Tournament Report: ECQ Budapest

Hi folks!

We held our ECQ last Saturday in Budapest. Altogether 55 players attended the tournament, approximately 11 came from Slovakia. It was really nice to see so many players again. Since I already qualified at the ECQ in Burton-on-Trent I've decided to play a fun deck and just try to have fun. I've played my Synesios + Malkavian vote deck.

1st table:

Weenie Dem -> Me -> Carna + Nephandus -> Masika -> Nana Buruku

This could have been the perfect table! Carna isn't really good at preventing 2 aggravated damage before range. No votes on the table! My only problem was that the weenie dementation deck had a very good start. As he told me later, he played with 3 touch of clarity, two of them he drew from his first 20 cards, so he could cancel both of my 2 deflections I tried to play. 0vp

2nd table:

Setite vote -> Nosferatu princes -> Me -> Lazverenus -> Ravnos wall

Terrible! The first master card my prey played was a demonstration. Together with Lazverenus and Sheldon + Vermeulen from my predators side this was close to game over for me. Before the tournament I tried to get some Malkavian Rider Clause, but I couldn't find a single one. With the Rider clause I could have had a reasonable chance to win, but without them I couldn't call a single successful referendum. It took me a lot of agitation and table talk to score 1 Vp.

3rd table:

Tzimicse Wall -> Toreador AAA -> Lutz -> Saulot -> Me

Saulot didn't show up. Peter was playing 5 copies of Saulot, but the old man decided to skip the 3rd round. Lutz had a very good start and he could inflict enough damage on Peter, to make sure that he will not have enough pool to find Saulot and influence him out later on. Alexandra got blocked, Rotschrecked and ended up finding the Golconda. Lutz + Dmitra = vote lock. Another time I missed the Rider Clause. The table soon started to play against Lutz. Normally you would think that in v:tes 3 vs. 1 is an easy task, but not this time. Lutz humiliated the three of us.

I didn't stay to watch the final, but I've heard that Adam Horvath won it with his Nana Buruku deck. Congrats!

If I will play this Synesios deck ever again, I will make sure that I get at least 3-5 copies of Malkavian Rider Clause in it...

by: Mephistopheles

Open Dossier: Gergő "Flekk" Gyarmati

Hi folks!

Here is the second interview given on HUN FRAGMENT. Gergő Gyarmati is well known for his creativity and his unique approach to build decks and playing v:tes. He recently won the storyline event with his wonderful Karsh deck. He is a player you better be aware off!

How did you get to know v:tes?

When I was in high school, we played several types of TCGs, and also we used to roleplay a lot that time.
VtM was always one of my favourite RPGs, so when I saw VtES for the first time, it was evident to try it. Back then, I never realized it was such a good and complex game.

What was your first own deck?

I had preconstructed decks, with some additional boosts. One was a Goivanni precon, the other was Follower of set, which contained extra cards like Synesios, and some other crap that made not too much sense at all. :D
The first deck I constructed on my own, was a low-cap/weenie vote deck, with praxis seizures and KRCs.

What is your favourite memory?

The Storyline events are always memorable, but my favorite is the Reverend Adams Storyline, where I won the finals with one of the weirdest card in VtES: The Diamond Thunderbolt. :D It was quite a show!

What is your favourite clan (why)?

My all time favorite is Pander, I always liked playing weenie, Pander voter was pretty powerful in "the old days". Unfortunately they are less playable nowadays, but I still like them. The other reason, is that in VtM I played a lot with catiff/pander. But aside from them, I like the bloodlines very much.

What is your favourite deck type (why)?

I like block+combat decks, you can control the table around you with a good wall, and they are hard to oust. But I always add some trick cards, since my experience is, that lots of players can think only in patterns, they aren't prepared for some less playable or unexpected cards, which can give you more edge during a game.

How would you describe your playstyle?

I'm pretty much an all-around player, but recently I don't to too mush table-talk, even though I used to be a harsh agitator. :D
Thats the reason, I don't really play vote decks.

