Pine Box Entertainment hosted a tournament at Gamehole Con in Madison recently 10/21/23, and I was happily able to attend and represent Eisen! Got to the tournament right at the start time and found out the only other Eisen player switched to them right before the tournament started, because no one else was playing them. The breakdown was incredibly balanced amongst the factions after that though:
Eisen – 2
Vodacce – 2
Castille – 3
Ussura – 3
Montaigne – 3
It was 4 rounds of swiss followed by a cut to top 4. I ran my Eisen list explained in my breakdown trying out Precision over Iron Reply. (Precision also underwhelmed me.) I stuck with Rena over Uwe. (Worked out as I never mustered Daniella, and only Rena once.) Below is a recap of the games as best as I can remember them. (I’ll have to start taking pictures of board states at the end of each day.)
Game 1 vs Montaigne
Day 1: Both get a Renwon. Relatively unmemorable.
Day 2: Focused around a contest to claim the 5 Renown on the Forums thanks to Guillen + Odette. Overall my engage-efficient combat was working out very poorly for me. I greeded some early gambles with bad results, I greeded an early trigger on Let the Sword Decide to cancel a Riposte, and I ultimately ended up trading a character (maybe Terrell) to A Heroic End gamble that I was very sad I could no longer cancel. [This may have happened on day 1 with a merc, I don’t quite remember.]
After that we piled almost every character we had, both sides with Mercs, into the Forums to contest the Renown. I was down by an influence with just 4 cards in hand and only 1 prepared character with Influence to my opponent’s 2. In desperation, I pay full price to equip a Polished Flintlock to a character, going down to 1 card in hand, and shoot the En Garde Takama (who had survived some earlier violence but was currently at full health). This was my opponent’s second game of 7th Sea ever, and the Montaigne player was immediately suspicious of my final card in hand, openly wondering why I wanted to Engage Takama and what my last card in hand had to do with it. After considering it for a bit, my opponent ultimately decided to Engage Takama instead of taking the wound which would have brought her to 2 Resolve left. After the pass, I use my final card Last Word to push Takama off the location, since she is now engaged and no longer able to return. I claim the location, get the 5 Renown and gain control of the game I certainly would have lost otherwise.
Day 3: I choose The Song of Eisen because I know if I clear the City I’m guaranteed the win (assuming Kaspar doesn’t die and I don’t get Dominated). However, my opponent chose Epee Sanglante, which put the possibility of Montaigne stealing a Renown on the table to disrupt my plans. The two mercs on the table were Carmella and Maryam though, so I had to maintain 4 cards in hand to recruit both to trigger Song.
We go to the Forums, I recruit Carmella and my opponent challenges Kaspar sending 3 threat. Carmella intervenes with a parry 3 thrust 1. Opponent is only able to return 2 threat (since Riposte couldn’t reflect more than what exists). I gamble into a 2 parry 3 thrust. Opponent Ripostes 3 wounds back at me with the help of Henri, and I pay for Well-Equipped from hand to block the 3 and send back 4 which looks like it is going to punch through and secure me the win. However, Mastercrafted Rapier saves the day, pushes 4 threat back, and I fail to gamble into Kaspar’s Panzerhand. Renown stolen, The Song of Eisen plan thwarted.
Time is getting close to being called, so opponent concedes a bit before the end of day 3 since Montaigne could not win at that point. It was 5 Renown to 2 with a possible 2 Renown likely claimable from the Forums by me. Incredibly good game and I look forward to having to play perfectly next time to win, when my Last Word play won’t be a surprise (…will likely bring a different faction next time to have new surprises…huge fan of the potential of Pull + Predatory Pursuit in Ussura).
Game 2 vs Eisen
Not a matchup I was particularly familiar with. It is incredibly thrust-heavy, leading to trading characters instead of picking off characters and surviving, unlike what I’m used to facing. Specifically, we had one or two duels where we both traded characters with an overwhelming thrust card (Fight Through the Pain or Matchlock Musket). I started the duel, played my card representing unpreventable death, then I stared down return unpreventable death. Taught me what that feels like.
Over the first 2 days, I end up incidentally picking up Object of Wonder and Crystal Eye on Kaspar in part thanks to Let’s Haggle, bringing him up to 4 Influence while opponent gets Smuggled Item but trades it for Kaspar’s Panzerhand. Normally I don’t value these City Cards too highly, but they were there, basically free, and I had cards to pitch, so I grabbed them. It is a very good thing I did too.
