Deck of the Month: April 2010: Singing in the Ground

This month's deck is the (nearly) tournament winning deck "Singing in the Ground" played by Randal Rudstam during the Swedish ECQ 2010. There were a lot of competition this month, with creations like Yannik Gibert's Anarch Spirit Marionette deck, or Otso Saariluoma's Shattering Crescendo deck.

The deck is a tap-and-bleed deck, but one you probably haven't seen before. The vampires in the deck should have both Animalism and Protean on the superior level, so they can rush and tap it's prey minions with Deep Song. In the resulting combat the acting minion is untapped by playing Earth Meld, never really intending to fight the opposing minion. Repeat one or two times, and your minions are free to bleed a prey with all minions tapped. In this situation the Codex of the Edenic Groundskeepers enters the scene , giving a +3 bleed if the player being bleed does not control a ready untapped minion. One the other hand, the deck can behave quite wallish with the Raven Spies and the Earth Melds.

Deck Name : Singing in the ground
Author : Randal Rudstam
Description : Deck from GothCon 2010.

I really want to change Horrock for something better, perhaps another Janey Pickman and Robert Price but I have not look into it yet.
Planing on changing:

• Perfectionist for Anarch Troublemaker
• Canine Horde for Earth Meld
• Sudden Reversal for Earth Meld
• Camera Phone for Laptop Computer

And adding a Form of Mist.

Codex was key for ousting and Deep Song Earth Meld work as I had hope for the table win. And yet again Archon Investigation saved my ass and gave me a table win.

Crypt [12 vampires] Capacity min: 1 max: 7 average: 5.41667
------------------------------------------------------------
2x Danielle Diron 7 ANI PRO chi for 1 vote Gangrel:3
2x Doyle Fincher 7 ANI PRO aus for obf !Gangrel:4
2x Horrock 6 ANI PRO vic Gangrel:3
2x Janey Pickman 6 ANI PRO for !Gangrel:4
2x Celeste Lamontagne 5 ANI PRO for !Gangrel:4
1x Leo Washington 2 cel pro !Gangrel:4
1x Anarch Convert 1 Caitiff:0

Library [76 cards]
------------------------------------------------------------
Action [12]
2x Abbot
10x Deep Song

Action Modifier [6]
6x Freak Drive

Ally [2]
1x Carlton Van Wyk (Hunter)
1x Ossian

Combat [22]
1x Canine Horde
14x Earth Meld
4x Form of Mist
3x Pack Alpha

Equipment [3]
1x Camera Phone
1x Codex of the Edenic Groundskeepers
1x Heart of Nizchetus

Event [2]
1x Narrow Minds
1x Scourge of the Enochians

Master [13]
1x Archon Investigation
1x Direct Intervention
2x Dreams of the Sphinx
1x Giant's Blood
1x Heidelberg Castle, Germany
1x Jake Washington (Hunter)
2x Pentex(TM) Subversion
1x Perfectionist
1x Sudden Reversal
2x Vessel

Reaction [8]
4x Cats' Guidance
1x Delaying Tactics
3x On the Qui Vive

Retainer [8]
1x J. S. Simmons, Esq.
1x Owl Companion
5x Raven Spy
1x Tasha Morgan

Results German EC Qualifier 2010

On May 2nd, 2010 the VtES German EC Qualifier was held in Ludwigshafen, Germany with 27 players attending the qualifier tournament. The final standings were as follows:

1. Alfred Behrends (GER) -- 1 GW 5 VP -- 1,5 VP -- Pot/Dom Bruise & Bleed
2. Benoit Moyen (FRA) -- 2 GW 7 VP -- 0,5 VP -- Inner Circle Flurry of Action Bleed
2. Ralf Lammert (GER) -- 2 GW 7 VP -- 0,5 VP -- Cybele Girls Find Inner Hell
2. Andreas Nusser (GER) -- 1 GW 4 VP -- 0,5 VP -- Osebo Aus/Pot Wall
2. Joscha Düll (GER) -- 1 GW 5 VP -- 0 VP -- Weenie Dragon's Breath Rounds

Congratulations to Alf for his win of the German ECQ 2010. Pictures and report to be published soon after.

