JANN BERGER'S "Q"IS FOR QUICKNESS

This is my own report of JANN BERGER'S "Q"IS FOR QUICKNESS.

Tournament reports from 5/24/14

Tournament 1
I had four decks I wanted to choose from for the weekend. As I pulled out my Hektor deck I thought to myself, “is it true that people play more combat in the first tournament of the weekend?” I equivocated for a few minutes before changing my mind and deciding to play Giovanni powerbleed. Unfortunately for me, seating had just been announced and I still had to change a couple proxies for real cards in the deck. I thought it unfair to hold up the tournament and, worse yet, choose my deck after I knew my specific opponents. I don’t know if it is against the rules, but it seems wrong. I stayed with Hektor, which proved to be a mistake.

Round 1
Mike Courtois (blood brothers rush)> Aaron (Group 1 Brujah)> Matt Wedge (Keystone Kine Assamites)> Me (Hektor)> Dominic (Gerald Windham and co)

The game starts out with Aaron and Mike fighting. Bianca holds up well to begin with with +1 strength and additional strikes. Matt starts grafting Necromancy onto Assamites and equips one with a Mark 4 (uh oh). I draw into combat that I think will allow me survive and diablerize Matt’s guy with a Mark 4, but am blocked and the chump gets to long range twice. With the only other votes at the table being Gerald and some primogen or something I take the edge with Hektor (“hey, block this!”) and then rush backwards. Hektor takes a Mark 4 to the face, but then gets in close and amaranths, stealing the gun and refilling. My predator crippled, it is time to deal with my prey some.

Gerald has bled Mike a couple times at one stealth with Gerald. Fanchion comes up, with makes me think, “She has to die now.” My rushes are directed at her and she survives at first. Hektor gets down to zero blood and has to hunt. I forced-march and rush again. Fanchion even gets me to press out of combat and psyche for another one, then I diablerize. I acquire a Heart of Cheating and a Kevlar Vest to go with my gun.

Dominic decides it is time to re-group and plays Villein + Golconda on Gerald. His pool was low after I suddened his earlier Villlein and made him pay 20 pool for minions. My prey out of range for a while, I turn my attention back to not losing pool (aka killing my predator). I rush and Amarath an Embrace, leaving Matt with only a bleedless ally and maybe one Assamite. His Alamut scared me for a minute, but it can’t hurt me without vampires to vote. I want Aaron to finish Matt so that I can start killing him next. The path of the salmon is difficult, some might say crazy, but Hektor doesn’t care. He is hangry.

Mike, fearing that I was getting too strong cross-table decided that I should die. The blood brothers play their “everone can rush now” card and Hektor goes down. Aaron eats him, ruining my game. Dominic and I talked about going for a time out after he cashes in Gerald. That becomes my goal once Hektor dies. I take my 0.5 vps and Aaron gets 1.5. Huzzah!

Round 2:

Chris Shorb (Brujah New Carthage)> Me> Mike Summers (Cesewayo)> John (Harbingers bleed)> Mike C.

This table had too many votes for me to have an easy time diablerizing. John gets out four votes between his priscus and bishop. Cesewayo has two, then an additional vote once he merges. The blood brothers get a bishop. The Brujah get princes. John and I form an early alliance. I tell him that I want to give him at least one vp this table and that everyone else needs to die. He seems to like this idea.

Before I can focus my attention forward I have to eliminate the threat of the voter behind me, especially Parity Shifts. I cannot afford to lose that kind of pool. I rush backwards, but have a hard time getting enough votes to diablerize. I eventually torpor Cesewayo and then finish off Rake like Volker before him. Cesewayo gets Well-Marked, No Secrets (which John declines to block for some reason), a Kevlar Vest and Blood Shield. In addition to that he gets Heroic Might and another blocker. It sucks. I eventually draw into two Torn Signposts, but I have to take time and push blood onto Hektor to get the combat muscle to face Cesewayo. In the mean time I have been taking small bleeds from the Brujah. Kai Simmons, highly sought after among the Sabbat at my table, is sacrificed for the greater good of removing Cesewayo’s blocking pal. It was funny listening to the various players talk about wanting Kai, but no one would let the others take him.

On the ropes himself, Chris calls a KRC and threatens to self-oust if doesn’t pass. John, who is the swing vote in this situation, decides that he has to give in to Chris’s demand for a VP in order to win the table and pases the vote. I am ousted and Mike C is nearly ousted. John takes the rest of the table with his Jar the Soul + Pulse + Trochomancy bleeds.

Finals
I didn’t watch the finals very much. John won.

Congrats John, I look forward to seeing your deck!

Here's my tournament-losing deck, which I am retiring:

Deck Name: Hektor Multirush
Author: Brandon Haas
Description: Bring out Hektor and at least one weenie before rushing. Rush voters, they block your path to victory. Rush your predator, he has the means for your defeat. Play on others' greed for VPs. Make your prey pay for minions, then eat them. Make the table collapse so that you have enough turns to win. Get at least two VPs and more than anyone else. God speed!