Day 3 has 1 renown on each the Grand Bazaar and Forums, 2 on the Docks. I initially focus on the Docks and claim it while opponent takes the other 2, both of us with over 6 cards in hand. I Regroup engaged 4-Influence Kaspar over to the Forums, so I can claim that away from opponent. In response, my opponent Strateges over two En Garde characters to the docks. I claim the Forums with Phillip Hase who still has Reaction available, opponent claims the Docks. I play Dark Gift on Kaspar to then move him over. Opponent has both En Garde characters remaining at the location while I have En Garde, full-health Otto and a 1 influence lead (due to my opponent trading away the Smuggled Item, meaning I didn’t need to equip an attachment to Phillip Hase to move him over as well). Opponent challenges Kaspar in the hopes of Assassination, but I refuse and claim location with Otto. (If opponent tried to kill Otto instead, Otto‘s 4 Resolve would have still allowed me to refuse and Claim. Then the second character would have had to finish off Otto instead of claiming.)
Once again, time is close to being called, so opponent concedes to my 5 to 4 Renown lead at the end of day 3, as that is the first tiebreaker. Another very close game against another very strong, new-to-7th Seas player. Eisen scary.
Game 3 vs Vodacce
Vodacce was the only faction I played against multiple times, and the games somewhat bleed together in my mind, so the recaps might be a bit jumbled.
Pacifist Vodacce was also the deck I was most worried about because I know it is strong, and I haven’t had much chance to play against it. So, when I sat against the two Vodacce players, I assumed they were on pacifist Vodacce (they weren’t), and I initiated some intended-to-be lighthearted teasing about Vodacce, but it was also somewhat fear-tinged by the threat of day 1 Domination thanks to Pack Tactics. **Edit: Heard back from both Vodacce players, and apparently I was just being overly critical of myself as neither of them felt I was being a dick. Left the rest of this paragraph in anyway./Edit** I want to apologize to both Vodacce players, as I feel like my comments came out more shaming them for playing a faction with really interesting cards/mechanisms before even seeing what they chose to play, and then it had the effect of making them feel bad for not playing it the “meta” way. I think everyone should play whatever faction in whatever way they want to without having to justify or be “teased” about their choice. My pathological-desire to play off-meta isn’t any more or less valid than anyone else’s reasons to play whatever they want, especially since this is just for fun with no money on line; there is no reason to be dicks to each other whether intentionally or unintentionally. Hopefully, this is just my overwhelming worry about making people uncomfortable coming through, but it is how I feel, and I am sorry, will do better going forward.
This game started out with violence. Day 1, no mercs in the city, but Syrneth Hand on the Docks. For the first time I can remember, I forsake Otto and Muster Terrell day one. My greed demanded a 4-Com Terrell I could cackle over incessantly (internally … mostly) as he cut down everything while protecting himself with his recurring attachment combat cards. So I paired him with Midnight Shipment and flipped into a mustered Servo. I was surprised but still daydreaming about the unstoppable force of Terrell. Day starts, I grab the Hand on Terrell and eventually he ends up in front of Servo. I challenge Servo, I send unpreventable death with my first combat card, and then confused, I see Servo serving back unpreventable death to Terrell? Shocked, I see my investment into Terrell, Hand , and skipping Otto‘s day one card draw vanish.
I don’t quite remember what happened after that, but I vaguely recall slapping a Langschwert on Kaspar and letting out a bellowing roar that shook the building and rallied the nearby boffer knights to my side as Kaspar charged the Don. When the haze cleared, Constanzo was consigned to the locker, Kaspar was heavily bloodied, and all was right in the world. Day 1 or 2 Assassination victory where Kaspar‘s big booty saves the day (9-Resolve).
Midnight Shipment being able to send a character to any City location without spending a card or engage is incredibly powerful. After the strength it displayed at Gen Con, I always made sure to point it out at the start of each day to make sure my opponent at least knew of its existence (whether or not they remembered to take it into account throughout the day being another thing). Some point after getting the Hand on Terrell, I realized that in order to make use of my Terrell muster, Midnight Shipment, and Syrneth Hand purchase, I would have to expose myself to a potential Day 1 Domination loss if my opponent had Pack Tactics in hand. The Don was at the Grand Bazaar, Alcee was at the Forums, and Kaspar was at the Docks with Terrell (Servo was at Home?). If I sent Terrell to the Grand Bazaar, my opponent could
- Claim the Grand Bazaar with the Don
- Refuse or parry-out my 4 Restricted Hostilities (5 threat) challenge to the Don either hoping I didn’t have a way to En Garde/Issue a fresh challenge and/or utilize Servo to intervene if I did
- Claim the Forums with Alcee
- Use Pack Tactics to move the engaged Alcee over to the Docks and claim it with her base 1 Influence, +1 Influence from the Don‘s Passive, and +1 influence from Alcee moving with Pack Tactics. 3 Influence vs Kaspar’s 2.
I was too stubborn to lose all of my Day 1 value so I went for it, forcing my opponent to have Pack Tactics in hand. No Pack Tactics was played, but I still traded all of my Day 1 value for Servo, to be fair a lynchpin in my opponent’s plan as well.
