OPERATION DECK DECONSTRUCTION #3
[Use Soundwave's voice for full effect!]
Hello everyone, moving right along to my third deck analysis. Haven't recieved any comments yet, but I hope that people are enjoying the review. I definitely enjoy doing the analysis and like the challenge. It is my hope that with this analysis, the author and my readers get ideas for their own decks and hopefully make them look at deck designs in a new way. Here is the deck below.
Deck Name: This Time It's Personal
Created By: Shawn Stanley
Description: The deck came out of a conversation with a friend about the general ways of causing pool damage in Jyhad. We hit upon bleeding, voting and other. I wanted to try a deck which worked solely in the realm of the third category, "other". Other, of course is a broad category, and I wanted to try and work with master cards to do it. This back in 2004/5 so anarch revolt decks were an obvious choice, but already out there, but there was a new master card which looked hopeful: personal involvement.
Earlier versions of the deck were fun to play, but the deck always struggled with the final kill package. Hence, with subsequent versions the tried and true pool reduction tactics of bleeding and voting crept into the deck. With all of the pool manipulation in the deck, necessitated by personal involvement, parity shift was an obvious choice - but still not a card to kill people with. So some other votes, and then some bleed also came into the deck
Crypt: (12 cards, Min: 16, Max: 32, Avg: 6.16)
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5 Anson aus CEL dom PRE8 Toreador
1 Victoria Ash aus cel dom PRE6 Toreador
1 Ohanna dom 2 Malkavian
3 Rake aus cel pot PRE6 Brujah
1 Violette Prentiss dom PRE 4 Ventrue
1 Mariana Gilbert cel PRE 4 Toreador
Library: (70 cards)
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Master (40 cards)
1 Art Museum
7 Personal Involvement
8 Ashur Tablets
2 Parthenon, The
2 Secure Haven
2 Dummy Corporation
2 Vessel
1 Brothers Grimm
1 Carnivale
2 Sudden Reversal
1 Direct Intervention
1 Archon Investigation
1 Pentex Subversion
1 Anarch Revolt
1 Antediluvian Awakening
3 Failsafe
2 Golconda: Inner Peace
2 Dominate
Action (2 cards)
2 Entrancement
Action Modifier (5 cards)
2 Perfect Paragon
2 Alacrity
1 Siren`s Lure
Political Action (5 cards)
3 Kine Resources Contested
2 Neonate Breach
Reaction (5 cards)
5 Deflection
Combat (5 cards)
5 Majesty
Event (2 cards)
2 Anthelios, the Red Star
Combo (6 cards)
3 Murmur of the False Will
3 Resist Earth`s Grasp
WHO IS THE AUTHOR
Shawn Stanley, while a native Australian, has bummed around with us New Yorkers for several years now. He is one of our regulars and New York Vtes would not be the same without him. He is a strong player who has a tendenacy to play a lot of strong Tier 2 (he finds Tier 1 boring) decks that keeps us city-folk on our toes.
Deck Name: This Time It's Personal
Created By: Shawn Stanley
Description: The deck came out of a conversation with a friend about the general ways of causing pool damage in Jyhad. We hit upon bleeding, voting and other. I wanted to try a deck which worked solely in the realm of the third category, "other". Other, of course is a broad category, and I wanted to try and work with master cards to do it. This back in 2004/5 so anarch revolt decks were an obvious choice, but already out there, but there was a new master card which looked hopeful: personal involvement.
Earlier versions of the deck were fun to play, but the deck always struggled with the final kill package. Hence, with subsequent versions the tried and true pool reduction tactics of bleeding and voting crept into the deck. With all of the pool manipulation in the deck, necessitated by personal involvement, parity shift was an obvious choice - but still not a card to kill people with. So some other votes, and then some bleed also came into the deck
[Adam Notes:]
So I had the benefit of talking with Shawn a little but about this deck. He told me that conversation mentioned in the description was several years old. Recently, I coincidently had a similar conversation with noteable Ben Peal. To be short, we decided that the two 'Win Machines' are Bleed and Vote. (others things, like combat, are the "engines" to make the machines work). [To be discussed in next blog maybe. :) ]. So where does "Other" fit in? In my opinion, "Other" pool loss mechanic are a "Backup Machine". Smaller, useful in certain situations but should not be mistaken for the main machine. Although we are going to talk about Personal Involvement, another good example are cards like Fame, Dragonbound, and Enticement.
So what does that mean here for Shawn's deck? Well, in Shawn's original deck it is 40 masters (70 cards) with 7 Personal Involvement. While it has a little bleed, it is basically a Vote deck. So his "Machine" is Vote with a "Backup Machine" of Personal Involvement (and some other masters). So our goal is to make a STREAMLINE VOTE DECK STARRING ANSON. 60 Card size. And then Shawn can just add 8-10 Personal Involvement. Because of Anson's special, the additional masters cards should flow nicely (although we will take it into account).
Furthermore, if we take out the Masters and make that a separate discussion (while it will tie into the rest of the library) we are really making a streamlined 30-35 vote deck with all the trimmings. It's harder then it looks but lets see what we can do!
Crypt: (12 cards, Avg: 6.16)
----------------------------------------------
5 Anson aus CEL dom PRE8 Toreador
1 Victoria Ash aus cel dom PRE6 Toreador
1 Ohanna dom 2 Malkavian
3 Rake aus cel pot PRE6 Brujah
1 Violette Prentiss dom PRE 4 Ventrue
1 Mariana Gilbert cel PRE 4 Toreador
[Adam Notes:]
Okay, now that we have determined that we have only 35 cards to make a vote deck, sure that these guys are the right guys for the job. Looking at Shawn's master package, he doesn't have Ventrue Headquarters or Toreador Grand Ball (ultimate stealth!). So let's fine a crypt that allows that and still has the DOM PRE, and celerity for stealth. While, it will be mentioned again in the Master Card discussion below, it is good to state here that Wider View is very important here as it allows Shawn to get the right crypt for the right situation. More Toreador for Grand Ball for example.
Crypt: (11 cards, Avg: 5.727)
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5 Anson aus CEL dom PRE8 Toreador
1 Mariana Gilbert cel PRE 4 Toreador
1 Delilah Easton pre 2 Toreador
1 Violette Prentiss dom PRE 4 Ventrue
1 Sir Walter Nash DOM FOR PRE 7 Ventrue
1 Itzahk Levine cel pre 3 Ventrue
1 Gideon Fontaine PRE 3 Ventrue
[Adam's Note:] Note that I only made a crypt for 11 vampires. That is because I was not sure of the 12th guy. And then I realized it depends on the player. Maybe another weenie or another prince. Below is some choices I liked.
1 Rake aus cel pot PRE6 Brujah
1 Ramiel DuPre aus cel dom PRE5 Toreador
1 Victoria Ash aus cel dom PRE6 Toreador
Small note on Sir Walter Nash. He's a vamp who should really only come out if needed, most of the time he will be wider view away.
Library: (70 cards)
-------------------
Master (40 cards)
7 Personal Involvement
6 Ashur Tablets
2 Ventrue Headquarters
1 Hostile Takeover
2 Toreador Grand Ball
1 Art Museum
1 Carnivale
2 Parthenon, The
2 Secure Haven
1 Pentex Subversion
1 Anarch Revolt
1 Antediluvian Awakening
1 Dominate
1 Golconda: Inner Peace
1 Brothers Grimm
2 Failsafe
2 Vessel
3 Wider View
2 Sudden Reversal
1 Direct Intervention
1 Archon Investigation
[Adam Notes:]
So I kept with Shawn's 40 Master package but switched around the ratios in order to make room for clan cards and Wider view. Odd note is that there is no Giant's Blood in there, but I guess Shawn made that determination originally. This package is just a suggestion, the key point are the Ventrue Headquarters and the Grand Ball. This functions as vote push and "stealth". Other options are Monastary of Shadows or Creepshow Casino.
Based on Shawn's playtesting he may want to drop some master cards (1-5) to increase non-master library to 35. Or of course just make a 75 card deck! :)
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"Non-Master" (30 Cards)
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Action (1 card)
1 Entrancement
Action Modifier (9 cards)
2 Alacrity
2 Voter Captivation
2 Awe
2 Perfect Paragon
1 Siren`s Lure
[Adam Note: With the Parity Shift and KRC being such deal-making cards, slipping 1-2 cryptic rider may be an interesting idea.]
Political Action (10 cards)
3 Parity Shift
1 Toreador Justicar
1 Ventrue Justicar
1 Banishment
3 Kine Resources Contested
1 Ancilla Empowerment
[Adam Notes:] I'm not sold on the Toreador Justicar. It is only necessary when there are other votes on table and there is intercept next to you (needing Grand ball). Dependent on what Shawn picks for 12th vampire I guess.
Reaction (4 cards)
4 Deflection
Combat (4 cards)
4 Majesty
Event (2 cards)
2 Anthelios, the Red Star
[Adam Notes:] Review of Non-Master cards - with only a 30 card deck, each card change is pretty significant. The only thing I can maybe recommend is that Shawn might want to play with the master package a little to try to get it back up to 9 Ashurs because there are so many "one-shot" cards in the non-master cards that could be useful.
CONCLUSION:
First off, I should state that this is a very hard deck to play, and kudos to Shawn for trying to make it work. In order to play Personal Involvement you have to keep your pool near your prey, which of course gets harder and harder as the pool goes down, all the while having a predator trying to kill you of course. But I suspect that "living on the edge" is one of the reasons Shawn likes playing the deck!
Very basically, the version suggested is attempting to get a strong amount of votes so that no one playing can run around bloating with Voter Captivation and it allows you do have more control.
I'd like to thank Shawn Stanley for letting me review his deck. It actually took longer then I expected and I had to re-think a couple of times what the overall strategy is here. The idea of "Backup Machine" for alternate pool loss will most probably be in my next blog.
Adam Hulse
Monday, December 24, 2012
Thursday, November 29, 2012
OPERATION DECK DECONSTRUCTION #2
OPERATION DECK DECONSTRUCTION #2
[Use Soundwave's voice for full effect!]
Hello everyone, this is my second post of where I analyze a deck and post my findings for my readers to look through. It is my hope that with this analysis, the author and my readers get ideas for their own decks and hopefully make them look at deck designs in a new way. Here is the deck below.
Deck Name : Prying Open My Third Eye
Author : Matt Hirsch
Description : !Salubri combat/blood denial
The general idea is to present a scary-looking combat deck, but actually use more blood denial tricks than just direct rushing and blocking. Blood denial itself is not a winning strategy, but it makes combat targets a lot easier to knock down.
Built for the Pawtucket VTES tournament, so the expected metagame was stealth/bleed heavy, hence the heavy use of anti-bleed cards. Combat was expected to be light, so I didn't feel the need to beef up too much in that regard. I wouldn't bring this deck to a combat heavy environment.
Also, it's important to note that the crypt is a bit Auspex light in this Auspex deck; the player should be careful about getting superior auspex on the table early. Don't influence out Qawiyya first, unless the Auspex skill card is in hand.
Crypt [12 vampires] Capacity min: 3 max: 9 average: 6.5
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3x Qawiyya el-Ghaduba 9 FOR POT VAL aus pre !Salubri:5
3x Uriel 8 AUS FOR VAL ani obe bishop !Salubri:4
2x Langa 5 VAL for !Salubri:4
1x Aredhel 5 FOR VAL aus !Salubri:4
1x Neighbor John 5 AUS dom for !Ventrue:4
1x Nkechi 4 aus for val !Salubri:4
1x Rashiel 3 for val !Salubri:4
Library [90 cards]
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Master [16]
1x Admonitions, The
1x Archon Investigation
1x Auspex
4x Blood Doll
1x Depravity
1x Dreams of the Sphinx
2x Fame
2x Haven Uncovered
1x Path of Retribution, The
1x Two Wrongs
1x Wash
Reaction [31]
1x Delaying Tactics
2x Eagle's Sight
2x Enhanced Senses
2x Eyes of Argus
3x Forced Awakening
5x Hide the Heart
1x My Enemy's Enemy
2x On the Qui Vive
3x Precognition
2x Spirit's Touch
2x Telepathic Counter
4x Telepathic Misdirection
2x Wake with Evening's Freshness
Combat [22]
1x Amaranth
4x Armor of Caine's Fury
2x Blissful Agony
1x Boxed In
2x Death Seeker
2x Eye of Unforgiving Heaven
1x Hidden Strength
1x Indomitability
1x Pulled Fangs
1x Rolling with the Punches
1x Skin of Rock
2x Taste of Vitae
2x Trap
1x Weighted Walking Stick
Ally [4]
1x Gregory Winter
1x Impundulu
1x Neighborhood Watch Commander (Hunter)
1x Ossian
Action [9]
4x Brother in Arms
1x Harass
1x Rayzeel's Song
1x Revelations
2x Sense Death
Action Modifier [2]
1x Freak Drive
1x Kiss of Ra, The
Action Modifier/Combat [4]
4x Burning Touch
Equipment [2]
1x Codex of the Edenic Groundskeepers
1x Palatial Estate
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WHO IS THE AUTHOR
Matt Hirsch is a friend of mine from the Boston area, and is the Prince of that play group. He was also the 2010 NAC Champion with a strong Hannibal Bleed-Vote deck. I've always been impressed with some of his unique deck ideas (as we can see with the deck listed)! However, in reviewing this deck, I think I see a couple of ideas that may help this deck out.
