Here I have a non-Necromancy/non-Giovanni related deck(One of my rare few) but it's terribly cute, although not always effective. It has won some games though, so it does work if a bit of luck is on your side. It's a Nosferatu Antitribu Courier deck! I'm also the only person in Singapore crazy enough to use Leech as the main card of the deck! But well, as I said, it makes for hilarious moments.
Deck Name: DedEx Delivery
Created By: The Necromancer
Crypt: (12 cards, Min: 16, Max: 24, Avg: 5)
-------------------------------------------
1 Christanius Lionel ANI OBF pot 6 Nosferatu Antitribu
2 Olivia OBF POT vic 5 Nosferatu Antitribu
1 Agatha obf POT 4 Nosferatu Antitribu
1 Nigel the Shunned ANI obf POT 5 Nosferatu Antitribu
1 Gerard Rafin ani for OBF POT6 Nosferatu
1 Cicatriz ani obf pot 5 Nosferatu Antitribu
1 Ox ANI OBF POT 6 Nosferatu Antitribu
1 Tock obf pot pre 4 Nosferatu Antitribu
1 Ingram Frizer ani pot AUS OBF6 Nosferatu Antitribu
1 Gemini ani OBF obt pot5 Nosferatu
1 Shannon Price ani obf 3 Nosferatu Antitribu
Library: (90 cards)
-------------------
Master (16 cards)
1 Sunset Strip, Hollywood
2 Society of Leopold
6 Vessel
6 Perfectionist
1 Lilith's Blessing
Action (29 cards)
4 Psychic Veil
8 Horseshoes
17 Leech
Action Modifier (14 cards)
6 Cloak the Gathering
6 Veil the Legions
1 Lost in Crowds
1 Faceless Night
Combat (15 cards)
6 Torn Signpost
6 Slam
3 Immortal Grapple
Ally (16 cards)
1 Young Bloods
15 Courier
Primary Oust Method:
The deck simply starts off my recruiting as many Couriers as possible. Now these Couriers start off as mere paperboys, but soon start growing into FedEx or UPS. Once you've gotten a Courier or two, the Leech shenanigans begin. The idea is that a Courier uses Leech to steal a blood from a vampire(usually your Predator but can be used on your Prey if necessary), and then untap, gain potence, and Bleed your Prey for 1. If blocked, used Veil the Legions or Cloak the Gathering to help the Couriers along. You'll find that that Couriers soon start getting fatter than your own vampires(Who will probably be low on blood, so make good use of Perfectionist to refill them). Swarm bleed your prey while throwing junk at your Predator's vampires such as Horseshoes and Leech. If the Couriers find themselves in combat after having Leeched previously, they can use Torn Signpost and Slam to beat an unsuspecting vampire for 4 damage. If you happen to draw an Immortal Grapple, you can even call it "I'm Mortal Grapple!" as the initially 0 Strength but fat Courier suddenly hugs an opposing vampire and beats it into submission. The Potence combat cards are also helpful if your !Nosferatu get stuck in a combat.
Secondary Oust Method:
None really, ummm you could try to mill your prey's library away using the Couriers' ability, but that isn't going to do you much good is it?
Plan C:
Zilch, Nada, Zip.
Strengths:
-Multi-acting, multi-purpose allies make for a big irritation to your Predator and Prey at the same time.
-Sunset Strip coupled with Perfectionist gives you a Courier essentially free.
-Use Society of Leopold to take advantage of all the Leeching going on and burn annoying vamps.
-Psychic Veil comes in VERY handy for important turns when you have a barrage of actions to perform, which is basically most turns.
-Young Bloods complements this deck well as it can effectively remove 3 blood a turn using Leech and its built-in ability.
-The ability of the Couriers to mill away the top card of your Prey's library can be critical at denying crucial cards to your Prey. Never forget to look at the top card when you Bleed successfully.
-Cute factor!!!! XD
Weaknesses:
-Prone to hand getting jammed on Leech if there are no Couriers around to use them.
-Can't block at all, considering that the Couriers have -1 intercept blocking vampires, and your vampires don't really want to be in combat.
-Combat defence for your vampires is nonexistent, basically all you can do is smash hard and pray that you take the opposing vamp with you.
-Pool gain mechanisms are not great in this deck, and with no intercept and no bounces, you're depending on keeping your Predator's vampires starved of blood.
-Problems against large capacity vampires who don't spend their blood, unable to throw enough junk at them.
-All bleeds are for 1. You are depending on numbers to oust.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Call of the Hungry Dead: Relapse Patient
This deck, which I've had for some time, is yet another irritating deck that gives the people around the table a headache. It is a hybrid !Malkavian + Giovanni deck that basically uses Escaped Mental Patients as missiles, and then uses Compel the Spirit to put them back into play for more fun.
