Played on December 15, reported by Márcio Pinheiro, VEKN National Coordinator of Brazil:
Once again, we have played the Cearense Championship, traditionally since 2013, being held in mid-December. 41 players from all corners of the state and our brothers from Piaui. It was an exciting 3 rounds, with two players with less than two years of playing in the Final.
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Standing after round 3:
1. Lucas Teixeira 2 GW and 8,5 VP
2. Diego Rodrigues 2 GW and 7,5 VP
3. Bruno Hobbit 1 GW and 6,5 VP
4. Lucas Rocha 1 GW and 6 VP
5. José Felipe 1 GW and 5,5 VP
In the final, Lucas Teixeira put a lot of pressure on Diego, leaving Lucas Rocha free to attack José Felipe, who had to play against Malkaviano V5. The players then came together against Lucas Teixeira. Diego then took a vote that almost gave him the VP, but it hurt the rest of the players more than Lucas Teixeira, thus ending the union to remove Nephandus. Lucas Rocha went all or nothing, with Bleed, but José Felipe passed Bleed to Bruno Hobbit, who ended up leaving. Then Lucas Teixeira took out the others, guaranteeing 4 VPs and the Championship.
The tournament winning deck: “New deck” by Lucas Teixeira
Crypt (12 cards)
1x Ladislas Toth, The Torch 7 AUS DOM THA for archbishop Tremere antitribu:3
1x Elena Mendoza Vasquez 6 AUS THA dom obt Tremere antitribu:3
1x Selena 6 AUS DOM THA Tremere antitribu:3
1x Yasmin the Black 6 AUS THA dom pre Tremere antitribu:3
5x Antonio d'Erlette 5 THA dom for pot Tremere antitribu:4
1x Ember Wright 3 aus dom Tremere antitribu:3
1x Lectora 3 aus tha Tremere antitribu:4
1x Martin Franckel 3 AUS tha Tremere:3
Library (79 cards)
Master (23; 2 trifle)
9x Ashur Tablets
1x Direct Intervention
1x Dreams of the Sphinx
1x Haven Uncovered
1x Infernal Pact
1x Jake Washington
3x Liquidation
2x Parthenon, The
1x Secure Haven
1x Shard, London, The
1x Wash
1x Wider View
Event (3)
1x FBI Special Affairs Division
2x Unmasking, The
Action (2)
2x Magic of the Smith
Ally (9)
9x Nephandus
Equipment (3)
1x Bowl of Convergence
1x Heart of Nizchetus
1x Sniper Rifle
Action Modifier (8)
2x Conditioning
6x Mirror Walk
Combat (7)
2x Molotov Cocktail
3x Target Vitals
2x Trap
Reaction (24)
5x Deflection
2x Delaying Tactics
5x Eyes of Argus
2x My Enemy's Enemy
5x On the Qui Vive
5x Telepathic Misdirection
The other decks of the final:
“!Salubri Fragile” by Bruno Hobbit
Crypt (12 cards)
4x Nuriel 8 AUS FOR VAL cel dom Salubri antitribu:6
3x Michaela 7 AUS FOR PRE VAL Salubri antitribu:5
3x Ariel 6 AUS FOR VAL Salubri antitribu:6
1x Azrael 5 AUS VAL for Salubri antitribu:6
1x Lailah 4 VAL aus Salubri antitribu:6
Library (90 cards)
Master (15; 4 trifle)
1x Archon Investigation
1x Code of Samiel
1x Direct Intervention
1x Fame
1x KRCG News Radio
3x Path of Retribution, The
1x Powerbase: Montreal
1x Tension in the Ranks
2x Vessel
2x Villein
1x Yawp Court
Event (1)
1x NRA PAC
Action (13)
2x Abbot
2x Blessing of the Name
9x Sense Death
Equipment (10)
6x Blade of Bellona
1x Bowl of Convergence
1x Codex of the Edenic Groundskeepers
1x Ivory Bow
1x Joumlon's Axe
Retainer (1)
1x Mr. Winthrop
Action Modifier (5)
5x Gift of Bellona
Combat (36)
6x Armor of Caine's Fury
5x Blessed Blade
2x Blissful Agony
4x Death Seeker
2x Righteous Aura
6x Rolling with the Punches
