As Season 2 comes to a close, the Zodiac Braves show their authority by taking both first and second place in Division A, but not without a struggle, as only 2 points seperated the teams placing 1-4 with Avalanche and BoS showing grit. Whereas BoS(2), and Avalanche(2) storm through Divisions B and C, winning their leagues before matchday 7. Strong performances came from the likes of Reaker, and Rebirth who stomped out their opponents in impressive 9-1 victories. RinoaLovesSquall proved to be an asset for The Pirates, as she won all of her games she appeared in. Sadly, her defeat over Addy was in vain after they lost 2:1 to the tough BoS side. I'm hoping that with a fresh season in view, activity will be raised in all divisions, as the turnout in Division C was especially poor. Having the thought of earning all those points in Division A should be enough motivation to help your team out in achieving those elusive wins. Hopefully Season 3 will bring a lot more excitment, and maybe a few upsets for good measure.

It's come to my attention (Rach actually pointed it out) that teams names with a touch of humour tend to perform better than those who don't, take Avalanche for instance. I doubt an originality award will be going elsewhere anytime soon. So maybe you're feeling a little superstitious now, this is possibly a great time for all you team captains to dig out some Billy Connelly for inspiration, no naughties though. ;o

I think it's time we show a little recognition for the people who run the League. They make all of this possible, and bring a sense of unity to the community as all our clans battle it out in their respective divisions. So thank you Grat, Jedat and Seif. A special thank you is in order to Doc, for coming up with the idea of Clan League.

Welcome to the very first edition of the TTA newsletter, and this, the Current Events section.

To begin I will give a brief overview of what you can come to expect from me in the current months. Within this section I will be keeping you, the player, up to date on what is currently going on in the TTA world.

Firstly, there will be a section on major tournaments, whether they are Official ones such as Triad Wars or the SE's, or if they are simply an outstanding tournament that has drawn up a lot of popularity. I will be following through the tournaments with each issue, keeping you up to date on outstanding victories, the current line-up and perhaps an interactive poll as to which player you guys feel should, or will win.

Secondly, there will be a section on tournaments that are not directly correlated with the game, i.e. Custom Graphics tournaments. Again I will be commenting on Official graphic tournaments such as the Clan waiting screens tournament, shall also be commenting again on the non-official tournaments which have sparked up some interest.

Lastly, will be the section that provides you with updates on what updates and changes are going on within the actual site, this may include addition of suggestions nominated by yourselves, new features being added to TTA or TTN, and hopefully some inside information from the Big Boss on what we can expect to see in the foreseeable future.

Right, after that lengthy description of what I will actually be covering, it's time to move on to the actual content.

Welcome to the first TTA newsletter, although it is currently unnamed, you, the reader have the opportunity to win 1000 points if you suggest a name that is chosen as the official name of the newsletter. The only limitation on possible names is they must be within good taste, and all ages friendly, and not be the titles of current real publications.

On top of the points possible for picking a name, all newsletter readers have the opportunity to win 1000 points by entering the free entry lottery. To enter, all you need to do is email your account number to [email protected]. Each player, however may only enter once, regardless of how many email accounts or TTA accounts they own, in the interest of fairness.

And so TTN is covered as well, each newsletter will include a Sudoku puzzle. As with the lottery, each person will be allowed to enter only once. Each correct entry sent in will recieve three standard TTN packs worth of points (1,050 points). If you send in a correct entry, but don't have a TTN account, you will be given the equivalent amount of points for your TTA account (600 points). For those not familiar on how Sudoku puzzles are solved, the directions will be listed below the puzzle. Entries must be sent to [email protected] along with your TTN (or TTA) ID.


Enter digits from 1 to 9 into the blank spaces. Every row must contain one of each digit. So must every column, as must every 3x3 square.

Entries for each of those competitions must be in by October 20th.

As a final note, if you have a competition you would like to run through the newsletter, email [email protected] with your proposal.

Starscream: Apart from being a belligerent Scottish player, Jamie is the TTA newsletter's investigative writer, chasing stories about the various members of our fine community, and not afraid, in fact he seems to enjoy getting his hands dirty in pursuit of the truth. For truly juicy news and gossip there is no one better to turn to.