Deck Name: Relapse Patient
Created By: The Necromancer
Crypt: (12 cards, Min: 11, Max: 22, Avg: 3.91)
----------------------------------------------
1 Rudolfo Giovanni NEC 3 Giovanni
1 Gloria Giovanni DOM nec 4 Giovanni
1 Lia Milliner dom nec 3 Giovanni
1 Rafaele Giovanni cel NEC obf 6 Giovanni
1 Mario Giovanni nec pot 3 Giovanni
1 Cristofero Giovanni nec pot 3 Giovanni
1 Artemis aus cel DEM for OBF6 Malkavian Antitribu
1 Claven aus dem obf 4 Malkavian Antitribu
1 Dolphin Black AUS DEM OBF 6 Malkavian Antitribu
1 Yorik dem obf 3 Malkavian Antitribu
1 Boy Toy dem 2 Malkavian Antitribu
1 Roger Farnsworth aus OBF 4 Malkavian Antitribu
Library: (90 cards)
-------------------
Master (22 cards)
4 Path of Bone, The
2 Vessel
1 Fame
7 Necromancy
2 Dreams of the Sphinx
4 Tribute to the Master
1 Sunset Strip, Hollywood
1 Lilith's Blessing
Action (25 cards)
11 Compel the Spirit
2 Sibyl`s Tongue
5 Sudario Refraction
7 Kindred Spirits
Action Modifier (18 cards)
6 Cloak the Gathering
6 Veil the Legions
3 Call of the Hungry Dead
3 Eyes of Chaos
Combat (6 cards)
6 Fake Out
Ally (15 cards)
3 Procurer
10 Escaped Mental Patient
1 Gregory Winter
1 Tye Cooper
Event (3 cards)
1 FBI Special Affairs Division
2 Unmasking, The
Combo (1 cards)
1 Spectral Divination
Primary Oust Method:
Dementation bleed using the !Malkavian vampires, helped along with Obfuscate stealth, as well as perhaps some ghetto bleeding by the Giovanni. Meanwhile, knock opposing vampires into torpor with a barrage of Mental Patients, use Compel the Spirit to repeat this. Use Sudario Refraction to take any important cards that you need back from the Ash Heap, whether it be bleed modifiers or Compel the Spirit. Use Sibyl's Tongue to fish out the Unmasking, Path of Bone, or whatever key card you need. Use Gregory Winter or Tye Cooper to burn the vampires that you send to torpor, boosting their stealth with Cloak or Veil as necessary.
Secondary Oust Method:
Look for Fame, slap it on one of your prey's vampires, and use the Patients to send it into torpor repeatedly. The Fake Outs are to deal with maneuvers.
Plan C:
None that i can think of, since the deck doesn't bloat terribly well.
Strengths:
-On board rushers with Aggravated damage that can be recurred from the Ash Heap usually scares the bejeezus out of people.
-Don't need to keep paying the cost for the Mental Patients because of Compel the Spirit.
-As Compel puts the Patients into play, they can be used straight away again. This means that even if opposing vampires have strike combat ends cards, sooner or later you'll catch them flat footed and send them to torporland.
-Having 5 Sudario Refractions lets you play with your hand and ash heap to your heart's content. Don't forget to take back a Sudario when you play a Sudario, keeping the Sudario chain intact.
-Each individual action is not worth a great deal, but together they can overwhelm your prey or even predator.
Weaknesses:
-Requires some set up and coordination between all your vampires.
-Often need to play Necromancy master discipline cards on the Giovanni since they are weenies who don't have superior Necromancy.
-Doesn't have overwhelming stealth, can be blocked with a bit of effort.
-The vampries have poor combat defence and will tend to end up in torpor if you are not careful.
-Pool gain mechanisms are not that great in this deck.
-A poor crypt draw may slow the deck down a great deal. Ideally you'd want to draw 2 Malkavians and 2 Giovanni to start with.
Deck Name: Relapse Patient
Created By: The Necromancer
Crypt: (12 cards, Min: 11, Max: 22, Avg: 3.91)
----------------------------------------------
1 Rudolfo Giovanni NEC 3 Giovanni
1 Gloria Giovanni DOM nec 4 Giovanni
1 Lia Milliner dom nec 3 Giovanni
1 Rafaele Giovanni cel NEC obf 6 Giovanni
1 Mario Giovanni nec pot 3 Giovanni
1 Cristofero Giovanni nec pot 3 Giovanni
1 Artemis aus cel DEM for OBF6 Malkavian Antitribu
1 Claven aus dem obf 4 Malkavian Antitribu
1 Dolphin Black AUS DEM OBF 6 Malkavian Antitribu
1 Yorik dem obf 3 Malkavian Antitribu
1 Boy Toy dem 2 Malkavian Antitribu
1 Roger Farnsworth aus OBF 4 Malkavian Antitribu
Library: (90 cards)
-------------------
Master (22 cards)
4 Path of Bone, The
2 Vessel
1 Fame
7 Necromancy
2 Dreams of the Sphinx
4 Tribute to the Master
1 Sunset Strip, Hollywood
1 Lilith's Blessing
Action (25 cards)
11 Compel the Spirit
2 Sibyl`s Tongue
5 Sudario Refraction
7 Kindred Spirits
Action Modifier (18 cards)
6 Cloak the Gathering
6 Veil the Legions
3 Call of the Hungry Dead
3 Eyes of Chaos
Combat (6 cards)
6 Fake Out
Ally (15 cards)
3 Procurer
10 Escaped Mental Patient
1 Gregory Winter
1 Tye Cooper
Event (3 cards)
1 FBI Special Affairs Division
2 Unmasking, The
Combo (1 cards)
1 Spectral Divination
Primary Oust Method:
Dementation bleed using the !Malkavian vampires, helped along with Obfuscate stealth, as well as perhaps some ghetto bleeding by the Giovanni. Meanwhile, knock opposing vampires into torpor with a barrage of Mental Patients, use Compel the Spirit to repeat this. Use Sudario Refraction to take any important cards that you need back from the Ash Heap, whether it be bleed modifiers or Compel the Spirit. Use Sibyl's Tongue to fish out the Unmasking, Path of Bone, or whatever key card you need. Use Gregory Winter or Tye Cooper to burn the vampires that you send to torpor, boosting their stealth with Cloak or Veil as necessary.
