Miguel Vega wins the Iberian Grand Prix 2024!
Finalists: Ruben Feldman, Ruben Vidaña, Miguel Vega, Jaddou Nasra and Martin Weinmayer.
Reported by Ginés Quiñonero, VEKN Inner Circle:
On Saturday, November 16, 2024, 89 Methuselahs gathered in Palma de Mallorca to participate in the Iberian Grand Prix, held at the Meliá Marina Hotel.
In addition to Spanish Methuselahs, the event also welcomed participants from Austria, France, Portugal, Switzerland, Sweden, Italy, Germany, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, and Canada.
Rumor has it that some attendees believed they spotted Gnaeus Aemilius Augustinus, Rinaldo Albizzi, and even the justicar Ian Carfax among the event’s organizers. However, these rumors remain unconfirmed.
Organizers (from left to right): Gaspar Vaquer (judge), Ginés Quiñonero (head judge),
Moisés Ferrer (graphic designer), Carlos Lucas (judge and programmer), José María Prieto
(judge and streamer), Xavier Ortiz (programmer), and Selene Cifre (photographer).
PREPARATIONS
The tournament had a dedicated website, created by Carlos Lucas and Xavier Ortiz, which displayed a countdown to the event, available slots, and allowed players to submit their decklists directly to the organizers. This feature helped expand the archive of tournament decks.
Knowing that some players had evening flights on Saturday, it was crucial for the tournament to start on time and for each round to adhere to the scheduled times.
A common cause of delays in large tournaments is the manual player check-in process, where organizers confirm attendance one by one, often leading to long queues.
For this event, an ad hoc check-in system was implemented using QR codes. Players received a QR code after registering through the website, which they showed upon arrival. The app, developed by Xavier Ortiz and Carlos Lucas, scanned the codes and automatically registered the players into the Archon spread sheet.
To avoid delays between rounds, the seating arrangements for each table were published on the event website, allowing players to quickly locate their table and seating position.
THE TOURNAMENT
Once all the Methuselahs were seated in two conference rooms (one with 14 tables, the other with 4), the battle for victory began. Each Methuselah displayed tactics honed over centuries of practice, making for a fierce competition.
Despite the intensity of the games, the atmosphere remained friendly, filled with camaraderie and humor. After all, it’s best to bare your fangs only when the moment is right.
During each round, one of the games was live-streamed. These recordings are available on YouTube via the following links:
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After the first two rounds, players took a break to replenish their strength before continuing the struggle.
At the start of the third round, it was announced that winners of this round would receive a special prize. Additionally, Raúl Perfecto (Prince of Zaragoza) shared an emotional announcement about an initiative led by the Spanish player community to raise funds for victims of the torrential rains that hit Valencia on October 29. Copies of a fundraising card were distributed among several Methuselahs to share with players in their respective communities.
Once the third round concluded, the general standings and finalists were announced via the event website. In the larger conference room, prizes were awarded to non-finalist players, followed by a raffle for additional prizes among participants who had not won awards.
While preparations for the final round were underway in the smaller room, many players took the opportunity to play casual games, which continued until the conference rooms officially closed.
FINAL
The finalist Methuselahs, in order of ranking, were as follows:
1. Miguel Vega Piniella – 3 GW, 9 VP
2. Ruben Feldman – 2 GW, 9.5 VP
3. Rubén Vidaña – 2 GW, 8.5 VP
4. Martin Weinmayer – 2 GW, 7 VP
5. Jaddou Nasra – 2 GW, 6.5 VP
And the seating order was as follows:
The final was live-streamed and can be watched on YouTube.
Martin Weinmeyer’s comments on the final:
As expected, my position as the 4th seed wasn’t exactly ideal. (Note to self: aim for a higher seed next time you try to win a Grand Prix. 😅) My seating placed me with Matasuntha as my prey and the infamous Ravnos Clown Car as my grandprey.
The problem with the Clown Car deck is that if you don’t shut it down early, it eventually reaches a point where ousting it becomes nearly impossible. To secure the game win, I needed to oust both my prey and the Clown Car. This resulted in a slow, tightrope-like game where I had to let my prey keep the Clown Car in check while carefully managing my own position.
Meanwhile, the top seed, a !Tremere deck, put a lot of pressure on the Ravnos Anarch bleed deck. The latter found itself in trouble against my arsenal of 16 bleed-bounce cards, which made bleeding me a nightmare.
At one point, I offered Rubén (playing the Ravnos Anarch bleed deck) a Life Boon in exchange for his help in ousting my prey. With few other options to shift the table dynamics, he agreed. Unfortunately, Matasuntha proved too strong for our plans, blocking every bleed attempt and sending everyone to torpor. Over the course of the game, Matasuntha generated about 10 pool thanks to her incredible ability, completely frustrating any attempts to break through.
While it was a bit disheartening to lose to her, I was genuinely impressed by the deck’s synergy and the creative card combinations. Both the top seed (!Tremere) and the Matasuntha player are from Asturias, in northern Spain—a fantastic showing for their region.