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Deck Name : Prying Open My Third Eye
Author : Matt Hirsch
Description : !Salubri combat/blood denial
The general idea is to present a scary-looking combat deck, but actually use more blood denial tricks than just direct rushing and blocking. Blood denial itself is not a winning strategy, but it makes combat targets a lot easier to knock down.
Built for the Pawtucket VTES tournament, so the expected metagame was stealth/bleed heavy, hence the heavy use of anti-bleed cards. Combat was expected to be light, so I didn't feel the need to beef up too much in that regard. I wouldn't bring this deck to a combat heavy environment.
Also, it's important to note that the crypt is a bit Auspex light in this Auspex deck; the player should be careful about getting superior auspex on the table early. Don't influence out Qawiyya first, unless the Auspex skill card is in hand.
[Adam's Notes:]
So according to Matt Hirsch's notes, he is supposed to look like a combat deck, but actuality he is a anti-stealth-bleed deck, while using blood denial to make his real combat enough to knock guys down. So that means we have 3 things to look at here.
DECK REQUIREMENTS: (Note this for it will be referenced alot)
1) Is the combat "scary looking"?
2) The anti stealth bleed tech
3) Blood denial tech.
Let's get crackin'!
Crypt [12 vampires] Capacity min: 3 max: 9 average: 6.5
------------------------------------------------------------
3x Qawiyya el-Ghaduba 9 FOR POT VAL aus pre !Salubri:5
3x Uriel 8 AUS FOR VAL ani obe bishop !Salubri:4
2x Langa 5 VAL for !Salubri:4
1x Aredhel 5 FOR VAL aus !Salubri:4
1x Neighbor John 5 AUS dom for !Ventrue:4
1x Nkechi 4 aus for val !Salubri:4
1x Rashiel 3 for val !Salubri:4
[Adam's Notes:]
So the main problem I see, is that the proportion of disciplines to the vampires who can play them. Matt was quick enough to mention that Qawiyya should not see play right away unless the Auspex master card was drawn. So let's continue along these these lines.
Assumption: The player wants the option to play a card at superior and only plays inferior if he has to. Note: Some cards this could be argued against, but we are just trying to gather general data.
Auspex: 19 cards (21.11%). Crypt: 4 out of 12 (25%). 2 unique vampires.
Fortitude: 6 cards (6.67%). Crypt: 7 out of 12 (58.33%). 3 Unique vampires.
Valeren: 20 cards (22.22%). Crypt: 9 out of 12 (75%). 4 Unique vampires.
So as Matt implied, this is a Auspex heavy deck, but is likely (85.9) that you will get 1 vampire with AUS. However, it is just ONE vampire to do all the AUS tech. AND its a 74.5% chance that that vamp is Uriel, who will be wanted to do the AUS and the VAL tech.
Recomendations:
- So the easiest change is switching Qawiyya for Dela Eden. Then you have many vampires that fulfill discipline requirements, could use Laibon tech [Well-marked, Powerbase: Tswanne, Swarm(???) etc]. But I suspect that Mr. Hirsch really wants to use Qawiyya so let's move on!
- Saulot is another option of course, but that would be a lot of library change work to afford so many big guys, despite his special.
- Removing a vamp for another another AUS vampire. Possible options are Solomon Batanea [5 Cap. nec AUS FOR. Laibon.] or a second Neighbor John.
- Increase the number of Auspex master card. Or perhaps a Lilth's blessing which will allow one to search for it. Or both. But that will be discussed in the Master section.
Note that through this talk we see the need for 1-2 wider view so that Matt can get his optimal crypt based on the table. But that will be discussed in the Master section.
Library [90 cards]
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Master [16]
1x Admonitions, The
1x Archon Investigation
1x Auspex
4x Blood Doll
1x Depravity
1x Dreams of the Sphinx
2x Fame
2x Haven Uncovered
1x Path of Retribution, The
1x Two Wrongs
1x Wash
[Adam's Notes:]
So although a lot of these cards can be changed for 'better' cards, one has to remember the theme as described by the author. Archon Investigation, Fame, Haven Uncovered, even Two Wrongs (maybe) stick to the Deck Requirements stated above.
Recommendations:
Path of Retribution should be switched with Code of Samiel. There is only 6 valeren cards in deck that cost 1 blood.
Depravity should be switched with Blooding by the Code. The Superior Valeren on someone small (like a Brother's in Arms) is great for cards like Hide the Heart.
Admonitions should be switched for the Barrens, there are a decent amount of cards that would not be used depending on the situation. But a Heart of Nizchetus might be more effective and allows for a different master card slot.
I have found that splashing a Villein in a Blood doll deck (even if you don't have the Giant's Blood I see) is a good thing. Intercept seems to be light, and using it on a hunt is rare. Villein on 5 cap for everything and then hunt is a free 5 pool, especially with all the untap. And of course this could combine with Lilith's Blessing. 3 Blood Doll, 1 Villein seems right.
Although having a Dreams is always good, another viable option which fits with blood denial is Retribution. I would give it a shot.
The Wash while useful, a wider view should be more important I think.
As per discussion with the crypt, having a second Auspex master card in this would be good. Obviously doubling the chances of drawing one.
Other possible cards to fulfill criteria: Yawp Court, Mob Connection, intercept location, Smiling Jack. [Example: By reducing the auspex package (more Hide the Heart perhaps), you can take the Auspex master card slot.] Also, I've always put Erciyes Fragments in Auspex decks.
So a "possible" master card package I would recommend would be.
Master [16]
1x Barrens, The
1x Archon Investigation
2x Auspex
3x Blood Doll
1x Villein
1x Blooding by the Code
1x Retribution
1x Fame
2x Haven Uncovered
1x Code of Samiel
1x Two Wrongs*
1x Wider View
*(Not a fan, personally would switch for a 2nd Wider view or a Erciyes Fragments or a Lilith's Blessing perhaps)
Reaction [31]
1x Delaying Tactics
2x Eagle's Sight
2x Enhanced Senses
2x Eyes of Argus
3x Forced Awakening
5x Hide the Heart
1x My Enemy's Enemy
2x On the Qui Vive
3x Precognition
2x Spirit's Touch
2x Telepathic Counter
4x Telepathic Misdirection
2x Wake with Evening's Freshness
[Adam's Notes:]
For the description that Matt gave, this is a fine package of reaction cards. The only thing would note is that the theme is to wake and block, not necessarily bounce (only 5 bounce cards). To take full advantage of the 9 wakes, I would make sure to have some permanent intercept like a Bowl of Convergence or a Sport Bike. (or both).
Since the theme of this deck is anti-bleed, and superior AUS is an issue, Matt could consider cutting some 2-3 cards (duplicates) and try out Steadfastness. The +1 int (against D actions) or reduce a bleed could fit nicely. He won't know until he tries.
Combat [22]
1x Amaranth
4x Armor of Caine's Fury
2x Blissful Agony
1x Boxed In
2x Death Seeker
2x Eye of Unforgiving Heaven
1x Hidden Strength
1x Indomitability
1x Pulled Fangs
1x Rolling with the Punches
1x Skin of Rock
2x Taste of Vitae
2x Trap
1x Weighted Walking Stick
[Adam's Notes:]
So this is the part where the combat should look scary but in reality it is effective against guys with low blood. With only 22 slots, there is not much I would change except for some minor tweaks.
- The Rolling with the Punches I would switch for a Superior Mettle or a Soak (depending on whether you want synergy with Trap or Eye of Unforgiving Heaven)
- The Taste of Vitae only gains you blood if used with Qawiyya, other fortitude cards should be better.
- The Amaranth is prayer card (which of course Matt is free to keep in), and interesting alternative for that card and the Boxed In is two copies of Lessons in the Steel. Note that it is a inferior that gives a press.
- Options is always better, I would switch the Skin of Rock for a Resilence or another Indomitability.
Ally [4]
1x Gregory Winter
1x Impundulu
1x Neighborhood Watch Commander (Hunter)
1x Ossian
[Adam's Notes:]
One can only have so many allies, I would just note that Carlton Van Wyck is annoying against your deck (not many presses, no Vengenence of Samiel). Would be better to play one yourself.
Action [9]
4x Brother in Arms
1x Harass
1x Rayzeel's Song
1x Revelations
2x Sense Death
[Adam's Notes:]
I can see the use of most of these, although Rayzeel Song does not fit with deck description. Aranthebes the Immortal would perhaps be better.
Action Modifier [2]
1x Freak Drive
1x Kiss of Ra, The
[Adam's Notes:]
Just a splash I see, these might be better as the intercept equipment mentioned above.
Action Modifier/Combat [4]
4x Burning Touch
[Adam's Notes:]
Just keeping them guessing. While the inferior is nice for them losing one blood, there are not many "must block" actions here.
Equipment [2]
1x Codex of the Edenic Groundskeepers
1x Palatial Estate
[Adam's Notes:]
While these two cards are good, I think something as simple as Camera phones should work much more effectively.
REVIEW:
CARD SLOTS ARE NEEDED! So there are a lot of different cards that can be added that would aid in the description requirements. What are possible removals which losing theme?
Based on what was written above, I would say that 2 actions, 6 action modifiers, 2 equipment, 2 combat, 3 reaction [total: 15 cards] could be swapped around for different cards each time Matt plays and still keep to theme. [Master cards were already discussed.]
Possible cards that keep to the 3 requirements stated at the beginning.
- More Hide the Heart (Blood denial)
- Young Bloods (Blood denial)
- Events: Restrictive Vitae, Dr. Marisa Fletcher, CDC, Hunger Moon. [Although with this I would increase blood gain cards] (blood denial)
- Ivory Bow (scary combat)
- Banshee Ironwail!!! [[Unique melee weapon. Cold iron. Strength +2 damage each strike. Bearer gets -1 stealth on each action. If bearer blocks an action, the acting minion burns 1 blood or life (before combat begins, if any).]] (This is scary combat and blood denial And a strong card against Kyasid Stealth Bleed.)
- Bowl of Convergence. Sport Bike. (anti Stealth bleed)
- Keep it Simple (Anti Stealth Bleed)
- Aranthebes, the Immortal (Anti Stealth Bleed)
- Flak Jacket or Kevlar Vest. The assumption is not heavy combat so preventing the hand strike consistently is strong.
CONCLUSION:
So we have now reviewed this interesting deck. It has some weaknesses, no strong oust mechanic, and weak against combat. But Matt in his criteria implies that there is a lot of stealth bleed, so table collapse is usually eminent by the 1st hour. After that, everyone is at low blood, and everyone has an oust mechanic. :)
I hope that Matt (and the rest of you) find this analysis useful. I enjoyed reviewing it and it definitely has encouraged me to take a look at Salubri Anti decks again.
Adam Hulse
Thursday, November 15, 2012
OPERATION DECK DECONSTRUCTION #1
OPERATION DECK DECONSTRUCTION #1
[Use Soundwave's voice for full effect!]
Hello everyone, this is my first blog post of where I analyze a deck and post my findings for my readers to look through. It is my hope that with this analysis, the author and my readers get ideas for their own decks and hopefully make them look at deck designs in a new way. Here is the deck.
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Deck Name: Baron Buddies v2.9
Created By: Kevin J. Mergen
Description: Create bleed-for-2 Corpses w/Perfectionist'd vamps and
gain pool via LMCing to Lithracs in your uncontrolled.
Crypt: (12 cards, Min: 20, Max: 32, Avg: 6.08)
----------------------------------------------
1 The Baron FOR OBF THN 9, Samedi, +1 bleed
1 Genina for OBF THN 8, Samedi
1 Reg Driscoll for OBF THN 8, Samedi, +1 bleed
1 Jorge De La Muerte for OBF THN 7, Samedi, +1 bleed*
1 George Frederick FOR obf THN 6, Samedi
7 Lithrac for OBF thn 5, Samedi
* +1 bleed only against sabbat vampires
Library: (90)
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Master: (19)
8x Coroner's Contact [to retrieve The Baron on Turn 1]
1x Kaymakli Nightmares [pool gain sync with LMC]
1x Information Highway [ " ]
4x Perfectionist [blood gain module]
1x Giant's Blood [ " ]
1x Anarch Troublemaker [tap two vampires/blow up equipment]
3x Sudden Reversal [to stop my prey's pool gain]
Action: (14)
12x Little Mountain Cemetery [blood+pool gain]
1x Putrescent Servitude [to steal an ally]
1x Psychic Veil [+1 stealth for everyone for a turn]
Action Modifier: (34) {24 stealth cards}
10x Freak Drive [multi-acting is good!]
