Howdy folks, it's been a while since i've added to the blog. Apologies for that. With so many people asking me for lists of the finalists decks at the 2023 UK National Championship, I thought I'd share the information in one easy to read location would be better than just scattering a bunch of links all over forums.
After three rounds, our 27 players were whittled down to just 5 finalists. The standings were as follows:
In joint first place we had David Sykes and Tibor Morocz. Third place, Tommy Hayward. Followed by James Freimuller in fourth. And lastly, Mikey Ferguson in fifth, knocking out Simon Celine on TPs.
You can see how the decks were set up in the final in the image to the left, but let's get a bit more information than that.
Position 1: James Freimuller playing "Dirty Hari"
Drawing the short straw as our first player was Prince of Norfolk, James Freimuller. I had the pleasure of meeting James during the UK lockdown in 2020. While most of us were new to LackeyCCG then, James was still new to V:tES having only played one or two games at this time.
James was a regular in our games and when lockdown ended and he moved to Norwich, he quickly claimed his title as Prince and built a playgroup from scratch. His weekly meets have clearly paid off, making his debut appearance on a final table. James was 4th in the standings with 1 GW 6 VPs.
Walking by the tables after getting ousted early in round one, I spotted James' prey flustered trying to stop an Inside Dirt (a card I personally love since a friend of mine made a deck using this and Courier). I wasn't at all surprised to see the top deck of his ash heap was a Night Moves. Two great tastes that go well together! Looked like a simple plan and one I could get behind. However, tonight I got to take a look at his full decklist and I was pleased to see how wild this deck actually gets!
To my amazement, the deck was actually a Mata Hari star vampire deck. It makes sense, she can play both of those cards well and has 2 solid stealth disciplines alongside the ability to multiact by using her basic fortitude to Freak Drive. Looking over the list right now I can see it gets a lot more complicated than the weenie rush that I was expecting. The deck features the unrivaled Emeral Legionnaire, giving the deck a much more formidable board presence. And the crafty Spoils of War to provide a little extra bloat and keep Mata Hari blooded. My favourite addition being Off Kilter, a powerful tool to help fuel the Inside Dirt. I was, however, surprised not to see that he had not included one or two Mirror Image in the deck as Inside Dirt is a great work around to it's non-bleed condition and with the use of Night Moves, it's unlikely anybody will block your bleeds.
Crypt (12 cards)
---------------------------------------
5x Mata Hari 7 CHI OBF aus for qui 2 votes Ravnos:4
1x Aaron Bathurst 4 for obf pot Nosferatu antitribu:4
1x Blister 3 obf pot Nosferatu antitribu:4
1x Bloodfeud 2 obf Malkavian antitribu:4
1x Denette Stensen 2 obf Gangrel antitribu:4
1x Frank Litzpar 5 OBF ani for pot Nosferatu antitribu:4
1x Old Neddacka 2 obf Nosferatu antitribu:4
1x Skulk 4 OBF ani Nosferatu antitribu:5
Library (77 cards)
---------------------------------------
Master (12; 2 trifle)
2x Archon Investigation
3x Dreams of the Sphinx
1x Ennoia's Theater
1x Mapatano Utando
1x Perfectionist
1x Secret Library of Alexandria, The
1x Secure Haven
1x Wash
1x Wider View
Action (23)
10x Inside Dirt
9x Night Moves
3x Off Kilter
1x Rewilding
Ally (7)
7x Emerald Legionnaire
Action Modifier (29)
4x Cloak the Gathering
2x Faceless Night
2x Forgotten Labyrinth
9x Freak Drive
4x Lost in Crowds
5x Spoils of War
3x Spying Mission
Action Modifier/Combat (2)
2x Swallowed by the Night
Reaction (3)
2x Deep Ecology
1x Delaying Tactics
Combat (1)
1x No Trace
Position 2: Reverend Mikey Ferguson playing "Stanislava Vote & Bleed"
When he's not dismantling organised religion from the inside, Mikey is usually discussing fantasy football or chasing his children around trying to get them to go to bed. Somehow, he also finds some time to pretend to be an ancient vampire. Whilst he's only attended a few tournaments, he's put in strong results and his thirst for blood is largely powered by his desire to see his name in the TWDA.
Anybody who has spoken to Mikey, or know him from Lies From The Tabletop, will not be remotely surprised by his deck choice. Mikey specialises in Stanislava, playing the deck exclusively as his technical mind leads him to optimise his hobby time. While he can only play a couple of games every couple of weeks, he wants to make the best of them. We'll see what Black Chantry have available for him in 20 years when all the kids have moved out!
Mikey breaks down his deck on our YouTube channel, but this deck has a few differences. Mainly sacrificing initial speed for more longevity, adding equipment such as Helicopter. This new build claimed him 1 GW and 5 VP to secure his seat in the final.
