The House Of Sorrow
by Ethel Clifford - 1903
In the doorway of the House of Sorrow
I stand, and Sorrow sits within.
Through the window of the House of Sorrow
A measure from without came drifting in.
Like a strong beam of the sun, that through the window
Points to a thing unseen, the song came in;
And, listening, I stole out, and in the doorway
I stand, and Sorrow sits within.
In the doorway of the House of Sorrow
I stand, and like one blind, I lift my face
And listen, and I hear the steps of Sorrow
Who comes to seek me from the darkened place.
Like a child half-awakened, in the doorway
I stand and listen, and I hear the rain
And, from behind, the swift, sure steps of Sorrow—
O thou without, wilt thou not sing again?
------
First off, let me tell you that I take a bit of glee that anyone who Google searches for 'House of Sorrow' has a chance of coming to my analysis of this vampire card as opposed to the poem up above. But I like flavour for my posts so I started with this.
Let's start with the Card Text:
House of Sorrow
Master
1 pool
Master: Unique location. Tap to untap any card you control that is not a minion. If you do so, neither that card nor this location untap as normal on your next untap phase.
----
Why am I writing a Blog about this card?
Ever since this card came out, and people 'talk shop' about vtes. I heard that this is an interesting card to play... but with the exception of "Gather decks", I actually never see it in decks. It has the potential to double the output of any non-minion card, at the expense of not being able to use it the next turn.
The Good:
Excellent for lunge.
Throws the math off by doubling an effect
The Bad:
Can't use it or the affected card the following turn
Takes a master card slot
So why isn't it used? I'm going to make the assumption that most people feel that it is not worth the master card slot. So we are going to try an analyze what kind of decks it IS worth the card slot, and why.
We have to start with some generalizations here:
- Assume about 15-17 masters (dependent on trifles).
- A good portion of the master have to have a tap effect. This can be supplemented by other non-minion cards that have a tapping effect.
- The decks portion of pool gain should not come from masters, because that will take slots from the "tap masters" mentioned before.
I did some searches of cards that can be used with House of Sorrow and they are many!
So the first thing I did was look at clan cards, because non-clan cards can be shared by any clan. Here are the numbers:
Tap ability that House of Sorrow can affect
The number in ( ) is the 'real' number.
Clans:
Ahrimane - 0
Akunanse - 1
Assamite - 3
Baali - 0
Blood Brother - 0
Brujah - 2
Bruajah Antitribu - 2
Caitiff - 0
Daughters of Cacophony - 2 (3) [Bastille Opera House
]
Followers of Set - 4 (3) [Grand Temple of Set]
Gangrel - 3
Gangrel Antitribu - 1
Gargoyle - 0
Giovanni - 3
Guruhi - 0
Harbingers of Skulls - 3
Ishtarri - 1
Kiasyd - 0
Lasombra - 3
Malkavian - 1
Malkavian Antitribu - 0
Nagaraja - 0
Nosferatu - 5
Nosferatu Antitribu - 4 (3) [Steam Tunnels]
Osebo - 0
Pander - 1
Ravnos - 3
Salubri - 0
Salubri Antiribu - 0
Samedi - 0
Toreador - 2
Toreador Antitribu - 0
Tremere - 3 (2) [Wasserschloss Anif, Austria]
Tremere Antitribu - 1
True Brujah - 0
Tzimisce - 0
Ventrue - 3
ventrue Antitribu - 1
Imbued - 4*
*Imbued powers tap when used... you can't do some because of NRA but you can do the following 9 cards:
Abjure
Champion
Discern
Foresee
Hide
Project
PunishSurge
Vigilance
----
Now as the 'math' shows - Imbued wins by a long shot on cards that House of Sorrows can be used. But I'm not feeling an Imbued deck at the moment.
Instead, I'm going to take the second "winner" - i.e. Nosferatu and make a version of the TempleCon 2013 Champion deck by my NYC buddy Kymia Alishahi. Now I've playing against this deck dozens of times and I'm very pleased that it won - (even though it beat me in the finals!) and I'm not even going to say that the deck below is better. All that I say that it will 'use-and-abuse' House of Sorrows, thus increasing lunge potential and 'throw off the math' of opponents.
