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:

Fabio "Sooner" Macedo
1973
Computer Technician
WoD RPGs, Rage CCG, PC Games
never counted; I guess about 8,000
10-13
Sao Paulo, Brazil

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 tried V:TES once around 96; I just saw the product while buying some books and found it intriguing, as an occasional Vampire Storyteller who never played CCGs before. I lived at Rio de Janeiro and never got past a single V:TES starter deck and a few Dark Sovereign boosters; I found only one player and we all know how head-to-head matches are not the best environment to try this game... I gave it another try at some point on late 2002, after the Camarilla Set release. Bought a Malk and a Giovanni starter (already living in Sao Paulo at the time) and went looking for information on the 'net and for playgroups on stores. Eventually I came across the Dominio SP site http://www.dominiosp.hpg.ig.com.br/), maintained by Daniel "Dragos" Martinez, and he introduced me to a bunch of regular players.

Q2: Which of the Sets and Expansions to VTES is your favorite, and why is it your top choice?
I've been biased toward the indie clans and the anarchs long before playing V:TES, so I'd name Final Nights and Anarchs. Some say that I'm the guy who thinks that any clan-based deck or archetipical strategy can be twisted to "anarchness"... Forcing my mind back to the real world, I'd choose Camarilla for overall usability - and its balancing effect when compared to the older base sets - and Bloodlines for sheer joy.

Q3: What is your favorite deck to play, and why?
Right now - January 2005 - what I like the most is a Nadima-based, Gangrel with Serpentis wall deck, based on another one displayed in this very same Who's Who page under Jay Kristoff's entry (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rgtcjdeckarchive/message/768). I've tweaked it for the local metagame, adding some Flesh of Marble to deal with Potence no-brainers, and I guess that the main reason I'm so fond of it is that it allows a reasonable, quick switching to proactive play if needed (thanks WW for Form of Mist and Rapid Change!), moreso than any other wall deck I've tried or seen before. But usually I have no favorite deck to play. In fact, I can't mantain any deck assembled for more than one or two months, be it for lack of extra copies of some cards or because building a new deck to see if the main idea works to any degree is what I like the most when playing V:TES. (no, my version of "Mirembe Rides Again" is not available online yet...)

Q4: If you could add something to the game, what would it be?
Regional expansions. Kindred of the Ebony Kingdom and Kindred of the East would be fine. I imagine that the East disciplines could not be easily translated to V:TES mechanics, but the Ebony Kingdom is feasible. And more vampires WITHOUT built-in titles, they're cheesy! Power to the Anarchs! :)

Q5: What do you do to help promote the game / why are you in this list of people?
I'm the National Coordinator for Brazil, responsible for organizing prize support distribution between WW and the Princes and for maintaining a national website (which is still on production at this point). I believe I've been sort of a reference point, subscribing to and regularly posting on all regional mailing lists about the game in my country and clarifying tournament and basic rules for anyone who needs it. What I do am proud of though is improving the relationship between the Princes and the country's only regular V:TES distributor, acting as a "common sense filter" for demands from both sides. Previous relationships were sketchy and problematic at best, with a lot of misunderstanding around concerning the market's needs and the Princes' role on the growth of the player base. I believe most of these issues are settled now.

Q6: What is your favorite deck style for casual play / tournament play?
Regularly, I like to play one-trick-pony decks (as long as they're not a big menace) and a few fun, RPG-material-related "theme" decks. Anarchy is always considered when building any of these, yes. For tournament play, I've been trying to set aside all "must have" local standards (focused decks, plenty of stealth etc.) and find a balance between ousting power and non-threatening play. I guess it leads to slower setup with a lot of permanents and a good defensive package, no matter what the deck actually does. Anyway, I never won any tourney, just made four or five finals, so I guess that I'm not the too-competitive kind of player.