4x Sword of the Righteous
2x Taste of Vitae
4x Telepathic Tracking
1x Vengeance of Samiel
Reaction (9)
5x Eyes of Argus
2x On the Qui Vive
2x Telepathic Misdirection
“Cailean Rush” by José Felipe
Crypt (12 cards)
3x Cailean 10 ANI OBF POT PRE dom archbishop Nosferatu antitribu:2
3x Julio Martinez 9 ANI DOM OBF POT nec bishop Nosferatu antitribu:3
3x Len Konopka 8 ANI OBF POT dom ser Nosferatu antitribu:3
3x Beast, The Leatherface of Detroit 7 OBF POT ani cel Nosferatu antitribu:2
Library (90 cards)
Master (18; 6 trifle)
2x Dreams of the Sphinx
1x Fame
1x Giant's Blood
2x Guardian Angel
1x Information Network
1x Nosferatu Kingdom
1x Powerbase: Barranquilla
1x Powerbase: Montreal
1x Shanty Town Hunting Ground
1x Tension in the Ranks
2x Vessel
3x Villein
1x Wider View
Action (12)
1x Abbot
7x Deep Song
2x Heroic Might
2x Under Siege
Equipment (2)
1x Kevlar Vest
1x Mark V
Retainer (2)
2x Raven Spy
Action Modifier (2)
2x Conditioning
Action Modifier/Combat (3)
3x Shadow Boxing
Combat (31)
2x Canine Horde
4x Disarm
8x Immortal Grapple
8x Roundhouse
4x Song of Serenity
5x Taste of Vitae
Reaction (20)
4x Cats' Guidance
6x Deflection
2x Guard Dogs
2x On the Qui Vive
2x Redirection
4x Sense the Savage Way
“Mini Lutz” by Diego Rodrigues
Crypt(12 cards)
4x Lutz von Hohenzollern 11 pot AUS DEM OBF PRE Malkavian:4
3x Undele 9 obf pre ser CEL FOR Ishtarri:5
1x Adana de Sforza 11 aus CEL OBF POT PRE PRO Brujah:4
1x Rafael de Corazon 11 AUS CEL DOM OBF PRE Toreador:4
1x Unmada 10 cel for AUS DEM OBF VIC Malkavian:5
1x Dmitra Ilyanova 9 obf CEL FOR POT PRE Brujah:5
1x Stavros 7 dem AUS OBF PRE Malkavian antitribu:4
Library: 62 cards
Master (29 cards)
6x Ashur Tablets
5x Minion Tap
4x Zillah's Valley
3x Parthenon, The
3x Protected Resources
1x Coven, The
1x Dreams of the Sphinx
1x Giant's Blood
1x Information Highway
1x Monastery of Shadows
1x Secure Haven
1x Wider View
1x Camarilla Conclave
Action (1 cards)
1x Entrancement
Political Action (13 cards)
3x Banishment
2x Kine Resources Contested
2x Camarilla's Iron Fist
1x Ancient Influence
1x Ancilla Empowerment
1x Disputed Territory
1x Political Stranglehold
1x Reins of Power
1x Rumors of Gehenna
Action Modifier (17 cards)
4x Voter Captivation
3x Forgotten Labyrinth
3x Into Thin Air
2x Perfect Paragon
1x Approximation of Loyalty
1x Awe
1x Bewitching Oration
1x Elder Impersonation
1x Lost in Crowds
Action Modifier/Combat (2 cards)
2x Force of Personality
“Somente Amor” by Lucas Rocha
Crypt:
4 Morel
2 Apolonia Czarnecki
2 Osric Vladislav
2 Arthur Denholm
1 Gem Ghastly
1 Bela
4 Blood Doll
4 Grooming the Protege
1 Asylum Hunting Ground
1 Barrens, The
1 Golconda: Inner Peace
1 Sudden Reversal
1 Wider View
16 Kindred Spirits
10 Confusion
8 Lost in Crowds
6 Eyes of Chaos
6 Mind Tricks
4 Cloak the Gathering
4 Spying Mission
2 Faceless Night
4 Random Patterns
4 Deny
8 Telepathic Misdirection
5 On the Qui Vive
Thanks to our sponsors Conclave and Black Chantry!
Thanks for this report, and thanks to all players and organisers!
Greetings Methuselahs,
2024 was the first year of my reign as prince(ss), and the vampire scene in Cape Town has appeared to have some new energy coursing through its veins, thankfully. It reminds me of the sudden kinematics of sedentary creatures that one finds as they lift up and view the under-side of a long-sitting rock.
