2013 North American Continental Championship

http://www.vekn.net/index.php/forum/40-polling-forum/45088

Will you attend the 2013 North American Continental Championship events taking place at Origins Game Fair in Columbus, Ohio the week of June 10-16?

How many of your playgroup will you bring with you?

Is there more information you need about the events to make your decision easier or to make you more likely to travel to this event?

http://www.thelasombra.com/NAC2013/

2013 North American Continental Championship
Origins Game Fair
Columbus, Ohio
June 10 - June 16, 2013

Best VTES Blog Moves!

extrala has had the best VTES blog since he introduced it in 2007.  The blog has now moved to become VTES ONE.  Check it out!

Happy 7/7 Anniversary!

Today was the anniversary of the very controversial 7/7/98 Rules Team Rulings that helped make L. Scott Johnson the designer of the game Vampire: The Eternal Struggle when White Wolf started printing new cards in 2000.
http://www.thelasombra.com/rules/RTR7-7.htm

In 2001, the second printing of Sabbat War sold from distributors to game retailers like crack cocaine.
http://www.thelasombra.com/crack_cocaine.htm

To celebrate these events, the Atlanta playgroup held a tournament at the CCP Games office in Decatur, Georgia. Eight players attended a two round plus final event, that used the multi-judge and multi-deck rules. The first round was completed in one hour and five minutes. The second round was completed in one hour and thirty minutes. The final completed in a tiny bit more than an hour. The entire event went from a bit after one pm until five thirty. Taco Mac was the location of choice for the post tournament celebration.

Round one Table one
Imbued who tried to get Vigilance, but got blocked a lot
Vote deck with obfuscate, obedience, and lots of Protected Resources
Al-Muntathir Summons The History Of Voting II (4 VPs)
Osebo 419 Operation with left leaning intercept

Round one Table two
Toreador deck
Nergal bleeds for 6 with Psychomachia and Elder Impersonation
A deck I didn't see
Lutz and company presence stealth voting (4 VPs)

Lutz's appearance at both tables made a significant difference, as the player controlling him on each of the tables swept.

Round two Table one
Vote deck with obfuscate, obedience, and lots of Protected Resources (2 VPs)
Nergal bleeds for 6 with Psychomachia and Elder Impersonation (2 VPs)
Serenna the White's Signet of King Saul Scares You Shitless
Lutz and company presence stealth voting

Round two Table two
A deck I didn't see
A deck I didn't see
Imbued who successfully got Vigilance and Smiling Jack (2 VPs)
Toreador deck? (2 VPs)

Spirit Marionette / Heidelberg Castle still scares the pants off the table, even though the deck type hasn't seen play locally in years. Codex of the Edenic Groundskeepers and Signet of King Saul do make a significant difference when all
of your opponents are playing with 8-11 capacity vampires.

Prior to the finals:
2 players exactly tied for 1st
4 players exactly tied for 3rd

The host excused himself from the 4 player tie in order to let the other 3 play. His graciousness is quite renowned.

Seating for the finals:
Imbued with Vigilance + ossian + Wendell Delburton + Flash Grenades (4 VP)
Vote deck with obfuscate, obedience, and lots of Protected Resources
Lutz and company presence stealth voting (1 VP)
Antón de Concepción's Canine Horde
Toreador deck

Congratulations to Witness1 on his tournament win!
Perhaps he will post his deck in reply or let us know which of his deck this one was.
http://vtes-hunter-net.tripod.com/decks.htm

---------------------------------

These are the three decks that I played.
Deck Name : Al-Muntathir Summons The History Of Voting II
Author : Wanderer’s Counsel
Description :
Al-Muntathir will visit the Historic Ankara Citadel so that all of the visits from his vampiric friends are inexpensive (half rounded down). He will Summon his best friend in the entire world, Dmitra Ilyanova, as she can call a vote to give him 4 blood, and repeat that every turn. Most of his subsequent guests will have obfuscate (to ensure their hunt actions succeed) and presence (to fill up after votes with Voter Captivation).

Crypt [13 vampires] Capacity min: 7 max: 11 average: 9.23077
------------------------------------------------------------
4x Al-Muntathir 8 AUS FOR PRE TEM obf qui True Brujah:5
1x Adana de Sforza 11 CEL OBF POT PRE PRO aus inner circle Brujah:4
1x Lutz von Hohenzollern 11 AUS DEM OBF PRE pot inner circle Malkavian:4
1x Rafael de Corazon 11 AUS CEL DOM OBF PRE inner circle Toreador:4
1x Alonso Petrodon 10 ANI DOM OBF POT for tha justicar Nosferatu:5
1x Armin Brenner 10 CEL FOR POT PRE ani obf archbishop !Brujah:4
1x Unmada 10 AUS DEM OBF VIC cel for justicar Malkavian:5
1x Dmitra Ilyanova 9 CEL FOR POT PRE obf justicar Brujah:5
1x Orlando Oriundus 9 AUS DOM THA obf bishop !Tremere:4
1x Stavros 7 AUS OBF PRE dem priscus !Malkavian:4

Library [90 cards]
-----------------------------------
Action [10]
1x Clotho's Gift
9x Summon History

Action Modifier [34]
2x Change of Target
2x Cloak the Gathering
6x Domain of Evernight
1x Faceless Night
6x Forgotten Labyrinth
6x Freak Drive
6x Lost in Crowds
5x Voter Captivation

Action Modifier/Combat [2]
2x Swallowed by the Night

Combat [7]
7x Majesty

Equipment [3]
1x Ankara Citadel, Turkey, The
1x Heart of Nizchetus
1x Helicopter

Master [15]
2x Coven, The
1x Creepshow Casino
2x Giant's Blood
3x Golconda: Inner Peace
1x Heidelberg Castle, Germany
1x Monastery of Shadows
1x Obfuscate
1x Secure Haven
1x Sunset Strip, Hollywood
1x Tabriz Assembly
1x Warzone Hunting Ground

Political Action [16]
1x Anarchist Uprising
1x Ancient Influence
1x Ancilla Empowerment
3x Banishment
3x Conservative Agitation
2x Domain Challenge
3x Kine Resources Contested
1x Political Stranglehold
1x Reins of Power

Reaction [3]
3x Telepathic Misdirection

 

Deck Name : Serenna the White's Signet of King Saul Scares You Shitless
Author : Wanderer’s Counsel
Description :
Serenna or Matthew will be vastly wealthy and get all of the equipment. In combination with the Spirit Marionettes, scare all of the other players so much that they bind together to oust you instead of their prey.

