40th clans of vampires

40th clans of vampires

23 March 2025, 21:00 – 15 April 2025, 23:00
Online Multi-Deck Constructed
3R+F
48 players
Ruben Feldman (#8840001) with 3 VPs in finals.

www.vekn.net/event-calendar/event/12204

Deck Name: Rock, Paper, Torpor
Description:
[Description]

Crypt:
1 Ember Wright
1 Esoara
1 Janine
1 Keith Moody
1 Mosfair
1 Saiz
18 Tupdog

Library:
1 Ancient Influence
1 Arson
5 As the Crow
6 Ashur Tablets
6 Autarkis Persecution
6 Brick by Brick
1 Deflection
1 Direct Intervention
4 Disarm
1 Dragonbound
2 Dreams of the Sphinx
7 Graverobbing
10 Immortal Grapple
1 Information Highway
1 Jake Washington
1 Mark of the Damned
1 Ossian
1 Powerbase: Montreal
9 Raking Talons
6 Rock Cat
5 Roundhouse
1 Stonestrength
1 Vagabond Mystic
1 Villein
2 Wider View

Martin Weinmayer and I are thrilled to have a record number of players (48), participating from a record number of different countries (21). A big hug to everyone who plays online; you allow players to enjoy their favorite game even if they don't have a local playgroup. We had players from Brasil (5), Germany (5), Finland (5), Poland (4), Sweden (4), USA (4), Austria (3), France ((3), Belgium (2), Lithuania (2), Portugal (2), United Kingdom (2), Denmark, Hungary, Ireland, Netherlands, New Zealand, Serbia, Singapore, Spain and Switzerland. Thank you !

The legendary player from Switzerland has returned in full force. Ruben barely made it to this prestigious final, but if you give him your little finger, he will take the entire hand. Given his extensive experience, he assumed that time would be a problem as bottóm seed and added a Mark of the Damned to his Tupdog deck, which would be crucial to his success. I was shocked to see Ruben pull out a rush deck because he isn't known for playing combat at all. Well played Ruben !

Final Seating:
Ruben Feldman (5th Seed) Rockcat & Tupdog Combat ->
Erik Wallgren (3rd Seed) Nosferatu Prince Vote ->
Marcin Zakrzewski (Topseed) Banu Haqim 2/3 Bleed ->
Bram van Stappen (2nd Seed) Matasuntha Combat ->
Maciej Kozłowski (4th Seed) Mambo Jeanne Combat ->
Final Standing:
Ruben 3VP
Marcin 2VP

You can rewatch the final here:

(english Maaike Kerschot & Ben Winkeler)

www.twitch.tv/videos/2433737098
(spanish Alejandro Rodriguez )

Final Game: (Report by Ruben Feldman)

The final began on a bit of a low note, as I lost the epic D20 roll for 4th and ended up seeded 5th. Not that it made a huge difference—4th place still gets the same amount of seating rights as a bystander at a chess match.

Unsurprisingly, Marcin and Bram positioned themselves on the opposite side of the table, presumably to avoid the smell of impending doom radiating from my Tupdogs. That worked out rather well for me, since I ended up preying on Erik—the lone vote deck—making it fairly straightforward to lock down votes via graverobbing. (Questionable ethics aside, can you really "steal" from someone already dead?)
I was wary of the Samedi, as they tend to bring the kind of annoying combat that makes you want to reconsider all your life choices and Mambo Jeanne in particular is no friend to rock cats.
Early in the game, Marcin had a solid opportunity to oust Bram, who turned to me for help—with the classic opening move of a (unecessary) crosstable rush threat. We worked it out. I agreed to help him with his predator, though I mentioned that I didn’t have Brick by Brick in hand to catch the Banu Haqim if they chose to maneuver. I expanded my handsize with Dreams and cycled aggressively, and still—no Bricks. (Five of the last eleven cards in my deck turned out to be Bricks, for what it’s worth.) I rushed anyway. No success. Though, “cycling” here meant torporing both of my prey’s minions and graverobbing one ;_;
Bram got bled out fairly quickly by heavy stealth, which wasn’t great for me. If Marcin moved fast enough, he had the potential to oust me. I didn’t particularly want top seed racking up VPs either, especially if we ran into a timeout.
Fortunately—Marciej and Marcin cut a deal to oust me. This gave me time to work on Marcin's vampires, but I'd have to scramble against the clock, bleeding like a leaky faucet every turn.
At that point, I focused on accelerating the game. Erik needed to go, and Marcin still had 36 pool. With less than 15 minutes left, I used Mark of the Damned to execute Marciej (giving Marcin 10 extra pool in the process), a card I packed knowing I would be bottom seed! I then torpored Marcin’s last vampire, and played Ancient Influence to oust Erik. A couple of turns later, it was clear I had enough time to finish it off, and Marcin conceded.
The deck is fun but weird—lots of moving parts, and plenty of opportunities for things to go sideways. Inspired by one of Danillo’s TWD builds.
Big thanks to the organizers and everyone who played. It’s been great being back at the table these last six months after a long torpor—and even better to see the playgroups and game development still going strong. Still dusting off the crypt dirt, but glad to be back among the living—well, mostly.
Thanks for the report Ruben, well played!