We Are the Champions

By Dave Gerspach (dgjedi), WCA Co-Chair

In 2006, the Buffy CCG will celebrate its 5 Year Anniversary. Five short years since Score initially announced and then released what we think is one of the best CCGs ever created. During the past five years hundreds of tournaments have been held. Compiled below are those tournaments that have been considered special in the minds of players. Many people on the Buffy boards have chosen to close their postings with reminders of their accomplishments. The list below will validate those lists and provide everyone else with their overdue recognition.

Grand Patrols, Big Bads and Protectors

The Big Bad/Protector titles were originated by Score during the summer of 2002, to be awarded at the largest conventions where they were present. The very first Grand Patrol was held at Outpost 2000 and Beyond in Minnesota in January of 2003. There was no Big Bad or Protector title awarded that day. But in the summer of 2003, the two formats were merged and ever since then, a tournament that awarded Big Bad or Protector Titles has also been called a Grand Patrol. Traditionally, these tournaments have attracted the biggest turn-outs with a record 38 players for the first Grand Patrol and 32 players for the 2003 Gen Con Grand Patrol. Below are all past Grand Patrol and Big Bad/Protector winners.

Grand Patrol (non-Big Bad/Protector)

2003 – Ryan Green

Big Bads

Gen Con 2005 – Patrick Parker (Spike)

Gen Con 2004 – Keith Kusnier (Spike)

Gen Con 2003 – Ryan Green (Drusilla)

Gen Con 2002 – Ryan Green (Drusilla)

Origins 2003 – John Bruno (Angelus)

Origins 2002 – Patrick Kenyon

San Diego 2003 – Corey Lay (The Master)

San Diego 2002 – Corey Lay (Collin)

WW Chicago 2003 – Kit Radtke (Spike)

WW Texas 2003 – Mike Rodgers (Anyanka)

Lair of the Master 2003 – Keith Kusnier (Spike)

Protectors

Gen Con 2005 – Dave Gerspach (Buffy)

Gen Con 2004 – Mike Matthews (Faith)

Gen Con 2003 – Dave Gerspach (Buffy)

Gen Con 2002 – Matt Strehlow (Giles)

Origins 2003 – Matt Strehlow (Giles)

Origins 2002 – Melissa Gaskill

San Diego 2003 – Jennifer Tse (Willow)

San Diego 2002 – John Bruno (Giles)

WW Chicago 2003 – Matt Strehlow (Giles)

WW Texas 2003 – Dave Gerspach (Buffy)

Lair of the Master 2003 – Matt Strehlow (Giles)

Virtual Big Bad

Gen Con 2004 – Dave Gerspach (Adam)

Virtual Protector

Gen Con 2004 – John Bruno (Anya)

Slayerfest and Watcher’s Council Challenge

In 2002 one additional special format was born, “Slayerfest”. In this format players were challenged to bring their best Villain deck. Whoever won the tournament, then had to represent all Villain decks in a special game played against a Score representive, who played a Buffy deck with two Main Characters, Buffy and Cordelia. The theme was to replay the exciting Slayerfest 1999 held during Season 3 of Buffy.

In 2003, Score created the Watcher’s Council Challenge. In this format, players needed to bring their best Hero deck. The top four finishers in the tournament then got to go against a special deck using The First as the main character. This tournament format has undergone a couple of revisions since it was first created, but the concept is still very popular with players today. Below are the Slayerfest and Watcher’s Council Challenge Champions.

Slayerfest

Gen Con 2003 – David Robins (Faith)

Gen Con 2002 – Ryan Green (Drusilla)

Gamefest 2002 – Ryan Green (Drusilla)

Watcher’s Council Challenge

Origins 2003 – David Gerspach (Buffy)

San Diego 2003 – John Bruno (Buffy)

WW Chicago 2003 – David Robins (Faith)

Hero/Villain of the Week

A very popular tournament format created by Score in 2003 allowed players to build decks around lesser used characters. Characters who many times appeared in as few as one episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. A series of convention tournaments were held around this format in 2003 with new characters being released at each convention. In 2005 this format was resurrected at Gen Con and was the first tournament “Sold Out”. Here are the Heroes and Villains of the Week.

