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
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
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.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
"The Best is Not Always Better!"
"The Best is Not Always Better!"
Life has jumped in the way of my VTES playing for the last week (aside from JOL) so I have no new insights on decks at the moment. Instead I want to talk about a topic dear to my heart. Looking for alternative ideas/cards for deck design.
There is a not-famous sequence of lines from "Searching for Bobby Fischer" that always resonated with me. I didn't remember the exact lines so I had to look up the transcript. But I always thought it applied well to VTES. The scene is where Josh is with his teacher and Josh is presented with a chess problem.
--------
"So what's your best move?"
"Rook to d ."
"What about taking on e ?"
"What about it?"
"You didn't consider it. You're still not considering it."
"Sit up."
"I'm right. Rook to d is the best move."
"You didn't study the board."
"You're moving before I know the answers."
--------
"You didn't consider it. You're still not considering it." I think that this is most common thing that all experienced VTES players do. While VTES is not as complex as Chess or Go, it still has over 1350 vampires and over 2150 library cards. That is complex enough I think for this discussion.
Why is the best move not always the better move? Seems counter-intuitive. I am a strong believer of the following statements.
1) There is a place for every card.
2) Every deck can be changed due to metagame for the better.
[There are other statements that I thought of under this genre, but in editing this blog, these two are really the core I believe.]
Explanation:
1) There is a place for every card ----
Yeah yeah yeah... Eyes of the Dead. But really, the trick is to determine if the odds that card being used outweighs the card slot that you are putting it in. If you are considering all the possible decks out there, then yes, a lot of times certain cards give the highest value. But there are other factors that should be considered for adding cards.
Examples:
- The Sleeping Mind costs a blood compared to Seduction but how much 2nd trad and Animalism untap do you see?
- Dreams of the Sphinx is good, but everyone plays it. Do you want to play the contesting game? If you are just using it to set up hand as opposed to acceleration, consider Fragment Book of Nod.
- Don't own enough Deep Songs? Remember that you can't rush allies with it. Consider Harass for Carrion Crow goodness.
2) Every deck can be changed due to metagame for the better ----
What is your metagame like? What do your players play? Are they combat junkies? Star vampire favorites? This type of knowledge can let you play 'edge' cards to greater effect. And I'm not talk about about hoser cards mind you, but cards and ratios that make your deck that much more effective.
Examples:
A lot of allies out there? Consider Mental Maze as opposed to Obedience.
Close range combat? More Swallowed by the Night for that desprate maneuver.
Villein/Voter Cap running around? More Delaying Tactics or perhaps The Rising?
Multiact decks? Consider Direct Intervention as opposed to Sudden Reversal for that pesky freak drive.
------
You have to understand, most of the time, the best card IS the best move. BUT THINK ABOUT IT. Consider the options.
----
Below is one of my favorite decks. It is a somewhat standard Weenie Auspex deck, where my thought process went through the following below. It has gone through many iterations where the version (step 7) below is untested. But it is the thoughts behind it that apply to this blog post. I took a less aggressive version of it the finals at the Boston Qualifer two years ago, but due to a bad misplay on my part I was ousted. But it did very well.
1) Want a weenie Auspex deck with guns.
2) A 90 card deck can be made better with 80 cards.
3) What to do with those extra 10 cards? Ah - 'hoser' cards can wreck a game. That's funny but can be quite good when it hits.
4) But what hoser cards? Obviously only the ones that I can defend.
5) But I don't want it to clog my hand - so need the cycle cards to get them out as well as cycle for intercept or conceal-gun combo.
6) One of the cycle cards is Powerbase: Los Angeles. Can I add an anarch angle for more forward push?
7) Someone just gave me the idea that Spike thrower with IR googles is very strong.
etc etc
Deck Name: Weenie Hosers!
Created By: Adam Hulse
Description: A weenie auspex deck with hoser cards! I picked the ones I can defend and two other real good ones. They are:
Oath of Loyalty
Children of Osiris
Cultivated Blood Shortage
Malkavian Derangement: Paranoia
Detection
Vicissitude Poisoning
Mistaken Identity
Break the Code
Malkavian Seven Miseries, (for voters)
Cycling is very strong due to the cycle cards and the theme of the deck (i.e. wall). So even the high number of masters seems to be fine.
One of the fun things of this deck is the fact you can change it in many ways and still have fun. I've done adding monkey wrench (to go with lilth's Blessing), or Target Vitals with Taste.
Depends on what you want to do! Just keep the master card package somewhat intact! Also, could remove Anarch tech if so choose.
