Quick Guide to Toreador Prince decks

I've been playing Toreador Prince decks again on JOL and they have been doing remarkably well. But I always use the Group 1/2 or group 2/3. Makes me wonder what can be done with other groups. And what other vamps (titled) are used as support. ***I wanted to write a blog on "It's not better, its Different!" rant/discussion that is a precursor to this blog. (why use other groups when Toreador 1/2 is SO good. Ugh, so annoying.) But that is still in the collecting-thoughts process. Next week perhaps.

So this blog is the short short version of comparisons of Toreador Prince/Justicar. I won't list the Toreador Princes but will just make notes that you can confirm via various deck builders.

The idea is for readers to look at these comparisons and will give you an example how to play to certain groupings strengths and not just use the same library with a different crypt. I believe that this lesson has to be learned by many players, old and new. Otherwise, one is just stuck using the older vampires. But I digress.


Toreador Group 1/2
- Home of the AAA decks (Anson, Anneke, Alexandria). Strong abilities with full set of disciplines.
Strengths - All the vamps have strong abilities. Can get support princes of Rake, Calebros, Volker (dependent on focusing on PRE or CEL)

Conclusion: This is the main choice of Toreador title decks. We know its good so I won't focus on it.


Toreador Group 2/3
- Get all the group 2 vamps but in exchange for Anson and Anneke, you get Ira Rivers and Madame Guil... AND Jaroslav Pascek! Jaroslav, Ira Rivers with 2nd trad is 3 intercept as oppossed to the normal 2 (Ira only against political actions).

- Ira is good. Eyes of Argus, Quicken Sight, Eagle sight, Telepathic Misdirection. Look into abusing her ability. Good stuff.
- Pascek and Madame has foritude for forced march. Pascek, Francois, Klaus, Suzanne Kadim and Antoinette has obf. Strong bleed/vote at stealth that not possible at group 1/2.
- Micheal Luther is awesome.

Deck Idea: If want a unique deck, you can combine, prince and Magiji! Falhu Shibaba for Forced march angle or Kisha Bhimji for obfuscate [cel obf AUS]. Add a No Secrets or three...


Toreador Group 3/4
- This one is harder to consider for Toreador and not think about Titled Cam in general. Who does one get?
Eugene - Only a primogen, but goes very well with Madamne Guil.
Can have a strong crypt of Madame Guil, Annabelle Triabell, Eugene, Muhandis, Fahd al-Zawba`a, (adding support of Mustafa the Heir perhaps), and abuse the hell out of Toreador Grandball with freak drive and forced march. Add some third traditions and embraces and have Annabelle Triabell go to town.

- This is good for a meta game where intercept is prevalent.


Toreador Group 4/5
- This is the hardest one because of the limit of what is available. Can a Toreador Prince(ish) deck be made that is viable? What does one get that you don't get in other decks?
- The Dominate is interesting... Rafael de Corazon, Montecalme, Epikasta Rigatos makes a good Govern chain. Ransam, The Old Man and Sheva Carr at the bottom. But why them as opposed to Ventrue? Well Rafeal has OBF, but so does Arika.
- Abilities? Epikasta Rigatos is good but one needs a small deck to really use his special. Montecalme ability is nice, but no real steath and no multi-act.

CONCLUSION
--- I think that a Toreador PRINCE deck is NOT viable (in comparison to other groups), there is not enough specials, that make it worth it as opposed to Ventrue (who are very strong in 4/5).

--- BUT that's okay! Toreador Group 4/5 have still a lot going for it that is not a Prince themed (except for the Vidal Jarbeaux idea, see below!). Below are some things that make one want to use Toreador group 4/5, particularly in Tornaments.
1) Rafael de Corazon - Get OBF and Alexandria becomes not that great. I know that it seems like not a great ability, but for those who go to tournaments, how often does AAA hit the table? I thought so. :-) Using Rafael with Flurry of Action for Bleed/Vote is strong. Weenie AUS as support to flush out AI and bounce with Revelations.
2) Montecalme is a interesting vampire who I haven't seen play yet. His ability almost always ensures that he can get a voter cap off. He also has DOM so 2nd Tradition with Obedience and Deflection (since you remain untapped) is good. I would use him with Epikasta Rigatos. Montecalme versus Mary Anne Blaire? If one goes pure AUS DOM, Mary wins out. But mary has no stealth discipline at all, while Montecalme has CEL and obt. (not to mention Grand Ball of course). Resist the Earth's Grasp is great card. Stealth and man long for Majesty. The 6 cap prince Vasily is good support.

