Results from GenCon 2007
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Costume
Saturday
Grand Patrol
Sunday
The cummulative standings over the GenCon events bring us our North American Championship results.
Congratulations to all the players, and a huge thank you to the sponsors!
Here's what you need to do, and it should only take a few minutes of your time. Send a thank you email to the following people.
Matt Peck
Mark Del Vecchio
Andy Modlin
George Vasilakos
BuffyCCG.com forums Dream Card Contest!
Welcome to the Harvest - a full weekend of Buffy play returns to Pandora's Box this October.
Thursday - October 25th
Friday - October 26th
Saturday - October 27th
Sunday - October 28th
For details on special formats and current Dream Card CRD, visit the Pandora's Box Buffy page by clicking here.
All events will be taking place at Pandora's Box.
Feel free to contact Holly or Caroline for more information or help locating lodging! Further details will be posted on the BuffyCCG.com site forums as they become available.
A new poll and discussion . . .
Be sure to send an e-mail to BuffyCCGNews@aol.com to subscribe to this monthly newsletter!
Ever wonder what it takes to become a Grand Patrol Protector?
Pergamum Prophecy Essence card
Challenges:
Note: Hyenas is an addition since GenCon 2006, replacing Wish Granted and giving me no low point challenges. I realized that with the amount of Charm that I had in order to do the Talent Show and my multiple sources of Occult, this one was not a struggle.
Locations:
1st choice: Natural History Museum (Bizarro Sun as back-up choice unless I thought I was facing a fight deck)
Place Natural History and the Auditorium next to each other and don't plan on going to the rest of your locations unless forced to. Do not place either of them on the edge next to your opponent's Sunnydale location (evil can get around the fatiguing requirement of the Auditorium by using the Hallways or Lobby).
Against a fight deck, the goal is to slow down your opponent's ability to fight with you. For locations, this means not playing anything that they can jump to (i.e. town and school). This means no Bizarro Sun, and making a calculated risk about if you want to play the Auditorium.
Companions:
Events:
Items:
Skills:
Actions:
The deck has a great deal of built-in redundancy so that you'll get want you want quickly, and if you lose it, you'll get it back again very soon. Since Giles has neither Spellcraft nor Occult, it's most essential that he gets those out as soon as possible. Between characters and the Tomes, there are 9 sources of Spellcraft (which is needed for three of the challenges) and 10 sources of Occult (needed for two challenges). The Occult is overkill so in retrospect, I'd drop 2 Black Lagoons in favor of more Manacles. There are 4 sources of Computer, which is needed on one challenge.
Two Gun Woo is there to pull back a critical character stolen away by Ken, Run Fast, The Old Madison Body Switch, Sunnydale School Lawn and other such tricks. Getting this card at a crucial moment has saved a number of games for me.
I resisted putting in Clumsy Fingers because of the lack of boosts but have been very grateful ever since I included it. It's saved me from many Compound Bows and Manacles and slowed down opponents by getting rid of items they need for challenges.
Grounded and Go Homes are both 2 Charm choices that also hinder my opponent - Grounded particularly against fight decks.
Shakys or the great Tiny Victory/Shaky combo are a last ditch effort of slowing down your opponent if you haven't been able to steal their challenges or prevent them from solving one.
If you can ascend Giles by the 3rd turn, remember that you can grab a Puppet Case with his level 1, then ascend him and grab any item or skill with his level 2. (This, of course, works at any time you ascend. Shame on you, though, if there's any Puppet Cases left in the deck after the 3rd turn!)
Use Jenny's ability to put on Black Lagoon and use the Occult that same turn for a challenge. Or don't fatigue her after a challenge and use her for stunt-doubling.
This deck is strongest in Weird and Charm. The characters have so many Smarts that it's rarely a problem (remember to use Willow's ability if you don't need her traits or her Weird for the challenge). Butt-kicking is unnecessary since an evil challenge deck will overwhelm you in it anyway, and you're not going to win any fights in BK.
