Here's the Certamen battle for Alexei and Luna.
Relevant stats are:
Quickness +1
Presence +2
Intelligence +3
Stamina +2
Finesse (Terram) 7
Penetration (Terram) 4
Parma (Mentem) 5
Muto 15 (This is actually her third strongest art behind Terram and Perdo)
Terram 18+3
With her Minor MF in Certamen, Muto is effectively 30, she has Improved Characteristics Virtue, which gives her all of her pluses, and a -2 in Dex and an affinity and puissance in Terram.
Initiative is 1 (Qik) +7 (Finesse) + die roll of 3=11, not applying the specialization as the Art of terram is not in play for determining initiative.
Go ahead and roll for initiative and the first round attack and defense totals.
Well, keep in mind that Tremere have a tendency to specialize in two techniques and two forms precisely for Certamen. And then when the lower one gets doubled, well, man, it makes it very tough to duel them.
She defends by putting up a wall of clay, 2+21+Die roll of 4=27, which turns to sand, but less than half of it changes. 12-27 >0; no attack advantage
Alexei suddenly finds himself sinking in quicksand, 0+30+Die roll of 0=30 (there is a botch check on that die, 4, no botch). 30-11=19; 19 Attack advantage; 3+8+19=30 weaknening total; 30 - 5=25 or 5 Fatigue levels lost. Alexei finds himself stuck in the quicksand phantasm up to his armpits. He suddenly feels what Iaeptus must've felt.
That Minor Magical Focus in Certamen is something. If you'd chosen Perdo, you'd be seeing a 42 on a zero.
This really illustrates how Tremere (the person) came to dominate the Order through Certamen so easily.
Alexei stumbles over to a chair and practically collapses into it, reaching clumsily for his cup of wine. "A moment...Luna..." he gasps as he takes a deep drink. After a few minutes of fanning himself and taking deep drinks he reaches into a pouch and pulls out two clay disks and places them on the table. On one side is imprinted a hand drawn in the symbol of Corpus while the other side bears a Heraldry mark (it would be the Heraldry of Castra Solis, the Domus Magna of House Flambeau).
"Well won m'lady, well won. Perhaps after some practice, a few decades maybe, we can try this again and I might provide more sport." he chuckles tiredly.
After the compliment, she softens a bit. "We are trained extensively, almost from the moment our Arts are opened in how to duel. I had expected to knock you out immediately, when you suggested Muto for the Technique." She then collects the wager.
) 12 total if no botch.