August Bloodbath

In the end, Gehenna overtook us all.

Danz ruled last Saturday's tournament with his nasty, nasty Gehenna deck, garnering 4 of the final table's VPs, with Haig, using his Wynn deck, getting the other VP.

It was a fun tourney, with about 22 people participating. What I liked was the variety of deck designs that were brought to the table.

Some examples:

- Danz used a Gehenna deck, with Beckett ADV as the principal minion. During the preliminary round where he was my prey, he brought out about 7 Gehenna cards; during the finals, there were about 10. The deck pretty much crippled or shut down a good number of opponents.

- Johann brought a Mata Hari uses everything deck. Mata Hari, and the player controlling her, can play cards of any clan or sect. As a result, War Ghouls, Fix the Hessian, Thaddeus Zho, et al, were on the table. I never got to face this deck, and I'm pretty thankful I didn't.

- Tonichi brought an anarch deck, with Diversion being the key card. While it didn't garner him any VPs, he was able to play deep into each round. Probably with a little tweaking, it'll be more dangerous the next time around.

- Eric Gatus, who plays Ravnos, used the new card from KMW, Fatuus Mastery, to great effect. Fatuus Mastery gains counters each turn, which can be used to pay for Chimmerstry cards.

- Dante used a Gargoyle swarm, with the Create Gargoyle card. During the third round, about 19 of his Gargoyles had taken one for the team, and either went into torpor, or were burned.

Me? I used my Animalism swarm, which did pretty well, given the circumstances. I got one table win, and 4 VPs. I'm also pretty glad I didn't make the finals in this one; the other decks were just too nasty.

I also got some key cards in trades. Ossian and the Sword of Troile I got for collection purposes, and I increased my hoards of Crows, Majesties, KRCs and Computer Hacks.

The first round was a little weird for me. It started with Eerie (2-cap weenie voters)->Danio (Setite tempters) ->Charlie (!Ventrue wall)->me (Swarm). Since I played weenies, two things worked in my favor: one, my information highway came out in my starting hand, and Calebros, the Martyr in my starting crypt, which meant he came out immediately. This was detrimental to Eerie, who was playing a disciplineless 2-cap voting deck. Having a prince out early meant that he couldn't get his 2-caps to vote successfully, and having only 2-caps meant that I whaled on them. Charlie said that I was channelling my sire (Haig) because no less than 5-6 of Eerie's minions lay in torpor. I disposed of him easily enough, and then ran into problems with Danio and his Temptations. I was gone pretty quickly after (no wonder Charlie warned me not to get the 1st VP), and Danio took the table.

The second round saw me with the lucky hand, crypt, and seating position (Info Highway, Calebros and 4th player). Razi (Nossie Justicar vote) ->Pupay (Gangrel/!Gangrel combat) -> Louie (Brujah vote) -> me. Razi took care of Pupay, and my swarm just bled through Razi and Louie to give me the table win.

The third round was a mass of errors. I had Danz for my prey, and his Gehenna cards just screwed the entire table. My blunder? I kept on forgetting to use the New Inquisition to ping Beckett ADV and eventually send him to torpor. If I had gotten to diablerize Beckett ADV, Danz would be left with a small or no hand, as he had about 7-8 Gehenna cards on the table, with several of them carrying the "cannot replace" text. Dang. C'est la vie.

All things said, I'm kind of glad not to have made the final table; the decks that made it (Danz, Dante, Haig, Neil, and Erick) were all quite nasty, and this was without Johann's Mata Hari deck, since he had to leave before the finals. I guess I was a bit psyched out by the nastiness, and I wasn't sure if the Swarm could've gotten anything. Ah well.

It was a great tourney, and, while it'll be some time before I host another game at my house, I look forward to the next bloodbath.

Tourney!

It's nice that the Cheng-Chuas timed their big VTES sale with the coming tournament this Saturday. From them I was able to aquire 10 Camarilla, 5 Gehenna, 5 Black Hand, and 8 Anarch packs, along with a Malkavian and Gangs starter, as well as 3 original VTES starter decks. As a result, I now have some of the cards I'd been looking for, as well as sufficient stock for trade bait.

