A Christmas Post - Stealth Bleeder Deck

Well, it's been a particularly busy two months, which is why I haven't been able to write anything. However, with the Christmas season and break, I may be able to finish the year with one or two posts.

In my last post, I wrote about stealth-bleed, and about the ways and means one would have to use in order to deal with it. I also included Johann Ong's Asian Continental Championship (ACC) deck, which, I have to point out, isn't that aggressive a stealth bleed deck, since it relies solely on Dementation (DEM) to get its bleeds through. However, given the right mix of table dynamics, the 2-3 stealth stemming from Confusion (+1 stealth, +1 bleed), Deny (+1 stealth at superior), and Mind Tricks is often enough to get the job done. In Johann's case, it made him the ACC champ.

 That being said, Johann's win, along with the spirited discussion that ensued from my stealth bleed post, spurred me to try to build my own stealth bleeder, using Obfuscate (OBF) and Presence (PRE). The deck list below is already modified from my testing the draft deck.
 
I originally centered it around Isouda de Blaise, but, as a 7-cap, she's too large to bring out quickly, and I wanted the deck to be speedy. So, instead, the center is now around Herbert Westin and Renenet, who both have Obfuscate and Presence at superior, and, at 5 capacity, are relatively quick to come out. I'm still not sure about whether to keep Antoinette, or swap her out with a 5-cap with obf and pre. I'll probably come to a clearer decision after testing this deck.

The weapons module of 4 Concealed Weapons and 4 .44 Magnums is also something I'm thinking about. A possibility is that I do away with it, and include other cards that prevent blocking, such as Misdirection or Anarch Troublemaker. Once more, testing will tell me what I need to do.

At any rate, this is a work in progress, so comments are always welcome.

A most merry Christmas to all!
 

Deck Name:   Stealth PRE Bleeder (3-4)

Crypt: (12 cards, Min: 18, Max: 21, Avg: 4.91)
----------------------------------------------
  1  Antoinette                           cel obf AUS PRE          6  Toreador                   G3  Primogen
  2  Herbert Westin                    pot OBF PRE                5  Brujah                     G4
  2  Renenet                               ser OBF PRE                5  Follower of Set            G4 
  1  Axel Von Anders                cel obf pot PRE             5  Brujah Antitribu           G4 
  1  Evan Klein                          aus dem pre OBF          5  Malkavian                  G3 
  1  Louis Fortier                        aus dom for obf pre      5  Ventrue                    G4 
  1  Louis Fortier (ADV)            aus dom for obf pre      5  Ventrue                    G4
  1  Cristos Mantigo                    aus cel dom obf pre      5  Toreador Antitribu         G3
  1  Robin Withers                      dom obf pre                   4  Ventrue                    G4 
  1  Tock                                     obf pot pre                     4  Nosferatu Antitribu        G3 
   

Library: (80 cards)
-------------------
Master (11 cards)
  2  Dreams of the Sphinx
  1  Effective Management
  1  Information Highway
  1  Perfectionist
  1  Rack, The
  1  Sudden Reversal
  4  Vessel

Action (18 cards)
  1  Conceal
  9  Enchant Kindred
  2  Forgery
  3  Legal Manipulations
  3  Public Trust

Action Modifier (18 cards)
  4  Aire of Elation
  2  Cloak the Gathering
  2  Elder Impersonation
  4  Faceless Night
  2  Forgotten Labyrinth
  4  Lost in Crowds

Combat (21 cards)
  6  Behind You!
  4  Concealed Weapon
  5  Majesty
  6  Unholy Penance

Equipment (8 cards)
  4  .44 Magnum 
  2  Camera Phone
  2  IR Goggles

Combo (4 cards)
  4  Swallowed by the Night

Musings on Stealh Bleed

The Asian Continental Championship (ACC) ended with the Philippines' Johann Ong winning his second ACC title by using a stealth bleed deck (deck list below).

Stealth bleed has been a key strategy ever since V:TES was created, since bleeding is the main way to oust one's prey. Generally speaking, the concept uses Disciplines which naturally provide bleed modifiers, such as Dominate (DOM), Presence (PRE), or Dementation (DEM), and these (sometimes) huge bleeds get through because of either stealth, of which Obfuscate (OBF) is the main Discipline, or block failure, using either DOM or Necromancy (NEC). However, as pointed out to me by a co-player, the latter method of getting bleeds through, by preventing blocks, is classified as power bleeding, which I will (probably; hopefully?) tackle in another post.  Between the two strategies, though, I've seen more stealth bleed decks, since the number of vampires with NEC is more limited.

Having a stealth bleeder as one's predator, in a word, sucks. A well-thought out stealth bleed deck will generally set up quickly, by getting small to midcap vampires out and putting them to work, e.g. bleed. During the 2011 ACC, I had the good luck to make it to the finals table, but had the bad luck to be on the receiving end of a stealth bleeder. The only reason I wasn't ousted was that my prey and grand prey decided to gang up on the stealth bleed deck, after which it became easy for its predator to oust him, and me.

The most common archetypes of the stealth bleed deck are the Malkavian '94 and the Kindred Spirits decks; in the recent ACC, Johann used the Kindred Spirits to win. Both deck archetypes are solid and efficient, and are often the entry-type deck for new players, since the decks are relatively simple to master.

That being said, I don't really have much experience with playing stealth bleed decks, since our local metagame (heavy combat) is inimical to it. Generally speaking, once a deck is identified as a stealth bleeder, players will ignore the predator-prey mechanic, and focus on beating the crap out of the stealth bleeder, since it's an obvious table threat.

One of the weaknesses of the deck concept is its single-mindedness on bleeding; oftentimes, there will be no space for combat defense. At the same time, when one has the entire table going after him/her, resource management becomes well nigh impossible. 