Secondary Oust Method:
Look for Fame, slap it on one of your prey's vampires, and use the Patients to send it into torpor repeatedly. The Fake Outs are to deal with maneuvers.
Plan C:
None that i can think of, since the deck doesn't bloat terribly well.
Strengths:
-On board rushers with Aggravated damage that can be recurred from the Ash Heap usually scares the bejeezus out of people.
-Don't need to keep paying the cost for the Mental Patients because of Compel the Spirit.
-As Compel puts the Patients into play, they can be used straight away again. This means that even if opposing vampires have strike combat ends cards, sooner or later you'll catch them flat footed and send them to torporland.
-Having 5 Sudario Refractions lets you play with your hand and ash heap to your heart's content. Don't forget to take back a Sudario when you play a Sudario, keeping the Sudario chain intact.
-Each individual action is not worth a great deal, but together they can overwhelm your prey or even predator.
Weaknesses:
-Requires some set up and coordination between all your vampires.
-Often need to play Necromancy master discipline cards on the Giovanni since they are weenies who don't have superior Necromancy.
-Doesn't have overwhelming stealth, can be blocked with a bit of effort.
-The vampries have poor combat defence and will tend to end up in torpor if you are not careful.
-Pool gain mechanisms are not that great in this deck.
-A poor crypt draw may slow the deck down a great deal. Ideally you'd want to draw 2 Malkavians and 2 Giovanni to start with.
Call of the Hungry Dead: Geeky Zombies ver.II
After playing a few games here and there with my Anu deck, I've made changes to improve it. Most notably in terms of the Master cards. The review is largely the same, just that the deck composition has changed. So far the deck has proven to be quite evil, especially when it comes to the A.I trick.
Deck Name: Geeky Zombies
Crypt: (12 cards)
---------------------------------------------
4 Anu Diptinatpa DOM NEC aus vic7 Nagaraja
2 Accorri Giovanni DOM POT ani nec6 Giovanni
2 Gianmaria Giovanni POT dom nec obt5 Giovanni
2 Kay Polerno dom necpro 4 Giovanni
2 Stephen Milliner necpre 3 Giovanni
Library: (90 cards)
-------------------
Master (17 cards)
4 Path of Bone, The
2 Giant`s Blood
3 Perfectionist
3 Minion Tap
2 Archon Investigation
1 Rack, The
2 Lilith's Blessing
Action (1 cards)
1 Emergency Rations
Action Modifier (26 cards)
11 Mouthpiece
8 Conditioning
7 Call of the Hungry Dead
Reaction (12 cards)
6 On the Qui Vive
2 Deflection
4 Redirection
Combat (9 cards)
4 Trap
5 Fake Out
Ally (17 cards)
1 Ossian
2 Leonardo, Mortician
14 Shambling Hordes
Retainer (0 cards)
Equipment (2 cards)
1 Palatial Estate
1 Ritual Scalpel
Combo (6 cards)
6 Spectral Divination
Primary Oust Method:
Bleed, bleed, and bleed. When Shambling Hordes declare a bleed for 0, your prey has to think whether they should block or not. If they do, the Horde can try its best to beat up the opposing vampire. If they don't block, boost the bleed with Anu, and Mouthpiece/Conditioning. Keeping Anu well stocked with blood is important for this deck. Don't waste her blood on things other than bleeding or recruiting Hordes unless really necessary, and try to slap a Perfectionist on her so she can replenish her blood. Keep the pressure up, bleed with the weenie Giovanni and the Hordes. Try not to risk Anu unless you have enough stealth in hand. Meanwhile, deflect big bleeds to your prey, and beat up your Predator's vampires if necessary. One sneaky trick is to use Anu to boost your Predator's bleed to 4 if he is bleeding for 3, and then pull an Archon Investigation on him.
Secondary Oust Method:
Send your prey's vampires into torpor with the Shambling Hordes. Not as easy as it sounds though. Alot of things can foil a zombie attack, even if you have a Trap and Fake Out in hand. But against unprepared vampires, it still packs a punch. Or you could hope your predator is a Dom bleeder and bounce his bleeds.
Plan C:
Help somebody on the table sweep by boosting all their bleeds...
Strengths:
-Shambling Hordes can pull double duty, bruise and bleed.
-Being able to boost all your bleeds by 1 is powerful indeed.
-Anu enables you to perform a sort of table control by boosting the bleeds of other Methuselahs to your own advantage.
Weaknesses:
-Having a group 5/6 Crypt means that there isn't much choice.
-Beyond +1 intercept from Spectral Divination, the deck cannot block anything which is at stealth.
-Poor combat defence. Only have the Hordes to stand in the way of rushes, and Fake Out..
-Deck tends to rely on Anu. If she goes down, you'll be in a tough spot.