Just like those hustling go-gos (a South Africanism for insects & bugs), our sleepy Capetonian Methuselahs arose from long torpor… some were even resurrected from the burnt ashes of the past. And as they awakened, a river of new-blood flowed in. The curious were caught and brought into the fold, newly Embraced, and several new VEKN IDs were added to the database.
But whether we were old or new, all were drawn to the same nerdy shop, to sit at the same sticky tables, to play our same beloved ghoulish card game, and share in these bloody sights and dark delights. Tables with smiling, fang-filled faces, anticipating their next oust, or combo, or flashy-reprisal and very hungry for the beads of blood to their left…
With cards from the Blackest of Chantries, and from 30 years of yore, came the most fierce and unforgivable decks - each one piloted by an equally unforgivable grotesque yet unique and nuanced personality – the strongest weapon on this kind of battlefield! The wisest should take note, as I shall reveal their secrets and preferred methods as this essay continues and I highlight the events of VTES in Cape Town for the year 2024.
TOURNAMENT: “Freak Drive”, Sealed 5th Ed Deck Tournament, March 24th, at Pandemonium Games
Final Table: Hendrik Schalekamp, Neil Muller, Kris Van Zyl, Jo Worsley and Nick Worsley
Winner: Kris Van Zyl with the 5th ed Malk deck! Well done to him, especially as a new-blood, having only just started in the recent years and playing socially in 2024.
The power of Malks was very real here, and Kris drove home those big bleeds very smoothly.
For some context, each attending player received a random pre-constructed 5th ed deck: There was one each of the five camarilla decks (so only one Malkavian deck), and one each of the Banu, Ministry, Gangrel and Brujah, and then two each of the Tzimisce, Ravnos and Salubri. That’s 15 players at this first tournament! Not a bad start to get the year going. May this garden grow.
Kris got the Malkavians. I should be clear: Do not conflate Kris with the Malkavians. Though he can play them out of the box and win a tournament with them, he did not choose them (they chose him). He is far more formidable and experienced Gangrel deck-gineer, and has already taken a rather avant-garde approach to deck building which is exciting and new to see. Mad scientist in the making. Watch out!
TOURNAMENT: “Ungovernable”, Unlimited Multi Deck Tournament, June 16th, at Pandemonium Games
Final Table: Peter Herbert, Skye Segal, Michael Streatfield, Jo Worsly and Yancke Van Tonder
Winner: Michael Streatfield, with a Baali power-vote nasty surprise. Congrats to Michael for meticulous Machiavelli antics and devilish deal making.
The heads up between Michael and Yancke’s power-vote/bleed with Lutz was very intense and lasting. I witnessed the true power of Arishat as she shat down Lutz’s four votes for breakfast. She’s a group 6, and has made a guest appearance in my Toreador for just that reason.
My advice if you meet Michael at the table is to be his cross-table ally, and not his predator or prey. He’s an extremely experienced player and a most dangerous and calculated foe.
NEW BLOOD LEAGUE: March to May 2025, at Pandemonium Games
Final Table: Kris Van Zyl, Martin Mezzabotta, Peter Herbert, Yancke Van Tonder and Nick Allum
Winner: None – the final match was a draw. But the de facto winner by leader-board standing was Peter Herbert.
Peter, being an older player, really impressed me with how much he embraced the new 5th ed cards, namely the Ministry, which often along with his Malkavian deck, would see him be a consistent threat at any table. Also, you’re not allowed to hug Peter, OK?
Next, we had the yearly Dragonfire hosted by my old compadres, CLAW (Cape Legion of Adventurers and Wargamers) at the University of Cape Town (my old hunting ground). And once again we limited this to only 5th ed cards. This made things very interesting!
TOURNAMENT: “Clockwork Convergence”, Limited to 5th Ed Cards, Multi-Deck Tournament, August 10th and 11th, at the UCT Dragonfire annual convention.
Final Table: Jo Worsley, Justin Bedford (Biggy), Martin Mezzabotta, Hendrik Schalekamp and Nick Worsley
Winner: Martin Mezzabotta. (GGWP)
Apparently, a few other cities had been trying this out, and I had to get some assistance from the inner-circles of Black Chantry to try get an official listing of legal 5th ed cards and reprints with which I shared with my community.