----
Deck Name: Sorrowful Robin
Created By: Adam Hulse
Description: Based on (what i guess) my buddies Kym's deck is, I never actually saw the decklist.
I have to sacrifice Sudden Reversals for House of Sorrows, but Bleeding the Vine is there now.
Monestary of Shadows and Helicopter will probably get tossed if you have any serious type of predator
and probably out of the deck all together, but it fits theme of this blog.
Crypt: (12 cards, Min: 18, Max: 40, Avg: 7.58)
----------------------------------------------
2 Clarissa Steinburgen ani obf 3 Nosferatu
2 Alonzo Guillen ani for OBF pot6 Nosferatu
2 Shahid ani for pro OBF POT7 Nosferatu
1 Baron Dieudonne ANI OBF POT PRO9 Nosferatu
5 Cock Robin ANI aus for OBF POT10 Nosferatu
Library: (90 cards)
-------------------
Master (22 cards)
2 Warsaw Station
1 Storm Sewers
1 Spawning Pool, The
1 Labyrinth, The
3 Dreams of the Sphinx
3 House of Sorrow
6 Villein
1 Giant`s Blood
1 Pentex Subversion
1 Bleeding the Vine
1 Fame
1 Monastery of Shadows
Action (18 cards)
1 SchreckNET
1 Aranthebes, The Immortal
3 Preternatural Strength
1 Heroic Might
12 Deep Song
Action Modifier (14 cards)
3 Enkil Cog
5 Freak Drive
3 Faceless Night
3 Lost in Crowds
Political Action (3 cards)
3 Parity Shift
Reaction (14 cards)
2 Lost in Translation
6 Second Tradition: Domain, The
6 Sense the Savage Way
Combat (11 cards)
4 Hidden Strength
6 Immortal Grapple
1 Disarm
Equipment (1 cards)
1 Helicopter
Event (2 cards)
2 Scourge of the Enochians
Combo (5 cards)
5 Swallowed by the Night
CONCLUSION
So, as we can see, House of Sorrow's is a very interesting card. A lot of the cards in the above deck are good and House of Sorrow is not necessary. But if you draw it, the possibilities are quite strong!
I hope that everyone enjoys this entry to my blog. It's an interesting card and I hope to hear others ideas and thoughts on it.
Adam
Friday, February 22, 2013
Thursday, February 7, 2013
OPERATION DECK DECONSTRUCTION #4
OPERATION DECK DECONSTRUCTION #4
[Use Soundwave's voice for full effect!]
Hello everyone, this my fourth deck analysis. I 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. My goal is for me to hone my deck analysis using what I have learned while playing and in previous blogs. Here is the deck below.
Name: Nadima Wall
Author: Ira Fay
Description: I noticed that Hatch the Viper isn’t in the TWDA. It seems like a really strong card, so I wanted to make a deck that used it well. I've also considered using Nehsi (with Trophies!) or Seterpenre, but I wanted to try the pure Gangrel angle due to lower capacity and nice Gangrel clan masters.
Crypt: (12)
5x Nadima(G3)
4x Mirembe Kabbada(G2)
1x Chandler Hungerford(G2)
1x Dr. Allan Woodstock(G3)
1x Ramona (advanced)(G2)
Library: (60)
Master: (13)
3x Blood Doll
1x Backways
1x Ecoterrorists
1x Fame
1x Heidelberg Castle, Germany
1x Pentex(TM) Subversion
1x Perfectionist
1x Powerbase: Montreal
1x Smiling Jack, The Anarch
1x The Rack
1x Wider View
Action: (11)
4x Dark Mirror of the Mind
2x Shadow of the Beast
1x Form of Corruption
1x Nose of the Hound
1x Restoration
1x Set's Curse
1x Soul Scan
Retainer: (9)
6x Hatch the Viper
1x Dog Pack
1x Homunculus
1x Mr. Winthrop
Equipment: (3)
1x Bowl of Convergence
1x Camera Phone
1x IR Goggles
Action Modifier: (7)
5x Freak Drive
2x Earth Control
Combat: (9)
5x Earth Meld
3x Form of Mist
1x Unflinching Persistence
Reaction: (8)
2x Eyes of Argus
2x On the Qui Vive
2x Wake with Evening's Freshness
1x Forced Awakening
1x Set's Call
-----------
WHO IS THE AUTHOR
Ira Fay is a strong vtes player who has been around the scene for some time now. I've met him at several tournaments and even traveled to one at the college where he works. He has an interesting grasp of how to table-talk and how to read a table. He asked me to review this untested deck and I agreed. Hopefully, my review will give him some advice and maybe we'll see this deck hit a tourney some day!
