In the past on Fridays, we would scour the holonet and post a detailed list of all the Content put out for the game in the past week. Now we point you over to SWUHolocron who does a much better job than us keeping track of all this content posted daily! You can check this link for videos and this link for articles! They also have a comprehensive list of all Content Creators that have posted content for Star Wars Unlimited found here. There’s a ton of other great resources on their site that I encourage you to look around!

This Friday we take a look at one of the first competitive teams in the community, who also dabble in content creation, KTOD!

KTOD

Tell us about yourself! What are your hobbies?

Mike Gemme – We’re the KTOD, a team of friends and CCG players doing both together since the 1990s. I’m Mike Gemme, and I go by BobbySapphire online. I’m a father and husband, and I love movies, tv, football, gambling, CCGs, and sci-fi. 

Justin Desai – Born and raised in Boston.  Spent most of my adult career as a math teacher in the boston public schools and also as a high school basketball coach.  Hobbies are playing sports and playing games

Stephen Baroni – Born and raised in Worcester, have lived everywhere from Vegas to Costa Rica, Cape Cod is now home. Former finance guy, poker player and restaurant owner. Currently working as a Wine Rep. Hobbies are gym, cycling, wine and gaming

Matty Gemme – A man with a mustache looking to have a good time

What do you enjoy outside of competitive card games? 

Justin: Hanging with the KTOD bros

Steve: Gym, cycling, and spending time with the KTOD bros

Matty: Golf & D&D

What the heck is a KTOD!?

When Decipher started running events for the original Star Wars CCG, they organized the competitive play regions by naming them after Star Wars planets, for instance Canada was Hoth, NY/NJ/PA was Coruscant, and New England, where we all grew up, was the Kashyyyk.  In 2002, Mike and myself, who were good players but never really broke out on the national level. That turned a corner when we developed a dominant Dark Side Senate list and won pretty much every event leading up the ‘02 world championships, reaching its peak when we finished 1st and 2nd at Nationals. One of the top players at that time posted online that “Mike and Justin have been on a train of dominance this year… the Kashyyyk train of dominance.”  We, along with Steve Baroni and Andy Klema, became known as the KTOD from then on. We would later add other players, most notably Jonny Chu, for the continued run of SW:CCG in the Player’s Committee era. 

The dominance has been going on for over 20 years now, culminating in 5 world championships, several team world championships, and countless majors.  

Here’s a clip from the upcoming SWCCG Documentary where three-time world champion Justin Desai talks about what the KTOD really is: https://youtu.be/-NeW2GJKcrM?feature=shared&t=638

Tell us about how you got into Star Wars Unlimited.

Justin: Steve, Mike and I played other games all through the 2000s, 2010s, notably VS system during its pro run, Magic, and the LOTR CCG.  However when Star Wars Destiny came out I was pretty locked into Magic having qualified for several pro tours during the same time when destiny peaked. Mike linked up with the Hyperloops team and had his own Train of Dominance with them.  So there was certainly the feeling from both Steve and I when Unlimited was released that we didn’t want to miss out this time and it was a natural fit to team up again.  

Mike: We’ve been friends a long, long time. In 2003 Justin and I had just graduated from college and were heavy into playing Lord of the Rings CCG. There was one day we were hyped for a local event, but the game was kind of dying and it got canceled the day of. I was already on my way to Boston, and for me that was the final straw: I was quitting LOTR. I stopped off at a card store on the way to Justin’s apartment and bought VS. System starters and boosters, and we played all day, falling in love with the game which we ended up playing for the next several years, traveling around the world on their pro tour.

Fast forward TWENTY YEARS, and me, Steve, and Justin are headed out to The Capital Grille for our annual fancy-ass steak dinner. I’d been clocking Unlimited for a while and I knew this was the perfect opportunity to run back the squad I missed during my Star Wars Destiny run. Inception sent me some decks to print out, which I brought to Justin’s the day of the dinner. He was out of the room and I set up playmats, dice, and the decks. We ended up playing from noon until 2am with only a two hour break for the dinner, and stayed up texting the group chat about the game for at least another hour. We were hooked. 

What drew each of you to Star Wars Unlimited as a game? 

Steve: Trying to relive the glory days of the KTOD, and ride Mike’s Destiny coattails to glory. As Justin mentioned, Mike was wildly successful with Destiny, and while I went to a couple tournaments with him early on, I owned a restaurant at the time so never really had the ability to play the game to the extent he did. I have since sold the restaurant so when Mike mentioned Unlimited was coming out there was no way I was going to miss the boat this time.

Matty: I’ve been looking for a TCG to sink my teeth into for a while and jumped at the opportunity to play with my brother and my friends. 

Mike: It’s the Star Wars card follow up to Star Wars Destiny, the game I was most successful at in my entire career, it would be hard to not give this a shot. 

What are your background/experience/accolades in the TCG world? 

Justin: SWCCG Hall of Fame, three-time World Champion (tied for the most ever), two-time National Champion, most pro points all time, Four time Online Championship Series winner (most all time). Four-time Magic: Pro Tour Competitor

Steve: Two-time SWCCG Match Play Championship (won back-to-back), multiple World Championship top 8’s and Open Tournament wins. Handful of MTG Grand Prix Cashes including a top 25. 

Matty: Your classic local MTG grinder. Multiple SCG top 10s, PTQ top 8s, etc. High enough rank to get 2 byes at GPs. Hit arena top 200 last year while on paternity leave and thought I should get back into cards. More importantly than my own achievements I mentored a couple  younger local players to success on the Magic Pro Tour.