Congratulations to the winner and all the finalists for an amazing game!
The tournament winning deck: “Lerne & CO” by Miguel Vega
Crypt (12 cards)
4x Lernean 10 AUS CEL DOM THA for pro cardinal Tremere antitribu:4
3x Orlando Oriundus 9 AUS DOM THA obf bishop Tremere antitribu:4
2x Ladislas Toth, The Torch 7 AUS DOM THA for archbishop Tremere antitribu:3
1x Eric Kressida 8 AUS DOM PRO THA cel bishop Tremere antitribu:4
1x Frondator 5 AUS dom tha bishop Tremere antitribu:4
1x Selena 6 AUS DOM THA Tremere antitribu:3
Library (90 cards)
Master (19; 7 trifle)
1x Black Forest Base
1x Coven, The
1x Direct Intervention
2x Dreams of the Sphinx
1x Erciyes Fragments, The
1x Fortitude
1x Giant's Blood
1x Information Highway
1x Jake Washington
1x Monastery of Shadows
1x Sudden Reversal
1x Vessel
4x Villein
1x Wider View
1x Zillah's Valley
Action (17)
1x Abbot
1x Biothaumaturgic Experiment
1x Dominate Kine
1x Far Mastery
7x Govern the Unaligned
1x Magic of the Smith
3x Scouting Mission
2x Under Siege
Political Action (4)
2x Banishment
1x Reinforcements
1x Reins of Power
Ally (2)
1x Carlton Van Wyk
1x Mylan Horseed
Equipment (4)
1x Bowl of Convergence
1x Heart of Nizchetus
1x Ivory Bow
1x Seal of Veddartha
Retainer (1)
1x Mr. Winthrop
Action Modifier (19)
1x Daring the Dawn
1x Enkil Cog
2x Forced March
3x Foreshadowing Destruction
7x Freak Drive
4x Mirror Walk
1x Seduction
Action Modifier/Reaction (1)
1x Murmur of the False Will
Combat (3)
2x Theft of Vitae
1x Wind Dance
Reaction (20)
5x Deflection
5x Eyes of Argus
3x My Enemy's Enemy
2x Obedience
2x On the Qui Vive
1x Redirection
2x Telepathic Misdirection
Many thanks to everyone for coming and making this a memorable event!
Event sponsored by:
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Jonas Ståhle is the 2024 champion of Finland!
This tournament was played with 30 participants in Kerava on November 9. Report by Teemu Sainomaa, VEKN Prince of Kerava. All the nice photos by Marko Saari.
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Standings before the final:
1. Niko Vanhatalo 2 GW 7,5 VP
2. Jonas Ståhle 2 GW 7 VP
3. Akseli Jalava 2 GW 6 VP
4. Teemu Sainomaa 2 GW 5,5 VP
5. Tero Aalto 1 GW 7 VP
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Final result:
Tero Aalto 0,5 vp
Jonas Ståhle 1,5 vp – Congratulations!
Niko Vanhatalo 0 vp
Teemu Sainomaa 0,5 vp
Akseli Jalava 0,5 vp
The winning deck list: “Slasher Grinder” by Jonas Ståhle
Crypt (12 cards)
3x Abaddon8 AUS DOM FOR cel potSalubri:7
2x Ilonka 7 AUS DOM FOR thaSalubri:7
1x Aniel6 AUS DOM forSalubri:7
1x Malachi6 AUS DOM FORSalubri:7
1x Sakhar 6 AUS FOR domSalubri:7
2x Opikun 5 FOR aus domSalubri:7
1x Yael 4 aus dom forSalubri:7
1x Dominica 3 aus forSalubri:7
Library (83 cards)
Master (15; 6 trifle)
1x Anarch Troublemaker
2x Blood Doll
1x Depravity
1x Direct Intervention
1x Dreams of the Sphinx
1x Meditative Grove
1x Saulot's Avenging Fist
1x Saulot's Healing Touch
3x Vessel
2x Wash
1x Wider View
Action (16)
4x Feast of the Soul's Secrets
10x Govern the Unaligned
2x Masochism
Action/Combat (1)
1x Touch of Valeren
Equipment (1)
1x Bowl of Convergence
Action Modifier (9)
1x Conditioning
3x Forced Confessional
5x Freak Drive
Action Modifier/Reaction (6)
6x Murmur of the False Will
Combat (17)
5x Hidden Strength
1x Indomitability
1x Lessons in the Steel
1x Rolling with the Punches
1x Superior Mettle
3x Taste of Vitae
5x Weighted Walking Stick
Reaction (18)
5x Deflection
1x Delaying Tactics
5x Eyes of Argus
1x My Enemy's Enemy
4x On the Qui Vive
2x Telepathic Misdirection
Thanks for our sponsors Black Chantry Productions, Ultra Pro, Noora Hirvonen and instagram.com/malincuente.