Crypt [12 vampires] Capacity min: 1 max: 8 average: 6.08333
------------------------------------------------------------
3x Serenna the White 8 AUS FOR OBE ani dem Salubri:6
2x Mordechai Ben-Nun 8 ANI AUS FOR NEC Harbinger:5
2x Matthew 7 AUS FOR OBE cel Salubri:6
2x Anarch Convert 1 Caitiff:ANY
1x Ariel 6 AUS FOR VAL !Salubri:6
1x Kestrelle Hayes 6 AUS dom for obt !Ventrue:5
1x Azrael 5 AUS VAL for !Salubri:6

Library [90 cards]
-----------------------------------
Action [12]
1x Abbot
3x Renewed Vigor
8x Spirit Marionette

Action Modifier [22]
2x Daring the Dawn
8x Freak Drive
8x Neutral Guard
4x Repulsion

Action Modifier/Combat [4]
4x Penitent Resilience

Action Modifier/Reaction [4]
4x Gift of Sleep

Ally [2]
1x Mylan Horseed (Goblin)
1x Ossian

Combat [12]
5x Hidden Strength
5x Psychic Assault
2x Target Vitals

Equipment [3]
1x Bowl of Convergence
1x Codex of the Damned
1x Signet of King Saul, The

Master [16]
2x Anarch Revolt
1x Antediluvian Awakening
2x Heidelberg Castle, Germany
2x Lilith's Blessing
2x Vast Wealth
7x Villein

Reaction [15]
4x Eyes of Argus
4x On the Qui Vive
7x Telepathic Misdirection

 

Deck Name : Antón de Concepción's Canine Horde
Author : Wanderer’s Counsel
Description :
This used to be a Grooming the Protege deck. It fares well against most deck types but dies fairly easily to stealth presence vote. I remembered there being more permanent intercept in the deck when I took it out of the box, but the two Abbots in play were worthless in the tournament final.

Crypt [12 vampires] Capacity min: 4 max: 10 average: 7.75
------------------------------------------------------------
3x Nahir 10 ANI DOM OBT POT tha Lasombra:3
3x Anton de Concepcion 9 ANI DOM OBT POT aus archbishop Lasombra:4
2x Conrad Adoula 8 DOM OBT POT ani cel Lasombra:4
2x Otieno 6 OBT POT ani dom Lasombra:4
2x Paulo de Castille 4 ani dom pot Lasombra:4

Library [90 cards]
---------------------------------
Action [11]
3x Abbot
8x Deep Song

Action Modifier [11]
5x Foreshadowing Destruction
6x Shadow Play

Combat [27]
6x Arms of the Abyss
9x Canine Horde
9x Carrion Crows
3x Taste of Vitae

Equipment [1]
1x Heart of Nizchetus

Master [16]
4x Animalism
1x Blood Doll
1x Elysian Fields
1x Lilith's Blessing
2x Political Hunting Ground
1x Power Structure
6x Villein

Political Action [1]
1x Anarchist Uprising

Reaction [22]
5x Cats' Guidance
3x Deflection
5x On the Qui Vive
3x Redirection
6x Sense the Savage Way

Retainer [1]
1x Raptor

V:TES USA National Championship

http://www.thelasombra.com/USC2012.htm

Join us in Atlanta, Georgia over Labor Day weekend for the USA National Championship tournaments.  These events will be held at DragonCon.   There will be multiple events this weekend, starting with a 2R + F tournament on Friday night.  There are two tournaments on Saturday, both 2R + F.  Then on Sunday will be the US National Championship Tournament.  Monday is a holiday, so you can travel on that day, or play in a Duffin Draft that morning.

Sunday, September 2nd, 2012
11 AM start time
3R + F

Dragon*Con is the largest multi-media, popular culture convention focusing on science fiction and fantasy, gaming, comics, literature, art, music, and film in the universe!  Dragon*Con will be held Labor Day weekend (August 31 - September 3, 2012) in Atlanta, GA. 

--The US Champion will walk away with a unopened starter display box of Heirs to the Blood.

North American Continental Championship at Origins 2012

http://www.thelasombra.com/NAC2012/

The 2012 North American Continental Championship will be held at the Origins Game Fair in Columbus, Ohio during the week of May 30 - June 3, 2012.  This will be proceeded by a Week of Nightmares on Monday May 28 - May 30, 2012.  If you want the full 9-day V:TES Experience, start your week in Los Angeles for 4 tournaments on Saturday-Sunday May 26-27 at Gamex 2012.

US National Championship This Weekend!

US National Championship This Weekend!
http://www.thegrandmasquerade.com/events/vtes-schedule

Will you be joining White Wolf's fans at the US National Championship tournaments for Vampire: The Eternal Struggle?

Saturday September 17th, starting at noon.
Be there!

Friday Night
– Midnight run –
– 7:30 PM to 1:30 AM
– Open Games & Duffin Draft
– Duffin Draft consists of building a deck out of a single booster pack and starting with 12 pool and unlimited transfers.
– For new players, it is a great way to focus on specific areas of the game.
– For experienced players, it is great way to take a quick break from the standard game while building your collection.

Saturday
- Cardinal Benediction
- US Championship
- 12:00 Noon – 9 PM
- 3 Rounds with 2 hour limit. Untimed Finals
- Standard Constructed. 90 card limit. VEKN Tournament Rules.

Sunday
- Border Skirmish
- Draft
- 10 AM to 5 PM
- Drafting starts promptly at 10AM. Drafting and deck construction should last no longer than 30-45 minutes
- 2 Rounds & Final. 2 hour time limit
- We will be drafting 7 to 10 packs of boosters.

