Vital Statistics:

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


Number of Cards owned:
Number of Decks ready to play:




Play in:


David J Tatu
1964
Director of Production, Atlanta Ballet
Hero Clix takes up most of my gaming time that is not spent playing VTES. I also play some Warhammer 40K CCG.
60k
I take all of my decks apart at the end of the summer convention season and start to build new one after that. I also use ELDB so I have 100s of decks on paper that can be built in minutes. Right now, I have 12 built.
Atlanta, Georgia

Q1: How (and when) did you begin your career as a VTES-player? Who introduced you to the game? Where did you play originally?

My old high School D&D group showed me a game when I went back to visit them in Virginia Beach in 94 or so. I bought a bunch of cards. The next time I went to see them they had stopped playing. I still bought cards when VTES came out and DS. I remember buying some AH at Gen Con one year at the Wizards Booth. But I had not really played since the Jyhad days. In 98 or so I just happened to find a group in Atlanta where I was living. This was Stu Pieloch's group and they really taught me how to really play the game. Later I meet Todd Banister at a tournament and started playing with his group too.

Q2: Which of the Sets and Expansions to VTES is your favorite, and why is it your top choice?

I really liked the Jyhad set. Although having the different back round colors in VTES helps new players to learn the game I really liked the dark Jyhad cards. I still sometimes build Jyhad only decks. They are still competitive and there are a lot of strategies available. I like to pull an old Jyhad deck out when playing with people who complain about not being able to afford to play competitively. Of course Jyhad is getting pricey now. I bought 20+ boxes at $3.95 each back in 99 or so. I still have 20 or so boxes that I save for drafts or to play two player sealed games with Robyn.

Q3: What is your favorite deck to play, and why?

I have always liked to play Nossies. I like the challenge of not having bleed bounce and trying to vote without presence. I also like to hit people. Some of my many "Ugly Princes" decks can be found at VTES Atlanta http://home.attbi.com/~vtesatlanta/indexd.html. I also like playing Ventrue. Playing without stealth is great and I like the challenge of trying to get the important actions off. Lately, I have been playing a lot with decks that give the vampires multiple actions. Temptations on my own vamps, Rutor's hands and an occasional freak drive. But I like to build decks. I probably build 60 decks a year. Often they get played once and then taken apart. Sometimes they never get played but I keep a print out of them and when I am looking for inspiration I pull out my list of old decks and look at them with a new outlook.

Q4: If you could add something to the game, what would it be?

More players. I have also talked a lot about and worked a little on some demo decks. I have this idea that decks can be built and then stacked in a specific order. You then seat the new players in order with the decks set up and you have them play but the choices are preset and the interactions are set up to teach elements of the game. Kind of like the interactive demo on the WW site.

Q5: What do you do to help promote the game / why are you in this list of people?

Well I guess what I do most to promote the game is to play it. I have traveled around a bit and played in a few tournaments. I have also had up to a dozen people stay at my house for Dragon Con in Atlanta. In return I have had a lot of people offer me their house to stay at when I travel. It seems like VTES players are of a type that I find I really like to hang out with. I think that all of my friends outside of work are all people I have met through VTES, most importantly, my wife. And when we make vacation plans they revolve around VTES. We hope to make it to Europe next summer for a couple of games in a couple of cities. I have been called a goodwill ambassador of VTES. I have also done some play testing on the White Wolf expansions so I hope I have had some impact on the game itself. I will take credit for all that is good in the sets. Anything that sucks is because Scott would not listen to me.

Q6: What is your favorite deck style for casual play / tournament play?

Decks I have fun playing. I always want to win the table but I don't care if I go months without a VP. I like to play a deck that has the ability to interact with the table and has a lot of options. Although I have a fair share of highly focused decks that only do one thing too.

Q7: Is there a difference between your casual play and tournament play?

Not really so much in deck design. When I decide what deck to play in a tournament I usually base the choice on what deck will I have fun playing for three, or hopefully, 4 rounds. If I am going to invest that much time in playing then I want to have fun. Winning is always good but not necessary to have fun. The one exception would be decks I play for a Qualifier. In those games I actually want to win more then anything else so that affects my deck choices. At least until I get a top ten spot. Overall, I rarely build a deck for a tournament. I just look at decks I have built and go from there. I am not one who likes to play and tune and replay a deck too much. I want to play something new every time I play. As for play style differences, I tend to talk a little more in tournaments. I have been told that I can sometimes make deals and that those deals can sometimes give me an advantage. So I like to play decks that give me some say in what happens. I guess I tend to work a little harder at deal making and explaining the dynamics of the table when I play in tournaments then when our group gets together for weekly games.

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