4x Lost in Crowds [stealth module]
4x Cloak the Gathering [ " ]
4x Elder Impersonation [ " ]
4x Faceless Night [ " ]
4x Swallowed by the Night [ " ]
4x Under My Skin [ " ]
Ally: (15)
15x Reanimated Corpse [2 life, 2 str, 2 bleed, non-unique!]
Combat: (8)
8x Armor of Vitality [combat defense]
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Kevin M. has been kind enough to be my first victim. Kevin has been a pillar of the vtes community for a long time and has been running the North American Championship (NAC) for some time now. The deck below I have played against many times and with many versions. This is a strong deck and probably does not need some of the standard analysis.
But I'm up to the challenge! Let's see what we can see!
[For my comments: Look for the term "Adam's Notes:"]
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Deck Name: Baron Buddies v2.9
Created By: Kevin J. Mergen
Description: Create bleed-for-2 Corpses w/Perfectionist'd vamps and
gain pool via LMCing to Lithracs in your uncontrolled.
Crypt: (12 cards, Min: 20, Max: 32, Avg: 6.08)
----------------------------------------------
1 The Baron FOR OBF THN 9, Samedi, +1 bleed
1 Genina for OBF THN 8, Samedi
1 Reg Driscoll for OBF THN 8, Samedi, +1 bleed
1 Jorge De La Muerte for OBF THN 7, Samedi, +1 bleed*
1 George Frederick FOR obf THN 6, Samedi
7 Lithrac for OBF thn 5, Samedi
[Adam's Notes:]
So based on Kevin's description, this seems like a strong crypt. The chance of drawing The Baron in opening crypt is 33.3%. If you see below, Kevin has chosen 8 Coroner's Contract out of 90 card deck. According to a card calculator (http://www.unseelie.org/cgi-bin/cardco.cgi), there is a approximately 50% chance of getting one contract in starting hand. So that means the odds off drawing The Baron OR a Contract is [ .5 + .5(.33) = .665 ] or 66.5%. Not the greatest odds, but not the worst either.
First step: Is the Baron essential for the deck? Suppose you get a bad draw and get an 8-cap instead and no contracts. With the lack of pool gain, it would be hard to go for an 8-cap and then later for The Baron (9-cap). That's 16-17 pool. Probably not likely.
So the Little Mountain Cemetery will not work for 2 of the crypt (the other 8 cap and 9 cap). That is not so bad but that means you are operating with only 4 vampires. One 8 cap, Jorge, George and Lithrac.
My original draft of this analysis went into adjusting ratios so that there is a better chance of drawing The Baron (crypt and/or library). But looking at 4 vampires pumping out +2 bleeders seems strong enough. There is some minor things that can be done that can aid with drawing a Corners contract in the first 9 cards which I will discuss that below.
Conclusion: Crypt is quite optimal for this library, just remember that if The Baron is not in starting crypt and you don't have a Contract by 7-9 cards, don't be greedy and use future Contracts for the other 8 cap or The Baron. Not worth it, just get all the other vamps :)
Library: (90)
-------------
Master: (19)
8x Coroner's Contact [to retrieve The Baron on Turn 1]
1x Kaymakli Nightmares [pool gain sync with LMC]
1x Information Highway [ " ]
4x Perfectionist [blood gain module]
1x Giant's Blood [ " ]
1x Anarch Troublemaker [tap two vampires/blow up equipment]
3x Sudden Reversal [to stop my prey's pool gain]
[Adam's Notes:]
So from Kevin's note, we assume he wants to draw The Baron on turn one via the Contract. But above, I made the determination that its nice but not essential. The one blood counter that gets placed on The Baron from the contract makes one able to bring him out in 2 turns. Currently there is 49% chance (rounded to 50% above) of drawing one in 7 cards.
But let's say Kevin LOVES the Baron, and will do WHATEVER it takes to get him. How can we help him out? Changing the crypt is the easiest but above we determined that the THEME of the deck doesn't require the Baron so we don't want to mess with that.
Actually, we can increase those odds a little by realizing that he can also draw into a Coroner's Contract and play it on TURN 2. Why? Consider if he's drawn The Baron. The Baron comes into play and plays Little Mountain Cemetery. Unless its Lithrac, Kevin is going to use transfers anyway on the turn after the Baron comes out for the 2nd vampire. Therefore, if Kevin doesn't draw the Baron or a Cemetery, he gets a 2nd shot of draw a Contract by doing the transfers for his 2nd vampire first. And if he doesn't draw it on turn 2, then we go back to the "non-Baron" strategy mentioned above.
So how to increase the odds? Well, for every card he can play on turn 1, that increases the odds that he will draw into a contract. So what cards can be played? A MASTER card, and a card during the discard phase. If he can play 2 cards, he has about a 18% chance of drawing a Coroner's Contract in cards 8 and 9.
What master cards can he play on turn 1? Kaymakli Nightmares while used for pool gain normally, but gives him another great shot at The Baron. Information Highway can as well. Anarch Troublemaker is also a fine staple turn 1 card.
Suddens? While suddens are great, they prevent him from have a turn 2 master phase. Note the lack of reaction cards in this deck. Wash is almost as good and allows for the Turn 2 Coroner's Contract scenario.
What if this deck brings the Master cards to 22? In order to avoid some hand jam, changing Suddens to Wash will help and consider the use of the cards below to aid in deck theme and drawing that Turn 2 Coroner's Contract.
OPTIONAL MASTERS
- #1 Choice - The Barrens. This card is Excellent in this deck! Besides the hand jam fix this can do (always a possibility when you have many of a type of card), if this is a turn 1 master, it increases the chance up 26% of getting a Contract.
- #2 Choice - Dreams of the Sphinx. This vastly inscreases the chance of drawing the Contract and if you have the Baron already, possibly bringing him out on turn 2.
- #3 Choice - The Coven. In such a blood intensive deck, this is a viable option and it is a trifle.
Others: Secure Haven, Pentex, Golconda
HOWEVER, as stated before, Kevin is a good player and I'm sure that he's considered these choices above before. Below are some other master cards that he might have not considered that I would encourage him to try out.
BONUS MASTERS
- #1 Choice - Powerbase: Zurich. This card is excellent for this deck. And even multiple vampires can use it (only lose the edge if one is blocked).
- #2 Choice - Police Department. The Armor of Vitality stops the Torn Signpost or the Bats/Crows. This card always stops the Immortal grapple and Aid from Bats press.
- #3 Choice - Haven Uncovered. Having a bunch of guys punch for 2 can sometimes do the trick.
--------
Action: (14)
12x Little Mountain Cemetery [blood+pool gain]
1x Putrescent Servitude [to steal an ally]
1x Psychic Veil [+1 stealth for everyone for a turn]
[Adam's Notes:]
On to actions! Again, this is pretty streamlined for theme. Since the average game lasts about 13 turns, 14 actions on a deck with freak drives is a little on the light side. Lets see if we can offer Kevin some strong Action cards as possibilities to try out. If he finds that he has too many actions, he can increase the freak drives or increase the discard potential (example: Barrens).
OPTIONAL ACTIONS
- #1 Choice - Blackmail/Condemnation: Doomed/Jar the Soul. Tapping a minion and then freak driving is always a strong play. Also good to tap the deflector behind you.
- #2 Choice - Heart of Nizchetus. In a deck that has many cards of the same type, this is a good choice.
- #3 Choice - Gran Madre di Dio, Italy. An underplayed card but strong in tournament. Kills Tup dog decks, and fits with the tapping blockers.
- #4 Sargon Fragment - get your one-shot cards back.
BONUS COMBO!
- So it is commonly known the Baron/Soul Gem trick. However, one can steal from this idea and add 5 cards and "trick people" into thinking its a Soul gem deck (oh no! have to stop the Possession!) when really its not. Each is useful in its own right. But the potential of it being very strong is equally good. Kevin COULD consider putting in ONE (and only one, want to stick to theme of deck) of each of the following 5 cards and see how they play.
1) Soul gem of Etrius - with the manipulation of Coroner's Contract. The Gem does not necessarily have to go on the Baron.
2) Antedeluvian Awakening - Easiest way to make the Soul Gem go off and puts pool pressure on everyone.
3) Force of Will. - Hidden extra bleed. Can set off Gem. Using it then rescue is easy enough with that much stealth.
4) Anthelios, The Red Star - Get back a Sudden. Or perhaps an Antedeluvian Awakening...
5) Blessed Resilience - A prayer card, and probably cut. But if there is a lot of combat it can put you back in the game by bring our hero The Baron back.
--------
Action Modifier: (34) {24 stealth cards}
10x Freak Drive [multi-acting is good!]
4x Lost in Crowds [stealth module]
4x Cloak the Gathering [ " ]
4x Elder Impersonation [ " ]
4x Faceless Night [ " ]
4x Swallowed by the Night [ " ]
4x Under My Skin [ " ]
[Adam's Notes:]
So we are giving Kevin all these great ideas for more masters and more actions. So where are the card slots going to come from? Tricky Tricky... Let's say we need to make room for 8 slots. [2-3 masters, 3-4 actions, 2 reactions?]. We can probably steal 2 from the Ally count, and maybe 1 from the combat defense So we need to lose 5 cards from here and have the lease likelihood of effecting theme.*
*I would like to stress again that Kevin's deck is strong deck! But by tweaking the numbers, he can find slots to try other cards, keeping to theme and see if he likes something better.
So the simplest way would be to just take out one obfuscate stealth card each. But I'm not a fan of that. We want to maintain the COUNT of stealth effectiveness (Kevin has actually more stealth then it looks, but we will get into that below.
What exactly does Kevin have for stealth? He has 24 stealth cards, but Under My Skin gives additional stealth on on a different action. So that is +4 there. And he has 1 Psychic Veil, meaning in a worse case situation he may have 4 minions (two vampires and 2 Corpses) which is +4 stealth. But the card is at zero stealth so he needs stealth for it to get through. So lets say that he gets +2 stealth there. So he really has 30 STEALTH EFFECTS.
Can we steal slots here and keep it close to the "magic 30"? It should be noted also that There are only 5 cards currently in deck to let the Corpses bleed through.
So 1 Under My Skin Counts for 2 STEALTH effects, but we can't increase it too much because we may hand jam. Increasing it from 4 to 6 though allows use to lose 2 extra stealth cards I would loose 1 Lost in Crowds, 1 Elder Impersonation, 1 Faceless and 1 Swallowed by the Night.
Veil the Legions is a good card and only weak early game or when you draw into it on last action. So lets say be on the conservative side and say its only worth 2 Stealth effects also (can be more obviously). If one adds two, you can drop another 4 cards! This time lets drop, 1 Cloak the Gathering, 1 Elder Impersonation, 1 Faceless and 1 Swallowed by the Night.
So we have dropped 8 cards and added 4. It would look like this:
Action Modifier: (30) {20 stealth cards}
10x Freak Drive [multi-acting is good!]
3x Lost in Crowds [stealth module]
3x Cloak the Gathering [ " ]
2x Elder Impersonation [ " ]
2x Faceless Night [ " ]
2x Swallowed by the Night [ " ]
6x Under My Skin [ " ]
2x Veil the Legions [ " ]
How to gain that last card slot? Well, Kevin could just swap a master card for something like Monastary of Shadows, or Creepshow Casino, but pool is precious. Anther idea is adding Malajit Chandramouli [Lithrac and George can't use him unless go anarch but I think that's okay :) ] Another nice permanent +1 stealth is always good and he is a good deterrent. Adding him and taking out 2 cards it perfectly feasible.
A side note is that an extra Freak Drive + another Psychic Veil is another option.
--------
Ally: (15)
15x Reanimated Corpse [2 life, 2 str, 2 bleed, non-unique!]
[Adam's Notes:]
As stated above, we need to lose 2, this is the theme, but dropping 2 Corpses should be okay.
--------
Combat: (8)
8x Armor of Vitality [combat defense]
[Adam's Notes:]
As stated above, we need to lose 1, but dropping 1 Armor should be okay.
This card really seems to the best choice (and I really like it in conjuction with Police Department.)
Dust to Dust [Combat | Thanatosis/Obfuscate [obf] Press, only usable to end combat. [thn] Strike: dodge, with an optional press. [THN] As [thn] above, with an optional maneuver. ] seems like an interesting option (its free), but it doesn't allow the Corpses to survive.
--------
POSSIBLE REACTION CARDS
So I mentioned above in the Action Modifier Section that reaction cards are possible for 1 or two slots. Below is just some suggestions that could be useful but these slots can as easily be used for other cards mentioned above.
