A Tournament by Any Other Name

By Dave Gerspach (dgjedi), WCA Co-Chair

Classic, Extended, Virtual, Grand Patrol, Highlander, Double Trouble, and so forth. Confused much? No matter what name it goes by, you can always count on having fun at a Buffy CCG tournament. However, that doesn’t mean you need to be unprepared. Effectively immediately, WCA sanctioned tournaments will use the following guidelines when naming tournaments.

The base tournament name will be phrased in one of three ways, which will indicate which type of cards will be legal in Player Decks.

Classic Buffy CCG – Tournaments of this type will allow only actual cards produced by Score Entertainment.

Extended Type A Buffy CCG – Tournaments of this type will allow all actual and virtual cards created by Score Entertainment.

Extended Type B Buffy CCG – Tournaments of this type will allow all actual and virtual cards created by Score Entertainment plus and “dream cards” deemed legal in advance by the judge of the tournament.

Those three tournament types should encompass all forms of Buffy tournaments and indicate which cards are legal. However, there’s more. The base tournament name will be followed by any unique descriptors decided upon by the judge of the tournament and should indicate variations from the standard constructed deck.

Examples:

Classic Buffy CCG – Sealed Deck – This tournament would allow only actual cards created by Score. Sealed Deck implies that the tournament materials will be provided for players entering the tournament.

Extended Type B Buffy CCG – Sealed Deck – This tournament would allow all actual and virtual cards created by Score and some “dream” cards. However, Sealed Deck still indicates that all cards will be provided for the players entering the tournament.

Classic Buffy CCG – Highlander – This tournament would allow only actual cards created by Score. Deck construction would follow Highlander guidelines of not allowing more than one of each card in a deck.

Extended Type A Buffy CCG – Restricted – This tournament would allow all actual and virtual cards created by Score. However, in this case the judge is indicating that some cards may be restricted (i.e. no Broken Links cards allowed). It would be up to the judge to clearly communicate any restrictions prior to the tournament.

Classic Buffy CCG – Grand Patrol – This tournament would allow all actual cards created by Score Entertainment. In this case, all the Grand Patrol signifies is that the tournament is considered a special type of championship with titles such as “Protector” or “Big Bad” going to the appropriate winners. It implies that prizes may be a little more than usual.

Extended Type A Buffy CCG – Three Challenge Tournament – This tournament would allow all actual and virtual cards created by Score Entertainment. The Three Challenge Tournament phrase indicates there are special rules for this tournament related to solving three challenges. Players should be aware in this case to ask for a copy of the special rules in advance and judges should be prepared to communicate these rules to all potential players.

There you have it. Structured, but flexible. Hopefully, this will give guidance to all prospective players and raise the level of fun up yet another notch.

It’s Back! CRD Update in Time for Summer

By Don Tresca (Tarafan), WCA Member

The new CRD update for June is now available on the buffyccg website! The rulings in this update are effective as of June 1, 2004.

The updates in the new CRD are simply clarifying some rules questions that were overly complicated or making sure that all of the card rulings were consistent with one another. Many of the issues were addressed on the boards, and we tried to make sure that the rulings were in keeping with how many people were already playing the cards and how most people wanted the cards to work, while maintaining game balance and staying within the overall framework of the rules of the game.

With that in mind, here is a list of the various updated rulings in the new CRD:

You can no longer use cards like “A Friend in Need” to ascend Companions or Minions. Now “put into play” effects like this card can only be used to bring level 1 Companions and Minions into play. This creates a consistent ruling with the earlier ruling regarding Spike’s WW1 promo card.

Characters who gain a bonus from another character being "in play" (such as Drusilla gaining talent bonuses from Spike being in play) now only gain that bonus if the character is in play.  These characters no longer gain the bonus if the essence for that character is in play but the character has been removed from play.  Such characters were clearly designed to only gain the bonus from the other character being in play, and it now provides a level of strategy when playing a game where your Main Character may provide a bonus of some sort to your opponent's Main Character.  If your Main has been removed from play, do you return the Main to play and continue to give the bonus to your opponent's Main, or do you leave your Main out of play for a time to deny your opponent the bonus?