-----------
Name: Nadima Wall
Author: Ira Fay
Description: I noticed that Hatch the Viper isn’t in the TWDA. It seems like a really strong card, so I wanted to make a deck that used it well. I've also considered using Nehsi (with Trophies!) or Seterpenre, but I wanted to try the pure Gangrel angle due to lower capacity and nice Gangrel clan masters.
[Adam Notes:]
So here Ira wants to make a Tournament Winning Gangrel - Hatch the Viper deck. A tough challenge indeed! Well, I'm going to review this deck a little differently. If you read my previous blog "Deck Design and the Engine that Could", I am finding that by answering some key questions, one can find issues (in a general sense) very quickly. So below, I will repost the main questions, but then try to answer them (or fail to answer) has we go through different portions of the Crypt and Library.
[pick theme] - Answer: Gangrel-Hatch the Viper
1) Is my Machine a Bleed or Vote machine?
2) What is my Engine to make my machine work?
3a) What cards/decks, cause my Machine to fail?
3b) Does my Engine have an answer for it?
3c) Are those cards/decks likely to be seen?
Crypt: (12)
5x Nadima(G3)
4x Mirembe Kabbada(G2)
1x Chandler Hungerford(G2)
1x Dr. Allan Woodstock(G3)
1x Ramona (advanced)(G2)
[Adam Notes:]
1) Is my Machine a Bleed or Vote machine?
Answer: Well... it's obviously not a vote crpyt. So therefore, bleeding must be the main way to oust. There may be "Backup machines" (Smiling Jack, Fame) - but that should just be that, a backup machine if bleeding is not working out. As we go further down I can see that bleed tech is limited so this a limitation that we will have to try and correct.
Other interest options of crypt:
Antonino - the +1 stealth on undirected is great
Danielle Diron - Her ability is very useful and discipline spread fits the bill.
[for these two vamps, see comment on Book Going Forth by Night below]
Library: (60)
[Adam Notes:]
So Ira made this as a 60 card deck. Typically small decks need to be one of three things. 1) Very aggressive and focused or 2) have a type of recusion 3) focus on permaments. It seems that for this deck (Hatch the Viper), this is #3. So let's keep that in mind.
Master: (13)
3x Blood Doll
1x Backways
1x Ecoterrorists
1x Fame
1x Heidelberg Castle, Germany
1x Pentex(TM) Subversion
1x Perfectionist
1x Powerbase: Montreal
1x Smiling Jack, The Anarch
1x The Rack
1x Wider View
[Adam Notes:]
This is a fine set of master cards, even for a 90 card deck (and Ira has it a 60). Since this is such a small deck, it is very important to see if each Master card helps 1) the Machine (bleed) 2) The Engine (stealth? int? combat?) d) Answer the question 3a-b-c?
Even though this will make this analysis lengthy, we will go though each master card and try to answer the questions above.
Definite "Keeps":
Blood Doll - This helps question 3a "what causes my Machine to fail?" The answer "pool loss" is pretty straight foward. A good example why this is a staple in most decks.
Backways - Persistent stealth - minor Engine
Ecoterrorists - Persistent pool gain - Question 3a
Fame - A 'backup machine' oust mechanic to aid in bleeding
Heidelberg Castle - To aid in Engine - move retainers and bleed equipment around
Wider view - Indirectly helps machine - you need the correct vampires (limited choice) to make this work.
Questionable:
Pentex(TM) Subversion - A staple in most decks, however we have to ask - does this help Machine (bleed) or engine (toolbox, equip and hatch the viper). An argument could be made 'yes' by pentexing a blocker. But eventually one runs out of wakes to defend it. Lets put that in the 'maybe' category.
Perfectionist - Well, the idea is that it pays for the Hatch the Viper and allows blood gain faster. On the other hand, it doesn't help with bleed. And we need to make sure that we can oust.
Powerbase: Montreal - While this is a persistent pool gain - it can be used by others and the amount of actions this deck can take is limited. Bleeding will be difficult in the long run so keeping pool off the table is better.