Delaying tactics/Confusion of the Eye/Poison Pill - both strong anti vote cards. Particularly Parity shift. Poison Pill can be played by an ally.
Deflection/Redirection - even 2-3 with the Baron is good. And there is also the Seal of Verdatha which helps.
--------
CONCLUSION
So we have reviewed this already strong deck. It its original form we offered the advice of what do when in 35% of the time one does not get The Baron easily (how to get a second shot at it). We have given several Master card options that Kevin can consider. [If he is getting crushed by combat for example.] We have also stated some interesting actions and equipment that help the mechanic Tap-Get-Zombie bleed through. Finally we gave some advice on how to many steal some slots from the action modifier package and still have a similar punch.
Thanks to everyone for reading my first deck analysis. And thanks to Kevin for showing me this deck and letting me pick and prod at it. A strong deck but I hope that my advice and analysis of the possibilities of other things to do with it.
Adam Hulse
[Use Soundwave's voice for full effect!]
Hello everyone, this is my first blog post of where I analyze a deck and post my findings for my readers to look through. It is my hope that with this analysis, the author and my readers get ideas for their own decks and hopefully make them look at deck designs in a new way. Here is the deck.
--------
Deck Name: Baron Buddies v2.9
Created By: Kevin J. Mergen
Description: Create bleed-for-2 Corpses w/Perfectionist'd vamps and
gain pool via LMCing to Lithracs in your uncontrolled.
Crypt: (12 cards, Min: 20, Max: 32, Avg: 6.08)
----------------------------------------------
1 The Baron FOR OBF THN 9, Samedi, +1 bleed
1 Genina for OBF THN 8, Samedi
1 Reg Driscoll for OBF THN 8, Samedi, +1 bleed
1 Jorge De La Muerte for OBF THN 7, Samedi, +1 bleed*
1 George Frederick FOR obf THN 6, Samedi
7 Lithrac for OBF thn 5, Samedi
* +1 bleed only against sabbat vampires
Library: (90)
-------------
Master: (19)
8x Coroner's Contact [to retrieve The Baron on Turn 1]
1x Kaymakli Nightmares [pool gain sync with LMC]
1x Information Highway [ " ]
4x Perfectionist [blood gain module]
1x Giant's Blood [ " ]
1x Anarch Troublemaker [tap two vampires/blow up equipment]
3x Sudden Reversal [to stop my prey's pool gain]
Action: (14)
12x Little Mountain Cemetery [blood+pool gain]
1x Putrescent Servitude [to steal an ally]
1x Psychic Veil [+1 stealth for everyone for a turn]
Action Modifier: (34) {24 stealth cards}
10x Freak Drive [multi-acting is good!]
4x Lost in Crowds [stealth module]
4x Cloak the Gathering [ " ]
4x Elder Impersonation [ " ]
4x Faceless Night [ " ]
4x Swallowed by the Night [ " ]
4x Under My Skin [ " ]
Ally: (15)
15x Reanimated Corpse [2 life, 2 str, 2 bleed, non-unique!]
Combat: (8)
8x Armor of Vitality [combat defense]
---------
Kevin M. has been kind enough to be my first victim. Kevin has been a pillar of the vtes community for a long time and has been running the North American Championship (NAC) for some time now. The deck below I have played against many times and with many versions. This is a strong deck and probably does not need some of the standard analysis.
But I'm up to the challenge! Let's see what we can see!
[For my comments: Look for the term "Adam's Notes:"]
--------
Deck Name: Baron Buddies v2.9
Created By: Kevin J. Mergen
Description: Create bleed-for-2 Corpses w/Perfectionist'd vamps and
gain pool via LMCing to Lithracs in your uncontrolled.
Crypt: (12 cards, Min: 20, Max: 32, Avg: 6.08)
----------------------------------------------
1 The Baron FOR OBF THN 9, Samedi, +1 bleed
1 Genina for OBF THN 8, Samedi
1 Reg Driscoll for OBF THN 8, Samedi, +1 bleed
1 Jorge De La Muerte for OBF THN 7, Samedi, +1 bleed*
1 George Frederick FOR obf THN 6, Samedi
7 Lithrac for OBF thn 5, Samedi
[Adam's Notes:]
So based on Kevin's description, this seems like a strong crypt. The chance of drawing The Baron in opening crypt is 33.3%. If you see below, Kevin has chosen 8 Coroner's Contract out of 90 card deck. According to a card calculator (http://www.unseelie.org/cgi-bin/cardco.cgi), there is a approximately 50% chance of getting one contract in starting hand. So that means the odds off drawing The Baron OR a Contract is [ .5 + .5(.33) = .665 ] or 66.5%. Not the greatest odds, but not the worst either.
First step: Is the Baron essential for the deck? Suppose you get a bad draw and get an 8-cap instead and no contracts. With the lack of pool gain, it would be hard to go for an 8-cap and then later for The Baron (9-cap). That's 16-17 pool. Probably not likely.
So the Little Mountain Cemetery will not work for 2 of the crypt (the other 8 cap and 9 cap). That is not so bad but that means you are operating with only 4 vampires. One 8 cap, Jorge, George and Lithrac.
My original draft of this analysis went into adjusting ratios so that there is a better chance of drawing The Baron (crypt and/or library). But looking at 4 vampires pumping out +2 bleeders seems strong enough. There is some minor things that can be done that can aid with drawing a Corners contract in the first 9 cards which I will discuss that below.
Conclusion: Crypt is quite optimal for this library, just remember that if The Baron is not in starting crypt and you don't have a Contract by 7-9 cards, don't be greedy and use future Contracts for the other 8 cap or The Baron. Not worth it, just get all the other vamps :)
Library: (90)
-------------
Master: (19)
8x Coroner's Contact [to retrieve The Baron on Turn 1]
1x Kaymakli Nightmares [pool gain sync with LMC]
1x Information Highway [ " ]
4x Perfectionist [blood gain module]
1x Giant's Blood [ " ]
1x Anarch Troublemaker [tap two vampires/blow up equipment]
3x Sudden Reversal [to stop my prey's pool gain]
[Adam's Notes:]
So from Kevin's note, we assume he wants to draw The Baron on turn one via the Contract. But above, I made the determination that its nice but not essential. The one blood counter that gets placed on The Baron from the contract makes one able to bring him out in 2 turns. Currently there is 49% chance (rounded to 50% above) of drawing one in 7 cards.
But let's say Kevin LOVES the Baron, and will do WHATEVER it takes to get him. How can we help him out? Changing the crypt is the easiest but above we determined that the THEME of the deck doesn't require the Baron so we don't want to mess with that.
Actually, we can increase those odds a little by realizing that he can also draw into a Coroner's Contract and play it on TURN 2. Why? Consider if he's drawn The Baron. The Baron comes into play and plays Little Mountain Cemetery. Unless its Lithrac, Kevin is going to use transfers anyway on the turn after the Baron comes out for the 2nd vampire. Therefore, if Kevin doesn't draw the Baron or a Cemetery, he gets a 2nd shot of draw a Contract by doing the transfers for his 2nd vampire first. And if he doesn't draw it on turn 2, then we go back to the "non-Baron" strategy mentioned above.
So how to increase the odds? Well, for every card he can play on turn 1, that increases the odds that he will draw into a contract. So what cards can be played? A MASTER card, and a card during the discard phase. If he can play 2 cards, he has about a 18% chance of drawing a Coroner's Contract in cards 8 and 9.
What master cards can he play on turn 1? Kaymakli Nightmares while used for pool gain normally, but gives him another great shot at The Baron. Information Highway can as well. Anarch Troublemaker is also a fine staple turn 1 card.
Suddens? While suddens are great, they prevent him from have a turn 2 master phase. Note the lack of reaction cards in this deck. Wash is almost as good and allows for the Turn 2 Coroner's Contract scenario.
What if this deck brings the Master cards to 22? In order to avoid some hand jam, changing Suddens to Wash will help and consider the use of the cards below to aid in deck theme and drawing that Turn 2 Coroner's Contract.
OPTIONAL MASTERS
- #1 Choice - The Barrens. This card is Excellent in this deck! Besides the hand jam fix this can do (always a possibility when you have many of a type of card), if this is a turn 1 master, it increases the chance up 26% of getting a Contract.
- #2 Choice - Dreams of the Sphinx. This vastly inscreases the chance of drawing the Contract and if you have the Baron already, possibly bringing him out on turn 2.
- #3 Choice - The Coven. In such a blood intensive deck, this is a viable option and it is a trifle.
Others: Secure Haven, Pentex, Golconda
HOWEVER, as stated before, Kevin is a good player and I'm sure that he's considered these choices above before. Below are some other master cards that he might have not considered that I would encourage him to try out.
BONUS MASTERS
- #1 Choice - Powerbase: Zurich. This card is excellent for this deck. And even multiple vampires can use it (only lose the edge if one is blocked).
- #2 Choice - Police Department. The Armor of Vitality stops the Torn Signpost or the Bats/Crows. This card always stops the Immortal grapple and Aid from Bats press.
- #3 Choice - Haven Uncovered. Having a bunch of guys punch for 2 can sometimes do the trick.
--------
Action: (14)
12x Little Mountain Cemetery [blood+pool gain]
1x Putrescent Servitude [to steal an ally]
1x Psychic Veil [+1 stealth for everyone for a turn]
[Adam's Notes:]
On to actions! Again, this is pretty streamlined for theme. Since the average game lasts about 13 turns, 14 actions on a deck with freak drives is a little on the light side. Lets see if we can offer Kevin some strong Action cards as possibilities to try out. If he finds that he has too many actions, he can increase the freak drives or increase the discard potential (example: Barrens).
OPTIONAL ACTIONS
- #1 Choice - Blackmail/Condemnation: Doomed/Jar the Soul. Tapping a minion and then freak driving is always a strong play. Also good to tap the deflector behind you.
- #2 Choice - Heart of Nizchetus. In a deck that has many cards of the same type, this is a good choice.
- #3 Choice - Gran Madre di Dio, Italy. An underplayed card but strong in tournament. Kills Tup dog decks, and fits with the tapping blockers.
- #4 Sargon Fragment - get your one-shot cards back.
BONUS COMBO!
- So it is commonly known the Baron/Soul Gem trick. However, one can steal from this idea and add 5 cards and "trick people" into thinking its a Soul gem deck (oh no! have to stop the Possession!) when really its not. Each is useful in its own right. But the potential of it being very strong is equally good. Kevin COULD consider putting in ONE (and only one, want to stick to theme of deck) of each of the following 5 cards and see how they play.
1) Soul gem of Etrius - with the manipulation of Coroner's Contract. The Gem does not necessarily have to go on the Baron.
2) Antedeluvian Awakening - Easiest way to make the Soul Gem go off and puts pool pressure on everyone.
3) Force of Will. - Hidden extra bleed. Can set off Gem. Using it then rescue is easy enough with that much stealth.
4) Anthelios, The Red Star - Get back a Sudden. Or perhaps an Antedeluvian Awakening...
5) Blessed Resilience - A prayer card, and probably cut. But if there is a lot of combat it can put you back in the game by bring our hero The Baron back.
--------
Action Modifier: (34) {24 stealth cards}
10x Freak Drive [multi-acting is good!]
4x Lost in Crowds [stealth module]
4x Cloak the Gathering [ " ]
4x Elder Impersonation [ " ]
4x Faceless Night [ " ]
4x Swallowed by the Night [ " ]
4x Under My Skin [ " ]
[Adam's Notes:]
So we are giving Kevin all these great ideas for more masters and more actions. So where are the card slots going to come from? Tricky Tricky... Let's say we need to make room for 8 slots. [2-3 masters, 3-4 actions, 2 reactions?]. We can probably steal 2 from the Ally count, and maybe 1 from the combat defense So we need to lose 5 cards from here and have the lease likelihood of effecting theme.*
*I would like to stress again that Kevin's deck is strong deck! But by tweaking the numbers, he can find slots to try other cards, keeping to theme and see if he likes something better.
So the simplest way would be to just take out one obfuscate stealth card each. But I'm not a fan of that. We want to maintain the COUNT of stealth effectiveness (Kevin has actually more stealth then it looks, but we will get into that below.
What exactly does Kevin have for stealth? He has 24 stealth cards, but Under My Skin gives additional stealth on on a different action. So that is +4 there. And he has 1 Psychic Veil, meaning in a worse case situation he may have 4 minions (two vampires and 2 Corpses) which is +4 stealth. But the card is at zero stealth so he needs stealth for it to get through. So lets say that he gets +2 stealth there. So he really has 30 STEALTH EFFECTS.
Can we steal slots here and keep it close to the "magic 30"? It should be noted also that There are only 5 cards currently in deck to let the Corpses bleed through.
So 1 Under My Skin Counts for 2 STEALTH effects, but we can't increase it too much because we may hand jam. Increasing it from 4 to 6 though allows use to lose 2 extra stealth cards I would loose 1 Lost in Crowds, 1 Elder Impersonation, 1 Faceless and 1 Swallowed by the Night.