It was a challenge for the older players with bigger collections to adapt to this, and it was very welcomed by the newer players with collections weighing more heavily on the 5th ed side. It also really helped that the games ran smoothly due to the greater fluency and vocabulary with new cards. So often does an old-hat play something that no-one’s ever seen, and the game has to have a two or three minute “Oh wow” moment as the new (old) card is taken in and discussed and brainstormed for all possible permutations where it makes sense to play it in your decks…. Great for socials with no time limits, so rather that kinda thing was minimized as very little reading was required at all, thanks to the collective clear knowledge of the limited set.
Now on to Martin. Martin is my childe! And my-my, has he fallen far from the tree… I tried to teach him how to play for like over 10 years or so, and I think he’s got finally gotten it! Maybe! (doubt it)
Yes, I am proud. He won his first tournament and it was a Dragonfire! Even though his road was laid out in gold before him, he got a tournament win! Well done Marty!
Martin loves the Laibon and enjoys playing Toreador and Nosferatu too, and together we’ve created some weird in-game jokes and memes over the years… but it would not be right to share those here, you kinda had to be there. I will say though that he has become quite the exquisite tool-box maker and often surprises me with his ideas. Just don’t listen to him in game as he will wiggle into your mind and setup lodging there forever.
He also turned 40 this year and I got a commission done for him by Ken Meyer Jr:
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Yup, we’re that passionate about VTES here in Cape Town! Happy birthday again to Martin! And thanks Ken! What a legend. My birthday is coming up soon too, so…
ANARCH MASQUERADE LEAGUE: June to October 2024, at Pandemonium Games
Final Table: James Snowball, Yancke Van Tonder, Michael Streatfield, Skye Segal and Neil Muller
Winner: The legendary James Snowball, with Banu combat tweaked like a pro.
James is a card kung-fu master with mantis style. This cool character is such a powerful force in our community, and his passion for VTES is contagious. He’s one of the first VTES players I ever met, and has taught me a thing or two about combat. He’s from the Deep South. We used to talk about Deep South - a collection of southern most suburbs in Cape Town - similarly to the way we hear the international community go on about Finnish Politics.
James’ passion for VTES is contagious. He’s set the standard for when it’s time to get up out of your seat due to a fantastic play – like putting an animalism master on your Beast, The Leatherface of Detroit… goes something like: “Why’s his crows hitting for two? Oh. My. F*&k! You put Animalism on BEAST! AWESOME!!”
May he test his decks on you and may you enjoy it!
TOURNAMENT: “Dragonbound” Standard Constructed and valid for TWDA, 3rd November
Final Table: Yancke Van Tonder, Hendrik Schalekamp, James Snowball, Neil Muller, and Casey Callaghan
Winner: Snowball again, with classic euro-brujah with dominate (and a sideshow of, yes, it’s Beast).
Combat. And you don’t wanna see his !Salubri toolbox he’s been working on for more than two decades.
Well here we have some proof that James is an all-star, taking combat decks shiningly to the podium each-time. Very inspirational. Isn’t he just so dreamy?
That wraps up the recap of our competitive scene here in Cape Town during my first year with Prince(ss) responsibilities. It was a very successful year, and I wouldn’t have been able to do it without my co-prince, Ryan, and his shop Pandemonium Games for getting in all the cards, prizes and promos from Black Chantry and keeping us posted about new stock. We’re all very grateful to you Ryan Kruger and Pandemonium Games and all the store-keepers for letting us use the space.
There were so many consistent players who also deserve a shout-out but can’t all be named here. They may not have won a league or a tournament, but they got to final tables and gave everyone a run for their money, many are from the old school, but it was even more remarkable to witness the power of the Worsley couple, who being completely new to the game, got placed at final tables in every tournament they attended! Well done Jo and Nick, come take it home in 2025.
And here’s a shout out to all my players who come play just for the fun. I hope to see you vibrantly bleeding your preys out in the next year too!
Can I also just say a massive thank you to Mikey Feguson too? The UK champ and YouTuber which sparked this journey for me after that interview in February. Sometimes a person needs a tiny little nudge and the next thing they’re flying away with their passion-project. In this case, that’s me being Prince(ss). So, thanks again Mikey! Check out that interview here: Lies From The Tabletop
And thanks to all the talented international players, artists, and creators I’ve been lucky enough to chat to on social media and become friends with. I am humbly honoured by all of your acquaintances, and inspired to keep a spotlight on my home-town’s VTES scene just for you!
And thus I conclude that the Cape Town VTES scene was re-awakened and revitalized by our very keen and growing player base in the year 2024, as we still continue into the holiday season with our social games and a very busy WhatsApp group buzzing about the new Hecata in-coming...
