European Championships 2012 - First Chance Qualifier report

So - no Day 2 tournament for me and I should probably play one of my more relaxed and/or aggressive decks for the First Chance Qualifier but I had this one prepared for the weekend with Day 3 in mind and it has been my favourite deck for a time so why not play it? It is based upon a deck by Emiliano Imeroni and I have played another take on his concept on a smaller tournament before but I have changed it into something more similar to the original.

Deck Name : Mar Ghouls
Author : Stefan Karlsson

Crypt [13 vampires] Capacity min: 2 max: 9 average: 5.53846

5	Maris Streck	9	AUS OBF ani dem dom	justicar	Malkavian	3
2	Horatio	2	vic		Tzimisce	2
2	Piotr Andreikov	2	aus		Tzimisce	3
1	Corine Marcon	6	AUS VIC ani		Tzimisce	2
1	Devin Bisley	5	ANI AUS vic		Tzimisce	2
1	Elizabeth Westcott	5	AUS ani cel vic		Tzimisce	3
1	Wendy Wade	3	ani aus		Tzimisce	2

Library [62 cards]

Action Modifier [6]
  3x Cloak the Gathering
  1x Lost in Crowds
  2x Veil the Legions

Ally [10]
  1x Muddled Vampire Hunter
  2x Ossian
  7x War Ghoul

Combat [7]
  3x Fake Out
  4x Trap

Equipment [1]
  1x Heart of Nizchetus

Event [4]
  2x Dragonbound
  2x Unmasking, The

Master [12]
  1x Fame
  6x Jake Washington (Hunter)
  1x Pentex(TM) Subversion
  1x Powerbase: Montreal
  1x Rack, The
  2x Smiling Jack, The Anarch

Political Action [4]
  1x Anathema
  3x Parity Shift

Reaction [15]
  2x Delaying Tactics
  2x Eyes of Argus
  6x On the Qui Vive
  5x Telepathic Misdirection

Retainer [3]
  1x J. S. Simmons, Esq.
  1x Mr. Winthrop
  1x Tasha Morgan

Round 1

1	2	3	4
Niina Stenberg	Stefan Karlsson	Ferenc Koczka	Julien Ohler
Setites with Potence	Mar Ghouls	Shalmath multiact	The unnamed Shatter the Gate

No early War Ghouls but I have Jake and Ossian on my starting hand (thanks Adam Esbjörnsson for talking me into fielding two copies of Ossian). Ferenc’s first discard is a Muddled Vampire Hunter and when he has 7 blood influenced to his first vampire and I have 4 on Maris I ask him if he is bringing up a Malkavian. He sais yes and when I tell him I will influence out Maris Streck he sighs and looks down. I am thinking to myself if I should contest or not and decides to go for the contest influencing 4 more pool, having a stealthy deck that can contain Entrancements as my predator. Ferenc influences out Shalmath and I have just been a fool at one of the most beautiful bluffs I have seen as a Vtes-player.
Niina’s first vampire is Shemti and I played a casual game against her and probably that very deck two days earlier so I am guessing she is playing Potence. An early Pentex Subversion backwards solves that temporary. Julien starts to act with the unnamed and get both Homunculus and Enkil Cog early and I figure he is playing some iteration of the standard unnamed deck so aiming for a duel against him feels reasonable.
My biggest problem is Shalmath. He will probably recruit allies with Summon History after getting Ankara Citadel and worst case Remnant of the Endless Storm can easily destroy my game. I rush Shalmath with Ossian first opportunity I get and plays a trap but Outside the Hourglass x 3 (superior for two damage, inferior for a dodge and superior for two more damage round 2) kills Ossian leaving Shalmath unharmed. Maris also attempts a Parity Shift but that is cancelled by Rewind Time.
Shalmath tools up a little but doesn’t get anything devastating. Niina takes some bleeds and I defend Pentex Subversion. I have Cloak the Gathering, which is needed because Niina has influenced Bupe Kuila as her second minion, when I recruit my first War Ghoul and I am ready for my second attempt at Shalmath. This time it goes much better and a Trap is all that is needed to put Shalmath in torpor.
When it is Julien’s turn I ask him to diablerize Shalmath but he instead goes for the rescue. It is looking tough for me now having lost quite some pool to Tension in the Ranks played early by Ferenc. I let Niina remove the Pentex since she is also low on pool and needs to defend against Julien. I manage to get Shalmath to torpor again and diablerize him myself this time.
In Ferenc’s turn Julien taps Enkil Cog and plays Shatter the Gate. Niina doesn’t have any untapped minions and I offer as much intercept from Maris’ special as she needs (Maris is at 7 or so blood) but she doesn’t have any wakes. The second Shatter the Gate is played in Julien’s own turn and when it is Niina’s turn we try to discuss a solution. I tell her that she needs to stay untapped with both her vampires and block with help from Maris but she wants to cycle cards and burn one of the Shatter the Gates and cycle in to a wake or two and when I know she won’t change her mind I let her bleed for the edge, stealthing some and then she manages to remove a Shatter. Julien plays another Shatter in Niina’s turn and she have no wakes. I try and rush the unnamed but one of Julien’s members of the Horde wakes and blocks and the third Shatter the Gate is a fact.
Now I have to cooperate with Julien to be able to grab a victory point (and a theoretical game win) since I am the first to go by the new element of 3 pool damage each untap phase. I have played Anathema on Bupe Kuila before so my best hope is to rush him to 0 blood and gain 7 pool but Niina has a strong combat hand and my War Ghoul is dead doing almost no harm thanks to multiple Typhonic Beast. I am at three pool and I don’t realise that I have the opportunity to bleed Ferenc for the edge, ask Julien not to bleed at all and block Niina’s both actions for a victory point in Ferenc’s next untap phase.
That mistake costs me that point and Julien his game win and we both blame ourselves for not seeing that possibility. Me and Ferenc gets ousted and Nina fights hard in the duel but lots of Majesties and a late Giant’s Blood makes Julien grind the duel to a win.
Niina 2 VP
Julien 2 VP