Veil the Legions is a good card and only weak early game or when you draw into it on last action. So lets say be on the conservative side and say its only worth 2 Stealth effects also (can be more obviously). If one adds two, you can drop another 4 cards! This time lets drop, 1 Cloak the Gathering, 1 Elder Impersonation, 1 Faceless and 1 Swallowed by the Night.
So we have dropped 8 cards and added 4. It would look like this:
Action Modifier: (30) {20 stealth cards}
10x Freak Drive [multi-acting is good!]
3x Lost in Crowds [stealth module]
3x Cloak the Gathering [ " ]
2x Elder Impersonation [ " ]
2x Faceless Night [ " ]
2x Swallowed by the Night [ " ]
6x Under My Skin [ " ]
2x Veil the Legions [ " ]
How to gain that last card slot? Well, Kevin could just swap a master card for something like Monastary of Shadows, or Creepshow Casino, but pool is precious. Anther idea is adding Malajit Chandramouli [Lithrac and George can't use him unless go anarch but I think that's okay :) ] Another nice permanent +1 stealth is always good and he is a good deterrent. Adding him and taking out 2 cards it perfectly feasible.
A side note is that an extra Freak Drive + another Psychic Veil is another option.
--------
Ally: (15)
15x Reanimated Corpse [2 life, 2 str, 2 bleed, non-unique!]
[Adam's Notes:]
As stated above, we need to lose 2, this is the theme, but dropping 2 Corpses should be okay.
--------
Combat: (8)
8x Armor of Vitality [combat defense]
[Adam's Notes:]
As stated above, we need to lose 1, but dropping 1 Armor should be okay.
This card really seems to the best choice (and I really like it in conjuction with Police Department.)
Dust to Dust [Combat | Thanatosis/Obfuscate [obf] Press, only usable to end combat. [thn] Strike: dodge, with an optional press. [THN] As [thn] above, with an optional maneuver. ] seems like an interesting option (its free), but it doesn't allow the Corpses to survive.
--------
POSSIBLE REACTION CARDS
So I mentioned above in the Action Modifier Section that reaction cards are possible for 1 or two slots. Below is just some suggestions that could be useful but these slots can as easily be used for other cards mentioned above.
Delaying tactics/Confusion of the Eye/Poison Pill - both strong anti vote cards. Particularly Parity shift. Poison Pill can be played by an ally.
Deflection/Redirection - even 2-3 with the Baron is good. And there is also the Seal of Verdatha which helps.
--------
CONCLUSION
So we have reviewed this already strong deck. It its original form we offered the advice of what do when in 35% of the time one does not get The Baron easily (how to get a second shot at it). We have given several Master card options that Kevin can consider. [If he is getting crushed by combat for example.] We have also stated some interesting actions and equipment that help the mechanic Tap-Get-Zombie bleed through. Finally we gave some advice on how to many steal some slots from the action modifier package and still have a similar punch.
Thanks to everyone for reading my first deck analysis. And thanks to Kevin for showing me this deck and letting me pick and prod at it. A strong deck but I hope that my advice and analysis of the possibilities of other things to do with it.
Adam Hulse
Sunday, August 26, 2012
NYC VTES LEAGUE #2 IS UNDER WAY
So I have been behind in a lot of my posts. After my 9 day VTES excursion, I took a small break from VTES and have only been playing here and there. Getting back into it though.
So we already onto week 3 of the league. I'm a little behind on what happened each week, so I will just post the results so far. No GWs for myself, but managed to pick up a VP or 2.
Congrats again to Selen Turkay for winning the first league! It was neck and neck with Kym Alishahi but due to some odd cross-table shennanigans (always happens) Selen was the winner!
The rules have been modified to please read below.
NEW YORK CITY VTES LEAGUE RULES
Introduction: So what do you do when you have a small play group, not many tournaments and are trying to make things not stagnant for your players? You start up a league that's what! This is a description of what the New York City VTES league rules will be. Other people are free to use this idea, or hopefully use this idea to spice up this great game in other ways.
Disclaimer: This is not a "official" tournament in terms of VEKN records and rulings. This is an exercise to have fun while being competitive and hopefully to encourage my New York players to try out new decks.
Background: The New York VTES crew is about 8 consistent players and 6 inconsistent players. We play every Wednesday and Friday. It is a good group of people with interesting decks and varying play styles. Okay, enough of this, on to the League!
LEAGUE RULES
The rules are simple.
OVERALL RULES
1) First person to Five Game Wins (GW) wins the league.
2) If someone gets a GW, THAT PERSON Victory Points (VP) in that game are NOT counted.
3) If someone gets VPs but does not get a GW, those points ARE COUNTED.
4) Half points (.5) are not counted.
5) If the is NO game win, then Victory Points (VP) are counted.
6)FIVE Victory Points equal one Game Win
7) In 6 player game (see below), X effects (ex: Conservative Agitation, Parity Shift, Slave Auction) are capped at 5.
RULES IN TEST
1) No 3-player league games
2) 4 player - time limit: 1 hour 30 minutes
3) 5 player - time limit: 2 hours
4) 6 player - time limit: 2 hour 30 minutes
5) 1 League game per day
Common questions asked in development:
1) Q: Why have a league?
A: To add a bit of competitiveness with some actual prizes.
2) Q: Why only to 5 Game Wins?
A: I want the leagues to be short, to test out some League rules and to get prizes in the hands of the people who play. If someone wins early... okay next League! The first league went much longer then expected (4-5 months). By lessening the number of VPs for convert for a game win, hopefully the league will go quicker. The number of games wins and the value of victory points maybe will change as time progresses.
3) Doesn't the people who go to Wed and Fri games have an advantage?
A: Technically... yes. But the purpose of the League is to encourage people to play. And the person who plays the extra day still needs to win of course.
4) Q: Are you still going to have tournaments?
A: Yes. A smaller tournament is in the works but I want to try and get out of towners to come.
5) Q: What is the prize support?
A: Currently the prize support is 10 packs. In addition, for those who RSVP AND show up (obviously) for a night of gaming will get a bonus random pack.
6) Q: Why allow 6 player games?
A: Because I don't want to penalize people for showing up. If we have 7 players, I may have 1 person play two games but can only win on one table.
So we already onto week 3 of the league. I'm a little behind on what happened each week, so I will just post the results so far. No GWs for myself, but managed to pick up a VP or 2.
Congrats again to Selen Turkay for winning the first league! It was neck and neck with Kym Alishahi but due to some odd cross-table shennanigans (always happens) Selen was the winner!
The rules have been modified to please read below.
NEW YORK CITY VTES LEAGUE RULES
Introduction: So what do you do when you have a small play group, not many tournaments and are trying to make things not stagnant for your players? You start up a league that's what! This is a description of what the New York City VTES league rules will be. Other people are free to use this idea, or hopefully use this idea to spice up this great game in other ways.
Disclaimer: This is not a "official" tournament in terms of VEKN records and rulings. This is an exercise to have fun while being competitive and hopefully to encourage my New York players to try out new decks.
Background: The New York VTES crew is about 8 consistent players and 6 inconsistent players. We play every Wednesday and Friday. It is a good group of people with interesting decks and varying play styles. Okay, enough of this, on to the League!
LEAGUE RULES
The rules are simple.
OVERALL RULES
1) First person to Five Game Wins (GW) wins the league.
2) If someone gets a GW, THAT PERSON Victory Points (VP) in that game are NOT counted.
3) If someone gets VPs but does not get a GW, those points ARE COUNTED.
4) Half points (.5) are not counted.
5) If the is NO game win, then Victory Points (VP) are counted.
6)FIVE Victory Points equal one Game Win
7) In 6 player game (see below), X effects (ex: Conservative Agitation, Parity Shift, Slave Auction) are capped at 5.
RULES IN TEST
1) No 3-player league games
2) 4 player - time limit: 1 hour 30 minutes
3) 5 player - time limit: 2 hours
4) 6 player - time limit: 2 hour 30 minutes
5) 1 League game per day
Common questions asked in development:
1) Q: Why have a league?
A: To add a bit of competitiveness with some actual prizes.
2) Q: Why only to 5 Game Wins?
A: I want the leagues to be short, to test out some League rules and to get prizes in the hands of the people who play. If someone wins early... okay next League! The first league went much longer then expected (4-5 months). By lessening the number of VPs for convert for a game win, hopefully the league will go quicker. The number of games wins and the value of victory points maybe will change as time progresses.
3) Doesn't the people who go to Wed and Fri games have an advantage?
A: Technically... yes. But the purpose of the League is to encourage people to play. And the person who plays the extra day still needs to win of course.
4) Q: Are you still going to have tournaments?
A: Yes. A smaller tournament is in the works but I want to try and get out of towners to come.
5) Q: What is the prize support?
A: Currently the prize support is 10 packs. In addition, for those who RSVP AND show up (obviously) for a night of gaming will get a bonus random pack.
6) Q: Why allow 6 player games?
A: Because I don't want to penalize people for showing up. If we have 7 players, I may have 1 person play two games but can only win on one table.
Monday, June 18, 2012
VTES TOURNAMENT - DEX CON 2012
So I forgotten that I tried to register a long time ago, and the guy just got back to me!
So here it is!
DEX CON Convention
VTES Tournament!
http://www.dexposure.com/home.
July 4 - 8, 2012
The Morristown Hyatt & Conference Center
Morristown, New Jersey
We have the Friday 8pm slot so i highly recommend coming to the full convention! It's a good one!
Constructed Tournament
It will be 2 rounds and a final.
2 hour Time Limit
There will be prize support.
Adam Hulse
So here it is!
DEX CON Convention
VTES Tournament!
http://www.dexposure.com/home.
July 4 - 8, 2012
The Morristown Hyatt & Conference Center
Morristown, New Jersey
We have the Friday 8pm slot so i highly recommend coming to the full convention! It's a good one!
Constructed Tournament
It will be 2 rounds and a final.
2 hour Time Limit
There will be prize support.
Adam Hulse
Friday, April 6, 2012
Guruhi... auspex?
Deck Name: Guruhi Auspex 1.0
Created By: Adam Hulse
Description: This is not actually 1.0 (but 1.0 for the VTES Wall)
I've been pretty psyched about this deck. It game from two ideas. 1) My friend made a joke once when he played Fode Kourouma that he did it for the auspex :) and 2) I realized that everyone says the Guruhi are terrible but they are the only clan that can play two 11 caps together...
And thus I get the following deck! Looking forward to comments/idea/thoughts on it. The awesome thing is that there is SO many ways to play it. More Auspex? More stealth? More vote? Aye? Orun?
And I happen to like the trick that when Eze gets Auspex master he can Founders the Ebony Kingdom to Lucian... :)
[So far I've played it twice live and its done well. Not won, but more to misplay on my part.]
Enjoy!
Crypt: (12 cards, Min: 26, Max: 44, Avg: 9.5)
---------------------------------------------
5 Eze aus ANI NEC POT PRE THA11 Guruhi
2 Fode Kourouma ani aus pre POT5 Guruhi
3 Lucian ANI AUS DOM OBF POT PRE 11 Guruhi
2 Sobayifa ANI aus pot PRE pro spi8 Guruhi
Library: (90 cards)
-------------------
Master (26 cards)
2 Dreams of the Sphinx
3 Information Highway
3 Zillah`s Valley
3 Sudden Reversal
6 Villein
1 Parthenon, The
1 Monastery of Shadows
1 Giant`s Blood
1 Pentex Subversion
1 Wider View
1 Ancestor Spirit
2 Auspex
1 Lilith's Blessing
Action (10 cards)
2 No Secrets From the Magaji
1 Well-Marked
2 Enchant Kindred
4 Founders of the Ebony Kingdom
1 Entrancement
Action Modifier (23 cards)
5 Voter Captivation
2 Mirror Walk
2 Call of the Hungry Dead
1 Iron Glare
1 Enkil Cog
1 Strange Day
2 Perfect Paragon
7 Crocodile`s Tongue
2 Those Who Endure Judge
Political Action (11 cards)
4 Kine Resources Contested
4 Banishment
1 Secret Must Be Kept, The
1 Ancient Influence
1 Political Stranglehold
Combat (17 cards)
5 Aid from Bats
5 Carrion Crows
5 Majesty
2 Canine Horde
Equipment (3 cards)
1 Sniper Rifle
1 Bowl of Convergence
1 Heart of Nizchetus
Created By: Adam Hulse
Description: This is not actually 1.0 (but 1.0 for the VTES Wall)
I've been pretty psyched about this deck. It game from two ideas. 1) My friend made a joke once when he played Fode Kourouma that he did it for the auspex :) and 2) I realized that everyone says the Guruhi are terrible but they are the only clan that can play two 11 caps together...
