doppel = Spot It! Spot It! is a kids game in the States, but that didn’t matter. Turns out any game can be a bit cutthroat when playing with competitive people. Playing it was a blast and gave me the chance to smacktalk Chris Dyer. Eventually it was time for their brewery tour, so Dan and I went back to the Rad.
The Radisson was not what I expected. I had heard tales of Netrunner as far as the eye can see. Instead, the Salons were filled to the brim with L5R casual players. In the back corner the Runebound World Championship was being played, a baker’s dozen playing a game I knew little about. But there were few Netrunners, so I ended up playing some games with Dan, Sanjay, and Michael (aka neuropantser) and then going to bed.
Day 2: King Of Servers
No breakfast at the Radisson!!!! I’m a growing boy, dammit. Ended up walking to Wal-Mart with Sanjay and meeting Dan there for a traditional Subway breakfast. Most of the trip was spent calculating the optimal number of Monster energy drinks for Sanjay. I spent most of the morning worrying about our 4th team member for KoS. Ryan (bubbathegoat) was flying in that morning and heading over from the airport. Turns out he beat us there and it was a non-issue. He is better at travel than I am, I guess.
We hop on the shuttle and head over. Arriving at KoS I was immediately crushed by the sheer number of people wanting to play Netrunner crammed into a community meeting space. I was not ready for how many bodies would be crammed into the B-Dale Meeting Club, but it was fine. Everyone was in the same situation and gave people space when they needed it.
I distinctly remember the look of fear and slight disappointment from Ryan as I explained my Adam deck. We had warned him in advance that we weren’t trying to win it all. We just wanted to have fun. But when I told him that my Adam deck usually knows if it is going to win or lose by turn 4 I think it really drove home my point. I think me being on FA CI was a comfort to him.
The Adam I played can be found here: https://netrunnerdb.com/en/decklist/46762/always-be-adam-worlds-2017-deck. I was a bit nervous about judge calls with Corporate Defector but I ended up loving the card and I wish I had run three. The CI deck was basically normal Glass House CI, but I hate Ichi 1.0 so I swapped them for Zed 2.0 and Brainstorm.
Round 1, we get paired against some chaps I had met the day before. No big deal. Dave Saiya puts down his 2016 Worlds Top 16 playmat and starts lamenting the loss of Dyper. I was super nervous but Dave was great and we proceeded to play two fantastic games of Netrunner.
The part I will always remember is when I was staring down a remote protected by a Cobra. I’m on four points, three cards in hand, one click remaining. I’m practically begging Sanjay for his permission to Mad Dash it. I can feel the Atlas deep in my bones. If I’m right, I win. If I’m wrong, I’m dead. Sanjay won’t budge, so I don’t do it. Click for a credit, pass turn. Dave looks me in the eye. Triple advance, score Atlas. I jumped up hard and roared my dissatisfaction. Chair went flying and everyone nearby gawked in surprise. I collect myself, sit down, and continue playing. The teams had a good laugh about it.
I ended up sweeping Dave round 1. Round 2 I played Jeff from LA. He recognizes my handle and lets me know that we are on near identical Adam decks. I had shared my list in #adamlounge a few days before and he picked it up. I am still exceedingly flattered by this. We ended up with a Corp-side split, but that isn’t surprising when both players know what tricks the Adam list is up to.
Round 3 I play Jordan from Chicago. I screwed up the CI combo and tilted hard when he said ‘no takebacks!’. He was 100% right to do so. He had meant it in a joking way and figured I had the solution in hand. It was my first taste of tilt. I learned I should talk with my team more after that. I ended up winning anyway, and then again with Adam, putting me on 5-1 going into round 4. I spent a bunch of time talking with Jordan about the CI game. He handled himself appropriately and I didn’t. I am thankful he accepted my apology and we ended up chatting several more times over the next few days.
Round 3 I play Jordan from Chicago. I screwed up the CI combo and tilted hard when he said ‘no takebacks!’. He was 100% right to do so. He had meant it in a joking way and figured I had the solution in hand. It was my first taste of tilt. I learned I should talk with my team more after that. I ended up winning anyway, and then again with Adam, putting me on 5-1 going into round 4. I spent a bunch of time talking with Jordan about the CI game. He handled himself appropriately and I didn’t. I am thankful he accepted my apology and we ended up chatting several more times over the next few days.
