Los Angeles Continental Championship Qualifier

Our weekend opened with some free-play on Friday.  I've heard that there
were five tables of five players each on Friday evening.  To put this in
perspective let me tell you that we couldn't get a four-player game on
Friday night 2 years ago.

Saturday had 2 tournaments schedule in preparation for our Sunday morning
Championships.  Our first event had 43 players.  We also knew of a lot of
players were coming out for the big event Sunday so we expected over 50
players on Sunday.  Players were all very relaxed without the pressure of
qualifying for the National Championships at GenCon.  Probably around 15 of
the players present were considering the trip to GenCon later this year.  I
played a bribes deck that was made with spare cards from a friend's garage.
Caitiff, Bribes, and Autarkis Persecutions.  What more can you ask?  Anyway,
Nat Hammond won the tournament with a Malkavian Antitribu Kindred Spirits deck.

The second event (Sat. P.M.) had 41 players.  I judged this one so I  know
more about it.  There weren't very many combat decks.  The meta-game had
shifted nearly full circle back to our early majesty and deflection days of
4 or 5 years ago.  A nice surprise was the finals.  Top seeded Mike Nilsen
did a lot of Minion Tap and 5th Trad.  Then Robert Acevedo played a single
vamp intercept deck.  I think it was a Caileen deck that got a half dozen
ravens on it.  He intercepted EVERYTHING.  He intended to intercept and
shoot vamps with a flamethrower--a flamethrower which he never was able to
equip with because David Tatu was intercepting everything in sight as well 
and always stopped the Flamethrower equip action with his Malk-Anti.  David's 
prey was the helpless Alex Harmon.  Alex barely played because his prey 
and our visitor from Paris (Reyda!) kept beating Alex's vamps up.  Reyda, IIRC, 
was playing Toreador Intercept featuring Francois Villon, Prince of Paris. 
This game was doomed to go to the time-limit right away--leaving Mike Nilsen 
as the winner.  These guys were all so friendly that they blew most of 
the 2-hours telling fish-stories.

Sunday AM.  The Pacific Championship - North Amer. Qual.  First, let me add
some of my own personal background info.  I planned on playing a certain
deck in the Pacific Qualifier but had a dream in the middle of the week in
which I played a different deck.  So, in the end, I followed my dream deck.
Also part of this whole dream thing was the Succubus Club--a card I've never
played before in any tournament.  I asked a friend to borrow one (I'm too
lazy to search through all my own cards!) and he lent me one...and also put
one in his deck.

The event started with 41 players and from the moment of the first transfer
all hell broke loose.  Most tables desolved into a table-splitting scheme
pretty early.  The deals and table-talk were rampant.  A number of less
experienced players were not only annoyed but some of them felt like the
deals weren't fair. (Let me say that there were no "let's help each other
qualify for GenCon" deals!)  Some people just aren't used to all the chit
chat.  At the end of the first round, nearly half of the participants had a
VP.  Many tables were split 3/2.  My friend who loaned me a Succubus Club
made an early decision to help a player at his table for 2VP (the club paid
off early!).  I got 2 VP in my 4 player table by working with my cross table
ally--a potence rush deck!

In the second round my predator announced at the start of the round that if
the Succubus Club came out at our table he was going to transfer out.
Clearly this guy came across my friend in the first round.  Lucky me.
After a Dramatic Upheaval and some scary attempts to re-org the table to
hold off a quick weenie presence bleed deck owned by Jessica of Seattle, she
managed to oust Jeff Thompson.  I got her next and then Nat Hammond (from
Santa Cruz) and I cut a deal to split the remaining VPs.  Nat was a rush
combat deck and I said I'd let him get 2 Vps (and I'd get one for
Withdrawing).  After Nat couldn't hold up his end of the bargain by wacking
his prey, he just transferred out.  This angered my last opponent so much
that he transfered out as well.  Hmmm.  I tried to talk the last player out
of transfering out but was happy enough to take the gift VP in the end.

In the third round I almost had my prey dead and allowed him to get 1 VP if
he'd be my toady and wack my next 2 prey.  It was his idea and I wasn't
about to refuse.  I'd already lost 10 pool to Paul Johnson's Parity Shift's
before Paul fell to Stephen Fazio (San Diego).  My toady prey (Robert
Acevedo) wacked Dave Tatu's reprise of his Malk intercept deck with a bunch
of burst of sunlight.  He also hurt Stephen pretty badly before I took him
out.  I ended up with 3 more VPs in this round and without knowing it, went
into the finals as the top seed with 9 VPs AND helped my good friend Mike
Courtois land in the top 10 and qualify for the National Championships.