The Rack - Same issue as Pentex, but in this case, it affects your game and not the table. So more likely to be left alone. A Strong Maybe
Smiling Jack - Again, a 'backup machine' oust mechanic so not bad.
All these questionable Master card slots allows us to consider other master cards that could be useful. Remember, the Machine is Bleeding and the Engine is permanents in terms of Hatch the Viper and bleed.
Intercept Location - The extra intercept can make the difference. People are playing with less and less stealth and relying on the built in stealth of actions to get through. Throws off the math with people trying to get by. With Nadima its even better.
Elysium: Sforzesco Castle - a underused card which in today's metagame might be worth considering. If your prey, pred OR grand predator (due to bounce) is play camarilla, then this card is excellent for such a deck that needs to stay untapped.
Carver`s Meat Packing and Storage - A strong combination with the Event Scourge of the Enochians (and even better with Aranthebes). All three stop a weakness of the deck of multiple minions overwhelming your wakes.
Creepshow Casino - If you look below, you can see the majority of actions are undirected. Thus this could be part of the engine. (Monastary of shadows is an option but only Nadima can use it).
Erciyes Fragments - Free. Usually not stolen and with auspex on Nadima, you have 3 of the 4 most common discipline to call upon (ani aus for but no dom). Consider it a resource for extra wakes.
Haven Uncovered - While not a Pentex this allows you to take out key minion and only that minion can remove the haven, which you can defend.
As a deck without bounce or votes, Archon Investigation, Direct Intervention, and Sudden Reversal are very important.
BONUS OPTION - Instead of that crypt, one can basically do the same but with Anarch Converts. This gives extra options of things like Anarch Railroad, Piper, Anarch Revolt, Club Illusion and even Smear Campaign to get rid of things like Enkil Cog. And that is just master card options. [And you don't have to play Wider view]
------------
Action: (11)
4x Dark Mirror of the Mind
2x Shadow of the Beast
1x Form of Corruption
1x Nose of the Hound
1x Restoration
1x Set's Curse
1x Soul Scan
[Adam Notes:]
Actions! Okay, so in a 60 card deck, each slot is important. So I think we can take the time to go more into detail here.
Dark Mirror of the Mind:
I happen to know that Ira is huge fan of Dark Mirror of the Mind (see TWD and Finals report: Member of the Entourage on www.vekn.net) but sorry Ira, I just think that you have more important actions to take (or not take and stay up to defend) with the one vamp (Nadima) who can play it. [So that give us 4 card slots]
Shadow of the Beast - These are permaments which are pretty good.
Form of Corruption - As a deck that cannot stop a forward motion prey too much, this is a fine card.
Nose of the Hound - Okay, a surprise rush. But only Nadima and Dr. Alllan can play it. A disciplineless rush or Taunt the Caged beast is good. Sense Death at animalism is okay if you want a stealth rush, but limited by capacity.
Resotration - Nice idea, but only Nadima can really use it. A funny thing about this card is that I've never seen it blocked. Ever. So maybe not for this deck, but something to consider. [1 card slot]
Set's Curse - Interesting card. I'd keep it as a surprise.
Soul Scan - So this card is draw Nadima. But only Dr. Allan can play it. If you don't draw Nadima, that means you are likely to draw Mirembe Kabbada. So will likely have Mirembe and Dr Allan in play, that is 10 pool. Bringing out Nadima is possible, but unclear. Better playing with the little guys in that situatino. [1 card slot]
So that's 6 card action card slots. We are going to hold on to those until we review the other actions (retainers and equipment).
Retainer: (9)
6x Hatch the Viper
1x Dog Pack
1x Homunculus
1x Mr. Winthrop
[Adam Notes:]
Not bad. But since this is a bleed deck, J.s Simmons and Tasha Morgan may be good here.
Equipment: (3)
1x Bowl of Convergence
1x Camera Phone
1x IR Goggles
[Adam Notes:]
Bowl of Convergence can only be used by two minions. Perhaps Sport Bike or Phased Motion Detector if you want to save on pool. More bleed equipment and bleed retainers would be good.
Action Modifier: (7)
5x Freak Drive
2x Earth Control
[Adam Notes:]
Looks okay, I might steal an earth meld or two for more earth control. With so many permanents, you need to make sure they 'stick'.