There you go, a study in good guy denial and decimation!
Player: Caroline Boehmer
Where and when did you first play Buffy CCG?
Is there a story there?
What's your favorite deck to play, and why?
Do you have a favorite Buffy CCG tournament memory?
Any advice to newer players out in the Buffy CCG community?
Rankings for August 2007
New character ascensions for August 2007
Did you know???
Dream Card of the Month
Nothing Special
A great card to balance the scales against all those decks with huge Main Characters.
Offbeat Strategy of the Month
This is certainly not a card to be included in every deck. It's usefulness is fairly limited and costly.
This could also be the answer to all those Showtime decks that send your fighters to 'The Nest' or 'The Auditorium.' It does require a sacrifice, but after that the slayage can commence as planned!
In the Dream Card environment, where so many decks revolve around key beneficial locations, 'Haphazard Bomb' becomes quite a bit more useful. Drawing to a killer combo isn't nearly so easy without 'The Sunnydale Bank' to help cycle through a deck. Unstoppable extra Destiny can be stopped if 'Sunnydale City Limits' has been blown to smithereens. And, it's a little bit harder to summon wave after wave of potentials if 'The Potential Training Ground' is in the Crypt!
Latest News
GenCon took place this August and featured seven Buffy CCG events. The top three finishers from each event are listed below. For full results as well as some outstanding play by play retellings of the games visit the tournament section of the buffyccg forums by clicking here.
Deck Swap
1st : Krista Donnelly
2nd : Matt Butterfield
3rd : Dave Gerspach
Tabula Rasa
1st : Dave Gerspach
2nd : Krista Donnelly
3rd : Patrick Parker
Hero/Villain of the Week
1st : Dave Gerspach
2nd : Matt Butterfield
3rd : Krista Donnelly
1st : Patrick Parker
2nd : Sean Jones
3rd : Matt Butterfield
Sealed Deck
1st : Dave Gerspach
2nd : Sean Jones
3rd : Krista Donnelly
1st : Patrick Parker (Kakistos) Big Bad
2nd : Krista Donnelly (Giles) Protector
3rd : Kit Strehlow
Team Buffy
1st : Sean Jones/Krista Donnelly
2nd : Patrick Parker/Dave Gerspach
3rd : Matt Butterfield/Andy Schnieders
Here are the final standings for the top 10 in 2007.
1st - Dave Gerspach
2nd - Patrick Parker
3rd - Krista Donnelly
4th - Matt Butterfield
5th - Jackie Baethke
6th - Sean Jones
7th - Kit Strehlow
8th - Andy Schnieders
9th - Aly Greaves
9th - Stephanie King
To quote dgjedi from the buffyccg.com forums . . .
For those that participated in the Buffy CCG tournaments at Gen Con (heck, even for those that didn't participate), now comes the most important part of the Con --- Thanking those who sponsored us through donation of the wonderful prizes. For those that attended, I think it can be safely said that the prizes this year were incredible. We had so much Buffy goodness to give away that prizes were awarded in the Wednesday night event, some prizes were given away at the Weekend of Buffy in May and some prizes are still being held for Welcome to the Harvest in October.
Diamond Select Toys
pmatt@diamondselecttoys.com
Cinequest.com
mark@cinequest.com
Inkworks
pr@inkworks.com
Eden Studios
EdenProd@aol.com or eden@nycap.rr.com
For further details, keep an eye on this forum thread.
The shop will be closed to the public and food will be provided by local area sponsors. This is a great chance to get in some convention level play in a fun, casual atmosphere.
Formats for this year are . . .
Multiplayer - 6:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Sealed Deck - 3:30 PM - $10.00 entry fee
Buffy Dual Essence - Dream Cards - 7:30 PM
Down-A-Darla - 11:00 AM
Buffy - Type A Extended (Score Virtuals allowed) - 2:00 PM
Team Buffy - 6:00 PM
H/VotWeek - 10:00 PM
Classic Buffy - Highlander 10:30 AM
1010 E Mithcell Ave.
Ste. 9
Waterloo, IA 50702
319-287-9387
www.pandorasboxonline.net
PandorasBoxOL@aol.com
. . . of the problem regarding the fate of discarded Main Characters in the Dual Essence Format has been brought up by mophat on the buffyccg.com forums. Click here to add your two cents.