-Pool recovery is very poor. This may prove fatal if not careful.
Deck Name: Geeky Zombies
Crypt: (12 cards)
---------------------------------------------
4 Anu Diptinatpa DOM NEC aus vic7 Nagaraja
2 Accorri Giovanni DOM POT ani nec6 Giovanni
2 Gianmaria Giovanni POT dom nec obt5 Giovanni
2 Kay Polerno dom necpro 4 Giovanni
2 Stephen Milliner necpre 3 Giovanni
Library: (90 cards)
-------------------
Master (17 cards)
4 Path of Bone, The
2 Giant`s Blood
3 Perfectionist
3 Minion Tap
2 Archon Investigation
1 Rack, The
2 Lilith's Blessing
Action (1 cards)
1 Emergency Rations
Action Modifier (26 cards)
11 Mouthpiece
8 Conditioning
7 Call of the Hungry Dead
Reaction (12 cards)
6 On the Qui Vive
2 Deflection
4 Redirection
Combat (9 cards)
4 Trap
5 Fake Out
Ally (17 cards)
1 Ossian
2 Leonardo, Mortician
14 Shambling Hordes
Retainer (0 cards)
Equipment (2 cards)
1 Palatial Estate
1 Ritual Scalpel
Combo (6 cards)
6 Spectral Divination
Primary Oust Method:
Bleed, bleed, and bleed. When Shambling Hordes declare a bleed for 0, your prey has to think whether they should block or not. If they do, the Horde can try its best to beat up the opposing vampire. If they don't block, boost the bleed with Anu, and Mouthpiece/Conditioning. Keeping Anu well stocked with blood is important for this deck. Don't waste her blood on things other than bleeding or recruiting Hordes unless really necessary, and try to slap a Perfectionist on her so she can replenish her blood. Keep the pressure up, bleed with the weenie Giovanni and the Hordes. Try not to risk Anu unless you have enough stealth in hand. Meanwhile, deflect big bleeds to your prey, and beat up your Predator's vampires if necessary. One sneaky trick is to use Anu to boost your Predator's bleed to 4 if he is bleeding for 3, and then pull an Archon Investigation on him.
Secondary Oust Method:
Send your prey's vampires into torpor with the Shambling Hordes. Not as easy as it sounds though. Alot of things can foil a zombie attack, even if you have a Trap and Fake Out in hand. But against unprepared vampires, it still packs a punch. Or you could hope your predator is a Dom bleeder and bounce his bleeds.
Plan C:
Help somebody on the table sweep by boosting all their bleeds...
Strengths:
-Shambling Hordes can pull double duty, bruise and bleed.
-Being able to boost all your bleeds by 1 is powerful indeed.
-Anu enables you to perform a sort of table control by boosting the bleeds of other Methuselahs to your own advantage.
Weaknesses:
-Having a group 5/6 Crypt means that there isn't much choice.
-Beyond +1 intercept from Spectral Divination, the deck cannot block anything which is at stealth.
-Poor combat defence. Only have the Hordes to stand in the way of rushes, and Fake Out..
-Deck tends to rely on Anu. If she goes down, you'll be in a tough spot.
-Pool recovery is very poor. This may prove fatal if not careful.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Call of the Hungry Dead: Geeky Zombies
This deck was a cute idea which sprung out of my head when I saw Anu Diptinatpa. Still in the testing phases though. After a couple of games, I've swapped out things like Computer Hacking, Leverage, and Change of Target for bounces and more blood gain. The idea is that Anu and the Giovanni will recruit Shambling Hordes to act as both muscle and also bleeders, using Anu's ability and Mouthpiece. Still needs more testing and tweaking methinks..
Deck Name: Geeky Zombies
Crypt: (12 cards, Min: 14, Max: 28, Avg: 5.5)
---------------------------------------------
5 Anu Diptinatpa DOM NEC aus vic7 Nagaraja
2 Accorri Giovanni DOM POT ani nec6 Giovanni
1 Gianmaria Giovanni POT dom nec obt5 Giovanni
2 Kay Polerno dom necpro 4 Giovanni
2 Stephen Milliner necpre 3 Giovanni
Library: (90 cards)
-------------------
Master (12 cards)
3 Path of Bone, The
2 Giant`s Blood
3 Perfectionist
1 Failsafe
1 Barrens, The
1 Villein
1 Coven, The
Action (1 cards)
1 Emergency Rations
Action Modifier (26 cards)
11 Mouthpiece
8 Conditioning
7 Call of the Hungry Dead
Reaction (12 cards)
6 On the Qui Vive
6 Deflection
Combat (10 cards)
4 Trap
6 Fake Out
Ally (18 cards)
1 Ossian
1 Leonardo, Mortician
14 Shambling Hordes
2 Arcanum Investigator
Retainer (2 cards)
1 J. S. Simmons, Esq.
1 Malajit Chandramouli
Equipment (2 cards)
1 Palatial Estate
1 Ritual Scalpel
Combo (7 cards)
7 Spectral Divination
Primary Oust Method:
Bleed, bleed, and bleed. When Shambling Hordes declare a bleed for 0, your prey has to think whether they should block or not. If they do, the Horde can try its best to beat up the opposing vampire. If they don't block, boost the bleed with Anu, and Mouthpiece/Conditioning. Keeping Anu well stocked with blood is important for this deck. Don't waste her blood on things other than bleeding unless really necessary, and try to slap a Perfectionist on her so she can replenish her blood. Keep the pressure up, bleed with the weenie Giovanni and the Hordes. Try not to risk Anu unless you have enough stealth in hand. Meanwhile, deflect big bleeds to your prey, and beat up your Predator's vampires if necessary. One sneaky trick is to use Anu to boost your Predator's bleed to 4 if he is bleeding for 3, and then pull an Archon Investigation on him.
