This weekend took place the French Nationals in Nantes (West of France, city of the dukes of Britanny), 90 players showed up in melee and 111 struggled in joust, we know for most of you it is far away but I wanted to share the fun we just had. Please forgive me in advance for my poor English.
The event started the thursday night in the pub we usually play once a month at melee (Nantes meta is very famous in France for their melee players). We greeted the players around a glass of beer (1) and some alcoholled shooters (1) created for the occasion (like the milk of the popy : vodka (1), milk and spiced ingredients). Everyone gathered and we launched a game, trying to guess to what familly belong coat-of-arms drawned by 5 years old children. Winners left with the prizes we had left from previous regionals. Everyone had a good laugh but it was already time to leave to sleep to prepare the melee the following day. I gathered the 4 parisians that will sleep at my home, the others from Nantes took also their guests.
Friday : Get up very early (4:30 am) to be able to prepare the tourny, tables and chairs, food for the noon, printers, mics and computers ...
Every player got a greeting bag with a ring binder that will later serve to store cards and inside the program for the week ends and some other goodies. We wanted that every player got something, and not only the first one.
I was playing a Martell rush deck with the long plan (trying to defend for someone I support but still loosing) and of course the usual renown knights and the broken shadow arianne + doran's plan following by to the spears ! This combo let me rush without my make an example being cancelled by a paper shield (or loosing to loyal to the last ...). Frankly, those two cards (arianne and to the spears) should be restricted in melee (as well as oakenshield port and melissandre's favor).
1st round :
Arthur Lannister, house lannister (obviously!) Agenda : White book
Ariaqa, house targaryen. Agenda : Heir to the iron throne (with dragons)
Hagi, house Stark.
The game was friendly, Arthur is a seasoned veteran (2009 french champion overall and joust). Ariaqa and Hagi are younger players from the city of St Nazaire (80 kms from Nantes), I warn them about Arthur's deck, not to attack blindly without knowing supports or else he will redirect to him and win defense. Therefore the game is bit stalled and Ariaqa wins at time with 12 powers. I finish 2nd with 9 powers, Arthur finish last with 4 powers. Ariaqa was so happy to have won against two former french champions.
2nd round :
Hyunkel, house greyjoy, agenda house of dreams + corpse lake (and lots of milling in his deck)
Toomagic, house targaryen, agenda house of dreams + dragonpit (and brazen beasts to rush)
Bobdenar, house baratheon, agenda noble cause (and lots of vigilant or standing effects).
A big table with all good players. Hyunkel was 2011 melee champion and is always present in top 16 melee since, Bobdenar and toomagic are more jousts players but are always well placed during tournaments. With his burning effects, toomagic prevents bobdenar from rushing. I played waste their time (very good melee plot) turn 2 and removed from hands : Euron, Oakenshield port and thundering cavalry, I then rushed to victory turn 3.
3rd round :
Unfortunatly I try to remember this game but I can't, players I didn't know before and I'm very sorry I can't remember this game. All I know is that I won it.
4th round and last round :
Comm, house targaryen, no agenda
Tasslhoff, house lannister, no agenda (kneel with queen's guard)
Tygrou, lannister
Comm was playing a deck based on the attachments you put to opponent's house and gain power if they win challenges like blood debt. He jumps them with ser raymund darry and wins powers with castle darry. Many valar morghulis are played to reset the table, and Comm succeeded in winning the game. I finished last with same powers as tasslehoff.
I finally ended 17th, at the doorstep of the top 16 and cannot go on (worst place ever). We moved to a bar for the 4 top 16 games, people were eating while watching games while others were watching Spain being crushed by the Netherlands (take that Spain, enough you winning everything !).
The final table consisted of :
Astrobatordorak, house targaryen, agenda heir to the iron throne
Ecureuil01, house martell, house of dreams ghaston grey
Nounours, house martell no agenda (a bit like mine)
Seth Cassiel, house martell again (told you it should be restricted).
I didn't watch the final table (I was too drunked (1)) but Astrobatordorak won the game. This guy was melee champion already in 2009 and was present in all final tables since except last year. He is just incredible.
Final standing for the melee :
1 Astrobatordorak, targaryen
2 Ecureuil, martell
3 Nounours, martell
4 Seth-Cassiel, martell
5 Racoon, baratheon
6 Argento, baratheon
7 Wolverine, targaryen
8 Katagena, stark
9 Arthur Lannister, lannister
10 Wallvor,greyjoy
11 Tygrou, lannister
12 Bouk, martell
13 Toldea, martell
14 Trajan, martell
15 Satanipoing, I don't remember
16 TTC, martell
17 Elwe, martell
18 Maekar (world melee champion 2012 if you remember), i don't know what he was playing
19 Mitrovitch, greyjoy
20 Khudzlin, stark
21 Rapace, stark
22 Ryo Saeba, stark
23 Hyunkel, greyjoy
24 Grimjows
25 Tyrion, Fils de Tywin, lannister
26 Golo, baratheon
27 CaptainChris
28 Comm
29 Bias
30 Petitcoeur
31 Thegars
32 Nohio
33 Laplante
34 Yéo
35 Duda
36 Budmilka
37 Roger06
38 Deuskin
39 Derdenas
40 Roby
41 Dunk
42 Guet
43 Henshin
44 Oberyn Martell, martell
45 Martell de Poitiers, martell
46 Beregond, martell
47 Adeptus
48 Nepht, targaryen
49 Mog Baelish
50 Toomagic, targaryen
51 Tasslehoff, lannister
52 Bobdenar, baratheon
53 Timmy
54 Ilendil
55 Wolfram
56 Keric666
57 Ariaqua, targaryen
58 Sire Nicowels
59 Samaelle
60 Maitrepoil
61 Mando
62 Tolundur
63 Olrig
64 Cheet, stark
65 Graewin
66 Hagi, neutral house
67 Luthyen
68 Tyrion35
69 Saneth
70 Rowandra
71 Gigalia
72 Amroth
73 Leveilleur
74 Katsandrya
75 Nazdreg
76 Anselme, baratheon
77 Lannistark, martell
78 Hazgardd
79 Feu06
80 Jon-z
81 Paraph
82 Thomtom
83 Nevevar
84 BarTouf
85 Tony
86 Salarcus
87 Ludyck
88 Edern
89 Madame Yéo
90 Sire Tom
I try to remember the houses but I am not entirely sure.