Deck of the Month
Krista Donnelly, the GenCon 2007 Protector, has graciously offered her deck list and play hints for our deck of the month spotlight.
Giles Deck
PP Level 1 Giles
A Soul's Revenge
Doppelgangland
Lunch Special
The Talent Show Must Go On
When Good Mothers Go Bad
Hyenas in the Principal's Office
You Can Trust the Technopagan
Against a challenge deck, the most important goal is challenge-control, keeping the challenges on your side of Sunnydale. The card advantage of Bizarro Sun is negated if your opponent has no challenges to solve.
2nd choice: Sunnydale High School Auditorium
3rd and 4th choices: Watch what your opponent plays and match the type, if possible. Remember that evil has subterranean and outdoor-specific challenges. Good can have school, outdoor or town. You want to be able to steal as many challenges as possible.
Fountain Quad (School/Outdoor)
Bizarro Streets of Sunnydale (Outdoor)
Hyena Exhibit (Town)
Hell (Subterranean)
Pool of Blood (Subterranean)
Characters:
Hero:
Cordelia Class of 99 (for her Charm)
Giles Level 2 PP (Spellcraft, ability to grab any item or skill)
Oz Class of 99 (for his Smarts)
Willow Class of 99 x2 (Spellcraft, Computer, Smarts)
Xander, Zeppo (Occult, Charm)
Amy Madison x2 (Spellcraft)
Dr. Gregory (Computer)
Jenny Calendar (Computer, excellent ability)
Uncle Enyos x2 (Spellcraft, Occult)
Wesley Wyndam-Pryce (Occult, recycling)
Whistler (plan ahead for challenges) - if I were to play this deck again, I would change this to Jonathan. This gives increased recycling with Wesley and means that 4 BK characters have to have an item or skill before they can attach a Compound Bow - potentially slowing down the fight decks.
Snow - If I were to play this deck again, I would exchange this for a Primal Connection. It's meant as a last ditch chance to catch up, but really only works if day is your turn and is a dead card in your hand if you draw during a challenge. A Primal gives you another option of winning if you're stuck at 8 or 9 destiny points (as has happened to me when my opponent finally starts drawing Oh, the Other Cemetaries).
Disembodied Arm x2
Empty Puppet Case x3
Manacles - If I played it again, I'd increase to x3.
Mark of Eyghon x3 (Occult)
Silver Locket x2
Tome of Mediocrity x2 (Spellcraft) - Play on heroes only as a last resort.
Black Lagoon Aromatherapy x3 - If I played it again, I'd decrease to 1.
Book Learning x3
Clumsy Fingers x3
Dig Up the Corpses x3
Go Home and Listen to Country Music x3
Grounded x3
Offer of Ugly Death x3
Oh, the Other Cemetary x3
Shaky on the Dismount x3
Tiny Victory x3
Two Gun Woo x3
Tune in next month to hear from Patrick Parker on crowd control and the virtues of pure evil when we feature the GenCon 2007 Big Bad deck!
Player Profiles
BuffyCCG username: memorywitch
Play location: Waterloo, Iowa
I played my first game with WatcherX (R.J.) and scullyangel (Holly) at home in Iowa.
WatcherX, my big brother, was home for a break and he and my sister (scullyangel) were opening packs in the kitchen. Since I'd watched the show a few times and liked it (and will pretty much take any excuse I can get to hang out with my brother and sister), I started snooping and somehow I got hoodwinked into cutting out stake points and sorting card stacks. As the piles got smaller and there was more downtime, I started peeking at the flavor text and asking questions. Before the end of Christmas break, I had my first Willow deck (which I firmly believed revolved around Jenny Calendar getting a Mummy's Seal and Willow learning Diana's Touch immediately *eyeroll*) built and was playing with the gang.
