Happy organiser to the left, happy winner to the right.

Report by Tito Teixeira, National Coordinator of Portugal:

On the ninth of March 2024 64 Methuselahs gathered in Lisbon for this year's edition of the Iberian Grand Prix - a few last minute registrations pushed us over the expected limit, but we managed to squeeze another table into the room and find a place for every player. Different decks showed up: many flavours of 'regular' stealth & bleed (Ravnos, Ministry, Malkavian, Lasombra), grinder (Salubri), rush/bleed (Banu Haqim), wall (Gangrel), and also star vampire decks (Enkidu and the Unnamed were seen at a few tables, and the 'Hesha Ruadzhe bleeds for a lot' deck made quite an impression).

All players received t-shirts, playmats, and new art and full bleed promo cards. Noora Hirvonen was also present to sign and sell her prints between rounds. The preliminary rounds were very well balanced - after 2 rounds no player was able to get more than one GW and several tables had timed out, so the field was still very much open for round 3.

Finally, at the end of round 3 four players had managed to get their second GW - the fifth seed qualified for the final with 1 GW and 6.5 VPs.

Standings before final (top 5 players + their GWs and VPs from the first rounds):
1. Edouard Menneson 2 GW, 7.5 VP
2. João Miguel Rodrigues Servolo 2 GW, 8 VP
3. Magnus Söder 2 GW, 5.5 VP
4. Hector Javier Ordonez Garcia 2 GW, 5.5 VP
5. Rodinei Teixeira de Camargo 1 GW, 6.5 VP

The Gangrel made a good showing and managed to get three spots in the final (each using different strategies) - the remaining spots were secured by Magnus Söder with a Capuchin star deck and João Sérvolo with a Ravnos S&B deck.

All the Gangrel players initially agreed on which minions to bring out to avoid contesting with each other. It was soon apparent that João had put himself in a tough spot - he had difficulty getting much past his prey's defenses while Magnus was gearing up for big bleeds and suffering little from his own predator. Hector and Edouard tested each other with claws early on, but quickly recovered and got back to a balanced position. After a few rounds João was running out of pool and defenses and had to lunge for the oust, but Rodinei was able to defend himself and survive with a bit of pool to take his own shot - he made significant damage to his prey and got his VP. Edouard kept chipping away at his prey with small bleeds, but Magnus still had a significant amount of pool and was looking at 2 quick VPs: João ran out of bleed reduction cards and was bled out, but Edouard was keeping a Major Boon in hand for most of the game - he played it on João for 9 pool, giving him enough to survive the onslaught.

João had another shot at his prey and this time he managed to get him (giving Edouard his first VP) - Edouard had also given him a friendly push by contesting one of Rodinei's defenders. Edouard had managed to run his prey out of wakes, but Magnus was still looking strong enough to get his VP and turn it around so he didn't attempt to block any of Edouard's bleeds of 2, until Edouard surprised him with a Monkey Wrench on his final bleed to push him out. João still tried to mount a final offensive, but he was out of cards and unable to do any significant damage before Edouard finally bled him out.

So, 4 VPs to Edouard and 1 VP to Rodinei. Congratulations Edouard!

The tournament winning deck: “PROWall post-EC”

Crypt (12)
1x Massimiliano 7 ANI FOR pro baron Gangrel:6
2x Casey Snyder 6 PRO ani cel for baron Gangrel:6
2x Kuyén 6 ANI PRO baron Gangrel:6
1x Martina Srnankova 6 FOR PRO ani Gangrel:6
1x Kamile Paukstys 5 PRO ani for Gangrel:6
1x Mickey Wheeler 5 ani cel for pro Gangrel:6
1x Hanna Nokelainen 4 ani for pro Gangrel:6
1x Nathan Turner 4 PRO ani Gangrel:6
1x Indira 3 PRO Gangrel:6
1x Ruslan Fedorenko 2 pro Gangrel:6

Library (78 cards)
Master (18; 2 trifle)
1x Anarch Free Press, The
1x Carfax Abbey
2x Club Illusion
2x Direct Intervention
1x Ecoterrorists
2x Gangrel Revel
1x Garibaldi-Meucci Museum
1x Life Boon
1x Powerbase: Los Angeles
1x Powerbase: Montreal
1x Rack, The
1x Smiling Jack, The Anarch
2x Villein
1x Zoo Hunting Ground

Action (9)
1x Constant Revolution
8x Thing

Equipment (1)
1x Ivory Bow

Political Action (2)
1x Domain Challenge
1x Reckless Agitation

Retainer (4)
4x Raven Spy

Action Modifier (1)
1x Monkey Wrench

Action Modifier/Reaction (4)
4x Form of the Bat

Combat (16)
2x Claws of the Dead
6x Donnybrook
3x Earth Meld
4x Hell-for-Leather

Reaction (24)
5x Bait and Switch
6x Deep Ecology
2x Eyes of the Wild
9x Organized Resistance
2x Protection Racket

Black Chantry and Ultra Pro provided valuable support and sponsorship. Many thanks also to VIP Zurique Executive Hotel, Mercadia, and Versus Gamecenter for their hosting and support.

Also, about the Portuguese League tournament:

The following day 29 players came back for seconds: there was a Portuguese League tournament scheduled at Versus Gamecenter, and many GP players showed up for a few more rounds. This was a 2R+final tournament, but non-rated tables were set up for those who wanted another round while the top 5 players played the final - prizes were given out to the winners of these tables, so most participants ended up getting a deck or pack.

Rodinei was again amongst the finalists, along with Samuel Santos and three Austrian players: Martin Weinmayer, Richard Utner (father) and Richard Utner (son, image below). Richard took 4 VPs playing a Capuchin deck (quite similar to the one that made the final the previous day) while Martin got 1 VP with his Nephandi.

Thanks to Tito for this report, and thanks to all players and organisers for this great event. The next Grand Prix is in Paris on April 20!