Results European Draft Championship 2010

Here are the results from the VtES European Draft Championship, which was played on May 1st, 2010 in in Ludwigshafen, Germany with 18 players participating. The standings of the final round were as follows:

1. Hugh Angseesing (ENG) -- 1 GW 4,5 VP -- 1,5 VP -- Weenie Pro/Ani/Pot Swarm
2. Sebastian Meurer (GER) -- 2 GW 8 VP -- 0,5 VP -- Malkavian Moving Wall (not S&B)
2. Ralf Lammert (GER) -- 1 GW 5 VP -- 0,5 VP -- !Gangrel/Gangrel Bleed
2. Vincent Ripoll (FRA) -- 1 GW 4,5 VP -- 0,5 VP -- Ventrue Vote/Bleed
2. Andreas Nusser (GER) -- 2 GW 9 VP -- 0 VP -- !Malkavian Stealth&Bleed

Congratulations to Hugh for winning the VtES European Draft Championship 2010. The draft was based on 5 Keepers of Traditions and 4 3rd Edition boosters. Photos to be published later.

Poll Results: "Would you like to see a reprint of HttB?"

Here are the results of the latest poll if the readers would like to see a reprint of the VtES expansion "Heirs to the Blood" (HttB). 215 readers of this blog have voted in this poll:

• Hell, yes! -- 85 (39%)
• Yes, but only the starters. -- 47 (21%)
• Yes, but only the boosters. -- 5 (2%)
• Maybe, sometime in the future. -- 17 (7%)
• No, there's still enough around. -- 20 (9%)
• No, I have enough. -- 23 (10%)
• I don't care. -- 18 (8%)

A large majority (62%) of the readers would like to see an immediate form of reprint (starters, boosters or both), and another 7 percent sometime in the future. Only 19% are opposed to a reprint, while 8% don't really care about it.

VtES Clan Newsletters in April 2010

One clan newsletter has been posted in the Usenet Newsgroup "rec.trading-cards.jyhad" this month. Beside using a newsgroup reader, you can also access the VtES Usenet Newsgroup by using Google Groups.

• Tremere antitribu Newsletter April 2010.

Announcement Belgian EC Qualifier 2010

The Belgian VtES EC Qualifier 2010 will take place in Brussels, Belgium on May 29th, 2010. Here are the details for this constructed tournament:

Format:

• Standard Constructed. Detailed rules can be found on the VEKN tournament rules webpage.

Time:

• Saturday, 29th May 2010
• Doors open/registration: 11:30 h
• Start first round 12:00 h
• Expected end: 21:15 h
  

Location:

• The Outpost
  Rue de la Tribune 8
  1000 Bruxelles
  Belgium
  Tel. +32 (0)2 2180400


• Please take note, that it is not allowed to bring your own drinks into the shop.

Round system:

• 3 rounds, plus final (time limit: 2 h each)

Entrance fee:

• 3 Euro

Pre-Registration:

• Pre-registration is very useful to ensure appropriate prize support and a timely start of the tournament. If you intend to participate, please sign up as soon as possible by replying to the thread on the Belgian forum or by writing to emiliano (dot) imeroni (at) gmail (dot) com.

Travel:

• By train: The Outpost is situated less than 10 minutes walking from Brussels Central Station (Gare Centrale).
  If you arrive from Paris/London, you will end up at Brussels South Station (Gare du Midi). From there, take the metro line 2 or line 6, direction "Simonis (Elisabeth)", get off after about 8 minutes at the stop "Madou", then walk 5 minutes to the Outpost.
  The above directions can be clarified with a map linked in the Belgian VtES forum as well.


• By car: there is usually plenty of free parking space around Rue de la Tribune.

You can find the original information in the VtES Usenet Newsgroup.

Memorable Quotes (Part 74)

"Why are all the other players leaving the table?" ..
.. "The Una deck is taking his turn!"

-- Conversation during the
Praxis Seizure: Hilversum
tournament on April 24th, 2010

Pictures from the "Praxis Seizure: Hilversum" VtES tournament

Here are a few pictures from the Praxis Seizure: Hilversum VtES tournament, that took place on April 24th, 2010 in Hilversum, Netherlands with 20 players from the Netherlands and Germany attending the tournament:

Left: The tournament took place in a venue named "De Akker" right next to this church, the Oud-katholieke Kerk St. Vitus.