Such a hard call, but maybe no surprise to my playgroup -- Angelous wins it. Ever since I lived in California and had the joyful opportunity to play (and ultimately study) with John Bruno, I've had a different respect for the math of the Buffy CCG. To me, an Angelous deck really offers the best balance of straight-ahead math with the option for sneakiness. By that, I mean I can stack my deck with the right actions to boost for my challenges, but I can also say fun things and play nasty cards that nuke very popular deck ideas and it all fits in nicely. Its hard when you're playing, for example, a Tara deck to feel justified throwing in so many cards like Rivalry, Tiny Victory, Old Madison Body Switch...cards that are strong and game-changing, when they don't really fit the boosts of your challenges or switch cards for fighting. So, its nice to play Angelous where he's not only a greatly focused and strong deck, but you get those staple cards and they really work WITH everything you're getting at. Also...he's not too shabby to look at.
On a giddy, smile-inducing note I have to say the very first "Welcome to the Harvest" when every player in the back room at Pandora's Box was playing fiercely and intently, while listening to Buffy the Musical in the background. "I'll Never Tell" was playing and the competition was crazy, but at the perfect moment, in rebuttal to Xander, every person in the back room looked up and in perfect unison sang along to "His penis got diseases from a Shumash tribe!" Wildly hilarious.
As a player, at my first Gencon I got the chance to play against Bruno, who I hadn't seen since my days in California when he played Mr. Miagi to me and taught me a lot of great deck building tricks. We got matched up in the Highlander tournament (the format that we tested in Cali and he schooled me repeatedly). We played, we fought, it wasn't an easy match. In the end, he got me -- I think my 8 to his 10. But he looked up at me and said "Wow. You're a different player than I met in California." It was a huge compliment and has driven me to continue to try and impress my tutor and fellow players in the same way! :)
The hardest hurdle for me was giving up the trick in trick decks. A lot of players in our community are SO good at pulling off trick decks and it took me a long time to realize that sometimes that just won't work. Math is always old reliable -- pick a character you like the first time, find your weaknesses and build up the other aspects of your deck to match those with a balance of strength. And read the cards! Reading the cards always helps :)
Current Rankings
1 Parker, Patrick MI
2 Donnelly, Krista MD
3 Gerspach, David WI
4 Boehmer, Holly IA
5 Butterfield, Matt IA
6 Flanigan, Sam VA
7 Boehmer, Caroline IA
8 Finholt, Lee IA
9 Nichols, Chris IA
10 Schnieders, Andy IA
11 Francis, Justin IA
12 Jones, Sean VA
13 Baethke, Jackie IA
14 Iverson, Andy IA
15 Britt Flokstra IA
16 Pyris MD
17 Iverson, Maggie IA
18 Roe, Josh IA
19 Coffin, Jared IA
20 Magnuson, Layne IA
Krista Donnelly ~ Giles (level 5), Jenny Calendar (level 3) and The Master (level 2)
Dave Gerspach ~ Villain Spike (level 4)
Matt Butterfield ~ Gwendolyn Post (level 3)
Holly Boehmer ~ Villain Faith (level 2)
Stephanie King ~ The Master (level 2)
Patrick Parker ~ Cordelia Chase (level 2) and Hero Faith (level 2)
Kit Strehlow ~ Jenny Calendar (level 2)
Matt Strehlow ~ Giles (level 2)
. . . that only your most recent 100 games in the past two years count toward your rating?
. . . that you will not appear on the current rankings if you haven't played in an official tournament in the past 13 months, but any new tournament will reactivate your status?
. . . reporting your tournaments (and including main character information) is the only way to receive character ascension points?
. . . it only takes 1 four round tournament per month to reach maximum games within two years?