And we’ll carry this momentum forward into 2025! We look forward to Cape Town hosting the South African Nationals’ tournament at the Dragonfire convention, usually around August, and perhaps we’ll see some of our JHB country-men there.
We’ll have more tournaments other than that too, some of which may be limited or explore story-line themes and of course to try the 5th ed format again, learning from past mistakes, while adding the Toreador 30th anniversary, Lasombra and Hecata cards to the roster.
We’ll also have a league running in each semester, and maybe some surprise events too.
From newbie sessions and demo days, to long conversations about which clans we’d be if we were all vamps, to our heated tournaments and all the drama in and out of games…
Cape Town loves VTES, and we’re all looking forward to a fun and eventful 2025!
Yours sincerely,
Skye Segal
Prince of Cape Town
Played on December 6-8 2024, reported by Kelly Lyons, VEKN Prince of Vidor, with additional comments from Andy Smith, Darby Keeney and Marshall Hogue:
The Gulf Coast Roast has finished its 2024 event. It has been a fantastic year. Thanks to Black Chantry for their support. I want to thank everybody who participated. I want to thank all the southern princes for their hard work, time and money making this year long event possible:
• Chris Franklin – Dallas
• Norm Brown – Lafayette
• Dean Garrison – Biloxi
• Devin Villegas – New Orleans
Norm, Dean, Chris, Kelly and Devin.
Thank you to my wife, Michelle, who let me take the time away from her to do something she knows I enjoy.
We had 54 players who competed in the Grand Prix Events. 33 players in the last event in Vidor.
We had players from Ohio, Pennsylvania, California, Oregon, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, and Denmark. I truly appreciate the support that this event has had from the player community.
We wrapped things up with three events including the last Grand Prix. Your winners for the events were:
• Kelly Lyons - Danse Macabre II: First Danse (29 Players, 2 rounds + final)
• Darby Keeney - Danse Macabre II: Gulf Coast Roast - Vidor (Main Danse) (33 Players)
• Marshall Hogue - Danse Macabre II: Last Danse (25 Players, 2 rounds + final)
The top 5 point makers to be at the Gulf Coast Roast Grand Prix final table were:
1. Kelly Lyons - 93 points
2. Andy Smith – 55 Points
3. Brad Cashdollar – 53 Points
3. Darby Keeney – 53 points
5. Dean Garrison – 43 Points
Your 2024 Gulf Coast Roast Grand Prix winner is Andy Smith. Congratulations Andy!!!
That’s a wrap. See you next year.
Happy Holidays
Kelly Lyons (AKA – Water Dog) Prince of Vidor
Finalists: Kelly, Dean, Andy, Brad and Darby.
Player report: Andy Smith – Grand Prix Final Table
One deck, one game, no time limit, for all the marbles; what do you play?
A question I definitely should’ve asked myself BEFORE driving down to Southeast Texas. I had a feeling it was going to be a bloodbath and I didn’t bring any trump combat/multi-rush type decks. So acting on good advice I pulled an old favorite that I’m super familiar with (brought for pickup play).
OK so my hometown Dallas GP I finished 6th (Darby won). Sadly I wasn’t able to play Lafayette this year (out of the country at the time), Kelly Lyons won it. In Gulfport I finished second to the Water Dog. New Orleans, yep finished second to the Water Dog again (he’s tough y’all!) In Vidor I finished 4th (Darby wins again). So it's a two horse race in my estimation but good enough for 3rd!
But if you saw the crypt circle pics you’ll notice that Kelly pulled 3 trem weenies out of my crypt and no copies of lovely Chalcedony. Un-freaking-believeable luck. So Brad and Kelly decide they don’t want to sit left of a sleazeball weenie dominate deck right? Also Kelly Lyons has what we Texans refer to as, “juevos gigantes” and chooses to sit left of Darby’s Mambo deck.
Of course I get off to a slow start... Dean rips right into Darby with bleeds. Kelly gets busy rushing/bleeding Brad and fighting with Darby. Brad is getting off stealth bleeds but I manage to reduce/bounce enough to get our heroine tooled up with armor, bio-thaum and stone dog and start rushing backwards (she’ll add one razor bat later). To his credit, Dean never lets up but Darby systematically torpors all ravnos. Kelly puts up a great fight and holds his own for quite a while but it’s Mambo FFS... The table collapses, I get a free vp (thank you sir!) and Darby ousts Kelly.