Kindred Restructure: Charlotte, North Carolina

http://www.vekn.net/index.php/event-calendar/event/6297
http://charlottebynight.wordpress.com/
http://twitter.com/CharlotteVTES

Above Board Games
985 Market Street, Suite 103
Fort Mill, South Carolina, United States
http://www.aboveboardgames.net/

 

Kindred Restructure
Fort Mill, South Carolina
July 16, 2011
8 players
2R + F

There were 8 players that ended up in Fort Mill, South Carolina on Saturday the 16th of July.  Two lived close by in Charlotte, three made the trek from Charleston, and three made the trek from Atlanta.  As it was an eight player tournament, multi-deck, multi-judge rules were used.

Entering the finals:

Jeff Brandon    1 GW 6 VPs
Jeff Thompson    0 GW 3.5 VPs
Jordan Beall    0 GW 2 VPs
Jose Lafuente    0 GW 2 VPs
Mike Perlman    0 GW 0.5 VPs

Marijane was just out of the finals, tied with Mike, separated only by a few tournament points.  Being on a table with a sweep that goes to another player is better than being on a table that has two players split the victory points.  Food for thought.

Finals results:

Jeff Thompson    1 GW 4 VPs
Mike Perlman    0 GW 1 VP

Round one:

In the first round, I played an untested deck that is called Eye Prime.  The eleven copies of Eye of Unforgiving Heaven meant that there were always vampires in torpor all around me, but my absence of vote lock meant that the Chantry was able to save the Tremere way too many times.

(0.5) The Unnammed + Santaleous bled
(0.5) Etrius + Spiridonas + Blythe Candeleria bled
(1.5) Uriel + Dela Eden + Aredhel + Anarch Convert bled
(0.0) Hermanas (large and small) + Angelo

The Blood Brothers were the only ones successfully ousted at this table, though I did have vote lock with Uriel's Bishop vote in the closing minute of the game and Etrius did get himself diablerized.  Another 10 minutes could probably have seen a sweep, as the Salubri Antitribu were the only ones gaining blood and having more than 1 blood.  Both the Tremere and Salubri Antitribu deck were down to the cards in their hands and in play.  Santaleous the Famous was in torpor as well.

Round one second table:
(0) The Hordes bled
(0) Tariq and friends bled
(2) Imbued bled
(2) Ventrue Antitribu

Ventrue Antitribu get 2 VP, Imbued get 2 VP.  Finished probably half an hour before time.

Round two:

This round saw the Brujah Antitribu have vote lock throughout the game with Armin Brenner being the only titled vampire for most of the game, with a single bishop controlled by his prey near the end.  Black Forest Base/Creepshow Casino also made a very significant difference for the Brujah Antitribu, resulting in three pool gain per turn for 3-4 turns in a row before the Bowl of Convergence put an end to that nonsense.  :)  Azrael hunted for 4 (Perfectly) for most every turn of the game, except the very last one, when he was one of 7 vampires to bleed for one.  Smiling Jack took the last 5 pool off the table.

(2) Brujah Antitribu weenies + Armin Brenner bled
(0) Tremere Antitribu + Succubus bled
(0) The Unnammed + Santaleous bled
(2) Azrael + almost entire crypt (only Kestrelle Hayes was unable to be found)

Round two second table:
(0) Tremere bled
(4) Samedi / Baron + Reanimated Corpses bled
(0) Lucian the Perfect using Brutal Influence bled
(0) Hermanas (large and small) + Angelo

This second table finished in less than 40 minutes.  Large bleeds were flying all over the place, and no one had significant intercept.  Archon Investigation made Lucian go away very early in his career, on a bleed for ~8.  consistent bleeds of ~6 per turn from the Samedi let them work their way steadily and quickly all the way around the table.

Finals:
(1) Toreador Triple A bled
(0) Uta Kovacs Rush bled
(0) Ian Forestal + Rafaele Giovanni + Anarchy bled
(4) Nosferatu Antitribu Vote bled
(0) Zygodat Slaughterhouse

Games like this show the true power of the value of seating.  Jeff B. made the mistake of choosing to sit as the prey of the one rush deck, as his vampires were always empty or in torpor, or on one blood and tapped from having to hunt.  This absence of pressure allowed the Nosferatu Antitribu to build up uncontested and to control the voting situation.  An Anarchist Uprising that would have ousted the Uta Kovacs and Ian Forestal decks at the same time was a victim of
Delaying Tactics.  Banishment followed up that same turn to ensure that Uta couldn't take revenge on the vote caller, and Anneke + Alexandra's bleeds were finally able to get past Uta's seemingly unlimited Forced Awakenings to oust him.  Beast ensured that Anneke would stay tapped for the rest of the game (Toreador Grand Ball) by removing Alexandra and Anson.  The double Fame dunk in a single turn ousted the Toreador.  The Anarchist Uprising made another appearance once it was down to two players, removing Ian Forestal at last.

 

Deck Name : Eye Prime
Author : Lasombra
Description :

Crypt [12 vampires] Capacity min: 1 max: 11 average: 7.41667
4x Uriel 8 AUS FOR VAL ani obe bishop !Salubri:4
3x Dela Eden 8 AUS FOR VAL cel dom !Salubri:3
2x Saulot, The Wanderer 11 AUS FOR OBE THA VAL dai Salubri:4
2x Aredhel 5 FOR VAL aus !Salubri:4
1x Anarch Convert 1 Caitiff:0

Library [90 cards]
Action [11]
2x Abbot
2x Renewed Vigor
7x Sense Death

Action Modifier [7]
6x Freak Drive
1x Repulsion

Ally [1]
1x Mylan Horseed (Goblin)

Combat [29]
3x Armor of Vitality
6x Death Seeker
11x Eye of Unforgiving Heaven
4x Skin of Rock
5x Soak

Equipment [4]
1x Bowl of Convergence
1x Codex of the Edenic Groundskeepers
1x Flak Jacket
1x Heart of Nizchetus

Master [15]
2x Code of Samiel
2x Dreams of the Sphinx
2x Fame
1x Guardian Angel
4x Rotschreck
4x Villein

