Tournament in Stockholm again!

Archon Investigation 2016
May 7
Venue: Dragon´s Lair, Stockholm, Sweden
Facebook: VTES-turnering maj 2016
Standard constructed tournament
Rounds: 3 + Final
Time Limit: 2 h
Fee: 30 SEK
Welcome!

The Stockholm League – April 27, 2016

Congrats Randy for yet another victory in the Greger Anderssen Memorial League! This time he had "only" 4 game wins of 16 tries, but yet he collected enough total rating points to end up with double the amount of the runner up Kim.

Three tables were played in the tenth and final round of our February-April league. Standard tournament rules apply + printed proxy is allowed.

Table 1:
1. Robert (Giovanni anarchs Cry Wolf-Khazar) 2 vp, 1 gw
2. Kim (Toreador Masika bleed with Crocodiles Tounge) 1 vp
3. Kari (Toreador Aching Beauty toolbox) 1 vp
4. Randy (Salubri Blanche Hill Spirit Marionette with obf-friends)

Table 2:
1. Kalle (Giovanni Dabbler Keystone rush) 1 vp
2. Kari (Black Hand Elimelech toolbox)
3. Randy (Gangrel anarchs tap n bleed) 4 vp, 1 gw
4. Henrik (Ravnos G5-6 sb)
5. Kim (Lasombra with pre vote)

Table 3:
1. Ivan (Guhuri Nana rush) 1,5 vp
2. Kristofer (Harbingers Capuchin wall)
3. Robert (AUS+FOR Dela Eden Vampiric Disease wall) 0,5 vp
4. Henrik (Tremere rush) 0,5 vp

League standings:
Randy 126 rtp
Kim 64 rtp
Jens, Robert 58 rtp
Peter 52 rtp
Kari 50 rtp
Tomas 40 rtp
Daniel H 32 rtp
Henrik 30 rtp
Jonas S 28 rtp
Ivan 26 rtp
Kristofer 20 rtp
Kalle 18 rtp
Jonas H 8 rtp
Daniel R, Zich 4 rtp
(1 gw = 8 ratingpoints, 1 vp = 4 ratingpoints. Note: Players can play more than one game each round if their participation are needed to complete a table where at least one player has not yet played a league game this round, but only the best result each round counts for rating. If more players than 5 want to play such a table, lowest vp-count this round has priority. No league game begin before 17.00 or starts after 20.00.)

The first round of our next league is played at Dragon´s Lair, Kungsholmstorg 8 next Wednesday about 1800-ish. Be there!

The Stockholm League – April 20, 2016

MUGUR POWER!

Four tables were played in the ninth round of our February-April league. Standard tournament rules apply + printed proxy is allowed.

Table 1:
1. Peter (!Tremere Nephanduses with Gehenna) 1 vp
2. Henrik (Tre/!Tre bruise-bleed)
3. Kalle (Giovanni anarchs Keystone-Dabbler "Shambling Hawgs") 1,5 vp
4. Randy (Salubri with obf-friends Spirit Marionette)
5. Kim (Daughters vote) 1,5 vp

Table 2:
1. Randy (Brujah bigcap Appolonius vote) 1 vp
2. Daniel R (Tremere Spiridonas sb)
3. Tomas (True Brujah Al-Muntahir sb) 3 vp, 1 gw
4. Jens (Setites mono-SER sb)

Table 3:
1. Randy (Tzimisce wall) 1,5 vp
2. Kim (Nosferatu/Setites Beast & Glycon rush)
3. Kalle (!Gangrel Aksinya & Talbot toolbox) 0,5 vp
4. Kristoffer (Assamite anarch rush) 0,5 vp
5. Tomas (Gionvanni anarch Piper Cry Wolf Khazars) 0,5 vp

Table 4:
1. Jens (Assamite anarchs Bakr rush)
2. Henrik (!Nosferatu Teresita Inside dirt toolbox)
3. Jonas S (!Gangrel "Dark Mirror Mugur" vote) 3 vp, 1 gw
4. Daniel R (Tremere Spiridonas sb)
5. Peter (Ravnos w PRO toolbox) 2 vp