Crypt
---------------------------------------
5x Stanislava 11 ANI CEL DOM FOR PRO inner circle Gangrel:2
2x Ingrid Rossler 9 ANI FOR PRO dom prince Gangrel:2
2x Hartmut Stover 10 CEL OBF PRO dom for archbishop Gangrel antitribu:3
2x Xaviar (ADV) 10 ABO ANI FOR PRO aus cel pot justicar Gangrel:3
1x Mark Decker 8 CEL PRO ani for obf pot prince Gangrel:3
Library
---------------------------------------
Masters (25):
6x Villein
8x Zillah’s Valley
2x Information Highway
1x Dreams of the Sphinx
1x The Barrens
1x Giant’s Blood
1x Backways
1x Monastery of Shadows
1x Perfectionist
1x Zoo Hunting Ground
1x The Coven
1x Papillon
Political Actions (12):
6x Kine Resources Contested
1x Ancilla Empowerment
1x Anarchist Uprising
1x Banishment
1x Reins Of Power
1x Political Stranglehold
1x Ancient Influence
Combat (12):
7x Form of Mist
5x Earth Meld
Action Modifier (16):
6x Earth Control
3x Forced March
3x Freak Drive
3x Instantaneous Transformation
1x Enkil Cog
Action Modifier/Combat (2):
2x Rapid Change
Reaction (10):
6x Deflection
2x Second Tradition: Domain
2x On The Qui Vive
Action (9):
6x Govern The Unaligned
3x Scouting Mission
Equipment (3):
1x The Signet of King Saul
1x Helicopter
1x Seal of Veddartha
Events (1):
1x Scourge of the Enochians
Position 3: David Sykes playing "Noora Buruku"
David is a local Leeds player with an impressive track record. I first met Dave on a final table, where he became the 2019 UK National Champion in the first tournament he had ever played in. Dave has made the final table in more than half the events he has played in. Despite his fascination with MMPA decks, he still has people wanting to play with him. That's how nice he is!
Dave has played a bunch of MMPA decks in his time, including his championship winning deck. This time he decided to play a variant more combat focussed, utilising Nana and Cybele's shared discipline of Animalism. He told me that his list was taken from our friend Noora Hirvonen's decklist and personalised to be more suited to his style. Dave took 2 GW and 7.5 VP to put himself in pole position.
Crypt (13)
---------------------------------------
3x Cybele 10 ANI DAI OBF PRE SER THA Baali:4
1x Alonso Petrodon 10 ANI DOM OBF POT for tha justicar Nosferatu:5
2x Aksinya Daclau 9 ANI FOR PRE PRO cel tha Gangrel antitribu:4
2x Nana Buruku 8 ANI POT PRE Guruhi:4
1x Talbot 7 ANI NEC PRO for Gangrel:5 4x Anarch Convert 1 Caitiff:ANY
Library (87 cards)
---------------------------------------
Master (44; 7 trifle)
1x Anarch Railroad
4x Anarch Revolt
1x Archon Investigation
12x Ashur Tablets
1x Direct Intervention
1x Dreams of the Sphinx
1x Fame
1x Giant's Blood
1x Golconda: Inner Peace
1x Information Highway
4x Liquidation
1x Metro Underground
1x Monastery of Shadows
1x Parthenon, The
1x Smiling Jack, The Anarch
1x Vessel
5x Villein
1x Wider View
5x Zillah's Valley
Action (8)
7x Deep Song
1x Unleash Hell's Fury
Action Modifier (5)
1x Cloak the Gathering
1x Elder Impersonation
2x Lost in Crowds
1x Spying Mission
Action Modifier/Combat (1)
1x Swallowed by the Night
Reaction (6)
2x Cats' Guidance
1x Delaying Tactics
1x Guard Dogs
2x Sense the Savage Way
Combat (22)
8x Aid from Bats
1x Canine Horde
7x Carrion Crows
2x Majesty
4x Taste of Vitae
Event (1)
1x Narrow Minds
Position 4: Tommy Hayward playing "Queen Anne goes for a Balti"
A prominent name in the UK Magic: the Gathering scene, Tommy Hayward discovered the superior game of V:tES when he moved back to the North West a few years back. Being old friends from my MtG days, we reconnected bumping in to each other in our FLGS and during lockdown playing a ton of V:tES on LackeyCCG. Tommy is still a Lackey regular, specialising in upsetting the Finnish players as often as possible with his trademark style of play. Tommy describes his deck choices as cancerous and asked me not to share this decklist because it's bad for the game. That's strong words from a man who has Brainwash 419 as one of his favourite decks!
