NAC Qualifier Report and TWD, Berkeley, CA, March 28, 2009
Jeff Kuta
March 28, 2009
Eudemonia, Berkeley, CA
Total Players: 15
Round 1
Stephen Gergeni (G4/5 Ventrue Law Firm)
Jeff Kuta (Cut Through You Like Budur)
Ian (Laibon Harbingers)
Brad (!Ventrue Voters)
Gnat (Tzimicse + Jost Ani/Aus Wall)
Result: 1.5 VPs, table time out
Key Moment: Stephen drawing lots of vote titles instead of KRCs. Ian
not drawing any bounce cards the entire game. Popped Tablets.
Round 2
Kenneth (Weenie Dom)
Kevin (Black Hand with Mithril Baseball Bats)
Me
Erik (Toreador Aching Beauty)
Brad (!Ventrue Voters)
Key Moment: When it was heads up vs Kenneth, he Pentex’d Mariel, my
only untapped vampire, and bled heavily. I had enough pool from 2 VPs
though that I could contest with my own Pentex on his lone untapped
vampire and stealth bleed with 3 vampires for the oust. Popped
Tablets.
Result: GW, 4 VPs. Total time: 41 minutes.
Round 3
Jeff Yin (Setite Ally)
Nick (Giovanni/Maris Hordes)
Kenneth (Weenie Dom)
Me
Russ (Daughter Choir)
Key Moment: Got just enough reactions to survive Kenneth’s early
onslaught. I ousted Russ barely, then Kenneth bled me out for 15 pool
in one turn. However, Jeff’s mummy deck was rolling by then and
Nephren-Ka/Amam the Devourer weenie beatdown ensued. Nick took down
Kenneth and then the snakes took the table, 2/1/1/1.
Result: 1 VP
Total: 1 GW, 6.5 VPs, 1st seed.
FINALS
Andy (Malks with DEM)
Me
Jeff Yin (Setite Ally)
Brandon Haas (Setite bleed/corrupt)
Ian (Laibon Harbingers)
Key Moments: I was top seed and chose to prey on Jeff Yin’s mummy
deck. I had seen it before and was pretty confident I could chew
through him before he got set up which would be a long-term problem. I
also hoped Andy would help me with bounced bleeds. My first master was
Anarch Troublemaker, promptly contested by Ian. I let mine go, knowing
I had a second one for later and recursion potential with Tablets. I
foolishly discarded my Pentex Subversion even after previously
contesting it in Round 2. Gilbert Duane was Pentexed by Ian. Count
Ormonde burned it. Gilbert was Pentexed by Andy. Count Ormonde burned
it. I was down to 2 pool then popped Ashur Tablets gaining 3 critical
pool and recursing three Deflections. Andy pushed hard to oust me, but
I bounced two of his three bleeds—one Deflection was DI’d—into Jeff
and got my oust the next turn. Brandon played his own Troublemaker at
this point contesting with Ian. Ian ousted Andy and I played my own
Troublemaker for a three-way contestation. Brandon opted to transfer
to a new vampire blocker rather than saving his pool, but I was able
to stealth past for a second oust.
End game versus Ian was very quick the outcome was not pre-determined.
Ian had Heidelberg and bleed retainers working and I had no intercept
other than a lone Eyes of Argus somewhere in my library. I bled him a
lot and he bled me a lot. On my final turn, I had 3 pool and had to
oust him. I bled him twice necessarily generating 2 stealth and 4
stealth on the first two actions. On the final action, I Seduced his
Bowl’d vampire and generated 3 stealth to his 3 intercept then top-
decked Elder Impersonation to fail the block and win.
Yeah, I felt a little dirty playing this deck, but I had a couple
reasons to do it. First, I haven’t been playing as much in person as I
want to and was unclear on how the SF Bay Area metagame had shaped up
lately. I heard Dominate and Obfuscate were good, so I thought I’d
bring something reliable. Second, I know that our metagame is
unpredictable and sometimes squishy and therefore wanted to bring a
hard core deck to the continental qualifier. I haven’t purchased cards
in bulk in quite some time, and this one didn’t require much in the
way of new library cards. I think the scars left as a result of my
last beating at the hands of Ruben Feldman’s weenie Dementation deck
also affected my decision. Thirdly, I thought a deck like this with
fast cycling would be ideal for Ashur Tablets fun. Every deck I’ve
made online in 2009 has had 6 or more Tablets in it. I’m very much a
fan of the card and encourage everyone to try them out. I guarantee
you I’ll have them in my deck the next time we face each other.