League standings:
Randy 102 rtp
Kim 60 rtp
Jens 58 rtp
Peter 52 rtp
Kari 46 rtp
Robert 42 rtp
Tomas 40 rtp
Daniel H 32 rtp
Henrik, Jonas S 28 rtp
Ivan, Kristofer 20 rtp
Kalle 14 rtp
Jonas H 8 rtp
Daniel R, Zich 4 rtp
(1 gw = 8 ratingpoints, 1 vp = 4 ratingpoints. Note: Players can play more than one game each round if their participation are needed to complete a table where at least one player has not yet played a league game this round, but only the best result each round counts for rating. If more players than 5 want to play such a table, lowest vp-count this round has priority. No league game begin before 17.00 or starts after 20.00.)

The next round of the league is played at Dragon´s Lair, Kungsholmstorg 8 next Wednesday about 1800-ish. Be there!

The Stockholm League – April 13, 2016

This card get a bit troublesome if you don´t draw your
Villeans in time, but Randy managed to win anyway.

Two tables were played in the eight round of our February-April league. Standard tournament rules apply + printed proxy is allowed.

WELCOME BACK Jonas H and Tomas after months of staying away! Now you just have to think of some funnier decks :)

Table 1:
1. Daniel H (Giovanni with pro anarch "Only 1 Govern" toolbox) 1 vp
2. Kim (Lasombra with pre vote)
3. Randy (Obf-dom-cel IC Flurry sb/vote) 4 vp, 1 gw
4. Henrik (Lasombra Black Hand with Nostoket sb)
5. Kari (Toreador Aching Beauty G1-2 tap n bleed)

Table 2:
1. Jonas H (Gangrel Torvus toolbox) 2 vp
2. Tomas (Ventrue/Toreador PRE-princes vote/bleed) 3 vp, 1 gw
3. Kristofer (Guillaume Giovanni anarch-rush)
4. Kim (Tremere princes toolbox)
5. Henrik (Lasombra Black Hand with Nostoket sb)

League standings:
Randy 96 rtp
Jens 58 rtp
Kim 54 rtp
Kari 46 rtp
Peter 44 rtp
Robert 42 rtp
Daniel H 32 rtp
Henrik 28 rtp
Ivan, Tomas 20 rtp
Kristofer 18 rtp
Jonas H, Jonas S, Kalle 8 rtp
Daniel R, Zich 4 rtp
(1 gw = 8 ratingpoints, 1 vp = 4 ratingpoints. Note: Players can play more than one game each round if their participation are needed to complete a table where at least one player has not yet played a league game this round, but only the best result each round counts for rating. If more players than 5 want to play such a table, lowest vp-count this round has priority. No league game begin before 17.00 or starts after 20.00.)

The next round of the league is played at Dragon´s Lair, Kungsholmstorg 8 next Wednesday about 1800-ish. Be there!

BobbyDoc's deck clinic part 1: The Marcellus situation

The purpose of this clinic is to tune existing decks to the better (hopefully). So please, my fellow Methuselahs, contribute with your decks that needs some care and attention. Meanwhile I'll tweak my own decks here.

-- Deck idea --This is a toolbox deck featuring Marcellus and Ellen Fence as the main characters. There Marcellus is the main defender and Ellen is the one rushing.

-- Design --This is quite an old deck from back in the days. What I could remember it was doing ok. I haven't played it for 10+ years, but tweaked it a couple of times. But today, just by looking at it, I acknowledge the fact it's not that good. The positive news is that there are a some new cards since then that would improve it.