Aside from the table ganging up on the deck, other defenses against the stealth bleeder is to bounce the bleed via either DOM, with Deflections, or Auspex (AUS), with Telepathic Misdirections. Of course, a combat deck, whether pro-active (rush cards) or reactive (block and fight), will have a good chance of taking out the stealth bleeder's minions, although it will still depend on where one sits in relation to the stealth bleeder. A stealth bleed deck will go to town if there is a lack of any of these defense strategies. 

Below is Johann's winning deck list. As mentioned above, it's a Kindred Spirits-based deck, which relies solely on DEM. Based on a winning deck by Everton Biell, Johann tweaked it, and reduced it to a 75-card deck. Relying on small and midcap vampires, the deck looks like it will move swiftly, and, unless someone on the table acts against it aggressively, it will probably sweep a good number of tables.




Deck Name:   Johann's 2019 ACC DEM Bleeder
Created By: Johann Ong 

Crypt: (12 cards, Min: 6, Max: 18, Avg: 3)
------------------------------------------
  1  Apache Jones                       aus for obf DEM          5  Malkavian Antitribu        G4 
  1  Persia                                        aus obf DEM           5  Malkavian                       G3 
  1  Uncle George                       aus dom obf DEM       5  Malkavian Antitribu        G3 
  2  Jackie                                                       DEM        3  Malkavian Antitribu        G4 
  1  Marta                                                  aus dem         3  Malkavian Antitribu        G4 
  2  Midget                                        obf pre DEM         3  Malkavian Antitribu        G3 
  2  Cassandra Langely                                 dem            2  Malkavian                       G4 
  2  Eddie Gaines                                     dem pot            1  Caitiff                             G3 

Library: (75 cards)
-------------------
Master (13 cards)
  1  Archon Investigation
  4  Dementation
  2  Effective Management
  4  Misdirection
  1  Pentex(TM) Subversion
  1  Sudden Reversal

Action (21 cards)
  21 Kindred Spirits

Action Modifier (29 cards)
  12 Confusion
  11 Eyes of Chaos
  6  Mind Tricks

Combat (1 cards)
  1  Coma

Ally (1 cards)
  1  Ossian

Combo (10 cards)
  10 Deny


  

PRE Midcap Vote (Deck Concept)

Last month, I shared my thoughts on voting in V:TES, and I am thankful for those who helped me understand the mechanic a little better, since, upon reflection, I was a little too focused on using Presence (PRE). Hindsight being what it is, I probably should have titled it "Voting with Presence."

Still, among the various strategies people employ to facilitate their voting play, I find that PRE provides a good amount of push in getting votes through, which is why I built a deck centered around that Discipline for my voting deck.

So, this is basically a midcap deck, centered loosely around Tara. Other vampires may acquire titles via Praxis Seizures; looking at the crypt, I'm wondering whether adding the Brujah Justicar vote card would be helpful.  

Ousting is facilitated via Kine Resources Contested or Parity Shift. The Enchant Kindreds are more to facilitate getting vampires out of the controlled region.


To be sure, this is still a work in progress, as are many a deck I've built, but probably more so, since voting is not a strategy I often use. While the deck may sometimes win, if the votes on the table are substantial (i.e., the presence of Justicars, Inner Circles, and the like), it will probably go down. More often than not, it will require some sneaky table dynamics in order to win.

Also, the deck is limited by the cards that I currently have. As I'm not fond of breaking up decks in order to build decks, I'll probably add other cards as they become available.

As always, suggestions are always welcome.


Deck Name:   PRE Vote-Bleed

Crypt: (12 cards, Min: 16, Max: 25, Avg: 5.583)
----------------------------------------------
  2  Mukhtar Bey                 obf pot FOR PRE QUI      7  Caitiff                    G4  Prince
  2  Tara                                              cel POT PRE      6  Brujah                     G5  Prince
  1  Tomaine                                    CEL POT PRE      6  Brujah                     G4  Primogen 
  1  Joseph DiGiaccomo                  aus dom for PRE   6  Ventrue                    G5 
  1  Marguerite Foccart                 aus pot CEL PRE     6  Brujah                     G4 
  1  Beth Malcolm                       ani FOR PRE             6  Ventrue                    G5 
  1  Hezekiah Rutledge                  ani cel pot PRE        5  Brujah                     G4 
  1  Bethany Ray                               aus PRE               4  Toreador                   G5   
  1  Reginald Moore                              PRE                  4  Brujah                     G4  Primogen
  1  Reverend Adams                       aus PRE                 4  Ventrue                   G4 
 

Library: (80 cards)
-------------------
Master (10 cards)
  4  Vessel
  1  Effective Management
  1  Information Highway
  1  Dreams of the Sphinx
  1  Sudden Reversal
  1 Elysium: the Palace of Versailles

Action (13 cards)
  8  Enchant Kindred
  1  Entrancement
  1  Heart of the City
  1  Intimidation
  2  Public Trust

Action Modifier (19 cards)
  2  Awe
  6  Bewitching Oration
  2  Bribes
  3  Change of Target
  6  Voter Captivation

Political Action (23 cards)
  2  Autarkis Persecution
  1  Banishment
  2  Consanguineous Boon
  10 Kine Resources Contested
  4  Parity Shift
  1  Praxis Seizure: Amsterdam
  1  Praxis Seizure: Dublin
  1  Praxis Seizure: Glasgow
  1  Praxis Seizure: Rome
 
Reaction (4 cards)
  4  Second Tradition: Domain

Combat (10 cards)
  10 Majesty

Voting in V:TES

In V:TES, there are a number of strategies Methuselahs use to oust their prey and claim victory. The default, of course, is to focus on bleeding. Others resort to walling up, and using cards such as Smiling Jacks, Anarch Revolts, and Antedeluvian Awakening, in order to take out their prey. Still others use combat to frightening effect, torporing minions, leaving no one to block crippling actions. And then, there is voting.