Crypt: (12 cards, Min: 4, Max: 18, Avg: 2.666)
---------------------------------------------
1 Aleph AUS dom 4 Malkavian
1 Victoria AUS cel obf 5 Malkavian
1 Zoe AUS cel obf 3 Malkavian
1 Idalia AUS dem 4 Malkavian Antitribu
1 Miriam Benyona AUS for obe 5 Salubri
1 Dorian Strack AUS cel 4 Toreador
1 Dieter Kleist aus 2 Toreador
5 Anarch Convert none 1 Caitiff
Library: (90 cards)
-------------------
Master (25 cards)
1 Barrens, The
1 Dreams of the Sphinx
1 Fragment of the Book of Nod
1 Powerbase: Los Angeles
1 Oath of Loyalty
1 Children of Osiris
1 Cultivated Blood Shortage
1 Malkavian Derangement: Paranoia
1 Malkavian Seven Miseries, The
1 Detection
1 Vicissitude Poisoning
1 Pentex Subversion
1 Club Illusion
1 Giant`s Blood
1 Guardian Angel
1 Twilight Camp
1 Smiling Jack, The Anarch
1 Asylum Hunting Ground
1 Society Hunting Ground
4 Vessel
1 Powerbase: Montreal
1 Lilith's Blessing
Action (5 cards)
1 Aranthebes, The Immortal
1 Nose of the Hound
3 Constant Revolution
Reaction (36 cards)
1 Mistaken Identity
4 Eyes of Argus
4 On the Qui Vive
4 Forced Awakening
4 Spirit`s Touch
4 Enhanced Senses
4 Eagle`s Sight
3 Precognition
5 Telepathic Misdirection
2 My Enemy`s Enemy
1 Final Loosening
Combat (11 cards)
7 Concealed Weapon
4 Groundfighting
Equipment (11 cards)
1 Sniper Rifle
6 .44 Magnum
1 Ivory Bow
1 Bowl of Convergence
1 Spike-Thrower
1 IR Goggles
Event (2 cards)
1 Break the Code
1 Anthelios, the Red Star
---------
So the deck may not be your cup of tea. But it should give an example of what I'm trying to talk about here. Could this weenie auspex be "better" without the clan hosers? SURE! But I adjusted the deck to make them viable, and when the card hits it definitely gives the target something he didn't expect.
There are always versions of your decks to play. Don't be nailed down to one version and just think "oh I lost because of XYZ". Think. Determine. Improve.
Just consider it.
Life has jumped in the way of my VTES playing for the last week (aside from JOL) so I have no new insights on decks at the moment. Instead I want to talk about a topic dear to my heart. Looking for alternative ideas/cards for deck design.
There is a not-famous sequence of lines from "Searching for Bobby Fischer" that always resonated with me. I didn't remember the exact lines so I had to look up the transcript. But I always thought it applied well to VTES. The scene is where Josh is with his teacher and Josh is presented with a chess problem.
--------
"So what's your best move?"
"Rook to d ."
"What about taking on e ?"
"What about it?"
"You didn't consider it. You're still not considering it."
"Sit up."
"I'm right. Rook to d is the best move."
"You didn't study the board."
"You're moving before I know the answers."
--------
"You didn't consider it. You're still not considering it." I think that this is most common thing that all experienced VTES players do. While VTES is not as complex as Chess or Go, it still has over 1350 vampires and over 2150 library cards. That is complex enough I think for this discussion.
Why is the best move not always the better move? Seems counter-intuitive. I am a strong believer of the following statements.
1) There is a place for every card.
2) Every deck can be changed due to metagame for the better.
[There are other statements that I thought of under this genre, but in editing this blog, these two are really the core I believe.]
Explanation:
1) There is a place for every card ----
Yeah yeah yeah... Eyes of the Dead. But really, the trick is to determine if the odds that card being used outweighs the card slot that you are putting it in. If you are considering all the possible decks out there, then yes, a lot of times certain cards give the highest value. But there are other factors that should be considered for adding cards.
Examples:
- The Sleeping Mind costs a blood compared to Seduction but how much 2nd trad and Animalism untap do you see?
- Dreams of the Sphinx is good, but everyone plays it. Do you want to play the contesting game? If you are just using it to set up hand as opposed to acceleration, consider Fragment Book of Nod.
- Don't own enough Deep Songs? Remember that you can't rush allies with it. Consider Harass for Carrion Crow goodness.
2) Every deck can be changed due to metagame for the better ----
What is your metagame like? What do your players play? Are they combat junkies? Star vampire favorites? This type of knowledge can let you play 'edge' cards to greater effect. And I'm not talk about about hoser cards mind you, but cards and ratios that make your deck that much more effective.
Examples:
A lot of allies out there? Consider Mental Maze as opposed to Obedience.
Close range combat? More Swallowed by the Night for that desprate maneuver.
Villein/Voter Cap running around? More Delaying Tactics or perhaps The Rising?
Multiact decks? Consider Direct Intervention as opposed to Sudden Reversal for that pesky freak drive.
------
You have to understand, most of the time, the best card IS the best move. BUT THINK ABOUT IT. Consider the options.
----
Below is one of my favorite decks. It is a somewhat standard Weenie Auspex deck, where my thought process went through the following below. It has gone through many iterations where the version (step 7) below is untested. But it is the thoughts behind it that apply to this blog post. I took a less aggressive version of it the finals at the Boston Qualifer two years ago, but due to a bad misplay on my part I was ousted. But it did very well.
1) Want a weenie Auspex deck with guns.
2) A 90 card deck can be made better with 80 cards.
3) What to do with those extra 10 cards? Ah - 'hoser' cards can wreck a game. That's funny but can be quite good when it hits.
4) But what hoser cards? Obviously only the ones that I can defend.
5) But I don't want it to clog my hand - so need the cycle cards to get them out as well as cycle for intercept or conceal-gun combo.
6) One of the cycle cards is Powerbase: Los Angeles. Can I add an anarch angle for more forward push?
7) Someone just gave me the idea that Spike thrower with IR googles is very strong.
etc etc
Deck Name: Weenie Hosers!