[Adam's Notes: ACTION REVIEW]
So Ira has 23 actions. Should have 2-3 minions, assume 2 actions a turn. First vampire comes out around turn 2. And games end around turn 12-13. So the math seems correct about right there. So let's recap.
The deck is a bleed deck (cause its not vote), with some other minor attacking pool options, Fame and Smiling Jack. But just the fact that the "Backup Machine" is only two cards means that we have to increase the bleed option here. - Here is some thoughts:
Heidelberg will allow retainers and equipment to move around - A second copy is possible.
Even if HeidelBurg is not drawn, having each minion bleed for two is more forward. So J.S Simmons, Tasha Morgan, Camera phone(s). In a 60 card deck, having 6 bleed permaments is pretty good. Getting 3 in play doubles your oust potential.
OTHER ACTIONS -
Book of Going Forth by Night. Allows others to get Hatch the Viper as well as killing allies gives them to you.
Jack of Both Sides - While this probably won't make the cut in a 60 card deck, it works for the majority of the cards. And people tend not to block because it doesn't put the key action in the ashheap. (Works well with earth meld).
Aranthebes - you are limited by your wakes. This stops some actions.
Gather - When used with House of Sorrows (which works with Ecoterrorists, Backways, Heileberg, Aranthebes)
Ivory Bow - with 1-2 Hatch the Vipers, burning guys is not too hard.
Covenant of Blood - Independents have trouble getting permament rush. This is an option...
Combat: (9)
5x Earth Meld
3x Form of Mist
1x Unflinching Persistence
[Adam Notes:]
Ira seems to be trying to avoid the manuever-to-long issue. Instead of Unflinching Persistence, Drawing out the Beast seems strong.
Reaction: (8)
2x Eyes of Argus
2x On the Qui Vive
2x Wake with Evening's Freshness
1x Forced Awakening
1x Set's Call
[Adam Notes:] The Eyes of Argus can only be used at inferior here, which may have been Ira's point (+2 int for D actions), but Forced Vigilance is an option as is Steadfastness as well. Or just more other wakes.
OTHER CARDS
The Uncoiling - An excellent player by the name of Darby Keeney once stated that if you are not using Gehenna events, you should always play this card. Anthelios, Unmasking as examples are just too strong.
Scourge of the Enochians - You only have so many wakes. Get those 1-2 caps off the table.
Rapid Change - Instead of more Earth Control like I mentioned early, 1-2 of these for versatility.
Army of Rats - Another "Backup Machine" reduce pool effect.
Agg poke - If you don't have one in there, you can't keep 'em 'honest'. Burns vampires too with hatch the viper.
CONCLUSION -
So this deck is an interesting concept, but in my opinion it needs a bit of work. In the current version, it doesn't vote and it doesn't bleed, and has limited rush even. In the past, I made two votes versions of this. One was with the setites and gangrel. The Setites call KRC and Free State Rant (villien and voter cap for pool gain). Hatch the Viper for defence and torporing guys with low blood. The other was Group 4 starring Xendil, Gangrel anti bleed and vote. (cute tech is that the Path of Feral Heart makes Hatch the Viper free).
Thanks to Ira for letting me review his deck. I know I did not place it on laurels, but it was an interesting review and hopefully my input will help you in the future deck designs of it.
Adam
[Use Soundwave's voice for full effect!]
Hello everyone, this my fourth deck analysis. I 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. My goal is for me to hone my deck analysis using what I have learned while playing and in previous blogs. Here is the deck below.
Name: Nadima Wall
Author: Ira Fay
Description: I noticed that Hatch the Viper isn’t in the TWDA. It seems like a really strong card, so I wanted to make a deck that used it well. I've also considered using Nehsi (with Trophies!) or Seterpenre, but I wanted to try the pure Gangrel angle due to lower capacity and nice Gangrel clan masters.