Voting is a strategy that, while effective, is one I've not used effectively. More often than not, I get stymied by other voters on the table, or else, my lack of experience with the strategy causes me to make mistakes. Still, it's hard to deny that voting is probably, after bleeding, the most efficient way to get rid of one's play.

Essentially, the strategy involves bringing out vampires with titles (votes) and playing vote cards in order to burn pool from your prey. At the same time, voting is versatile in the sense that vote cards have access to a number of effects. While some, such as Kine Resources Contested (affectionately known as KRC), Conservative Agitation, and, for the Camarilla, Parity Shift, focus on burning pool, others, such as Autarkis Persecution, Consanguineous Boon, and Political Stranglehold, can be beneficial to the entire table.

Voting's versatility allows players to make deals with the rest of the voters on the table; oftentimes, all one has to do is throw in Bribes, and some players will vote in the affirmative, without considering the consequences of their vote (much like the current political atmosphere).

Other cards which provide flexibility and utility are Banishment, which sends a vampire back to the uncontrolled region, forcing the controlling Methuselah to influence it out again, if possible, and Anathema, which causes a targeted vampire to burn if it goes to zero blood.

Another card which I saw used to terrible effect in a janky deck was Might of the Camarilla, which was last reprinted in the 10th anniversary set, making it difficult to find. The strategy involved bringing out a Justicar (3 votes) or an Inner Circle (4 votes), and giving it Necromancy (NEC), which no current Justicar or Inner Circle possesses. Might of the Camarilla causes players to burn a vampire in the uncontrolled region, including the voting player. The Methuselah then has a minion act with Possession, which allows him to bring back a burned minion from the ash heap, or, using Mistress Fanchon's ability to search the library for minion cards, use the Sargon Fragment in order to gain superior NEC, which would make bringing burned minions out easy. In the game we played, before we knew it, he had 3 Inner Circles and 3 Justicars, and the vote totals were the highest I'd ever seen; it took 29 votes to defeat a called referendum. (More details on this janky deck in a future deck.)

Of course, if the table is opposed to one's votes, one can push the votes, and this is facilitated by the discipline Presence (PRE). With PRE, one can attempt to control the vote by playing cards such as Bewitching Oration and Awe. After winning a referendum, playing Voter's Captivation allows a Methuselah to gain blood and pool, depending on the winning margin of the referendum.

Combat defense for PRE voting begins and ends with Strike:Combat Ends (S:CE), of which Majesty is probably the most used, since it allows a minion to burn a blood to untap. If one is a little more aggressive, there is Catatonic Fear, which causes 1 point of unpreventable damage, or Unholy Penance, which is placed on the opposing minion and gives one +1 bleed against the Methuselah. Still, Majesty by and large is the go-to S:CE card. One of the challenges of S:CE is that it gets shut down by Immortal Grapple, which only allows hand strikes, so it's important to pack maneuvers in order to get away from dedicated combat decks.

All in all, voting is a versatile, effective strategy in V:TES, and, with the acquisition of Parity Shifts via the 25th anniversary deck (even if nerfed. I'm not going into that discussion.), I will probably try my hand at building a more focused voting deck. Bribes, anyone?

City Gangrel Rush

Back in June, I wrote about the City Gangrel, and how it managed to take a table. I thought I'd share the deck list, for the benefit of those who might want to try it.

Once more, the deck is meant to be multi-purpose, which helps in keeping people off-balance in dealing with it. At the heart of it is torporing opponent's minions, which allow the !Gangrel to run rampant. Whether it be Fame or Tension in the Ranks or The Path of Lilith, there are cards that will force other Methuselahs to burn pool. Diablerie, aided by the Conspiracy, allows the !Gangrel to remove difficult minions, although, of course, if an opposing Methuselah uses minions with Fortitude, it will make the !Gangrel's efforts to naught, to say the least.

Damage prevention is provided by Flesh of Marble or Leathery Hide. Not as effective as Fortitude damage prevention, but good enough in a pinch.

I use group 2-3 vampires because of Ellen, Zach, and Darrell, who all have the City Gangrel disciplines at superior.  Ellen, particularly, is useful because of her built-in Ambush ability. The other vamps serve as support and shock troops. 

Generally speaking, on a non-fortitude packed table, the City Gangrel have a good chance of taking it.



Deck Name:   City Gangrel Rush

Crypt: (12 cards, Min: 14, Max: 31, Avg: 5.83)
----------------------------------------------
  
  3  Ellen Fence                         aus CEL OBF PRO        8  Gangrel Antitribu          G2  Bishop
  2  Zachary                              for pre CEL OBF PRO   7  Gangrel Antitribu          G2
  2  Darrell Boyce                      CEL OBF PRO              6  Gangrel Antitribu          G2
  1  Harry Reese                         cel obf FOR PRO          6  Gangrel Antitribu          G3 

  1  Skryta Zyleta                      obf pot pro CEL             5  Gangrel Antitribu          G3 
  1  Scarlet Carson O'Toole       pro CEL                         4  Gangrel Antitribu          G3 
  1  Chandler Hungerford           PRO                              3  Gangrel                         G2
  1  Sadie                                   pro                                  2  Gangrel Antitribu          G2 

Library: (90 cards)
-------------------
Master (17 cards)
  4  Vessel
  4  Gangrel Conspiracy
  1  Campground Hunting Ground
  1  Fame
  1  Bay and Howl
  2  Haven Uncovered
  1  KRCG News Radio
  1  Path of Lilith, The
  1  Sudden Reversal
  1  Tension in the Ranks

Action (16 cards)
  2  Ambush
  1  Arson
  4  Bum's Rush
  4  Computer Hacking
  2  Fiendish Tongue
  3  Flurry of Action

Action Modifier (3 cards)
  3  Lost in Crowds

Combat (46 cards)  2  Acrobatics
  2  Amaranth
  7  Claws of the Dead
  4  Flash
  5  Flesh of Marble
  5  Leathery Hide
  6  Psyche!
  3  Pursuit
  6  Shadow Feint
  2  Sideslip  4  Wolf Claws