Created By: Adam Hulse
Description: A weenie auspex deck with hoser cards! I picked the ones I can defend and two other real good ones. They are:
Oath of Loyalty
Children of Osiris
Cultivated Blood Shortage
Malkavian Derangement: Paranoia
Detection
Vicissitude Poisoning
Mistaken Identity
Break the Code
Malkavian Seven Miseries, (for voters)
Cycling is very strong due to the cycle cards and the theme of the deck (i.e. wall). So even the high number of masters seems to be fine.
One of the fun things of this deck is the fact you can change it in many ways and still have fun. I've done adding monkey wrench (to go with lilth's Blessing), or Target Vitals with Taste.
Depends on what you want to do! Just keep the master card package somewhat intact! Also, could remove Anarch tech if so choose.
Crypt: (12 cards, Min: 4, Max: 18, Avg: 2.666)
---------------------------------------------
1 Aleph AUS dom 4 Malkavian
1 Victoria AUS cel obf 5 Malkavian
1 Zoe AUS cel obf 3 Malkavian
1 Idalia AUS dem 4 Malkavian Antitribu
1 Miriam Benyona AUS for obe 5 Salubri
1 Dorian Strack AUS cel 4 Toreador
1 Dieter Kleist aus 2 Toreador
5 Anarch Convert none 1 Caitiff
Library: (90 cards)
-------------------
Master (25 cards)
1 Barrens, The
1 Dreams of the Sphinx
1 Fragment of the Book of Nod
1 Powerbase: Los Angeles
1 Oath of Loyalty
1 Children of Osiris
1 Cultivated Blood Shortage
1 Malkavian Derangement: Paranoia
1 Malkavian Seven Miseries, The
1 Detection
1 Vicissitude Poisoning
1 Pentex Subversion
1 Club Illusion
1 Giant`s Blood
1 Guardian Angel
1 Twilight Camp
1 Smiling Jack, The Anarch
1 Asylum Hunting Ground
1 Society Hunting Ground
4 Vessel
1 Powerbase: Montreal
1 Lilith's Blessing
Action (5 cards)
1 Aranthebes, The Immortal
1 Nose of the Hound
3 Constant Revolution
Reaction (36 cards)
1 Mistaken Identity
4 Eyes of Argus
4 On the Qui Vive
4 Forced Awakening
4 Spirit`s Touch
4 Enhanced Senses
4 Eagle`s Sight
3 Precognition
5 Telepathic Misdirection
2 My Enemy`s Enemy
1 Final Loosening
Combat (11 cards)
7 Concealed Weapon
4 Groundfighting
Equipment (11 cards)
1 Sniper Rifle
6 .44 Magnum
1 Ivory Bow
1 Bowl of Convergence
1 Spike-Thrower
1 IR Goggles
Event (2 cards)
1 Break the Code
1 Anthelios, the Red Star
---------
So the deck may not be your cup of tea. But it should give an example of what I'm trying to talk about here. Could this weenie auspex be "better" without the clan hosers? SURE! But I adjusted the deck to make them viable, and when the card hits it definitely gives the target something he didn't expect.
There are always versions of your decks to play. Don't be nailed down to one version and just think "oh I lost because of XYZ". Think. Determine. Improve.
Just consider it.
Monday, November 28, 2011
Quick Guide to Toreador Prince decks
I've been playing Toreador Prince decks again on JOL and they have been doing remarkably well. But I always use the Group 1/2 or group 2/3. Makes me wonder what can be done with other groups. And what other vamps (titled) are used as support. ***I wanted to write a blog on "It's not better, its Different!" rant/discussion that is a precursor to this blog. (why use other groups when Toreador 1/2 is SO good. Ugh, so annoying.) But that is still in the collecting-thoughts process. Next week perhaps.
So this blog is the short short version of comparisons of Toreador Prince/Justicar. I won't list the Toreador Princes but will just make notes that you can confirm via various deck builders.
The idea is for readers to look at these comparisons and will give you an example how to play to certain groupings strengths and not just use the same library with a different crypt. I believe that this lesson has to be learned by many players, old and new. Otherwise, one is just stuck using the older vampires. But I digress.
Toreador Group 1/2
- Home of the AAA decks (Anson, Anneke, Alexandria). Strong abilities with full set of disciplines.
Strengths - All the vamps have strong abilities. Can get support princes of Rake, Calebros, Volker (dependent on focusing on PRE or CEL)
Conclusion: This is the main choice of Toreador title decks. We know its good so I won't focus on it.
Toreador Group 2/3
- Get all the group 2 vamps but in exchange for Anson and Anneke, you get Ira Rivers and Madame Guil... AND Jaroslav Pascek! Jaroslav, Ira Rivers with 2nd trad is 3 intercept as oppossed to the normal 2 (Ira only against political actions).
- Ira is good. Eyes of Argus, Quicken Sight, Eagle sight, Telepathic Misdirection. Look into abusing her ability. Good stuff.
- Pascek and Madame has foritude for forced march. Pascek, Francois, Klaus, Suzanne Kadim and Antoinette has obf. Strong bleed/vote at stealth that not possible at group 1/2.
- Micheal Luther is awesome.
Deck Idea: If want a unique deck, you can combine, prince and Magiji! Falhu Shibaba for Forced march angle or Kisha Bhimji for obfuscate [cel obf AUS]. Add a No Secrets or three...
Toreador Group 3/4
- This one is harder to consider for Toreador and not think about Titled Cam in general. Who does one get?
Eugene - Only a primogen, but goes very well with Madamne Guil.