Secondary Oust Method:
Send your prey's vampires into torpor with the Shambling Hordes. Not as easy as it sounds though. Alot of things can foil a zombie attack, even if you have a Trap and Fake Out in hand. But against unprepared vampires, it still packs a punch. Or you could hope your predator is a Dom bleeder and bounce his bleeds.
Plan C:
Help somebody on the table sweep by boosting all their bleeds...
Strengths:
-Shambling Hordes can pull double duty, bruise and bleed.
-Being able to boost all your bleeds by 1 is powerful indeed.
-Anu enables you to perform a sort of table control by boosting the bleeds of other Methuselahs to your own advantage.
Weaknesses:
-Having a group 5/6 Crypt means that there isn't much choice.
-Beyond +1 intercept from Spectral Divination, the deck cannot block anything which is at stealth.
-Poor combat defence. Only have the Hordes to stand in the way of rushes, and Fake Out..
-Deck tends to rely on Anu. If she goes down, you'll be in a tough spot.
Deck Name: Geeky Zombies
Crypt: (12 cards, Min: 14, Max: 28, Avg: 5.5)
---------------------------------------------
5 Anu Diptinatpa DOM NEC aus vic7 Nagaraja
2 Accorri Giovanni DOM POT ani nec6 Giovanni
1 Gianmaria Giovanni POT dom nec obt5 Giovanni
2 Kay Polerno dom necpro 4 Giovanni
2 Stephen Milliner necpre 3 Giovanni
Library: (90 cards)
-------------------
Master (12 cards)
3 Path of Bone, The
2 Giant`s Blood
3 Perfectionist
1 Failsafe
1 Barrens, The
1 Villein
1 Coven, The
Action (1 cards)
1 Emergency Rations
Action Modifier (26 cards)
11 Mouthpiece
8 Conditioning
7 Call of the Hungry Dead
Reaction (12 cards)
6 On the Qui Vive
6 Deflection
Combat (10 cards)
4 Trap
6 Fake Out
Ally (18 cards)
1 Ossian
1 Leonardo, Mortician
14 Shambling Hordes
2 Arcanum Investigator
Retainer (2 cards)
1 J. S. Simmons, Esq.
1 Malajit Chandramouli
Equipment (2 cards)
1 Palatial Estate
1 Ritual Scalpel
Combo (7 cards)
7 Spectral Divination
Primary Oust Method:
Bleed, bleed, and bleed. When Shambling Hordes declare a bleed for 0, your prey has to think whether they should block or not. If they do, the Horde can try its best to beat up the opposing vampire. If they don't block, boost the bleed with Anu, and Mouthpiece/Conditioning. Keeping Anu well stocked with blood is important for this deck. Don't waste her blood on things other than bleeding unless really necessary, and try to slap a Perfectionist on her so she can replenish her blood. Keep the pressure up, bleed with the weenie Giovanni and the Hordes. Try not to risk Anu unless you have enough stealth in hand. Meanwhile, deflect big bleeds to your prey, and beat up your Predator's vampires if necessary. One sneaky trick is to use Anu to boost your Predator's bleed to 4 if he is bleeding for 3, and then pull an Archon Investigation on him.
Secondary Oust Method:
Send your prey's vampires into torpor with the Shambling Hordes. Not as easy as it sounds though. Alot of things can foil a zombie attack, even if you have a Trap and Fake Out in hand. But against unprepared vampires, it still packs a punch. Or you could hope your predator is a Dom bleeder and bounce his bleeds.
Plan C:
Help somebody on the table sweep by boosting all their bleeds...
Strengths:
-Shambling Hordes can pull double duty, bruise and bleed.
-Being able to boost all your bleeds by 1 is powerful indeed.
-Anu enables you to perform a sort of table control by boosting the bleeds of other Methuselahs to your own advantage.
Weaknesses:
-Having a group 5/6 Crypt means that there isn't much choice.
-Beyond +1 intercept from Spectral Divination, the deck cannot block anything which is at stealth.
-Poor combat defence. Only have the Hordes to stand in the way of rushes, and Fake Out..
-Deck tends to rely on Anu. If she goes down, you'll be in a tough spot.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Shroudsight: 18/9/2010
At Games Garage
Eight Methuselahs gathered at Games Garage for a night of bleeding. I was intending to have 2 games that night, but it was late after our first game and we still had to wait for the other table to finish, so I ended up only having one game.
I played a deck which I made recently and have been testing, my Anu Diptinatpa/Giovanni Shambling Hordes Mouthpiece deck. I'll do a write up for that deck after this. For now, I shall name it "Geeky Zombies"
Seating for the game:
Yi Peng's Imbued, bleeding
Bann's Spell of Life, bleeding
Sheena's Ventrue voters, bleeding
My Geeky Zombies
From early on in the game, things didn't look good for me. Although I brought out Anu on round 2, th Imbued were quickly beginning to set up their defences, and the Ventrue had quickly amassed vote superiority. I started eating K.R.C from the Ventrue, and the Imbued could block my actions if I wasn't careful.