Retainer (2 cards)
  1  J. S. Simmons, Esq.
  1  Tasha Morgan

Combo (6 cards)
  2  Ritual of the Bitter Rose
  4  Swallowed by the Night

The Gangrel Do Not Fight

When I first started playing V:TES, as I mentioned in my Bindusara's Diary interview, I started out with the Gangrel preconstructed deck from the Anarchs set; if I remember right, I got two of them, because, unlike the newer preconstructed decks released by Black Chantry, the preconstructed decks needed several cards to make them competitively playable. Still, I loved the fact that the Gangrel, via Protean (PRO), had easy access to aggravated damage, which, unless one's opponent used damage prevention, or Strike:Combat Ends, normally meant one's opposing minion was going into torpor. While I dabbled with the non-aggresive side combat side of PRO (Earth Control, Form of Mist, etc.), I didn't really build any deck which made heavy use of it.

Until now.

I was thinking of a deck that could block (intercept) and get actions through (stealth). While Auspex (AUS) is the premier intercept discipline, and Obfuscate (OBF) the premier stealth discipline,  the Gangrel have access to Animalism (ANI), which is no slouch at intercept, and PRO, which has both stealth and some intercept. With that in mind, I set out to build a deck which did not make use of aggressive combat. Instead, I tried coming up with a deck which could bleed and block, and possibly survive combat.

Mind you, this is still a work in progress, but basically, it's a toolbox deck. It's either the minions bleed with Deep Song, augmented by either the Laptop or Tier of Souls (well, for three of them anyway), or put pressure on the table via the Jack, and defend it.

Horrock, with his built in Path (Protean cards cost one less blood), is the center, with both Pickman and Lamontagne as back-up. The others are midcaps that simply round out the crypt.

I still have to put this together, and test drive it, but I do have a good feeling about this. Another player in our circle, Faust, has used the PRO strike:combat ends in his own deck, and has had good results with it. A little bit of tweaking, and this deck shoudl be good to go.



Deck Name:   The Gangrel Do Not Fight

Crypt: (12 cards, Min: 19, Max: 24, Avg: 5.41)
----------------------------------------------
  3  Horrock                            vic ANI PRO                6  Gangrel                   G3
  2  Janey Pickman                 for ANI PRO                6  Gangrel Antitribu    G4
  2  Celeste Lamontagne         for ANI PRO               5  Gangrel Antitribu    G4
  1  Spider                             ani for CEL PRO           6  Gangrel Antitribu     G4 
  1  Bernard                            ani for pre pro              5  Gangrel                    G4 
  1  Dr. Allan Woodstock      ani aus for PRO            5  Gangrel                    G3 
  1  Jacob Fermor                         ani tha PRO            5  Gangrel                    G4 
  1  Jezebelle                                ani for pro               4  Gangrel                    G4 
  
   
Library: (90 cards)
-------------------
Master (14 cards)
  2  Smiling Jack, The Anarch
  2  Tribute to the Master
  2  Dreams of the Sphinx
  1 Ecoterrorists
  1 Ennoia's Theater
  1  KRCG News Radio
  1  WMRH Talk Radio
  4  Vessel

Action (14 cards)
  2  Shadow of the Beast
  2  Army of Rats
  8  Deep Song
  2  Tier of Souls

Action Modifier (8 cards)
  8  Earth Control

Reaction (22 cards)
  4  Eyes of the Beast
  6  Sonar
  4  Cats' Guidance
  2  Guard Dogs
  6  Instinctive Reaction

Combat (22 cards)
  6  Claws of the Dead
  6  Earth Meld
  6  Form of Mist
  4  Form of the Ghost

Retainer (4 cards)
  4  Raven Spy

Equipment (2 cards)
  2  Laptop Computer

Combo (4 cards)
  4  Rapid Change

The Nosferatu Justicar

In case you've read the post on the Gangrel Justicar, and were wondering about how the Cock Robin deck was built, here it is:

Deck Name:   Cock Robin Bruise-Bleed
Created By: 
Description: 

Crypt: (12 cards, Min: 24, Max: 40, Avg: 7.66)
----------------------------------------------
  4  Cock Robin                         aus for ANI OBF POT  10 Nosferatu                  G3  Justicar
  1  Ferox                                   ani FOR POT VIS          7  Gargoyle                   G2 
  1  Ferox                                   ani FOR POT VIS          7  Gargoyle                   G2 
  2  Nikolaus Vermeulen            ani for obf POT              7  Nosferatu                  G2  Prince
  2  Calebros                              obf pot ANI                     5  Nosferatu                  G2  Prince
  2  Teresita                                for ANI OBF POT          7  Nosferatu Antitribu   G3 

Library: (90 cards)
-------------------
Master (16 cards)
  4  Vessel
  2  Villein
  2  Smiling Jack, The Anarch
  2  Fortitude
  1  Powerbase: Montreal
  2  Haven Uncovered
  2  Fame
  1  Rack, The

Action (13 cards)
  6  Deep Song
  3  Ambush
  2  Tier of Souls
  2  Army of Rats

Reaction (15 cards)
  6  Second Tradition: Domain
  3  Instinctive Reaction
  3  Sense the Savage Way
  3  Cats' Guidance

Combat (40 cards)
  8  Carrion Crows
  6  Torn Signpost
  6  Drawing Out the Beast
  6  Immortal Grapple
  4  Armor of Vitality
  4  Superior Mettle
  2 Rolling with the Punches
  4  Taste of Vitae

Retainer (6 cards)
  6  Raven Spy

As you can see, it's probably a little easier to use the smaller princes (Nikolaus and Calebros) than Decker and Rossler. Still, since there are more vamps in the previous deck that have Fortitude (FOR) at superior, that's two extra card slots for something else; in this deck, only Ferox has FOR at superior. Sadly, FOR is not a Nosferatu clan discipline.

