Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Deck: Gangrel Anarch Barons


Gangrel Anarch barons deck that focuses on PRE and PRO. Undue Influence helps bring out the crypt, while CrimethInc. combos with Gear Up and Anarch Manifesto for increased stealth for multi-acting.

Still pretty inexperienced at building Anarch decks; suggestions welcome. Also, Revolutionary Council requires baron, does that trigger CrimethInc? Are actions that require baron implicitly require anarch? In the same vein, it's funny that Anarch Manifesto does not need anarch to be equipped.



Crypt: (12)
3x Anarch Convert
2x Antonino 6 FOR ani pre pro Gangrel:3
1x Bernard, the Scourge 5 ani for pre pro Gangrel:4
1x Boss Callihan 5 PRE dom for pro Ventrue:3
1x Alessandro Garcia   4 pot pre pro Brujah:4
1x Calvin Cleaver 3 for pro Gangrel:4
1x Lula Burch 3 for pro !Gangrel:4
1x Leo Washington 2 cel pro !Gangrel:4
1x Robert Price 2 pro Gangrel:4

Library: (90)
Master: (14)
4x Protean 
2x Perfectionist 
2x Twilight Camp 
2x Vessel 
1x Anarch Railroad 
1x Backways 
1x Seattle Committee 
1x The Anarch Free Press 

Action: (15)
6x Undue Influence 
3x Gear Up 
1x Fee Stake: Boston 
1x Fee Stake: Corte 
1x Fee Stake: Los Angeles 
1x Fee Stake: New York 
1x Fee Stake: Perth 
1x Fee Stake: Seattle 

Action Modifier: (29)
14x CrimethInc. 
5x Earth Control 
4x Freak Drive 
4x Bewitching Oration
2x Monkey Wrench 

Combat: (8)
5x Earth Meld 
3x Form of Mist 

Equipment: (2)
2x An Anarch Manifesto 

Political Action: (21)
6x Anarch Salon 
5x Kine Resources Contested 
4x Exclusion Principle 
4x Firebrand 
2x Revolutionary Council 

Retainer: (1)
1x Crypt's Sons 

Deck: Salubri antitribu and their Flaming Daggers


If my reading of the cards are right, Sword of the Righteous triggers even when the ranged strike of the Daggers are used. Furthermore, while Gift of Bellona at superior VAL states that the equipped weapon cannot be used during the first round, you still get to equip another Dagger and that one CAN be used.

Who needs close ranged combat when the Salubri antitribu are concerned?

At heart this is a AUS FOR wall/rush combat deck that specializes in agg. ranged strikes to torpor Famed vampires. Included are a couple of retainers and Force of Will for bleeding. Blooding by the Code, Sword of the Righteous allows you to strike with 3 agg range damage with 1 Dagger.

Death Seeker to clear our Immortal Grapples and Strike: Combat Ends.

Crypt: (12)
2x Uriel 8 ani obe AUS FOR VAL Salubri antitribu:4
2x Dela Eden 8 cel dom AUS FOR VAL Salubri antitribu:3
2x Aredhel 5 aus FOR VAL Salubri antitribu:4
2x Langa 5 for VAL Salubri antitribu:4
2x Nkechi 4 aus for val Salubri antitribu:4
2x Rashiel 3 for val Salubri antitribu:4

Library: (90)
Master: (14)
2x Blood Doll 
2x Blooding by the Code 
2x Code of Samiel 
2x Dreams of the Sphinx 
2x Fame 
2x Tension in the Ranks 
2x The Path of Retribution 

Action: (12)
5x Sense Death 
5x Sense Vitality 
2x Force of Will 

Action Modifier: (11)
5x Gift of Bellona 
4x Freak Drive 
2x Daring the Dawn 

Combat: (27)
9x Sword of the Righteous 
6x Taste of Vitae 
6x Death Seeker 
3x Hidden Strength 
3x Indomitability 

Equipment: (8)
8x Dagger 

Reaction: (16)
4x Eagle's Sight 
3x Enhanced Senses 
3x Eyes of Argus 
4x On the Qui Vive 
2x Telepathic Misdirection 

Retainer: (2)
1x J. S. Simmons, Esq. 
1x Tasha Morgan 

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Deck Idea: Victoria and her Edges

Past experiences with my old Rachel Brandywine deck showed me the power of Victoria/Madness Network/Instability. With Victoria in play, having the Edge at the start of your turn allows a steady pool gain of 3. Throw in an Instability and you'll net 5 (and your prey gains the Edge).

