12th March, in the year 2010, Paradigm Infinitum.
Things are getting busy with the coming Newbie Tournament on Tuesday, and many of the contestants are testing out their skill and competition deck. I went down to the store and manage to get 3 games, despite it being more or less a Warmachine night.
Randomized seating of game 1.
YeQi's Malkavian Game/Prank, bleeding
Alvin's Beat you up several times deck, bleeding
My Along Comes a Spider, bleeding
Ben Sum's Lasombra bleed, bleeding
Jeff's Slave Gargoyles.
This game was really long thanks to YeQi's multiple Game of Malkav and Malkavian Pranks. It was kinda interesting to see her starting to guess a little on how to use the Pranks properly. Nevertheless it'll still be a pretty random game due to the pool gain/loss created by this powerful master card.
Anyway, I was again sitting in a position that I was a little worried about, knowing that my prey is probably only going to go forward, making my No Secrets quite a big white elephant, and my predator is full of combat ability that I may not want to engage him in. However, with YeQi as his predator, I was hoping that Alvin will be too busy.
For that I was right. Alvin's Count Germaine was having a hard time pounding the multiple Malkavians into torpor, and no doing a very good job due to bad draw. Having Dmitra entering the arena didn't help much, except for reducing the pool to a dangerous level. He did send a couple of Malkavians into torpor, but that didn't help him in the long run.
Meanwhile, I influenced Uchenna onto table, followed by Nkule. I started recruiting Raven Spies on Uchenna, and started getting random things such as Wise Spider and eventually a No Secrets on him. Nkule got himself a Reliquary : Akunanse Remains, and an Ancestor Spirit, and became my primary bleeder. Both of the eventually had Tier of Souls on.
My prey had a bad beginning with Lucy's attempt to summon Nocturn blocked by my Magaji, and then eventually sent to torpor during a hunt action. With no blood on him, somehow YeQi decided to diablerize her, giving me the chance to burn one of her vampire through a blood hunt. Meanwhile I was trying desperately to help Jeff's Gargoyles to either pressurize YeQi, or to weaken Ben, most of all, survive. I went as far as using my Giant's Blood on Jeff's Rusticus when he had no blood.
Soon after YeQi ousted Alvin, I came under pressure from a Malkavan bleeder. I was lucky that she had not enough stealth, and she had stealth, she was lacking in bleed enhancement. I was down to to 3 pool when she called a Malkavian Prank and ended up giving me 1 pool but reducing my prey to 1 pool.
Eliminating Ben I got my pool back into safe zone, the Mbare Market giving me Meno to Ngari to help with the battle. At this point YeQi only had Uncle George on the table, everybody else was either sent into torpor by me (with one of them actually blocking my No Secrets and then sent into torpor by my Devil Channeled Hands) or Jeff. Jeff soon ousted YeQi.
With No Secrets on Uchenna with 4 Intercepts and a Sniper Rifle and a Travelers Obey the Tenets on table, Jeff's multiple Hatchlings with Camera Phones couldn't get past, while I continue to attack with my vampires, protected well with my FOR, he decided to yield the game.
Final VP Count
Me - 3 VPs plus GW
Jeff - 1 VP
YeQi - 1 VP
Randomized seating for game 2.
G1's Toreador Grand Ball, bleeding
Ben Chia's Shattering Daughters, bleeding
Alvin's Beat You Several Times, bleeding
Ben Sum's Protean weenies, bleeding
My Air Rock.
This game was another pretty weird game, and it started off with Ben Chia needing to go both ways, attacking both G1, and Alvin, while I also tried desperately to attack my prey, who went into the game with a great start.
I influenced Erinyi into the game first, supporting her with a TupDog, who blocked Ben's first bleed successfully. Ferox followed next, got a Vessel and a Rack, and employed a Razor Bat. Erinyi hatched 2 Hatchlings, Ferox Sanguined Erinyi, and I started throwing out Wider Views after Wider Views (I played a total of 4 in this game, consecutively, turn after turn)
G1 influenced Anson, supported him with Alexandra, and started the Grand Ball with the First Tradition. I was lucky to have a Vessel and a Rack, and multiple Wider Views to keep myself in the game. Meanwhile, the 4 weenies from Ben was having a hard time cracking my wall, since none of them could get past my one single Roll, and/or my defense package. Very few bleeds went through, and I basically survived every combat with him.
Ben Chia shattered G1's vampires, and sent both Alexandra and Anson into torpor at one point, while Alvin was taking Ben's Virtuosa bleeds with no intercepts to block. Alvin also had a lot of problems fighting Ben Sum's Rotschreck supported Protean weenies. He was in such a bad position that he didn't really had a chance for winning in this game.
Since G1 was in a hurry to join his friends for a Battlestar Galactica game, he made a bargain with me to help me to get as many VP as possible, in exchange for me not diablerizing his vampires. I of course, took the deal, and started to get very lost, since my Gargoyles had no where to go and nothing to do, trying to keep both my prey and predator alive. The table was thus completely broken.
G1 Parity Shifted Ben Chia, and gave me the pool instead. Banished Scout Youndwood when she had only 1 single blood left on her, and pretty much made Ben's life difficult. Despite this, Ben continued to apply pressure to his prey and ousted Alvin. Before he was almost eliminated, he managed to oust Ben Sum too! He then yielded the game, knowing that my Gargoyles (now a horde of them) will make short play with his remaining Daughters.
Final VP Count
Me - 3 VP plus GW
Ben Chia - 2 VPs
Last Game.
Ben Chia's !Salubri, bleeding
Alvin's Beat You Several Times, bleeding
Dzaki's Gangrel R&R, bleeding
My Along Comes a Spider.
Now this is one sad game for me. The whole table is full of combat capable decks, with Ben's VAL's sword, fighting Alvin's POT fist, fighting Dzaki's ANI claws, and I ended up with ABO teddy bear.
You can see how much problem I have. With absolutely no way of getting anything done without begging, I was trying really really desperately to survive. My ally was in just a bad position as I was, since his POT combat cannot get past Dzaki's Flesh of Marble, or FOR, but he needed to take damage from the Carrion Crows. Basically he's facing the same issue I had, but at least his vampires are scary.
As for me, I was lucky to draw into a first turn Mbare Market, followed by a second turn Powerbase: Montreal - this allowed me to bring out Umdava followed by Nkule. The 2 of them then sit around doing random things like Belonging Grants Protection to untap each other and look good. No Secrets couldn't get through Dzaki's Intercepts (not that it's gonna help, a second one was given to me and right after that I lose it to an Earth Control). My prey fight with Armor of Caine's Fury and again I was not able to do anything about it.
This game, however, took forever, since pretty much everyone has FOR, and only Alvin took a little damage from his own Tension in the Ranks due to the Rotschreck played by Dzaki.
I sat around doing nothing, passing the Powerbase around for everybody, and everybody was too passive and friendly to do much to each other. We eventually decided to call a time out with none of us being ousted.
Final VP Count
Nah, didn't have any interest to count this one.
(o.o)
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