The final was amazing!  Alex Harmon beat down on his prey Jessica's presence
bleeders with his potence rush deck.  Jessica still managed to bite deeply
into Robert Acevedo's pool--enough to keep him from attacking his prey--me.
I kept bleeding Szilan Fodor's Tremere for 2 or 3 per turn.  Szilan kept
deflecting the bleeds to Alex.  Szilan sat motionless while I killed him
slowly.  He couldn't take any actions or else Alex would rush him.  Szilan
promised not to bleed for each of the first 8 or so turns of the game.  To
be honest, Alex and I spent nearly the whole game talking about whether we
should split the table 3/2 or 2/3.  We both wanted first place.  He also
knew that I could give enough pool or minions to any player (via the
Succubus Club) to oust him or save them.  We were both in good solid
positions.  I relented eventually and agreed to take 2 VPs and give Alex the
win.  I deflected a bleed to his prey Jessica, ousting her, and the deal was
on.  Robert Acevedo fell next.  That just left Alex to beat down Szilan
while I bled him out.  Then I'd be allowed to withdraw and we would be done.
Well, that was the plan anyway.  Szilan deflected most of my bleeds.  He
prevented most of Alex's damage.  His Cardano had only 1 blood but the
Ankara Citadel kept him happy.  Szilan got a couple of bleeds through and
Alex started to get low on pool   Alex famed Jing Wei and sent her to
torpor.  I thought we were almost done with Szilan.  He 2nd Traditioned
every one of Alex's attempts to rescue Jing and return her to torpor.  On my
previous turn I had given Alex all but one of my pool via the Club to make
sure he didn't die.  I was panicking because time was almost out.  I was
rushing myself.  I ordered my untap and got Alex to give me back a pool so I
could pay for the pool from the Famous and torpored Jing.  I then hurried
through my turn thinking that the Fame would kill Szilan.  I discarded and
Szilan took THE EDGE! and then paid for the famous Jing.  Alex and I were
crushed.  Our hearts sank.  Szilan took what may have only been his 3rd or
4th action directed at his prey...an unblockable bleed to oust Alex.  The
Famous Jing killed me and my one pool next at the start of my turn....Szilan
won with 3 VPs and I got 3rd place.  Alex got 2nd.  NOTE:  I realized right
now for the very first time that the Fame card should have burned with Alex
and I wouldn't have died.  I would have won if I'd figured it out when it
happend.  #@$%@#$  I'll continue this later...


-Robert Goudie
robertg@vtesinla.org


The top ten qualifiers with victory points earned and tournament points won.

Rank     Name                 Original     VPs in	        TPs
                               VPs         Finals
01	Szilan Fodor		6	     3			162
02	Alex Harmon		6	     2			156
03	Robert Goudie		9	     0			174
04	Jessica Johnston 	6	     0			162
05	Robert Acevedo		6	     0			138
06	Donovan Brouwer         6				144
07	Gary Gates		6				132
08	Jason Dawson		5				136
08	Josiah Miles		5				136
10	Michael Courtois	5				132



Los Angeles Continental Championship Qualifier
V:TES 2001 Pacific Championship
Tournament Winning Deck by Szilan Fodor

Crypt:

1 - March Halcyon
1 - Roreca Quaid
1 - Mustafa Rahman
1 - Jing Wei
1 - Courtland Leighton
1 - Ingrid Russo
1 - Sarah Cobbler
1 - Muaziz, The Archon of Ulugh Beg
4 - Cardano
1 - Ulugh Beg, The Watcher

Library:

Master
6 - Minion Tap
2 - Sudden Reversal
2 - Fortitude
2 - Arcane Library

Political Action
1 - Tremere Justicar

Equipment
2 - Ankara Citadel
1 - Ivory Bow
1 - Sengir Dagger

Action
5 - Magic of the Smith
4 - Fifth Tradition
8 - Govern the Unaligned

Action Modifier
8 - Freak Drive
4 - Conditioning
3 - Kiss of Ra
2 - Day Operation

Reaction
14 - Second Tradition
12 - Deflection

Combat
7 - Skin of Steel
6 - Hidden Strength


Concept:  Get Cardano or Ulugh out with a couple of supporting cast.  Magic
of the Smith for Ankara Citadel.  Almost everything is free from then out:
Freak, Govern, Magic, Condition, Deflect, etc.
Mostly defense that can function as offense.

Click here for the a table of the final standings.