Reaction [20]
4x Eyes of Argus
10x Hide the Heart
5x On the Qui Vive
1x Telepathic Misdirection

Retainer [3]
1x J. S. Simmons, Esq.
1x Mr. Winthrop
1x Tasha Morgan

 

Deck Name : "The Robyn"
Author : Lasombra
Description :

Crypt [12 vampires] Capacity min: 3 max: 7 average: 5.41667
4x Azrael 5 AUS VAL for !Salubri:6
2x Matthew 7 AUS FOR OBE cel Salubri:6
1x Ariel 6 AUS FOR VAL !Salubri:6
1x Kestrelle Hayes 6 AUS dom for obt !Ventrue:5
1x La Viuda Blanca 6 AUS NEC for obf Harbinger:6
1x Dr. Morrow 5 AUS VIC for Tzimisce:5
1x Silas 5 FOR aus dom val !Salubri:6
1x Veejay Vinod 3 AUS Nagaraja:6

Library [90 cards]
Action [8]
3x Abbot
2x Anonymous Freight
3x Harvest Rites

Action Modifier [5]
5x Freak Drive

Combat [30]
4x Morphean Blow
4x Psychic Assault
6x Skin of Rock
4x Target Vitals
3x Taste of Vitae
3x Telepathic Tracking
6x Weighted Walking Stick

Equipment [5]
2x Aaron's Feeding Razor
1x Bowl of Convergence
1x Ivory Bow
1x Sport Bike

Master [22]
1x Barrens, The
3x Blood Doll
2x Hungry Coyote, The
2x Information Highway
2x Perfectionist
2x Smiling Jack, The Anarch
1x Sunset Strip, Hollywood
9x Vessel

Reaction [19]
5x Enhanced Senses
5x Eyes of Argus
3x On the Qui Vive
6x Telepathic Misdirection

Retainer [1]
1x Mr. Winthrop

 

Deck Name : Nosferatu Antitribu Vote In The Win
Author : Lasombra
Description :
Kendrick and Beast made a great team, and tend to come out first together every game in which this deck wins.  Kendrick likes to recognize Beast's contributions by calling an early Cardinal Benediction that always passes.

Crypt [12 vampires] Capacity min: 5 max: 10 average: 7.91667
2x Cailean 10 ANI OBF POT PRE dom archbishop !Nosferatu:2
2x Yong-Sun, Harmonist 10 ANI OBF POT THA aus cardinal !Nosferatu:2
2x Beast, The Leatherface 7 OBF POT ani cel !Nosferatu:2
2x Kendrick 7 ANI POT aus obf priscus !Nosferatu:2
1x Julio Martinez 9 ANI DOM OBF POT nec bishop !Nosferatu:3
1x Calebos 8 ANI OBF POT cel bishop !Nosferatu:2
1x Cicatriz 5 ani obf pot bishop !Nosferatu:2
1x Olivia 5 OBF POT vic bishop !Nosferatu:2

Library [90 cards]
Action [4]
2x Deep Song
2x Vermin Channel

Action Modifier [15]
5x Bribes
7x Forgotten Labyrinth
3x Veil the Legions

Combat [23]
3x Canine Horde
10x Carrion Crows
10x Thrown Gate

Master [14]
1x Fame
2x Legendary Vampire
2x Nosferatu Kingdom
3x Sudden Reversal
6x Villein

Political Action [22]
4x Anarchist Uprising
1x Ancient Influence
4x Banishment
2x Cardinal Benediction
4x Consanguineous Boon
2x Conservative Agitation
4x Kine Resources Contested
1x Political Stranglehold

Reaction [12]
6x Cats' Guidance
2x Confusion of the Eye
4x On the Qui Vive

SE Regional Qualifier, Winner

Oscar Garza swept the table in the finals, picking up all 5 victory points.

Congratulations to all four the newly qualified players!  (Matt was already qualified by winning a 10+ player event earlier in the year.)

 

SE Regional Qualifier, Finals

Jose 1 GW, 6 VP
Oscar 1 GW, 5.5 VP
Mattias 1 GW, 5 VP
Norman 1 GW, 5 VP
Matt 1 GW, 4 VP

Seating:
Oscar, Jose, Mattias, Matt, Norman

SE Regional Qualifier, 3rd Round results

Mattias 3, Mike 2
Norman 4, Jose 1
Oscar 5

SE Regional Qualifier, Round 3 pictures

Mattias, Robyn, Mike, Greg, Matt

Norman, David T., Jose, David A., Danielle

Oscar, Jordan, Shaun, Marijane, Jeff

SE Regional Qualifier, Round 2 results

David T. 4, Jeff 1
Jose 4, Matt 1
Robyn 1.5, Mattias 1, Danielle 0.5, Marijane 0.5

SE Regional Qualifier Round 2

Jose, Matt, David A., Jordan, Oscar

Mike, Jeff, Greg, David T., Norman

Shaun, Danielle, Marijane, Robyn, Mattias

SE Regional Qualifier

Stone Mountain, Georgia
May 21, 2011
15 players
3R + F
9 players from Atlanta, Georgia
3 players from Charleston, South Carolina
2 players from Charlotte, North Carolina
1 player from Birmingham, Alabama

Pictures from the first round.

Matt, Marijane, Jose, Mattias, David T.

Jeff, David A., Mike, Oscar, Robyn

Danielle, Greg, Shaun, Norman, Jordan

Results of first round:
Matt 3, Jose 1, Mattias 1
Jeff 1.5, Mike 0.5, Oscar 0.5, Robyn 0.5
Greg 4, Norman 1

SE Regional Qualifier (update 1)

Play areas from ~30 minutes into round 1.