I next brought out Stephen Milliner, and had recruited a couple of Shambling Hordes. Yi Peng had gotten Ossian out and that was worrying for me. I tried to kill Ossian with 2 Shambling Horde attacks but he used Angel of Berlin and On the Qui Vive to block. In desperation, I attempted to recruit Ossian myself to contest, but this was cancelled by the Imbued.
Meanwhile, Bann was setting up his Spell of Life, meaning that pressure on Sheena wasn't as high as I would have liked, and I was still suffering from political actions that the ventrue were calling. Stephen Milliner was Banished at one point of time, and I had to waste 3 pool to bring him back out. I was stuck in a bad place.
Not confident of my Hordes being able to get through the Ventrue Fortitude, I went full steam ahead, bleeding with my Hordes and vampires. However my hand was mediocre and I had to cycle alot of cards to draw my Conditionings and Mouthpieces. Yi Peng had spent alot of his pool bringing humans out so I chipped away at his pool. He was generally fearful of blocking the Hordes when they bled, so with Anu's help, I was doing some damage at least.
Bann was well on his way to getting his Mummies out, but he was suffering a bit, not so much from the Imbued but from his prey... The Ventrue always allocated 1 to him when calling KRC, and Bann even got Parity Shifted because he was the only one with more pool than Sheena. Meanwhile, I had been reduced to a mere 5 pool. I had to oust the humans now or i'd be dead.
Anu was empty, she had spent all her blood boosting bleeds. Luckily, I had drawn a Giant's Blood, and with Anu fully refuelled, I was able to oust Yi Peng using 3 Hordes, Stephen Milliner, and Anu herself. The Ventrue were slowed for a bit due to a lack of political actions in hand, and Bann just needed 1 more Spell of Life. By ousting the Imbued I had bought myself one round, possibly two, but no more. On my next turn I went full ahead and bled Bann with everything. However he deflected two of the bleeds to Sheena, and managed to block almost all the rest.
On Bann's turn, the last spell of life was out, and the host of Mummies came forth. I was pretty much out of the game, and true enough, Sheena ousted me. However, all but 1 of her vampires proceeded to be pounded into torpor by the Mummies. We called the game at that point.
Final VP count:
Bann - 2VP
Sheena - 1VP
Me - 1VP
Notes: I think I need to add bounces to the deck. It is a funky concept which is cute, but needs a bit more defence, so bounces would be good.
Eight Methuselahs gathered at Games Garage for a night of bleeding. I was intending to have 2 games that night, but it was late after our first game and we still had to wait for the other table to finish, so I ended up only having one game.
I played a deck which I made recently and have been testing, my Anu Diptinatpa/Giovanni Shambling Hordes Mouthpiece deck. I'll do a write up for that deck after this. For now, I shall name it "Geeky Zombies"
Seating for the game:
Yi Peng's Imbued, bleeding
Bann's Spell of Life, bleeding
Sheena's Ventrue voters, bleeding
My Geeky Zombies
From early on in the game, things didn't look good for me. Although I brought out Anu on round 2, th Imbued were quickly beginning to set up their defences, and the Ventrue had quickly amassed vote superiority. I started eating K.R.C from the Ventrue, and the Imbued could block my actions if I wasn't careful.
I next brought out Stephen Milliner, and had recruited a couple of Shambling Hordes. Yi Peng had gotten Ossian out and that was worrying for me. I tried to kill Ossian with 2 Shambling Horde attacks but he used Angel of Berlin and On the Qui Vive to block. In desperation, I attempted to recruit Ossian myself to contest, but this was cancelled by the Imbued.
Meanwhile, Bann was setting up his Spell of Life, meaning that pressure on Sheena wasn't as high as I would have liked, and I was still suffering from political actions that the ventrue were calling. Stephen Milliner was Banished at one point of time, and I had to waste 3 pool to bring him back out. I was stuck in a bad place.
Not confident of my Hordes being able to get through the Ventrue Fortitude, I went full steam ahead, bleeding with my Hordes and vampires. However my hand was mediocre and I had to cycle alot of cards to draw my Conditionings and Mouthpieces. Yi Peng had spent alot of his pool bringing humans out so I chipped away at his pool. He was generally fearful of blocking the Hordes when they bled, so with Anu's help, I was doing some damage at least.
Bann was well on his way to getting his Mummies out, but he was suffering a bit, not so much from the Imbued but from his prey... The Ventrue always allocated 1 to him when calling KRC, and Bann even got Parity Shifted because he was the only one with more pool than Sheena. Meanwhile, I had been reduced to a mere 5 pool. I had to oust the humans now or i'd be dead.
Anu was empty, she had spent all her blood boosting bleeds. Luckily, I had drawn a Giant's Blood, and with Anu fully refuelled, I was able to oust Yi Peng using 3 Hordes, Stephen Milliner, and Anu herself. The Ventrue were slowed for a bit due to a lack of political actions in hand, and Bann just needed 1 more Spell of Life. By ousting the Imbued I had bought myself one round, possibly two, but no more. On my next turn I went full ahead and bled Bann with everything. However he deflected two of the bleeds to Sheena, and managed to block almost all the rest.
