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 Swainbank
1972
Software Engineer
I'm kind of a one game guy these days.
Around 7,000
4. I generally rotate around 1 deck in and out per week - keeping 4-6 built at a time.
Mostly Boston, Massachussetts

Q1: How (and when) did you begin your career as a VTES-player? Who introduced you to the game? Where did you play originally?
Sometime in the fall of '94 a friend introduced me to the game. I got into it with a small group of friends and we played pretty regularly, playing 3CL, against the same three guys for the next 6 years.
That group got scattered in the fall of '00. In a desperate bid to keep playing, I became a Prince and tried (and failed) to get a group going in Portsmouth, NH. This brought me into contact with the Boston group. So started playing with that group and got into the competitive play and the tournament scene.

Q2: Which of the Sets and Expansions to VTES is your favorite, and why is it your top choice?
Bloodlines, no question. It just opened up so many avenues for exploration, the forced vamp doubling changed my crypt construction style, and the set really drew me out of the 2-3 discipline deck box. It was a very challenging and rewarding set to play.
For a while I had a goal of winning a game with all 12 bloodlines. I still have 3 to go (Salubri, !Salubri, True Brujah).

Q3: What is your favorite deck to play, and why?
Well, ONE of my favorites also has the distinction of delivering me my worst tournament performance thus far (0 vp in the GenCon Final Qualifier last summer). But it still has a soft spot in my heart. Its called "Devil's Advocate" - the Ventrue team up with Giotto Verudcci. Giotto cloaks, does some bleeding, provides super cycling, and helps put your pool in free-fall so you can get off loads of Parity Shifts. A little fragile, but very fun, and packs massive firepower if it all falls into place.

Q4: If you could add something to the game, what would it be?
The most unfortunate thing about V:tes is the steep barrier to entry for new players. The mechanics are diverse and complex and there's so much errata. It's a tough game to teach.
But, the errata is there to keep the game so finely balanced and the complexity serves the games great depth and diversity. So, as much as I'd like to see it streamlined somehow and become easier for new players to appreciate, I don't really see how or even if it should be tried.

Q5: What do you do to help promote the game / why are you in this list of people?
I'm a Prince, but I've long since given up trying to build a playgroup in my hometown. So, I'm not doing much there, and am mostly sponging off the remarkable efforts of the other New England Princes.
But I have tried to contribute to the game in other ways. I wrote the Malkavian newsletter, quite regularly, for a year --June 01-June 02. Some of those I still think are quite good and could be of interest to more people than the handful of players that actually like the Malks.
In particular, I recommend:
MALKAVIAN CLAN NEWSLETTER: June, 2001 - A nice overview of playing a beating sneak and bleed.
V:EKN MALKAVIAN NEWSLETTER, FEBRUARY 2002 - Tactics tips and thoughts on offensive and defensive postures.
VEKN MALKAVIAN NEWSLETTER, June 2002 - On Time Issue - Ideas on using the tournament time limits to your advantage.
I've also received a little recognition for winning a few tournaments (3 sanctioned, 2 unsanctioned) in the Boston area and making it to the finals (and losing) in the 2002 Northeast Regional Qualifier and 2002 North American Championships.
Another career highlight would have to include being in Paris for the 2001 European Championships and so ending up as the only American to crash the party. In the final qualifier I got 6th out of > 100 players and got to play in the championship (with no particular distinction) the next day.

Q6: What is your favorite deck style for casual play / tournament play?
For casual play I try to vary my deck style and tend towards anything I think will "work" but I haven't played or played against. I like to try a little of everything, try new stuff, keep people guessing, and see what surprises and lessons emerge. That said, I don't build a lot of off-the-wall or highly experimental decks. I mostly like to take different clans, cards, and deck types for a spin.
For tournament decks, I usually construct something as a "tournament deck"- test it and tune it in a few casual games, try it for real in a tournament and then, win or lose, put it away and try to come up with another tournament deck for next time. Even for tournaments, I try to vary my decks types and style. But I have constructed 3 different armed Malkavian bleed-fight hybrid decks that have some similar themes - Malks with weapons that bleed their prey and shoot down their predator, with a few other tricks built in.

Q7: Is there a difference between your casual play and tournament play?
Not much. I think I play at a fairly consistent competitive level.
Although, one difference that does come to mind is that I do assume in a casual game that everyone is there to try out their deck and looking for a good game. I do tend to avoid efficient shut-down (minion lockdown, fast rush, fast bleed) type decks that try to disable, oust, and/or jam other players to the point that they don't get to play much of their deck --which is just no fun, especially for new players.
But I don't have such qualms in tournaments and am more than happy to oust, jam, torporize, or crush someone should the opportunity present itself.

