Welcome to 2006 – Five Years of Buffy CCG & Current Rankings

By Dave Gerspach (dgjedi), WCA Co-Chair

In 2006 the Buffy CCG celebrates its fifth year of existence. As usual, we will continue to post the current player rankings on the web-site. January 2006’s rankings have been posted. This marks the 13^th month of player rankings, but I couldn’t help but wonder how the rankings may have looked had Score used a similar system throughout the history of the game. So I revisited some of the game’s history by reviewing the news articles on Score’s web-site, btvsccg.com. As I noted who won some of the earlier tournaments being held I decided to have a little fun. I had to make a few assumptions regarding scoring and I only had the names of top finishers with which to work, but I compiled a list of top players for each of the first four years of play. For 2002 and 2003 I used news article results and for 2004 and 2005 I used actual results.

2002

Score actively promoted many conventions in 2002 and reported winners for Kublacon, ICon, Gamefest, Origins, Gen Con, San Diego Comic Con, Dragon Con, Conquest and Archon. This year was a little difficult to judge, and only three players were noted for winning multiple tournaments. After that I considered other documented top finishes or the whether the tournament was part of the Big Bad/Protector series. I also want to apologize to the numerous talented players who never received the recognition they deserved. Some of their exploits were documents in the message boards, but unfortunately those have been lost to us. Well, based on the reported results, here are top players for 2002. The number one player, John Bruno, had three documented wins (two at Kublacon and one at San Diego Comic Con).

1^st – John Bruno (1060)

2^nd – Ryan Green (1054)

3^rd – Matt Strehlow (1042)

4^th – Mike Hutchinson (1030)

5^th – Corey Lay (1024)

5^th – Melissa Gaskill (1024)

5^th – Patrick Kenyon (1024)

2003

In 2003 Score was much more active in giving tournament recognition, and while they announced the demise of the game early that year, they kept the tournament scene very active throughout the summer. Play started in January with the very first Grand Patrol and continued through WW Texas with the final Score sponsored tournament. Along the way, top four finishers were announced for many tournaments. I rated ten players in 2003, and to make the top ten you had to have at least finished in the top four in three tournaments. I did personally finish number one (after learning many lessons in 2002) and finished in the top four in twelve different tournaments. Along the way I traveled to Minnesota, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio and Texas intent on enjoying every last minute of this game.

1^st – Dave Gerspach (1246)

2^nd – Matt Strehlow (1114)

3^rd – John Bruno (1108)

4^th – Kit Radtke (1102)

5^th – Ryan Green (1084)

6^th – Ann Radtke (1072)

6^th – Keith Kusnier (1072)

8^th – Corey Lay (1066)

9^th – Frank Josupeit (1060)

10^th – Jennifer Tse (1054)

2004

This was the first year we had full actual results of both local and convention tournaments. Competitively, over 140 players stayed with the game or tried it for the first time. During this year I added Iowa and California to the list of states in which I entered tournaments. Looking back over 2003 and 2004 there was some measure of dominance by Wisconsin/Illinois group known as “The Metroplex”. Players in that area occupied five of the top seven places in 2003 and four of the top six places in 2004. The top player results for 2004 were as follows.

1^st – Dave Gerspach (1300)

2^nd – John Bruno (1163)

3^rd – Keith Kusnier (1110)

4^th – Caroline Boehmer (1072)

5^th – Aly Greaves (1071)

6^th – Kit Radtke (1067)

7^th – Frank Josupeit (1066)

8^th – Dion Erbes (1063)

9^th – Sean Jones (1060)

10^th – Jennifer Tse (1060)

2005

That brings us to last year. Pandora’s Box and Waterloo, Iowa became the Buffy CCG capital of the world last year. If the Metroplex ever held a torch, it was certainly passed to Waterloo in 2005. Seven players from Pandora’s Box were in the top ten last year, and no doubt it will be hard for anyone to compete with them in 2006. The number one player in 2005 was Matt Butterfield, who “Kenned” many an opponent last year. And he would have won the North American Championship this year had he not run afoul of a slayer wielding Caroline Boehmer in the final game at Gen Con. Still, she couldn’t stop him from claiming the overall top spot for the year.