And thus I get the following deck! Looking forward to comments/idea/thoughts on it. The awesome thing is that there is SO many ways to play it. More Auspex? More stealth? More vote? Aye? Orun?
And I happen to like the trick that when Eze gets Auspex master he can Founders the Ebony Kingdom to Lucian... :)
[So far I've played it twice live and its done well. Not won, but more to misplay on my part.]
Enjoy!
Crypt: (12 cards, Min: 26, Max: 44, Avg: 9.5)
---------------------------------------------
5 Eze aus ANI NEC POT PRE THA11 Guruhi
2 Fode Kourouma ani aus pre POT5 Guruhi
3 Lucian ANI AUS DOM OBF POT PRE 11 Guruhi
2 Sobayifa ANI aus pot PRE pro spi8 Guruhi
Library: (90 cards)
-------------------
Master (26 cards)
2 Dreams of the Sphinx
3 Information Highway
3 Zillah`s Valley
3 Sudden Reversal
6 Villein
1 Parthenon, The
1 Monastery of Shadows
1 Giant`s Blood
1 Pentex Subversion
1 Wider View
1 Ancestor Spirit
2 Auspex
1 Lilith's Blessing
Action (10 cards)
2 No Secrets From the Magaji
1 Well-Marked
2 Enchant Kindred
4 Founders of the Ebony Kingdom
1 Entrancement
Action Modifier (23 cards)
5 Voter Captivation
2 Mirror Walk
2 Call of the Hungry Dead
1 Iron Glare
1 Enkil Cog
1 Strange Day
2 Perfect Paragon
7 Crocodile`s Tongue
2 Those Who Endure Judge
Political Action (11 cards)
4 Kine Resources Contested
4 Banishment
1 Secret Must Be Kept, The
1 Ancient Influence
1 Political Stranglehold
Combat (17 cards)
5 Aid from Bats
5 Carrion Crows
5 Majesty
2 Canine Horde
Equipment (3 cards)
1 Sniper Rifle
1 Bowl of Convergence
1 Heart of Nizchetus
Thursday, April 5, 2012
New VTES Group
For anyone who is interested in NY Vtes, check out this site and become a member!
http://www.meetup.com/nyc-vtes/
http://www.meetup.com/nyc-vtes/
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
What's the Problem... Buddy?
Here is my next blog, long time coming. Enjoy!
Recently I heard a quote from Norman B. a veteran vtes player:
"Relying on intellegence in VTES from other players is like relying on finding an Oasis in the Sahara, It's great when you find it, but blindly planning for that to save your bacon is pretty short-sighted."
And then from Kevin M. (another veteran):
"The issue is that people don't really learn how to play multi-player games well."
Pretty harsh stuff when you consider that one of the unique great things about the game of VTES is the cross-table dynamic. So I guess this blog is to be about that: The Cross-Table Dynamic. What is it? What are misconceptions about it? How can you use it?
Can your deck design be influenced by it?
Cross-table dynamic:
What is it?
Basic answer: In a 4-5 player game, you are attacking the person to your left (your Prey), and defending against the person to your right (your Predator). The people across from you are in the same boat against the same people so they are your "allies". As in, they are allies until someone leaves the table (or about to) and the predator-prey dynamic changes.
Advanced Answer: It's a crap shoot. Really, you don't know who are your cross-table allies are, what they can offer, and what they are going to do. BUT that being said, there are some things about each game you can take a look at and make a quick judgement call.
1) Are the players cross table prone to help you? Or do they have a more "ignore cross table" unless they about to be their predator-prey?
2) Does the cross table deck have the potential to help you? Are they even aware that they have the potential to deal with you (you would be surprised how often they don't know)!
3) Looking at the cross-table ally's predator and prey, are they going to have problems? They might not even be in a position to help you.
What are misconceptions about it?
When people think "ally" they think 'mutual co-existence'. This is not the case. You are alive as long as you are useful to the opposing ally. This is an important thing to remember (and for yourself). You always have to consider, "is it better for that player to leave the table?"
A very strong player Matt Morgan (2011 N.A. Champion) recently said at a table I was at "I don't play for VP's, I play for the Game Win." Lunging your prey when you have no chance against you grand prey for just 1VP is a mistake (time constraints withstanding). In this case, your prey is your "ally" (if you think he will go forward).
Fact: your cross-table allies are NOT around to keep you alive. Yes, it maybe in your eyes that it is a bad play that they are "letting" you die. But dem's the breaks. If you find yourself in that situation - spell it out for them. Particularly at the start of their turn.
How can you use it?
Well, the first thing one can learn of how to use it, is if CAN you use it? Sometimes the way the table falls, you look over to the other side... and there is no help. Either they are crushing their prey and its only a short matter of time before they are your opponent, or that they hopelessly dead and are a non-entity in themselves.
But lets assume the game is progressing as normal. What can they offer you? Do they have cards in play to help (ex: intercept locations)? Do you have cards in play? Can they make your pred/prey cycle stealth and use resources/cards? Sometimes, you can get help from them, by convincing them to do... nothing! This allows a shift sometimes in the pressure of the game and can give you some breathing room.
I find that just being aware of the potential of aid from your cross-tables is useful... just don't count on it. They have their own game to play and their own set of actions they have planned. You have to offer them something that they value more then that particular action. And if their actions have a chain of events... then getting their aid is worth even more to them.
Can your deck design be influnced by it?
Of course! The question is, do you want to? That is preference. I have found that people who don't try both, just pick one arbitrarily (usually the deck design) that only helps himself.
Now first off, why wouldn't you want to add cross-table help design to your deck? ... Because you want to kill your prey that's why! And then your cross-table ally is your prey and look! you didn't need to help him at all! This type of design is for very aggressive decks. Fast irresponsible stealth bleed, quick combat rush, quick vote. This blog is not about those deck type except for one thing that I think is an interesting phenomenon... when you see one of these decks on the table look to how the player acts. Everyone can see the deck, and they can see what the deck can do (particularly after his prey is ousted or almost ousted). Listen to see how he tries to search for allies cross-table... and people listen to him! The deck offers no value to you, and one knows that you are soon to be on the food chain. But still deals are made. It is a remarkable example of people not understanding the table.
But we are looking toward the positive not the negative, so let's look at ideas of how you can help your poor little cross-table buddy (so you can oust him later of course).
Votes: Votes is the easiest actually. Votes are hard to be blocked and your ally is usually in favor. But besides the standard damaging votes deals (3-1, 2-2 KRC deals) what other cards are helpful in that regard?
Banishment - I'm amazed that people don't play more of this card. I have a Guruhi Vote deck that is running 4-6 of them. Besides the potential of negating a minion tap/villein this card has a huge effect of creating breathing room for your ally.
Parity Shift - This one is easy, but I feel that people too often manipulate their pool just so they can use it on their prey (which is good of course). Preventing your prey from gaining a VP is almost as important as killing your prey itself. And if your crosstable ally has potential to go backwards... you get the idea.
Pool gain votes - You ally wants to live! Don't only consider putting enough pool gain votes to keep yourself alive. Certain votes are great to keep your ally going.
Master Card: Pentex - that is its own blog - but here are some others!
(An interesting exercise one could try, is to just add ONE of the cards below to your deck. You won't always draw it, but see how it works out. You might be pleasantly surprised.)
Haven Uncovered. You don't need to play a pure combat deck for this card. Sometimes an ivory bow is enough. And you can use it to help your ally "cycle" on your chosen target.
Intercept Locations - Lending out that needed 1 intercept can help your ally, and also in the long run makes people use more resources.
Boon cards - I have on more then one occasion saved my grand prey from being ousted by taking a key bleed. That grand prey, now saved had to go backwards, much to my benefit.
Erciyes Fragments - a underused card that is quite good especially if you can defend it. But you can also let your cross-table ally get it so that he can take advantage of an ash heap. You can even put a useful card to him on the Fragment and then have him take it.
Malkavian Prank- a fine ally-aiding card. When you a pretty sure that your prey has a deflection, give your grand prey 4 pool and then bleed irresponsibly away!
What other ones can you think of?
This blog post has gotten way to long and so I'm just going to sum up a little. You need the Game Win, not the VP, you need your allies alive long enough so you can kill them... can your deck be modified to help that? Think about it and enjoy!
Recently I heard a quote from Norman B. a veteran vtes player:
"Relying on intellegence in VTES from other players is like relying on finding an Oasis in the Sahara, It's great when you find it, but blindly planning for that to save your bacon is pretty short-sighted."
And then from Kevin M. (another veteran):
"The issue is that people don't really learn how to play multi-player games well."
Pretty harsh stuff when you consider that one of the unique great things about the game of VTES is the cross-table dynamic. So I guess this blog is to be about that: The Cross-Table Dynamic. What is it? What are misconceptions about it? How can you use it?
Can your deck design be influenced by it?
Cross-table dynamic:
What is it?
Basic answer: In a 4-5 player game, you are attacking the person to your left (your Prey), and defending against the person to your right (your Predator). The people across from you are in the same boat against the same people so they are your "allies". As in, they are allies until someone leaves the table (or about to) and the predator-prey dynamic changes.
Advanced Answer: It's a crap shoot. Really, you don't know who are your cross-table allies are, what they can offer, and what they are going to do. BUT that being said, there are some things about each game you can take a look at and make a quick judgement call.
1) Are the players cross table prone to help you? Or do they have a more "ignore cross table" unless they about to be their predator-prey?
2) Does the cross table deck have the potential to help you? Are they even aware that they have the potential to deal with you (you would be surprised how often they don't know)!
3) Looking at the cross-table ally's predator and prey, are they going to have problems? They might not even be in a position to help you.
What are misconceptions about it?
When people think "ally" they think 'mutual co-existence'. This is not the case. You are alive as long as you are useful to the opposing ally. This is an important thing to remember (and for yourself). You always have to consider, "is it better for that player to leave the table?"
A very strong player Matt Morgan (2011 N.A. Champion) recently said at a table I was at "I don't play for VP's, I play for the Game Win." Lunging your prey when you have no chance against you grand prey for just 1VP is a mistake (time constraints withstanding). In this case, your prey is your "ally" (if you think he will go forward).
Fact: your cross-table allies are NOT around to keep you alive. Yes, it maybe in your eyes that it is a bad play that they are "letting" you die. But dem's the breaks. If you find yourself in that situation - spell it out for them. Particularly at the start of their turn.
How can you use it?
Well, the first thing one can learn of how to use it, is if CAN you use it? Sometimes the way the table falls, you look over to the other side... and there is no help. Either they are crushing their prey and its only a short matter of time before they are your opponent, or that they hopelessly dead and are a non-entity in themselves.
But lets assume the game is progressing as normal. What can they offer you? Do they have cards in play to help (ex: intercept locations)? Do you have cards in play? Can they make your pred/prey cycle stealth and use resources/cards? Sometimes, you can get help from them, by convincing them to do... nothing! This allows a shift sometimes in the pressure of the game and can give you some breathing room.
I find that just being aware of the potential of aid from your cross-tables is useful... just don't count on it. They have their own game to play and their own set of actions they have planned. You have to offer them something that they value more then that particular action. And if their actions have a chain of events... then getting their aid is worth even more to them.
Can your deck design be influnced by it?
Of course! The question is, do you want to? That is preference. I have found that people who don't try both, just pick one arbitrarily (usually the deck design) that only helps himself.
Now first off, why wouldn't you want to add cross-table help design to your deck? ... Because you want to kill your prey that's why! And then your cross-table ally is your prey and look! you didn't need to help him at all! This type of design is for very aggressive decks. Fast irresponsible stealth bleed, quick combat rush, quick vote. This blog is not about those deck type except for one thing that I think is an interesting phenomenon... when you see one of these decks on the table look to how the player acts. Everyone can see the deck, and they can see what the deck can do (particularly after his prey is ousted or almost ousted). Listen to see how he tries to search for allies cross-table... and people listen to him! The deck offers no value to you, and one knows that you are soon to be on the food chain. But still deals are made. It is a remarkable example of people not understanding the table.
But we are looking toward the positive not the negative, so let's look at ideas of how you can help your poor little cross-table buddy (so you can oust him later of course).
Votes: Votes is the easiest actually. Votes are hard to be blocked and your ally is usually in favor. But besides the standard damaging votes deals (3-1, 2-2 KRC deals) what other cards are helpful in that regard?
Banishment - I'm amazed that people don't play more of this card. I have a Guruhi Vote deck that is running 4-6 of them. Besides the potential of negating a minion tap/villein this card has a huge effect of creating breathing room for your ally.
Parity Shift - This one is easy, but I feel that people too often manipulate their pool just so they can use it on their prey (which is good of course). Preventing your prey from gaining a VP is almost as important as killing your prey itself. And if your crosstable ally has potential to go backwards... you get the idea.
