Finalists: Niki, Pedro, Edd, Alex, Norbert
This tournament was played on August 29. Reported by James Freimuller, VEKN National Coordinator of the UK, with comment from the champion:
This year saw UK Nationals located in the lovely Dice Cup Cafe in Nottingham where 25 methuselahs came to duke it out.
Having hosted the nats for a few years now, it's interesting to see the meta shift over time. In the UK's case that's more combat and more allies.
Another welcome addition was several neonates! We had 3 new players join us from our recent recruitment drives (Thanks to Luke Kay for a solid effort there) and 1 return from a long torpor.
Going into the final, the standings were:
1 Norbert Flasko 2 GW 8 VP
2 Edd Phipps 1 GW 4.5 VP
3 Alex Shoemark 1 GW 4 VP
4 Niki Sehmi 1 GW 4 VP
5 Pedro Valentim 1 GW 4 VP
Here is Alex's report:
"Firstly, many thanks to everyone involved for organising such a great event and to everyone I played against for welcoming me to tournament VTES. I've played other CCGs competitively and this community puts them to shame. Special thanks to Mikey and the Liverpool coven for coaching and support; you've obviously taught me a lot in a few months!
Seating was a huge factor in the final. I figured I'd be happiest anywhere but between Banu rush and War Ghouls, so I positioned myself with Pedro's ghouls as my predator, assuming that Edd and Norbert were unlikely to choose to be prey to the only stealth-bleed deck. I suggested to Norbert that he might want me as prey as I have almost no intercept or votes, which worked out very well as Pedro's ghouls got busy bashing Aaradhya et al., leaving me without much pressure.
I also benefited from a dream start of double Zillah's Valley for a turn 2 The unnamed + Anarch Convert as 1st player.
Turn 3 Heart of the City + unlocking into Platinum Protocol began an onslaught of stealthy bleeds for 4+.
Niki bounced several and saddled me with Haven Uncovered, bringing Edd's wrath to bear upon The Unnamed, but he didn't muster enough stikes to torpor, and was low enough on pool that he shifted his attention to pressuring his prey.
Once Niki ran dry on bounce I was able to oust and finally deploy Enkil Cog. From here, Edd managed to sweep Pedro and Norbert, but I could Unleash Hell's Fury for protection and was well set up to chew through his remaining pool.
That I won despite missing 7 of 9 corruption counters from Platinum Protocol is testament to the power of the deck, and my biggest takeaway was that I should consider my words more carefully as I very nearly threw the game with poorly thought out and horrendously timed table talk early on. Sometimes, pointing out what is likely to happen in your turn just makes you seem like a big threat, best to keep quiet and hope nobody is thinking about you!"
Crypt(12 cards)
4x unnamed, The 10 CEL DAI OBF PRE PRO Baali:6
4x Anarch Convert 1 -none- Caitiff:ANY
1x Nonu Dis 8 OBF PRE PRO for Ministry:6
1x Crystal Lynn 6 OBF PRE PRO Ministry:6
1x Doctor Morocco 5 PRO cel obf pre Ministry:6
1x Jenny Silver 5 PRE PRO obf Ministry:6
Library (90 cards)
Master (22; 2 trifle)
7x Zillah's Valley
4x Dabbler
2x Dreams of the Sphinx
2x Rötschreck
1x Anarch Railroad
1x Archon Investigation
1x Barrens, The
1x Garibaldi-Meucci Museum
1x Giant's Blood
1x Monastery of Shadows
1x Villein
Action (17)
12x Platinum Protocol, The
2x Unleash Hell's Fury
1x Conceal
1x Entrancement
1x Heart of the City
Retainer (2)
2x Homunculus
Equipment (1)
1x Heart of Nizchetus
Action Modifier (27)
8x Revelation of the Serpent
4x Memory Rift
3x I am Legion
3x Instantaneous Transformation
3x Enchanting Gaze
2x CrimethInc.
2x Enkil Cog
1x Lost in Crowds
1x Monkey Wrench
Action Modifier/Reaction (3)
2x Sense the Sin
1x Form of the Bat
Combat (6)
3x Form of Mist
2x Earth Meld
1x Bollix
Ally (1)
1x Veneficti
Event (1)
1x Narrow Minds
Action Modifier/Combat (3)
3x Swallowed by the Night
Reaction (7)
7x Party Out Of Bounds
Huge congratulations to Alex, this was his first tournament having picked up VTES very recently! I'm very happy to see new people enter our community and feel so supported.
Thanks for this report, and thanks to players and sponsors!
This tournament was played in Saint Petersburg on August 1 with 16 players. Reported by Anatoly Chuhvicheff, VEKN Prince of Saint Petersburg:
Standings before the final:
1. Vladislav Ignatenko 2 GW 8.0 VP
2. Armen Khachikyan 1 GW 4.0 VP
3. Vitalii Zvonkov 1 GW 3.5 VP
4. Sergey Simonov 1 GW 3.0 VP 88 TP
5. Anatoly Chuhvicheff 1 GW 3.0 VP 78 TP
Vladislav Ignatenko is the winner by time limit (top seed, all players 0,5 VP).