Expect, though, a lot of jokes at Robin's expense when he comes out.

The Gangrel Justicar (concept deck)

Originally, I started out trying to tweak my Cock Robin deck to be more of a toolbox, but, along the way, over discussions with other Methuselahs, I decided to switch it to using Xaviar ADV, who's the Gangrel Justicar (given the RPG story, I would have thought that it would be the other way around, but, anyways ...). Doing that meant that I switched Potence (POT) with Protean (PRO), and added some Gangrel tech, such as Ecoterrorists and Ennoia's Theater.

So, basically, the point of the toolbox deck is to do many things relatively well. Thus, there are several possibilities with the deck:

• It can attack others using the Smiling Jack. At the same time, the amount of Animalism (ANI) intercept, along with the Raven Spy permacepts allows minions to defend it;
• It has some bleed capability with the Deep Songs and Tier of Souls;
• Making an opposing minion Fame-ous makes it a torpor target, which then burns 3 pool from the minion's Methusleah;
• Or, as the Cock Robin deck, it can fight, although strike:combat ends is always a possibility without Immortal Grapples.

 The crypts is centered around three main vamps: Xaviar ADV, Mark Decker, and Ingrid Rossler. Any of them can use the Second Tradition, although, unlike the Cock Robin deck, it might be harder to get all three out, if ever they're in the opening crypt. Well, it's a work in progress, considering that I haven't built or tested the deck yet.

Still, the hypothetical draws (via FELDB) seem promising, so we'll see how it works out.

Deck Name:   The Gangrel Justicar

Crypt: (12 cards, Min: 23, Max: 40, Avg: 8.08)
----------------------------------------------
  4  Xaviar (ADV)                  aus cel pot ABO ANI FOR PRO10 Gangrel         G3  Justicar
  2  Ingrid Rossler                   dom ANI FOR PRO         9  Gangrel                    G2  Prince
  2  Mark Decker                    ani for obf pot CEL PRO  8  Gangrel                    G3  Prince 
  1  Beckett                              cel ANI FOR PRO           7  Gangrel                    G3 
  1  Antonino                           ani pre pro FOR               6  Gangrel                    G3 
  1  Dr. Allan Woodstock        ani aus for PRO                5   Gangrel                    G3 
  1  Lord Ashton                     for pro ANI                       5  Gangrel                    G3 
 
 

Library: (90 cards)
-------------------
Master (16 cards)
  1  Ecoterrorists
  1  Ennoia's Theater
  2  Fame
  2  Haven Uncovered
  1  Powerbase: Montreal
  2  Smiling Jack, The Anarch
  1  Sudden Reversal
  4  Vessel
  2  Villein

Action (13 cards)
  2  Army of Rats
  6  Deep Song
  1  Rewilding
  2  Thing
  2  Tier of Souls

Reaction (15 cards)
  3  Cats' Guidance
  3  Instinctive Reaction
  6  Second Tradition: Domain
  3  Sense the Savage Way

Combat (40 cards)
  6  Armor of Vitality
  6  Carrion Crows
  6  Claws of the Dead
  6  Drawing Out the Beast
  4  Rolling with the Punches
  6  Scorpion Sting
  4  Superior Mettle
  2  Wolf Claws

Retainer (6 cards)
  6  Raven Spy

Janky Stuff - Hermanas Hambrientas (concept deck)

In my previous post, I tackled the difficulty of using the Blood Brothers bloodline

Still, rising to the challenge, V:TES players have tried to make workable Brothers decks. I remember that, before I came into the game, someone using a Chicago circle deck managed to win a tournament, while my friend Paul has tried out the newer Budapest and Kiev circles.

Juggernaut of VTES had an idea to use the Mexico City Circle minions, which ties into my own deck concept.

In the role-playing game accessory, Mexico City by Night, the Las Hermanas Hambrientas (a.k.a. the Hungry Sisters) were an experiment by Tremere antitribu Elena Mendoza Vasquez to study whether the Blood Brothers were capable of creating new vampires (All other Blood Brothers are sterile, incapable of Embracing new vampires.). While Vasquez apparently succeeded, the result was a vampire that burned blood at a high rate (hence the "burn 2 blood" text on the Hermanas card). After the Tremere antitribu, including Vasquez, were obliterated in 1999, one of Vasquez's experiments escaped her chantry when an unsuspecting Harbinger of Skulls searched her lab. Now loose in the slums of Mexico City, the Hermana has continued to spawn, and now there are 20 Hungry Sisters, all starving for blood.

In V:TES, there are two Hermanas cards, the Mayor (4-cap, for san pot) and the Menor (2-cap san pot). Both burn 2 blood upon being controlled, else they burn. While this may be a rather difficult handicap, there is a way around it, although it's also tricky. The master card, The Hungry Coyote, gives Sabbat vampires +1 hunt, which means that, when either Hermana hunts after being influenced out, they'll be up to full capacity (unless they're blocked). While there are other blood gainer cards, such as The Rack or The Coven, the Coyote is probably the best bet to bring the Hermanas back up to full blood capacity.

For this deck, the main point of it is to bleed using Walk of Caine, aided by Stealth provided by Shell Game. If caught, one uses the Hermanas' Potence to fight.

And then, of course, there's Angelo, who can be part of any circle. By using his superior Sanguinus, one can use Unwholesome Bond in order to facilitate a number of Hermanas coming out at the same time.

The nasty surprise here would be Angelo using Coagulated Entity, with a lot of Hermanas in play. It could mean a ton of hurt for the opposing minion.



I haven't put this deck together, so I have no idea how it's going to do at a table. As Juggernaut observed in his own post, it's also a forward-moving deck, so defense is pretty much nil, unless you use the Haven Uncovered or Ambush on your predator's minions.