Round 4 I learned two things. Humility and the term ‘Icarused’. We went in feeling great until we got paired against Seamus’s team. Marc, Seamus, and Stephen were all tied for best record, so I got randomly paired against Marc. 2017 Spanish National Champion Marc. Dan got paired against Seamus, who Dan has shared EVERY Smoke list he’s ever made with. Seamus knew Dan’s list exactly. Marc is a phenomenal player who caught me by surprise with HHN CI. Marc swept me and the team went 1-7 that round.
Round 5 I split with Elliot from Colorado. Both games were fun, but my Adam win was 100% luck. I stole all 3 Elective Upgrades. 2 from HQ when it was the only agenda there each time.
I left KoS feeling great. I went 6-4, tied with Sanjay for best record on team. Adam deck did great. One loss to a player who knew what to expect, one loss to a player that outplayed me and caught me by surprise. Both losses were close. I also achieved one of my goals: I didn't embarrass myself in front of the team.
One important takeaway from KoS was how good the communication was among the top teams. The knew each other's decks and how they played. The consulted each other at key decision points. I think this is a major thing to remember when in a team event like this. You aren't in it alone. Get advice from your friends and your play will be better for it.
Day 3: Cache Refresh and Icebreaker, aka the Downward Spiral
For Cache Refresh I took Jonas’ Adam list (https://netrunnerdb.com/en/decklist/46684/-socr3-cache-refresh-adam ) and a Harm-Tech Mushin list that I threw together from the bones of an original core list. For Icebreaker I decided to try CI with Elective Upgrades. I wanted fit an Ark Lockdown in and couldn’t find a slot. I was still on my Adam.
When we got to FFG we helped Dan set up to stream the events. If you want a good chuckle and an understanding of why Dan doesn’t play Cache Refresh, watch his commentary.
Cache Refresh I played FF0X round 1 as Adam and he took me apart with his PE deck. Round 2 was Adam vs HHN CI with similar result. I made a bookkeeping mistake that lost me the game. I hailmaryed into HQ and missed the game winning agenda. Round 3 I played Harmony Medtech and won via Punitive Counterstrike.
Icebreaker was a debacle. I went 0-6 and tilted hard the final round against D2D Making News. Again my opponent was gracious enough to accept my apology and we talked for a while about our decks. We thought we had found the secret MCA Austerity Tech. Adjusted Chronotype. Unfortunately I know realize that doesn’t work all. I hope he did before going into the main event.
One nice thing during Icebreaker was I got to talk with Michael Boggs. After asking how I was doing, he was apologetic but pleased to hear CI was failing me. While I had his attention I asked what cards he replaced SanSan City Grid and Medium with in the new Core: Bernice Mai and Hemorrhage. When I told Sanjay this, he made sure to have Boggs sign his Bernice. Scoops!
I ended day 3 in a CRISIS. Rather than just going back to Glass House CI, I grabbed an AgInfusion list I had been on weeks before. It was good, not great. And it was slow. I played it anyway. One of the deciding factors was a conversation with Neuropantser about CI. He made me realize that I was not ready to play CI at a high level, so of course I jumped to something harder.
I don't know if I regret this or not. The CI deck is good, but I saw Shaper all day. The AgInf was probably a better matchup but I wasn't practiced on it.
Day 4: The Main Event
http://gunshowcomic.com/648
So we get to FFG around 10 and set up the stream. Sanjay and I get a practice game in, and then I go over to the prize wall. They tell me that there are only THREE 2017 Deck boxes left, so I end up standing in line with Swiftie to get one instead of practicing. Shout-out to Sanjay for loaning me tickets.
I’m not going to go into every Worlds game. I went 4-8. I mostly avoided tilt, but I didn’t avoid disappointment. I learned just how good some players can be. I learned how important round 1 matchups are. I played Andriy Gubachov round 1. I didn’t know him ahead of time, but I’m glad I got to meet him. He entered day 2 ranked in the top 16 and I apologized several times for not helping his SoS.
AgInfusion went 3-3 with a timed win in round 2. Adam went 1-5. This is what upsets me the most about my Worlds performance. I know my Adam deck is better than that. I just didn’t play it well enough and made some stupid mistakes.
The most important thing about the Main Event though isn’t my record. It is the camaraderie I felt with people I had just met. Between rounds I had several different groups of people I would check in with. We’d talk about the rounds, lament the losses, celebrate the victories. Blain, who had swept me in Icebreaker, made Day 2 and I was ecstatic. John, from Montana, almost made day 2 and I was crushed by the final round. Seamus, who was cruising into day 2, took time to cheer me up and give me some AgInfusion coaching. Seamus: If you read this, thank you again for that. It really helped.