Addy: As the events writer for the TTA newsletter, Addy brings to the team his positive outlook, and flair for writing and ability to juggle as many aspects of events as the slave-driving editor throws at him, and still create a cohesive and interesting article about the current events on TTA.

Steve: The resident TTA rock star has turned his hand to covering Clan League and tourneys. In true sports commentator style, he isn’t scared to call things how he sees them. With his experience as a Clan League team captain taking out Division B in season 1 under his belt, he is more than qualified when it comes to assessing the results of important games.

Shuriken: Scott represents TTA Fun within the newsletter, and has his own section, as a very active member of TTA Fun, and very regular runner of tourneys. Scott brings to the newsletter insider knowledge of what’s going on within Fun.

Nimloth: Marty apart from being a math genius, and a grouch anytime in the morning is a renowned TTA strategist, is actually the brains behind the Nice.com partnership. Coming to you via the newsletter are some of the very same strategies that made Nimloth one of the most respected and feared TTA players.

Brise: Last but not least is Rach, TTA's mum, she looks after us all and organizes these activities. With plenty of experience leading BoS back to activity, she heads the newsletter team, and cracks the whip occasionally too. Her job is to make things run smoothly, edit anything unwanted and generally keep everything in check. Now that she works in a school, who can doubt her unsurpassable knowledge of grammar and punctuation?

Triad Wars is currently the main subject of conversation within the tournament side of the community, a tournament that has been running for the past 3 years and has always been very popular. This year, a prize of Takhisis + 5000 for the winner and 3000 points for the runner up! This is quite an impressive prize, not forgetting the eternal glory of being crowned in TTA history as a TW winner.

Triad Wars IV is currently in the Quarter finals, playing for a place in the Semi finals we have the first match up Tezuka vs. Cookie. Tezuka is a relatively new player to TTA, but he has certainly made his mark and I look forward to seeing how well he progresses against Cookie, a legend and veteran in the TTA community, also the winner of SE Yuffie. Definitely an interesting match up of Old school vs. New School.

Next we have Brise vs. Seto, again another interesting match up. Brise a newcomer to TTA has been playing TT for many years on the previous sites such has TTX. She has a reputed reputation for taking no prisoners with her innocent approach to games; do not take her lightly folks. Seto, another veteran is also a highly rated player, he is always seeded highly within official tournaments, could this be his time to finally go all the way and win one?

Moving on we have Xero vs. Waltz, two extremely talented players. Both of these players have started there careers at TTA and have certainly gained themselves a worthy reputation as formidable opponents. This one should be a very close match; this is definitely a recommended game to watch.

Last but not least we have Mathias vs. Vergil. Mathias has done extremely well to get this far, with no or very little tournament experience he is probably the underdog of this tournament and is defiantly a player to watch out for. As for Vergil, he is undoubtedly a truly talented player and will be sure to give Mathias a good fight for a place in the semi final.

This is definitely one of my favourite semi final line-ups to date as there is a lot of new talent, that have defiantly proved they have got what it takes.

This issue's interviewed player: Stuff aka Fluffy Whip.

Why did you choose your username for this community?
Because it's been my nick for about 8 years now, I was Stuff before I joined TTA. I don’t remember where it really came from; I just needed a nick for ICQ about 8 years ago.

Who would you say you enjoy playing against the most?
Let's say Nimloth, because he does what you don’t expect, and if you expect it, you feel so sexy.

What would you say is your best moment so far on TTA?
Well beating Nimloth on the BoS Try-out was one of them... but I dislike the idea to show his name 2 times on an interview with me!

What would you say you bring to the community?
Normally I would say much sexiness, but all the sexy jokes are not that funny anymore.

Give us some insight into what you do, school/work/army?
Hmm I did my education as electrician after I finished school. After 4 years I finished it and worked as electrician for about 6 months. Then the lovely army knocked at my door and I lost my job because of it, I was so totally happy.

(Starscream) And then!
I did the army and finished that crap and looking for a job again, simple. Yes, I was close to end up as an alcoholic at the army. Oh, that was not the question, sorry.