Also, this deck concept still has no Fortitude, so combat is going to be a little tricky, unless I go Juggernaut's route, and use Thrown Gates instead of Undead Strength. I may still try that instead of this current build, and I might also go to 90 cards in order to include some Fortitude damage prevention, but, for now, for better or for worse, here is the Hermanas deck (with Angelo).

Deck Name:   Hermanas and Angelo

Crypt: (12 cards, Min: 8, Max: 22, Avg: 3.5)
--------------------------------------------
  2  Angelo                             pot vic CEL FOR SAN          7  Blood Brother              G3 
  4  Hermana Hambrienta Mayor           for pot san              4  Blood Brother              G4 
  6  Hermana Hambrienta Menor           pot san                    2  Blood Brother              G4 

Library: (80 cards)
-------------------
Master (15 cards)
  4  Agent of Power
  2  Haven Uncovered
  1  Fame
  3  Tribute to the Master
  2  Effective Management
  3  Hungry Coyote, The

Action (18 cards)
  6  Computer Hacking
  2  Coagulated Entity
  6  Unwholesome Bond
  4  Ambush

Action Modifier (16 cards)
  6  Walk of Caine
  6  Shell Game
  4  Claiming the Body

Combat (27 cards)
  2  Free Fight
  3  Coordinate Attacks
  4  Octopod
  6  Brother's Blood
  8  Undead Strength
  4  Brute Force

Equipment (4 cards)
  4  Laptop Computer

Blood Brother Thoughts

Thanks to the Fragment of Elder Library Database (FELDB), it's relatively easy for me to search through the V:TES collection in search of interesting and intriguing card and deck ideas.

The Blood Brothers have always been a bloodline which I've wanted to try out. In the role-playing game, the Brothers are a thaumaturgical experiment by the Tremere antitribu, which resulted in a circle of beings that not only share a hive mind, but also senses and even body parts, thanks to the Brothers' unique Discipline, Sanguinus.

In V:TES, the powers of Sanguinus has been translated into a number of relatively powerful cards. For example, Walk of Caine allows the Blood Brothers to bleed at a high rate, albeit at a high cost. Unwholesome Bond, at superior, makes it easier to bring out the Brothers from the uncontrolled region. Shell Game provides a meas
ure of stealth, while Gestalt allows the Brothers to intercept.

It is in combat, though, where Sanguinus shines, with cards such as Octopod, Brothers' Blood, Free Fight, Coordinate Attack, and, of course, Coagulated Entity, allowing the Brothers to hold their own in a fight.

In theory, anyway.

The difficulty level in building a Blood Brothers-based deck has always been on the high side. Even within a given circle, with only five minions belonging to the same circle, one always runs the risk of having too many duplicates in the uncontrolled region. Also, mixing members of different Blood Brother Circles, even if they belong to the same group, is futile, because Sanguinus will only work with members of the same circle. This means that, even if the Chicago and Torrance circles both belong to group 2, mixing them means you're planning use only Fortitude and Potence, which would be a waste.

It's even worse with the group 4-6 vampires (Mexico, Kiev, and Budapest), since the latter two circles have different sets of Disciplines: Kiev switches out Potence for Protean, for the most part, while the Budapest Circle replaces Potence with Vicissitude.ew

There are two minions, though, which can be mixed with other circles. Angelo, the Red Lister, can be placed with either the group 2 (Chicago or Torrance) or the group 4 (Mexico City) circles, while New Blood can be placed with any circle, regardless of group. By using both vampires, the crypt for group 2 and 4 Blood Brother decks can be expanded to seven, which improve the variation of crypt building.

Despite the difficulties, players have tried to make workable Blood Brother decks. In the next post, I'll take a look at one way to use the Brothers.

Resources for the Game, Revisited

Thanks to various V:TES Facebook pages, I've been able to take a look at a number of other blogs and websites dedicated to the game. Here are a few of the more interesting ones, in no particular order.

VTES ONE - managed by extrala, this blog has been one of the primary news sources for the game, posting reports on various tournaments, as well as news of new releases and products. It also has a number of posts on deck archetypes, which are helpful for those who need inspiration for building decks. It is, by far, one of the most comprehensive sources of news and information on the game.

Bindusara's Jyhad Diary - managed by Stu McLeod, the Diary provides, as it notes, "oral histories" of those who have worked on or played V:TES. Posting interviews with such luminaries as former rules master LSJ, among others, the Diary provides a colorful look at those who involve themselves in the Jyhad, from insights on the game to the manner by which they play.

Information Highway -  managed by a coterie of 3, the Highway provides interesting articles about the game, from reactions to changes in the game (Parity Shift!), to reviews of upcoming products, to deck-building strategies. All in all, it's a grab-bag of whatever interests the coterier the, and what they post is interesting, indeed.

The Secret Library - Before the Amaranth, there was the Library. Like Amaranth, the Library
 provides tools for building one's deck: the database, an inventory tool, and a deck-builder, all of which are online. I'm not too familiar with it, since my default program for VTES is the Fragment of Elder Library Deck Builder, but, for those who prefer to work online, both the Library and Amaranth provide the online means to explore the game.

And, that's all for now. For those who are looking for resources for the game, I hope you find these useful. As for my own writing, there are one or two posts I'm working on, and, hopefully, I'll be able to post them later this week.

Dominated

Back when I started playing, more than a decade and a half ago, I made it clear as to what I would play, and what I would not play. Of course, as I said in the post, "never" is such a long time, and I've shifted some of my self-imposed restrictions. For example, thanks to the Lords of the Night expansion, I've experimented with Assamite and Setite decks, albeit with little success so far. I've also long incorporated Immortal Grapple into a number of my combat decks, such as the Cock Robin deck, which I used in the Asian Championship in 2011. However, there is one concept, one that has been around since the game started, that I've long kept myself from using, and that is Dominate.