My quandary with the tournament remains: what deck to use? Do I go for the tried and tested, or do I take all the new cards I've gotten, and build something experimental, something that will jolt players? Hmmm, decisions, decisions.

Ravnos..feh

If there's one clan or deck I truly hate to face, it's the Ravnos. Not the Ventrue, nor the stealth bleeders. The Ravnos.

Why? Two cards: Sensory Deprivation and Illusions of the Kindred.

Sensory Deprivation
Discipline: Chimerstry
Blood: 3
Card Text:
(D) Burn any retainer or put this card on an ally. The minion with this card does not untap as normal during the untap phase as long as the acting vampire remains in play.
As above, but put this card on any vampire in play

Illusions of the Kindred
Discipline: Chimerstry
Card Text:
Only usable before range is determined.Combat ends. Move a vampire from the bottom of your crypt to your ready region. He or she does not contest any other vampires or titles in play. The vampire has an amount of blood equal to half of his or her capacity (round down). Combat begins between the vampire and the opposing minion. Remove the vampire from the game at the end of combat.
As above, but the vampire has an amount of blood equal to his or her capacity.

I have not yet found a way to counter these cards effectively. Sensory Deprivation can only be removed by burning the vampire who did it, and...waitaminit, my minion cannot untap, but if I can get him untapped, then he can do something.

When I do try to take down the vampire who caused the Deprivation, he simply throws down Illusions, and he's safe.

I simply have to find a way around these annoying cards.

Acquisitions

It's been a very busy April, in terms of acquiring new cards. If I wasn't trading for them, I was buying them.

Tonichi arrived mid-April, and brought home with him my 3 KMW decks (!Gangrel, Alastor, Anathema), !Malkavian, and a Brujah deck.

I did some major trading/buying with Charlie, and got a whole load of stuff. The notables: 8 Calls of the Hungry Dead, 14 Computer Hacks (love that card!), 12 Shambling Hordes, 1 Freak Drive (VTES!), Sengir Dagger, 3-4 Eagle Sights, Tansu Bekir, Watenda, Persia, and Ramona.

From Roy Caamud, I got Fatima, Tansu, and Beckett, as well as a Psyche!, and about 8 Forced Awakenings.

My last major acquisition plan for the summer (I hope) will be getting some packs/decks from Katya and Tin, and I'll be set (somewhat), having enough cards to build the decks I've been envisioning.

Now if only I can get more Freak Drives ...

April Tourney

The April 2 tourney saw 10 people come over to Kensai's, 12 if you count Kensai and Dave B., who only played a round each. The other players were myself, Martin, Haig, Charlie, Jay, Danz, David Pimentel, and three of the new players (I guess Dante's brood): Eric, Eerie and Ayeen. Except for Eric, David B. and Kensai, I saw the other decks used:

Me - Animalism anarch weenies
Martin - Ravnos Embraces
Haig - Potence weenies
Charlie - Gangrel dominate-bleed/bounce
Jay - Giovanni bleed
David - !Nossies
Danz - Harbinger Slaughterhouses
Eerie - Toreador voters
Ayeen - Nossies

My first round was horrendous, as I got ousted without getting a VP. I got 3 in the second round, and my first GW in a sanctioned tourney. I got Jay in the third round for a 4th VP, and a place in the finals.

Finals table:Haig ---> Eerie --> Martin --> Ayeen --> me (four transfers, baby! Boo-yah!)

It was apparent that the weenies were just too much. Eerie, who was sandwiched by Haig and Martin, was able to fend off Haig's Mongols, but couldn't break past Martin's numerous Embraces. Ayeen had decided to bring out the biggest Nossie, Harrod, promptly had him Sensory'd by Martin, and was unable to do anything else; apparently, she had packed 3 Minion Taps in her deck, but none of them were coming out. She was reduced to pleading with the rest of us to burn Khalil Ravana, the Sensory's source. Haig wanted to help, but had to deal with Eerie and me.

With Ayeen safely walling Martin, I was free to harass Haig, who, fortunately, does not wake and block. Since he was attacking Eerie, and torporing some of my vamps, the rest of the swarm got through and bled him out. By this time, Ayeen was gone, and Martin played the Week of Nightmares, so that finished me off. He then dispatched Eerie a few minutes later for the finals win.