Thanks to Ira for running a great event as always. Thanks to Ian for
loaning me 5 Tablets and 1 On the Qui Vive. It was nice seeing Kevin
and gNat again visiting from Vegas. It was also good to meet all the
new players. I hope to bleed you all on Wednesday nights in the
future.
CUT THROUGH YOU LIKE BUDUR
(An Assamite stealth bleed deck)
CRYPT (12)
2x Gilbert Duane
2x Mariel, Lady Thunder
1x Greger Anderssen
1x Reverend Blackwood
2x Didi Meyers
1x Badr al-Budur
1x Count Ormonde
1x Zebulon
1x Roland Bishop
LIBRARY (60)
MASTER (15)
6x Ashur Tablets
2x Anarch Troublemaker
2x Sudden Reversal
1x Antediluvian Awakening
1x The Coven
1x Dreams of the Sphinx
1x Giant’s Blood
1x Pentex™ Subversion
ACTION (8)
7x Govern the Unaligned
1x Dominate Kine
ACTION MODIFIER (25)
6x Conditioning
6x Lost in Crowds
3x Faceless Night
3x Spying Mission
2x Elder Impersonation
2x Foreshadowing Destruction
2x Seduction
1x Marked Path
REACTION (9)
5x Deflection
2x On the Qui Vive
1x Confusion of the Eye
1x Eyes of Argus
ACTION MODIFIER/COMBAT (3)
3x Swallowed by the Night
Ira Fay
> NAC Qualifier Report
> March 28, 2009
> Eudemonia, Berkeley, CA
> Total Players: 15
I believe this is everything needed for the TWDA, but if not, please
remind me. The official name of the event was "Alacrity #2
(Qualifier)". The winning player was Jeff Kuta, and his deck is
below.
Ira Fay
> loaning me 5 Tablets and 1 On the Qui Vive. It was nice seeing Kevin
> and gNat again visiting from Vegas. It was also good to meet all the
> new players. I hope to bleed you all on Wednesday nights in the
> future.
Thanks to everyone who came, especially Kevin and gNat from Vegas! I
hope everyone had a good time. Thank you also to White Wolf for the
generous prize support.
And while we're posting reports, I should probably post this from
Alacrity #1:
Final table:
Ira (Laibon weenie bleed/vote) preying on
Nick (!Nos rush with Beast) preying on
Nat (!Malk with PRE big cap bleeders) preying on
Henri (!Ven toolbox) preying on
Kevin (Oliver Thrace and THA friends rush)
The seeding coming into the final was: Nat, Kevin, Ira, Henri, Nick
After the initial setup, we had:
Ira:
- Panya the Wicket with Kduva's Mask and Ishtarri Kholo
- Lumumba with Guruhi Kholo
- Kamaria
- The Embrace (Panya's baby)
- Sunset Strip Hollywood
- Info Highway
- WMRH
Nick:
- Beast
- Tommy
- Christanius Lionel, The Mad Chronicler
- Information Network
Nat:
- Stavros with Secure Haven
- Aristotle de Laurent
Henri:
- Lazverinus, Thrall of Lambach
- Peter Blaine
- Gustav Mallenhous
Kevin:
- Blythe with Heart of Cheating and a Blood Doll
- Oliver Thrace with Ankara Citadel, Rutor's Hand, and Biothaumaturgic
Experiment
- Arcane Library
Around this time, Kevin rushed me twice on his turn, once with Oliver
and once with Blythe, torporing one minion and emptying another. He
was around 14 pool, so he paid 1 to decrypt, leaving 3 on an
uncontrolled Tremere (it had built up from the Arcane Library.) On my
turn I tried to be as nice as possible to my prey, rescuing my vamp
and hunting. Maybe I made 1 Embrace, he tried to block the hunt and I
used Sunset Strip. I think I decrypted and brought out a 2-cap. Nick
got a Sport Bike for Christanius and rushed forwards without torporing
Aristotle. Nat went forward with a Legal Manipulations bleed, which
got bounced to Kevin, bringing Kevin to 11 pool. Nat continued
forward with another Legal Bleed, which Henri took, bring him down to
~5 pool. On Henri's turn, he bled Kevin for 10, not quite able to
seal the deal. Kevin was forced to rush backwards twice with Oliver,
torporing Gustav and Peter, since fortitude prevent just doesn't work
so well when you're hit with Blood Fury. Kevin left Blythe untapped
to block Laz, transfered two back bringing him up to 3, and then it
was my turn.