I’ve been told that there were still 4 players at the 2 hour mark in this untimed marathon but I have no idea, it was pretty intense.
Brad’s minions are wrecked *finally* from Kelly, Chalcy and now Mambo and crew. Darby ousts Brad and is OUT. OF. CARDS. I shit you not! And all his vamps are spent from absolutely dominating the table. Our lady of stone is tooled up and able to torpor Mambo and team with rushes and blocks while the dom weenies bleed for one... I drew my first conditioning of the game just as Darby transfers out. I’ve said it before folks, sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good.
I genuinely cannot express enough love and gratitude to the greatness that is the Water Dog, Kelly Lyons. He had the idea, he rallied the princes, he organized the grand prix and oh btw he’s also an amazing host. Thank you sir! He also whipped our asses* all summer so we could try to play with the best players on our little chunk of globe (and then some!). Absolute Legend.
*except Darby
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I'd be remiss if I didn't say thank you to Devin Villegas for the sound advice, next round is on me hermano! And of course a huge shoutout to the Dallas road crew; our prince Chris 'Ace' Franklin, the gentleman himself Mark Figuerola, Adrian 'Cereal Killer' Ruiz and Destyn Bowers, aka PopTart; these guys push each other every week to play better (if you see us on Lackey, come get some...) Gents I know I can be frustrating at the table sometimes but you guys are like brothers to me so, you know, thanks for being awesome and tolerating my shenanigans for the past two decades.
Cheers to everybody who participated, the whole series was just an absolute blast. For sure playing the game is fun but getting to hang out with everybody is even better. Great games with great people, I'm humbled and grateful to have met you all and I look forward to the next time our paths cross. It’s hard to fathom what an incredible group of people are attracted to such an insanely difficult game. Much love y’all.
Wow this got pretty verbose, you'd think I won something, my apologies... Without further ado, please prepare to be underwhelmed:
Tournament winning deck: “Chalsy and the gang go out in style” (aka "Bat Country") by Andy Smith
Crypt (12 cards)
5x Chalcedony 7 FOR POT THA VIS Gargoyle:6
1x Chrysanthemum5 AUS THA dom primogen Tremere:6
1x Claus Wegener5 DOM aus for tha Tremere:5
1x Sri Sansa5 DOM aus tha Tremere:6
1x Zane 5 THA aus dom primogen Tremere:5
1x Lauren 4 aus dom tha Tremere:6
1x Tarrence Moore 4 aus dom tha Tremere:5
1x Monica Chang 3 dom tha Tremere:5
Library (89 cards)
Master (12; 2 trifle)
1x Academic Hunting Ground
2x Arcane Library
3x Blood Doll
1x Dreams of the Sphinx
1x Powerbase: Montreal
1x Rack, The
1x Smiling Jack, The Anarch
2x Wider View
Action (12)
1x Armor of Terra
2x Biothaumaturgic Experiment
6x Children of Stone
3x Hatchling
Ally (1)
1x Ponticulus
Retainer (6)
5x Razor Bat
1x Stone Dog
Action Modifier (22)
4x As the Crow
3x Conditioning
5x Freak Drive
3x Mirror Walk
3x Skin of the Chameleon
4x Unleash the Hounds
Combat (15)
3x Bond with the Mountain
3x Crawling Chamber
1x Roll
5x Stonestrength
3x Theft of Vitae
Reaction (21)
5x Deflection
1x Delaying Tactics (thought I’d removed them all/discarded)
4x On the Qui Vive
6x Their Master's Voice
3x Voices of the Castle
2x Wake with Evening's Freshness
Player report: Darby Keeney - Danse Macabre II: Gulf Coast Roast - Vidor (Main Danse) – Grand Prix
The tournament winning deck: “Defy the Edict of Worms V2.1”
Mini-Slava Museum/Manse. Adjusted to 82 cards cards from the previous fatter version - thinner versions could still be built as I never came close to expending my library. I don't foresee my versions changing significantly unless/until we see new cards.