Crypt (12)

4 Ellen Fence, the Tracker (8, aus CEL OBF PRO, Gangrel Antitribu, Bishop, 2, Sabbat bishop: Ellen can enter combat with any tapped minion controlled by your predator or prey as a (D) action)

4 Marcellus (8, AUS CEL pro, Toreador, Prince, 2, Camarilla Prince of Monaco: If Marcellus is ready, political actions cost Nosferatu 1 additional blood. +1 bleed)

1 Darrell Boyce, Consul (6, CEL OBF PRO, Gangrel Antitribu, 2, Sabbat)

1 Skryta Zyleta (5, obf pot pro CEL, Gangrel Antitribu, 3, Sabbat. Black Hand)

1 Scarlet Carson O`Toole (4, pro CEL, Gangrel Antitribu, 3, Sabbat)

1 Wren (4, cel obf pro, Gangrel Antitribu, 2, Sabbat)

Library (71)

Masters (15)

2 Dreams of the Sphinx

1 Pentex

2 Wider View

2 Protean

3 Gangrel Conspiracy

5 Blood Doll

Action (5)

2 Shadow of the Beast

3 Bums Rush

Action Modifier (4)

4 Cloak the Gathering

Action Modifier / Combat (7)

2 Ritual of the Bitter Rose

5 Swallowed by the Night

Ally (1)

1 Carlton van Wyck

Combat (40)

6 Amaranth

3 Bone Spur

2 Earthmeld

2 Flesh of Marble

2 Form of Mist

2 Infernal Pursuit

8 Psyche!

6 Pursuit

4 Stutter Step

5 Wolf Claws  

Equipment (4)

2 Camera Phone

1 Bowl of Convergence

1 Ivory Bow

Event (1)

1 Urban Jungle

Reactions (9)

9 Second Tradition: Domain

Retainers (1)

1 Resplendand Protector

Votes (2)

2 Templar

-- Analyzing and redesign --The crypt looks ok. Will add Sadie. Also another Marcellus would be nice, since it's important to have a good defence at start.

    Ennoias Theatre is a no-brainer here, as well as Under Siege.

    Instantaneous Transformation will replace all obfuscate cards, it will definatly provide some extra momentum to the deck.

    Monster for more multi-action and I doubled up on Ivory Bow. Parity Shift is always good (no room for Templar).

I also (during lotsa pain) decided to slim the library to 71 cards (a whopping 19 cards difference), and this is the result:

Crypt (12)

4 Ellen Fence (8, !Gangrel, CEL, OBF, PRO, Bishop, rush d-action prey or predator)

5 Marcellus (8, Toreador, AUS, CEL, pro, Prince, +1 bleed)

1 Sadie (2, pro, !Gangrel, 2, Sabbat)

1 Scarlett Carson o’Toole (4, !Gangrel, CEL, pro)

1 Skryta Zyleta (5, !Gangrel, CEL, obf, pro, Black Hand)

Library (71)

Masters (12)

1 Dreams of the Sphinx

2 Pentex

1 Wider View

1 Protean

1 Ennoias Theatre

1 Gangrel Conspiracy

4 Blood Doll

1 Monster

Action (4)

1 Shadow of the Beast

2 Bums Rush

1 Under Siege

Action Modifier (5)

5 Instantaneous Transformation

Action Modifier / Combat (1)

1 Ritual of the Bitter Rose

Combat (33)

5 Amaranth

5 Claws of the Dead

1 Earthmeld

1 Flesh of Marble

1 Form of Mist

2 Infernal Pursuit

7 Psyche!

7 Pursuit

3 Stutter Step

1 Wolf Claws  

Equipment (5)

1 Camera Phone

1 Bowl of Convergence

2 Ivory Bow

Event (1)

1 Urban Jungle

Reactions (8)

8 Second Tradition: Domain

Retainers (1)

1 Resplendand Protector

Votes (1)

1 Parity Shift

-- Field Test --

Daniel H had a house warming party with VTES, so I brought this new creation. This evening would be more casual than the normal super-competitive environment of Stockholm, so a perfect moment to get a feeling of the flow of the deck.

Game 1 (which had three, yes three decks, using "Gear Up"):

BobbyDoc > Daniel (Giovanni Protean anarch multi-act) > Jonas (Ravnos Anarch breed boon) > Henrik (Teresita s&b) > Kalle (Giovanni/Samedi Shamblers Talbot Chainsaw)

Although I had no Ellen in the start crypt, I got the other three !Gangrel. So I was still pleased, and managed to get Ellen a little later with Wider View.