I offered to back out Kevin in exchange to for 2 turns of peace from
Henri. He agreed to my deal and it understandably upset Nat (because
his prey was gaining 6 pool, and also because he rightly perceived me
as his biggest threat.) Perhaps if Henri had declined the deal I
would have back ousted Kevin anyway, since he would have been free to
start going forward again. With the two turns of peace, I played a
Pentex on Christanius, and went forward as hard as I could. Nick had
a decent pool buffer and it took me two turns to get through him, but
I fortunately didn't lose too many minions in combat since I had
finally drawn some dodges and he only played one grapple. I was also
helped several times by Henri calling votes, allowing me to play my
Kholos without a matching vote in hand.
Down to the three player game, I had stablized with a Tribute to the
Master and the 6 pool from the oust, plus Nat and Henri had very
little transient intercept. They agreed to gang up on me, and at one
point they failed a vote with 11 votes against from Laz (2), Prisci
(3), Alicia Barrows (2), the edge (1) and Loyalist (!) (3), even
though I had 11 in favor from 4 Kholos, Kduva's Mask, and vote card!
I also made a potentially dumb mistake by playing Terra Incognita to
cancel one of Henri's bounces to me, even though I had enough pool to
take it. Henri ended up getting lower on pool and if Nat had a
different hand, I think he would have tried to oust Henri. My mistake
was due to the clock, because Nat was higher seed than me - even
though I would likely win the 1:1 against Nat, the game might have
timed out with 1.5 VPs each, which he would have won. As it turns
out, Nat didn't go for the oust, and eventually I built up to
ridiculous levels with ~11 minions, several bleed retainers and
equipment, Heidelburg, and ~20 pool. On the turn I ousted gNat, I did
17 pool to him with bleeds and votes, then the game timed out shortly
after I drew the last card from my library.
Alacrity #1
3/28/09
Eudemonia, Berkeley, CA
Total Players: 12
Deck Name: Team Africa
Author: Ira Fay
Description: Try to build up without looking like a huge threat, which
is tricky. Decrypt even while you have unique vampires in the
uncontrolled region, especially if you don't have Lumumba or all 4
clans yet. Cross-table oust if necessary to stablize the table. Use
the Abombwe's on 4-caps, so you can get them up to 5 for Ancestor
Spirit, or a bigger voter cap. Voter cap with Lumumba, since that's
the only vamp with PRE (if you get out 6 vamps, you have a ~76% chance
of getting Lumumba.)
Crypt: (12)
2x Lumumba(G4)
1x Dolie(G4)
1x Hasani(G4)
1x Idrissa(G4)
1x Kamaria(G4)
1x Kenyatta(G4)
1x Meno Ngari(G4)
1x Misrak(G4)
1x Panya, The Wicked(G4)
1x Urenna Bunu(G4)
1x Zhara(G3)
Library: (65)
Master: (17)
5x Abombwe
4x Tribute to the Master
1x Ancestor Spirit
1x Heidelberg Castle, Germany
1x Information Highway
1x Mbare Market, Harare
1x Pentex(TM) Subversion
1x Sunset Strip, Hollywood
1x WMRH Talk Radio
1x Wash
Action: (7)
4x The Embrace
2x Mozambique Allure
1x Entrancement
Equipment: (3)
1x Camera Phone
1x Heart of Nizchetus
1x Kduva's Mask
Political Action: (10)
5x Kine Resources Contested
2x Autarkis Persecution
1x Conservative Agitation
1x Disputed Territory
1x The Secret Must Be Kept
Ally: (1)
1x Carlton Van Wyk (Hunter)
Retainer: (2)
1x J. S. Simmons, Esq.