Can have a strong crypt of Madame Guil, Annabelle Triabell, Eugene, Muhandis, Fahd al-Zawba`a, (adding support of Mustafa the Heir perhaps), and abuse the hell out of Toreador Grandball with freak drive and forced march. Add some third traditions and embraces and have Annabelle Triabell go to town.
- This is good for a meta game where intercept is prevalent.
Toreador Group 4/5
- This is the hardest one because of the limit of what is available. Can a Toreador Prince(ish) deck be made that is viable? What does one get that you don't get in other decks?
- The Dominate is interesting... Rafael de Corazon, Montecalme, Epikasta Rigatos makes a good Govern chain. Ransam, The Old Man and Sheva Carr at the bottom. But why them as opposed to Ventrue? Well Rafeal has OBF, but so does Arika.
- Abilities? Epikasta Rigatos is good but one needs a small deck to really use his special. Montecalme ability is nice, but no real steath and no multi-act.
CONCLUSION
--- I think that a Toreador PRINCE deck is NOT viable (in comparison to other groups), there is not enough specials, that make it worth it as opposed to Ventrue (who are very strong in 4/5).
--- BUT that's okay! Toreador Group 4/5 have still a lot going for it that is not a Prince themed (except for the Vidal Jarbeaux idea, see below!). Below are some things that make one want to use Toreador group 4/5, particularly in Tornaments.
1) Rafael de Corazon - Get OBF and Alexandria becomes not that great. I know that it seems like not a great ability, but for those who go to tournaments, how often does AAA hit the table? I thought so. :-) Using Rafael with Flurry of Action for Bleed/Vote is strong. Weenie AUS as support to flush out AI and bounce with Revelations.
2) Montecalme is a interesting vampire who I haven't seen play yet. His ability almost always ensures that he can get a voter cap off. He also has DOM so 2nd Tradition with Obedience and Deflection (since you remain untapped) is good. I would use him with Epikasta Rigatos. Montecalme versus Mary Anne Blaire? If one goes pure AUS DOM, Mary wins out. But mary has no stealth discipline at all, while Montecalme has CEL and obt. (not to mention Grand Ball of course). Resist the Earth's Grasp is great card. Stealth and man long for Majesty. The 6 cap prince Vasily is good support.
3) Vidal Jarbeaux is cool. A version of Mata Hari but with a Bleed discpline. Options:
--- add to Title guys mention above and play the Vote locations of other clans. He can even play one parity shift. :)
--- Presence bleed deck (has obf) and add wall allies like Ambrosius.
Okay, so this blog did not go exactly how I expected but it did give me a interesting ideas for Toreador Group 3/4... will make that deck soon and report back.
Adam
I've been playing Toreador Prince decks again on JOL and they have been doing remarkably well. But I always use the Group 1/2 or group 2/3. Makes me wonder what can be done with other groups. And what other vamps (titled) are used as support. ***I wanted to write a blog on "It's not better, its Different!" rant/discussion that is a precursor to this blog. (why use other groups when Toreador 1/2 is SO good. Ugh, so annoying.) But that is still in the collecting-thoughts process. Next week perhaps.
So this blog is the short short version of comparisons of Toreador Prince/Justicar. I won't list the Toreador Princes but will just make notes that you can confirm via various deck builders.
The idea is for readers to look at these comparisons and will give you an example how to play to certain groupings strengths and not just use the same library with a different crypt. I believe that this lesson has to be learned by many players, old and new. Otherwise, one is just stuck using the older vampires. But I digress.
Toreador Group 1/2
- Home of the AAA decks (Anson, Anneke, Alexandria). Strong abilities with full set of disciplines.
Strengths - All the vamps have strong abilities. Can get support princes of Rake, Calebros, Volker (dependent on focusing on PRE or CEL)
Conclusion: This is the main choice of Toreador title decks. We know its good so I won't focus on it.
Toreador Group 2/3
- Get all the group 2 vamps but in exchange for Anson and Anneke, you get Ira Rivers and Madame Guil... AND Jaroslav Pascek! Jaroslav, Ira Rivers with 2nd trad is 3 intercept as oppossed to the normal 2 (Ira only against political actions).
- Ira is good. Eyes of Argus, Quicken Sight, Eagle sight, Telepathic Misdirection. Look into abusing her ability. Good stuff.
- Pascek and Madame has foritude for forced march. Pascek, Francois, Klaus, Suzanne Kadim and Antoinette has obf. Strong bleed/vote at stealth that not possible at group 1/2.
- Micheal Luther is awesome.
Deck Idea: If want a unique deck, you can combine, prince and Magiji! Falhu Shibaba for Forced march angle or Kisha Bhimji for obfuscate [cel obf AUS]. Add a No Secrets or three...
Toreador Group 3/4
- This one is harder to consider for Toreador and not think about Titled Cam in general. Who does one get?
Eugene - Only a primogen, but goes very well with Madamne Guil.
Can have a strong crypt of Madame Guil, Annabelle Triabell, Eugene, Muhandis, Fahd al-Zawba`a, (adding support of Mustafa the Heir perhaps), and abuse the hell out of Toreador Grandball with freak drive and forced march. Add some third traditions and embraces and have Annabelle Triabell go to town.
- This is good for a meta game where intercept is prevalent.
Toreador Group 4/5
- This is the hardest one because of the limit of what is available. Can a Toreador Prince(ish) deck be made that is viable? What does one get that you don't get in other decks?
