This week I had a week off the Vtes, but the league continued without me.

Game 1
Reported by Paul

Paul / Great Beast > Geoff / !Tremere > Kieran / Blood Brothers > Nick / Beast & Buddies

A brutal game with much big fist, POT and Beast-on-Beast action (nasty) from the outset.

Cybele set up quite quickly and began to bleed Geoff steadily for three or five. Beast tussled with some Blood Brothers as he tried to slip into some leathers, and the Blood Brothers came off worse. The Great Beast arrived. Geoff got more heavily bled and both Kieran and Nick began to look aggressively at the Big Beast who was trying to look innocently back at them.

Things then got complicated with so much Harassing, Ambushing and Rushing that I find it is hard to keep track, Followers of Set and Baali go to torpor, get burnt, are reborn, bleed etc. Kieran and Nick beat on each other a bit. Beast loses an arm. Geoff gets bled out by the Great Beast and Cybele (version II or III). Kieran is low on pool but strong on combat. He gets gets bled out, just (his own Tension contributes to his ruin). Nick bleeds and rushes forwards.

Paul is weak, drops down to two pool with another Cybele (III) coming into play, but manages to acquire the Soul Gem, Call another Beast, who bleeds, burn herself, and bleeds with the new version of herself (VI) at stealth, ousting Nick.

Very close with all the POT combat, but a sweep nonetheless. Highlights were the Beast, Leather Face, rushing the Great Beast, failing to get to long range (the G. Beast maneuvered back) and then ending combat.

Good game.

Game 2
Reported by Geoff.

This was a titanic struggle, played against the background of a sleepy West Country pub with every move being carefully analysed by the curious locals.

Paul –> War ghoul deck, Kieran –> Harbingers, Geoff –> Tremere antitribu, Nick –> Venture antitribu,

The game began at a brisk pace, Paul and Kieran racing each other to control the largest number of undead rushers in a quest for table domination. Shambling Hordes vs. War Ghouls, never pretty. Nick tried to curtail Paul’s ever expanding horde with heavy bleeds where possible, and Kieran took every opportunity to block any War Ghouls, or War Ghoul fodder retainers being brought into play. I contented myself with light bleeds on Nick and failed rushes back on Kieran (damn strike to end).

With pressure from two sides it was the War Ghouls that cracked first, hampered by Carlton Van Wyk, Paul was eventually ousted by his own Dragonbound how ironic

With Nick, Kieran and Paul fighting a mostly private battle I had been left free to build up forces and for the first time (ever) the Tremere deck was looking almost effective. Uta Kovacs combined with Rutor’s Hand providing useful bleed & rush double action.

Nick had been left weakened by the back rushing War Ghouls and I looked to press forward, but Kieran provided constant pressure of his own. The turning point came with a heavy 7 point bleed from Nick being deflected on to me, back to Kieran, and then back to me again. Curse my lack of intercept, it got through and I was hamstrung.

Nick held out for a couple more turns before I managed to remove his single remaining pool, but I was in bad shape - low pool, crippled vamps and a hand jammed with rushes and masters.

Kieran pressed on, savage rushes from the Shamblers providing the covering fire to keep my minions heads down whilst his vampires went to work on what little was left of my pool. I had no answers and Kieran stripped my remaining pool to clench a deserved victory.

Win
2 VPs GW Kieran, 1 VP Nick, 1 VP Geoff, 0 VP Paul

Current Standings

Paul 8 GWs 3 Draws 29.0 vps 22 Total Games 0.36
Sam 4 GWs 2 Draws 18.5 vps 19 Total Games 0.21
Graham 3 GWs 2 Draws 16.0 vps 15 Total Games 0.20
Steve 2 GWs 2 Draws 11.0 vps 7 Total Games 0.29
Nick 1 GWs 0 Draws 6.0 vps 7 Total Games 0.14
Kieran 1 GWs 3 Draws 5.0 vps 7 Total Games 0.14
Stevan 0 GWs 2 Draws 4.0 vps 14 Total Games 0.00
Geoff 0 GWs 1 Draws 2.5 vps 11 Total Games 0.00
Richard 0 GWs 1 Draws 0.5 vps 1 Total Games 0.00
Andy 0 GWs 0 Draws 0.0 vps 0 Total Games 0.00

Total: 22 Games (19 GW, 3 Draw)

Next week the plan is to play at The Huntsman, although we will need all available players again, so Paul, Geoff, Nick, Andy and myself. I know that Kieran is unavailable, and I am not sure on Nick or Andy. So it could be another missed week for me.
On the 14th the plan is to play at 18 QC Gardens, which will get Graham back into the fold, and will be practice for the ECQ on 17th. So expect filth!

Sam