Who's Who in the V:TES Community

Vital Statistics:

Name:
Year of Birth:
Occupation:
Other Games Played:

Number of Cards owned:

Number of Decks ready to play:
Play in:

Ben Peal
1972
Sysadmin
Warhammer 40K, D&D, Xbox games, gobs of board games, fantasy hockey
Uh...er...enough that I bought a shelving unit exclusively for my V:TES cards.
93
Boston, MA, USA (but will travel anywhere!)

Q1: How (and when) did you begin your career as a VTES-player? Who introduced you to the game? Where did you play originally?
I first played the game the day it hit the shelves in Pittsburgh. My Magic and board-gaming friends and I each got a starter deck and a few boosters and tried the game out. It caught on well, and the crew ended up playing it once a week or so. However, I was poor and couldn't afford the cards at the time, so I only played once in a blue moon, and with the same dumb Ventrue-Gangrel deck I had (and still have!).
A few years later, I moved back to the Boston area to start a new job and encountered Dave Zopf and his crew at Your Move Games. It was refreshing to see that there was a group that still actively played the game. Given that I could afford to buy cards, and that it was a very friendly group to play with, I got back into the game. A couple years later, Dave moved away to Charlotte, NC, but passed the title of Prince of Boston on to me.
Back in 1998, I drove down to Charlotte with Chris O'Brien, and from there we caught a ride to DragonCon with Dave. It was my first big tournament experience, and I took second place to Jared Strait. The tournaments there really opened my eyes to the strategies and variety of deck designs in the game, as well as the numerous (and very friendly) fans of the game who still avidly played. I've since been to 3 more DragonCons in the past 4 years.
When Sabbat War was released, a lot of new players joined our group, and eventually I ran my first tournament (Dave ran one in his time before leaving). At around the same time, the Seekonk, MA group got themselves together and started running tournaments, as well. The two groups motivated each other to run events, promote the game, and develop their decks and strategies at a level we wouldn't have been able to attain by ourselves. This culminated in Grant Garvin and I jointly running the 2002 Northeast Regional Qualifier, and since then, the Boston and Seekonk groups continue to attend each other's events, as well as those run by Todd Richter in Worcester, MA and Ben Spaulding in Bangor, ME (and sometimes Portland, ME).

Q2: Which of the Sets and Expansions to VTES is your favorite, and why is it your top choice?
Definitely Bloodlines. I love the variety and flavor that the expansion offers, and it really made me re-think how I look at deck design - not just for incorporating Bloodlines clans, but for other clans, as well. It really opened my eyes to what is possible, what you can get away with, and to what limits you can push deck design.

Q3: What is your favorite deck to play, and why?
That's a hard question to answer, as I own so many decks! :)
I really don't think I could pick just one. Short Leash Bleed will always have a special place in my heart, as it won 4 out of 4 tournaments for me, including the 2001 North American Champioships. Go-Go-Goratrix is probably the most fun deck I've played in a tournament, just for its sheer entertainment value. It was also fun to win storyline tournaments with The Wall of Doom, which inspired two tournament-winning successors - Radar X-5000 and Proto-Chemical. Lately, I've been having fun with a big Gangrel vote deck, the idea for which I got from Steve Bucy of LA. However, I'm always looking to build something new and explore the game as much as I can, and I always have something new in the works!
I'm gradually compiling deck lists for all my decks, and those currently compiled can be found here:
www.mindstorm.com/~fudjo/decks/

Q4: If you could add something to the game, what would it be?
I'd like for there to be a good alternative to bleed bouce available especially to those clans that don't have access to bleed bounce. Perhaps a card or two that could reduce a bleed to 1 or 0? I'd like for players to get zero transfers when they are at 4 pool or less.
I especially would like those who qualify at any V:EKN qualifier to be qualified for all continental championships, to help promote and foster more of a world player base and community.

Q5: What do you do to help promote the game / why are you in this list of people?
I'm the current Prince of Boston, MA, and try to run a tournament every month, including pre-releases and storyline tournaments. The Boston crew's website is: www.darkwindrising.com/vampire
I jointly ran the 2002 Northeast Regional Qualifier with Grant Garvin of Seekonk, MA, and we're currently in the planning stages for running it again in 2003.
I'm the current editor of the Official Clan Salubri Newsletter, and I've also written two articles for Rustwurk (www.rustwurk.net).
I'm a very active participent in the American tournament scene, travelling to events in GenCon, DragonCon, OrcCon, Dreamation Con, TotalCon, Buck's County (PA), Fort Lee (NJ), East Windsor (NJ), Seekonk (MA), Worcester (MA), Portsmouth (NH), Washington (DC), and Portland (ME). I'm also the 2001 V:EKN North American Champion, and will be competing in the 2002 V:EKN European Championships, as well.
I also post to rec.games.trading-cards.jyhad here and there. :)

Q6: What is your favorite deck style for casual play / tournament play?
For casual play, I prefer to test out new decks, but will occasionally dust off an old one. In tournaments, I prefer to play a deck that has shown some promise in prior testing in casual games. Generally speaking, the design strategy is the same for both casual and tournament decks - about in the middle of focussed and toolboxy. I'll have a focussed offense and defense, but will throw in a bunch of curveballs to keep opponents off-balance. In the past year, I've been having fun building hybrid decks that incorporate two or more design concepts.

