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 got drug into the game kicking and screaming in late 1997, early 1998? I'm terrible with dates. I had seen Magic when it first came out, and thought it was an easily "broken" game, and so not terribly fun. But David Davila (now Anderson-Davila; at the time, he and his now-wife were only dating) recommended I give it a try, and I got to borrow some decks from Todd Banister and Conor Key, and met the infamous David Tatu. I was VERY reluctant to get into the game, since I'd seen the Magic: The Crack Habit in action at SciFi conventions. But, it was only $5 a box of 684 Jyhad cards, and once I figured it that 6 boxes was less than a Playstation game, I bought in. I got to play long enough to make all the "broken" decks I could before 7/7 kicked in, which didn't anger me at all; what I liked about the game was the balance, not how often I personally won.	Q2: Which of the Sets and Expansions to VTES is your favorite, and why is it your top choice? No doubt about it, the original Jyhad was the best set in town, box for box, until perhaps the Camarilla Edition came along. No set of cards was better for making effective decks on it's own. However, my personal favorite is certainly Final Nights, because I loved the Giovanni even when they were hard to play, and never actually won tournaments, and Final Nights gave them the cards, and most importantly, the vamps, to become truly effective, and just fun.
Q3: What is your favorite deck to play, and why? I would think that it would be some Giovanni deck, since over half my decks are Giovanni, but I've taken them all apart at some time or another. The only deck that has stood the test of time has been the "I'm a Day-O" deck, a deck built around the idea that I had to use Amadeo. It turned into an Obf/Aus/Pre stealth-vote/light-intercept/hunt-BloodDoll deck. It's certainly the most toolboxy deck I've played, but also the most tweaked and refined. It's a deck that shouldn't win, but somehow does. It also should be online somewhere, but isn't.	Q4: If you could add something to the game, what would it be? For a while, it was "decent vamps for the Giovanni," but Final Nights gave the game that. More pettily, I still think Necromancy needs a "(nec) Maneuver. (NEC) Press" card, or the like; they're the ONLY clan with Potence as an in-clan discipline without a Maneuver available via in-clan disciplines. It's why they don't bruise as well as the Brujah or the Lasombra. More grand, I'd like to see some truly viable method of removing one's prey's pool, (that is, ousting people) besides Bleed and Vote. Anarch Revolts and the like give VPs away as much as win them, even in a carefully constructed deck. Enticement and Choir were good attempts, but there really needs to be some more generically available game concept that makes some direct attack upon pool. And, make it more available to those clans/vamps/disciplines that don't bleed or vote naturally well; say, the Assamites, the Ravnos, Primogen, even maybe the Tzimice and Nosferatu. Hm. Sounds like an effect unique to Quietus and Animalism might help. Just something not so no-brainer as "return Army of Rats to stackable." Better yet, something that involves new rules. Point being, the game *will* stagnate unless some real new mechanisms enter play. And, one last thing: Even now, if you play big vamps, you pretty much have to pack huge votes and/or Dominate. Kind of a pity, really. So, some way to help out fatties vs. weenies in a generic, balanced way. It's tough to do, but something that helps out the difference in (a) starting speed, (b) number of actions, and (c) loss of resources lost in one vampire. Something in the rules, not the cards. Decks are full enough as it is. It's quite possible that some grand idea can solve both issues (bring Bleed or Vote; only play fatties with Dominate or Vote) at once. Probably, it's too hard to balance.
Q5: What do you do to help promote the game / why are you in this list of people? Well, I poked on the newsgroup a bit late, not till some time in 2000, but blathered a lot once I was on. I took a special penchant for the Giovanni, and in 2001, wrote 12 monthly issues of the Giovanni Newsletter, which was both pre- and post-Final Nights decks, to really stretch the Giovanni when they were limited, and really compare what they could do after Final Nights. I played a TON of Giovanni in my playgroup that year (for better or for worse), and did win the first Atlanta storyline tournament with them.	Q6: What is your favorite deck style for casual play / tournament play? Honestly? Probably bleed decks. I really enjoy Giovanni, and they oust by bleeding; you can't go wrong with Dominate. I enjoy the survivability that both deflection and Obedience offer, so I can "do my thing" unmolested. Also, I can't say that my favorite deck is combat, intercept, vote, or even toolbox, so that kind of leaves bleed as a category. I have to say that the Atlanta playgroup is tough enough that I don't feel "bad" about playing so much Dominate.
Q7: Is there a difference between your casual play and tournament play? Certainly; people may say "this isn't a strong deck" or "I'm playing a tournament deck" in casual play. Casual play is a time to just have fun and try new ideas, instead of *just* trying to win. Casual play is still *trying* to win, but it's more open to trying something wacky to do so. And really, that's where some of the best "new" tournament decks come from; a new idea instead of just the tried and true. A deck that can't handle a predator while it tries to pull off "it's trick" is still just a stupid deck, casual or not. Casual means "nothing to lose," not "don't even try to win."

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