Matt’s Brujah, group 4/5

Marijane’s Ventrue Antitribu were later joined by Salubri, group 2-3

Jose’s Malkavian Antitribu, group 2-3

Mattias’ protean Anarch Barons

David’s Masika (No Confidence x2), Anneke (later Patsy-ed)

Jeff’s presence dominate Anarchs

David A.’s True Brujah/Caitiff

Mike’s Toreador Antitribu, group 2

Oscar’s Samedi

Robyn’s protean animalism Anarchs

Danielle’s Black Hand Auspex Wall

Greg’s weenie presence bleed

Shaun’s Followers of Set

Norman’s Auspex Justicars

Jordan’s weenie obfuscate group 1/2

Vampire: The Eternal Struggle News

http://www.white-wolf.com/old-world-of-darkness/news/vampire-the-eternal-struggle-news

Vampire: The Eternal Struggle News

Friday, May 13, 2011

VTES Players,

We wanted to take a moment to give you an update on the future of Vampire: The Eternal Struggle. White Wolf will continue to host North American support for VTES for the rest of 2011 (although European event support will be provided by http://VTES.de).

However, starting May 20th, 2011, VTES will no longer be sold through standard distribution channels. Instead, you will be able to purchase displays at the White Wolf Store in North America and VTES.de in Europe.

As part of this change in distribution, pricing for displays will be decreased on 5/20. Booster displays will be sold for $50USD/€50, and starter displays will be sold for $35USD/€35. North American sales do not include sales tax, while European sales do include VAT.

Further, European customers can purchase a package of five booster displays for €225, and ten booster displays for €400. These packages can be a mix and match of displays.

If you have any questions, you can contact VTES Support at vtessupport@white-wolf.com.

http://vtes.de/catalog/
http://store.white-wolf.com/

Southeast Regional Qualifier

Join us in Atlanta for the Southeast Regional Qualifier.  The top 25% of the players in the tournament will be qualified to play in any of the Continental Championship events that take place in 2011!

 

 

Mark your calendar.
V:TES Atlanta will be hosting the South East Regional Qualifier in Atlanta on Saturday May 21st.
The event will be held at WW/CCP in Stone Mountain.
3 rounds and a final. Boosters and promos for all.
The top 25% players will be qualified to attend any of the Continental Championships this year.
We will start at 12 Noon, not our normal 1 PM.
More details to follow.
Hope to see you there.

Fee Stake: Marietta (TWD)

Fee Stake: Marietta
Marietta, Georgia
January 15, 2011
10 players
2R + F

Robyn Tatu's Tournament Winning Deck

Deck Name : The Baron is Off Kilter after Ben Peal
Author : Robyn Tatu
Description : Tournament winning deck

Crypt [12 vampires] Capacity min: 5 max: 9 average: 7.75
------------------------------------------------------------
4x Baron, The           9  FOR NEC OBF THN dom      2 votes Samedi:2
3x Reg Driscoll         8  OBF THN aus for pre              Samedi:2
2x Jorge De La Muerte   7  OBF THN cel for nec              Samedi:2
1x Genina, The Red Poet 8  CHI OBF THN aus cel for          Samedi:3
1x George Frederick     6  FOR THN nec obf                  Samedi:2
1x Lithrac              5  OBF for thn                      Samedi:2

Library [77 cards]
------------------------------
Action [20]
  1x Conceal
  5x Dark Mirror of the Mind
  5x Little Mountain Cemetery
  8x Off Kilter
  1x Priority Shift

Action Modifier [31]
  5x Cloak the Gathering
  4x Forgotten Labyrinth
  9x Freak Drive
  6x Lost in Crowds
  2x Stiff Contempt
  5x Under My Skin

Combat [10]
  2x Ashes to Ashes
  4x Dust to Dust
  2x Olid Loa
  2x Skin of Rock

Master [12]
  1x Archon Investigation
  2x Direct Intervention
  1x Houngan
  2x Information Highway
  1x Pentex(TM) Subversion
  2x Perfectionist
  2x Sudden Reversal
  1x Wider View

Reaction [4]
  2x Deflection
  2x Forced Vigilance

2011 Rules for Continental Championships

The VEKN has published the 2011 Rules for VtES Continental Championships:

January 1, 2011
Each year, the V:EKN organizes invitational Continental Championship tournaments. Players receive invitations by doing well in any of a series of qualifying events held around the world.
The V:EKN is coordinating five invitational V:TES Continental Championship tournaments: in Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America.

How to Qualify
To play in a championship tournament, players will first have to qualify.

• Anyone who played in the finals of a Continental Championship in 2010 is automatically qualified in 2011.
• The top 25% of players in constructed Continental Qualifying events qualify. The threshold for “Last Chance Qualifiers” on the weekends of the Championships is 33%.
• For the Australian and Asian Championships: 50% of the players (round up) up to a maximum of 10 players, qualify.
  If multiple players tie for a qualifier spot, then all the tied players qualify.
• To reward the organizers who put so much time and effort into organizing these events, the organizers for Regional continental qualifiers automatically qualify.
• Finalists of constructed National Championship events qualify for the Continental Championships.
• The winner of a sanctioned, rated, standard constructed tournament of 10 or more players will be qualified for all Continental Championships for the calendar year of the upcoming championship in that tournament's continent.
  • For example, if you win a 10+ player tournament in North America before the 2011 NAC at Origins, then you are qualified for all Continental Championships in 2011. If you win a 10+ player tournament in North America after the 2011 NAC at Origins, then you are qualified for all Continental Championships in 2012. (Note: this is exactly how qualification works for First Chance Qualifiers!)
  • Only the winner will be qualified. If a previously-qualified player wins a tournament, the qualification does not pass down to the 2nd-place player.
  • Event organizers may play in regular tournaments and qualify if they win the tournament. The multi-judge system may be used as per VEKN tournament rules.
  • In addition, the results of the tournament MUST BE SUBMITTED.
  • This new qualification system will start on January 1, 2011. Tournaments prior to this date will not count.

All qualifier tournaments are handled equally regardless of order. Players who qualify in one qualifier are not handled any differently in other qualifiers. They can continue to qualify in each qualifier in which they play.

Championship Format
There are two formats for the championship tournaments. Each Championship will be run in one of these formats.

• Standard Championship Format
  The standard format is a normal 3-round tournament with a final round, following the standard V:EKN rules for constructed deck tournaments (but in which only qualified players are allowed to play, of course).
• Tiered Championship Format
  The tiered format is basically two tournaments. The top forty players from the first tournament continue on to the second. Players may change cards or whole decks before the second tournament. Each tournament is three rounds. The final, if any, of the first tournament has no bearing on the second.