Q7: Is there a difference between your casual play and tournament play?
In casual play, I prefer to play to my competition. If there are brand new players at the table, I'll give them the room and time they need to try out their decks and strategies, as there isn't much for them to learn from getting stomped. Also, if players are looking for a less serious game, I'm happy to oblige. If players want a more serious game, I'm happy to play those, too. In general, I'll use a casual game as a testbed for new decks.
In tournament play, I show no mercy to my prey.

Back to the index of Who's Who in V:TES.

Q1: How (and when) did you begin your career as a VTES-player? Who introduced you to the game? Where did you play originally? I first played the game the day it hit the shelves in Pittsburgh. My Magic and board-gaming friends and I each got a starter deck and a few boosters and tried the game out. It caught on well, and the crew ended up playing it once a week or so. However, I was poor and couldn't afford the cards at the time, so I only played once in a blue moon, and with the same dumb Ventrue-Gangrel deck I had (and still have!). A few years later, I moved back to the Boston area to start a new job and encountered Dave Zopf and his crew at Your Move Games. It was refreshing to see that there was a group that still actively played the game. Given that I could afford to buy cards, and that it was a very friendly group to play with, I got back into the game. A couple years later, Dave moved away to Charlotte, NC, but passed the title of Prince of Boston on to me. Back in 1998, I drove down to Charlotte with Chris O'Brien, and from there we caught a ride to DragonCon with Dave. It was my first big tournament experience, and I took second place to Jared Strait. The tournaments there really opened my eyes to the strategies and variety of deck designs in the game, as well as the numerous (and very friendly) fans of the game who still avidly played. I've since been to 3 more DragonCons in the past 4 years. When Sabbat War was released, a lot of new players joined our group, and eventually I ran my first tournament (Dave ran one in his time before leaving). At around the same time, the Seekonk, MA group got themselves together and started running tournaments, as well. The two groups motivated each other to run events, promote the game, and develop their decks and strategies at a level we wouldn't have been able to attain by ourselves. This culminated in Grant Garvin and I jointly running the 2002 Northeast Regional Qualifier, and since then, the Boston and Seekonk groups continue to attend each other's events, as well as those run by Todd Richter in Worcester, MA and Ben Spaulding in Bangor, ME (and sometimes Portland, ME).	Q2: Which of the Sets and Expansions to VTES is your favorite, and why is it your top choice? Definitely Bloodlines. I love the variety and flavor that the expansion offers, and it really made me re-think how I look at deck design - not just for incorporating Bloodlines clans, but for other clans, as well. It really opened my eyes to what is possible, what you can get away with, and to what limits you can push deck design.
Q3: What is your favorite deck to play, and why? That's a hard question to answer, as I own so many decks! :) I really don't think I could pick just one. Short Leash Bleed will always have a special place in my heart, as it won 4 out of 4 tournaments for me, including the 2001 North American Champioships. Go-Go-Goratrix is probably the most fun deck I've played in a tournament, just for its sheer entertainment value. It was also fun to win storyline tournaments with The Wall of Doom, which inspired two tournament-winning successors - Radar X-5000 and Proto-Chemical. Lately, I've been having fun with a big Gangrel vote deck, the idea for which I got from Steve Bucy of LA. However, I'm always looking to build something new and explore the game as much as I can, and I always have something new in the works! I'm gradually compiling deck lists for all my decks, and those currently compiled can be found here: www.mindstorm.com/~fudjo/decks/	Q4: If you could add something to the game, what would it be? I'd like for there to be a good alternative to bleed bouce available especially to those clans that don't have access to bleed bounce. Perhaps a card or two that could reduce a bleed to 1 or 0? I'd like for players to get zero transfers when they are at 4 pool or less. I especially would like those who qualify at any V:EKN qualifier to be qualified for all continental championships, to help promote and foster more of a world player base and community.
Q5: What do you do to help promote the game / why are you in this list of people? I'm the current Prince of Boston, MA, and try to run a tournament every month, including pre-releases and storyline tournaments. The Boston crew's website is: www.darkwindrising.com/vampire I jointly ran the 2002 Northeast Regional Qualifier with Grant Garvin of Seekonk, MA, and we're currently in the planning stages for running it again in 2003. I'm the current editor of the Official Clan Salubri Newsletter, and I've also written two articles for Rustwurk (www.rustwurk.net). I'm a very active participent in the American tournament scene, travelling to events in GenCon, DragonCon, OrcCon, Dreamation Con, TotalCon, Buck's County (PA), Fort Lee (NJ), East Windsor (NJ), Seekonk (MA), Worcester (MA), Portsmouth (NH), Washington (DC), and Portland (ME). I'm also the 2001 V:EKN North American Champion, and will be competing in the 2002 V:EKN European Championships, as well. I also post to rec.games.trading-cards.jyhad here and there. :)	Q6: What is your favorite deck style for casual play / tournament play? For casual play, I prefer to test out new decks, but will occasionally dust off an old one. In tournaments, I prefer to play a deck that has shown some promise in prior testing in casual games. Generally speaking, the design strategy is the same for both casual and tournament decks - about in the middle of focussed and toolboxy. I'll have a focussed offense and defense, but will throw in a bunch of curveballs to keep opponents off-balance. In the past year, I've been having fun building hybrid decks that incorporate two or more design concepts.
Q7: Is there a difference between your casual play and tournament play? In casual play, I prefer to play to my competition. If there are brand new players at the table, I'll give them the room and time they need to try out their decks and strategies, as there isn't much for them to learn from getting stomped. Also, if players are looking for a less serious game, I'm happy to oblige. If players want a more serious game, I'm happy to play those, too. In general, I'll use a casual game as a testbed for new decks. In tournament play, I show no mercy to my prey.