So, the finals ranking (as far as I can remember) was:
1st - Martin
2nd - Me
3rd - Ayeen
4th - Eerie
5th - Haig

Haig and I went over my Animalism deck and noted two things: one, the anarch component was clunky and didn't work well enough to justify its inclusion in the deck, and two, the deck had no means of controlling the predator. So we removed the anarch component, and added some rush cards to protect my back. Haven't tried it out yet, but I hope to the next time I play.

Pictures from the House Game last January

The cast: (kneeling, from left) Razi, Louis and me. (standing, from left) David, Arthur, John, Bart, Pepper, Paul, Jay, Tatel, Martin, Charlie, and Haig. (missing; had to leave early) Danz and Troy

A closer look at the game 

This was one of the last games in the evening. 

Trades

I did another trade with David for a good amount of stuff.

What I gave David:

1 Bond with the Mountain
1 Taste of Vitae
1 Greta Kircher
1 Demonstration
2 Kine Resources Contested
2 Restoration
1 Cardinal Benediction
1 Telepathic Vote Counting

What I got:

2 Raptors
2 Behind You!
2 Anarch Revolts
Cock Robin
Zayyat, the Sandstorm
2 Rothschreck
2 Skins of Night
among others

With the KMW tourney coming up in April, I'm going to need some extra resources.

Kindred Most Wanted goodness

Yesterday, I visited the V:TES Brazil site, and found that it contained the spoiler card lists for the newest expansion, Kindred Most Wanted (KMW). I downloaded each list and copied/pasted them to Word for reformatting. As I reformatted the lists, I skimmed through them, trying to get a feel of the set.

It was breathtaking.

Several concepts will be greatly affected:

1. Anson master madness - with the nerfing of Anarch Revolt, it will become more difficult for the Master deck to work. Oh, I'm sure it'll still be dangerous, but with minions going anarch to avoid getting hit, it will be less of a threat. In fact, it might be more painful for the user than for the rest of the table.

2. Immortal Grapple - with the introduction of Disengage, a disciplineless card which cancels Grapples, the once-feared Wynn deck will have to think of other strategies to remain viable. One possibility: Earthshock, which causes ranged undodgeable damage to all without Flight. And, really, how many actually play Gargoyles?

At the same time, I don't think Methuselahs will be packing many Disengages, unless they're anticipating playing a heavy Grapple-combat environment. But Grapple players will be more cautious and selective of their use of their key card.

3. Frenzy - this will be a little more difficult to use, but not by much. The hoser card, Tranquility, requires Dominate for it to work, so I guess those using Drawing Out the Beast (myself included) need not be too concerned.

4. More power to the Assamites

5. The Giovanni now have a better Necromancy strike than Torment the Soul.

The problem with defensive strategy players (vote cancellation, hosers, etc.) is that because of their focus on one strategy, they might leave themselves wide open or unable to react to other types of decks.

The new set is awesome in its scope, as it attempts to compel players to try out alternative concepts.

I particularly like the new !Gangrel. Enkidu and Mithru rock, and with Bay and Howl, it might be easier to get 11-cap Enkidu the Noah into play.

Other cards that have gotten my attention: Pack Alpha (Retainer), Forced March (cel-for Freak Drive), Earthshock, Shared Strength, Dead Hand, Heart of the City, Sonar (Protean has intercept!), Leathery Hide (damage prevention for !Gangrel), Anarch Secession, Samuel Haight, From a Sinking Ship, Not to Be, the trophies, and Disengage.

Vampires: aside from the !Gangrel (I want 'em all) Count Germaine ADV, Tariq the Silent ADV, Benedict Giovanni, Echo, Rabbat the Sewer Goddess, and Sonja Blue.

And, except for the Baali deck, I really would like to collect the other three preconstructed decks in the set.

What a lovely, lovely set.

Continuing the concepts

I have probably been struck with weenie fever. After the Auspex weenie, I am now looking into Obfuscate and Fortitude weenie decks. I can't say for sure why, but maybe I enjoy the image of swarming hordes overwhelming the opponent.