The tournament winning deck: "Drawing the Line"
Crypt (12 cards)
2x Araceli "Celia" Rivera 3 dom obl Lasombra:6
2x Azucena 5 DOM OBL pot Lasombra:6
1x Aintzane Arriaga 6 DOM OBL POT Lasombra:6
1x Alek König 3 OBL Hecata:6
1x Braden White 4 dom obl pot Lasombra:6
1x El Monseñor 4 OBL dom Lasombra:6
1x Kamaluddin 6 DOM OBL for pot primogen Lasombra:6
1x María del Toro 7 DOM OBL POT prince Lasombra:6
1x Parijat, the Dark Oracle 7 AUS DOM FOR OBL Hecata:6
1x Rinaldo Albizzi 7 DOM OBL POT pre primogen Lasombra:6
Library (90 cards)
Master (13; 2 trifle)
1x Anarch Troublemaker
1x Bleeding the Vine
1x Charisma
1x Coven, The
1x Direct Intervention
2x Dreams of the Sphinx
1x Elysian Fields
1x Giant's Blood
1x Jake Washington
1x Life in the City
1x Line, The
1x Perfectionist
Action (21)
8x Computer Hacking
10x Govern the Unaligned
3x Shroud of Decay
Ally (8)
8x Spectral Servitor
Action Modifier (28)
4x Bonding
2x Conditioning
1x Foreshadowing Destruction
6x Shadow Cast
7x Shadow Cloak
4x Stygian Shroud
4x Where the Veil Thins
Combat (6)
4x Pass Through Shadow
2x Target Vitals
Reaction (12)
6x Deflection
1x Delaying Tactics
1x On the Qui Vive
4x Shadow Sentinel
Event (2)
1x FBI Special Affairs Division
1x Unmasking, The
Thanks for the report, and thanks to all the participants!
This tournament was played on July 18 at Jazzland Wien, Vienna, Austria. Reported by Paul Direktor, co-organizer with Richard Utner:
Organizing the first GP in Vienna and the largest tournament here since the EC 2002 has been a blast. Having 74 players from over 16 countries here made it almost feel like a precursor to the EC. The event started already on the Thursday before, when the first Methusaleh gathered for some casual games and ended one week later, after the last guests left and went back home.
The meta was predictably unpredictable, although the usual meta decks were as prevalent as suspected. Congratulations again to Heimo, for winning his first tournament and keeping the title in Austria! After 3 games, his Arradhya deck turned out to be top seed with an impressive 3 GW 12. The other finalists included Giotto & Friends, Malkav '22 S&B, Animalism Barons and a Hecata Ally Swarm deck.
Score before the final:
1) Heimo Wurzer 3 GW, 12 VP
2) Vincent Ripoll 2 GW, 9 VP
3) Attila Tormasi 2 GW, 8 VP
4) Petter Zittnan 2 GW, 8 VP
5) Gyula Erdös 2 GW, 7.5 VP
Final Result: All players 0.5 VP, Heimo winner because he was to top seed.
Tournament winning deck: "Ladies of Power"
Comments by the winner: This is my take on Aaradhya and the Path of Power path, specifically for big tournaments or tournaments where you can expect more bleed and little combat decks. I tried to slim the deck down, make it more consistent, less explosive, so as not to put a target on my back in every game.
Crypt (12 cards)
4x Aaradhya, The Callous Tyrant 10 ANI DOM FOR POT PRE cardinal Ventrue:6 -- Only running 4 Aaradhya, to have an easier time to get out 3 vampires, which is always the goal.
2x Dark Selina 9 CEL POT PRE dom for cardinal Brujah antitribu:5
2x Üresség 8 CEL POT PRE dom for archbishop Brujah:6 -- 2 Üresség over Rexton since his ability is almost always active in the last legs of the game, and the +bleed is really noticeable.
2x Věnceslava, The Implacable 9 DOM FOR POT PRE cel archbishop Brujah:6
1x Khin Aye 7 POT PRE dom for priscus Ventrue:6
1x Rexton "Savage" Abernathy 8 DOM POT PRE cel archbishop Brujah:6
Library (84 cards) -- Master package is pretty standard, not running Privileged Position’ or Black Forest Base’ to slim the deck down a bit
Master (18; 5 trifle)
1x Creepshow Casino
2x Dreams of the Sphinx -- can bring out Aaradhya 1 turn early, otherwise hand size is always good
1x Día de los Muertos -- for when you aren’t getting the vote push you need
1x Elder Library
1x Giant's Blood
1x Gurchon Hall -- against advise, this card just feels right for this deck
2x Information Highway
1x Monastery of Shadows
1x Papillon
1x Secure Haven
1x Ventrue Headquarters
5x Villein
Action (7)
7x Govern the Unaligned -- we have dominate, so it is almost a must
Political Action (13)
1x Anarchist Uprising -- against all the baby factories and zombie decks
1x Ancilla Empowerment -- against all the baby factories and zombie decks
2x Banishment -- great for protection
6x Cold War -- your bread and butter
1x Empires Fall -- can often work as a better Kine
1x Political Stranglehold -- you will get 6 or 9 pool with this, and sometimes can even help your crosstable friends
1x War of Ages -- it is easy to get the votes for it, since people still underestimate the dmg
Equipment (1)
1x Heart of Nizchetus -- if you get it early its great, but thinking about actually dropping it
Action Modifier (31)
4x Dominant Personality
2x Enkil Cog -- Paul told me to put 2, and I listened
4x Freak Drive -- gives you amazing lunge potential
4x Iron Glare -- Essentially running 4 of all the good cards we want, and only using versatile vote push so we don’t waste any card slots and always have something useful to play.
4x Perfect Paragon
4x Relentlessness -- This gives you a good combo of block fails and - intercept
4x Unthinkable Humiliation
5x Voter Captivation
Combat (4)
4x Majesty -- less against combat, and more to be able to unlock so we can bounce
Reaction (10)
6x Deflection -- to make sure to survive against heavy bleeders early
2x On the Qui Vive -- 2 is enough, as Aaradhya can often stay up with Enkil Cog
2x Redirection -- in case the blood runs low
Photos by Marko Saari (floor) and Andreas Kucera (winner).
Special thanks goes to fellow player and lawyer Arthur Machac for sponsoring parts of the event!
Thanks for this report, and thanks to all organisers, sponsor and players!
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