So, the most significant change is that the mini-qualifier tournaments have been dropped, and instead any winner of a 10+ player tournament held in 2011 is now qualified.

Dragon’s Breath: Regional Qualifier

Dragon's Breath: SE Regional Qualifier 
DragonCon 2010
September 5, 2010
Atlanta, Georgia
12 players
3 R + F

Jeffrey Brandon's Tournament Winning Deck with 4 VPs in the Finals

Deck Name : Evil Genius 2.0
Author : Jeffrey Brandon
Description : Based on Ben Peal's deck  (2 GW 6 VP to tie for 2nd
going into the finals)

Crypt [12 vampires] Capacity min: 5 max: 8 average: 6.83333
------------------------------------------------------------
2x Arcadian, The          8  DOM MYT OBT chi for          Kiasyd:5
2x Pherydima              8  DOM MYT NEC obt pot  bishop  Kiasyd:4
2x Omme Enberbenight      7  MYT OBT cel dom      priscus Kiasyd:4
2x Roderick Phillips      7  DOM MYT cel obt tha          Kiasyd:4
2x Isanwayen              6  DOM MYT OBT                  Kiasyd:4
2x Dame Hollerton         5  DOM OBT myt                  Kiasyd:4

Library [90 cards]
------------------------------------------------------------
Action [17]
  5x Govern the Unaligned
  9x Gremlins
  3x Song of Pan

Action Modifier [21]
  9x Bonding
  4x Shadow Play
  4x Shroud of Absence
  4x Stone Travel

Action Modifier/Combat [4]
  4x Fae Contortion

Ally [10]
  10x Nocturn

Event [1]
  1x Scourge of the Enochians

Master [16]
  1x Barrens, The
  4x Blood Doll
  2x Dreams of the Sphinx
  1x Great Symposium
  1x Pentex(TM) Subversion
  6x Sudden Reversal
  1x Wider View

Reaction [17]
  7x Deflection
  2x Delaying Tactics
  6x On the Qui Vive
  2x Wake with Evening's Freshness

Reaction/Action Modifier [4]
  4x Aura Absorption

-----------------

Other finalists and qualified players:

David Cherryholmes (2 GW 6 VP) weenie quietus

David Tatu (2 GW 6 VP) Tzimisce (Lambach, Velya, Meschenka Eternal
Vigilance Abbot Bowl of Convergence)

Mattias Kallenberg (1 GW 5 VP, 1 VP in Finals) Anu Diptinatpa + Arms
Dealers

Simeon Nagel (1 GW 5 VP) Fast Eddie

Outstanding results by a player tied for 5th (lost on the die roll):

Forrest Nielsen (1 GW 5 VP) Choir Harmony Siren's Lure, swept a 4
player table

Evaluating a limited card pool for optimal selection

This short article was originally posted on the White Wolf Forum in response to Atomweaver's Deck Mashup Challenge. This is intended to be a primer on how to review a pair of starter decks to see if you can, and how you should, combine them to make the best deck that you can from them.

In this example, we will consider the Toreador and Brujah starters from Keepers of Tradition.

This is the complete list of cards that we can choose from, after which we'll review each section and type of cards.

    The Two Decks Together:

    Crypt [24 vampires] Capacity min: 2 max: 11 average: 6.58333
    ------------------------------------------------------------
    2x Adana de Sforza       11 CEL OBF POT PRE PRO aus  inner circle Brujah:4
    2x Rafael de Corazon     11 AUS CEL DOM OBF PRE      inner circle Toreador:4
    2x Jann Berger           10 CEL POT PRE dem for      prince       Brujah:4
    2x Epikasta Rigatos      8  AUS DOM PRE cel          prince       Toreador:4
    2x Eugene                8  AUS CEL FOR PRE          primogen     Toreador:4
    2x Kateline Nadasdy      7  AUS CEL PRE                           Toreador:4
    2x Tomaine               6  CEL POT PRE              primogen     Brujah:4
    2x Herbert Westin        5  OBF PRE pot                           Brujah:4
    2x Reginald Moore        4  PRE                      primogen     Brujah:4
    2x Thomas De Lutrius     4  aus cel pre              primogen     Toreador:4
    2x Garret                3  pot pre                               Brujah:4
    2x Sean Andrews          2  cel                                   Toreador:4

    Library [154 cards]
    ------------------------------------------------------------
    Action [21]
      4x Enrage
      1x Entrancement
      2x Entrenching
      5x Harass
      9x Public Trust

    Action Modifier [11]
      4x Approximation of Loyalty
      4x Crocodile's Tongue
      3x Suppressing Fire

    Action Modifier/Combat [5]
      5x Resist Earth's Grasp

    Combat [46]
      6x Brute Force
      2x Concealed Weapon
      3x Immortal Grapple
      6x Psyche!
      6x Pursuit
      3x Relentless Pursuit
      4x Slam
      4x Stutter-Step
      6x Taste of Vitae
      3x Torn Signpost
      3x Weighted Walking Stick

    Equipment [25]
      4x Bang Nakh -- Tiger's Claws
      5x Beretta 9mm
      1x Bowl of Convergence
      2x Bundi
      3x Desert Eagle
      1x Drum of Xipe Totec
      2x IR Goggles
      1x Ivory Bow
      1x Mark V
      1x Phased Motion Detector
      1x Sengir Dagger
      3x Sniper Rifle

    Master [20]
      1x Auspex
      2x Celerity
      2x Contingency Planning
      2x Fame
      1x KRCG News Radio
      2x Major Boon
      1x Nod
      1x Potence
      2x Presence
      1x Rack, The
      1x Tension in the Ranks
      4x Vessel

    Political Action [10]
      2x Finding the Path
      4x Kine Resources Contested
      1x Praxis Seizure: Houston
      1x Praxis Seizure: Washington, D.C.
      2x Year of Fortune

    Reaction [16]
      3x Eagle's Sight
      4x Minor Irritation
      5x On the Qui Vive
      4x Telepathic Misdirection

We will start with the crypt. If you are combining two crypts, you want to be able to ensure that you get the best vampires in your opening crypt in as many games as possible. With the Keepers of Tradition starters, this is eased by having all of the vampires duplicated. If we wanted to be able to do some voting, we would keep duplicate copies of Princes/Justicars and might even consider including an Inner Circle member, if the pool regaining abilities of the starters will support it. Unfortunately, these two starters cannot support 11 capacity vampires, so we will drop all of the vampires that are above 8 capacity. We'll duplicate the 3 vampires that can play bleed bounce (Telepathic Misdirection) to ensure that we have some effective defense against large bleeds sent towards us at stealth. This leaves us room for 6 more minions, and we'll choose the 6 that are best able to help us overload our prey after a bounced bleed (i.e. the cheapest ones with Presence).