Trading Galore

I just recently completed another trade overseas, with the same person I traded with the last time.

Here's what I sent:

Ali Kar
Wolf Valentine
4 Songs of the Distant Vitae
2 Free Stakes Rant
Fee Stake: Los Angeles

This is what I'm getting:

2x Dr. Streck
1x Zoe (DS)
2x Truman
3x Telepathic Misdirection (2x VTES, 1xJyhad)
3x Precognition (Sabbat)
1x Eagle's Sight (Jyhad)
4x Walks of Caine
2x Carrion Crows

With that trade completed, that should round out my Auspex weenies, and my Blood Brother needs.

Gaming weekend

Not a bad day of VTES.

After talking with Haig and Charlie about using my house as a gaming place yesterday afternoon, I readily accepted, it having been too long since I’d played a good game.

About 15 players made it. And it was a fun-filled afternoon of playing and trading VTES.

My Animalism weenie worked like a charm blasting through with the help of Anarch Revolt, both mine and Danz’. In the second game I used it, it knocked out Arthur before Menele could do damage, and I had too many minions out for Haig and Charlie to take care of. What was nice about the second game was that I didn’t need the Revolt (only one came out), and I didn’t need Danz’ assistance. So, my weenie deck is heading for sleevehood.

The City Gangrel remains clunky, as Ellen Fence controlled the predator, but got Sensory Dep’d by Martin’s Ivan Kreyenko. With Tatel coming out with Gehenna cards left and right, it became difficult to maneuver.

After the three games I played, my head started to swim a little, so I rested, and made some wonderful trades.

From Paul: 3 Immortal Grapples, 6 Tastes of Vitae, and the Hungry Coyote, for Call the Great Beast, Path of Evil Revelations, and Barbaro Luchese

From Troy: 4 Telepathic Misdirections, 2 Precognitions, 1 Anarch Revolt, and Cock Robin for 2nd Tradition, 4th Tradition, and Obedience

From Arthur: Zayyat, the Sandstorm for Count Germaine

Add that to the 5 Immortal Grapples, 2 Iron Glares, 2 Arms Dealers, 1 Psyche!, Jacko, Maxwell, and 1 Hand of Conrad I bought/traded from David the other day, it’s been a very productive two days of trading.

The last of the players left at about 10 pm, tired and happy at the end of the day.

Addendum: My sister just planed in from the US today, and she was able to get me a copy of the Game Trade magazine with the Echo card ... for free! Happy days!

Current concepts

I've been tinkering around with several concepts in my head the past few weeks.

1. Auspex weenie - Prince Toad used such a deck last year at a tourney, and it was scary. I've slowly been accumulating cards in order to build a fascimile of the deck he used, and I think I'm just a few Telepathic Misdirections away from completing it.

2. cel obf pot Combat - It occured to me that several vampire share these disciplines, and that I could use the Shadow Feint (I love this card) to great effect. One possible way to go is to Shadow Feint at superior (First Strike, undodgeable), Disguise a Flamethrower or some other painful weapon, and immediately torpor the opposing minion. Or, use the Shadow Feint to get my Potence strikes through. Key vampires for me would be Tayshawn Kearns, Antonio Veradas, Count Germaine, and Dr. Streck. And, checking the newsgroups, apparently one of the new vamps, Echo (Nosferatu), a 7-cap, has all three disciplines at superior. I'm going to be watching out for him.

"Sleigh bells ring, are you list'ning..."  

Scenes from Merry Christmas, Methuselahs

Louie looks like he's pleased about something. From left: new player (please identify), Bart's brother (Forgot the name, sorry), Louie and Danz

Point of contention? From left: Dave, Karl, Atong, Neil (hiding under the cap), some player (please identify, anyone?), and Aurelio 

Charlie (the only one facing the camera) looks like she's preparing to block whatever's coming her way. With backs to the camera, from left: Razi and Neil. I don't recognize the person covered by Razi; one of the new players?

Took a better look at the covered guy. Sorry, Pilo, didn't recognize you at first.

Kensai (upper left), about to make his play. From top: Jay, Eyong, Johann, and Haig

Karl, with two of the MCM organizers, Bart and Louie.