Ensure that happens through Madness Network and obf Malks acting during your predator's turn, (bleeding for 1 at +3 stealth with Night Moves is the simplest choice). During your turn, Night Moves again by another obf weenie to take the Edge away from your prey (effectively bleeding for 2).

This pool gain strategy has two vulnerable linchpins, Madness Network (burnable) and Victoria (not exactly tough with AUS cel obf). Thus weenie auspex becomes the defence of choice. Synergistically, there are plenty of Malkavians that have obf and/or aus.

Actual ousting strategy would then be through Smiling Jack, defended by said weenie auspex vampires. 

Thoughts?


Crypt: (12)
3x Victoria      5 AUS cel obf Malkavian:2
1x Aleph      4 AUS dom Malkavian:1
1x Dorian Strack      4 AUS pre Toreador:1
1x Zöe      3 AUS cel obf Malkavian:2
1x Dollface      3 aus obf Malkavian:1
1x Isabel de Leon      3 AUS Toreador:1
1x Lena Rowe      3 aus obf pre Pander:2
1x Watenda      3 obf Malkavian:2
1x Normal      2 obf Malkavian:1
1x Brazil      2 aus Malkavian:1

Library: (90)
Master: (16)
7x Instability
2x Madness Network
2x Smiling Jack, The Anarch
1x Asylum Hunting Ground
1x Millicent Smith, Puritan Vampire Hunter
1x Pentex(TM) Subversion
1x Powerbase: Montreal
1x The Rack

Action: (16)
12x Night Moves
2x Atonement
2x Clotho's Gift

Combat: (10)
5x Fake Out
3x Concealed Weapon
2x Disguised Weapon


Equipment: (7)
4x Sniper Rifle
2x Bowl of Convergence
1x Ivory Bow


Reaction: (41)
14x Eyes of Argus
7x Eagle's Sight
6x On the Qui Vive
4x Precognition
4x Spirit's Touch
3x Enhanced Senses
3x Wake with Evening's Freshness

Sunday, September 11, 2011

1st Standard Tournament win with Brujah Royalty

Won a Bloodlines "Battle Lines" storyline tourney before, with my Kiaysd/Lilith's Blessing stealth-bleed deck, but starting out with Lilith's Blessing is broken anyways. Incidentally, I got a WoW CCG playmat (don't play that game) as 1st place prize.

My first standard tournament win; pretty pumped about it. Come on, getting my name in the Holy Grail, Lasombra's TWDA? AND getting an autographed Brujah Debate card as an extra prize when I played Brujah!?

Folks came from all over the Bay, with the South Bay playgroup all showing up in force (Ian Lee, Brandon, Andy, Jeff, myself) . 16 players meant 4x4player tables; making for faster, less table-talky games (supposedly). Overall, the tourney was very well run by the Castro Valley people, shout-out to Joel, Brandyn etc etc.

I played my Dmitra-Alastor deck; completely re"vamp"ed since the last incarnation. Tested it out during the summer in Singapore with Gee Hwan. Read Martin's NAC 2010 post. Ditched every superflous distraction from my old deck and made it flow.

Ideas are simple. Influence out Dmitra Ilyanova, call Alastor on herself for an Assault Rifle. Into Thin Air, Perfect Paragon, Resist Earth's Grasp, Forced March for stealth. Perfect Paragon, Iron Glare for vote lock. Forced March for untap and rush on same turn.
Next turn call Anathema/Parity Shift (depending on needing pool or ousting prey), Forced March (for stealth AND untap), then rush. Bring out more Brujah princes and repeat.  Oust with New Carthage, Iron Glares and Fame.
Resist Earth's Grasp, Psyche!, Armor of Vitality and Taste of Vitae for combat; 2nd Traditions for wake/intercept. Pentex Subversion, Sudden Reversal, Villein, Giant's Blood, Dreams, Info Highway as std Master card package. Lost in Translation for surprise bounce.