Q7: Is there a difference between your casual play and tournament play?
It used to have a lot, from focus to strategies meant to both, but I suspect that these differences are fading. Now I usually go to tourneys with a bouncing or pool-gaining boosted version of any deck I use during casual play, as long as the original version suits the formula given above. If we're talking about personal approach during games, I tend to offer and accept deals more often during tournaments. On casual play, that's me against all the others, including cross-table "allies" who dare to stand in the way of MY VP. After all, I went Anarch to survive on my own and not to bow down to anyone! ;)

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 tried V:TES once around 96; I just saw the product while buying some books and found it intriguing, as an occasional Vampire Storyteller who never played CCGs before. I lived at Rio de Janeiro and never got past a single V:TES starter deck and a few Dark Sovereign boosters; I found only one player and we all know how head-to-head matches are not the best environment to try this game... I gave it another try at some point on late 2002, after the Camarilla Set release. Bought a Malk and a Giovanni starter (already living in Sao Paulo at the time) and went looking for information on the 'net and for playgroups on stores. Eventually I came across the Dominio SP site http://www.dominiosp.hpg.ig.com.br/), maintained by Daniel "Dragos" Martinez, and he introduced me to a bunch of regular players.	Q2: Which of the Sets and Expansions to VTES is your favorite, and why is it your top choice? I've been biased toward the indie clans and the anarchs long before playing V:TES, so I'd name Final Nights and Anarchs. Some say that I'm the guy who thinks that any clan-based deck or archetipical strategy can be twisted to "anarchness"... Forcing my mind back to the real world, I'd choose Camarilla for overall usability - and its balancing effect when compared to the older base sets - and Bloodlines for sheer joy.
Q3: What is your favorite deck to play, and why? Right now - January 2005 - what I like the most is a Nadima-based, Gangrel with Serpentis wall deck, based on another one displayed in this very same Who's Who page under Jay Kristoff's entry (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rgtcjdeckarchive/message/768). I've tweaked it for the local metagame, adding some Flesh of Marble to deal with Potence no-brainers, and I guess that the main reason I'm so fond of it is that it allows a reasonable, quick switching to proactive play if needed (thanks WW for Form of Mist and Rapid Change!), moreso than any other wall deck I've tried or seen before. But usually I have no favorite deck to play. In fact, I can't mantain any deck assembled for more than one or two months, be it for lack of extra copies of some cards or because building a new deck to see if the main idea works to any degree is what I like the most when playing V:TES. (no, my version of "Mirembe Rides Again" is not available online yet...)	Q4: If you could add something to the game, what would it be? Regional expansions. Kindred of the Ebony Kingdom and Kindred of the East would be fine. I imagine that the East disciplines could not be easily translated to V:TES mechanics, but the Ebony Kingdom is feasible. And more vampires WITHOUT built-in titles, they're cheesy! Power to the Anarchs! :)
Q5: What do you do to help promote the game / why are you in this list of people? I'm the National Coordinator for Brazil, responsible for organizing prize support distribution between WW and the Princes and for maintaining a national website (which is still on production at this point). I believe I've been sort of a reference point, subscribing to and regularly posting on all regional mailing lists about the game in my country and clarifying tournament and basic rules for anyone who needs it. What I do am proud of though is improving the relationship between the Princes and the country's only regular V:TES distributor, acting as a "common sense filter" for demands from both sides. Previous relationships were sketchy and problematic at best, with a lot of misunderstanding around concerning the market's needs and the Princes' role on the growth of the player base. I believe most of these issues are settled now.	Q6: What is your favorite deck style for casual play / tournament play? Regularly, I like to play one-trick-pony decks (as long as they're not a big menace) and a few fun, RPG-material-related "theme" decks. Anarchy is always considered when building any of these, yes. For tournament play, I've been trying to set aside all "must have" local standards (focused decks, plenty of stealth etc.) and find a balance between ousting power and non-threatening play. I guess it leads to slower setup with a lot of permanents and a good defensive package, no matter what the deck actually does. Anyway, I never won any tourney, just made four or five finals, so I guess that I'm not the too-competitive kind of player.
Q7: Is there a difference between your casual play and tournament play? It used to have a lot, from focus to strategies meant to both, but I suspect that these differences are fading. Now I usually go to tourneys with a bouncing or pool-gaining boosted version of any deck I use during casual play, as long as the original version suits the formula given above. If we're talking about personal approach during games, I tend to offer and accept deals more often during tournaments. On casual play, that's me against all the others, including cross-table "allies" who dare to stand in the way of MY VP. After all, I went Anarch to survive on my own and not to bow down to anyone! ;)