3) Vidal Jarbeaux is cool. A version of Mata Hari but with a Bleed discpline. Options:
--- add to Title guys mention above and play the Vote locations of other clans. He can even play one parity shift. :)
--- Presence bleed deck (has obf) and add wall allies like Ambrosius.


Okay, so this blog did not go exactly how I expected but it did give me a interesting ideas for Toreador Group 3/4... will make that deck soon and report back.

Adam

Winning with Enkidu

So here is the deal. Enkidu.

Enkidu, The Noah 11 for ANI CEL OBF POT PRO Gangrel Antitribu 4 Sabbat. Red List: Enkidu can enter combat with any minion as a (D) action. If Enkidu succesfully performs an action to employ a retainer, he untaps at the end of the turn. He cannot have or use equipment. +2 strength


People like to play with Enkidu, he's a monster with some great abilities.
I just went to a tournament and someone played a Enkidu - raptor deck. It was the common theme, get 7 raptors on him and deck players. The player seemed to get the ratios down pretty well (earth melds, psyches, pack alpha, raptor etc) but it only got one VP and ruined a lot of peoples games. It was an interesting deck... but it didn't win.

Then there is the combat machine deck. Enkidu runs around destroying vamps. This also does not win. Will get stealth bled out or something.

I find that Enkidu almost has like a curse on him. But what do that mean? Well, there is the obvious table hate. "Oh its Enkidu, he will ruin my game and then get ousted." Or the obvious, "must save pentex for Enkidu". Or even the simple "well he has no intercept, i'll just bleed/vote oust him".

So what to do? This is a fun vampire to play, he has the disciplines to do many things so how do you make a strong deck with him but try and minimize this table hate. This blog is to get you give some ideas of non-standard Enkidu decks.

Deck 1:

Deck Name: Enkidu and the Pussycats
Created By: Adam Hulse
Description: While most Enkidu decks are about going out and destroying you prey, a wallish deck can be made using Ahrimanes as support. Enkidu could not even come out (if you are being heavily pressured) and the deck will still function fine. Just Bring out Muricia out first is possible.
Couple of things to note:
- Enkidu is Gangrel Anti and can actually become Ahrimane.
- Maria Stone and Enkidu share a lot of disciplines. Something to consider even though she doesnt have Aninalism.
- Sabbat and Ahrimanes hunt tech is strong and focuses on retainers which goes with Enkidu's special

This particular deck focuses on untap abilities.
Ironically, Forced March did not make the cut but Maria Stone and Enkidu share it. A possible different deck?


Crypt: (12 cards, Min: 21, Max: 44, Avg: 7.75)
----------------------------------------------
4 Muricia ANI PRE SPI 7 Ahrimanes
1 Gentha Shale pot spi ANI PRE6 Ahrimanes
1 Effie Lowery obf ANI SPI 5 Ahrimanes
1 Maria Stone (ADV) cel obf pre pro spi FOR5 Ahrimanes
1 Maria Stone cel obf pro FOR5 Gangrel Antitribu
4 Enkidu for ANI CEL OBF POT PRO11 Gangrel Antitribu

Library: (90 cards)
-------------------
Master (17 cards)
2 Wider View
2 Dreams of the Sphinx
4 Blood Doll
2 Villein
1 Smiling Jack, The Anarch
2 Pentex Subversion
1 Sudden Reversal
1 Perfectionist
1 Barrens, The
1 Hungry Coyote, The