Crypt (12 cards)
3x Adrino Manauara 8 ANI DOM PRO pot baron Tzimisce:6
3x Ángel Guerrero7 ANI DOM PRO baron Tzimisce:6
2x Neserian6 ANI DOM cel pro Tzimisce:6
1x Branimira 6 ANI dom pre pro baron Tzimisce:6
1x Marialena 5 DOM PRO ani Tzimisce:6
1x Prentis Derby 4 ani dom pro Tzimisce:6
1x Whisper 5 ANI DOM pro Tzimisce:6
Library (82 cards)
Master (20; 4 trifle)
1x Anarch Railroad
5x British Museum, London, The
1x Carfax Abbey
1x Club Illusion -- included as more Cam decks appear now
1x Direct Intervention
3x Dreams of the Sphinx
1x Giant's Blood
1x Jake Washington
1x Pentex(TM) Subversion
1x Powerbase: Savannah
3x Villein
1x Wider View
Event (2)
1x NRA PAC
1x Scourge of the Enochians -- meta choice that burned zero vampires in 4 rounds.
Action (13)
2x Dominate Kine -- steal Garibaldi or Papillon
11x Govern the Unaligned
Equipment (12)
1x Blood Tears of Kephran
2x Cooler
2x Heart of Nizchetus
6x Living Manse -- could be 7x
1x Palatial Estate
Action Modifier (4)
4x Earth Control
Action Modifier/Combat (4)
3x Obedient Flesh
1x Rapid Change
Action Modifier/Reaction (6)
3x Form of the Bat
3x Murmur of the False Will -- losing value as meta capacities shift up
Combat (7)
2x Earth Meld
5x Form of Mist
Reaction (14)
2x Deep Ecology
7x Deflection
2x One With the Land
3x Organized Resistance
We're inching past the Phase II V5 Meta (2 parts Anarch bleed & 1 part Baron vote, shaken well and served cold). As this happens, I think Scourge becomes less important and I slotted Club Illusion expecting fewer random copies to appear. Some other minor shifts following regional trends are likely if I play this again.
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Player report: Kelly Lyons - Danse Macabre II: First Danse
1 GW 4 VP in preliminary rounds, 5 VP in final.
Tournament winning deck “Water Dog - Illegal Tactics” by Kelly Lyons
My prince, Norm Brown, won a tournament in Vidor in 2022 with a Brujah Illegalism Deck. He relied on Reckless Agitation as a second action. Here is his deck list.
It was good. I, however, have never been a big fan of Reckless Agitation as Karl Schaefer knows. We’ve had that debate. Instead, I prefer Line Brawl. The ability to bleed with Illegalism unlock then Line Brawl for a pool is just too good. Line Brawl also, gives you an enters combat action and even +1 bleed action. It is the best Brujah action card for anarchs.
I agree with Norm when it comes to Chemistry discipline cards. You get that extra stealth plus it allows you to Dabbler so, if you get blocked with Illegalism you can unlock and still do Line Brawl.
I added a couple of CrimethInc. cards for more unlock. Saku and Valeriya have protean and if you get lucky Brandon Grime has thaumaturgy. That’s why there is 2 of him in the crypt.
Archon Investigation helped me burn a vampire in Round 1.
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Round 1
I added 2 X Patsy in the deck to remove prince titles. It paid off in Round 1 were Norm was playing a Banu Haqim Deck. I knew I was going to get my prey So, I crossed tabled him with Patsy so he couldn’t block me after I ousted my prey. Funny thing is I drew into anther one and got 2 of his princes. I topored the third one. Ousted my prey then Norm and took the table.
Round 2
I lost. Big time.
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Final Table
I was in the 5th position playing first. Seems like I’ve been in the 5th position playing first lately.
Kelly Lyons – Brujah Illegalism (Multi-acting Brujah with Chemistry. Stick a Chemistry skill card and a Dabbler on a Brujah. Illegalism bleed then unlock if not blocked. If blocked, unlock with Dabbler. Line brawl. If TheCrimethINC is on the table unlock. You get the idea.)
Anne Boje – Tzimisce (This is a Darby Keeney deck utilizing Underbridge Stray and Tainted Spring. She beats you up with puppies. When I interviewed Darby a few years ago on my channel and was saying he was beating me up with puppies… this was the deck. Brutal.)
Marshall Hogue – Primogen (Marshall: “Weirich Waldburg making all the other primogen act, primarily bleed, at 1-2 stealth and a mix of reduce and bounce. It's designed to wear out anything but the heaviest of intercept.”)
Chris Franklin – Protean Barons (Chris: “I wanted to be able to defend against stealth bleed while also having votes in case the meta was heavily voting with cam fist and reckless agg. It worked well but only because I didn’t see much combat ends.”)