Hero/Villain of the Week

Gen Con 2005 – Mike Matthews (The Old Man)

Gen Con 2003 – Matt Strehlow (Ken)

Origins 2003 – Keith Kusnier (Ken)

San Diego 2003 – John Bruno (The Pack)

WW Chicago 2003 – Dave Gerspach (The Pack)

WW Texas 2003 – Dave Gerspach (The Pack)

National Championships

In 2003 the German Watcher, Carsten Freining, decided to create a German Open and declare a champion at these events. In 2004, the WCA judges in North America decided to create a North American Championship to be held each year at Gen Con. Here are the champions who have been crowned thus far.

German Open

2005 – Frank Josupeit

2004 – Alexandra Podzelny

2003 – Frank Josupeit

North American Championship

2005 – Dave Gerspach

2004 – Dave Gerspach

So there you have it. Sixteen different players have won various titles over the years. These are the traditions from which the Buffy CCG was born. Will any other tournament format ever be held in the same regard as those above? Possibly. For now, we definitely plan to continue our traditions. In fact, we have plans to reintroduce some of the formats that have been little used over the past couple of years. Stay tuned.

Looking Ahead to 2006

By Dave Gerspach (dgjedi), WCA Co-Chair

Now that we’ve revisited the past, let’s look forward to 2006. The sections below talk about current plans, all of which are subject to change. But I think the theme for 2006 is that we celebrate the 5 Year Anniversary of the Buffy CCG. Bring back traditional tournaments and create some new formats. Explore the use of the dream card, since all the Buffy dream cards should be complete by the start of the year. Lastly, and most significantly, let’s see if we can attract some new players to the game or reintroduce the game to some old friends who may have wandered. Here are some current plans.

First Quarter (January, February, March)

One of the early decisions the various Judges will need to make is what tournament formats will be offered in the summer conventions. Typically, if we want to get our tournaments listed in convention programs, we’ll need to submit our entries early in the year. While the Metroplex plans to continue hosting tournaments at Gen Con, we will need some volunteers for other conventions such as Origins and San Diego’s Comic Con.

What else? From time to time I’ve seen people looking for promo cards or other cards they need to fill in their deck or complete their collection. Well, over the past couple of years, while having all the cards I need for my decks, I would sometimes accept tournament prizes at conventions as a way to bring prizes back home for local tournaments. Local tournaments, unfortunately, aren’t what they used to be.

Soooooo…… here’s what I’m going to do. Starting in January I’m going to post a list of Promos, Foil Cards and a few Ultra Rares with which I’m willing to part. Some of the promos will come from the WCA inventory. For each card listed I will provide a “credit value”. Credits will be awarded to every player who plays in an official tournament during January, February and March (50 credits for your first tournament and 25 for each subsequent tournament). Players can then redeem their credits by leaving me a private message on the web-site. Once I confirm that the cards they want are still available and they have the necessary credits, I will pull those cards from the list. The player will then have two weeks to have me receive a self-addressed, stamped envelope I can use to send them the cards they want/need. By all means, you can combine orders with other players in your area to save on shipping. Cards will likely be assigned credit values based on my perception of their popularity along with how many I have to offer. Expect cards to range from 75 credits for an ultra-rare to 5 credits for a foil card not used in many decks.

For some people, I’m sure you’re concerned that there isn’t a lot of tournament opportunity in your area. Sorry, but the intent of this offer is to get people to play in more tournaments, not just to fill in a collection. The minimum limit for a tournament is 3, so just invite a couple of friends over to your house for some multi-player action and they’ll each get 50 credits for the first tournament. Get creative. Don’t have enough time each week to get in 3 rounds of play. Play one round a week and after 3 or 4 weeks you’ll have completed a tournament. We have some wonderfully imaginative people on this board. I simply love all the cards being created and will be very frustrated if they don’t actually get used in game play.