On Bann's turn, the last spell of life was out, and the host of Mummies came forth. I was pretty much out of the game, and true enough, Sheena ousted me. However, all but 1 of her vampires proceeded to be pounded into torpor by the Mummies. We called the game at that point.
Final VP count:
Bann - 2VP
Sheena - 1VP
Me - 1VP
Notes: I think I need to add bounces to the deck. It is a funky concept which is cute, but needs a bit more defence, so bounces would be good.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Final Death?
V:TES is gone, burned, sent to the ash heap. This is tragic news. Tragic tragic news indeed.
What is to become of this excellent game? Can somebody rescue it from torpor? Can we compel the spirit of V:TES back into being?
I sure hope so.
:(
What is to become of this excellent game? Can somebody rescue it from torpor? Can we compel the spirit of V:TES back into being?
I sure hope so.
:(
Friday, September 10, 2010
Call of the Hungry Dead: Zombie Paparazzi
I don't know why, but this deck of mine never fails to draw groans from the table whenever people realise I'm playing it. Must be because of the flash grenades. But anyway, it has proven to be a moderately successful deck which attempts to control the table and swarm bleed for VP.
Deck Name: Zombie Paparazzi
Created By: The Necromancer
Crypt: (12 cards, Min: 12, Max: 19, Avg: 3.91)
----------------------------------------------
1 Nicomedes aus for nec vic5 Harbingers of Skulls
1 Prejudice aus dom nec 4 Nagaraja
2 Thomasso Ghiberti pot NEC 4 Giovanni
2 Primo Giovanni domnec pot 4 Giovanni
1 Margaret Milliner dom for nec pot pre5 Giovanni
1 Nunzio Giovanni nec pot 3 Giovanni
1 Cristobal Ghiberti nec 2 Giovanni
1 Kay Polerno dom necpro 4 Giovanni
1 Stephen Milliner necpre 3 Giovanni
1 Gianmaria Giovanni POT dom nec obt5 Giovanni
Library: (90 cards)
-------------------
Master (18 cards)
3 Vessel
1 Charisma
2 Perfectionist
4 Path of Bone, The
1 Dis Pater
1 Barrens, The
1 Vast Wealth
1 Nod
1 Powerbase: Cape Verde
1 KRCG News Radio
1 Morgue Hunting Ground
1 Tribute to the Master
Action (2 cards)
2 Sudario Refraction
Action Modifier (7 cards)
6 Call of the Hungry Dead
1 Conditioning
Combat (20 cards)
10 Concealed Weapon
8 Cold Aura
2 Trap
Ally (16 cards)
13 Shambling Hordes
2 Procurer
1 Ossian
Equipment (17 cards)
12 Flash Grenade
1 Codex of the Edenic Groundskeepers
3 Camera Phone
1 Pier 13, Port of Baltimore
Event (3 cards)
1 NRA PAC
2 Unmasking, The
Combo (7 cards)
7 Spectral Divination
Primary Oust Method:
One would have noticed the Flash Grenades. These little pretties are important for the deck to work. Nobody likes being denied the chance to untap. The general idea is for the vampires to recruit Shambling Hordes, which are then either kept untapped as blockers, or used to rush potential problem vampires and hurl flash grenades into their faces(Sometimes even beating them up somewhat before blinding them with a grenade). If you have enough flashes, any celebrity will go home. Meanwhile, swarm bleed the prey with Camera Phones and Dis Pater. Don't worry if your vampires are blocked, pull out a concealed flash grenade, set range to long with Cold Aura, and let the grenade do the work. Sometimes I even find that I don't have to use the grenades because people are so fearful of not untapping that they would rather not block. The cute thing about Flash Grenades is that they trump Strike:Combat Ends cards(except those that allow the vampire to untap after combat like Majesty). Dodging is one way to avoid the debilitating effects of the grenade, but I think on the whole you're less likely to encounter dodges than S:CE. By careful application of a few grenades(Either through blocking/being blocked, or delivery by shambling horde), you can slow down either your predator or prey sufficiently and give you time to keep the bleed pressure up. Oh and the Codex of the Edenic Groundskeepers is useful in this deck, since you cause vampires to remain tapped.
Secondary Oust Method:
There isn't much of a Plan B to fall back on in this deck, so maintaining forward momentum is important. I suppose you could try to beat up your prey's vampires with the Hordes, but many a good player will have combat defenses to defeat unsupported zombies. You could also try playing havoc with the table by tossing grenades at vampires belonging to Methuselahs other than your prey and predator. This could actually be beneficial, as if you can successfully stall the table and prevent anyone from getting VP, it buys you some time to bleed out your prey.
Plan C:
Uhhh.....bloat as best as you can?
Strengths:
-Flash Grenades are a great deterrent. Ends combat and punishes your opponents in their next turn.
-Ability to control table. Strong psychological influence. Sometimes you can bluff your way through while bleeding with threats of not untapping, even if you don't have a grenade in hand.
-Strong against decks that have only a couple of big capacity vampires and hence can deny a greater proportion of actions.
-Shambling Hordes with the Unmasking are useful for blocking all the typically important +1 Stealth actions.