Crypt: (12)
5x Nadima(G3)
4x Mirembe Kabbada(G2)
1x Chandler Hungerford(G2)
1x Dr. Allan Woodstock(G3)
1x Ramona (advanced)(G2)
Library: (60)
Master: (13)
3x Blood Doll
1x Backways
1x Ecoterrorists
1x Fame
1x Heidelberg Castle, Germany
1x Pentex(TM) Subversion
1x Perfectionist
1x Powerbase: Montreal
1x Smiling Jack, The Anarch
1x The Rack
1x Wider View
Action: (11)
4x Dark Mirror of the Mind
2x Shadow of the Beast
1x Form of Corruption
1x Nose of the Hound
1x Restoration
1x Set's Curse
1x Soul Scan
Retainer: (9)
6x Hatch the Viper
1x Dog Pack
1x Homunculus
1x Mr. Winthrop
Equipment: (3)
1x Bowl of Convergence
1x Camera Phone
1x IR Goggles
Action Modifier: (7)
5x Freak Drive
2x Earth Control
Combat: (9)
5x Earth Meld
3x Form of Mist
1x Unflinching Persistence
Reaction: (8)
2x Eyes of Argus
2x On the Qui Vive
2x Wake with Evening's Freshness
1x Forced Awakening
1x Set's Call
-----------
WHO IS THE AUTHOR
Ira Fay is a strong vtes player who has been around the scene for some time now. I've met him at several tournaments and even traveled to one at the college where he works. He has an interesting grasp of how to table-talk and how to read a table. He asked me to review this untested deck and I agreed. Hopefully, my review will give him some advice and maybe we'll see this deck hit a tourney some day!
-----------
Name: Nadima Wall
Author: Ira Fay
Description: I noticed that Hatch the Viper isn’t in the TWDA. It seems like a really strong card, so I wanted to make a deck that used it well. I've also considered using Nehsi (with Trophies!) or Seterpenre, but I wanted to try the pure Gangrel angle due to lower capacity and nice Gangrel clan masters.
[Adam Notes:]
So here Ira wants to make a Tournament Winning Gangrel - Hatch the Viper deck. A tough challenge indeed! Well, I'm going to review this deck a little differently. If you read my previous blog "Deck Design and the Engine that Could", I am finding that by answering some key questions, one can find issues (in a general sense) very quickly. So below, I will repost the main questions, but then try to answer them (or fail to answer) has we go through different portions of the Crypt and Library.
[pick theme] - Answer: Gangrel-Hatch the Viper
1) Is my Machine a Bleed or Vote machine?
2) What is my Engine to make my machine work?
3a) What cards/decks, cause my Machine to fail?
3b) Does my Engine have an answer for it?
3c) Are those cards/decks likely to be seen?
Crypt: (12)
5x Nadima(G3)
4x Mirembe Kabbada(G2)
1x Chandler Hungerford(G2)
1x Dr. Allan Woodstock(G3)
1x Ramona (advanced)(G2)
[Adam Notes:]
1) Is my Machine a Bleed or Vote machine?
Answer: Well... it's obviously not a vote crpyt. So therefore, bleeding must be the main way to oust. There may be "Backup machines" (Smiling Jack, Fame) - but that should just be that, a backup machine if bleeding is not working out. As we go further down I can see that bleed tech is limited so this a limitation that we will have to try and correct.
Other interest options of crypt:
Antonino - the +1 stealth on undirected is great
Danielle Diron - Her ability is very useful and discipline spread fits the bill.
[for these two vamps, see comment on Book Going Forth by Night below]
Library: (60)
[Adam Notes:]
So Ira made this as a 60 card deck. Typically small decks need to be one of three things. 1) Very aggressive and focused or 2) have a type of recusion 3) focus on permaments. It seems that for this deck (Hatch the Viper), this is #3. So let's keep that in mind.
Master: (13)
3x Blood Doll
1x Backways
1x Ecoterrorists
1x Fame
1x Heidelberg Castle, Germany
1x Pentex(TM) Subversion
1x Perfectionist
1x Powerbase: Montreal
1x Smiling Jack, The Anarch
1x The Rack
1x Wider View
[Adam Notes:]
This is a fine set of master cards, even for a 90 card deck (and Ira has it a 60). Since this is such a small deck, it is very important to see if each Master card helps 1) the Machine (bleed) 2) The Engine (stealth? int? combat?) d) Answer the question 3a-b-c?
Even though this will make this analysis lengthy, we will go though each master card and try to answer the questions above.
Definite "Keeps":
Blood Doll - This helps question 3a "what causes my Machine to fail?" The answer "pool loss" is pretty straight foward. A good example why this is a staple in most decks.