Deck Name: Dmitra Alastor v. 3 - Always Bring a Gun to a Bloodfeud
Decklist:
Crypt: (12)
5x Dmitra Ilyanova(G5)
3x Karen Suadela(G5)
2x Carlak(G5)
2x Tara(G5)

Library: (80)
Master: (13)
2x Dreams of the Sphinx
2x Fame
2x Information Highway
2x Villein
1x Fortitude
1x Giant's Blood
1x New Carthage
1x Pentex(TM) Subversion
1x Sudden Reversal

Action Modifier: (18)
8x Forced March
4x Iron Glare
4x Perfect Paragon
2x Into Thin Air

Action Modifier/Combat: (6)
6x Resist Earth's Grasp

Combat: (16)
7x Psyche!
6x Taste of Vitae
3x Armor of Vitality

Equipment: (3)
3x Assault Rifle

Political Action: (13)
7x Alastor
3x Anathema
3x Parity Shift

Reaction: (11)
9x Second Tradition: Domain
2x Lost in Translation


1st Game: Kellen (G3 Tremere wall/theft deck) -> Jeff Yin (G5/6 !Sal combat) -> Peta-guy (Petaniqua Soul Gem) -> me (G5 Dmitra Alastor)

c.f. I am terrible at remembering names, so I make up names for them based on their decks.

Dmitra came out early enough, while Kellen brought out Anastasz di Zagreb (-1 vote to Anastasz booyea), Jeff brought out Qawiyya, Peta-guy brought out well, Petaniqua. Alastor was successful (Forced March overcame Anastasz's block attempts) and Dmitra rushed Petaniqua to torpor. Kellen fended off further attempts by Dmitra to rush Fame-d Anastasz, and brought out Smiling Jack and Carna. ugh.

Jeff brought out 2 more !Sal and proceeded to ghetto bleed Peta-guy. My predator pulls off a Soul-gem trick for a new Peta, bleeds me moderately. I starve off the pool loss by Parity Shift-ing Kellen; I bring out Tara AND Karen Suadela, Alastor Tara also gets an Assault Rifle. Jeff has free-reign, but bleeds for 1 per guy, hm. He also brings out Tension in the Ranks (this is important for later).

Smiling Jack reaches obscene # of counters, slowly strangling the table. Peta-guy is on the ropes, no bounce and little intercept with a nearly bloodless infernal vampire. I offer him a deal by giving him blood via Dmitra's special in return for not bleeding me for 1 turn. He declines, even though I am at 8 pool. That move killed him, which was completely avoidable. The ENTIRE table advised him to take that deal (yep, even Jeff his predator), but he thinks he can bleed me out with a 1 blood vampire, hokay.

His turn comes around, losing all but 1 pool and 1 blood. Soul-gem Peta wants to diablerize his other torpored vamp and burn during the bloodhunt for a new Peta, but Tensions will kill him. Decided to go out in a blaze of self-immolation by bleeding me a little. He died after that.

I made a deal with Jeff to collectively try to burn Jack in exchange for not rushing backwards. I spent 2-3 minutes agonizing over whether to rush Anastasz or burn Jack; in the end it didn't matter; Carna blocked and Burst of Sunlight/Rotschrek Dmitra to torpor.

Rescued Dmitra, while Kellen brought his pool down to dangerous levels to trying to bring out a 3rd minion. Carna got torpored by the !Sal.

Drew Giant's Blood; this is the critical turn. Burned all the blood off Dmitra to pay for Jack, and played it; now we're back in business. Burned Jack, while Jeff managed to bring me down to 1 pool. Rushed Anastasz for 3+1=4 pool (Wind Dancing was overcome by Psyche!), while bleeding with Tara+Iron Glare for 3, just enough to oust Kellen. Jeff's !Sal fell soon afterwards.