Round 2

1	2	3	4	5
Danilo Tomisi	Olivier Roure	Boglárka Bóna	Stefan Karlsson	Tibor Spada
Lutz and Maris	!Toreador breed and boon	Kiasyd stealth bleed	Mar Ghouls	Nosferatu princes and trophies

Danilo’s first vampire is Maris Streck and I have to do without her. I get an early War Ghoul and manages to rush Boglárka’s Arcadian to torpor at the first attempt so I might do just fine without Maris. Tibor is my main problem since he is packing both combat and stealth. He also plays Red List on a War Ghoul and it that isn’t confidence, what is? Olivier gets a good start and is able to gather both minions and pool not pressing for an early oust.
Nikolaus Vermeulen manages to kill the Red List War Ghoul and gain a Trophy but I rush with two more War Ghouls and diablerize him. Now Danilo has his back free and can use all his resources ousting Olivier who no longer is able to vote with no help from Tibor. Tibor is on his knees but Danilo grows stronger and soon has his third vampire.
I bleed Tibor down so he is supposed to die from my Smiling Jack in his untap phase but I have forgotten that Danilo has Madness Network in play. He removes Smiling Jack easily. He also attempts to play First Tradition but I play Delaying Tactics.
When it is Danilo’s turn anew he plays Kine Resources contested and deals 3 damage to me leaving me at 4 pool. He then plays First Tradition. Third action - another First Tradition. If this vote is passing no one else is going to be able to play any more turns and I desperately tell Danilo that I will self-oust if he votes it trough but he is fine with that. I give Boglárka a victory point as compensation for her hopeless game and Danilo wins the table from very clever play.
Danilo GW 4 VP
Boglárka 1 VP

Round 3

1	2	3	4	5
Csaba Pál	Máté Vaka	Stefan Karlsson	Martin Major	Matthew Boon
Ravnos breed and boon	Stanislava	Mar Ghouls	Eze vote and bleed	Reanimated Corpses and Anu Diptinapta

Last game for this EC and no win yet. Still I have had loads of fun and no dull games at all but a win would sweeten the bitter taste of loss after loss. And this would be the perfect game to do it as I have already faced three of my opponents in the tournaments the days before. Csaba killed me with his Nephandus deck round 3 at the Last Chance Qualifier, Máté walled against my Auspex weenies round 3 at Day 1 and Martin killed me with his Assault Rifles round 1 at the LCQ.
Martin is not drawing Eze in his starting crypt and he lets us know he is in a bad spot. He instead brings Ugadja out and plays Villein for a lot. Meanwhile Máté gets Stanislava and I fear this is going to be another quick game for me. My first War Ghoul rush goes backwards and I manage to torporise her with a Trap. I also torporize Ugadja and it is looking good. Good enough for me to gain three enemies. Matthew plays his game and builds up. Csaba also builds up but he is rescuing Stanislava from torpor in the process and my heavy ally recruiting (now at two War Ghouls, Ossian and Muddled Vampire Hunter) has removed a lot of my pool so it is a critical moment for me. I take a heavy bleed but gets another chance to survive and have to use all my four rushes to beat Stanislava to torpor again and this time I have the action to diablerize her. My only Tzimisce is burned in the blood hunt and I am left with Maris and the allies.
Martin has lots of pool. I put Smiling Jack and Dragonbound in play and Csaba plays Week of Nightmares and bleeds for his victory point. I try and stop him with all my rushes but he is just in time to oust Máté before his ready region is empty.
I have saved several wakes and Pentex Subversion on my hand and those come in handy now when Matthew has also turned against me. Martin talks Matthew into going for removing Smiling Jack and I try to talk him into getting his victory point. Martin has started influencing on Eze and he sais he has loads of Majesties on his hand and will use his political actions to backoust me. Matthew makes a couple of attempts at Smiling Jack but I block him. He then uses the rest of his resources to oust Csaba and manages before I have the time to rush all his minions.
Martin gets Eze to play and I play my Pentex Subversion on him and rush all of Matthew’s minions to their death or torpor. With no ready minions that can act Martin and Matthew gives up and I get my victory at last.
Stefan GW 3 VP
Csaba 1 VP
Matthew 1 VP

I want to thank Budapest, the organisers and all my opponents for three great days of card-flipping at its best. See you in Stockholm next year!