1^st – Matt Butterfield (1298)

2^nd – Caroline Boehmer (1294)

3^rd – Dave Gerspach (1281)

4^th – Meldzan Isakovic (1271)

5^th – Patrick Parker (1266)

6^th – Justin Francis (1244)

7^th – Holly Boehmer (1233)

8^th – Krista Donnelly (1157)

9^th – Sean Jones (1150)

10^th – Cassie Cohn (1147)

Big Bads & Protectors

For those who have been following the boards for the past several months, you’ll note that I started using a different method of calculating Big Bads and Protectors. Rather than just calculate a player’s rating with good characters and evil characters and take the higher of the two, I now take the difference between the two. If a player has a rating at least 30 points higher with good or evil (equivalent to 10 more wins), they obtain a Companion or Minion status. If a player has a rating at least 60 points higher with good or evil (equivalent to 20 more wins), they obtain a Hero or Villain status. Players who tend to balance their wins between good and evil are given a Rogue status. On with the lists.

Big Bad Villains

254 – Matt Butterfield

175 – Keith Kusnier

148 – Patrick Parker

63 – Lee Finholt

Big Bad Minions

58 – John Bruno

56 – Sean Jones

53 – Holly Boehmer

51 – Eric Ayers

49 – Jared Coffin

46 – Mike Matthews

43 – Bethany Howard

43 – Nich Schmitz

42 – Lisa Hurst

42 – Layne Magnuson

40 – Sharon Murphy

39 – Jack Travers

38 – Zeke Katano

36 – Ryan Green

33 – Jay Hoffman

32 – Jack Termain

32 – David Milliman

31 – Chris Reynolds

Protector Heroes

211 – Dave Gerspach

106 – Meldzan Isakovic

106 – Justin Francis

83 – Aly Greaves

81 – Jennifer Tse

78 – Jason McCain

63 – Cassie Cohn

Protector Companions

58 – Eduardo Gaeta

54 – Andy Iverson

49 – Don Tresca

48 – Eric Hammond

42 – Joellyn Ackerman

42 – Daniel Howard

42 – Patty Steben

40 – Riley Akers

36 – Tom Hamilton

34 – Laura S.

33 – Josh Smith

31 – Shon Encinas

Rogues (based on overall rating of 1060 or higher)

1294 – Caroline Boehmer

1169 – Krista Donnelly

1155 – Kit Radtke

1148 – Matt Scarborough

1144 – Dion Erbes

1124 – Frank Josupeit

1118 – David Robins

1109 – Andy Schneiders

1108 – Chris Nichols

1098 – Tiffany Lopez

1097 – Darryl Long

1092 – Manfred Sax

1088 – Matt Strehlow

1085 – David Truax

1083 – Dan Joelson

1072 – Neil Figuracion

1069 – Michael Spalek

1060 – Stephanie King

One more comment about the Rogues, if your judge did not provide your main character in their tournament results, you could end up on this list even though you know you’ve played with more Hero or Villain decks. It’s very hard for me to know information not provided.

So what’s the significance of all this. Like all the ratings, it’s just intended to be fun. However, in the Big Bad and Protector world we’ve added a little bonus. In our last newsletter we summarized all the major tournament winners since the beginning of the game, focusing on the different tournament formats created by Score Entertainment. Two of those formats, Slayerfest and Watcher’s Council Challenge, required players to play with either a Villain or Hero deck respectively, with the tournament winner facing a special deck. In 2006, in order for a Slayerfest or Watcher’s Council Challenge tournament to be added to the major tournament list, the special deck must be played by a Protector – Hero or Big Bad – Villain. Of course, given their past experience in both creating and playing these formats, Josh Smith and RJ Boehmer are always welcome to build/play the special decks.

Slayerfest

So, here how it works. In a Slayerfest tournament all players are required to play with a Villain deck. The winner of the tournament must then play a special Buffy/Cordelia deck in an effort to recreate the Slayerfest episode. If the Villain defeats the Buffy/Cordelia deck, additional prizes are given, if possible, to all tournament participants. For 2006, Josh Smith, RJ Boehmer and all the listed Protector Heroes may play the Buffy/Cordelia deck.

Watcher’s Council Challenge

In a Watcher’s Council Challenge tournament all players are required to play with a Hero deck. The top four finishers in the tournament must then play a special The First deck. This is a special format where four heroes must defeat The First, her army of Villains and Minions and then defeat the Commencement Ceremonies challenge. For 2006, Josh Smith, RJ Boehmer and all the listed Big Bad Villains may play The First deck.

Of course any judge is welcome at any time to have fun with these formats and let anyone play the final deck. The winner just won’t get listed in our list of major tournament winners.