Weaknesses:
-Needs to set up a bit. Hence likely to suffer heavy pool loss from stealth bleeders in the early game before being able to shut their vampires down with Flash Grenades.
-Equipment hosers are obviously a problem for this deck. Count Germaine, urp... Or Terror/Frenzy.
-Shambling Hordes can be twarted in their attempts to throw grenades by Immortal Grapple(though perhaps this is mitigated somewhat by the fact that they still hit for 3 or 4 with a hand strike).
-Possible problems against Ally decks or Imbued since the grenades only end combat against them but don't tap them or force them to remain tapped.
-Pool gain tech is nothing much to be sniffed about.
Deck Name: Zombie Paparazzi
Created By: The Necromancer
Crypt: (12 cards, Min: 12, Max: 19, Avg: 3.91)
----------------------------------------------
1 Nicomedes aus for nec vic5 Harbingers of Skulls
1 Prejudice aus dom nec 4 Nagaraja
2 Thomasso Ghiberti pot NEC 4 Giovanni
2 Primo Giovanni domnec pot 4 Giovanni
1 Margaret Milliner dom for nec pot pre5 Giovanni
1 Nunzio Giovanni nec pot 3 Giovanni
1 Cristobal Ghiberti nec 2 Giovanni
1 Kay Polerno dom necpro 4 Giovanni
1 Stephen Milliner necpre 3 Giovanni
1 Gianmaria Giovanni POT dom nec obt5 Giovanni
Library: (90 cards)
-------------------
Master (18 cards)
3 Vessel
1 Charisma
2 Perfectionist
4 Path of Bone, The
1 Dis Pater
1 Barrens, The
1 Vast Wealth
1 Nod
1 Powerbase: Cape Verde
1 KRCG News Radio
1 Morgue Hunting Ground
1 Tribute to the Master
Action (2 cards)
2 Sudario Refraction
Action Modifier (7 cards)
6 Call of the Hungry Dead
1 Conditioning
Combat (20 cards)
10 Concealed Weapon
8 Cold Aura
2 Trap
Ally (16 cards)
13 Shambling Hordes
2 Procurer
1 Ossian
Equipment (17 cards)
12 Flash Grenade
1 Codex of the Edenic Groundskeepers
3 Camera Phone
1 Pier 13, Port of Baltimore
Event (3 cards)
1 NRA PAC
2 Unmasking, The
Combo (7 cards)
7 Spectral Divination
Primary Oust Method:
One would have noticed the Flash Grenades. These little pretties are important for the deck to work. Nobody likes being denied the chance to untap. The general idea is for the vampires to recruit Shambling Hordes, which are then either kept untapped as blockers, or used to rush potential problem vampires and hurl flash grenades into their faces(Sometimes even beating them up somewhat before blinding them with a grenade). If you have enough flashes, any celebrity will go home. Meanwhile, swarm bleed the prey with Camera Phones and Dis Pater. Don't worry if your vampires are blocked, pull out a concealed flash grenade, set range to long with Cold Aura, and let the grenade do the work. Sometimes I even find that I don't have to use the grenades because people are so fearful of not untapping that they would rather not block. The cute thing about Flash Grenades is that they trump Strike:Combat Ends cards(except those that allow the vampire to untap after combat like Majesty). Dodging is one way to avoid the debilitating effects of the grenade, but I think on the whole you're less likely to encounter dodges than S:CE. By careful application of a few grenades(Either through blocking/being blocked, or delivery by shambling horde), you can slow down either your predator or prey sufficiently and give you time to keep the bleed pressure up. Oh and the Codex of the Edenic Groundskeepers is useful in this deck, since you cause vampires to remain tapped.
Secondary Oust Method:
There isn't much of a Plan B to fall back on in this deck, so maintaining forward momentum is important. I suppose you could try to beat up your prey's vampires with the Hordes, but many a good player will have combat defenses to defeat unsupported zombies. You could also try playing havoc with the table by tossing grenades at vampires belonging to Methuselahs other than your prey and predator. This could actually be beneficial, as if you can successfully stall the table and prevent anyone from getting VP, it buys you some time to bleed out your prey.
Plan C:
Uhhh.....bloat as best as you can?
Strengths:
-Flash Grenades are a great deterrent. Ends combat and punishes your opponents in their next turn.
-Ability to control table. Strong psychological influence. Sometimes you can bluff your way through while bleeding with threats of not untapping, even if you don't have a grenade in hand.
-Strong against decks that have only a couple of big capacity vampires and hence can deny a greater proportion of actions.
-Shambling Hordes with the Unmasking are useful for blocking all the typically important +1 Stealth actions.
Weaknesses:
-Needs to set up a bit. Hence likely to suffer heavy pool loss from stealth bleeders in the early game before being able to shut their vampires down with Flash Grenades.
-Equipment hosers are obviously a problem for this deck. Count Germaine, urp... Or Terror/Frenzy.
-Shambling Hordes can be twarted in their attempts to throw grenades by Immortal Grapple(though perhaps this is mitigated somewhat by the fact that they still hit for 3 or 4 with a hand strike).
-Possible problems against Ally decks or Imbued since the grenades only end combat against them but don't tap them or force them to remain tapped.
-Pool gain tech is nothing much to be sniffed about.
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