All Companion/Minion cards in your play area, hand, Resource Deck, discard pile, and Crypt are now Hero/Villain cards if the name of the Companion/Minion matches the name of your essence card.  This prevents players from using cards like A Friend in Need to get copies of their Main Character directly into play if their Main has been recycled into the Resource Deck or sent to the Crypt.

The rules for playing the Halloween Scoobies have been expanded.  There have been a lot of people on the boards in recent weeks who have been confused over the various rules regarding the Halloween Scoobies, so we have clarified the rules to make sure everyone understands the proper way to play with these characters.

We have also added rulings on the following cards:

Dusted can now be used against Companion Vampires as well since there are a variety of Companion Vampires now (Angel and the companions transformed by cards such as Vampire Embrace, Going Goth, and Sunset Club).  Also, the character participating in the fight must be the one meeting the talent requirement for this card.  This makes the card consistent with other actions cards usable in the fight stage with talent requirements.

Will You Go to the Dance? has errata that allows that at least one of the characters chosen by this action must meet the talent requirement for the card.  This makes the card consistent with other cards with talent requirements.  The action card remains in effect until either character makes a move from the location where the characters are currently located.  If the location is destroyed (via Haphazard Bomb), as long as the characters are not removed from play or moved, the action is not cancelled.

Demon Theory has a new ruling that only the player who plays the action gets the extra Destiny Point for winning the fight.  This is how most players played the card, and the ruling was determined by majority rule in the poll on the boards.

A Friend in Need has been errata'd as discussed above to allow you to only be able to play a level 1 Companion or Minion using the card.

Drusilla's essence has been clarified to state that the essence power is triggered even if Hero Spike is in play.

Gingerbread has been clarified to state that since the challenge does not actually have a Spellcraft trait requirement, cards that have an effect when facing a challenge with a Spellcraft trait requirement (such as Jenny Calendar's level 2 or Willow's Class of 99 essence) do not have their effects triggered when facing this particular challenge.

Done! has been ruled that whenever you use this card to copy a character-only card, all instances of the original character's name on the copy are replaced with Anyanka's name.  Therefore, if your opponent is playing Buffy and plays Choke Hold, you can now use Done! to copy the Choke Hold and then Anyanka would get +3 Butt-Kicking.

Amy Madison's essence has been ruled to make clear that the characters that Amy transforms into rats do not gain the game text of the rat character card which would allow them to fatigue to grant a bonus to a character with the Spellcraft trait.  You may only use this game text if Amy has ascended and transformed herself into the rat.

Dark Willow may now remove her Dark Magic points at any time during the game (including any stage of a fight or challenge) to refresh herself or to increase her talents.

Private Harris's essence may now be used to search for any cards with generic talent bonuses (such as Balthazar's Amulet) or cards that grant bonuses to multiple talents (such as Tome of Mediocrity) as long as one of the talents granted a bonus by the card is Butt-Kicking.  The new CRD includes a list of all of the cards that can be searched for using Private Harris's essence power.

If there are any comments or questions regarding the new update, please post a message on the boards and any one of us on the rules committee will be happy to answer.  If there are any further rulings or card issues that you feel need to be addressed in any future updates of the CRD, please post them on the boards.

The next CRD update will be in September

What I Did on My Summer Vacation (Part 1)

By David Gerspach (dgjedi), WCA Co-Chair

**Editor’s Note: This article was written prior to June 1 and makes more sense if read from that perspective. Thank you.**

What else? Play in Buffy CCG Tournaments. The following is a guide for anyone looking for some summer Buffy fun. By no means is this guide considered all inclusive. In fact, over the next month I’d like to hear from people or groups I’ve missed. I’ll be sure to include excerpts from any of your posts in July’s newsletter.

Let’s start our vacation in Europe. Specifically, in Jena, Germany and the Dragon Slayer Convention. You’ll certainly get your fill of Buffy CCG action here with no less than two tournaments scheduled each day on June 19^th and 20^th. It all culminates the German Championship. Along the way Carsten has promised special surprises and prizes. And never lacking for hospitality, he’s offered to put up visitors in his home for the night (assuming there’s any room left).