This game went down to the wire. Game winning move was Giant's Blood AND getting my predator to spend actions burning Jack. By holding on to Giant's Blood until the last possible turn, Jeff thought that he had the game wrapped up and torpored Carna, allowing me to burn Jack. That also lured Kellen into transferring for a new vampire, allowing me to off him in 1 turn.

me 3VPs GW, Jeff's !Sal 1VP


2nd Game: Ian Lee (DoC Choir/Con. Boon/whatever Ian does) -> me (G5 Dmitra Alastor) -> Joel (G2/3 Ravnos Breed/WoN) -> Las-guy (G2/3 Lasombra Stealth/Bleed)

Despite having 7 Alastors in an 80 card deck, I had to hard-cast Assault Rifle after 5-7 turns of discarding. Ian Consang. Boon to survive the DOM bleeding, while Joel dinkered around with Tumnimos. I kept a 2nd Traditions in my hand, waiting for that inevitable Sensory Deprivation from Joel (heard from the other players he 2x Sense Dep.-ed Andy's vampires).

Ian bloated, while calling Con. Boon for Abominations and Voter Capping for 2 (I had Dmitra and Karen, while Las-guy had Gratiano). Choir/Harmony hijinks and Lily Preludes by Ian forced me to keep my pool high and avoid alpha-strikes. Once he got Conductor and Bastile Opera House, more bloating. In response, I Parity Shift-ed him for pool.

Las-guy brought himself down to <10 pool (against 5 Ravnos with CHI and endless Fata Morganas?), when Joel played Week of Nightmares and ousted him in 1 turn. Ian tried bloating his way out of his new predator but fell quickly. I could not rush fast enough to torp. Joel's minions and fell shortly after.

I should have Pentex-ed Gabrin 2-3 turns earlier before he could bring out too many Tumnimos; and should have made a deal with Ian so that I could bring out more vampires.

me 0VP, Joel Ravnos WoN 4VP GW


I managed to get into the finals table, tying with Cassie (G5/6 Kiaysd) for 4th place. That meant zero say in table seating, followed by Dan (Tup/Malgozata), Joel (Ravnos) and finally Andy (G4/5 Malk bleed/vote). Being in the same South Bay playgroup, Andy knew my deck and decided to be my predator, i suppose by Lutz-ing me with my own votes.

Final Table: Cassie (G5/6 Kiaysd) -> Andy (G4/5 Malk bleed/vote) -> me (G5 Dmitra Alastor) -> Dan (Tup/Mal) -> Joel (Ravnos WoN)

Info Highway in my opening hand, followed by a New Carthage AND a Dreams of the Sphinx ensured I had Dmitra by the 2nd turn with vote lock, followed up by Karen in the 3rd turn. Dan brought out Mal for votes and some Tup dogs. Joel brought out 2 Ravnos mid-caps. Cassie brought out The Arcadian. Unfortunately Andy did not get Lutz or Tryphosa in his opening crypt, and settled for Sean Rycek, followed by Bloody Mary. Malgorzata got Fame-d; ensuring genteel relations between myself and my prey.

My incredible opening start was completely stalled by an abject lack of Alastor (AGAIN); discarding furiously did not help. A hilarious block by Dmitra against Malgorzata's special resulted in a dozen combat cards played for 1 hand damage strikes, resulting in only ~4-5 blood loss on both vampires. Still no Alastor. A Villein + Giant's Blood on Dmitra ensured a healthy pool, allowing me to hardcast Assault Rifle again on Karen. This and Dan not wanting me to die to the Malks ensured the Tomahawk Cruise Missiles Tupdogs went forwards, not back.

Managed to table talk my way into getting Dan torporing Ravnos with his Tup dogs and leaving me alone. Dmitra used her special to fill up a Tupdog so he? she? it? can rush forwards more. Ravnos 2-3 bleeders get bounced by the Kiaysd to the poor Malks. Cassie Riddle Phantastique-d a couple of Ravnos to try and stay alive.

Finally getting Alastor on Karen when Andy fell to the rampaging Kiaysd with a Song of Pan that incidentally killed off Draeven Softfoot AND burned a blood off Arcadian. 2nd Traditions and a surprise Lost in Translation bounce to Dan (in turn bounced to the Ravnos) kept me alive against Cassie.

With my Ravnos grandprey on <5 pool against and Dan not influencing any more Tupdogs, I strike the killing blow. Pentex on Malgorzata ensured he could not oust Joel, while Karen Suadela Anathema-ed the 1 blood Arcadian and rushed him. The Arcadian's attempt to end combat with an Oubliette triggered Anathema, netting me 8 pool.