Do you have an all time favourite a) vampire, b) library card, c) deck (describe)?


a) Saulot
b) Baltimore Purge
c) Cybeletron, Black Hand aus wall

How do you like the recent expansions?

They're Ok, but WW should slow down with them. You never have enough time to play all your ideas from an expansion. :D

What would you like to see in further expansions?

More bloodlines, and no reprints :D Actually WW could make reprint sets, and not insert any reprints in the new expansions.

What do you think about the future of v:tes?

VtES needs more new players! Even though it is mostly for adults, there should be a new generation as well. Thats the thing
VtES community/WW should learn from other TCGs.


Thank you Flekk for the interview!

by: Mephistopheles

Poll Result: What is your favourite deck type?

Hi folks!

It's been a long time since my last post. After the ECQ in Burton-on-Trent our flight got cancelled due to the ash cloud. I had a pretty long trip back home including three different trains, which got delayed due to the flood in Poland. I will write a brief tournament report later.

For now, let's see the poll result. Altogether 113 votes have been cast:

Ally	8 (7%)
Bleed	13 (11%)
Rush	7 (6%)
Toolbox	36 (31%)
Vote	25 (22%)
Wall	24 (21%)

As you can see ally and rush based decks are the least popular. Oddly enough I see much more rush decks played than this poll would "allow". Not to surprisingly the most popular deck type is the toolbox. It is also my favourite one, because of the many options in it. Wall and Vote decks are popular, too. I guess the reason may be, that those decks can be very stable. Bleed decks are less popular, maybe because they are just boring to play?

by: Mephistopheles

On the road to: Burton upon Trent (2nd part)

Hi folks!

I have just finished packing and will soon leave my sweet home. I am going to Budapest today to watch the EL final with friends and hopefully see Zoltan Gera leading Fullham to victory! My flight will leave tomorrow night and I will stay in England until next Monday. I've packed my tournament deck and two other decks for casual games. Would be cool to play some rounds in a local pub. This is going to be my first visit to the U.K., so I am very excited.

Let's hope I will have access to the internet, so I can update my blog after the ECQ. Wish me luck guys!

by: Mephistopheles

Pentex, Pentex, Pentex

Hi folks!

There is only 1 single card in v:tes which I love and hate at the same time: Pentex Subversion. I use to say as a joke that I always have a Pentex with me, even if I am not going to play v:tes. I haven't built a deck without it since like 4 years. I made many gw's and ton's of vp's with it. I still hate that stupid card! In the last 2 finals I played, altogether 9 Pentex Subversions have been played. Three of them on my vampires, and only 2 were played by me. Flekk wrote in his blog (it's not linked here because it is written in hungarian only), that during the 4 rounds of the storyline event more than 10 Pentex Subversions where tried to be put on his star vampire Karsh!

Whenever I try to build a deck I find myself agonizing on how I can possibly survive a Pentex. Of course you can play with Sudden Reversal and Wash, but you don't always want to put 3-4 cards in a deck, just to have a chance of surviving this one card. Sometimes I just say "who cares" and build a star vampire deck (like the Hardestadt eats the world deck), but I always get Pentexed with them. Sometimes I am lucky and can find a way to get rid of it, but mostly it's just game over.



So I would like to suggest that Pentex Subversion should get the following errata: "Put this card on a vampire with capacity less than 9". Of course it will never get it. The problem is, that it is not a question if you will get pentexed if you play a big cap (star vampire) deck. You always will get pentexed. The questions are: 1. How often? 2. Are you lucky enough to somehow defend against it?

Since it is such a powerful card I will keep on playing with it until it will finally get banned or gets an errata on it.

Keep pentexing!

by: Mephistopheles

Tournament Report: Storyline Budapest

Hi folks!

