2004 Northeast Regional Qualifier Tournament Report

  Heya!  For the third year in a row, TotalCon hosted the Northeast
  Regional Qualifiers.  We had 40 players in attendance (6 of whom
  were prequalified):

  David Tatu - Obt-Pre vote
  Scott Kowalchuk - Giovanni Seduction-Call bleed
  Dan Keller - Tzimisce wall
  Jerry Spaulding - Group 12 Malks (w/Pro?  MadNet?)
  Craig Nason - Group 23 Toreador
  Brad Perron - Tegyrius-Parnassus fight
  Greg Pettigrew - Kiasyd-Lasombra
  Tristan Asher - Tha-Dom-Aus bruise-bleed
  DJ Chagnon - Bru-!Bru fight
  Peter Bakija - Weenie Obf Blood Doll Cooler bloat
  Stefan Ferenci - Tzimisce wall, heavy Rotschreck
  Jubal Kerchner-Pirrone - Lasombra (didn't catch what style)
  Andy Kempton - Lasombra stealth-bleed
  Lance Shope - Harbingers of Skulls (didn't catch what style)
  Cory Seigel - Group 23 Malkavian Prank bloat 
  Robyn Tatu - Toreador vote 'n bloat
  Nik Lima - Legacy of Pander
  Mike Manning - Group 23 EuroBrujah Debate
  Trey Morita - !Ventrue stealth-vote-bleed
  Greg Williams - Obf-Dom bleed
  Nick Watkins - Obf-Dem bleed
  Dan Coleman - Lazverinus
  Josh Duffin - Pot-Dom weenies
  Kevin Scribner - Obf-Dem bleed
  Raymond Ramos - Brujah 12 fight
  Ethan Levi - Some odd deck recycler thing that flamed out on the launchpad
  Peter Jehlen - Big Cam stealth-vote
  Benjamin Sherlock - Tremere 12 Cel-Tha fight
  Scott Gomes - Aus-Pot weenies
  Amy Brender - Settite Bleed-Enticement
  David Anderson - Obf Ventrue 23
  Matt Hirsch - !Nos-Tzi Ani-Aus intercept-combat-bleed
  Jonathan Mason - Obf-Dom bleed-vote
  Ben Turner - Lasombra Pre vote
  Journey Kirchner-Pirrone - Ventrue 12 vote
  Josh Feuerstein - Malk 12 Obf-Dom bleed
  Chris Barter - Kiasyd-Salubri toolbox
  Ben Swainbank - Kyoko Protocol
  Shawn McKeown - Pot-Dom something

  After a gruelling 3 rounds, the finalists were:

  Jonathan Mason - Obf-Dom bleed-vote (2 GW, 7 VP)
  Peter Jehlen - Big Cam stealth-vote (2 GW, 6.5 VP)
  Stefan Ferenci - Tzimisce wall, heavy Rotschreck (1 GW, 6.5 VP)
  Trey Morita - !Ventrue stealth-bleed-vote (1 GW, 5 VP)
  Matt Hirsch - !Nos-Tzi Ani-Aus intercept-combat-bleed (1 GW, 4.5 VP)

  Seating order was:  Matt->Jonathan->Stefan->Trey->Peter

  I'm sure the players can give a better account of the finals than I,
  but here's a quick report:

  Matt got the jump early on, and was poised to oust Jonathan within a
  couple of turns.  Jonathan, however, managed to Kindred Restructure
  out of the way, trading places with Stefan.  Stefan was unable to
  block Jonathan's superior Governs, and Jonathan was able to bail 
  himself out.  Peter Jehlen got Etrius caught by one of Matt's vampires,
  and Etrius was torporized (and then later eaten by a weenie Ani vamp).
  The game ended up being rather stablized from then on, with the table
  timing out with nobody being ousted.  Since he had the highest ranking
  going into the finals, Jonathan Mason emerged as the 2004 Northeast
  Regional Champion for his first ever tournament win.

  The final standings:

  1 Jonathan Mason               2 GW, 7 VP, 0.5 VP in finals, 132 TP
  2 Peter Jehlen                 2 GW, 6.5 VP, 0.5 VP in finals, 156 TP
  3 Stefan Ferenci               1 GW, 6.5 VP, 0.5 VP in finals, 144 TP
  4 Trey Morita                  1 GW, 5 VP, 0.5 VP in finals, 132 TP
  5 Matt Hirsch                  1 GW, 4.5 VP, 0.5 VP in finals, 144 TP
  6 Josh Duffin                  1 GW, 4.5 VP, 120 TP
  6 Jubal Kerchner-Pirrone       1 GW, 4.5 VP, 120 TP
  8 Ben Swainbank                1 GW, 4 VP, 120 TP
  8 Jerry Spaulding              1 GW, 4 VP, 120 TP
  10 Greg Williams               1 GW, 3.5 VP, 120 TP
  11 Josh Feuerstein             1 GW, 3.5 VP, 108 TP
  12 Peter Bakija                1 GW, 3 VP, 102 TP
  13 Tristan Asher               1 GW, 2.5 VP, 108 TP
  14 Ben Turner                  0 GW, 4.5 VP, 150 TP
  15 Scott Gomes                 0 GW, 4 VP, 144 TP
  16 Andy Kempton                0 GW, 3.5 VP, 132 TP
  16 Nick Watkins                0 GW, 3.5 VP, 132 TP
  18 Journey Kirchner-Pirrone    0 GW, 3.5 VP, 126 TP
  19 Greg Pettigrew              0 GW, 3 VP, 120 TP
  20 Mike Manning                0 GW, 2.5 VP, 132 TP
  21 David Tatu                  0 GW, 2.5 VP, 108 TP
  22 Scott Kowalchuk             0 GW, 2 VP, 120 TP
  22 Robyn Tatu                  0 GW, 2 VP, 120 TP
  24 Amy Brender                 0 GW, 2 VP, 96 TP
  24 David Anderson              0 GW, 2 VP, 96 TP
  26 Cory Seigel                 0 GW, 1.5 VP, 108 TP
  27 Raymond Ramos               0 GW, 1.5 VP, 102 TP
  27 Craig Nason                 0 GW, 1.5 VP, 102 TP
  27 Dan Keller                  0 GW, 1.5 VP, 102 TP
  30 Kevin Scribner              0 GW, 1 VP, 96 TP
  31 Dan Coleman                 0 GW, 0.5 VP, 84 TP
  31 Shawn McKeown               0 GW, 0.5 VP, 84 TP
  31 DJ Chagnon                  0 GW, 0.5 VP, 84 TP
  34 Benjamin Sherlock           0 GW, 0.5 VP, 72 TP
  35 David Weesner               0 GW, 0 VP, 72 TP
  35 Ethan Levi                  0 GW, 0 VP, 72 TP
  37 Chris Barter                0 GW, 0 VP, 66 TP
  38 Lance Shope                 0 GW, 0 VP, 60 TP
  38 Brad Perron                 0 GW, 0 VP, 60 TP
  40 Nik Lima                    0 GW, 0 VP, 54 TP

  Of the 40 who attended, 6 were previously qualified, so 9 players
  became newly qualified:

  Jonathan Mason
  Peter Jehlen
  Matt Hirsch
  Josh Duffin
  Jubal Kirchner-Pirrone
  Ben Swainbank
  Jerry Spaulding
  Greg Williams
  Josh Feuerstein

  Congratulations to the qualifiers, and to Jonathan for the win!

  Thanks go out to Ben Spaulding for helping me judge, Scott Gomes for
  lending a laptop, Tonya Gomes for baking two cakes for the players (!!!),
  TotalCon for all their help, White Wolf for the prize support and their
  continued support of the game, and most of all to the players who 
  attended!

  I look forward to seeing you all back next year!


  - Ben Peal, Prince of Boston
    fudjo@mindstorm.com

Winning Decklist from Jonathan Mason:

The basic idea is somewhat responsible sneak and bleed with slightly
more defense than an all out S&B deck might have, since they're all
mid-cap vampires. Le Dinh Tho (I'd add a third of him if I owned
another) takes the first action every turn to get rid of deflections,
wake, intercept and other nastiness. Get at least little obf on him if
you can to make sure he can get his inherent action off. Additionally,
the change of targets and spying missions are there to make sure you
don't bleed your grandprey too much. CoT is also good for drawing out
wakes from your prey. I'd replace the dodges with absorb the minds if
I owned them, since everyone in the crypt has dom. I'd also
consider putting in a fragment of the book of nod. I stole one during
one game and it really helped card flow. The kindred restructure is a
prayer card and might be better as a dramatic upheaval so anyone could play
it.
 
That's mostly it. Govern down for pool gain and more minions, especially early. 
The more actions you can take, the better. Have fun!
 

Semi-Responsible Bleed

Crypt: 12
 
2 Gilbert Duane
2 Greger Anderssen
2 Le Dinh Tho
1 Gratiano
1 Zebulon
1 Justine, Elder of Dallas
1 Mariel, Lady Thunder
1 Reverend Blackwood
1 Didi Meyers
 
Library: 90 Cards
 
Master: 19
1 Asylum Hunting Ground
4 Blood Doll
2 Dominate
3 Obfuscate
1 Elder Library
1 Info Highway
1 Barrens
1 Rumor Mill
2 Archon Investigation
1 KRCG News Radio
1 Giant's Blood
1 Sudden Reversal
 
Action: 15
9 Govern the Unaligned
1 Graverobbing
2 Far Mastery
2 Kine Dominance
1 Fifth Tradition
 
Political Action: 1
1 Kindred Restructure
 
Reaction: 12
6 Wake with Evening's Freshness
6 Deflection
 
Action Modifier: 31
1 Forgotten Labyrinth
3 Cloak the Gathering
4 Elder Impersonation
3 Faceless Night
5 Lost in Crowds
2 Spying Mission
1 Foreshadowing Destruction
4 Threats
3 Conditioning
5 Change of Target
 
Combat: 7
5 Absorb the Mind
2 Dodge
 
Combo: 3
3 Swallowed by the Night
 
Equipment: 2
2 Sport Bike