- The Dominate is interesting... Rafael de Corazon, Montecalme, Epikasta Rigatos makes a good Govern chain. Ransam, The Old Man and Sheva Carr at the bottom. But why them as opposed to Ventrue? Well Rafeal has OBF, but so does Arika.
- Abilities? Epikasta Rigatos is good but one needs a small deck to really use his special. Montecalme ability is nice, but no real steath and no multi-act.
CONCLUSION
--- I think that a Toreador PRINCE deck is NOT viable (in comparison to other groups), there is not enough specials, that make it worth it as opposed to Ventrue (who are very strong in 4/5).
--- BUT that's okay! Toreador Group 4/5 have still a lot going for it that is not a Prince themed (except for the Vidal Jarbeaux idea, see below!). Below are some things that make one want to use Toreador group 4/5, particularly in Tornaments.
1) Rafael de Corazon - Get OBF and Alexandria becomes not that great. I know that it seems like not a great ability, but for those who go to tournaments, how often does AAA hit the table? I thought so. :-) Using Rafael with Flurry of Action for Bleed/Vote is strong. Weenie AUS as support to flush out AI and bounce with Revelations.
2) Montecalme is a interesting vampire who I haven't seen play yet. His ability almost always ensures that he can get a voter cap off. He also has DOM so 2nd Tradition with Obedience and Deflection (since you remain untapped) is good. I would use him with Epikasta Rigatos. Montecalme versus Mary Anne Blaire? If one goes pure AUS DOM, Mary wins out. But mary has no stealth discipline at all, while Montecalme has CEL and obt. (not to mention Grand Ball of course). Resist the Earth's Grasp is great card. Stealth and man long for Majesty. The 6 cap prince Vasily is good support.
3) Vidal Jarbeaux is cool. A version of Mata Hari but with a Bleed discpline. Options:
--- add to Title guys mention above and play the Vote locations of other clans. He can even play one parity shift. :)
--- Presence bleed deck (has obf) and add wall allies like Ambrosius.
Okay, so this blog did not go exactly how I expected but it did give me a interesting ideas for Toreador Group 3/4... will make that deck soon and report back.
Adam
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Winning with Enkidu
So here is the deal. Enkidu.
Enkidu, The Noah 11 for ANI CEL OBF POT PRO Gangrel Antitribu 4 Sabbat. Red List: Enkidu can enter combat with any minion as a (D) action. If Enkidu succesfully performs an action to employ a retainer, he untaps at the end of the turn. He cannot have or use equipment. +2 strength
People like to play with Enkidu, he's a monster with some great abilities.
I just went to a tournament and someone played a Enkidu - raptor deck. It was the common theme, get 7 raptors on him and deck players. The player seemed to get the ratios down pretty well (earth melds, psyches, pack alpha, raptor etc) but it only got one VP and ruined a lot of peoples games. It was an interesting deck... but it didn't win.
Then there is the combat machine deck. Enkidu runs around destroying vamps. This also does not win. Will get stealth bled out or something.
I find that Enkidu almost has like a curse on him. But what do that mean? Well, there is the obvious table hate. "Oh its Enkidu, he will ruin my game and then get ousted." Or the obvious, "must save pentex for Enkidu". Or even the simple "well he has no intercept, i'll just bleed/vote oust him".
So what to do? This is a fun vampire to play, he has the disciplines to do many things so how do you make a strong deck with him but try and minimize this table hate. This blog is to get you give some ideas of non-standard Enkidu decks.
Deck 1:
Deck Name: Enkidu and the Pussycats
Created By: Adam Hulse
Description: While most Enkidu decks are about going out and destroying you prey, a wallish deck can be made using Ahrimanes as support. Enkidu could not even come out (if you are being heavily pressured) and the deck will still function fine. Just Bring out Muricia out first is possible.
Couple of things to note:
- Enkidu is Gangrel Anti and can actually become Ahrimane.
- Maria Stone and Enkidu share a lot of disciplines. Something to consider even though she doesnt have Aninalism.
- Sabbat and Ahrimanes hunt tech is strong and focuses on retainers which goes with Enkidu's special
This particular deck focuses on untap abilities.
Ironically, Forced March did not make the cut but Maria Stone and Enkidu share it. A possible different deck?
Crypt: (12 cards, Min: 21, Max: 44, Avg: 7.75)
----------------------------------------------
4 Muricia ANI PRE SPI 7 Ahrimanes
1 Gentha Shale pot spi ANI PRE6 Ahrimanes
1 Effie Lowery obf ANI SPI 5 Ahrimanes
1 Maria Stone (ADV) cel obf pre pro spi FOR5 Ahrimanes
1 Maria Stone cel obf pro FOR5 Gangrel Antitribu
4 Enkidu for ANI CEL OBF POT PRO11 Gangrel Antitribu
Library: (90 cards)
-------------------
Master (17 cards)
2 Wider View
2 Dreams of the Sphinx
4 Blood Doll
2 Villein
1 Smiling Jack, The Anarch
2 Pentex Subversion
1 Sudden Reversal
1 Perfectionist
1 Barrens, The
1 Hungry Coyote, The
Action (17 cards)
1 Aranthebes, The Immortal
2 Muricia`s Call
3 Vulture`s Buffet
4 Engling Fury
2 Sanguine Instruction
2 Abbot
2 Charge of the Buffalo
1 Nose of the Hound
Reaction (18 cards)
7 Speak with Spirits
3 Falcon`s Eye
4 Sense the Savage Way
2 Delaying Tactics
2 Ears of the Hare
Combat (21 cards)
2 Earth Meld
1 Wolf Claws
4 Carrion Crows
3 Immortal Grapple
1 Claws of the Dead
5 Taste of Vitae
2 Aid from Bats
3 Canine Horde
Retainer (7 cards)
