Welcome to the first edition of the Mos Eisley Gazette! This is the first in a series of articles that aims to highlight the passion and effort put forth by event organizers or dedicated fans who keep their local Destiny scenes alive!
Looking for some inspiration to start your own scene or simply want to learn about and get plugged in to an established scene? Join us for each edition of the Mos Eisley Gazette as we get to know the heroes of the many IRL Destiny scenes still kicking around the world and take a brief journey to their local scenes.
First up is the one and only Norman of St. Louis, MO, USA.
When was the moment you became a fan of Star Wars?
It seems like Star Wars has always been a part of my life. I’m not sure I have a particularly distinct moment, but one of my earliest memories of Star Wars is viewing Return of the Jedi on Christmas day (back when broadcast TV did that sort of thing) and being enthralled by the Emperor’s Throne Room scene and the Force lightning.
How did you get into SW Destiny?
I’ve played since day 1. At the time of release, I was living in Florida and I was a competitive player of the former Star Wars LCG produced by FFG. My play partner and I had just come back from the 2016 LCG World Championship in Minnesota where he took second and I took fourth. At any rate, we were both curious about this new card-and-dice game so we went to the release event at CoolStuff Games and we thought it was pretty good. We kept playing but it was hard to find product. I think my partner was more into it at first but I came around pretty quick. Initially, I was going to let him buy my release stuff, but if I recall right I eventually scrapped that idea.
Tell us how you got involved in your local scene.
About 10 months later I moved to St. Louis. We were in the middle of the Spirit of Rebellion meta and right before I moved the Two-Player Game set came out (Kylo-Phasma and Poe-Rey). We were eagerly awaiting Across the Galaxy to release as well. St. Louis already had a developing gaming scene, and there were groups playing in tournaments all over the metro area. There was a time where you could play tournaments on Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and sometimes Saturday. Wild! Now it’s a lot different, of course.
Tell us details about your local.
After the success of the “I Will Make It Legal” Regional (which took place in St. Louis), we knew we wanted to get back to playing more regularly even if it was tricky. So we’ve been meeting up twice a month for the past few months to play pretty much whatever we feel like. It’s mostly ARH standard at this point, but with a few returning players who aren’t super-familiar with the format we’ve made some ad hoc allowances with “legal” cards and whatnot (it’s almost like a theme) and had fun with it. We tend to meet up at the same Miniature Market where we held the regional event (13380 Manchester Rd, Des Peres, MO 63131), but we’re evaluating some additional options to help encourage some of our more spread out players to come back out and have a good time.
What’s your favorite aspect of your local scene?
It’s really great to actually sling physical dice with your friends. These are folks I’ve now known for about 5 years, and nearly 2 of those years we barely saw each other due to pandemic nonsense. I think we’re just really pleased to get out and do stuff together.
What was your favorite meta?
It’s hard to pinpoint exactly but I think I’m most fond of the Way of the Force meta in 2018. Being an early adopter of Snoke pre-nerf when it wasn’t fully clear how to make him work was a great time.
Any advice for someone who wants to build a local Destiny scene?
People picked up this game because it’s fun and because it’s a way to be with people they like. If they dropped it over the pandemic, then the best way to get them back has to be to help them see that it still is fun and that their friends are actively wanting them involved again. In addition, we’ve seen that sometimes people misunderstand the “barrier to entry” for ARH. They sometimes think that it’s too expensive to get involved. But if they’ve been into CCGs in the past, they need to be reminded (gently of course) that they’ve frequently spent far more to acquire the cards they want for each set buying boosters, boxes, and singles, yet you can literally print-and-play ARH material to your heart’s content. The price point is not a big problem anymore, so help them to see that if they really want to play, it’s easier than ever.
How should folks get in touch with you?
The best thing to do would be to find me on the ARH Discord (Norman#4130) and send me a PM, no doubt. On Facebook, we still have a Star Wars Destiny St. Louis group as well. It’s not very active, but you’ll likely get an answer if you post something there as well.
Thank You
Norm – many thanks for taking the time to share this information with us. We believe it will inspire other players out there to reach out and get involved. May the force be with you, friend!
Local Scene
If you have a local Destiny scene, or are interested in starting one up, please reach out to us HERE. We would love to support you in kicking off something new or simply reinforcing the scene you’ve already built!