We held our first storyline event this weekend in Budapest. Unfortunately I couldn't join the event, because of personal reasons. Fourteen players started the event and after 1 late arrival they were 15 players for three nice tables. From what I heard, there was no tupdog deck, however some Gargoyles showed up.

The event was won by Gergő Gyarmati and his Karsh deck:

Deck Name: The imperator says: Enough!

Created By: Flekk

Description: The lines are drawn, the war has begun. Although Karsh made a pact with the demonic forces in the past, even him, the Imperator, the warlord of Camarilla has enough. Gathering the Kijev crew to join his army, they're up to banish Lilith's followers from Middle-Europe. There is no place for Bahari scum in Budapest...

Crypt: (12 cards, Min: 13, Max: 40, Avg: 6,25)
----------------------------------------------
1 Bill Butler pot pro 3 Gangrel Antitribu
1 Danylo for pro san 4 Blood Brother
2 Fergus Alexander pot pro 3 Gangrel
1 Gavrylo pot pro san 4 Blood Brother
4 Karsh ANI CEL FOR POT PRO10 Gangrel
1 Karsh (ADV) ANI CEL FOR POT PRO10 Gangrel
2 Volo POT pro san 4 Blood Brother

Library: (90 cards)
-------------------
Master (12 cards)
1 Archon Investigation
6 Ashur Tablets
2 Fame
1 Giant`s Blood
1 Monster
1 Pentex Subversion

Action (8 cards)
2 Bum`s Rush
4 Epiphany
2 Preternatural Strength

Action Modifier (9 cards)
1 Enkil Cog
4 Forced March
4 Freak Drive

Reaction (18 cards)
6 Cats` Guidance
6 On the Qui Vive
6 Sense the Savage Way

Combat (40 cards)
6 Amaranth
4 Bone Spur
4 Claws of the Dead
6 Drawing Out the Beast
4 Flesh of Marble
8 Immortal Grapple
4 Rolling with the Punches
4 Superior Mettle

Equipment (2 cards)
1 Camera Phone
1 Heart of Nizchetus

Event (1 cards)
1 Scourge of the Enochians

Congratulations to Flekk!

by: Mephistopheles

Killer Combo: Daring the Dawn + Force of Personality

Hi folks!

No matter how hard I try, I just can't deny the fact, that my first CCG was Magic: the Gathering. Back in those days when I played m:tg only, I was a big fan of using all kind of (mostly weird) combos. If there is anything that I miss from time to time when I play v:tes, than it's the incomparable feeling of a card combination working out. Inspired by these slowly fading memories (I stopped playing m:tg six years ago an sold my collection) I've decided to find some combos in v:tes that remind me of these old days.

While in m:tg you could build entire decks around a combo formed by some cards, v:tes is a bit different. I wouldn't call Govern + stealth + Conditioning a "combo", just to get that fixed before I continue this article. While in m:tg a combo formed the core of a deck and the remaining cards where used to support this combo, I think in v:tes it's mostly vice versa: you add some weird ideas to give your otherwise dull deck some flavour or to be able to deal with situations such a deck couldn't normally deal with.

The first Killer Combo I want to introduce is Daring the Dawn + Force of Personality. With many allies likely to show up (Ponticulus, Tye Cooper, Carlton, Ossian, etc.) in modern v:tes, Daring the Dawn isn't enough any more to support a power bleed or tap 'n bleed strategy. If these two cards are used on the same action it will be almost unblockable. I guess the only ally you really can expect at a tournament that could cause you some headache is the good ol' Shambling Horde. Well, you can't have it all.














Let's take a look at some decks that might profit from this Killer Combo:

Nergal Super Bleed

If I only had 4 basic Nergals! Get a Concordance on the guy and bleed for a minimum of 8 with this combo, of course supported by cards like Blind Spot, Hide the Mind, Perfect Clarity and I am Legion. Someday I will build this deck...

Edward Vignes

It's a classic deck by now. Piloted to many finals and wins by excellent players like Ruben Feldman and Orian Gissler, who included this combo to their deck. Check the link for an example!