Dan could not influence out any vampires while Joel ousted Cassie, and having his Ravnos starving for blood. Rushing Fame-d Malgorzata with a 2xbleeds of 2 by the two Brujah ousted Dan, giving me the pool to fend off the Ravnos hordes. Multiple rushes and blocks with 2nd Traditions left Joel with 1 Ravnos and he conceded.

me 3VP GW, Cassie 1VP, Joel 1VP

This was another down-to-the-wire game; Pentex and Giant's Blood were the clutch winners (held them for all game), while Forced Marching ensuring alpha strikes were possible. Table talking also ensured I did not die to my prey's Tup dogs (usually the case against tuppies); Guess i can claim the fame of surviving a Tup dog prey. Joel was stalled long enough by Riddle Phantastiques and Tup dog agg rushes.

Final Thoughts:
Forced March makes all the card combos possible; +1 stealth and an untap? Alastor+Rush; Anathema+Rush; Rush+Bleed? all these made it possible to lunge in 1 turn when my prey least expects it.

I am fortunate to not meet any serious combat or Fortitude decks; held on to at least 1 Armor of Vitality every game but never used them, not even against the Raking Talons Tupdogs, DAI Baali, or THA Tremere. Also, no wall decks apart from the Tremere (don't think they ever blocked a vote).

I love the G5 Brujah Royalty; goes without saying Dmitra is by far the MVP.

Friday, October 1, 2010

Deck: New Brujah looking for New Carthage 2

I brought this deck to the SF Qualifiers a few months back; fared decently as I eschewed OBF and embraced FOR. Tied for 5th place (and hence chance for final table), but lost the coin flip. Potence/Assault Rifles are my stealth. This deck was an evolution of the earlier Brujah Princes deck that I built when I was starting out.


Suggestions needed to overhaul this deck.

Setup: Alastor/Assault Rifle or Alastor/Sengir Dagger/Preternatural Strength to rush and torpor vampires. Parity Shift, Voter Cap and Dmitra's bloodgain special/Vessel as poolgain. KRC and bleeds via New Carthage/Iron Glare as oust. 2nd Traditions to block.

Cons: Ousting power not too high. Weak to strike: combat ends, Animalism or Fortitude combat. No bounce disciplines (Auspex / Dominate). Weak stealth and meager multi-act capabilities.

Masters: Grooming the Protege as accelerant; avoiding Info Highway (too easily contested) and Zillah's Valley (useable only on Dmitra). Villein and Vessel to take advantage of Dmitra's ability. New Carthage and Temptation of Greater Power pretty self-explanatory. Fortitude skill cards to allow the rest to use Forced March.

Actions: Preternatural Strength and Heroic Might are early game build-up to deter blockers; transient POT combat cards like Torn Signpost and Immortal Grapple were taken out to ensure better card economy. Entrancement to steal the occasional ally like Renegade Garou.

Political Actions: Alastor and Anathema combo for rush and burns. Parity Shift and KRC as standard. Banishments to remove threats.

Action Modifiers: Voter Captivation for blood/poolgain. Iron Glare for vote push and bleed modifier. Perfect Paragon for vote push and stealth. Forced March for multi-act and stealth. Resist Earth's Grasp for maneuver, press or stealth. Notice the theme of versatile cards?

Combat: Sidestrike for dodging aggravated, high strength or torporizing strikes; with a possible additional strike alternative. Sideslips for dodge or avoid 1 point aggravated damage. Taste of Vitae to recover blood.

Equipment: 2 assault rifles to be picked up by Alastor; preferably on vampires without Preternatural Strength/Heroic Might. Sengir dagger for the those who do have +strength, and Heart of Nizchetus for cardflow advantage.

Reaction: 10 2nd Traditions to wake and block.