Offbeat Strategies
Concept: cmo, Art: metrodj
Especially in the dream card environment, it can be overwhelming to attempt a 'trick deck' or make the commitment to a Main Character with weaker stats. Unlike 'Snow' and 'The End' this event can be completely planned for, so that it provides maximum damage to your opponent while leaving your characters free to play out the turn!
Nothing Special also makes a great fight deck tech card, putting most of the popular fighters to sleep for the turn.
This section is meant to highlight those less than popular cards, and help point out where or how they can best be utilized.
Co99 #92 - Item
At the end of the Conflict Step, you may send this character to the Crypt and pay 1 Destiny Point to send to the Crypt the location card beneath this character.
Where 'Haphazard Bomb' can shine is in those few formats or decks that cannot afford to have a certain location in play. It was reportedly used to great effect in a recent team event at GenCon, allowing Dark Willow to blow up 'The Bizarro Streets of Sunnydale', thus allowing park control without fear of having to control a secondary location as well.
Buffy CCG Poll of the Month
What is your favorite alternate format?
Dual Essence
Showtime
Costume
Three Challenge
Team Buffy
Down-A-Darla
Highlander
Tabula Rasa
Hot Dog Surprise
Preparing For Ascension
To cast your vote visit the buffyccg.com forum.
If there is a certain card you would like to see featured in Offbeat Strategies, drop a note to BuffyCCGNews@aol.com!
Everyone's favorite Big Bad has agreed to dole out advice while waiting for the next apocalypse!
Dear Spike,
Dear HHOH,
Spieker,
Dear Coffin,
Dear Creep,
Upcoming Buffy CCG Tournament Play
Whedonverse Trivia
Q: Which role did actor Nathan Fillion, who played Caleb during season 7, originally audition for?
Q: The Mutant Enemy monster's trademark 'Grrr Aargh' was changed to 'Ohhh, I Need A Hug' for which episode?
Q: The Bronze was a showcase for many real artists, but only one broke through as more than background music and spoke a line of dialogue. Which musician?
Q: The Buffy CCG card Wish the Weirding was designed as a sort of tribute to another card game. Which card game?
Q: In the 5th season episode 'Real Me', Harmony's minion Cyrus was played by an actor who went on to play a far larger role on Buffy. Name the actor and the recurring character portrayed.
Answers at the bottom of the newsletter, click here to view answers.
Clues
ACROSS:
DOWN:
Answers at the bottom of the newsletter, click here to view answers.
Whedonverse Industry Gossip
Coming soon from our favorite Whedonverse players . . .
Joss Whedon (he who must be followed, Numfar): continued work on the Buffy Season 8 comic and a current webcomic available through Dark Horse Comics on MySpace. Click here to check it out.
James Marsters (Spike): P.S., I Love You - scheduled release December 2007
Eliza Dushku (Faith): Nobel Son - screened at the Tribeca Film Festival to sold out shows and positive reviews, no firm release date yet.
Julie Benz (Darla): John Rambo - scheduled release December 2007
Summer Glau (River on Firefly, Prima Ballerina on Angel): The Sarah Connor Chronicles - slated to begin airing January 2008
Whedonverse Trivia Answers:
Q: The Mutant Enemy monster's trademark 'Grrr Aargh' was changed to 'Ohhh, I Need A Hug' for which episode?
Q: The Bronze was a showcase for many real artists, but only one broke through as more than background music and spoke a line of dialogue. Which musician?
Q: The Buffy CCG card Wish the Weirding was designed as a sort of tribute to another card game. Which card game?
Q: In the 5th season episode 'Real Me', Harmony's minion Cyrus was played by an actor who went on to play a far larger role on Buffy. Name the actor and the recurring character portrayed.
Name That Card Crossword Answers:
Ask Spike
After years of dating, I've finally found a boyfriend who I truly care about. Every day with him is like a ray of sunshine into my once dreary life! The trouble is, I want to be sure that he knows how I feel about him. I wish I knew how to show him how I felt! What can I do? What can I say? How can I show him that I really, truly love him?