Troy Espiritu is the 2024 Asian champion!
This event took place at Gamersaurus Rex in Singapore on November 2 with 15 players. Reported by Keith Lee, VEKN National Coordinator of Singapore, with additional comment by the champion:
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Standings before the final:
1. Joscar Malacaman: 1 GW, 4 VPs
2. Troy Espiritu: 1 GW, 3 VPs
3. Christopher Choy: 1 GW, 3 VPs
4. Raihan Harun: 1 GW, 2.5 VPs
5. Keith Lim: 3.5 VPs
Report on the final by champion Troy Espiritu is attached.I remember thinking I can probably survive the voters better than being in front of the dominate bleed, so I placed myself behind the Tzimisce bleed. Joscar however understood that the best place for him was in front of me, as my midcap mono potence has no answer for Matasuntha.
Pregame: Voters consider Matasuntha as the table threat. Publicly conspire to eliminate Matasuntha first, then midcap POT, then do a three-way with the Tzimisce.
Game: Keith actually went for both his predator and grand predator, hitting multiple KRCS 2-2 on the Tzimisce, and Matasuntha. The Justicars bide their time, slowly influencing out 3 big vampires; negotiating with its midcap pot prey of no forward action until Matasuntha is ousted. Midcap Pot not moving forward, expecting the voters to actually win his first VP for him. Midcap Pot, realizing only the Baali are hitting Matasuntha and the Tzimisce, start back-rushing to remove Justicar's Obediences, and SCEs.
Matasuntha cannot block the cross table votes. She tried rushing but too much SCE, and when the Dog Pack came, got DI-ed. Oust was inevitable.
Votes continue raining down from the Baali and the Justicars. Midcap Pots mostly backrushing to keep the Justicars and the Baali in check. Negotiations still happening on how to handle the pot-deck, and the Tzimisce. It seems, the Baali wants to give the Tzimisce to the weenies again, so that the Justicars can only have 1 VP when it comes down to the 1v1. Baali then calls an Autarkis, killing both the Tzimisce, and the Justicars. We don't know if this was intentional :)
Down to midcap pot (2 VPs), and the Baali vote (1vp). Midcap Pot has no reaction cards, and cannot vote. Baali hits multiple votes. Down to the wire, pot-deck is on it's last turn pool-wise, Baali running out of minions: Baali with 3 minions, midcap Pot with 5. Only chance was to torpor all his minions. 2 rushes, 2 torpored Baali. 3 more rushes to go, 1 target. Baali top decking combat ends. On the last minion rush, midcap pot top decked a disarm to torpor the Baali's last minion. Baali concede.
Exciting down to the last draws. Thank you Keith for the 3 VPs across the tournament :)
Final result: Me with midcap Pot (4 VPs), Keith with Baali Vote (1 VP). Additional Stat: Midcap Pot tournament torpor count: 18.
The tournament winning deck: “Mid-Weenie POT” by Troy Espiritu
Slightly Modified Deck of Serge Cirri's Fists of the Giovanni. wanted to bring a deck that can bring the hurt, without actually minding if my own minions go down. Priority was to torpor other vamps so the players remember me, and would want to go to next year's ACC for payback :)
Crypt (12 cards, min=8 max=19 avg=3.42)
1x Gianmaria Giovanni 5 POT dom nec obtGiovanni:5
1x Horace Radcliffe 5 ANI POT obfNosferatu:6
1x Salvatore Giovanni 5 NEC POT domGiovanni:6
1x Aunt Linda 4 POT obfNosferatu:6
1x Domenic Giovanni 4 POT necGiovanni:6
1x Elen Kamjian 4 CEL POTBrujah:6
1x Volo 4 POT pro sanBlood Brother:5
2x Bez Dunsirn2 POTGiovanni:6
1x Eric Milliner2 potGiovanni:5
1x Nichodemus 2 potNosferatu:5
1x Rayne2 potBrujah:6
Library (90 cards)
Master (15; 3 trifle)
2x Archon Investigation
1x Carver's Meat Packing and Storage
1x Coven, The
1x Direct Intervention
2x Fame
1x Frontal Assault
2x Haven Uncovered
1x Heidelberg Castle, Germany
2x Life in the City
1x Morgue Hunting Ground
1x Powerbase: Montreal
Event (1)
1x Narrow Minds
Action (13)
2x Ambush
9x Bum's Rush
2x Harass
Equipment (3)
3x Camera Phone
Retainer (2)
1x J. S. Simmons, Esq.
1x Tasha Morgan
Combat (55)
2x Disarm
6x Fake Out
10x Immortal Grapple
8x Roundhouse
7x Slam
3x Target Vitals
6x Taste of Vitae
3x Thrown Sewer Lid
10x Torn Signpost
Reaction (1)
1x Delaying Tactics
Thanks to organisers, players and to Gamersaurus Rex, a friendly local game store - we need more of them, so please support them!
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