Let’s head back to the Eastern US. If you find yourself in the Maryland/Virginia area, contact one of the local players like Ken, Sean or Krista and find out the next date for one of their regular tournaments. From the results posted in the forum it sounds like a fun group and a nice casual way to enjoy the Buffy CCG. A little relaxation from the European Trip.

The rest of the east coast seems kind of quiet (speak up people). However, if you venture a little further west into Ohio, you can attend Origins in Columbus held from June 24-27. Last year this was a happening place for Buffy. It looks to be a little quieter this year with no official tournaments scheduled. But it’s very likely you will find several players there willing to play in a game or two (or three). If nothing else stop by the Score booth and challenge RJ or Josh to a game. Insults directed toward Amy are always good for getting Josh into a game. Just don’t blame me if you walk away craving cheese and dragging your tail.

Peeking into the Midwest we see lots of activity. The NE Illinois/SE Wisconsin group (otherwise known as the dreaded Metroplex) hold monthly tournaments. Check out the boards for the current date and location (it move’s much like Rack, just not invisible). With a base of 14-16 active players, you get a different mix of opponents from month to month.

If you’re near Chicago in July, you may want to check out this year’s Slayathon. It’s 12 hours of Buffy related fun, and all for a good cause with funds going to the Make A Wish Foundation. The event isn’t the most conducive to playing a Buffy CCG game, but the continuous showing of episodes, the auction and at least demoing the Buffy CCG make for a great day.

In August there are back to back conventions with Wizard World Chicago running from August 13-15 and Gen Con running from August 19-22 in Indianapolis. Many Buffy players will be present at WW Chicago. At the time of this newsletter there’s still no word as to whether they’ll let us hold announced tournaments. However, if you’ve ever been to WW Chicago you know their game room is usually almost 50% empty and it’s doubtful they would stop anyone from sitting and playing on their own. If you want to attend just for general Buffy fun, both Joss Whedon and Amber Benson will be guests this year.

Gen Con is another matter. Four Tournaments and an Introductory Game are officially scheduled. Players from around the country have stated their intentions to play in one or more of these tournaments. This looks to be the biggest Buffy CCG event of the year. So look for the prizes to be among the biggest of the year. I’m sure there will be enough stories from this convention to fill a newsletter by itself.

Not able to make one of the big conventions. Well, you can travel a little further west into Minnesota and check out Outpost 2000 and Beyond. They still have an active Buffy CCG group there with monthly tournaments. Check out the location of the largest Buffy Tournament ever held when 38 players vied for the first Grand Patrol title in the great frozen north (it actually wasn’t too cold that day considering it was January).

A little more adventurous? Turn south into Iowa and check out Pandora’s Box in Waterloo. You’ll be greeted by none other than RJ and his sister Holly. Both avid Buffy players, who by last count have converted six new Buffy players to their congregation. Go RJ!!

Now we’re off toward the West. Stop in the Phoenix area and you’ll find another avid group of Buffy CCG players. Ask and they’ll probably introduce you to some of the dream cards they’ve created. Or check out one of their regular tournaments. Continue on to the coast and you’ll find another group that has reinstated monthly tournaments at Comic Cult II in Norwalk, California. And if the Watcher there looks familiar, yes, you did see him in the Tower Records OMWF CD Release footage on the Season Six DVD.

So what’s left? Oh yes, a little something called the San Diego Comiccon held from July 22-25. We’re not sure whether we can organize a Buffy CCG tournament while there, but then one of their guests is none other than Sarah Michelle Geller. ‘Nuff said

Slayer Strategies?

By R.J. Boehmer (WatcherX), WCA Member

Okay, so normally, at this point, there would be another nifty installment of Slayer Strategies. Oh wait, we said that last month. Well next month ….. yes, this section will return and be filled with many strategies. We owe you.

The next Newsletter (Volume 1, Issue 5) will be released sometime in July, 2004 (really, I promise)J

All logos, characters, and likenesses thereof are TM & © Twentieth Century Fox. All game mechanics and card likenesses are © Score Entertainment. Use of these are without permission and are not meant as a challenge to any copyright held.