Galactic Championship Main Event Experience
2025/07/25-27: Competing from Day 1 to Day 3!
Table of Contents
2025/07/25-27 - The Venetian (and Photo Dump)
Day 1 Format: Bo3, 8 Swiss rounds, 1958 players, players with 18+ match points move on to Day 2.
https://melee.gg/Tournament/View/334133
Day 2 Format: Bo3, 8 Swiss rounds, 565 players, players with 18+ match points move on to Day 3.
https://melee.gg/Tournament/View/334136
Due to a Melee mishap, all deck lists were open going forward on Day 2. This hurt off-meta decks / decks that may contain any spice, and greatly benefitted the more conventional deck lists.
Day 1: I went 5-0-3 (my first draw was round 4). Alyssa had a Day 1 bye.
Day 2: We both went 6-2. Alyssa was featured at the livestream table @10:13:20 timestamp:
Day 3: We both performed quite badly. Alyssa went 0-3 and I went 0-1-2.
Side Note of the Event Itself
There are some very mixed experiences with how the event was run. Just to preface, my play experience is limited to the main event only, and Alyssa’s play experience is similar with the addition that she also grinded for some prize wall tickets in the side events on Day 1.
The Good Stuff:
The main event was run smoothly.
The restrooms were pretty clean.
The table play space surface area was overall good.
The timers were large and visible.
The Not-So-Good Stuff:
Similar to SHD Vegas PQ, the chairs were a tad too low for me. Starting on Day 2, I started sitting on my backpack.
The prize wall experience wasn’t great. Players who made it to main event Day 3 didn’t get their Day 2 prizing until the end of the main event’s Swiss round of Day 3. This means that even combining Alyssa’s and my tickets, we didn’t have enough to buy the showcase pair until end of Day 3.
Main event Day 3 players did get access to their own prize wall, but it was severely limited - the cards were limited to 1/person, the Kylo/Rey promo cards & play mats were unavailable. Luckily, I had bought my two playsets of the Superlaser Blasts on Day 2.
For compensation with the lack of play mats, they were giving away a free Darth Revan play mat + the Thursday early badge pickup metal shield token to everyone. But unfortunate for any players that wanted a specific play mat.
My Deck - SHD Han Blue Force
The two major changes right before GC was the inclusion of Chewbacca (after I was talking to a certain JTL LA PQ winner) and the inclusion of Rival’s Fall in the sideboard after talking to a different certain JTL Escondido PQ winner.
I also brought a Cad Data Vault deck to GC as I was deciding between this or that. But I ended up going with SHD Han as I didn’t want to overthink it.
Going into the main event Day 1, I didn’t have high expectations.
Day 1 Games
Round 1: vs Cad Tarkintown 2-1
Game 1: I saw all three Force Throws early on.
Game 2: They had too much board control.
The opponent told me afterwards that he was a viewer and that he was initially on SHD Han Blue Force, but my LOF playtesting videos pushed him to Cad Tarkintown.
Round 2: vs SHD Han Blue Force 2-1
I lost game 1, but won the next two with better starts.
Round 3: vs SHD Han Blue Force 1-1 (draw)
I lost first game, but won second game, and we had <2 min left in the round. So we just submitted our scores as-is for a draw.
This wasn’t good, because I was afraid of being matched up against other decks who go into time, which tends to be control.
Round 4: vs Iden Data Vault 2-0
Game 1: They ramped first game via one Resupply, but I was able to draw from two or three Ki-Adi Mundis. I played three Krayt Dragons back to back.
Game 2: They saw no ramp and were focused on denying my Force token, killing my Ki-Adi Mundi with their Iden instead of my 6/4 Poe Dameron. I didn't get my Force token until like resource 9 and had to play Ki-Adi Mundi just for the body at one point.
Round 5: vs SHD Han Blue Force 2-0
No comments/I can’t recall.
Round 6: vs Gar ECL 2-1
Game 1: I thought they were a bit too focused on controlling my board instead of just hitting face. I survived to Krayt Dragon and they had no response.
Game 3: I had a back to back Krayt Dragon (they killed the first one via Craving Power on their shielded leader + trading it) and they didn't have enough on board to finish me off.
Round 7: Intentional Draw
We had the same record and were at table 1.
Round 8: Intentional Draw
We were at table 1.
Day 2 Games
Round 1: vs SHD Han Blue Force 2-1
Game 3: I had initiative, had a weak starting hand, so I mulliganed into no turn 1 play, GG. They had an Oggdo Bogdo start.
On turn 2, I cheated Chirrut Îmwe to have a 3/3 sentinel, he Force Throw’d a Yoda. I pointed out that his Oggdo Bogdo isn't Force. So, he basically hand ripped himself and the board state is even, because after I claimed initiative, he traded his Oggdo Bogdo into my Chirrut Îmwe.
On turn 3: I started out with a cheated out Poe Dameron.
Round 2: vs TWI Anakin Blue (30) 2-0
Game 1: On the resource 5 turn, I played Grogu and double Force Throw. He was basically top decking ever since.
Game 2: They double Pillaged me and Force Throw once, so I was basically top decking.