Dominate (DOM) is the bleed Discipline, as a combination of its library cards can bleed one's prey for a hell of a lot. Combine it with Obfuscate (OBF), and you've got a stealth bleeder that will absolutely tear through your prey's defenses (unless, of course, your prey decides to bounce it). DOM, on its own, is also effective at shutting down your prey's minions via cards like Seduction, and The Sleeping Mind.

As a defensive Discipline, DOM also shines. Cards such as Obedience takes care of minions coming after your own, while Deflection and Redirection bounce your predator's bleeds to your prey.

Other DOM cards of note are Graverobbing, which allows you to take control of your opponents' torpored minions; one of my friends built a gravedigger deck for this purpose, and would often wind up with half a dozen minions that weren't originally his.

Mind Rape allows you to take control of your opponents' vampires for a turn, and, depending on the target vampire, can be used to perform a good number of actions; it's a bonus if the controlled vampire has similar disciplines to your own.

Of course, there is the all-purpose DOM card, Govern the Unaligned, which can either be used to bleed for 3, or, early in the game, make it easier for your uncontrolled minions to rise from the crypt. I forget from which strategy guide I read it, but it recommends that you should block the early Governing down to the uncontrolled region.

All in all, DOM is a versatile Discipline, capable of dealing with a number of table concerns. This is why, back in 2004, I eschewed using it, since it was too easy to use. I felt back then it was a cheesy option, when I was still grappling with the niceties of the game's strategy and tactics.

My switching to using DOM in my decks has more to do with rising to the challenge of using the Discipline creatively, without falling into the easy grip of just stealthing the bleed through.

So far, I've built two decks which use DOM, and have conceptualized two others, meaning I've organized the deck list, but haven't put them together. They are as follows:

1. A Tremere/!Tremere deck - while built, I haven't played much with this; it's still pretty experimental. It's basically a toolbox, which I feel is a more responsible way of using DOM, but it's still pretty wonky, so I should play with it some more so that I can get a feel of how to use it properly.

2. Gotsdam, the Tired Warrior - So far, this is the deck I've been constantly tinkering ever since I incorporated DOM into my strategies. Gotsdam is versatile, and can stand up to the combat metagame in Manila. I've had a lot of fun using this deck.

3.  DOM Midcap - So far, this is a work in progress. Being mostly 5-cap vampires, Govern can only reliably used as a bleed card, which means this is basically a forward-moving deck, with little defense and combat options.

4. Giovanni powerbleeder - Technically, this deck doesn't rely on stealth to get its bleeds through, but rather, it relies on Call of the Hungry Dead to make blocks fail. This is also still a concept, because I haven't had the time to put it together. Also, I suspect I lack enough cards to make a separate deck, and I may have to take apart another deck, probably the Tremere, in order to build this.

I actually am intrigued by the possibility of building a version of the dreaded Malkavian '94 deck, a stealth bleeder archetype which has withstood the test of time, and remains terribly effective to this day.

While I probably won't completely embrace DOM and go all out on the bleeds, I will have to concede that it provides a lot of entertainment, due to its versatility. It will always be a useful tool in one's repertoire of tricks in Vampire.

Janky Stuff - The Flung Junk Deck

Over in our local group chat and during our games, I learned about the term, "janky,"; in the Oxford Dictionary, the term, which is of unknown origin, it means "of extremely poor or unreliable quality." In the game, specifically, it means using card combinations or crypt discipline combinations that are either so weird, or funky, or strange it makes other players wonder why the hell you decided to use that.

I lost track of the discussion thread in the group chat, but some of the more recent concepts included a discussion on political combat and splashing in a Discipline such as Thaumaturgy (THA) to make use of cards such as Rego Motus (damage prevention) and Magic of the Smith (equipping something).

In my case, I'm not sure if it counts as janky, but I used to have an obsession with the Well-Aimed Car:

As you can see, the card is pretty cornercase, meaning it's not really that useful. One, it can only be used at long range, and, two, it can only be used after the first round of combat. This means that, when getting into a fight, you have to survive the first round, press for the second round, and then maneuver to throw it on a minion. Still, it was compelling enough for me to build a deck around it, which I nicknamed "Flung Junk" because it relied on long-range combat.

I chose to use mostly Brujah and Brujah antitribu for this deck: one, they had the Celerity (CEL) and Potence (POT) Disciplines, necessary to throw stuff, and they had Presence (PRE), which constituted one of the means for me to oust, namely bleed modifiers.

There are four Potence combat cards wherein one can throw something: Thrown Gate (which has a built in maneuver), Thrown Sewer Lid (No maneuver, but a press at superior), Stunt Cycle (damage and damage prevention, but can be countered by a vampire with CEL), and, of course, the Well-Aimed Car.

The centerpieces of the crypt revolved around Amelia and Jacko, two Brujah antitribu, whose specials, Amelia being able to get into combat with weenies, and Jacko having an extra strike that does not count against the strike limit, made them fairly useful. A good number of the vampires in the crypt (Amelia, Jacko, Sela, Miguel Santo Domingo, and Sir Ralph Hamilton) also had POT and PRE at superior, which allowed me to pack Iron Glares, mainly for the bleed modifier (+2).

The deck was janky because the combination for the Well-Aimed Car did not come out consistently, although, when it did come out, it was glorious. The most memorable victim of the Car was the Setite Sarrasine, who went down after the combat.

 Looking at the current deck list, I would probably remove the Blurs and the Flurry of Actions, and put in tech that might help me move more forward. Admittedly, there is no intercept in this deck, since I envisioned it to be more proactive than reactive, although I might consider placing light intercept in, considering the current metagame. Still, it would probably compel me to up the library to 90, and I'm not sure what that would do to the probabilities.