Daughters of Cacaphony

Not only bleed decks can use this combo. It may work wonders in a vote deck, too. Since the appearance of Lily Prelude I think it is only a matter of time until a DoC deck will show up in the TWDA again.

That's it for today guys. As always, feel free to comment!

by: Mephistopheles

Thoughts on: Combat Decks (2nd part)

Hi folks!

Here is the second part of my thoughts on combat decks. In the first part I was talking about the importance of having something beside the combat part of your deck. In this part I will focus on a different aspect of combat decks. I always thought that just hitting vampires into torpor isn't really a winning strategy, therefore I was always looking for ways to get rid of vampires for sure.

It's pretty basic mathematics: let's say you can torporize 2 vampires a round and let's also suppose that you may afford to attack your prey only. Your actual prey has in play: 4 weenie or midcap/weenie vampires, 1 Hunting Ground and 1-2 Vessels or Blood Dolls on some of them. You send 2 vampires from these into torpor with 0 blood, then it's your preys turn: he or she will rescue those 2 with the remaining two, then hunt with both of them. In your turn you torporize the other 2, because they have more blood on them. They end up with 0 blood on them (in torpor). It's your prey's turn again: He gains 1 blood from the Hunting Ground and 1 blood from his pool via one of the Vessels/Blood Dolls, then comes the rescue + hunt. In this set-up he or she will loose only 1 pool/turn, while you have to consistently be able to rush him or her twice a round; if your prey plays with combat cards like maneuver or dodge you also have to have the cards to torporize his or her vampires again. Where is this going? Nowhere, believe me. This is a very realistic situation, even more: it is optimistic from your point of view. Many decks play with cards that help them in such a situation or just outrun your rush abilities with 5-7 vamps in play. I can remember a similar situation when I played a "heads-up" for the game win against a rush deck. I played a toreador antitribu tap 'n bleed deck and had six vamps in play. I didn't had a hunting ground, but I could go for Enchant Kindreds or Art Scams to ensure the pool needed to use the blood dolls and rescue my vampires. In the end I've won that game.

So what can we do with combat decks to avoid such situations (and I still wasn't talking about cross table rescuing, one of the most annoying things that can happen to a combat deck)? Pretty easy: if there is nothing to rescue, you'll be fine! Let's take a look at cards that can handle this problem!

Amaranth

This one is maybe my favourite. It's plane and simple: by diablerizing your victim in combat you won't loose any action, nor will you see that vampire again. Of course you can't use this card in any kind of deck, but its worth planning on it. There are several vampires who have a special to avoid being burned by a Blood Hunt (Theo Bell advanced, Ariadne, Tariq, Muaziz, etc.), and there are ways to build a combat deck around the idea of having the vote lock.

Anathema

Another card I love to play. Not only does it burn your victim, it also gives you pool, which is always a great thing. Anathema may be the best choice for a Potence Princes, Nosferatu, or Brujah deck, but also be a good choice for a Toreador gun deck. My experience tells me that you mustn't be greedy with this card. It's better to burn a 4-5 cap vampire for sure than to call it on a biggy and taking the risk of giving 9-10 pool to somebody else.

Graverobbing

Though I don't like this card, it has to be mentioned here. If you manage to steal someone's key vampire with it, it's like a blessing. Especially tupdog decks will want to play this card, as well as pot-dom decks will want to add some copies of them to their deck. It's only theory, because I have to admit, that I never play with Graverobbing, but if I would play with it I'd definitely play with Golconda, too. Seems funny to steal a star vampire and turn it into pool for more tupdogs.

Allies that burn vampires in torpor

Depending on what kind of deck you play, you may find it the easiest solution to play allies that will make the job for you. Such allies are Nephandus, Gregory Winter, Amam the Devourer or Tye Cooper. It's not really a reliable choice, since you won't add too many copies of them to your deck (the exception may be Nephandus), but it's still an option.