Toward the end of the second game, both bases had a lot of damage and I have a better board state. IIRC, we both had damaged Chewbaccas but I had an additional cheated out Poe Dameron, setting up for lethal in one action. All of our resources were tapped and the only action left was for my opponent to take initiative. Looking at their deck list now, their only out/stall would have been to have a Village Protectors and/or a Redemption.
But a judge came up to us and asked if one of us was <name> - it was my opponent. Apparently, my opponent had an Entrenched mixed up with his previous opponent's deck. I asked if we could just finish our current game as I basically have lethal in the following turn, but the judge issued a game loss due to the deck issue. So my opponent got a game loss, not a match loss.
What my (allegedly) opponent said on this Thorrk’s video:
Round 3: vs Qi'ra Data Vault 1-2
It's a grind.
Round 4: vs JTL Vader Yellow 0-2
Game 2: I lost despite seeing all three Bombing Runs + some misplay/misresourcing on my part. I had no counter play to their Lurking TIE Phantom + Vader leader pilot.
Round 5: vs Piett Red 2-0
Shields stronk (makes me not afraid of Overwhelming Barrage or Turbolaser Salvo). In one of the games, I Force Throw’d them twice.
Round 6: vs SHD Han Blue Force 2-0
Game 1: They had a Grogu start, I had a Oggdo Bogdo start. I think my opponent made some questionable plays with their Grogu healing my Oggdo Bogdo to stop it. But later on the resource 6 turn, after they cheated out a Luke Skywalker, I played Rebellious Hammerhead, dealing two damage to my own healthy Oggdo Bogdo, and then trading it into their Luke Skywalker.
Game 2: We both had a Grogu start. Turn 2, they played Cassian Andor, I played my Outer Rim Outlaws. I had better trades.
Round 7: vs SHD Han Green Force 2-0
Game 1: I was dominating.
Game 2: They had a Grogu start, I had a Red Five in hand, so I just claimed instead. I still came back from that. After the game, my opponent told me how their Kelleran Beq cycled all of their Krayt Dragons to the bottom of the deck. They also told me how they sided out all of their General’s Blades as they were expecting me to side in my Confiscates.
Round 8: vs Gar ECL 2-1
I felt so bad going into this when I saw the pairings, because this is such a rough matchup for me.
Game 1: On resource 5, I played Grogu + two Force Throws. They basically scooped in the following turn iirc.
Game 2: I got wacked by their The Darksaber’d leader.
Game 3: They had an Inferno Four start, followed up by an Onyx Squadron Brute & Wingman Victor Three pilot on Inferno Four on turn 2.
I intentionally killed the Onyx Squadron Brute to deny any Iden Versio piloting via a Force Throw and Grogu.
On the next turn (resource 4), they tried to pilot Iden Versio, but I pointed out that their Inferno Four is already piloted, so they played Iden Versio to the ground instead. I ended up Confiscate’ing the shield and crashing my Ki-Adi Mundi into it.
On the resource 6 turn, when they played The Darksaber on their leader, I had another Confiscate ready. I went super wide on ground and just overwhelmed them.
Day 3 Games
Round 1: vs TWI Anakin Blue force 0-2
My opponent basically memory dumped a portion of my deck list onto his notes after putting away my deck list.
Game 1: They played three Force Throws by resource 5. GG.
Game 2: I had a better start, but they just had more efficient trades.
Unrelated to the games themselves, the table we were originally assigned was bowed out. When my opponent was cutting my deck, a card flipped over. A staff (there’s a reason why I’m not labelling this person as a judge, you’ll see) noticed and came over and asked what’s wrong. We mentioned the table’s issue and they had us relocate to another table to play while they swap out the faulty table.
During the first game, I made multiple passes in one turn. The same staff member asked me what passing means. I thought this was a bit strange as I was explaining it, as they’re basically interrupting our game. Anyways, after we finished our first game and finished sideboarding, they had us relocate back to our original assigned table.
Round 2: vs Yoda Red Force 1-1-0
Game 1: I got outvalued by LOF Rey’s effect early game.
Game 2: I basically had three back to back Krayt Dragons, which they managed to get through, but I later built a board, threatening lethal in either arenas in one action.
After finishing Game 2, there was ~8min left in the round, so we just submitted our score as-is for a draw (we confirmed this with a judge who sat down to watch us).
Honestly, game 2 was very back and forth, and probably the funnest game I’ve had. Very interesting deck.
Round 3: vs Iden Data Vault Intentional Draw
I honestly don't really like this matchup and I didn’t feel that motivated to play, so I asked to ID. They accepted. After submitting the ID result, they said that this was a bad matchup for them.
Conclusion
Super proud of Alyssa and I performing as well as we did to make it to Day 3 (basically the “top 73” SWU players, barring other strong players who couldn’t make it, such as Thorrk), even though we totally flopped on Day 3 lol. I didn’t really check, but Alyssa may be the only female player on Day 3? No clue if any other couples made it to Day 3.
Super proud of myself from going from Day 1 to Day 3, it makes me feel as if I peaked in SWU (21 other Day 1 players made it to Day 3). I’m currently thinking of wanting to judge at the next GC.
Currently signed up for one PQ and judging at another for this set.
Really great run by both of you, well done! Can’t forget the other CBGers that also did great 🎉
Excellent finishes, congratulations to you both!