Backways - Persistent stealth - minor Engine
Ecoterrorists - Persistent pool gain - Question 3a
Fame - A 'backup machine' oust mechanic to aid in bleeding
Heidelberg Castle - To aid in Engine - move retainers and bleed equipment around
Wider view - Indirectly helps machine - you need the correct vampires (limited choice) to make this work.
Questionable:
Pentex(TM) Subversion - A staple in most decks, however we have to ask - does this help Machine (bleed) or engine (toolbox, equip and hatch the viper). An argument could be made 'yes' by pentexing a blocker. But eventually one runs out of wakes to defend it. Lets put that in the 'maybe' category.
Perfectionist - Well, the idea is that it pays for the Hatch the Viper and allows blood gain faster. On the other hand, it doesn't help with bleed. And we need to make sure that we can oust.
Powerbase: Montreal - While this is a persistent pool gain - it can be used by others and the amount of actions this deck can take is limited. Bleeding will be difficult in the long run so keeping pool off the table is better.
The Rack - Same issue as Pentex, but in this case, it affects your game and not the table. So more likely to be left alone. A Strong Maybe
Smiling Jack - Again, a 'backup machine' oust mechanic so not bad.
All these questionable Master card slots allows us to consider other master cards that could be useful. Remember, the Machine is Bleeding and the Engine is permanents in terms of Hatch the Viper and bleed.
Intercept Location - The extra intercept can make the difference. People are playing with less and less stealth and relying on the built in stealth of actions to get through. Throws off the math with people trying to get by. With Nadima its even better.
Elysium: Sforzesco Castle - a underused card which in today's metagame might be worth considering. If your prey, pred OR grand predator (due to bounce) is play camarilla, then this card is excellent for such a deck that needs to stay untapped.
Carver`s Meat Packing and Storage - A strong combination with the Event Scourge of the Enochians (and even better with Aranthebes). All three stop a weakness of the deck of multiple minions overwhelming your wakes.
Creepshow Casino - If you look below, you can see the majority of actions are undirected. Thus this could be part of the engine. (Monastary of shadows is an option but only Nadima can use it).
Erciyes Fragments - Free. Usually not stolen and with auspex on Nadima, you have 3 of the 4 most common discipline to call upon (ani aus for but no dom). Consider it a resource for extra wakes.
Haven Uncovered - While not a Pentex this allows you to take out key minion and only that minion can remove the haven, which you can defend.
As a deck without bounce or votes, Archon Investigation, Direct Intervention, and Sudden Reversal are very important.
BONUS OPTION - Instead of that crypt, one can basically do the same but with Anarch Converts. This gives extra options of things like Anarch Railroad, Piper, Anarch Revolt, Club Illusion and even Smear Campaign to get rid of things like Enkil Cog. And that is just master card options. [And you don't have to play Wider view]
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Action: (11)
4x Dark Mirror of the Mind
2x Shadow of the Beast
1x Form of Corruption
1x Nose of the Hound
1x Restoration
1x Set's Curse
1x Soul Scan
[Adam Notes:]
Actions! Okay, so in a 60 card deck, each slot is important. So I think we can take the time to go more into detail here.
Dark Mirror of the Mind:
I happen to know that Ira is huge fan of Dark Mirror of the Mind (see TWD and Finals report: Member of the Entourage on www.vekn.net) but sorry Ira, I just think that you have more important actions to take (or not take and stay up to defend) with the one vamp (Nadima) who can play it. [So that give us 4 card slots]
Shadow of the Beast - These are permaments which are pretty good.
Form of Corruption - As a deck that cannot stop a forward motion prey too much, this is a fine card.
Nose of the Hound - Okay, a surprise rush. But only Nadima and Dr. Alllan can play it. A disciplineless rush or Taunt the Caged beast is good. Sense Death at animalism is okay if you want a stealth rush, but limited by capacity.
Resotration - Nice idea, but only Nadima can really use it. A funny thing about this card is that I've never seen it blocked. Ever. So maybe not for this deck, but something to consider. [1 card slot]
Set's Curse - Interesting card. I'd keep it as a surprise.