Tension in the Ranks + Fame

Ok, this one is obvious. Anybody building a rush deck without Fame should switch to Pokemon. The exception of course being decks that burn vampires in combat. Tension in the Ranks is less used, at least in my meta-game, but is still a must in any combat deck that isn't afraid of going into topor too from time to time.

Torpid Blood

This card may really be of big help. If you have stealth available on your rushes, than it's definitely a good choice, since you can torporize the bigger vamps, making it (too) hard for your prey to rescue them. It forms a little "combo" with Narrow Minds when used in a bruise and bleed deck. Your prey won't have blood for both: rescue and bounce.

I won't try to list every single card that can support your combat deck. Try to be creative and be aware of the fact, that it's worth getting rid of vampires, so you won't have to spend recources on them again. Many other cards (Form of Corruption, Raw Recruit, sufficient aggravated damage ...) can be of help, depending on your deck. Find what best fits your deck!

I am still not done with combat decks, so expect another one of my useless and long articles...

by: Mephistopheles

Challenge: Shattering Crescendo

Hi folks!

This month challenge will be to build a deck using Shattering Crescendo. The rules and terms are the same as the last time. I hope I will see many nice decks, so I will have a hard time choosing the winner! Enjoy building and playing the deck.

Don't forget to e-mail me the deck list: major.martin.tibor@gmail.com

by: Mephistopheles

Challenge Winner: April

Hi folks!

For those of you who can't remember: I've asked you guys to build a deck around Elimelech the Twice-Damned. Click here for to read the original post. Since nobody has won a final or reported that he or she reached the final with it, I have chosen the winner from the decks sent to me by e-mail.

So the winner of the first Challenge on HUN FRAGMENT is Michael Bartsch with his Elimelech Black Hand Wall deck. I really like the multi-action part in it, as well as the usage of Obedience, one of my favourite cards in v:tes. Congratulations Michael! The challenge for May will be posted tomorrow.

Deck Name: Elimelech Black Hand Wall
Created By: Michael Bartsch

Crypt: (12 cards, Min: 22, Max: 44, Avg: 8,08)

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

1 Appius Claudius Corvus cel nec DOM OBT POT10 Lasombra
1 Ash Harrison cel dom AUS THA7 Tremere Antitribu
1 Carmen aus dom THA 5 Tremere Antitribu
4 Elimelech the Twice-Damned pro AUS DEM DOM FOR OBF11 Ventrue Antitribu
1 Ermenegildo pot DOM OBT 5 Lasombra
1 Kestrelle Hayes dom for obt AUS6 Ventrue Antitribu
1 Saul Meira CHI DOM OBT POT8 Lasombra
2 Sennadurek dom AUS NEC 6 Nagaraja

Library: (90 cards)

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

Master (19 cards)

4 Blood Doll
1 Channel 10
1 Church of the Order of St. Blaise
1 Demonstration
1 Direct Intervention
2 Drop Point Network
1 Ebony Fox Hunt
1 Hungry Coyote, The
1 Powerbase: Chicago
1 Powerbase: Montreal
1 Rack, The
1 Sudden Reversal
1 Wash
1 Watchtower: Four Ride Forth
1 Weeping Stone

Action (22 cards)

2 Anonymous Freight
6 Govern the Unaligned
6 Reunion Kamut
6 Scouting Mission
2 Tattoo Signal

Action Modifier (10 cards)

10 Freak Drive

Reaction (27 cards)

6 Deflection
2 Eagle`s Sight
3 Forced Awakening
6 Ministry
6 Obedience
2 Precognition
2 Truth in Ink

Ally (1 cards)

1 Mylan Horseed (Goblin)

Equipment (11 cards)

1 Bowl of Convergence
1 Heart of Nizchetus
2 Helicopter
1 Inveraray, Scotland
1 Ivory Bow
1 Phased Motion Detector
1 Seal of Veddartha
1 Sengir Dagger
2 Sniper Rifle

by: Mephistopheles