Building Decks

What I like about clans which people don't use often is the surprise factor, as players (especially newer ones) are unprepared for the possibilities.

What I'm trying to build now is a City Gangrel deck. Nothing fancy: stealth bleeding, with aggro-poke combat.

And the Shadow Feint, which gives First Strike, undodgeable. What a lovely card. Throw in the Path of the Feral Heart, so Protean costs 1 less blood, and the City Gangrel can be a dangerous concept to use.

The other concept I'm trying to build are the Blood Brothers, Torrance Circle. I'm lagging there, mainly because, while I think I have the necessary library requirements, I don't have the necessary vampires to build the crypt. So far, I only have 2 Marks and 1 Ilse, so it's still a ways off from being built. But I'll get there soon enough, and the bleeding and combat that will ensue will be glorious.

City Gangrel!

I rarely buy VTES single cards, mainly because I find it handier to trade 'em. But when I can't find the right trade, I'll settle for buying the cards if the price is right.

One such card is Shadow Feint, which I'm told, can be had if I can find the right trader. But, I haven't found that person yet. Luckily, one player is selling his cards, and Shadow Feint is one of them.

With the Shadow Feint, and the Gangrel Conspiracy, I'm inching closer to completing the City Gangrel deck I have in mind.

Trouble with Trading

Sometimes, the trouble with trading a card is that a few months later, when I'm building a new deck, I find that the card I had traded was essential to building the current deck. Gah.

For example, right now, I'm intrigued by the possibility of using the Blood Brothers. Unfortunately, they're built for close Potence combat, and I wound up trading away two of the key cards for that type, Torn Signpost and Immortal Grapple. Now, what do I do? Ah, well, I guess I'll have to go searching for more of them dang cards. Lucky thing I've been stocking on trade bait. Now, all I have to do is find the right trader...

Lucky Me

I've been having some luck at choosing packs for a while now. Some of the rares/uncommons in the packs I've gotten:

Call the Great Beast
Engling Fury
Immortal Grapple
Art's Traumatic Essence
Giant's Blood

The Blood and the Grapple I'll keep, and the rest is trade bait.

Why I Like VTES over Magic

1. The cameraderie between players

I guess it has something to do with the fact that VTES is a multi-player game. The interaction during games can range from the serious to the hilarious. I've also found VTES players to be friendlier than Magic players, in general. For one thing, elder players take care of the youngsters in the game, unlike in Magic, where I've heard about and seen older players scam youngsters out of rare and valuable cards.

2. Trades instead of sales

There will probably never be a market for VTES cards in the Philippines, as opposed to Magic. Trading is the name of the game in VTES, and, instead of wasting money on a single card, one can get useful cards in return for a card he/she doesn't want or need.

3. Commons

Unlike Magic, where one usually needs some of the rare, powerful (not to mention, expensive) cards, one can build a VTES deck out of common and uncommon cards and go to town with it.
As another player, D, once commented, "The rare cards are normally funky effects to round out the deck."