Soul Scan - So this card is draw Nadima. But only Dr. Allan can play it. If you don't draw Nadima, that means you are likely to draw Mirembe Kabbada. So will likely have Mirembe and Dr Allan in play, that is 10 pool. Bringing out Nadima is possible, but unclear. Better playing with the little guys in that situatino. [1 card slot]
So that's 6 card action card slots. We are going to hold on to those until we review the other actions (retainers and equipment).
Retainer: (9)
6x Hatch the Viper
1x Dog Pack
1x Homunculus
1x Mr. Winthrop
[Adam Notes:]
Not bad. But since this is a bleed deck, J.s Simmons and Tasha Morgan may be good here.
Equipment: (3)
1x Bowl of Convergence
1x Camera Phone
1x IR Goggles
[Adam Notes:]
Bowl of Convergence can only be used by two minions. Perhaps Sport Bike or Phased Motion Detector if you want to save on pool. More bleed equipment and bleed retainers would be good.
Action Modifier: (7)
5x Freak Drive
2x Earth Control
[Adam Notes:]
Looks okay, I might steal an earth meld or two for more earth control. With so many permanents, you need to make sure they 'stick'.
[Adam's Notes: ACTION REVIEW]
So Ira has 23 actions. Should have 2-3 minions, assume 2 actions a turn. First vampire comes out around turn 2. And games end around turn 12-13. So the math seems correct about right there. So let's recap.
The deck is a bleed deck (cause its not vote), with some other minor attacking pool options, Fame and Smiling Jack. But just the fact that the "Backup Machine" is only two cards means that we have to increase the bleed option here. - Here is some thoughts:
Heidelberg will allow retainers and equipment to move around - A second copy is possible.
Even if HeidelBurg is not drawn, having each minion bleed for two is more forward. So J.S Simmons, Tasha Morgan, Camera phone(s). In a 60 card deck, having 6 bleed permaments is pretty good. Getting 3 in play doubles your oust potential.
OTHER ACTIONS -
Book of Going Forth by Night. Allows others to get Hatch the Viper as well as killing allies gives them to you.
Jack of Both Sides - While this probably won't make the cut in a 60 card deck, it works for the majority of the cards. And people tend not to block because it doesn't put the key action in the ashheap. (Works well with earth meld).
Aranthebes - you are limited by your wakes. This stops some actions.
Gather - When used with House of Sorrows (which works with Ecoterrorists, Backways, Heileberg, Aranthebes)
Ivory Bow - with 1-2 Hatch the Vipers, burning guys is not too hard.
Covenant of Blood - Independents have trouble getting permament rush. This is an option...
Combat: (9)
5x Earth Meld
3x Form of Mist
1x Unflinching Persistence
[Adam Notes:]
Ira seems to be trying to avoid the manuever-to-long issue. Instead of Unflinching Persistence, Drawing out the Beast seems strong.
Reaction: (8)
2x Eyes of Argus
2x On the Qui Vive
2x Wake with Evening's Freshness
1x Forced Awakening
1x Set's Call
[Adam Notes:] The Eyes of Argus can only be used at inferior here, which may have been Ira's point (+2 int for D actions), but Forced Vigilance is an option as is Steadfastness as well. Or just more other wakes.
OTHER CARDS
The Uncoiling - An excellent player by the name of Darby Keeney once stated that if you are not using Gehenna events, you should always play this card. Anthelios, Unmasking as examples are just too strong.
Scourge of the Enochians - You only have so many wakes. Get those 1-2 caps off the table.
Rapid Change - Instead of more Earth Control like I mentioned early, 1-2 of these for versatility.
Army of Rats - Another "Backup Machine" reduce pool effect.
Agg poke - If you don't have one in there, you can't keep 'em 'honest'. Burns vampires too with hatch the viper.
CONCLUSION -
So this deck is an interesting concept, but in my opinion it needs a bit of work. In the current version, it doesn't vote and it doesn't bleed, and has limited rush even. In the past, I made two votes versions of this. One was with the setites and gangrel. The Setites call KRC and Free State Rant (villien and voter cap for pool gain). Hatch the Viper for defence and torporing guys with low blood. The other was Group 4 starring Xendil, Gangrel anti bleed and vote. (cute tech is that the Path of Feral Heart makes Hatch the Viper free).
Thanks to Ira for letting me review his deck. I know I did not place it on laurels, but it was an interesting review and hopefully my input will help you in the future deck designs of it.
Adam
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