4 Raven Spy
1 Mr. Winthrop
1 J. S. Simmons, Esq.
1 Tasha Morgan
Equipment (1 cards)
1 Camera Phone
Event (1 cards)
1 Scourge of the Enochians
Combo (8 cards)
2 Swallowed by the Night
6 Swiftness of the Stag
-----------
Deck 2:
Deck Name: Enkidu for President
Created By: Adam Hulse
Description: Another deck where Enkidu is good to draw but not essential.
Enkidu is a fine contender for Regent I say. Along with certain supporting vamps this can be a Powerful bruise and Vote deck.
Why use Enkidu as supposed to some other built in vamp? Can always cycle the combat out of your hand for one and not need a rush.
Also can take advantage of unique Gangrel Anti cards and Sabbat cards.
Interesting note: Note Aeron's special with Disarm
Since this version uses a lot of big vampires, will use standard acceleration package.
Crypt: (12 cards, Min: 30, Max: 44, Avg: 9.33)
----------------------------------------------
2 Greensleeves for pot ANI OBF7 Nosferatu Antitribu
2 Lukas pre ser ANI OBF POT8 Nosferatu Antitribu
2 Ysador the Foul obt ANI DEM FOR OBF POT10 Nosferatu Antitribu
2 Aeron aus pro ANI OBF POT9 Nosferatu Antitribu
4 Enkidu for ANI CEL OBF POT PRO11 Gangrel Antitribu
Library: (90 cards)
-------------------
Master (26 cards)
2 Wider View
3 Dreams of the Sphinx
3 Information Highway
3 Zillah`s Valley
1 Nosferatu Kingdom
1 Giant`s Blood
3 Regent
1 Barrens, The
6 Villein
1 Black Forest Base
1 Powerbase: Madrid
1 Blood Doll
Action (4 cards)
1 Preternatural Strength
1 Eternal Vigilance
2 Abbot
Action Modifier (20 cards)
4 Animal Magnetism
7 Freak Drive
3 Lost in Crowds
3 Faceless Night
1 Enkil Cog
2 Forgotten Labyrinth
Political Action (16 cards)
1 Rumors of Gehenna
1 Political Stranglehold
1 Templar
7 Kine Resources Contested
3 Banishment
1 Ancient Influence
2 Neonate Breach
Reaction (4 cards)
3 Sense the Savage Way
1 Lost in Translation
Combat (17 cards)
5 Immortal Grapple
4 Undead Strength
3 Disarm
3 Alpha Glint
2 Taste of Vitae
Retainer (1 cards)
1 Mr. Winthrop
Combo (2 cards)
2 Swallowed by the Night
----------
And for those reading this Blog, just so you don't think I'm talking out of my ass. Here is a tournament winning deck with the same theme.
So there may be a lot of table hate concerning our friend Enkidu. Just remember, make all the Methuselah's pay attention to something else, and then let Enkidu flutter on in... and destroy everything. "What do you mean everythi... EVERYTHING!!!! (who knows what movie that quote comes from?)
Adam
Enkidu, The Noah 11 for ANI CEL OBF POT PRO Gangrel Antitribu 4 Sabbat. Red List: Enkidu can enter combat with any minion as a (D) action. If Enkidu succesfully performs an action to employ a retainer, he untaps at the end of the turn. He cannot have or use equipment. +2 strength
People like to play with Enkidu, he's a monster with some great abilities.
I just went to a tournament and someone played a Enkidu - raptor deck. It was the common theme, get 7 raptors on him and deck players. The player seemed to get the ratios down pretty well (earth melds, psyches, pack alpha, raptor etc) but it only got one VP and ruined a lot of peoples games. It was an interesting deck... but it didn't win.
Then there is the combat machine deck. Enkidu runs around destroying vamps. This also does not win. Will get stealth bled out or something.
I find that Enkidu almost has like a curse on him. But what do that mean? Well, there is the obvious table hate. "Oh its Enkidu, he will ruin my game and then get ousted." Or the obvious, "must save pentex for Enkidu". Or even the simple "well he has no intercept, i'll just bleed/vote oust him".
So what to do? This is a fun vampire to play, he has the disciplines to do many things so how do you make a strong deck with him but try and minimize this table hate. This blog is to get you give some ideas of non-standard Enkidu decks.
Deck 1:
Deck Name: Enkidu and the Pussycats
Created By: Adam Hulse
Description: While most Enkidu decks are about going out and destroying you prey, a wallish deck can be made using Ahrimanes as support. Enkidu could not even come out (if you are being heavily pressured) and the deck will still function fine. Just Bring out Muricia out first is possible.
Couple of things to note:
- Enkidu is Gangrel Anti and can actually become Ahrimane.
- Maria Stone and Enkidu share a lot of disciplines. Something to consider even though she doesnt have Aninalism.
- Sabbat and Ahrimanes hunt tech is strong and focuses on retainers which goes with Enkidu's special
This particular deck focuses on untap abilities.