These are the 12 vampires we'll use for this deck.

    Crypt:

    Crypt [12 vampires] Capacity min: 3 max: 8 average: 6.08333
    ------------------------------------------------------------
    2x Epikasta Rigatos      8  AUS DOM PRE cel  prince   Toreador:4
    2x Eugene                8  AUS CEL FOR PRE  primogen Toreador:4
    2x Kateline Nadasdy      7  AUS CEL PRE               Toreador:4
    2x Herbert Westin        5  OBF PRE pot               Brujah:4
    1x Tomaine               6  CEL POT PRE      primogen Brujah:4
    1x Reginald Moore        4  PRE              primogen Brujah:4
    1x Thomas De Lutrius     4  aus cel pre      primogen Toreador:4
    1x Garret                3  pot pre                   Brujah:4

Having decided our crypt, our next simplest choice is the master cards selection. In most 5 player games, there are ~8 turns before the first player is ousted and rarely more than 14 turns in the entire game. With that in mind, we will want to keep our master selection to 12-18 cards, as we aren't likely to see the entire deck but we would like to be able to play a master card on every turn. Ones that gain us pool or that recover pool spent on our vampires are our top priority. The second priority is to use our master phase to protect our pool or our minions, so anything that can help with that is next. Cards which are situational or require too much cooperation from the rest of the table will be bypassed. We are not likely to have more than three vampires in play, so the actions we choose later will be critical to ensure that we get the most bang for our buck.

    Master Cards:

    Master [13]
      1x Auspex
      2x Fame
      1x KRCG News Radio
      2x Major Boon
      1x Nod
      1x Rack, The
      1x Tension in the Ranks
      4x Vessel

Normally we would not expect to have enough untap in two starters to be able to defend The Rack, but our opponents don't have to know that this is what we are playing, so careful play can keep them from attempting the steal action to begin with. If our predator does take an action to steal The Rack, we aren't out any pool, and that was an action that could have been an attempt to bleed us or remove our pool with a vote. The Rack will be our Red Herring to distract our opponents from the non-wall nature of our deck whose offense will be strong bleeds. The Major Boons will allow us to pre-emptively take a bleed that will be for 1 so that we have defense against larger bleeds from our predator. Getting a Major Boon on your predator is a very strong defense, particularly as they get to be closer to being ousted themselves. The Auspex master will allow us to upgrade Thomas de Lutria into a bleed bounce defender, so we will keep it. If we had a wider selection of vampires, we'd choose a better minion that already had superior Auspex and play another pool gaining master instead.

Now that we know what our minions will look like and the options we have to regain pool, we will next consider how best to defend our pool. We will take as much untap as we can as well as all of the bleed bounce. As there are some pieces of equipment that will help us a lot when blocking, we can safely splurge here on reaction cards. We'll actually take all of them, from both decks.

    Reaction Cards:

    Reaction [16]
      3x Eagle's Sight
      4x Minor Irritation
      5x On the Qui Vive
      4x Telepathic Misdirection

The Minor Irritations are only useful to us when we start defending against the action while we are untapped and are only useful to us against younger vampires, so we know that we'll need to equip Epikasta or Eugene with a defensive weapon and plan for them to stay untapped when we have Minor Irritations in hand. If we don't have opponents minions that are less than 8 cap coming against us, we'll discard these as soon as we can.

Now that we know a bit of our plan for defense (large minion with superior Auspex untapped at the end of our turn with a weapon), we can consider how we will oust our prey. Suppressing Fire and Resist Earth's Grap are our only options for stealth (but they do mesh well with our plan to have a gun and with the amount of superior Celerity we plan to have in play), and our minions won't reliably be old enough to play the others, so we will keep all of the Suppressing Fire and Resist Earth's Grasp cards.

    Action Modifiers:

    Action Modifier [3]
      3x Suppressing Fire

    Action Modifier/Combat [5]
      5x Resist Earth's Grasp

We have 25 pieces of equipment to choose from to optimize our defensive and offensive combat abilities. As we know we will need to be defensive, we'll keep the Sniper Rifles and Desert Eagles as they are our cheapest options. We'll throw in the Bowl of Convergence and Ivory Bow as they are simply too good to leave out.

    Equipment:

    Equipment [8]
      1x Bowl of Convergence
      3x Desert Eagle
      1x Ivory Bow
      3x Sniper Rifle

As we now know our defense and our ability to force our actions to succeed, the next thing to decide with what other actions we should include. The strongest actions that we can take are those that do 3 points of damage to our prey. We'll include the Kine Resources Contested and the Public Trusts. The Entrancement is also very strong, so we'll include it as well. Harass will be good for us once a copy of Fame is in play, so a few copies of it will go in.

    Actions:

    Action [14]
      1x Entrancement
      4x Harass
      9x Public Trust

    Political Action [4]
      4x Kine Resources Contested

With the amount of stealth available to us, and the amount of blocking we know that we will have to do, the choices for combat are made last, but they are not the least important. Only 3 of our final minions have Potence, so all of those cards will be removed. We'll keep all of the Celerity and disciplineless cards to ensure that our combats are as effective as they can be.