Saturday : the joust begins !
I played a martell deck based around Quentyn and many stealth unique characters, venemous blade as my restricted card and a plotline based around attack from the sea, burning bridges and dry season (we call it APS in french because it is Attaque, Pont (=bridge) and Saison sèche) to meta against old way and bloodthirst. I know my deck was not the best but I knew I needed a very simple deck to play as I was helping organizing the event.
1st round :
Roger06 with house martell and house of dreams Dorne.
Roger comes from Nice and he is a very nice player, he mulligans and drops nothing in set up (WTF!). 1st turn, he plays nothing (it appears he drew 9 events), I rush him. He tells me he hadn't well shuffled his deck, 2nd turn he starts playing some strange characters, and do lots of shenaningans with prepare for war, much and more, desperate measure, prince's plan, and so on but can't go on. 3rd turn I rush for victory (and attack from the sea to kneel all his influence). He told me he made the mistake not to play valar 3rd plot as he thought I couldn't rush but I dropped harmen Uller for that. Apparently he is playing a super combo loopdeck that can win turn 1. It will be his only loss of the day (and I am sure you have already heard about this deck on cardgamedb). His other loss the following day in top was against his friend TTC, the creator of the deck and the one who will win the joust.
1 -0
2nd round : Ludyck (if I remember well) a martell summer deck.
I summon Quentyn, kills him next plot with wildfire assault, and from then I can oppose all his attacks and draw, he plays well not attacking blindly but can't do a lot against me. He plays ghaston grey + red viper so the game is close but I can rush to victory thanks to harmen Uller !
2-0
3rd round : Mitrovitch, greyjoy no agenda
He plays a winter choke deck. I don't draw enough ressource to prevent him from choking me, wintertime marauder destroys my ressources, it is a loss.
2-1
4th round : A targaryen deck with no agenda
He plays the new dragons and fetch them with summoned by the conclave and dance with dragons. I play cold hand to remove one then valar. He plays barristan selmy core set to shuffle our discard piles in our decks, then he plays orphan recruit and 2 to be a dragon bringing back all his dead pile !! Fortunatly for me I can still defend thanks to vengefull so he can't win unnoposed and I win at time thanks to all the renowns I have.
3 (but 14 points) - 1
5th round : Yeo, Martell bloodthirst
Yipee ! A hard control deck, I know it is near impossible for me to win. I stay extremly concentrate and did no mistakes while he did some and I finally win this game. It was very intense and maybe one of the best game I played this week end, Yeo is a very good player but my plotline bothered him a lot (he can't use ghaston grey on burning bridge).
4-1
6th round : Jon-Z, greyjoy old way.
Ok I am confident since I meta his deck. Unfortnatly for me he also meta the plotline APS with ours for the taking. He plays 3 characters, maiden's bane, naval escort but no save. I valar just to remove his naval escort, it will be enough for me to win this game.
5-1
7th round : Seth cassiel, martell no agenda.
He plays Quentyn martell agenda like me but he also plays ghaston grey and nobles characters contrary to me.
1st turn we both reveal summoned by the conclave. I win the toss and let him start. We both fetch quentyn with the first summonned and then he takes a flea bottom scavenger (I too usually do that) but this time I go for cold hands. Unfortunatly for me he drops 2 quentyn and plays it calls it thinking on my own flea bottom scavenger. From then he has the upper hand but can't still win againt me because I defend all his challenges. Time loss.
5-2
I ended 8th at the end of the day. Many were talking about the super combo deck the guys from Nice were playing and many were asking me how I ended winning against it, my answer : luck and an opponent that was not yet awake !
I was really too tired for the saturday night, which is a shame because many things happenned including astrobatordark, completly drunked (1), charging with his wheeling chair (he is disabled) people in the streets yelling "unnoposed" at them, priceless !
Sunday : Top 32 !
Yeo again and his horrible bloodthirst deck.
This time Yeo did no mistakes, he was carefull to use his influence during the standing phase to prevent a free turn for me with attack from the sea. I summoned by the conclave myrcella since I didn't need Quentyn against him, to prevent questionned claim, but he used ghaston grey and then nightmare on her before he valared her. I got up to 12 powers but that was not enough unfortnaly.
I ended 18th at the end of the day and 31th overall (2nd best of the 2 points, I ended with the same points as the one who made 88th and 109th !!!).
I watched a quarter finals between Rowandra (Targaryen Maester dragons) and Lannistark (Martell knights with arianne shadow and city plots). Lannistark will finish 2nd only beaten by TTC the creator of the super combo unstoppable deck. Rowandra will not draw his ressources so the game is one sided and lannistark (who plays martell, don't ask me why !) wins easily.
Streaming to the finals (be ready it is long and boring as it is a complete NPE deck) :
http://letronedeferjce.forumactif.com/f60-championnat-de-france-2014
Edited by elwe