Pool gain votes - You ally wants to live! Don't only consider putting enough pool gain votes to keep yourself alive. Certain votes are great to keep your ally going.
Master Card: Pentex - that is its own blog - but here are some others!
(An interesting exercise one could try, is to just add ONE of the cards below to your deck. You won't always draw it, but see how it works out. You might be pleasantly surprised.)
Haven Uncovered. You don't need to play a pure combat deck for this card. Sometimes an ivory bow is enough. And you can use it to help your ally "cycle" on your chosen target.
Intercept Locations - Lending out that needed 1 intercept can help your ally, and also in the long run makes people use more resources.
Boon cards - I have on more then one occasion saved my grand prey from being ousted by taking a key bleed. That grand prey, now saved had to go backwards, much to my benefit.
Erciyes Fragments - a underused card that is quite good especially if you can defend it. But you can also let your cross-table ally get it so that he can take advantage of an ash heap. You can even put a useful card to him on the Fragment and then have him take it.
Malkavian Prank- a fine ally-aiding card. When you a pretty sure that your prey has a deflection, give your grand prey 4 pool and then bleed irresponsibly away!
What other ones can you think of?
This blog post has gotten way to long and so I'm just going to sum up a little. You need the Game Win, not the VP, you need your allies alive long enough so you can kill them... can your deck be modified to help that? Think about it and enjoy!
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
TWD + Report- TempleCon 2012 Northeast Regional Qualifier, Warwick, RI
Well, it's my blog and I won this tournament so I figured I have a right to copy the report here for posterity. Thanks to Matt Hirsch for running the tournament, it was a lot of fun.
---
We had 18 players for our Convergence: TempleCon qualifier 3R+F tournament on February 4th, 2012 at TempleCon at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Warwick, RI. The final game came down to a 2-2-1 split, but Adam Hulse won due to higher tournament seed.
1. Adam Hulse 2gw, 6vp, 148tp (won coin flip), 2 final vp
2. Dave Zopf 1gw, 7vp, 2 final vp
2. Matt Morgan 1gw, 5vp, 1vp
2. Sonam Adinolf 2gw, 6vp, 148tp (lost coin flip)
2. Jason Wolfson 1gw, 4vp, 126tp
Matt Hirsch 1gw, 6vp (chose to drop from final)
Ben Peal 1gw, 4vp, 106tp
Jen Goldberg
Peter Oh
Selen Turkay
Chris Robert
Tony Luneau
Jamey Patten
Kevin Mergen
Nicholas Fofonoff
Kevin Mullen
Peter Kapsalis
Josh Feuerstein
Finals seating:
Adam->Sonam->Dave->Matt->Jason
Qualified players from this event:
Adam Hulse
Dave Zopf
Matt Morgan
Sonam Adinolf
Jason Wolfson
Thanks to all for playing! Special thanks to Grant and Ximon for another fantastic TempleCon!
-Matt H.
Convergence: TempleCon (Qualfiier)
Warwick, RI
February 4th, 2012
3R+F
18 players
Adam Hulse
----------------------------------------------------------------
Deck Name : Ghouls Occupy Wall Street
Author : Adam Hulse
Description : Adam Hulse Winning Deck (Boston Qualifier 2012)
Even the ghouls have begun to protest! The ring leader is a very charismatic Smiling Jack. Very peacefully mind you.
But when you get them riled up they go to your home and assault your corporations with sticks and bats!
Crypt [12 vampires] Capacity min: 2 max: 6 average: 4.41667
------------------------------------------------------------
2x Corine Marcon 6 AUS VIC ani Tzimisce:2
1x Caliban 6 ANI AUS VIC Tzimisce:2
1x Ana Rita Montana 5 VIC aus dom obf Tzimisce:3
1x Devin Bisley 5 ANI AUS vic Tzimisce:2
1x Elizabeth Westcott 5 AUS ani cel vic Tzimisce:3
1x Rose, The 5 PRE VIC aus Tzimisce:3
1x Lolita Houston 4 VIC aus Tzimisce:2
1x Terrence 4 ani aus vic Tzimisce:2
1x Wendy Wade 3 ani aus Tzimisce:2
1x Horatio 2 vic Tzimisce:2
1x Piotr Andreikov 2 aus Tzimisce:3
Library [76 cards]
------------------------------------------------------------
Action [7]
1x Abbot
1x Aranthebes, The Immortal
1x Army of Rats
2x Psychic Projection
2x Zillah's Tears
Action Modifier/Combat [4]
4x Plasmic Form
Ally [13]
8x Asanbonsam Ghoul
1x Carlton Van Wyk (Hunter)
1x Ossian
1x Vagabond Mystic
2x War Ghoul
Combat [12]
1x Breath of the Dragon
2x Chiropteran Marauder
2x Dodge
1x Meld with the Land
6x Weighted Walking Stick
Equipment [4]
3x Baseball Bat
1x Ivory Bow
Event [4]
1x FBI Special Affairs Division
3x Unmasking, The
Master [20]
3x Blood Doll
1x Erciyes Fragments, The
2x Frontal Assault
1x Giant's Blood
1x Haven Uncovered
1x Hungry Coyote, The
1x Jake Washington (Hunter)
1x Library Hunting Ground
1x Pentex(TM) Subversion
1x Powerbase: Montreal
1x Rotschreck
3x Smiling Jack, The Anarch
3x Sudden Reversal
Reaction [12]
1x Eagle's Sight
3x On the Qui Vive
2x Precognition
1x Read the Winds
2x Spirit's Touch
3x Telepathic Misdirection
---
We had 18 players for our Convergence: TempleCon qualifier 3R+F tournament on February 4th, 2012 at TempleCon at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Warwick, RI. The final game came down to a 2-2-1 split, but Adam Hulse won due to higher tournament seed.
1. Adam Hulse 2gw, 6vp, 148tp (won coin flip), 2 final vp
2. Dave Zopf 1gw, 7vp, 2 final vp
2. Matt Morgan 1gw, 5vp, 1vp
2. Sonam Adinolf 2gw, 6vp, 148tp (lost coin flip)
2. Jason Wolfson 1gw, 4vp, 126tp
Matt Hirsch 1gw, 6vp (chose to drop from final)
Ben Peal 1gw, 4vp, 106tp
Jen Goldberg
Peter Oh
Selen Turkay
Chris Robert
Tony Luneau
Jamey Patten
Kevin Mergen
Nicholas Fofonoff
Kevin Mullen
Peter Kapsalis
Josh Feuerstein
Finals seating:
Adam->Sonam->Dave->Matt->Jason
Qualified players from this event:
Adam Hulse
Dave Zopf
Matt Morgan
Sonam Adinolf
Jason Wolfson
Thanks to all for playing! Special thanks to Grant and Ximon for another fantastic TempleCon!
-Matt H.
Convergence: TempleCon (Qualfiier)
Warwick, RI
February 4th, 2012
3R+F
18 players
Adam Hulse
----------------------------------------------------------------
Deck Name : Ghouls Occupy Wall Street
Author : Adam Hulse
Description : Adam Hulse Winning Deck (Boston Qualifier 2012)
Even the ghouls have begun to protest! The ring leader is a very charismatic Smiling Jack. Very peacefully mind you.
But when you get them riled up they go to your home and assault your corporations with sticks and bats!
Crypt [12 vampires] Capacity min: 2 max: 6 average: 4.41667
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2x Corine Marcon 6 AUS VIC ani Tzimisce:2
1x Caliban 6 ANI AUS VIC Tzimisce:2
1x Ana Rita Montana 5 VIC aus dom obf Tzimisce:3
1x Devin Bisley 5 ANI AUS vic Tzimisce:2
1x Elizabeth Westcott 5 AUS ani cel vic Tzimisce:3
1x Rose, The 5 PRE VIC aus Tzimisce:3
1x Lolita Houston 4 VIC aus Tzimisce:2
1x Terrence 4 ani aus vic Tzimisce:2
1x Wendy Wade 3 ani aus Tzimisce:2
1x Horatio 2 vic Tzimisce:2
1x Piotr Andreikov 2 aus Tzimisce:3
Library [76 cards]
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Action [7]
1x Abbot
1x Aranthebes, The Immortal
1x Army of Rats
2x Psychic Projection
2x Zillah's Tears
Action Modifier/Combat [4]
4x Plasmic Form
Ally [13]
8x Asanbonsam Ghoul
1x Carlton Van Wyk (Hunter)
1x Ossian
1x Vagabond Mystic
2x War Ghoul
Combat [12]
1x Breath of the Dragon
2x Chiropteran Marauder
2x Dodge
1x Meld with the Land
6x Weighted Walking Stick
Equipment [4]
3x Baseball Bat
1x Ivory Bow
Event [4]
1x FBI Special Affairs Division
3x Unmasking, The
Master [20]
3x Blood Doll
1x Erciyes Fragments, The
2x Frontal Assault
1x Giant's Blood
1x Haven Uncovered
1x Hungry Coyote, The
1x Jake Washington (Hunter)
1x Library Hunting Ground
1x Pentex(TM) Subversion
1x Powerbase: Montreal
1x Rotschreck
3x Smiling Jack, The Anarch
3x Sudden Reversal
Reaction [12]
1x Eagle's Sight
3x On the Qui Vive
2x Precognition
1x Read the Winds
2x Spirit's Touch
3x Telepathic Misdirection
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
VTES TIME MANAGEMENT
[So I guess I would attribute the following Blog as "Advanced Deck Design". This is a kind of abstract theory of VTES that I've been thinking about. I'll try to get into more detailed stuff in future posts.]
Deck Design: Time Management
I have been noticing that a lot of games I have been playing have been going to time. Not just wall decks, but in general. So I started thinking/analyzing why this might be happening. I obviously don't want the game to go to time. They probably don't do this on purpose but people who make decks where their games go to time a lot have a flaw in their deck design in my opinion. They probably don't do this on purpose
So what is time management for VTES? Well, consider the basics. It is a 2-hour game. 120 minutes. In a five player game that is around 24 minutes each. In 4 player, 30 minutes. That is 24 minutes for play, thinking, deals, arguments, chatter, talking about "what ifs", talking about the latest video game... I think you see my point here. The game is for fun, but one really should be aware of the amount of time you have and spend.
This blog will go into card "traps" and plays that eat away your time. And it will briefly dwell on the social aspect of VTES and how that does as well.
Cards and Decision Making - Decisions, decisions, decisions. What to do? We have all been there, watching someone think for 5-10 minutes... and then do something minimal... if at all. You might of accidentally done it yourself. It's okay it happens, but we should consider why does this happen.
There are cards in this game, while they are good cards I do think that their value goes down in deck design when you take time management into account.
Example 1: Constant Revolution - Constant Revolution
Action
+1 stealth action. Requires an anarch. Unique. Put this card in play with 1 counter. During your untap phase, put a counter on this card. During each other Methuselah's untap phase, he or she must burn X pool and/or cards at random from his or her hand, where X is the number of counters on this card. Any vampire may burn this card as a (D) action that costs 1 pool.
Everyone knows this card. A cool card. But consider yourself having to deal with it. Do I lose this card? Do I lose pool? Do I lose some pool to increase my chances that a certain card won't be picked. Then you have to include talking/threatening/cajoling cross-table allies to not to try to get rid of it. This is a HUGE time sink. If you want to play it, fine, I would just recommend the defense of it at a minimum. Putting it in a Undue influence deck with light intercept is an interesting idea. Them taking the action to get rid of it is one action not against your minions or your pool. I definitely would NOT put in a wall deck (see below).
Example 2: Smiling Jack, The Anarch
Master
Unique master. Put this card in play. During your untap phase, move one counter from your pool to Jack. During each other Methuselah`s untap phase, he or she burns 1 pool or burns 1 blood from a vampire he or she controls for each counter on Jack. Any vampire may burn this card as a (D) action.
Similar to Constant Revolution but with some differences. Not to go into the plus and minus of the card, just look at it from a time management standpoint. There is no randomness faction. Lose blood or lose pool. Blood is visible, pool is visible. The decision making is simpler and thus doesn't take as much time. In my option, this card has some effect on time management, but not that bad.
Example 3: No Secrets of Magaji (or sometimes Eternal Vigilance)
No Secrets From the Magaji
Action
+1 stealth action. Requires a ready magaji. Put this card on this magaji and untap him or her. The magaji with this card gets +1 intercept when attempting to block vampires. If this magaji is tapped, he or she may attempt to block a vampire as if untapped. Burn this card if this magaji attempts to block a vampire but is not successful. A vampire may have only one No Secrets from the Magaji.
I love these two cards. It can totally stop your predator while allowing you to go forward on your prey. However, I am learning that this can be a deteriment. I have watched my predator just think and think and think. How to get by my simple effective defence... and then do nothing. And in a way, it's your own fault. You put him in that position. I haven't really thought of a solution to this dilemna because I like the cards so much. Curious to hear other people thoughts though.