Crypt (12 cards; Capacity min=1 max=9 avg=5.17)
===============================================
1x Anarch Convert 1 Caitiff:ANY
5x Hektor 9 for CEL POT PRE QUI !Brujah:4
1x Jesús Alcalá 2 cel !Gangrel:3
1x Kai Simmons 1 cel Pander:4
1x Leo Washington 2 cel pro !Gangrel:4
1x Mariano Pomposo 4 aus cel pot !Brujah:3
1x Patrick 4 pre POT !Brujah:4
1x Smash 3 pot pre !Brujah:4

Library (90 cards)
==================
Master (14)
1x Black Forest Base
2x Blood Doll
1x Dark Influences
1x Dreams of the Sphinx
2x Fortitude
1x Giant's Blood
2x Monster
1x Pentex(TM) Subversion
1x Powerbase: Madrid
2x Sudden Reversal

Event (1)
1x Urban Jungle

Action (14)
2x Big Game
5x Bum's Rush
1x Eternal Vigilance
1x Fleetness
1x Harass
4x Rumble

Political Action (4)
1x Ancient Influence
3x Dogs of War

Equipment (3)
1x Gran Madre di Dio, Italy
1x Heart of Nizchetus
1x Kevlar Vest

Ally (2)
2x Mylan Horseed (Goblin)

Action Modifier (18)
8x Forced March
6x Freak Drive
4x Perfect Paragon

Combat (28)
5x Amaranth
4x Hidden Strength
8x Psyche!
6x Pursuit
1x Shattering Blow
4x Torn Signpost

Combo (6)
6x Resist Earth's Grasp

Created with Secret Library v0.9.4b. (May 28, 2014 06:49:03)

It timed out and John won because he was top seed. I felt robbed because there was no way I was going to lose that final.

As long as your "no way" accounts for you being low on pool and me having a Daring the Dawn in hand, then yeah, there was "no way."

Seriously, you had the advantage for sure. I wish we had played it out after time was called so I could see what would have happened.

Awesome report, Brandon. I'll add my finals report this weekend. Everyone has access to my deck list via the facebook group.

Jann Berger's "Q" is for Quickness
May 24, 2014
Los Angeles, CA
15 Players

vekn.net/event-calendar/event/7629

John McGlynn's tournament winning deck with 1.5 VPs in the final:

www.secretlibrary.info/index.php?deck=view&id=15993

Deck Name: Steve Coombs Memorial
Author: John McGlynn
Description:
Egothha has always been one of my favorite vampires. When I learned that the model for his portrait passed away, I built this deck in his honor.

How to play: Villein, Perfectionist, and Restoration to keep your pool total high. Tap and bleed when the time is right! Jar the Soul, Telepathic Misdirection, and plain old "get blocked, S:CE, Freak Drive" all provide plenty of opportunities to lunge.

The incidental titles help get the support of political decks on the table. The 9-caps have each have +1 bleed which is good but not required. Note that Under my Skin is playable by most of the vampires in the crypt, and is quite a surprise!

Crypt (12 cards; Capacity min=6 max=9 avg=7.5)
==============================================
2x Agaitas, The Scholar of Antiquities 6 for AUS NEC Harbinger of Skulls:2
2x Baron, The 9 dom FOR NEC OBF THN Samedi:2
4x Egothha 7 obf AUS FOR NEC Harbinger of Skulls:2
2x Gisela Harden, The Winnower 7 aus dem FOR NEC Harbinger of Skulls:2
2x Unre, Keeper of Golgotha 9 dom ser thn AUS FOR NEC Harbinger of Skulls:2

Library (80 cards)
==================
Master (20)
3x Dreams of the Sphinx
1x Giant's Blood
3x Information Highway
1x Lazarene Inquisitor
3x Perfectionist
1x Slaughterhouse, The
8x Villein

Action (16)
6x Jar the Soul
2x Pulse of the Canaille
6x Restoration
2x Revelations

Equipment (2)
1x Camera Phone
1x Erebus Mask

Action Modifier (26)
6x Call of the Hungry Dead
2x Daring the Dawn
12x Freak Drive
3x Trochomancy
3x Under My Skin

Reaction (8)
1x On the Qui Vive
5x Telepathic Misdirection
2x Wake with Evening's Freshness

Combat (8)
8x Spiritual Intervention

Created with Secret Library v0.9.4b. (May 31, 2014 20:41:17)

prestonp wrote:

It timed out and John won because he was top seed. I felt robbed because there was no way I was going to lose that final.

But you *did* lose it.

There's really no reason to feel that you were robbed when you didn't get a single victory point. You can feel dumb, or you can feel incompetent, or you can feel like you made a mistake(s) that caused you not to achieve a single victory point. But it's dishonest to feel like you were robbed when your problem was that you spent two hours not achieving the one task that could lead you to victory. It's dishonest because you're refusing to acknowledge that you had a problem and if you don't do that, you'll never learn and get better.