Action (17 cards)
1 Aranthebes, The Immortal
2 Muricia`s Call
3 Vulture`s Buffet
4 Engling Fury
2 Sanguine Instruction
2 Abbot
2 Charge of the Buffalo
1 Nose of the Hound

Reaction (18 cards)
7 Speak with Spirits
3 Falcon`s Eye
4 Sense the Savage Way
2 Delaying Tactics
2 Ears of the Hare

Combat (21 cards)
2 Earth Meld
1 Wolf Claws
4 Carrion Crows
3 Immortal Grapple
1 Claws of the Dead
5 Taste of Vitae
2 Aid from Bats
3 Canine Horde

Retainer (7 cards)
4 Raven Spy
1 Mr. Winthrop
1 J. S. Simmons, Esq.
1 Tasha Morgan

Equipment (1 cards)
1 Camera Phone

Event (1 cards)
1 Scourge of the Enochians

Combo (8 cards)
2 Swallowed by the Night
6 Swiftness of the Stag

-----------

Deck 2:

Deck Name: Enkidu for President
Created By: Adam Hulse
Description: Another deck where Enkidu is good to draw but not essential.
Enkidu is a fine contender for Regent I say. Along with certain supporting vamps this can be a Powerful bruise and Vote deck.
Why use Enkidu as supposed to some other built in vamp? Can always cycle the combat out of your hand for one and not need a rush.
Also can take advantage of unique Gangrel Anti cards and Sabbat cards.

Interesting note: Note Aeron's special with Disarm

Since this version uses a lot of big vampires, will use standard acceleration package.



Crypt: (12 cards, Min: 30, Max: 44, Avg: 9.33)
----------------------------------------------
2 Greensleeves for pot ANI OBF7 Nosferatu Antitribu
2 Lukas pre ser ANI OBF POT8 Nosferatu Antitribu
2 Ysador the Foul obt ANI DEM FOR OBF POT10 Nosferatu Antitribu
2 Aeron aus pro ANI OBF POT9 Nosferatu Antitribu
4 Enkidu for ANI CEL OBF POT PRO11 Gangrel Antitribu

Library: (90 cards)
-------------------
Master (26 cards)
2 Wider View
3 Dreams of the Sphinx
3 Information Highway
3 Zillah`s Valley
1 Nosferatu Kingdom
1 Giant`s Blood
3 Regent
1 Barrens, The
6 Villein
1 Black Forest Base
1 Powerbase: Madrid
1 Blood Doll

Action (4 cards)
1 Preternatural Strength
1 Eternal Vigilance
2 Abbot

Action Modifier (20 cards)
4 Animal Magnetism
7 Freak Drive
3 Lost in Crowds
3 Faceless Night
1 Enkil Cog
2 Forgotten Labyrinth

Political Action (16 cards)
1 Rumors of Gehenna
1 Political Stranglehold
1 Templar
7 Kine Resources Contested
3 Banishment
1 Ancient Influence
2 Neonate Breach

Reaction (4 cards)
3 Sense the Savage Way
1 Lost in Translation

Combat (17 cards)
5 Immortal Grapple
4 Undead Strength
3 Disarm
3 Alpha Glint
2 Taste of Vitae

Retainer (1 cards)
1 Mr. Winthrop

Combo (2 cards)
2 Swallowed by the Night

----------

And for those reading this Blog, just so you don't think I'm talking out of my ass. Here is a tournament winning deck with the same theme.

Monday Mayhem XX
Tampere, Finland
September 6, 2010
18 players

Ville Kaijasaari's Tournament Winning Deck

Deck name; Dorkaa ja karmeeta

(a running joke from our earlier trip to Sweden last year.) Allegedly
the deck was made for the local "bash nights" in Pori, and was cut 20
combat cards or so before arriving to Tampere.