Tommy's deck is a modern spin on a classic, Baltimore Purge. Replacing the powerhouse known as Montano with the excessive diablorist, Queen Anne. The obvious downsides are she isn't a Lasombra and the Purge won't effect 11 capacity vampires, but Tommy feels the advantages far outweigh the downsides. I agree, 11 caps aren't quite as popular in the modern game with people favouring weenie or mid caps. Plus its rare for 11 cap decks not to have support vampires, even then you can just steal and gobble everyone else. Its also easy enough to include a Master: Discipline just in case. Tommy's choice paid off, and in the decks event debut he proved its power claiming 1 GW and 6 VP.
Crypt (13 cards)
---------------------------------------
5x Queen Anne 10 DOM FOR PRE aus obf prince Ventrue:6
1x Lord Leopold Valdemar 8 OBT POT cel dom obf priscus Lasombra:5
1x Anu Diptinatpa 7 DOM NEC aus vic Nagaraja:6
1x Gilbert Duane 7 AUS DOM OBF baron Malkavian:6
1x Jason "Son" Newberry 7 AUS DOM OBF pre primogen Malkavian:6
1x Andi Liu 6 DOM aus obf pre prince Malkavian:6
3x Claudia 2 obt Lasombra:5
Library (90 cards)
---------------------------------------
Master (21; 4 trifle)
1x Depravity
3x Dreams of the Sphinx
1x Giant's Blood
1x Heidelberg Castle, Germany
2x Information Highway
1x Monastery of Shadows
1x Obfuscate
2x Vessel
2x Villein
7x Zillah's Valley
Action (27)
9x Baltimore Purge
5x Govern the Unaligned
7x Graverobbing
1x Mind Rape
5x Renewed Vigor
Equipment (1)
1x Ritual Goblet
Political Action (1)
1x Reins of Power
Action Modifier (29)
2x Cloak the Gathering
4x Elder Impersonation
1x Enkil Cog
2x Faceless Night
5x Forgotten Labyrinth
11x Freak Drive
4x Lost in Crowds
Action Modifier/Combat (3)
3x Swallowed by the Night
Reaction (4)
4x Deflection
Combat (3)
3x Majesty
Event (1)
1x Urban Jungle
Position 5: Tibor Morocz playing "Senseless Destruction"
Known Hungarian, Tibor, was my predecessor the UK National Coordinator whilst living up in Scotland, and recently moved down to the North West of England where he joined my regular playgroup. While he may regret having to put up with me on a regular basis, he's getting in more V:tES than he has in a good while before. Tibor didn't just make the final this year, but he is our reigning champion after winning the UK National Championship 2022 with his Brujah deck. Tibor is a proud veteran, and having played since the release of Jyhad in 1994, you'll notice a distinct lack of modern borders in his decks, showing off his extensive collection and experience.
Opting for a lot more red cards than last year, Tibor decided to revive an archetype rarely played in the last 10 years...weenie dragon's breath rounds. Whilst the card itself has seen a bit of play it's mostly just been one or two added to a deck, but in a room lacking in Strike: Combat ends, this savage strategy can dominate a table. I always say that combat is a risk every time you enter, but when you're putting a 1 capacity vampire on the line with the potential reward of stealing a high cap vamp from another player using Graverobbing, the risk seems irrelevant. The deck choice paid off greatly, with Tibor claiming 2 GW and 7.5 VP placing him as second seed.
Crypt (12 cards)
--------------------------------------
1x Antoinette DuChamp 1 cel pre Caitiff:2
1x Christine Boscacci 2 dom vic Pander:2
1x Franciscus 1 aus Caitiff:2
1x Huang, Blood Cultist 1 pro Pander:2
1x Lisa Noble 1 ani Caitiff:3
1x March Halcyon 1 for Pander:2
1x Mustafa Rahman 2 dom Tremere:2
1x Ohanna 2 dom Malkavian:2
1x Olga Triminov 1 vic Pander:3
1x Royce 1 dom Pander:2
1x Samson 2 dom Ventrue antitribu:2
1x Sandra White 1 Caitiff:3
Library (76 cards)
--------------------------------------
Master (21; 1 trifle)
6x Ashur Tablets
1x Fame
1x Gambit Accepted
1x Humanitas
1x Information Highway
1x Kingston Penitentiary, Ontario
1x Life in the City
4x Liquidation
2x Momentum's Edge
1x Not to Be
1x Parthenon, The
1x Powerbase: Montreal
Action (14)
3x Ambush
5x Bum's Rush
4x Govern the Unaligned
2x Graverobbing
Equipment (10)
1x Catacombs
9x Saturday-Night Special
Action Modifier (2)
2x Conditioning
Reaction (8)
4x Deflection
2x Delaying Tactics
2x On the Qui Vive
Combat (20)
3x Amaranth
8x Concealed Weapon
9x Dragon's Breath Rounds
Event (1)
1x Uncoiling, The
The Result
These five handsome gentlemen fought it out to decide who was the most handsome, or at least that's what I thought it was all about. Although there was something to do with Vampires. Either way, the victory went to the Gangrel weilding scouse vicar, Mikey Ferguson!