Character Levels

Some of you have found this fun, so I’ll continue to track and report on character proficiency through the “Character Level” listings. For those who haven’t paid attention, when you achieve rating levels for a given character you rise through various levels of proficiency. You can achieve up to five levels. Here’s the current list of Main Characters and players that achieved level 2 and up proficiencies.

Adam

Level 3 - Dave Gerspach, Meldzan Isakovic, Keith Kusnier

Level 2 - Nich Schmitz, John Bruno, Andy Iverson, Layne Magnuson, Sean Jones

Angelus

Level 4 - Caroline Boehmer

Level 2 – Tiffany Lopez, Jay Hoffman, Sean Jones

Anya

Level 3 - John Bruno, Andy Iverson

Level 2 - Kit Radtke, Tom Hamilton, Dave Gerspach

Anyanka

Level 3 - Lee Finholt

Level 2 – Patrick Parker, Holly Boehmer

Bizarro Buffy

Level 2 - Holly Boehmer, Laura S.

Buffy Summers

Level 4 - Dave Gerspach, Meldzan Isakovic, Caroline Boehmer

Level 2 - Matt Butterfield, Tiffany Lopez, Justin Francis, Riley Akers, Kristin Meier, Tom Hamilton, Shon Encinas

Caleb

Level 2 – Dion Erbes

Collin, the Anointed One

Level 3 - Patrick Parker

Level 2 - Matt Butterfield, Dave Gerspach, Sean Jones

Cordelia

Level 2 - Justin Francis, Aly Greaves, Andy Schneiders

Dark Willow

Level 2 - Dion Erbes, Dan Joelson, Mike Rodgers

Darla

Level 2 – Zeke Katano

Drusilla

Level 3 - John Bruno

Level 2 - Ryan Green, David Truax, Patrick Parker, David Milliman

Faith (Hero)

Level 2 - Mike Matthews, David Truax

Faith (Villain)

Level 2 - Eric Ayers, Lisa Hurst

Ghost Willow

Level 2 - Jennifer Tse, Sean Jones

Harmony

Level 2 - Ken Myers, John Carpenter

Jenny Calendar

Level 2 – Daniel Howard, Cassie Cohn, Joellyn Ackerman

Ken

Level 5 - Matt Butterfield

Level 2 - Mike Matthews

Kendra

Level 2 – Don Tresca

Oz

Level 2 – Warren Bevan

Quentin Travers

Level 2 - Dave Gerspach, Matt Scarborough

Riley Finn

Level 2 - Darryl Long, Dave Gerspach, Aly Greaves

Rupert Giles

Level 3 – Justin Francis

Level 2 – Patrick Parker, Krista Donnelly, Maggie Bussa

Sid

Level 2 – Debbie King

Spike (Hero)

Level 2 - Layne Magnuson

Spike (Villain)

Level 3 - Keith Kusnier

Level 2 - John Bruno, Dave Gerspach, Patrick Parker, Caroline Boehmer, Chris Nichols, Riley Akers, Jared Coffin

Tara

Level 3 – Caroline Boehmer

Level 2 - David Robins, Don Tresca

The Geek Trio

Level 2 – Jack Travers

The Master

Level 3 - Andy Schneiders

Level 2 – Sharon Murphy

The Mayor

Level 2 – Holly Boehmer

The Old Man

Level 2 – Caroline Boehmer, Mike Matthews

The Pack

Level 2 - Dave Gerspach

The Primitive

Level 2 – Dave Gerspach

Vamp Willow

Level 2 – Jack Termain

Vamp Xander

Level 2 – Darryl Long

Willow Rosenberg

Level 3 – Dion Erbes, Cassie Cohn

Level 2 - Dan Joelson, Jennifer Tse, Eric Hammond, Jason McCain

Xander Harris

Level 3 - Eduardo Gaeta

There you have it. Enough ratings and rankings to hopefully keep you through the year. Well, almost through the year, as our next extensive update will occur after Gen Con. Speaking of which……..

Gen Con 2006 – Tournaments and Prizes, Oh My!!!