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? Sometime in the fall of '94 a friend introduced me to the game. I got into it with a small group of friends and we played pretty regularly, playing 3CL, against the same three guys for the next 6 years. That group got scattered in the fall of '00. In a desperate bid to keep playing, I became a Prince and tried (and failed) to get a group going in Portsmouth, NH. This brought me into contact with the Boston group. So started playing with that group and got into the competitive play and the tournament scene.	Q2: Which of the Sets and Expansions to VTES is your favorite, and why is it your top choice? Bloodlines, no question. It just opened up so many avenues for exploration, the forced vamp doubling changed my crypt construction style, and the set really drew me out of the 2-3 discipline deck box. It was a very challenging and rewarding set to play. For a while I had a goal of winning a game with all 12 bloodlines. I still have 3 to go (Salubri, !Salubri, True Brujah).
Q3: What is your favorite deck to play, and why? Well, ONE of my favorites also has the distinction of delivering me my worst tournament performance thus far (0 vp in the GenCon Final Qualifier last summer). But it still has a soft spot in my heart. Its called "Devil's Advocate" - the Ventrue team up with Giotto Verudcci. Giotto cloaks, does some bleeding, provides super cycling, and helps put your pool in free-fall so you can get off loads of Parity Shifts. A little fragile, but very fun, and packs massive firepower if it all falls into place.	Q4: If you could add something to the game, what would it be? The most unfortunate thing about V:tes is the steep barrier to entry for new players. The mechanics are diverse and complex and there's so much errata. It's a tough game to teach. But, the errata is there to keep the game so finely balanced and the complexity serves the games great depth and diversity. So, as much as I'd like to see it streamlined somehow and become easier for new players to appreciate, I don't really see how or even if it should be tried.
Q5: What do you do to help promote the game / why are you in this list of people? I'm a Prince, but I've long since given up trying to build a playgroup in my hometown. So, I'm not doing much there, and am mostly sponging off the remarkable efforts of the other New England Princes. But I have tried to contribute to the game in other ways. I wrote the Malkavian newsletter, quite regularly, for a year --June 01-June 02. Some of those I still think are quite good and could be of interest to more people than the handful of players that actually like the Malks. In particular, I recommend: MALKAVIAN CLAN NEWSLETTER: June, 2001 - A nice overview of playing a beating sneak and bleed. V:EKN MALKAVIAN NEWSLETTER, FEBRUARY 2002 - Tactics tips and thoughts on offensive and defensive postures. VEKN MALKAVIAN NEWSLETTER, June 2002 - On Time Issue - Ideas on using the tournament time limits to your advantage. I've also received a little recognition for winning a few tournaments (3 sanctioned, 2 unsanctioned) in the Boston area and making it to the finals (and losing) in the 2002 Northeast Regional Qualifier and 2002 North American Championships. Another career highlight would have to include being in Paris for the 2001 European Championships and so ending up as the only American to crash the party. In the final qualifier I got 6th out of > 100 players and got to play in the championship (with no particular distinction) the next day.	Q6: What is your favorite deck style for casual play / tournament play? For casual play I try to vary my deck style and tend towards anything I think will "work" but I haven't played or played against. I like to try a little of everything, try new stuff, keep people guessing, and see what surprises and lessons emerge. That said, I don't build a lot of off-the-wall or highly experimental decks. I mostly like to take different clans, cards, and deck types for a spin. For tournament decks, I usually construct something as a "tournament deck"- test it and tune it in a few casual games, try it for real in a tournament and then, win or lose, put it away and try to come up with another tournament deck for next time. Even for tournaments, I try to vary my decks types and style. But I have constructed 3 different armed Malkavian bleed-fight hybrid decks that have some similar themes - Malks with weapons that bleed their prey and shoot down their predator, with a few other tricks built in.
Q7: Is there a difference between your casual play and tournament play? Not much. I think I play at a fairly consistent competitive level. Although, one difference that does come to mind is that I do assume in a casual game that everyone is there to try out their deck and looking for a good game. I do tend to avoid efficient shut-down (minion lockdown, fast rush, fast bleed) type decks that try to disable, oust, and/or jam other players to the point that they don't get to play much of their deck --which is just no fun, especially for new players. But I don't have such qualms in tournaments and am more than happy to oust, jam, torporize, or crush someone should the opportunity present itself.