Second Quarter (April, May, June)

This one is a bit of a work in progress. When looking at goals for 2006, we have many. We’d like to continue to make the game fun for existing players and attract new players. We’d also like the WCA to gather more respect as an entity entrusted with the future of the game. So while the following idea is still a ‘work in progress’ I think it can help not only attract new players, but show that the Buffy CCG community embodies many or the values put forth by Joss Whedon and the cast and crew of both Buffy and Angel.

During April, May or June I would like each area to organize a sealed deck tournament (we certainly have plenty of sealed decks and even some boosters in inventory to use). For this special tournament we will charge a fee of $10 per entrant, with all proceeds going to a Buffy themed charity fundraiser. For 2006 I’m attempting to contact the organizers of Slayathon, who raise money annually for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. The Slayathon fundraiser has been around for three years and continues to grow each year with support from many of Buffy/Angel cast. If they agree, I’m certain we could get some publicity for our tournaments on their web-site and likewise we can help promote their cause.

Here’s how I see it working. Judges will need to find a place to hold the tournament in their area. If you partner with a local game or hobby shop, hopefully they will help you promote the event. On the day of the tournament I suggest allowing an hour to an hour and half up front to help any new players build their deck and to demo the game. Then hold the tournament. The Slayathon group has a Paypal account, so any proceeds can be sent in that manner (or mailed). It would be appropriate to deduct any shipping costs to get tournament materials to you. If anyone is aware of other Buffy themed fundraisers, we can alternate groups we support. I think by doing this we can not only make a positive impact on a worthy cause, but help create a positive impression of our group. People who support these fundraisers are typically also fans of the show, so it is possible some of them will give the game a try if it’s helping their cause at the same time.

Third Quarter (July, August, September)

These months traditionally have the biggest conventions and we hope to make sure that the Buffy CCG is represented at all of them. Of course, we’ll be back at Gen Con in 2006, where we will crown a 3^rd annual North American Champion. And this year I really suspect it will be someone new.

We plan to help promote the resurgence of the traditional tournament formats including Slayerfest and Watcher’s Council Challenge, but with a little twist. In order for a Slayerfest of Watcher’s Council Challenge tournament to be put on the same list with all the past champions, you have to make sure that the final game is a meaningful test of the tournament champion against a proven adversary. In the past, the adversary was a Score employee represented by Josh Smith or RJ Boehmer. In 2006, the final game must be represented by either Josh or RJ (who have this honor for life), or by someone who achieved a Big Bad (Villain) or Protector (Hero) status over the prior year. A Protector (Hero) can play the Buffy/Cordelia deck in a Slayerfest or a Big Bad (Villain) can play The First deck in a Watcher’s Council Challenge. These are the players who have most proven their worth as heroes or villains and are tasked with this burden. While 2005 has not yet ended, here are the current eligible players who can host this type of tournament.

Big Bads who can host a Watcher’s Council Challenge

Matt Butterfield

Keith Kusnier

Patrick Parker

Protectors who can host a Slayerfest

Dave Gerspach

Justin Francis

Meldzan Isakovic

Aly Greaves

Jennifer Tse

Jason McCain

Now, I suppose we’ll have to create a third tournament format for those “Rogue” players who are adept at bouncing back and forth between good and evil. We’ll think of something.

Based on all of the above, you can plan on there being a Slayerfest at Gen Con this year, one in which I’m looking forward to providing the final challenge for the top evil deck. Expect there to be another Dream Card opportunity at Gen Con this year. Start practicing now, because we might as well open this up to the full range of Dream Card Weekly winners. They should all be available for play-testing about 7 to 8 months prior to the convention. It should be interesting.

So there you have it. A look back and peek forward. 2006 is looking to be another exciting year for the Buffy CCG. Let’s see if we can’t take our play to another level.

The next Newsletter (Volume 3, Issue 1) will be released in January, 2006.

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