Crypt:[12 vampires] capacity min:4 max:12 average:7.41666
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
3x Enkidu, The Noah           11 for ANI CEL OBF POT PRO  Gangrel Antitribu:4
1x Owain Evans, The Wanderer   8 cel pre AUS DOM FOR      Ventrue Antitribu:3
1x Titus Camille               8 for AUS DOM OBF          Ventrue Antitribu:4
1x Blackhorse Tanner           7 AUS DOM FOR              Ventrue Antitribu:3
1x Edward Neally               7 aus pre DOM FOR          Ventrue Antitribu:3
1x Joseph O'Grady              7 aus cel DOM FOR          Ventrue Antitribu:3
1x Jephta Hester               5 aus DOM FOR              Ventrue Antitribu:4
1x Louis de Maisonneuve        5 aus dom obf FOR          Ventrue Antitribu:4
1x Neighbor John               5 dom for AUS              Ventrue Antitribu:4
1x Katherine Stoddard          4 dom for                  Ventrue Antitribu:3

Library: [90 cards]
--------------------------------
Action:[2]
2x Govern the Unaligned

Actin Modifier:[6]
3x Conditioning
1x Enkil Cog
1x Foreshadowing Destruction
1x Threats

Combat:[40]
4x Hidden Strength
6x Pulled Fangs
2x Resilience
10x Rolling with the Punches
2x Soak
4x Target Vitals
5x Taste of Vitae
3x Trap
4x Weighted Walking Stick

Equipment:[2]
1x Heart of Nizchetus
1x Seal of Veddartha

Master:[17]
1x Archon Investigation
1x Campground Hunting Ground
1x Corporate Hunting Ground
2x Fortitude
1x Giant´s Blood
2x Lilith´s Blessing
8x Villein
1x Yawp Court

Reaction:[23]
6x Deflection
1x Delaying Tactics
1x Eluding the Arms of Morpheus
1x Enhanced Senses
2x Eyes of Argus
1x Forced Vigilance
1x My Enemy´s Enemy
7x On the Qui Vive
1x Redirection
1x Telepathic Misdirection
1x Wake with Evening´s Freshness

-----------

So there may be a lot of table hate concerning our friend Enkidu. Just remember, make all the Methuselah's pay attention to something else, and then let Enkidu flutter on in... and destroy everything. "What do you mean everythi... EVERYTHING!!!! (who knows what movie that quote comes from?)

Adam

This post is a test.

Here is a test. Also to check the format since this is a VTES blog. Here is a random deck.

Deck Name: Ariadne learns from Beast the Anarch
Created By: Adam Hulse
Description: Version of an Anarch Beast deck. i.e. play AR and rush the anarch's. Untested as of 11/17/11

Crypt: (12 cards, Min: 4, Max: 32, Avg: 3.91)
---------------------------------------------
4 Ariadne chi ANI FOR PRO8 Gangrel
1 Keith Moody DOM 3 Tremere Antitribu
1 Ulrike Rothbart dom for 3 Ventrue Antitribu
1 Almodo Giovanni dom pot 3 Giovanni
1 Jackson Asher dom 2 Ventrue
4 Anarch Convert none 1 Caitiff

Library: (90 cards)
-------------------
Master (19 cards)
1 Powerbase: Montreal
2 Quietus
1 Pentex Subversion
1 Fame
4 Anarch Revolt
5 Villein
2 Vessel
1 Poacher's Hunting Ground
1 Hospital Food
1 Anarch Free Press, The

Action (13 cards)
1 Bum`s Rush
2 Ambush
2 Harass
2 Sense Death
1 Ritual Challenge
5 Abactor

Action Modifier (12 cards)
8 Freak Drive
4 Earth Control

Reaction (8 cards)
2 Delaying Tactics
6 Deflection

Combat (27 cards)
5 Amaranth
7 Claws of the Dead
5 Indomitability
2 Rolling with the Punches
2 Bone Spur
2 Body Flare
2 Scorpion Sting
2 Form of Mist

Retainer (6 cards)
2 Raven Spy
3 Dog Pack
1 Murder of Crows

Equipment (3 cards)
1 Ivory Bow
1 Aaron`s Feeding Razor
1 Helicopter

Combo (2 cards)
2 Steely Tenacity