1x Mr. Winthrop
Action Modifier: (7)
3x Excellent Thirst
2x Predator's Mastery
2x Voter Captivation
Action Modifier/Combat: (2)
2x Predator's Transformation
Action Modifier/Reaction: (4)
1x Akunanse Kholo
1x Guruhi Kholo
1x Ishtarri Kholo
1x Osebo Kholo
Combat: (6)
6x Dodge
Reaction: (6)
4x Terra Incognita
brandons...@yahoo.com
Ira had a very powerful deck in Alacrity #1 and it became very hard to
stop him once he got 3-4 minions down early in the game. I had to
convince Ira's pred to sudden his tribute, which he rewarded with a
cross-table KRC for 3. Despite the fact that his pred had all minions
with AUS/aus, I had the most intercept at the table between my The
Mole at cel and Anarch Free Press (which I never drew).
I figured that the only way for any of us at the table to have a
chance was to limit the table wins by disabling Ira. I convinced Henri
to stay untapped to block Ira's bleeds and Russ to go forward. I cross
table rushed a few times and knocked some of Ira's minions into
torpor, limiting the damage he could inflict. Before time ran out, Ira
managed to oust Henri, but not sweep or get a table win.
Key moments:
-I convince Russ to sudden Ira's tribute to keep him from sweeping,
Ira KRC's me.
-Ira calls an Auturkis Persecution that Russ doesn't cancel, but could
have. There was table talk about "would Russ have cancelled the vote
if he knew Ira had vote push," an arguement that seems silly given
that there would be little in the way of reasons not to cancel it and
that Ira had already showed vote push in an earlier vote.
-Table gangs up on Ira, who has the Mask, Heart of Cheating, 8 minions
(including Carlton), camera phone, at least 2 Kholos
-I DT an Auturkis persecution that would have been for 8
-We delay the inevitable!
Brandon
Malone
> NAC Qualifier Report
> March 28, 2009
> Eudemonia, Berkeley, CA
> Total Players: 15
> FINALS
> Andy (Malks with DEM)
> Me
> Jeff Yin (Setite Ally)
> Brandon Haas (Setite bleed/corrupt)
> Ian (Laibon Harbingers)
I would love to see the Laibon Harbingers decklist.
Eric Jome
> (An Assamite stealth bleed deck)
>
> CRYPT (12)
> 2x Gilbert Duane
> 2x Mariel, Lady Thunder
> 1x Greger Anderssen
> 1x Reverend Blackwood
> 2x Didi Meyers
> 1x Badr al-Budur
> 1x Count Ormonde
> 1x Zebulon
> 1x Roland Bishop
I am still pretty new at the game, so forgive me if I have
misunderstood this. Why is this considered an Assamite deck? It has
9 Malkavian vampires, at least one !Tremere, and a couple I don't
recognize... isn't this a Malkavian deck?
The Lasombra
> > (An Assamite stealth bleed deck)
> > CRYPT (12)
> > 2x Gilbert Duane
> > 2x Mariel, Lady Thunder
> > 1x Greger Anderssen
> > 1x Reverend Blackwood - Tremere Antitribu
> > 2x Didi Meyers
> > 1x Badr al-Budur - Assamite
> > 1x Count Ormonde - Follower of Set
> > 1x Zebulon
> > 1x Roland Bishop
> I am still pretty new at the game, so forgive me if I have
> misunderstood this. Why is this considered an Assamite deck?
This is an inside joke.
Jeff Kuta has been a vocal Assamite supporter online for many years.
See also:
http://www.pathofblood.com
LSJ
Yeah. The lone Assamite is Badr al-Budur.
But such labels don't matter in a standard tournament (which this was), so the
author/deck builder can label it anything he wants, perhaps seriously or perhaps
not.