Ironically, Forced March did not make the cut but Maria Stone and Enkidu share it. A possible different deck?
Crypt: (12 cards, Min: 21, Max: 44, Avg: 7.75)
----------------------------------------------
4 Muricia ANI PRE SPI 7 Ahrimanes
1 Gentha Shale pot spi ANI PRE6 Ahrimanes
1 Effie Lowery obf ANI SPI 5 Ahrimanes
1 Maria Stone (ADV) cel obf pre pro spi FOR5 Ahrimanes
1 Maria Stone cel obf pro FOR5 Gangrel Antitribu
4 Enkidu for ANI CEL OBF POT PRO11 Gangrel Antitribu
Library: (90 cards)
-------------------
Master (17 cards)
2 Wider View
2 Dreams of the Sphinx
4 Blood Doll
2 Villein
1 Smiling Jack, The Anarch
2 Pentex Subversion
1 Sudden Reversal
1 Perfectionist
1 Barrens, The
1 Hungry Coyote, The
Action (17 cards)
1 Aranthebes, The Immortal
2 Muricia`s Call
3 Vulture`s Buffet
4 Engling Fury
2 Sanguine Instruction
2 Abbot
2 Charge of the Buffalo
1 Nose of the Hound
Reaction (18 cards)
7 Speak with Spirits
3 Falcon`s Eye
4 Sense the Savage Way
2 Delaying Tactics
2 Ears of the Hare
Combat (21 cards)
2 Earth Meld
1 Wolf Claws
4 Carrion Crows
3 Immortal Grapple
1 Claws of the Dead
5 Taste of Vitae
2 Aid from Bats
3 Canine Horde
Retainer (7 cards)
4 Raven Spy
1 Mr. Winthrop
1 J. S. Simmons, Esq.
1 Tasha Morgan
Equipment (1 cards)
1 Camera Phone
Event (1 cards)
1 Scourge of the Enochians
Combo (8 cards)
2 Swallowed by the Night
6 Swiftness of the Stag
-----------
Deck 2:
Deck Name: Enkidu for President
Created By: Adam Hulse
Description: Another deck where Enkidu is good to draw but not essential.
Enkidu is a fine contender for Regent I say. Along with certain supporting vamps this can be a Powerful bruise and Vote deck.
Why use Enkidu as supposed to some other built in vamp? Can always cycle the combat out of your hand for one and not need a rush.
Also can take advantage of unique Gangrel Anti cards and Sabbat cards.
Interesting note: Note Aeron's special with Disarm
Since this version uses a lot of big vampires, will use standard acceleration package.
Crypt: (12 cards, Min: 30, Max: 44, Avg: 9.33)
----------------------------------------------
2 Greensleeves for pot ANI OBF7 Nosferatu Antitribu
2 Lukas pre ser ANI OBF POT8 Nosferatu Antitribu
2 Ysador the Foul obt ANI DEM FOR OBF POT10 Nosferatu Antitribu
2 Aeron aus pro ANI OBF POT9 Nosferatu Antitribu
4 Enkidu for ANI CEL OBF POT PRO11 Gangrel Antitribu
Library: (90 cards)
-------------------
Master (26 cards)
2 Wider View
3 Dreams of the Sphinx
3 Information Highway
3 Zillah`s Valley
1 Nosferatu Kingdom
1 Giant`s Blood
3 Regent
1 Barrens, The
6 Villein
1 Black Forest Base
1 Powerbase: Madrid
1 Blood Doll
Action (4 cards)
1 Preternatural Strength
1 Eternal Vigilance
2 Abbot
Action Modifier (20 cards)
4 Animal Magnetism
7 Freak Drive
3 Lost in Crowds
3 Faceless Night
1 Enkil Cog
2 Forgotten Labyrinth
Political Action (16 cards)
1 Rumors of Gehenna
1 Political Stranglehold
1 Templar
7 Kine Resources Contested
3 Banishment
1 Ancient Influence
2 Neonate Breach
Reaction (4 cards)
3 Sense the Savage Way
1 Lost in Translation
Combat (17 cards)
5 Immortal Grapple
4 Undead Strength
3 Disarm
3 Alpha Glint
2 Taste of Vitae
Retainer (1 cards)
1 Mr. Winthrop
Combo (2 cards)
2 Swallowed by the Night
----------
And for those reading this Blog, just so you don't think I'm talking out of my ass. Here is a tournament winning deck with the same theme.
-----------Monday Mayhem XX
Tampere, Finland
September 6, 2010
18 players
Ville Kaijasaari's Tournament Winning Deck
Deck name; Dorkaa ja karmeeta
(a running joke from our earlier trip to Sweden last year.) Allegedly
the deck was made for the local "bash nights" in Pori, and was cut 20
combat cards or so before arriving to Tampere.