Crypt: (12)
4x Dmitra Ilyanova(G5)
3x Karen Suadela(G5)
2x Tara(G5)
2x Tomaine(G4)
1x Jann Berger(G4)

Library: (90)
Master: (16)

4x Grooming the Protégé
2x Villein
4x Vessel
2x Fortitude
2x New Carthage
1x Temptation of Greater Power

Action: (7)
3x Heroic Might
3x Preternatural Strength
1x Entrancement

Action Modifier: (18)
7x Voter Captivation
5x Forced March
3x Iron Glare
3x Perfect Paragon

Action Modifier/Combat: (6)
6x Resist Earth's Grasp

Combat: (14)
6x Sideslip
5x Side Strike
3x Taste of Vitae

Equipment: (4)
2x Assault Rifle
1x Heart of Nizchetus
1x Sengir Dagger

Political Action: (15)
4x Alastor
5x Kine Resources Contested
3x Parity Shift
2x Anathema
1x Banishment

Reaction: (10)
10x Second Tradition: Domain

Monday, September 27, 2010

Deck Idea: Anson/Masters + TGB + Anneke/Obedience

The South Bay group made a trip up to Stanford for VTES last saturday afternoon. I played my old G1/2 Toreador Aching Beauty/Vote deck; though I got creamed, I thought of a new variation.

This is a mostly Anson/Masters deck; bring him out and start pumping out Master cards. Toreador Grand Ball him to make the small Torries (insert british political joke here) unblockable for KRCs and Praxis Seizures. Anneke can be brought out to block actions with Bowl/2nd Traditions and Obedience (Dominate skill card to make her not tap).

The Masters selection probably needs tweaking (Heidelberg? Visit from the Capuchin?), plus how to maintain vote lock when another vote deck is on the table?

 
Crypt: (12)
4x Anson(G1)
3x Anneke(G1)
1x Alexandra(G2)
1x Delilah Easton(G1)
1x Demetrius Slater(G1)
1x Dieter Kleist(G1)
1x Mariana Gilbert(G1)

Library: (90)
Master: (55)

12x Ashur Tablets
3x Liquidation

3x Zillah's Valley
3x Information Highway
3x Dreams of the Sphinx 
3x Wider View

5x Villein
3x Golconda: Inner Peace
1x Giant's Blood
2x Jake Washington
3x Dominate

3x Direct Intervention
3x Sudden Reversal

6x Toreador Grand Ball
2x The Parthenon

Action Modifier: (2)
4x Bewitching Oration

Equipment: (2)
2x Bowl of Convergence

Political Action: (15)
8x Kine Resources Contested
2x Parity Shift
1x Praxis Seizure: Monaco
1x Praxis Seizure: Paris
1x Praxis Seizure: Boston

Reaction: (16)
8x Obedience
8x Second Tradition: Domain

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Beginner deck: Assamites

Truth be told, I wanted to build this deck to assuage myself that a Lords of the Night (LotN) starter set was a good buy. And that the Assamites could hold their own, outside of anarch Amaravati/Revolutionary Councils (Fire the main Cannon!). Here's the deck list, I have seen it played twice with middling results. Mostly because prepping each vampire takes a fair bit of pool ( 4-5 from capacity of vampire, 2 from Mark Vs, and maybe 1 from Clandestine Contract). Mind you, I mainly have only LotN and LoB to work with for the clan specific cards.

There are a couple of ways I can change this deck, which is currently not going anywhere specific;
1. Bum's Rush and Haven Uncovered to go full rush combat.
2. Screw defence and load up on Losses, Quietus skill cards, and OBF stealth.

Here's the decklist:
Crypt: (12)
2x Bertrand d'Anjou(G4)
2x Evan Rogers(G4)
2x Hafsa, The Watcher(G5)
2x Kamau Jafari(G4)
2x Layla bint-Nadr(G4)
1x Alu(G5)
1x Sajid al Misbah(G5)

Library: (80)
Master: (11)
4x Quietus
3x Blood Doll
1x Celerity
1x Fame
1x KRCG News Radio
1x Market Square

Action: (20)
6x Haqim's Law: Leadership
6x Loss
4x Clandestine Contract
4x Web of Knives Recruit

Action Modifier: (6)
3x Faceless Night
3x Lost in Crowds
Action Modifier/Combat: (3)
3x Swallowed by the Night

Combat: (25)
16x Flash
6x Taste of Vitae
3x Taste of Death

Equipment: (5)
4x Mark V
1x Ivory Bow

Reaction: (10)
6x Nest of Eagles
4x Black Sunrise