Reported by RichE:

The Oceania Grand Prix circuit is made up of five tournaments including Auckland (NZ), Perth (WA, Aus), Melbourne (Vic, Aus), Brisbane (Qld, Aus) and Sydney (NSW, Aus). Points are awarded based final standings. The top five face off on day two of the Oceania Continental Championship (OCC) in the Grand Prix Final.

This year, the first tournament was held in Auckland, New Zealand, on March 21.

Leading into this tournament I thought the meta would be combat heavy with the new sets recently released. While this is my preferred archetype, combat v combat is fraught and challenging. I settled on an ally deck based around the Hecata card Bone Shambler.

Thirteen Methuselahs contested the day. I saw three combat Salubri decks, three Gangrel decks, one vote deck, one weenie combat, one Nana combat, one Anarch Brujah debate combat, one Ravnos stealth bleed, and two ally decks (including mine).

Round 1
I was seated first. Hecata Bone Shambler (0.5 VP) > Nana Combat (0.5 VP) > Weenie Oblivion Ally (1.5 VP) > Gangrel defensive combat bleed (0 VP)

A hard first round where combat was quite dangerous for my deck. I hung in for 0.5 VP.

Round 2
I was seated second. Weenie Oblivion Ally (1 VP) > Hecata Bone Shambler (0 VP) > Gangrel tricks with torpor (0.5 VP) > Salubri Combat (1.5 VP) > Ravnos SB (1 VP)

A poor crypt draw (2x7 / 2x8) lead to a quick demise and I was gone in 55 minutes.

I continued to watch, and witnessed a cross table oust with stealth as the Gangrel tricks deck added stealth to a previously failing lunge from the Ravnos SB deck on the Weenie Oblivion Ally deck. Brutal!

Game wins were hard to come by. A GW in round three would be enough.

After round two I was rather low. I quietly spoke to a fellow Melbournite, and mentioned I needed to channel my “inner Bradbury”.

If you don’t know Bradbury, please look up “Bradbury Gold Medal”. 

Round 3
I was seated third. Salubri Combat (0 VP) > Salubri Combat (0 VP) Hecata Bone Shambler (3 VP) > Weenie Potence Combat (1 VP)

This was my worse nightmare! Stuck between two combat decks and another combat deck cross table. I had a good start but then I realised my prey was weenie potence and he was coming to stop me dead. Bone Shamblers died, two of my three vampires in torpor, and just my 2 cap Hecata with two Bone Shamblers remained, dire times.

It was so bleak my predator was happy to watch and contain his predator.

My cross table was then squashed in a combat feast. It was ugly.

Around this time, I drew into a Giants Blood and Unmasking. My predator had been weakened substantially in the combat feast, and his new predator saw an opening.

My two cap rescued my now full capacity seven cap and with Unmasking, I now had some defence. The Bone Shamblers had been on full defence.

The weenie combat deck lunged and binned the last remaining Salubri but failed to oust. This left him open.  All of a sudden, I could see victory. I lunged successfully and with about twenty plus minutes remaining and my new prey on about six pool and all vampires in torpor, he conceded. 

Final
The final standings were Weenie Oblivion Ally (1 GW 6.5 VP), Cockroach Gangrel (1 GW 6 VP), Gangrel tricks with torpor (1 GW 5 VP), Hecata Bone Shambler (1 GW 3.5 VP), Anarch Brujah Debate (0 GW 2.5 VP). There was tie for fifth place. Usually this would be a coin toss, but I just want to acknowledge Simon Reed (Nana Combat) for generously conceding his position and letting a new player have a chance.

I was seated fourth, finally an optimal position for my deck. Gangrel tricks with torpor (0 VP) > Cockroach Gangrel (1.5 VP) > Weenie Oblivion Ally (0 VP) > Hecata Bone Shambler (2.5 VP) > Anarch Brujah Debate (0 VP)

This was a super tight game. Every turn each player pressured their prey and was pressured by their predator. It was noted that at one point twenty-eight minions were on the table. I think I topped out at about nine with four vampires and five Bone Shamblers. With seven minions on my back, I needed to be cautious.

With about thirty minutes remaining, the table was finely balanced. The cockroach deck bled for two which was then flicked into me. I had been sitting on two Telepathic Misdirection’s waiting for this moment. The flick went into my prey whose defence was questionable in my mind. This proved fatal. He let it through going from eight to six pool. I subsequently played a Pentex Subversion I had been holding for a turn and lunged successfully.

I was in a little shock at this point. First oust after the day I had had.

Coming back around, my predator really wounded me. But… My hand was now really bleak. I think there was six masters in my hand at this point.

If my cross-table buddy didn’t oust now, I was gone.

My predator went down to four pool then two pool. Bleed, then flick into me. Direct Intervention. Oust.

The only card I could play had saved me and ousted my predator.

There was about twelve minutes left at this point. With my predator ousted, the numbers game fell in my favour, and I lunged successfully.

Eight minutes remained with two Melbournites jostling it out for the chance of the first non Kiwi to win a VTES Kiwi title.

The cockroaches came hard. It was now or never. I was down to my last pool, but this was enough. With about two minutes left, my hand opened up and the Bone Shamblers finally flourished to hold on.

The tournament winning deck:

Crypt (12 cards)
3x Alek Konig     3 OBL       Hecata:6
1x Gebeyehu Abdu     5 for AUS OBL      Hecata:6
1x Peter St. John     2 obl       Hecata:6
3x Tommaso Sforza       7 dom for AUS OBL THA      Hecata:6
3x Huldu, The Desecrator         8 obf tha AUS FOR OBL      Hecata:6
1x Nadezhda       3 aus obl       Hecata:6

Library: 76 cards

Master (22 cards)
1x Giant's Blood
2x Pentex(TM) Subversion
2x Vessel
1x Line, The
1x Biotech Company Hunting Ground
4x Cappadocian Crypt
5x Family Gathering
1x Powerbase: Munich
1x Cursed Abattoir
1x Coven, The
3x Direct Intervention

Ally (16 cards)
15x Bone Shambler
1x Fiorella, Empty One

Action Modifier (14 cards)
2x Shadow Cast
2x Shadow Cloak
6x Stygian Shroud
4x Where the Veil Thins

Combat (8 cards)
4x Pass Through Shadow
4x Dodge

Reaction (13 cards)
4x Eyes of Argus
2x My Enemy's Enemy
2x On the Qui Vive
3x Telepathic Misdirection
2x Shadow Sentinel

Event (3 cards)
3x Unmasking, The

I would like to thank Black Chantry for the playmat sponsorship, Hobby Master for hosting, Ke, TJ and the NZ crew for your amazing hospitality. I would also like to thank the GP organisers, with a special shout out to Rathpex for organising the playmats. It was a great weekend, and I think Auckland’s reputation as the friendliest GP remains the benchmark. Thanks guys!

Thanks for this report! Next up in this circuit is Perth on April 4!