I recently spent three nights in Los Angeles at the Strategicon presentation of OrcCon 2000 held on February 19, 20, and 21, 2000. I managed to play in four organized VTES tournaments and in easily a dozen pickup games. There were a wide variety of players represented, from 19/20 year olds to 55 year olds. There were players from all over Southern California, Las Vegas, and one from Texas (me).
Friday night, we had seven players playing and two other players around, and there was nothing official scheduled until Saturday at 1:00. A new player was introduced to the game, and he ended up buying a box of Jyhad and two boxes of commons from Mark Korshavn on Saturday. On Sunday, he even played in the final evening tournament.
Saturday's first tournament started at 1:00 p.m. and had twenty contestants. Four tables of five players, man was that great! Seating was very determinent of players results, for example my Lasombra Mind Rape deck ended up dying to two different weenie horde decks. Its hard for a deck that relies on only having out two-three vampires to deal with decks that have upwards of seven in play. In the first round, my predator was a weenie fortitude deck that played with Undead Persistence and Traps. I let him bleed me as much as he wanted, to avoid combat with him when I didn't have Shadow Body cards to end combat. I had my Toreador Antitribu Art of Pain deck as my prey, so I didn't want to fight him either. I did Mind Rape all of his six point vampires and use the Heidelburg Castle to take their blood before Banishing them and the deck worked well. I ended up almost ousting my prey, and had him down to four pool with three minions with only one blood each when I was ousted. In the second round, my grandpredator was a Social Charm / Telepathic Counter deck played by one of the best female players I have yet seen. She ended up winning the first tournament by the skin of her teeth, but she did win. My deck did better, but I ended up Golconda-ing three of my vampires to gain back twenty-eight pool, and it didn't help enough to keep me in the game.
While the final round was going on, I started a pick up game with four others, two of whom had not been there in time for the first tournament. They both stayed for the second tournament.
Saturday's second tournament started at 8:00 p.m. and had sixteen contestants. Four tables of four players. I ended up taking three victory points each of the beginning rounds to be one of the top two seeds for the final. I played my Toreador Grand Ball deck, and unblockable Fifth Traditions and unblockable votes swayed the tables to my will. Each game, my prey was able to oust their prey before I got them, but I got all of the other victory points at the table. In the final, I was the predator of a 1 vampire deck, a Darius Styx Freak Drive - Sensory Deprivation - Restoration - Force of Will - Movement of the Slow Body - Rapid Healing Deck, that had swept one table to get 4 victory points. Very early in the final round, I used Anson with a Second Tradition to Diablerize Darius Styx as he attempted a Rapid Healing and he ended up being destroyed by the Blood Hunt vote by the two Voting decks across the table. Neither my predator nor my prey in the final had any votes, but both my grand predator and my grandprey had a prince and justicar out at the time. My four votes were insufficient to keep Anson around, and it was to be my downfall. The next turn, I purchased Angus, the Unruled who was at capacity for 10 as a result of a Hostile Takeover, so I did get the votes back, but he ended up in torpor almost immediately, and so I minion tapped him and left him in torpor until the turn before I was ousted. My grand predator (Paul), called a Kindred Restructure, swapping places with me and taking my victory point for the Ravnos deck. After I was ousted, Steve Bucy, who was then my predator ousted Paul while a 1st Tradition was in play, and much debate ensued about whether or not the card would leave the game when Paul was ousted as he was the person originally calling the vote. It was decided that it did, and my original predator, Brad, ended up ousting Steve and taking the tournament with two victory points in the final with one for Paul and one for Steve. Mike did a great job as the judge, making the hard decision at a point of much tension during the final round.
Sunday's first tournament started for me after a visit to Mark Korshavn's dealers table. I picked up eight Banishments, and added them to my Nosferatu Antitribu Voting deck. They were key to my making it to this finals, and I ended up taking second place to Robert Goudie's Night Moves weenie deck. He ended up sweeping the final round, and I took second because I finished first in victory points after him in the qualifying rounds. We only had nine players for this tournament, although much enjoyment was had, and Robin had a great round as Judge because no uneasy rulings had to be made. I took four victory points at the five player table in the first round, and none in the second round. My prey in the second round was Chris Shorb's Beast-based Rush Deck, that ousted his prey, then concentrated on me because I had Banished Beast three times. My predator ended up taking the last three victory points at the four player table because I had no vampires, and the Beast deck had taken enough pool punishment from me by the time I was out that it was not too much of of problem for Wade to oust Chris. Wade was playing a Democritus / Lucian Minion Tap Fifth Tradition deck that had some incredible pool gain, but was hampered by my Banishments and by the Beast. In the final, there were two votes that would have killed my prey (Paul) and predator (Robert by then), but both got intercepted by Paul and so Robert was able to oust me instead. Robert made some good use of Malkavian Dementia to take Lucian from Wade twice at important early points in the game to get significant mileage from his votes to damage his original prey when I called votes. I managed to get all of the votes I called to pass in most of the games in this tournament through careful choosing of victims and playing to the other vote capable decks. This tournament ended early, because both of the first round games took less than an hour, and the second round took less than an hour and a half.
Sunday's final tournament had ten players. I played my Lasombra Commons deck, and took four and a half victory points. Both of the first round games went to time, with some of the eventual finalists only having taken one and a half or two victory points. In the first round, we helped Anthony? (the new player from Friday) quite a bit with his game, and it slowed the game down incredibly. I took one and a half victory points in my first round, and was about to take my second victory point when time was called on my grand predator's turn. The second round, my prey was a stealth dominate bleed deflection deck, that used my best bleeds against his prey, but his prey still managed to eek out one victory point against the new player's Ravnos deck before meeting Final Death. My prey than died to my bleeds and I then took out my predator with three diableries of his vampires before I killed him as well. Going into the final, I was seated last with my prey from the second game sitting right before I did. I sat as his predator again, and helped him get two victory points thru deflected bleeds from my predator and his deflected bleeds from me before I was able to oust him and my predator to take the final with three victory points. Mention should be made of Mike's excellent Eagle's Sight / Tzimisce / Pulse / Burn deck, that helped decide the game, as his prey decided he had to have more pressure on Mike and helped to oust Keith, Mike's predator, for a faster bleeder, my prey. The game was finally decided, when Paul blocked one of my bleeds with his only Prince and I managed to send Selma to torpor with a Thrown Gate. He could not then stand up to the horde of Lasombra I had managed to recruit, and he resigned. Robert Goudie did an excellent job as judge, keeping play up to tempo and clarifying cards quickly and completely.
I hope to bleed many of them at Dragon Con in Atlanta at the end of June, and I hope to bleed you there as well.
Carpe Noctem.
Lasombra