Oscar Garza III – Lasombra (Oscar: “Straight up new Lasombra bleed. 30 stealth/bleed modifiers 13 governs. Literally copied Malk 94 ratios. I went the path of filthy. Stealth bleed requires no discussion.”)
The table was pretty even. Everyone was doing damage to everyone else. However, Chris was going to be ousted on the next turn. I, being the only one who helped him, was given a reprieve from his last action of “F### You All”. Chris called an “Eat the Rich”. He placed 4 damage on everyone else but me. On my next turn I swept the table.
Side Note: I really liked Marshall’s Deck. Need a deck list from him.
Crypt (12 cards)
1x Saku Pihlajamäki 8 CEL POT PRE for pro baron Brujah:6
2x Aline Gädeke 7 POT PRE cel baron Brujah:6
1x Valeriya Zinovieva 7 POT cel pre pro baron Brujah:6
1x Atiena 6 CEL obf pot pre baron Brujah:6
1x Leumeah 6 PRE cel for pot baron Brujah:6
1x Octane 6 CEL POT PRE Brujah:6
2x Brandon Grime 5 CEL pot pre tha Brujah:6
1x Siarhei Levchenko 5 CEL PRE pot Brujah:6
1x Anita Wainwright 3 cel pre Brujah:6
1x Ariane 3 cel pot pre Brujah:5
Library (90 cards)
Master (24; 9 trifle)
2x Archon Investigation
1x Carfax Abbey
4x Chimerstry
4x Dabbler
2x Dreams of the Sphinx
1x Garibaldi-Meucci Museum
2x New Carthage
1x Powerbase: Los Angeles
1x Thaumaturgy
5x Villein
1x Warzone Hunting Ground
Action (20)
10x Illegalism
9x Line Brawl
1x Open War
Political Action (2)
2x Patsy
Action Modifier (10)
2x CrimethInc.
6x Power of One
2x Smoke and Mirrors
Combat (23)
3x Bollix
9x Dust Up
3x Immortal Grapple
2x Pursuit
2x Side Strike
4x Taste of Vitae
Reaction (11)
5x Bait and Switch
6x Organized Resistance
Player report: Marshall Hogue - Danse Macabre II: Last Danse
2 GW 7 VP in preliminaries and 2 VP in the final.
Tournament winning deck: “The Gold(man) Standard”
I really wanted to take one of my favorite cards (Undue Influence) and one of my favorite vampires (Laura Goldman) and just build a fun deck that tends to last way longer than you'd expect in combat, way longer than you'd expect on the table and is super fun to play. Build up your play space with the 3 caps, get that first baron out and just play smart. If I were to make any changes to the deck, I'd drop the one Chameleon and put in a second Monkey Wrench, having that available quicker with Garibaldi has always benefited me. Shout out to Dean Garrison for loaning me two Protection Rackets before the tournament to replace the two very mediocre Touch of Pain I had in there initially.
Crypt (12 cards)
2x Aline Gädeke 7 POT PRE cel baron Brujah:6
2x Laura Goldman 3 cel pre Brujah:5
1x Anita Wainwright 3 cel pre Brujah:6
1x Ariane 3 cel pot pre Brujah:5
1x Atiena 6 CEL obf pot pre baron Brujah:6
1x Brandon Grime 5 CEL pot pre tha Brujah:6
1x Leumeah 6 PRE cel for pot baron Brujah:6
1x Saku Pihlajamäki 8 CEL POT PRE for pro baron Brujah:6
1x Siarhei Levchenko 5 CEL PRE pot Brujah:6
1x Valeriya Zinovieva 7 POT cel pre pro baron Brujah:6
Library (90 cards)
Master (19)
1x Anarch Free Press, The
1x Anarch Railroad
6x Blood Doll
2x Carfax Abbey
1x Club Illusion
5x Effective Management
1x Garibaldi-Meucci Museum
1x New Carthage
1x Powerbase: Los Angeles
Action (26)
1x Chameleon
1x Entrancement
1x Fee Stake: Los Angeles
1x Fee Stake: Perth
7x Line Brawl
15x Undue Influence
Action Modifier (13)
1x Monkey Wrench
12x Power of One
Action Modifier/Combat (2)
2x Resist Earth's Grasp
Combat (13)
13x Dust Up
Reaction (17)
6x Bait and Switch
2x On the Qui Vive
7x Organized Resistance
2x Protection Racket
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Thanks to Kelly and all other organisers, sponsors and of course all the players who played the Gulf Coast Roast 2024!
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