Of my 6 cards I started the day with, none of them would have prevented a Day 1 Domination loss at this point if I sent Terrell off of Kaspar‘s Location or allowed me to retake any city location if this happened. I do not remember if Kaspar was engaged at this point (I may have recruited a Midnight Shipment flipped Adelheide to enable the movement City Action?), but here are all of the ways I could have theoretically handled this at this point:
- Preemptively equip an Uppman’s Jacket (or +1 Influence City Card if there were any of either) assuming opponent doesn’t have 0-cost Angelo to make the Influence challenge at 4 (or a Shoddy Craftsmanship)
- Use Well-Equipped on Terrell to initiate additional challenges on the Don, assuming no Intervening, Not Today, Veronica’s Guile, other parry outs, or effective cancels like Unyielding Loyalty. (Move Along wouldn’t work as the Don just goes Home.)
If Kaspar is En Garde or capable of En Garding with a card:
- Use Stratege/Regroup/Dark Gift to move over to the Forums and then claim it, if Vodacce can’t get Alcee or the Don over to contest. (2 movement cards could have let Kaspar move to the Grand Bazaar to attempt to Assassinate the Don, but that would rely on having already got 4 damage in with Terrell and then getting another 3 with Kaspar, which would have been preventable with parry-outs etc)
- Press the Advantage or Move Along on Alcee to kill or move home without engaging Kaspar, enabling the claim at 2 Influence afterwards
- Use Kaspar‘s City Action and hope to get a Merc with 1 or more Influence
I could have also played Day 1 safer with 2 Influence Otto (although 3 Influence Don Constanzo can still claim over him without fear of a Com challenge). I could also run Come Hither (maybe this takes the Iron Reply/Precision slot?) as another potential out to Day 1 Domination. In general, Day 1 Vodacce Domination is very hard to prevent if they draw Pack Tactics, and to play around it, I would have to make decisions that potentially hurt me in the long game, assuming I draw any of my cards that can rebuff it. (For the Family, Unyielding Loyalty, Bravos, The Pressure is On, Objection, and Plans within Plans grabbing a second Thug and providing an En Garding Reaction can also make the Day 1 Domination easier to achieve/harder to prevent.) All of that being said, if the Vodacce player does go for Day 1 Domination, and you are able to prevent it, they could expend quite a few, very powerful resources that they will have less access to as the game progresses. This is definitely a deck I need more interaction with and against.
Game 4 vs Castille
This was the first game where I was able to bring to bear the engage-efficient, overwhelming-combat of Eisen. Castille is a strong faction because they can mess with the board state in unexpected ways in addition to having strong countering, engaging, and flexible abilities. However, Eisen has more straightforward, brute force powerful cards, namely 5 Resolve fighters with Langschwert, Move Along, Fight Through the Pain, and of course Otto which can (and did) make it very challenging for Castille (especially with Castille having the worst RPT in the game).
Day 1 opened with Kalla at the Forums and Captain’s Coat at the Grand Bazaar. I go to recruit Kalla, and then I bait Makepeace over to the Grand Bazaar with Otto. I have no intention of paying 3 (or 4) to equip the coat, but as long as I am the First Player, to dodge an Adaptable Domination win (in addition to playing carefully), I am not too scared of Castille spending 3 for the Coat. Opponent had an Opulence so only spent 2, but I’m still happy, especially as an Improvising was spent to do so. (I was wrecked by Improvising at Gen Con 2023, so I fear it.) Makepeace also equipped a Matchlock Musket to start chipping away at a character at the forum. These two things give me a card advantage going into Day 2.
Throughout the rest of the game, Kalla helps me to negate the cost increase on Makepeace. For instance, I equip her with the 0-cost Langschwert to keep it free and then pass it over to the fighter. Kalla continues to impress me when I recruit her, and she is the only reason I attach Breastplates.
Another card that impressed me this game was the card that made me fall in love with Eisen originally, Unsavory Salve. I’ve generally found it to be a pretty weak card, but it stays in the deck to be fetched by Otto with okay RPT. One thing that I had not considered, however, is its interaction with Phillip Hase. Being able to equip Unsavory Salve onto a Langschwert-equipped Hase, to trigger his movement reaction, without having to override his weapon or use 2 cards on a Breastplate/Uppman’s Jacket etc, is pretty great and unexpected. I was then even able to use its technique with my Appealing to the People to save Hase, while pushing through the last lethal wound, and preventing a final strike back, fantastic. While I still do not expect to equip Salve often, I will definitely be watching to use it as a 1-card movement for Hase going forward.