Chris Berger
Excellent question. I think the subtitle is a joke(???) It's
obviously not an Assamite deck... Badr is Assamite, Count Ormonde is
a Settite, Reverend Blackwood is !Tremere, and the others, as you
surmised, are old school Malkavians.
Jeff Kuta
> On Mar 31, 11:11 am, Eric Jome <eric.j...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > > (An Assamite stealth bleed deck)
> > > CRYPT (12)
> > > 2x Gilbert Duane
> > > 2x Mariel, Lady Thunder
> > > 1x Greger Anderssen
> > > 1x Reverend Blackwood - Tremere Antitribu
> > > 2x Didi Meyers
> > > 1x Badr al-Budur - Assamite
> > > 1x Count Ormonde - Follower of Set
> > > 1x Zebulon
> > > 1x Roland Bishop
> > I am still pretty new at the game, so forgive me if I have
> > misunderstood this. Why is this considered an Assamite deck?
>
> This is an inside joke.
> Jeff Kuta has been a vocal Assamite supporter online for many years.
>
> See also:http://www.pathofblood.com
Yes, indeed. It is somewhat of a joke.
Back some time ago before many new sets were released, local guru Ian
Lee opined that "Badr al-Budur is the best Assamite in the game." She
actually is quite good with dom/OBF at 5-capacity.
But, my heart has always been with Clan Assamite. All of my previous
tournament wins came with "legitimate" Assamite decks--roughly 75%+ of
the crypt--including my lone NAC qualification back in 2004 (Tariq +
Muaziz). So when faced with this decision and knowing that I was going
to break out the sleaze, I made sure that Badr found her way into my
crypt. In fact, she replaced Laurent de Valois who is probably better
in this deck (no blood curse, small enough for Didi to Govn to).
So while I can't really say that all of my TWD decks are "Assamite"
decks, I can still say they all have Assamites in them. :)
Jeff
librarian
Ian's probably already broken it down.
best -
chris
Curevei
> Jeff Kuta has been a vocal Assamite supporter online for many years.
>
> See also:http://www.pathofblood.com
Also, Kuta was one win short of the Hall of Fame with all of his decks
being Assamite decks, so he would have gone into the HoF as the only
player to win entirely with Assamite decks, thus being deemed some
sort of godlike being by people who like Ass decks.
Interestingly enough, now that the many locals who seemed Ass happy
have betrayed their hearts, I can go back to playing Ass decks
myself. OTOH, probably no more Jackal decks even with the numerous
Settite decks around - they can't block anyway, so who cares?
Curevei
> Malone wrote:
> > I would love to see the Laibon Harbingers decklist.
>
> Ian's probably already broken it down.
>
> best -
>
> chris
Retiring a deck doesn't take any time, breaking it down does.
Nevermind that like any sensible person, every deck I build that
matters is built with a deckbuilder.
Deck Name: 090325 Harbingers of Suck 3
Created By: Babalawo Alafin
Description:
Crypt: (12 cards, Min: 8, Max: 30, Avg: 5)
------------------------------------------
2 Babalawo Alafin ani AUS FOR NEC 7 Harbingers
of Skulls
1 Dela Eden cel dom AUS FOR VAL8 Salubri
Antitribu
1 Mina Grotius cel FOR NEC 6 Harbingers
of Skulls
1 Neighbor John dom for AUS 5 Ventrue
Antitribu
1 Phagian for dom THA NEC AUS8 Harbingers
of Skulls
2 Solomon Batanea nec AUS FOR 5 Harbingers
of Skulls
3 Tupdog POT VIS 1 Gargoyle
1 Zygodat pot AUS NEC 6 Harbingers
of Skulls
Library: (80 cards)
-------------------
Master (16 cards)
1 Anarch Troublemaker
1 Archon Investigation
1 Barrens, The
5 Blood Doll
1 Direct Intervention
1 Heidelberg Castle, Germany
1 Mbare Market, Harare
1 Pentex Subversion
2 Perfectionist
1 Powerbase: Tshwane
1 Wash
Action (3 cards)
1 Aranthebes, The Immortal
1 Computer Hacking
1 Victim of Habit
Action Modifier (10 cards)
4 Call of the Hungry Dead
1 Daring the Dawn
3 Freak Drive
1 Leverage
1 Strange Day
Reaction (19 cards)
2 Eagle`s Sight
5 Eyes of Argus
1 My Enemy`s Enemy
3 On the Qui Vive
7 Telepathic Misdirection
1 Wake with Evening`s Freshness
Combat (12 cards)
2 Armor of Vitality
2 Soak
4 Spiritual Intervention
2 Target Vitals
2 Zip Gun
Ally (2 cards)
1 Carlton Van Wyk (Hunter)
1 Mylan Horseed (Goblin)
Retainer (3 cards)