Mike: Star Wars Destiny North American Champion 2019, Runner Up 2018, Top 4 2017. Third place at the 2018 World Championship, going undefeated until the semifinals. Three-time SW:CCG Worlds Top 8, two-time Team World Champion. 

How do you see prior competitive card gaming experience translating to Star Wars Unlimited? 

Justin: Not necessarily from a gameplay standpoint, but I think from a preparation standpoint and knowing what it takes to win a large tournament will certainly help.

Steve: Being on the best team in the game. In SWCCG we really broke the mold when we took a team first approach to the game. Once that happened we were basically unstoppable. Applying those same principles to SW Unlimited.

Matty: Playing high ranking strategy games gives you a good baseline for figuring out the power level of cards or how to get an edge. I think our biggest edge will come from our collaborative process.

Mike: Being process oriented in the playtesting process. I welcome losses and seek them out. I want to find out where my leaks are, either in play or deck building or both, and put myself and my team in the best position to make a deck choice for the weekend.  

What is one thing you hope to see from FFG attached to the Competitive structure (ie. prizing, formats, etc)? 

Justin: I would love to see some form of OP structure that makes it high stakes.  Money obviously would be great, but coverage and a structure that makes it enticing to play.  

Steve: What Justin said, also with the above it should lead to longevity. If the structure is in place there is no reason this game cant make a 10 year run at it. The worst feeling is getting into a new game just to have it fizzle out after a few years. 

Matty: Coverage. I want to build a community around this game. I want people tuning in on Youtube or wherever watching a tournament they can’t attend, trying to find the next decklist they want to try. I want to grow the game and live moments of triumph together and the best way to do that is to stay connected.

What is one specific archetype or playstyle that defines each of you in card games? 

Justin: Being able to play anything.  

Steve: SMASH, I have always leaned on the aggressive playstyle and it was been successful for me over the years.

Matty: Unpredictability. My best success is playing something unique I think has an edge.

Mike: As a content creator I find that it’s important to be able to play everything at a competent level, which is one of the reasons why I gravitate towards making content. Competitively I try to make every decision based on one tenet: do the thing my opponent least wants me to do. 

What is your process for building a brand new deck in Star Wars Unlimited?

Justin: Not being closed minded and not having herd mentality.  Think outside the box but in the context of finding powerful cards and interactions.  

Steve: Bar napkin and a pen. 

Matty: A lot of trial and error. I’m not afraid to lose or look silly if I am learning and improving. Trust the process.

Mike: I’m trying not to get caught up in the brew-haha going on without all the cards released, but eventually I’ll be looking to make sure my decks have a sound overall strategy with clear end-game scenarios in mind. 

What does testing for a big card game tournament look like for your team?

Justin: Work = success.  Don’t cheat the work and trust the work (also used for basketball, 2x HS state champs in mass!)

Steve: Marathon weekends, we have always had one long weekend session where we just grind

Matty:Cards everywhere. Empty takeout containers littering the room. Unshaved faces.

Mike: Grinding the format. No distractions. No Spoilers. No alt formats. Trust the team and the process. 

What are your goals in Star Wars Unlimited as a player & team? 

Justin: Have our team win everything

Steve: Team before everything

Matty: I wanna see the boys come out on top. One team, one dream.

Mike: To be the best teammate possible. If I do what I know I’m capable of as a teammate I know these guys are going to crush. 

With the lack of major events in Year 1, do you see your team traveling for more planetary qualifiers than you normally would?

Justin: Yes

Matty: The travel is part of the fun. Expect tournament vlogs fo’ sho.

Mike: It will depend on what’s available, but if it’s in driving distance and the prizes are worth I will try and make it. 

Where do each of you land on purchasing products, singles to build the competitive decks or full playsets?

Justin: I’m excited to spend money on something and feel like a kid again.  Going out to eat, home repairs and paying for kids camps is nice, but i’m excited to burn some $$ on cardboard.  

Steve: I have preordered a case just to dome i. Haven’t cracked packs in years and I can’t wait

Matty: I expect to spend a lot of money on boxes and then singles with what I can’t open. Expect box opening videos baby. 

Mike: I prefer to buy common/uncommon playsets and singles for Rares and Legendaries. I’ll crack a box for fun and use the rest for drafting. 

Do you plan on hunting any of the special variant cards? 

Justin, Steve, and Mike: No

Matty likes his bling

Once the game releases, in an ideal world, how often do you see yourself playing draft or sealed vs constructed games?

Justin: Once a week or every other week irl. 

Steve: x2

Matty: 1-2 x a week IRL, infinite on TTS

Mike: Maybe at my local shop or if I hang with friends but it’s not a priority for me at the moment. 

What are each of you most excited about for Star Wars Unlimited? 

Steve: Spending time with my friends

Justin: 2x

Matty: Hanging w the homies!

Mike: To have this group gaming together again. As fun as Destiny was, and how much TheHyperloops, my teammates, and Loopers mean to me, there was a void in not having my closest friends with me for that ride.

Where can people check your team out and follow your journey in Star Wars Unlimited? 

Justin: Google us

Matty: KTOD on YouTube!

Any final thoughts or nuggets on Star Wars Unlimited or competitive play to share with the community?

May the force be with you.

Always

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Be sure to check out KTOD on YouTube! They post gameplay test sessions where they dive deep into a matchup, discussing the lists, and their gameplay/sequencing decisions as they go.

That’s it for today. We hope you got a good introduction to KTOD and what some of the things a competitive team sees in this game!