Finalists: Andy, Brad, Darby, Dean and Mark.

This event took place on December 8, reported by Kelly Lyons, VEKN Prince of Vidor, with deck comment by the winner:

The Gulf Coast Roast II came to an ending in Vidor, Texas. The Last Grand Prix was played and all that was left was for the top 5 players to duke it out and see who would be crowned champion. There were 4 returning players to the Final Table; last year’s winner Andy Smith, Mr. Hard Money Brad Cashdollar, the Prince of Biloxi Dean Garrison, and the #1 ranked U.S. player Darby Keeney. The newcomer to the table was Mark Figuerola. The final was untimed and this lead to a 3 hour match of perseverance and fortitude.

Andy was the first one out and Mark had the first VP.  A trend of started were ouster became the ousted. Mark soon followed Andy and Brad cashed in for his lone VP of the match before he was also removed by his predator, Dean.  Dean hung in there for a good period of time but was dominated by Darby’s minions that continued to keep growing. Meanwhile, Dean ran out of cards and moves. The dust had settled in Texas and Darby Keeney stood tall as this year’s champion. Congratulations to Darby Keeney and the rest of the finalist.

Final result:
Darby Keeney 2VP
Dean Garrison 1VP
Brad Cashdollar 1VP
Mark Figuerola 1VP

The tournament winning deck: “Hold My Beer Revision 4” by Darby Keeney

This crypt migrated from all Nosferatu (4 duplicated primogen) to superior Animalism with useful vampire specials. With that change, Protected District appears in smaller numbers, supplemented by Confusion of the Eye (unused this weekend). Baixnho vs Bereguela is give-and-take, the deck really wants some rando 4-cap [ANI] vamp.

The library is atypical - a combat deck of less than 90 cards with 7 Villeins. I've decked myself only once, so this feels "correct" in pratical use. I've gone 1.5/1 Bats:Crows. That's lower than my old 1.6/1 ratio but higher than the 1.3/1 I believe best suited for an S:CE-heavy meta. Retaining maneuvers for vampires playing with 1 blood seemed more valuable than meeting theory-crafted output potential. The stealth is sparse, but feels like just enough.

Basic play remains the same:
- minimize pool expenditure,
- get vampires and Villein for 5 (see above),
- play combat and taste to 3+ blood,
- then play turns situationally based on hand contents.

Crypt (12 cards)
2x Dowager, The     6 ANI OBF aus pot   primogen   Nosferatu:6
2x Larissa Moreira    6 ANI OBF pot       primogen   Nosferatu:6
2x Lenny Burkhead    6 ANI obf pot pre   primogen   Nosferatu:6
1x Baixinho   3 ani obf  Nosferatu:6
1x Doc Martina6 ANI OBF for pre    Ravnos:7
1x Gathii     5 ANI PRE obf      Ravnos:7
1x Horace Radcliffe     5 ANI POT obf      Nosferatu:6
1x Nikolaus Vermeulen   7 ANI POT for obf   prince     Nosferatu:6
1x Trung Chau Pham      3 ANI      Ravnos:7

Library (80 cards)
Master (16; 7 trifle)
4x Ashur Tablets
1x Bleeding the Vine -- with only 4 Tablets, this is mandatory.
1x Direct Intervention
1x Giant's Blood
1x Labyrinth, The
1x Secret Library of Alexandria, The -- marginal until it isn't.
7x Villein

Action (11)
11x Deep Song

Ally (1)
1x Carlton Van Wyk

Action Modifier (6)
3x Faceless Night
3x Lost in Crowds

Action Modifier/Combat (5)
5x Swallowed by the Night

Combat (29)
12x Aid from Bats
1x Canine Horde
8x Carrion Crows
5x Taste of Vitae
3x Terror Frenzy -- feels like a 4th copy could work

Reaction (11)
2x Confusion of the Eye -- has to be useful in the long run.
2x Guard Dogs -- the best of bad options.
2x On the Qui Vive
5x Protected District

Event (1)
1x Scourge of the Enochians -- in preference to Carver's.

Thanks to Kelly and everyone else involved in the Gulf Coast Roast, and good luck with the next circuit!