Example 4: Veil of Darkness (and other Gehenna cards)
Event
Gehenna. Do not replace as long as this card is in play. Each turn, when a vampire plays his or her first card that turn that requires any Disciplines, that vampire`s controller reveals the top card of his or her library (before drawing to replace). If it is a master card, the original card has no effect (no cost is paid), and in addition, if the original card required Obtenebration [obt], the vampire burns 2 blood.
Ironically, this is not a decision issue in time management. This is a "rewind due to player mistake issue". These Gehenna effects are not "may" effects. Meaning that if it is missed, by the rules of the game, you have to correct the game state as best as one can. Now, granted this time issue can be limited by always being vigilant of all the players, but also consider the following. You have a Plan. You play your card, you draw up... its a master! Action cancelled. Time to think of new plan. Now on to the next vampire... see the problem?
Other cards: Border Skirmish, Sense Deprivation (limit player turn), 1st Tradition
DECK TYPES!
Wall Decks vs Time Management - This one is a common problem (myself included). No one wants to be ousted early. So... D-E-F-E-N-C-E. But then there is a problem. No... O-F-F-E-N-C-E. You have a wall deck, you stop your predator, he struggles to figure out how to get by your defense. You have a prey, he is doing the same and thinks about what actions seem possible. Times-a-wastin'!
What to do? Well, in my opinion, pure wall is almost a certain time-out (at least on the majority of the games). You need to have a oust mechanism and not just a few cards. When making your deck, a good test to check is to think about what happens if your prey is a wall deck as well.
Lockdown vs Time Management - This is not as common but I think it bears looking at. How about Sensory Depervation or like cards? And decks built around that? At first glance it might seem similar, the target player has very few options and thus would spend time thinking what to do. Ironically, I found that the main thing that they can do is... complain. It's a normal reaction, you are being prevented from playing (and VTES players love to complain). The trouble is, complaining does nothing but eat time away. And you can't really ask him to stop complaining (unless it gets out of hand), you were the one who put him there. My suggestion would not to make those cards the theme of your deck, but to be used as surgical strikes when certain vamps are getting annoying.
Conclusion of VTES Time Management: Well there you go. I tried to show some examples where the use of some cards / deck types should be reconsidered when taking time into account. Sometimes however, even after reconsideration, they are playable (Example: Smiling Jack). Every card has a value, and the value of the card goes up or down in the utility of the deck. Hopefully from now on, this blog will help you consider this issue in your deck design.
Deck Design: Time Management
I have been noticing that a lot of games I have been playing have been going to time. Not just wall decks, but in general. So I started thinking/analyzing why this might be happening. I obviously don't want the game to go to time. They probably don't do this on purpose but people who make decks where their games go to time a lot have a flaw in their deck design in my opinion. They probably don't do this on purpose
So what is time management for VTES? Well, consider the basics. It is a 2-hour game. 120 minutes. In a five player game that is around 24 minutes each. In 4 player, 30 minutes. That is 24 minutes for play, thinking, deals, arguments, chatter, talking about "what ifs", talking about the latest video game... I think you see my point here. The game is for fun, but one really should be aware of the amount of time you have and spend.
This blog will go into card "traps" and plays that eat away your time. And it will briefly dwell on the social aspect of VTES and how that does as well.
Cards and Decision Making - Decisions, decisions, decisions. What to do? We have all been there, watching someone think for 5-10 minutes... and then do something minimal... if at all. You might of accidentally done it yourself. It's okay it happens, but we should consider why does this happen.
There are cards in this game, while they are good cards I do think that their value goes down in deck design when you take time management into account.
Example 1: Constant Revolution - Constant Revolution
Action
+1 stealth action. Requires an anarch. Unique. Put this card in play with 1 counter. During your untap phase, put a counter on this card. During each other Methuselah's untap phase, he or she must burn X pool and/or cards at random from his or her hand, where X is the number of counters on this card. Any vampire may burn this card as a (D) action that costs 1 pool.
Everyone knows this card. A cool card. But consider yourself having to deal with it. Do I lose this card? Do I lose pool? Do I lose some pool to increase my chances that a certain card won't be picked. Then you have to include talking/threatening/cajoling cross-table allies to not to try to get rid of it. This is a HUGE time sink. If you want to play it, fine, I would just recommend the defense of it at a minimum. Putting it in a Undue influence deck with light intercept is an interesting idea. Them taking the action to get rid of it is one action not against your minions or your pool. I definitely would NOT put in a wall deck (see below).
Example 2: Smiling Jack, The Anarch
Master
Unique master. Put this card in play. During your untap phase, move one counter from your pool to Jack. During each other Methuselah`s untap phase, he or she burns 1 pool or burns 1 blood from a vampire he or she controls for each counter on Jack. Any vampire may burn this card as a (D) action.
Similar to Constant Revolution but with some differences. Not to go into the plus and minus of the card, just look at it from a time management standpoint. There is no randomness faction. Lose blood or lose pool. Blood is visible, pool is visible. The decision making is simpler and thus doesn't take as much time. In my option, this card has some effect on time management, but not that bad.
Example 3: No Secrets of Magaji (or sometimes Eternal Vigilance)
No Secrets From the Magaji
Action
+1 stealth action. Requires a ready magaji. Put this card on this magaji and untap him or her. The magaji with this card gets +1 intercept when attempting to block vampires. If this magaji is tapped, he or she may attempt to block a vampire as if untapped. Burn this card if this magaji attempts to block a vampire but is not successful. A vampire may have only one No Secrets from the Magaji.
I love these two cards. It can totally stop your predator while allowing you to go forward on your prey. However, I am learning that this can be a deteriment. I have watched my predator just think and think and think. How to get by my simple effective defence... and then do nothing. And in a way, it's your own fault. You put him in that position. I haven't really thought of a solution to this dilemna because I like the cards so much. Curious to hear other people thoughts though.
Example 4: Veil of Darkness (and other Gehenna cards)
Event
Gehenna. Do not replace as long as this card is in play. Each turn, when a vampire plays his or her first card that turn that requires any Disciplines, that vampire`s controller reveals the top card of his or her library (before drawing to replace). If it is a master card, the original card has no effect (no cost is paid), and in addition, if the original card required Obtenebration [obt], the vampire burns 2 blood.
Ironically, this is not a decision issue in time management. This is a "rewind due to player mistake issue". These Gehenna effects are not "may" effects. Meaning that if it is missed, by the rules of the game, you have to correct the game state as best as one can. Now, granted this time issue can be limited by always being vigilant of all the players, but also consider the following. You have a Plan. You play your card, you draw up... its a master! Action cancelled. Time to think of new plan. Now on to the next vampire... see the problem?
Other cards: Border Skirmish, Sense Deprivation (limit player turn), 1st Tradition
DECK TYPES!
Wall Decks vs Time Management - This one is a common problem (myself included). No one wants to be ousted early. So... D-E-F-E-N-C-E. But then there is a problem. No... O-F-F-E-N-C-E. You have a wall deck, you stop your predator, he struggles to figure out how to get by your defense. You have a prey, he is doing the same and thinks about what actions seem possible. Times-a-wastin'!
What to do? Well, in my opinion, pure wall is almost a certain time-out (at least on the majority of the games). You need to have a oust mechanism and not just a few cards. When making your deck, a good test to check is to think about what happens if your prey is a wall deck as well.
Lockdown vs Time Management - This is not as common but I think it bears looking at. How about Sensory Depervation or like cards? And decks built around that? At first glance it might seem similar, the target player has very few options and thus would spend time thinking what to do. Ironically, I found that the main thing that they can do is... complain. It's a normal reaction, you are being prevented from playing (and VTES players love to complain). The trouble is, complaining does nothing but eat time away. And you can't really ask him to stop complaining (unless it gets out of hand), you were the one who put him there. My suggestion would not to make those cards the theme of your deck, but to be used as surgical strikes when certain vamps are getting annoying.
Conclusion of VTES Time Management: Well there you go. I tried to show some examples where the use of some cards / deck types should be reconsidered when taking time into account. Sometimes however, even after reconsideration, they are playable (Example: Smiling Jack). Every card has a value, and the value of the card goes up or down in the utility of the deck. Hopefully from now on, this blog will help you consider this issue in your deck design.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
NEW YORK CITY VTES LEAGUE
NEW YORK CITY VTES LEAGUE
Introduction: So what do you do when you have a small play group, not many tournaments and are trying to make things not stagnant for your players? You start up a league that's what! This is a description of what the New York City VTES league rules will be. Other people are free to use this idea, or hopefully use this idea to spice up this great game in other ways.
Disclaimer: This is not a "official" tournament in terms of VEKN records and rulings. This is an exercise to have fun while being competitive and hopefully to encourage my New York players to try out new decks.
Background: The New York VTES crew is about 8 consistent players and 6 inconsisent players. We play every Wednesday and Friday. It is a good group of people with interesting decks and varying play styles. We are all friends and although things get heated (as sometimes they tend to do in VTES) we all make amends and just have good times talking about the game and VTES in general. Okay, enough of this, on to the League!
LEAGUE RULES
The rules are simple.
OVERALL RULES
1) First person to Five Game Wins (GW) wins the league.
2) If someone gets a GW, the Victory Points in that game are NOT counted.
3) If the is NO game win, then Victory Points (VP) are counted.
4) Five Victory Points equal one Game Win
5) In 6 player game (see below), X effects (ex: Conservative Agitation, Parity Shift, Slave Auction) are capped at 5.
RULES IN TEST
1) No 3-player league games
2) 4 player - time limit: 1 hour 30 minutes
3) 5 player - time limit: 2 hours
4) 6 player - time limit: 2 hour 30 minutes
5) 1 League game per day
Common questions asked in development:
1) Q: Why have a league?
A: To add a bit of competitiveness with some actual prizes.
2) Q: Why only to 5 Game Wins?
A: I want the leagues to be short, to test out some League rules and to get prizes in the hands of the people who play. If someone wins early... okay next League! I predict each league will go 1-2 months. The number of games wins and the value of victory points maybe will change as time progresses.
3) Doesn't the people who go to Wed and Fri games have an advantage?
A: Technically... yes. But the purpose of the League is to encourage people to play. And the person who plays the extra day still needs to win of course.
4) Q: Are you still going to have tournaments?
A: Yes. A smaller tournament is in the works but I want to try and get out of towners to come.
5) Q: What is the prize support?
A: Currently its going to start small. Some packs or maybe some rares that I have laying around.
6) Q: Why allow 6 player games?
A: Because I don't want to penalize people for showing up. If we have 7 players, I may have 1 person play two games but can only win on one table.
Introduction: So what do you do when you have a small play group, not many tournaments and are trying to make things not stagnant for your players? You start up a league that's what! This is a description of what the New York City VTES league rules will be. Other people are free to use this idea, or hopefully use this idea to spice up this great game in other ways.
Disclaimer: This is not a "official" tournament in terms of VEKN records and rulings. This is an exercise to have fun while being competitive and hopefully to encourage my New York players to try out new decks.
Background: The New York VTES crew is about 8 consistent players and 6 inconsisent players. We play every Wednesday and Friday. It is a good group of people with interesting decks and varying play styles. We are all friends and although things get heated (as sometimes they tend to do in VTES) we all make amends and just have good times talking about the game and VTES in general. Okay, enough of this, on to the League!
LEAGUE RULES
The rules are simple.
OVERALL RULES
1) First person to Five Game Wins (GW) wins the league.
2) If someone gets a GW, the Victory Points in that game are NOT counted.
3) If the is NO game win, then Victory Points (VP) are counted.
4) Five Victory Points equal one Game Win
5) In 6 player game (see below), X effects (ex: Conservative Agitation, Parity Shift, Slave Auction) are capped at 5.
RULES IN TEST
1) No 3-player league games
2) 4 player - time limit: 1 hour 30 minutes
3) 5 player - time limit: 2 hours
4) 6 player - time limit: 2 hour 30 minutes
5) 1 League game per day
Common questions asked in development:
1) Q: Why have a league?
A: To add a bit of competitiveness with some actual prizes.
2) Q: Why only to 5 Game Wins?
A: I want the leagues to be short, to test out some League rules and to get prizes in the hands of the people who play. If someone wins early... okay next League! I predict each league will go 1-2 months. The number of games wins and the value of victory points maybe will change as time progresses.
3) Doesn't the people who go to Wed and Fri games have an advantage?
A: Technically... yes. But the purpose of the League is to encourage people to play. And the person who plays the extra day still needs to win of course.
4) Q: Are you still going to have tournaments?
A: Yes. A smaller tournament is in the works but I want to try and get out of towners to come.
5) Q: What is the prize support?
A: Currently its going to start small. Some packs or maybe some rares that I have laying around.
6) Q: Why allow 6 player games?
A: Because I don't want to penalize people for showing up. If we have 7 players, I may have 1 person play two games but can only win on one table.
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