By Dave Gerspach (dgjedi), WCA Co-Chair

Anyone who attended Gen Con in 2005 knows full well how much fun, exciting and just plain crazy it is.  It was far and away the best year we've had in terms of attendance and prizes.  I don't think anyone who attends Gen Con in 2006 will be disappointed.  Our sponsors; Cinequest.com, Diamond Select Toys, Eden Studios and Inkworks were all impressed with the appreciation of their support that our group expressed.  Cinequest.com in particular commented to me that they dropped their support of two groups this year and as a result increased their level of prizes to our group.  So please, buy their wonderful products and continue to let them know how much they are appreciated.  It seems pretty amazing that the TV show has been cancelled, the game was discontinued, and yet as a group we continue to grow.  Many exciting things are happening in 2006 and Gen Con is the highlight of our year.

So what has changed?  Last year's schedule got to be a bit much, not only for myself as an organizer, but for many players.  At least three tournaments were cut short a round since one person was clearly out in front and players just wanted to get some time to relax.  So this year we've cut back two official events.  While extremely popular, we're no longer offering the Introductory Game demo.  There are many reasons for this.  It took the most amount of time to prepare, and while people showed up for the demo, very rarely would any of them try a tournament.  I love teaching and exposing people to the Buffy CCG, but without a core base of tournament players we wouldn't even have a place to demo the game.  What I am encouraging is that newer players sign up for the sealed deck tournament.  I've expanded the time for that tournament by one hour and will allow extra time for experienced players to help newer players build their deck, demo the game and then play in the tournament.

We've also reduced the schedule on Saturday this year by one tournament.  However, the Sealed Deck tournament will get another hour, we get more time to prepare and play the Grand Patrol and then still end early enough for people to enjoy other games (such as the Austin Powers World Championship), or for players to enjoy more casual Buffy CCG play.  Speaking of which, there will be an open tournament for which players can sign up.  You won't find it on Gen Con's Event Registration, but all you need to do is pick up a score sheet, find another interested player, play a game and record the results.  All players in this tournament turn in their score sheets by 10:00am on Sunday and we'll determine the winners.  This will definitely be a casual tournament and the purpose will be for people to have fun and get to know a variety of Buffy players.  Winners will be determined by who plays against the highest number of opponents during the tournament.  Wins and losses will count toward a player's rating, but not at the double "convention rate" and they won't be a factor in determining the tournament winner.  Prizes will be awarded.

Many popular tournament formats will return and a couple of formats that haven't been seen at Gen Con in two to three years will be back.  The latter include The Three Challenge Tournament and Slayerfest.  Sadly, with our booster pack supply starting to dwindle, there will be no Amy-a-thon this year.  But expect that Ms. Madison will make in appearance in some format. Also, please note that some of this year's tournaments will indicate that a player should be experienced to enter.  We had a couple of situations last year where some of our "odd" tournament formats were not clearly understood by some casual players and they showed up to play with decks not matching the format.  Hopefully, the experience warning will help.  Additionally, Gen Con has added a feature this year where supposedly when you register for an Event you will get a message from the Gamemaster/Event Organizer.  The message for our tournaments will direct people to this web-site for additional tournament rules and to get any questions answered.

Keep the following list handy, on May 1^st you’ll want to be one of the first to register for these tournaments.

TCG0001 – 7pm, Thursday Buffy CCG Classic Highlander

TCG0002 – 9am, Friday Buffy CCG Extended Type A Hero of the Week/Villain of the Week

TCG0003 – 2pm, Friday Buffy CCG Extended Type B Dream Card

TCG0004 – 7pm, Friday Buffy CCG Classic Slayerfest

TCG0005 – 9am, Saturday Buffy CCG Classic Sealed Deck

TCG0006 – 3pm, Saturday Buffy CCG Classic Grand Patrol

TCG0007 – 10am, Sunday Buffy CCG Extended Type A Three Challenge

Other events for which you don’t have to register

6:30pm, Wednesday Buffy CCG Brown Bag Sealed Deck

6:30pm, Wednesday to 10am, Sunday Buffy CCG Open Tournament (Players can agree on whether to use Classic, Extended Type A or Extended Type B decks)

North American Championship – Determined by a players best four finishes among the 7 Registered Events and the Wednesday Sealed Deck.

Did I mention prizes? Well, some we won’t know until the week of Gen Con, but here are some that are already in my possession and have been set aside for Gen Con.

10 – Season Five Angel action figures

8 – Season Five Anya action figures

6 – Fear Itself Anya action figures (the one with the removable bunny suit)

5 – Season Five Willow action figures

3 – Cordelia ornaments

3 – Spike ornaments

2 – Season Five Spike action figures

2 – Tara New Moon Rising action figures

2 – Hell’s Bells Anya action figures (the one in the wedding dress) These are hand-numbered exclusives.