Hopeful,
Head Over Heels
First off, rays of sunshine are rarely good. Trust me. So you may need to rethink the whole blah, blah, lovecakes, thing. But if you decide to go ahead and show him you 'really, truly love him' then I suggest a really big gesture. I'm assuming you already have a soul, so you'll have to work another angle. Have you killed for him? I've found this rarely has any drawbacks. If your boyfriend is evil, kill someone good and innocent (Dru LOVED that). If your boyfriend is a decent bugger, you can always save him from some horrible demon or undead creature (do you know how many times I saved Buffy??? Do you???). Perhaps he'll be more appreciative.
Spike
Why are you so hot?
Love and kisses,
Spieker
5 words: It's the leather coat. . . . .bitch.
Spike
Does the accent really help pick up chicks?
The Coffin
Nice name. As to the accent . . . Have you met Giles? Or Wesley?? The accent has nothing to do with it (see answer above). I'm just bad through and through and chicks love that.
Spike
Have you got any suggestions on how to get rid of a, shall we say, less than spotless reputation?
A little background: I arrived on the scene a few months ago, and entered a relationship pretty much immediately. After this relationship ended, I ended up having several brief flings. Recently I found out I had gained something of a bad name - I am sure you can guess what was said about me, 'loose' being probably the nicest thing.
So, suggestions?
- Creeping out the back door in Hellmouth Central
Why get rid of it? Use it, don't lose it! Enjoy it. Revel in it. Be the Big Bad—people love that! Others may call you names, but that is because they are jealous of your freedom and are too boring and inhibited to do the same. I wear my reputation like a badge of honor and the more people talk, the better my unlife is.
Spike
Fun and Games
If your group is planning a get together and would like to let other players in the Buffy community know, feel free to send in a tournament announcement!
After all, why wouldn't you want more Buffy players at your event?
1. Character gains the occult trait.
3. Refresh a fatigued character named as a defender in a fight
6. If this challenge is defeated, all players discard 1 character they control and shuffle 1 challenge they control back into their Challenge Deck.
7. Look at any player's Challenge Deck and rearrange it in any order. Limit 1 per deck.
8. Until the end of the turn, every player may only have 1 Hero or Villain face a challenge at a time.
11. ...all players gain 1 Destiny Point in a clockwise manner starting with the player of this card.
12. ...gains +1 Butt-Kicking while at the same location as Gill Monster.
15. Assign to Garden Shed. The first winner of a fight each turn at this location gains 1 extra Destiny Point.
16. Angelus must be used to defeat this challenge.
18. The resolving talent for this fight is now Weirdness.
19. Choose one of your characters in play. That character becomes a Villain for the remainder of the turn.
20. Demons gain +1 to all of their talents while here.
21. Refresh Buffy and draw a card. Send to the Crypt after use.
2. Human. Spellcraft. Occult. Demonology.
4. If this character defeats a Vampire supporting character in a fight, the Vampire is sent to the Crypt.
5. Discard all Companions in play. Send to the Crypt after use.
9. This character is immune to any effects from character cards with the Seduction Trait.
10. Assign to the Lair of the Master. To complete this challenge you must have the Pergamum Codex assigned to one of the characters facing this challenge.
13. You cannot move directly from Sunnydale Park to this location or vice versa.
14. Discard all of your opponents' cards that are attached to your characters. Send to the Crypt after use.
17. Move a character controlled by an opponent to an adjacent location. This does not count as a move.
Q: Which role did actor Nathan Fillion, who played Caleb during season 7, originally audition for?
A: Angel
A: Becoming Part 2
A: Aimee Mann during the episode 'Sleeper' announces, 'Man, I hate playing vampire towns.' as the band leaves the stage area.
A: Magic the Gathering. 'Wish the Weirding' is loosely based on the MTG card 'Naked Singularity' which shifts the color mana that lands produce.
A: Tom Lenk, played Cyrus and went on to play Andrew Wells of the Geek Trio.
And remember, for more timely information as well as access to all the Dream Cards and full rankings, be sure to visit buffyccg.com.