That day is a blur. I remember being upset. But I also remember all my friends, both new and old, coming together and feeling like part of something bigger and better. It will remain a very fond memory. I got to play some great people. Round 3 was against Jayson Brown, and he got his only Exile win against me. I saw Jordan from KoS in round 4 and he revenge-swept me. The next round I saw Rose, Jordan’s wife, and we had a good laugh about how our day was going. Round 6 I was against Eric Steiger. When he signed my mat ‘Noted’ we had a nice discussion about unexpected internet celebrity. I can’t remember round 2 at all, other than I played like an idiot as Adam and lost because of it, and then had to play AgInfusion with 10 minutes remaining.
So that was that. I finished 205th at worlds. I was 3rd out of the 3 Adam players. Congrats to Tundinator for winning Top Adam! Much deserved!
Day 5: The Top 54 and Elimination Rounds
Returning to FFG was bittersweet. I was happy to see friends and cheer for them, but I could remember the defeat I felt the day before. Kevin Tame, a friend from DC, wrote a great article about his worlds experience that I really identified with. Thank you again Kevin for sharing those thoughts and feelings with us. You can find it at https://stimhack.com/welcome-to-the-losers-club/
I spent the day playing some casual Netrunner. Adam lost another 2 games. Harm-Tech went undefeated. If you ask Dan he’ll say he beat my corp but I am awarding him a game loss because he revealed a mawed card. And because I am petty sometimes. The list can be found at https://netrunnerdb.com/en/decklist/46842/harm-tech-4-0-worlds-casual-play-
I also watched a lot of high quality Netrunner. I had Dan’s stream up on my phone and walked around the different tables. I got a sense of satisfaction when I saw some FFG folks sitting with Boggs and watching Dan’s stream. I don’t know if Boggs was watching, but it was still rad.
I can’t say enough about how proud I am of Dan for pulling off the stream, nor how appreciative I am of the Netrunner community. The commentary was amazing, Dodgepong was incredibly generous with his time, his knowledge, and his hotspot. The viewers pitching in to help keep the stream alive by paying surprise Verizon fees. Thank you all so much.
Wilfy won, and it was over. Time to clean up and go back to the hotel. Instead I ended up back at the Key Inn. Still talking lines of plays and changes needed to MWL with the Brits. Some time spent drinking with Marc, Stephen, and Tris. I spent an hour in the freezing Minnesota night talking with Dan, Seamus, and Chris M. Seamus half convinced me that going to Edinburgh Regionals is a good idea. My wife disagrees.
I went to bed that night in better spirits and more in love with the game than ever.
Day 6: Going Home
Not much to say here. We packed up. Sat in the hotel lobby until our shuttle took us over to the Airport. I was home with my family at 7 PM and planning for Worlds 2018.
All in all, I had an amazing time. I’ve read a fair number of these recaps and they all say the same thing. Come for the Netrunner, come back for the Friendship. It’s true. Worlds is an event worth experiencing. I’m glad I did it, and I look forward to doing it again.
Shout Outs
Dan: Thank you for talking me into it. Thank you for handling the logistics. And a big thank you for introducing me to so many new friends. Thank you for being a great friend. And outstanding job streaming it all!
Sanjay: Thank you for making sure I stayed sane. Thank you as well for being a great friend and always being the positivity I needed when I was down. And thanks for talking me out of Rigged Results.
Kevin: Thank you for writing an excellent article that helped me accept my loss. And for not punching me in the face when I pitied you.
Michael: Thanks for the great CI feedback and all the other discussions we had. It was a true pleasure meeting you. And thanks for helping Dan keep the stream going. You were a big help.
Jeff, Nick, Teo, John, Blain, Jordan, Rose, Jayson, and the 20 people whose names I can’t remember for letting me celebrate your wins, lament your defeats, and just taking part in my life for these 6 days.
Seamus, Chris M, Tris, Tom, Swiftie, Dave S., Stephen, and the rest of the UK Crew: Thank you for accepting Dan, Sanjay, and myself into your little cabal. As a whole, your joy and optimism for the game is infectious. I hope I can find a way to have as much fun in this game as you all seem too. Also, I can’t stop saying ‘Cheers’ and I blame you all.
Content Creators: thank you for engaging your fans. Sometimes we are oblivious. We want to talk right after you've had a disappointing loss or you just want to eat in peace. I said hello to all my favorites and without fail every one of you took time and had a nice conversation with me. I appreciated it a lot.
Cooper: Every airport should have a therapy dog, and you were there for me buddy.
