Finalists - the winner in red!
This event was played with 19 players in Gulfport Mississippi on August 23. Reported by Kelly Lyons, Dean Garrison and Parth Patel:
Another great weekend in the south. Methuselahs were bleeding away at the 3rd Leg of the Gulf Coast Roast II in Gulfport, Mississippi. Friday night got kick started with a Water Dog victory at the Revelation of Wrath Tournament. His Nosferatu Antitribu Vote Dirt Deck muddied the playground for the win.
Sunday, saw the Prince of New Orleans, Devin Villegas, win an exciting final round during the Revelation of Despair Tournament. Devin’s Daughters Deck sang the song that makes Shattering Crescendo worth singing. The vocals he sang lead to a victory that was years in the making.
But, the big event was Saturday Night. GCR II – Gulfport Grand Prix was on the line. Just like in Dallas and in Lafayette, it was the New Bloods that were doing all the bleeding. The young guns came prepared and whooped up on the veterans.
Standings after three rounds:
1. Justin Shackleford 3 GW 180 12 VP
2. Parth Patel 1 GW 6.5 VP
3. Joey Theriot 1 GW 5.0 VP
4. Logan Jameson-Hatch 1 GW 4.0 VP 112 TP
5. Josue Torres 1 GW 4.0 VP 102 TP
It was Parth Patel who rose up to conquer them all. In just his second tournament ever, Parth wins a Grand Prix Event. I don’t know what their princes are teaching these neonates down south but they better stop before they take over.
Parth´s tournament deck, with comments: “Scouse politics”
Crypt (12 cards)
3x Diana Iadanza 9 AUS CEL FOR PRE justicar Toreador:7
2x Catalina Vega 8 AUS CEL PRE for prince Toreador:6
2x Flávio Gonçalves 7 CEL PRE aus for prince Toreador:6
2x Maila 6 AUS PRE cel primogen Toreador:6
1x Bret Stryker 4 CEL PRE Toreador:6
1x Valentina Osako 3 PRE Toreador:7
1x Kazuki Hanabira 2 aus Toreador:7
Library (90 cards)
Master (18; 4 trifle)
1x Art Museum
1x Creepshow Casino
2x Dreams of the Sphinx
1x Giant's Blood
1x Information Highway
1x Jake Washington
1x Protected Resources
6x Toreador Grand Ball
3x Villein
1x Wider View
Action (8)
6x Enchant Kindred
1x Entrancement
1x Heart of the City
Political Action (14)
2x Banishment
4x Camarilla's Iron Fist
4x Kine Resources Contested
4x Parity Shift
Action Modifier (23)
2x Aire of Elation
2x Awe
2x Bewitching Oration
4x Forced March
4x Loup
2x Perfect Paragon
7x Voter Captivation
Action Modifier/Combat (4)
4x Resist Earth's Grasp
Action Modifier/Reaction (2)
2x Scalpel Tongue
Combat (6)
2x Charismatic Aura
4x Majesty
Reaction (15)
4x Eyes of Argus
4x Second Tradition: Domain
7x Telepathic Misdirection
So, I started playing V:TES at the end of April. I played twice at Miles 2 Adventure learning the game and borrowing a few decks before heading back to the U.K., where after a few weeks I found a group in Liverpool.
I played a game or two of stealth-bleed but decided I really liked the Toreadors from the V5 starter box I ordered, and with a lot of help from the community in Liverpool, Mikey Ferguson especially, the deck went through many iterations as I learnt the game and got better. I took it to my first tournament in Bletchley in mid-July where unfortunately I only managed 0.5 VP. I believe it wasn’t tournament ready and I was nowhere near a good enough player.
After I returned to the USA I started playing at Miles 2 Adventure again as well as online. I kept tweaking the deck slightly through over 40 iterations before I finally arrived at one I was happy with 3 days before the Gulf Coast Roast, and I’m incredibly pleased with how it worked out. Even before the tournament I was not very confident. I told people I just wanted to beat my previous 0.5 VPs and maybe if I’m lucky I could win 1 table over the 3 day weekend.
When I won my first table on Saturday with 4vp, I thought maybe I just got lucky but my confidence grew throughout the day, and by the time I sat down for the finals table I had a feeling I could be in with a good chance, although I had played with both Justin and Joey before and knew they would be difficult opponents.
I had a very strong start, and about an hour in I managed to get the oust on my prey with a big Aire of Elation bleed, but now I was in a predicament as my predator and grand predator were on 3 pool each and I didn’t want Justin to get the double oust, so I decided to make a deal with Joey. If I used my last vampire to call an Camarilla’s Iron Fist and back oust to give him 6 pool, he would commit to going backwards until the 1v1. It was risky, as a 1v1 vs a Hecata swarm deck is difficult but ultimately it turned out to be the game winning move. Even despite giving Joey the buffer, Justin managed to bleed him out on the next turn. However, I had prevented the double oust which meant that he only got 6 pool instead of 12, so I was able to ultimately win out in the 1v1.
Winning my second ever tournament felt unreal, I still have no idea how I managed it but I’m incredibly happy, and I had a ton of fun playing throughout. I'd like to shout out my fellow “Scousers” who trained me in a trial by fire when I was learning with them so I was prepared for anything. I hope to do them proud by winning many more tournaments here in the U.S.
A big shout out to Terry Miles for hosting at Miles to Adventure. It’s a great store and Terry is a great host. Go check them out. Next stop for the GCR II Grand Prix is New Orleans on October 3-5. We hope to see you there.