1 J. S. Simmons, Esq.
1 Shaman
1 Tasha Morgan
Equipment (5 cards)
1 .44 Magnum
1 Bowl of Convergence
1 Erebus Mask
1 Heart of Nizchetus
1 Seal of Veddartha
Combo (10 cards)
4 Ancestor`s Insight
6 Spectral Divination
Misc.: Babalawo's special doesn't suck. Too many combat cards for
most situations, oddly the meta has become much less experimental in
the last year or so, so too many for this event as well. Ruben was a
good influence.
brandons...@yahoo.com
I was crippled in the finals when Ian pulled out AI on a bleed of 5 or
6, one that might have been canceled if I worked with Andy to oust
Ian. Counter-intuitive though it may be, Ian was the biggest threat to
our side of the table, sandwiched between two bleed decks, at least
with my minion burned. Andy had the new Malk with the ability to burn
3 blood to cancel a master card, which he had been busy using against
Ashur tablets.
Had I thought of it, I would have asked Andy to cancel the AI and made
a deal to have him help me bleed Ian out. In return, I would have been
passive until Jeff Kuta was ousted. I think that I'm still working on
my dealing and was too shocked to see Ian play an AI to think that
quickly. I might have been a good pool buffer for Andy to put on the
pressure with zero stealth bleeds and bleeds bounced from me to Jeff.
Throughout the second tournament Saturday, I kept crippling my prey,
then being interfered with. The interference was enough to slow me
down, but I eliminated any chance of my prey surviving and hoping to
have the minions they needed to accomplish anything.
In one game of tournament two, it got pretty goofy:
-Kevin played Instability on turn one. I held the edge for 4 turns.
Thanks, Kevin!
-My prey(Nick) influenced out Marius Streck, to my dismay (intercept,
anyone? 6? No problem!)
-My prey's plan of stopping me with Shambling Hordes, backed by
Ultracept (tm) was foiled by a well-timed Misdirection and a Pentex
Subversion (different turns). I didn't know it until that point, but
my 1x Misdirection was my key card! Thank you to whoever mentioned
Misdirection recently on this forum. I don't do many bleed decks and
it was what made it interesting.
In another game, Jeff Yin had out 2-3 mummies that could generate up
to two intercept between the Unmasking and Sport Bikes. Carlton didn't
hurt either. He nearly ousted me that game before time ran out. We had
contestation issues in each game we played together (2 prelim, 1 final
if I remember correctly). Speaking of Carlton and contestation, there
were many shennanigans during the finals. I tried to Set's Curse
Carlton, but was blocked at like 3-4 stealth. Jeff Yin wanted Carlton,
but Ian wasn't going to give him up. I talked with Ira about how
reliable Carlton's appearance is and the need to deal with it. I did
Set's Curse an ally at some point, I just don't remember if it was
Carlton or not.
I had a lot of fun playing in the various games, none of them were
boring or pre-determined. The finals showed that Kuta was not rusty
and picked the correct seating to ensure at least 1 vp.
Brandon
Juggernaut1981
>
> - Show quoted text -
I'll take credit for the Misdirection suggestion... it's an underrated
card IMHO. If you don't have "super-piles of stealth" disciplines (or
even if you do and your prey is "I See All Like a God"-acept) then a
good Misdirection or two can cause your prey some serious "I ate 4-
tonnes of icecream" headaches.
The Lasombra
>See also:
>http://www.pathofblood.com
Doh!
Correct site is, of course,