1 – Beneath You Spike action figure

1 – Oz Preproduction Sample action figure

1 – Giles Preproduction Sample action figure

1 – Anya Once More With Feeling action figure

1 – Book of Vengeance box set

1 – Vampire Angel action figure (Previews exclusive)

1 – Vampire Angel action figure (Tower Records exclusive)

1 – Spike IKON Exclusive collectible action figure

1 – Reunion Darla action figure

1 – Buffy Summers PALZ

1 – Willow Rosenberg PALZ

1 – Xander Harris PALZ

1 – Drusilla PALZ

1 – Spike PALZ

And all the above is just from Cinequest.com. As usual, we will have foil sets, promos and ultrarares. Inkworks and Eden Studios have promised support and I’d be surprised if we don’t get a wonderful assortment from Diamond Select. What else, oh yeah, the autographed cards that some people seem to like. Well, I’ve only managed to secure a few so far. Hope no one is disappointed.

Inkworks Women of Sunnydale A1 Anya card signed by Emma Caulfield

Inkworks Women of Sunnydale A5 Glory card signed by Clare Kramer

Inkworks Women of Sunnydale A6 Halfrek card signed by Kali Rocha

Class of 99 Companion Faith signed by Eliza Dushku

More to come.

Buffy CCG Supports 2006 Slayathon

By Dave Gerspach (dgjedi), WCA Co-Chair

What’s a Slayathon? As explained on their web-site “It's a full day of watching some of the best of the best episodes of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel", meeting and laughing with other "fans," and having a great time while simultaneously raising money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.” For the past two years the WCA has supported Slayathon by donating some boosters and starters to either be auctioned or given away to attendees. They’ve also allowed us to present an overview of the game. Well, after two years of giving cards away we’ve decided to try another approach and hopefully entice a few Buffy fans to try playing the game.

During the months of April, May and June we’re asking our judges to each consider holding at least one Sealed Deck tournament in their local market. Just ask your local WCA supplier for some starter decks and boosters. The recommendation is to charge each player in the tournament $10 with all proceeds going to the Slayathon and The Make a Wish Foundation (Of course you can subtract any cost of shipping the starters/boosters). The $10 amount is recommended, but any amount you believe is reasonable in your area is acceptable. Any amount is good since it goes to a worthy cause. The Slayathon itself will be held in Chicago on July 29^th and it would be really great to show them how generous the Buffy CCG community is.

Of course we’re announcing this now so that judges can start to plan their events. First, you’ll need a place to hold the tournament and you’ll need to discuss with your host store your plans. They may be able to help promote the event in your area. Of course you’ll need to get an estimate of the number of players you might have show up so that you can order enough starters and boosters. Place your orders at least two weeks in advance and I’d recommend three to four weeks in advance to make sure the materials arrive in time. Let us know the time and place of your event and we’ll post it on the board. Possibly the Slayathon people will help us promote the tournaments on their site and increase our exposure. The purpose of all this is to show our community spirit, but if we meet a few more Buffy fans and pick up a few more players, well that’s good too.

For more information on the Slayathon, you can check out their web-site at slayathon.org.

Play and Redeem

By Dave Gerspach (dgjedi), WCA Co-Chair

As just a reminder, beginning this month you can check out the redemption list in Trading Forum of this web-site. See anything you like? Just trade any tournament credits you have for the cards on the list. Leave me (dgedi) a personal message of what you’d like. I’ll verify it’s still available and confirm the trade. I’ll pull the cards and then you have two weeks to send me a self-addressed and stamped envelope. I’ll promptly ship you the cards with no additional cost. Several hundred cards are available, so there’s probably something you’d like. So how do you get these tournament credits? Here’s the list.

25 credits – Register your location on the Buffy CCG Community Map

50 credits – The first tournament you play in this year (credits earned when the judge submits the results)

25 credits – For each tournament you play in after the first one this year (credits earned when the judge submits the results)

25 credits – For each Gen Con tournament you pre-register. There’s an element of trust here, but I don’t expect much, if any, abuse as I can always check the Gen Con site for the number of pre-registrations for each tournament.

Originally, I indicated that this redemption program will continue through March. With all the cards available I’ve decided to continue the program for as long as someone indicates interest. Check the list often as changes will be made as cards are claimed or as I come across new cards to make available. Enjoy!!

The next Newsletter (Volume 3, Issue 2) will be released in April, 2006.

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