Right: The prize support, a really nice metal VtES edge, and some Heirs to the Blood stuff.

Left: The inside of the "De Akker" during the second round of the tournament.


Right: Round 3 Table 1 with Rens, Yuri, Koen, Debbie and Manuel.

Left: Round 3 Table 2 with Boris, Laurien, Bart, Jeroen and Paul.



Right: Round 3 Table 3 with Herman, Mark, Jarno, Izaak and Didi.

Left: Round 3 Table 4. Desperate card cycling for bouncing an unblockable bleed. It didn't help ...

Right: This guy didn't make it to the final, and it clearly shows .. sooo sad!

Left: The Una Freakshow is running on the final table. Always a sight to behold.



Right: The final table with Jelmer, Laurien, Herman, Izaak and Koen.

Results "Praxis Seizure: Hilversum" VtES Tournament in Hilversum, Netherlands

Here are the results of the "Praxis Seizure: Hilversum" VtES constructed tournament in Hilversum, Netherlands after 3 rounds and final. The tournament was played on April 24th, 2010 with 20 players participating. Dutch players from the Amsterdam, Hilversum, Nijmwegen, Tilburg and Utrecht playgroups as well as two germans were playing in the tournament. Here are the standings after 3 rounds and the final:

1. Izaak H. -- 1 GW 5 VP -- 4 VP -- Toreador Antitribu Undue Influence
2. Laurien van D. -- 1 GW 7 VP -- 1 VP -- Ventrue Neo-Lawfirm
2. Herman J. -- 2 GW 10 VP -- 0 VP -- Una Freakshow
2. Koen T. -- 1 GW 6 VP -- 0 VP -- Pro/Dom Bleed/vote w/ Stanislava
2. Jelmer W. -- 1 GW 5 VP -- 0 VP -- Aus/Cel Intercept w/ Big Guns

Congratulations to Izaak for his victory in the tournament. You can find the tournament winning deck (along with some comments from the creator) in the VtES Usenet Newsgroup and a tournament report by the winner in the Dutch VtES forum.

The mad prophetic Sibyl

"The mad prophetic Sibyl you shall find,
Dark in a cave, and on a rock reclin'd.
She sings the fates, and, in her frantic fits,
The notes and names, inscrib'd, to leafs commits.
What she commits to leafs, in order laid,
Before the cavern's entrance are display'd:
Unmov'd they lie; but, if a blast of wind
Without, or vapors issue from behind,
The leafs are borne aloft in liquid air,
And she resumes no more her museful care,
Nor gathers from the rocks her scatter'd verse,
Nor sets in order what the winds disperse.
Thus, many not succeeding, most upbraid
The madness of the visionary maid,
And with loud curses leave the mystic shade."

-- The Aeneid by Virgil (17 BC)

Announcement French EC Qualifier 2010 (II)

More information in the VtES Usenet Newsgroup or VEKN France forum. And, by the way, great promotional flyer/poster.

US National VtES Championship 2010

The US VtES Championship 2010 takes place at Origins Game Fair 2010 in Columbus, Ohio. The actual national championship tournament is on Friday, June 25th, 2010, but there is not only the championship tournament at Origins, but a series of different tournaments (and formats).

• Jay Kristoff's Pre-Origins: Constructed #0, 2R+F
  -- Wednesday, June 23rd, ~7:00 PM
  
• Constructed #1, 2R+F
  -- Thursday, June 24th, 11:00 AM
  
• Constructed #2, 2R+F
  -- Thursday, June 24th, 5:00 PM
  
• U.S. National Championship, 3R+F
  -- Friday, June 25th, 1:00 PM
  
• North American Qualifier, 3R+F
  -- Saturday, June 26th, 09:00 AM
  
• Recursion Draft, 6 Packs, 2R+F
  -- Saturday, June 26th, 5:00 PM
  -- Draft will use 3x Anarchs and 3x Twilight Rebellion
  -- $20 entrance fee, 24 spots available
  -- All participants will receive 2x HttB booster
• Constructed #3, 2R+F
  -- Sunday, June 27th, 11:00 AM

You can find some further information in the original announcement on the VtES Usenet Newsgroup.