Aside from that, Otto managed to keep my handsize up enough to block Sanjay even with Castille recruiting Gustavo. (Only 1 Otto whiff the whole tournament was a nice change too.) Move Along was devastatingly effective, and I was very lucky that my opponent’s Night of Drinkings did not make any appearances (since the Move Alongs were critical for keeping the game under control).
Ultimately, my opponent’s Soline was Assassinated as they tried to intervene to save Madre, after I had cleared out most other Castillian characters/mercs.
Game 5 vs Vodacce
Game 2 against Vodacce piloted by another strong player, and I have never feared more for Kaspar‘s life than I have in this game. With my mind hyper-focused on surviving the turn 1 Domination Victory, the Don just casually walked up and used the effect on Veronica’s Guile I completely forgot existed: I was challenged to a duel but with Influence, and it was incredibly painful. In response, I actually had to be the one to parry-out (very luckily finding one of my two copies of Regroup, the only ones in my 40 card deck), and I was so scared of Kaspar dying, that I noticed the maneuver on Regroup and used that, for the first time ever, to flee to an adjacent location.
My opponent used cards like Veronica’s Guile, Servo, Sibella, Rough ‘Em Up, Buratino, and Bravos (probably Ambush in there too) to threaten an early victory , but a day 1 Assassination victory instead of Domination. If it weren’t for being able to Regroup away, I likely would have been knocked out of top 4 instantly.
Day 2 culminated at the Forums. Kaspar and Terrell were there expended against a prepared Don and a Sibella with a wound on her. I play Move Along with Terrell with his +1 thrust against one of them, and the Don accepts the duel. Some amount of damage spills through from the challenge. The Don sends back enough to finish Terrell, but my return Matchlock Musket is able to output exactly enough damage to claim the Don‘s life, due to him not gambling into a 3-defense card. If my desperation Move Along failed, Veronica’s Guile #2 almost certainly claims Kaspar‘s life.
Game 6 vs Vodacce
My luck against Vodacce continued into the finals with 3 Days of triple mercenary flops. I don’t remember exactly which ones they were, but my opponent got Sigurd and I picked up two mercs on both day 1 and day 2.
I remember trying to set up a scenario where I could Press the Advantage Sigurd Home to expose characters to the Eisen assault, but my opponent never gave me the opportunity. That being said, Eisen Eisened and generated a massive character advantage by one-sided killing my opponent’s characters with Eisen characters and trading off Mercs 1 for 1 to not exceed my crew cap.
All that being said, my opponent kept the Renown count close through the entire game, and I never felt entirely comfortable that Vodacce wouldn’t secure the victory anyway by exploiting a potential blunder. Eventually though, on day 4, Eisen grinded my opponent down to only a wounded Don in play, with no cards hand, against my 4 Eisen characters, and a 4+ card hand. I believe I had a guaranteed Economic win on the table, but I was so hyper-fixated on assassinating the Don, if my opponent hadn’t conceded, I could have potentially thrown the game to some very unfavorable gambling luck.
Non-Specific Game Notes
Well-Equipped was a stand-out card used exclusively as a combat card throughout the tournament, both from gambling and from hand. 3 Defense 4 Offense did work.
Phillip Hase consistently felt great.
Terrell ended up trading on multiple occasions and underperformed. I greeded him out early too many times before drawing into Kaspar’s Panzerhand.
Only whiffed with Otto once in my 18 attachment deck, many 1 attachment on 3rd flip though, thank you Corpse Speak (in my deck that didn’t Muster a single Sorcerer)!
Dark Gift continues to be a solid glue-card.
Last Word City Action so good. Didn’t end up having to, but really wanted to push an Engaged character into my En Garde bruisers with it.
Daniella never came out, but she is not in danger of being replaced.
Still figuring out what I want in the Precision/Iron Reply slot. Additional high thrust cards would be nice for increasing the likelihood of day 2 overwhelming threat kills, but 4 thrust is definitely not the same as 5. Lethal on a 4 thrust card is basically only relevant if Otto or a 0/1 Com Merc of mine gets challenged. Would be fun in that situation, but not terribly likely. Probably Come Hither (especially since I already run double Opulence) for even more density of defense against possible Day 1 Vodacce Domination Win, frequently will be discard fodder though.
All of the schemes continue to be great. The 2 highest initiative cards in the game, both with one-sided advantages for myself, and 3 toolbox cards with one-sided effects for me as well.
I am not currently planning on attending Pax Unplugged after all, but I will likely be playing a different faction next tournament. Most likely Ussura or Castille.
It was a pleasure getting to interact with everyone at the tournament. I look forward to eventual rematches against everyone I played against, and I am eager to show off the sick acrylic tokens I got for making top 2. (I have an excellent excuse to play another combat heavy faction thanks to them.) Finally, excited to see how my boy Otto shows up in the lore.