So did learning 101 ways to kill a man help you in society? ~ This week's guest question (Asked by Balz)
So if the question goes in the way like "Did you learn something at the army?" I would say yes then, I learned being drunk, no matter what time it is.

What made you stick with the site?
Hmm, a while back it was the competition to become good and get all cards, but since I finished collecting cards (Just some rares missing), this competition is gone. I don’t know, in a way the competition is completely gone because too many people play theirbrain-dead games to get the milestones. I think the dedication to the clans I’m in (BoS and .zb, I love you sexy's ;o) is a main part of which makes me stay. I still like to play games that hurt my brain and yeah I still like the game in general, so altogether there is no reason to leave.

And what do you think the future holds for TTA?
Tricky question, I’m not one of the "TTA will die!!!" people, its just the thing I mentioned above. The "brain-dead" games will make newbies leave after a short time (Because they have near no chance to win) and yeah some of the experienced players get bored and leave too. It isn't a closed circuit. I would really like to see many many cards newly numbered, 76er cards were never a level 3 combo on original triple triad, and that’s just an example. In the end, you can't blame people to play the same hands over and over again, but if you re-number many cards, you could bring back the challenge. People will say 'now that's a matter of opinion', but if they face it, they would have to agree that the whole game is unbalanced.

And to cap it all off, here are a selection of folks who have somewhat of an opinion of Stuff:

(Cife) Drunkard. He's a nice guy to be in a clan with! Though he can be the pure pain in the ass but somehow nobody can hate him!

(Shuriken) He's a cool guy and a great player. Nothing much more needs to be said, I guess.

(Steve) Stuff is my mother; he gently cradles me to sleep each night in his bosom.

(ScaryJeff) He seems nice enough; we never got into each other hairs. As far as player he's not to be taken lightly. Made it into BoS vs. me after all.

(Starscream) You suck; I should’ve asked some random exuberant noob to do it!

I take that very last statement back ^ <3

Moving into player created tournaments, there are two tournaments that have sparked up a lot of interest and deserve a mention.

Firstly, we have Vergil's 'Top Tier' tournament, aptly named due to the extremely high standard of players that have entered. The activity in this tournament is not surprising as there are huge prizes up for grabs, first place being 4 rares and a semi, 2nd place is 3 rares; very nice.

Secondly, there is the second edition of the ever popular Clan Bash run by Sola. This is the chance for all those up and coming clans to prove that they can be put up there with the legendary clans such as BoS, Zodiac Braves and last year's winners, The Devas.

Since the move of servers many of you may have noticed some lag, others may have had problems getting on to TTA at all. These problems were to do with the amount of RAM that was being used server side. Balz originally purchased 256 RAM which was being permanently used whilst running the game, as this was causing problems, he decided to upgrade the server to 512 RAM so hopefully these problems should be disappearing.

Other news include the discussion of the FFXII deck which is more than likely to be implemented into TTA once the game is out, and when someone gets to making the deck. If anyone is interested in making the deck, send a sample card to Balz and I’m sure you will be considered.

Finally word of the new TTN has been circulating around the community, and I for one can tell you that it looks and sounds very exciting. Nimloth and Brise have certainly ‘gone to town’ and this one, and the ideas/concepts they have come up with will certainly blow you all away. More will be revealed very soon. ;o

Okay folks. To get the whole tutorial series started, I figured I'd kick off with one of the most important aspects of the game. The second card placed. This move generally turns out to be the most important move in an open game especially with even cards and equally skilled players.

There are 3 different kinds of starter moves for your opponent to chose from.
And I will talk about each possibility separately with the help of this game:



Assume you are blue. Red has the starter.

1. Starter card in one of the corners (1,3,7,9)
----------------------------

Guess the move you'll see most in decks that have corner cards. Let's assume the card guess in spot 9 (bottom left). Any other corner would be the same just rotate the board in your head. Remember the cards actually should have equal length and height to better show this. There's not the slightest difference between a 1 4 7 4 and a 4 7 4 1 after all...