Crypt:[12 vampires] capacity min:4 max:12 average:7.41666
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
3x Enkidu, The Noah 11 for ANI CEL OBF POT PRO Gangrel Antitribu:4
1x Owain Evans, The Wanderer 8 cel pre AUS DOM FOR Ventrue Antitribu:3
1x Titus Camille 8 for AUS DOM OBF Ventrue Antitribu:4
1x Blackhorse Tanner 7 AUS DOM FOR Ventrue Antitribu:3
1x Edward Neally 7 aus pre DOM FOR Ventrue Antitribu:3
1x Joseph O'Grady 7 aus cel DOM FOR Ventrue Antitribu:3
1x Jephta Hester 5 aus DOM FOR Ventrue Antitribu:4
1x Louis de Maisonneuve 5 aus dom obf FOR Ventrue Antitribu:4
1x Neighbor John 5 dom for AUS Ventrue Antitribu:4
1x Katherine Stoddard 4 dom for Ventrue Antitribu:3
Library: [90 cards]
--------------------------------
Action:[2]
2x Govern the Unaligned
Actin Modifier:[6]
3x Conditioning
1x Enkil Cog
1x Foreshadowing Destruction
1x Threats
Combat:[40]
4x Hidden Strength
6x Pulled Fangs
2x Resilience
10x Rolling with the Punches
2x Soak
4x Target Vitals
5x Taste of Vitae
3x Trap
4x Weighted Walking Stick
Equipment:[2]
1x Heart of Nizchetus
1x Seal of Veddartha
Master:[17]
1x Archon Investigation
1x Campground Hunting Ground
1x Corporate Hunting Ground
2x Fortitude
1x Giant´s Blood
2x Lilith´s Blessing
8x Villein
1x Yawp Court
Reaction:[23]
6x Deflection
1x Delaying Tactics
1x Eluding the Arms of Morpheus
1x Enhanced Senses
2x Eyes of Argus
1x Forced Vigilance
1x My Enemy´s Enemy
7x On the Qui Vive
1x Redirection
1x Telepathic Misdirection
1x Wake with Evening´s Freshness
So there may be a lot of table hate concerning our friend Enkidu. Just remember, make all the Methuselah's pay attention to something else, and then let Enkidu flutter on in... and destroy everything. "What do you mean everythi... EVERYTHING!!!! (who knows what movie that quote comes from?)
Adam
Thursday, November 17, 2011
This post is a test.
Here is a test. Also to check the format since this is a VTES blog. Here is a random deck.
Deck Name: Ariadne learns from Beast the Anarch
Created By: Adam Hulse
Description: Version of an Anarch Beast deck. i.e. play AR and rush the anarch's. Untested as of 11/17/11
Crypt: (12 cards, Min: 4, Max: 32, Avg: 3.91)
---------------------------------------------
4 Ariadne chi ANI FOR PRO8 Gangrel
1 Keith Moody DOM 3 Tremere Antitribu
1 Ulrike Rothbart dom for 3 Ventrue Antitribu
1 Almodo Giovanni dom pot 3 Giovanni
1 Jackson Asher dom 2 Ventrue
4 Anarch Convert none 1 Caitiff
Library: (90 cards)
-------------------
Master (19 cards)
1 Powerbase: Montreal
2 Quietus
1 Pentex Subversion
1 Fame
4 Anarch Revolt
5 Villein
2 Vessel
1 Poacher's Hunting Ground
1 Hospital Food
1 Anarch Free Press, The
Action (13 cards)
1 Bum`s Rush
2 Ambush
2 Harass
2 Sense Death
1 Ritual Challenge
5 Abactor
Action Modifier (12 cards)
8 Freak Drive
4 Earth Control
Reaction (8 cards)
2 Delaying Tactics
6 Deflection
Combat (27 cards)
5 Amaranth
7 Claws of the Dead
5 Indomitability
2 Rolling with the Punches
2 Bone Spur
2 Body Flare
2 Scorpion Sting
2 Form of Mist
Retainer (6 cards)
2 Raven Spy
3 Dog Pack
1 Murder of Crows
Equipment (3 cards)
1 Ivory Bow
1 Aaron`s Feeding Razor
1 Helicopter
Combo (2 cards)
2 Steely Tenacity
Deck Name: Ariadne learns from Beast the Anarch
Created By: Adam Hulse
Description: Version of an Anarch Beast deck. i.e. play AR and rush the anarch's. Untested as of 11/17/11
Crypt: (12 cards, Min: 4, Max: 32, Avg: 3.91)
---------------------------------------------
4 Ariadne chi ANI FOR PRO8 Gangrel
1 Keith Moody DOM 3 Tremere Antitribu
1 Ulrike Rothbart dom for 3 Ventrue Antitribu
1 Almodo Giovanni dom pot 3 Giovanni
1 Jackson Asher dom 2 Ventrue
4 Anarch Convert none 1 Caitiff
Library: (90 cards)
-------------------
Master (19 cards)
1 Powerbase: Montreal
2 Quietus
1 Pentex Subversion
1 Fame
4 Anarch Revolt
5 Villein
2 Vessel
1 Poacher's Hunting Ground
1 Hospital Food
1 Anarch Free Press, The
Action (13 cards)
1 Bum`s Rush
2 Ambush
2 Harass
2 Sense Death
1 Ritual Challenge
5 Abactor
Action Modifier (12 cards)
8 Freak Drive
4 Earth Control
Reaction (8 cards)
2 Delaying Tactics
6 Deflection
Combat (27 cards)
5 Amaranth
7 Claws of the Dead
5 Indomitability
2 Rolling with the Punches
2 Bone Spur
2 Body Flare
2 Scorpion Sting
2 Form of Mist
Retainer (6 cards)
2 Raven Spy
3 Dog Pack
1 Murder of Crows
Equipment (3 cards)
1 Ivory Bow
1 Aaron`s Feeding Razor
1 Helicopter
Combo (2 cards)
2 Steely Tenacity
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