    Combat:

    Combat [27]
      2x Concealed Weapon
      6x Psyche!
      6x Pursuit
      4x Stutter-Step
      6x Taste of Vitae
      3x Weighted Walking Stick

Now we have our finished deck, made only from the contents of two starters.

    Final Deck Mashup:

    Crypt [12 vampires] Capacity min: 3 max: 8 average: 6.08333
    ------------------------------------------------------------
    2x Epikasta Rigatos      8  AUS DOM PRE cel  prince   Toreador:4
    2x Eugene                8  AUS CEL FOR PRE  primogen Toreador:4
    2x Kateline Nadasdy      7  AUS CEL PRE               Toreador:4
    2x Herbert Westin        5  OBF PRE pot               Brujah:4
    1x Tomaine               6  CEL POT PRE      primogen Brujah:4
    1x Reginald Moore        4  PRE              primogen Brujah:4
    1x Thomas De Lutrius     4  aus cel pre      primogen Toreador:4
    1x Garret                3  pot pre                   Brujah:4

    Library [90 cards]
    ------------------------------------------------------------
    Action [14]
      1x Entrancement
      4x Harass
      9x Public Trust

    Action Modifier [3]
      3x Suppressing Fire

    Action Modifier/Combat [5]
      5x Resist Earth's Grasp

    Combat [27]
      2x Concealed Weapon
      6x Psyche!
      6x Pursuit
      4x Stutter-Step
      6x Taste of Vitae
      3x Weighted Walking Stick

    Equipment [8]
      1x Bowl of Convergence
      3x Desert Eagle
      1x Ivory Bow
      3x Sniper Rifle

    Master [13]
      1x Auspex
      2x Fame
      1x KRCG News Radio
      2x Major Boon
      1x Nod
      1x Rack, The
      1x Tension in the Ranks
      4x Vessel

    Political Action [4]
      4x Kine Resources Contested

    Reaction [16]
      3x Eagle's Sight
      4x Minor Irritation
      5x On the Qui Vive
      4x Telepathic Misdirection

What thoughts and feedback do you have on this process?

Battle Lines: Atlanta, Storyline Results

Battle Lines: Atlanta, Storyline Results
Date of event: June 19, 2010
Location of event: Atlanta, Georgia
Number of players: 8
Winning Player: Jeffrey Thompson
Winning Clan: Salubri Antitribu
Winning Faction: Bahari/Lilith
Key Minion: Adonai

We had 8 players and we played 3 rounds without a final.  We ran the event as a multi-deck multi-judge tournament.  In the six games, I believe there were only 2 Loyalists.  Lilith’s Blessing is too strong not to play, and the motivation for an action for an alternate hunt action is lacking that Guide and Mentor was only played by decks that didn't think they would ever have empty vampires.  (Neither of those two decks got victory points, to my recollection.)

This is my memory of the results:
Salubri Antitribu (I am I) 2 GW, 6 VP
Baali (Hordes + Unnamed) 1 GW, 5.5 VP
Nagarja (Anu Diptinatpa + Sennadurek) 1 GW, 4 VP
Daughters of Cacophony (Lilly Prelude)  1 GW, 4 VP
Harbingers of Skulls (Byzar + Slaughterhouse + Brinksmanship) 1.5 VP
Daughters of Cacophony (Scout + Shattering Crescendo) 1 VP
Baali (Nergal + Saulot) 1 VP

Other decks that were played:
All Gargoyles with only some Tupdogs
Another Nagaraja deck with the same crypt
Salubri Antitribu (Laibon + Kerrie?)
Salubri Antitribu (The Loving Agony of Targeted Vitals)
Hermanas Menor Love Lilith and Thrown Sewer Lids
Saulot brings all his buddies to the Marionette show
Huitzilopotchli Soul Gem Super Bleed with extra block fails

This is basically the same deck I played in Charleston last February for a tournament win, with a second Kervos replacing Richard Tauber to be 75% Salubri Antitribu.  No changes were made to the library.

Deck Name : I am I
Author : The Lasombra
Description :  This is a great 4 player deck.  Everyone is close
enough to be touched by the intercept and combat.

1st round, I played the The Loving Agony of Targeted Vitals and couldn't stand up to Nergal my predator and then Arishat and the Hordes as my new predator (Arishat swept) I did convince the Hordes to tap once to make Nergal's bleed for 4, so that the Archon Investigation in my hand would burn him. That deck will be posted later, here:
http://www.TheLasombra.com/decks.htm

2nd round, 3 VP, with grand predator getting 1 (Burned Huitzilopotchli
backwards before he got a Soul Gem)

3rd round, 3 VP, with grand predator getting 1 (Blocked a number of
Hermanas)

Crypt [12 vampires] Capacity min: 3 max: 8 average: 5.5
------------------------------------------------------------
3x Dela Eden              8  AUS FOR VAL cel dom   !Salubri:3
3x Adonai                  7  AUS VAL for           !Salubri:2
1x Remilliard, Devout Crusader  4  AUS pre        !Toreador:2
1x Thomas Steed, The Angry     4  ani aus val      !Salubri:2
1x Isabel de Leon         3  AUS                   Toreador:2
2x Kervos, The Lieutenant      3  aus val         !Salubri:2
1x Zoe                 3  AUS cel obf           Malkavian:2

Library [90 cards]
------------------------------------------------------------
  1x Abbot
  2x Anima Gathering
  4x Sense Death

Combat [25]
  4x Armor of Caine's Fury
  9x Blissful Agony
  7x Eye of Unforgiving Heaven
  5x Soak

Equipment [1]
  1x Bowl of Convergence

Master [14]
  4x Blood Doll
  1x Blooding by the Code
  1x Dark Influences
  1x Fame
  1x Giant's Blood
  2x Guardian Angel
  3x Path of Retribution, The
  1x Rotschreck

Reaction [42]
  3x Eagle's Sight
  3x Enhanced Senses
  4x Eyes of Argus
  6x Forced Awakening
  2x Forced Vigilance
  3x My Enemy's Enemy
  7x On the Qui Vive
  3x Precognition
  3x Telepathic Counter
  8x Telepathic Misdirection

Retainer [1]
  1x Mr. Winthrop