Obviously this very much depends on the cards used but I generally go through the following options in my head:

- Can I take the card?
If no, 6 and 8 are no option. If yes, I have to check first if the card can be taken back from the other side and especially look out for the numbers facing spot 5 after that happens to prevent giving your opponent good number combination on this spot. Because you might get forced to place on 5 afterwards to prevent it and the opponent has an easy win with the right card on 1.

90 % of the time this move seems not the best choice, especially if the starter move is not plain outright stupid.

- One of my cards looking good on 5?
Obviously a good move if you can apply either P or S on both sides and even better if your opponent can't. Normally I don't really like this one either as from personal experience this ends up in a draw most of the time....

- Card on 2 or 4 looking good?
Normally my favourite if I got no clue what to do. Preferably place a card you can take back from both corners and even better one you can take from 5 allowing you rules on his starter card....

- Place a card on an opposite corner (3 and 7 in this case)
My favourite move generally. Why? Two reasons. First, it's pretty uncommon and confuses my opponent. Second, it's really nasty if you do it right. Let’s assume we use 3. Place a card that gives you either P or S on the starter card. what you very much have to consider is the card your opp will place in 6. He’ll normally try to seal it off with a strong number to the left. Which actually is your big chance, if you got a nice card to place on 2 or 8 turning one of the cards

Lets go to our example:

Card on 6: Very bad idea
Card on 8: 4 6 4 7 on 8 or 4 5 3 7 on 8 might look at least decent (no pw on 7! ) but most likely a tie
Card on 5: Sure you want to lose??

Leaves us going for 2 or 4:
Going for 4 would kill us with 7 7 3 3 on 7
2 look better. And first or last card on it are pretty save choices

But the best move is another card:
2 7 6 2 on 3!!!!!
Ok why?
If your opponent doesn't go for 6, you can place the 4 6 4 7 on it in the next move.
Nice! So what if he does go for 6?

First option : 5 4 6 6 on 6:
Your next move : 4 5 3 7 on 2 !
Only way for him to still tie this game: 2 4 7 7 on 5 otherwise you have the win
Next option 2 4 7 7 on 6:
Your next move : 4 6 4 7 on 2 !

Only ways left for the tie is the 7 7 3 3 or the 5 4 6 6 on 5 might happen
But still you got to dominate the game.

To be continued..

Hail and welcome to TTA Fun's little corner of the newsletter.

Just a little introduction, basically: It's ran by a few select individuals who have got interest and creativity when it comes to making and running tournaments. We mainly specialise in things such as chat tournaments and trivia, though we run the odd other type of tournament. We're not the official tournament body and we're only semi-funded.

Currently, we've got Second Chance, a closed combo double elimination tournament up and running, and now into its second round, with chat tournies held every week, however, due to other commitments of myself and sometimes lack of people willing, chat tournies don't have a set time, though we try and fix it on Sunday evenings as much as we can. These tournaments held by myself will always have use of random, because, mainly people are way too lazy to set hands, and a lot of skill stems from using random effectively.

Anyways, there's the intro and current update. In the list of stuff to do, we've got Seeding coming up, when, finally, your success in tournaments shall be recognised with the appropriate rankings, as well as this, being able to avoid some other ranked players in the early rounds as much as this is physically possible.

Currently, I'll give the top 15 seeds, with points. How the points and such are made up shall be explained and stated at a later date. Though, there's a disclaimer. These seeds are only provisional and are subject to change. Anyway,

#1. Polo - 205 FunPts.
#2. Delial - 160 FunPts.
#3. Darkside - 135 FunPts.
#4. Brise - 130 FunPts.
#5. Kaus Debonair - 90 FunPts.
#6. FippesMc - 90 FunPts.
#7. Dalamar - 80 FunPts.
#8. Gafgarion - 80 FunPts.
#9. Keith_Adkinson - 70 FunPts.
#10. Brenn - 60 FunPts.
#11. Kiljan - 60 FunPts.
#12. turdz - 60 FunPts.
#13. waltz - 50 FunPts.
#14. Kaydos - 50 FunPts.
#15. Cookie - 42 FunPts.

Check the seeding thread in the TTA Fun part of the forums for more details.

Hopefully that covers everything and I hope, on behalf of the whole Fun team, we see you all very soon.