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The Greatest in the Galaxy and on the Net

Inducting the First Heroes for Android: Netrunner and X-Wing (TM)

Earlier this month, players converged from across the globe for the FFG World Championship Weekend. Concluding the 2012 Organized Play event year with a bang, they competed in the World Championship Tournaments for seven different games.

Today, we’re proud to induct the first Hall of Heroes representatives from two of our new Organized Play titles!

Both Android: Netrunner and X-Wing™ debuted at Gen Con Indy 2012, and we crowned the 2012 World Champions for these games during the FFG World Championship Weekend held at FFG headquarters in Roseville, MN:

   
• 2012 Android: Netrunner The Card Game World Champion, Jeremy Zwirm

   
• 2012 X-Wing™ World Champion, Doug Kinney

Jeremy Zwirm – Android: Netrunner 2012 World Champion

Jeremy Zwirm is the 2012 World Champion for both Android: Netrunner The Card Game and Warhammer: Invasion The Card Game.

Jeremy Zwirm with his two 2012 World Championship trophies!

Benjamin Marsh (left) considers his next play against Jeremy Zwirm (right) during the Android: Netrunner finals.

Jeremy Zwirm picked up Warhammer: Invasion The Card Game only six weeks prior to the 2012 FFG World Championship Weekend, but as he says, the game clicked with him. Early on, he recognized the power of card combinations driven by the High Elf support, Gathering the Winds (Rising Dawn, 10), and threw together a deck based around using these combinations to fuel massive amounts of indirect damage. Several weeks later, his Gathering the Winds deck had seen refinement after refinement, and Jeremy was on his path toward a World Championship final against Oliver Franke of Germany.

That path was not without incident, however, as his burgeoning interest in Living Card Games® led Jeremy to Android: Netrunner, which he picked up just two weeks prior to the World Championship Tournament. Despite his late introduction to the game, Jeremy went on to claim the first ever Android: Netrunner The Card Game World Championship by winning an epic final against Benjamin Marsh. When the first two games resulted in a true tie, Jeremy and Ben battled for control of the net in a third, tie-breaking confrontation that decided a marathon match lasting over four hours!

   
• Android: Netrunner The Card Game World Champion – 2012

   
• Warhammer: Invasion The Card Game World Champion – 2012

You can learn more about Jeremy Zwirm at his place of honor in the Hall of Heroes.

Doug Kinney – X-Wing World Champion

The 2012 X-Wing™ World Champion, Doug Kinney started playing at Celebration 6. He and his wife spent time with the FFG employees conducting demos and ended up picking up a Core Set and several single starfighter expansions before returning home to Ankeny, Iowa.

Doug Kinney selects a maneuver during the 2012 X-Wing finals.

During the 2012 X-Wing World Championship Tournament, Doug ran a squad with five TIE fighters and one TIE Advanced. He paired his three Academy Pilots and one Obsidian Squadron Pilot with Darth Vader and “Howlrunner,” both of whom were upgraded with Swarm Tactics.

Because his skill “1” Academy Pilots would typically move first each round, he would use them to “block,” disrupting his opponents’ maneuvers and actions. Then, the fact that Doug equipped both Darth Vader and “Howlrunner” with Swarm Tactics meant that he would have four ships firing near the beginning of the combat phase.

His strategy led him to the finals where he defeated Nick Stanton, about whom Doug said, “He was a good sport and a great guy. I look forward to playing against all of my new friends again next year.”

   
• X-Wing™ World Champion – 2012

You can learn more about Doug Kinney at his place of honor in the Hall of Heroes.

More to Come

The FFG World Championship Weekend was an excellent showcase for both Android: Netrunner and X-Wing, and both inaugural World Championship Tournaments were full of enthusiastic and sportsmanlike players.

Over the course of the FFG World Championship Weekend, attendees shared plenty of laughter and smiles. In 2013, Organized Play looks to build upon the record success of 2012 with even greater success, and as part of FFG Organized Play, both Android: Netrunner and X-Wing will benefit from the improved Game Night Kits and growing player base.

We've already revealed the 2013 Organized Play calendar of events, and when the 2013 FFG World Championship Weekend rolls around next November 7th – 10th, Jeremy Zwirm and Doug Kinney will have a lot of work ahead of them to defend their World Champion titles. For now, though, we’re proud to induct these champions as the inaugural Heroes for their respective games!

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Source: The Greatest in the Galaxy and on the Net (http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_news.asp?eidn=3763)