    One of the first actions of the game was Kalle trying to recruit Shamblers, but was promptly blocked and eaten by Marcellus. Excellent. This gave me time to set-up and move forward.

    After a while it was clear to me that Jonas would be hard to stop if he was allowed to gain more pool from Con Boon. A well placed Parity Shift weakened him and Daniel asked me to bleed him so he could deflect.

    So Jonas became the first casualty. Kalle, still in a losing position, had rushed backwards a little which had weakend Henrik. But soon Kalle was ousted and I was in a very good position.

    Now I didn't play my best game, I decided to rush backwards neutralizing Henrik, instead of just bleeding. But earned some extra style-points eating a full Frank Litzpar and played Ritual of the Bitter Rose, filling up all my four vampires.

    Daniel managed to oust Henrik and then conceded.

Robert 2 vp, Daniel 2 vp, Henrik 1 vp

-- Conclusion --The deck had a really nice flow and if I just played a little better I may have won the game. It will be interesting to play it more and see how it copes against tougher decks.

Thank you for reading!

/BobbyDoc

Current tier 1 decks?

What are the tier 1 decks right now? By tier 1 I mean the best tournament level decks. Me, Randyman and Myrdin discussed this recently, and could agree on these:

We might have forgotten some decks though. Feel free to comment, below or on VEKN.net!

Note: Our discussion took place before the banning of Anthelios, which crippled the Girls-archetype. It might still be a playable deck though, but is it tier 1?

The Stockholm League – April 6, 2016

Totally Tupdog-safe!

Four tables were played in the seventh round of our February-April league. Standard tournament rules apply + printed proxy is allowed.

Table 1:

1. Jens (Tremere Gerald Govern+Soul Scan toolbox)

2. Robert (Giovanni anarch Cry Wolf and Khazars Diary)

3. Kari (Ravnos/Tzimisce Hazimel & Sha-Ennu Dabbler sb) 3 vp, 1 gw

4. Henrik (Kiasyd/Lasombra sb)

5. Kim (Lasombra with PRE vote) 2 vp

Table 2:

1. Henrik (Nosferatu G4-5 bigcap vote)

2. Jens (Tremere Gerald Govern+Soul Scan toolbox) 1,5 vp

3. Daniel H (Toreador anarch cel-aus guns)

4. Kristofer (Lasombra with PRE vote/sb) 2,5 vp, 1 gw

5. Kalle (Malkavian Maris Streck and Procurers wall)

Table 3:

1. Randy (OBF-CEL Rebecka Flurry sb/vote) 1 vp

2. Kari (!Ventrue BH bruise-bleed with Elimelech)

3. Kim (Tremere with ANI toolbox) 3 vp, 1 gw

4. Robert (AUS-CEL wall with Asguresh)

Table 4:

1. Kari (Brujah Jaroslav toolbox) 0,5 vp

2. Peter (Gangrel Mimir sb/toolbox) 1,5 vp

3. Daniel R (Tremere Spiridonas sb/vote)

4. Robert (AUS-CEL wall with Asguresh) 0,5 vp

5. Randy (Gangrel anarch Brunhilde/Danielle toolbox) 0,5 vp

League standings:

Randy 72 rtp

Jens 58 rtp

Kim 54 rtp

Kari 46 rtp

 Peter 44 rtp

Robert 42 rtp

Daniel H, Henrik 28 rtp

Ivan 20 rtp

Kristofer 18 rtp

Jonas S, Kalle 8 rtp

Daniel R, Zich 4 rtp

(1 gw = 8 ratingpoints, 1 vp = 4 ratingpoints. Note: Players can play more than one game each round if their participation are needed to complete a table where at least one player has not yet played a league game this round, but only the best result each round counts for rating. If more players than 5 want to play such a table, lowest vp-count this round has priority. No league game begin before 17.00 or starts after 20.00.)

The next round of the league is played at Dragon´s Lair, Kungsholmstorg 8 next Wednesday about 1800-ish. Be there!