At the same time, in the current local metagame, a good number of players pack damage prevention, namely Fortitude, that would trump the damage done by the Flung Junk. If you look at the deck list below, there is no damage prevention in the deck; it relies mainly on long-range combat. This makes it vulnerable to the same type of combat, which means I would have to look for a way for the vamps to get back the blood. Perhaps more Tastes? Or maybe a Procurer or two?

As I write this post, I'm getting ideas in my head regarding how I would tinker with the deck, so it's possible, the next time I play the Flung Junk deck, it may be more potent.

Deck Name:   Flung Junk

Crypt: (12 cards, Min: 21, Max: 30, Avg: 6.41)
----------------------------------------------
  2  Amelia                                  CEL POT PRE              7  Brujah Antitribu           G2  Bishop
  1  Evangeline                                   cel pot pre              4  Brujah Antitribu           G2 
  1  Henry Taylor                       cel pre pro POT              6  Brujah Antitribu           G3 
  2  Jacko                              obt CEL POT PRE              8  Brujah Antitribu           G2 
  1  Miguel Santo Domingo     cel for POT PRE              7  Brujah Antitribu           G3 
  1  Pug Jackson                      for pre CEL POT               6  Brujah                          G3  Primogen
  1  Rigby                                aus pot CEL PRE              5  Brujah Antitribu           G2 
  1  Sela                                   cel obt POT PRE              6  Brujah Antitribu           G2  Bishop
  1  Sela (ADV)                       cel obt POT PRE              7  Brujah Antitribu           G2  Archbishop
  1  Sir Ralph Hamilton           cel ser POT PRE              6  Brujah                           G3 

Library: (80 cards)
-------------------
Master (10 cards)
  4  Blood Doll
  1  Celerity
  1  Fame
  1  Gang Territory
  2  Haven Uncovered
  1  Path of Lilith, The

Action (16 cards)
  3  Ambush
  3  Bum's Rush
  6  Enchant Kindred
  3  Flurry of Action
  1  Intimidation

Action Modifier (2 cards)
  2  Iron Glare

Combat (52 cards)
  4  Blur
  8  Flash
  4  Increased Strength
  4  Psyche!
  5  Pursuit
  4  Sideslip
  2  Stunt Cycle
  6  Taste of Vitae
  8  Thrown Gate
  5  Thrown Sewer Lid
  2  Well-Aimed Car

Back to One's Roots (Sort of) - The City Gangrel

When I started playing V:TES, I came in using clan Gangrel, mainly because I liked the idea of combat, of which the Gangrel were masters in spades. Using the Disciplines of Fortitude (FOR), Animalism (ANI), and Protean (PRO), the Gangrel, especially the older ones, could take out opposing minions, and live to tell about it, often without a scratch. One of the first Gangrel decks I built, a toolbox, managed to make it to the finals of one of the old storyline tournaments.

After more than a decade and a half of playing the game, I've tried out a number of deck concepts, and, finally got to include Dominate in one or two of my decks this year (that'll probably be the next post after this). I've also managed to use the FELDB app more efficiently to keep track of the decks I've built. Yesterday, at the friendly games, I playtested the City Gangrel deck, a deck type I'd been tinkering with ever since I started playing. I only played one game, but the deck managed to win the one round I played in, and I'm likely to reward the deck by finally placing it in sleeves.

The City Gangrel, in the role-playing game, are Gangrel antitribu who have adapted to hunting in the urban jungle, hence their name. Instead of the regular Gangrel Disciplines, the City Gangrel use the Disciplines of Celerity (CEL), Obfuscate (OBF), and Protean (PRO), which means they are preternaturally fast and agile, they can efficiently hide themselves, and, with Protean, they can do a number of nasty actions. So, how does one play a City Gangrel deck? There are several options.

One can focus on two of the clan Disciplines, and create either a combat deck (using CEL and OBF) that focuses on fighting with weapons, or one can go the stealth method, combining OBF and PRO to get the minion's actions through.  Or, of course, one can focus on the three clan Disciplines, and this can be a combat deck.

For the combat part, the Gangrel, with PRO, are masters of aggravated "poke" damage. This entails getting into fights, and there are a host of options to get this done: actions, such as Bum's Rush or Ambush, Haven Uncovered, or a minion's built-in ability, such as that of Ellen Fence, the Tracker.

Once in combat, one can ensure one's strike will get through, courtesy of Shadow Feint. Then, one sets the range to close, either by using CEL or OBF maneuvers. When range is close, a hand strike using PRO aggravated damage can send the opponent into torpor.

With the Gangrel antitribu in general, once a minion is in torpor, diablerie is a usable action, since the ensuing blood hunt can be canceled by Gangrel Conspiracy. A good combo at this point is to play Ritual of the Bitter Rose, which will then give all of your vampires an amount of blood equivalent to that of the blood on the diablerized minion. Fortunately, for me, the right cards came out in the game yesterday, which allowed me to fill up my vamps with blood, PRO being a blood-intensive Discipline (Note to self: include Path of the Feral Heart in the deck).

In our group chat,  one of the players who wasn't able to make it asked what ousting mechanism the deck relied on, to which another answered Computer Hacking. While the Computer Hacking came out early enough for me, there are a number of ousting mechanisms I can turn to, such as the use of Fame, or Tension in the Ranks, or the Path of Lilith, none of which came out. Instead, I had to rely on table dynamics, wherein the other players expended their resources and made it easier for me to exploit the gaps.

It also helped that my prey and grandprey were using Nosferatu antitribu and the EuroBrujah archetype, respectively. Neither clan has built in FOR, or else they would have shrugged off my aggropoking. As the case was, I was able to take out or diablerize Tarbaby Jack, Volker, the Puppet Prince, and Constanza Vinti, which paved the way for me taking the table.

As with any deck in V:TES, no deck is truly unbeatable; there will always be some trump card or deck or player who will make life miserable for your deck. In all likelihood, it's entirely possible that, given a different seating position or different decks used in the game, the City Gangrel deck would have gotten stomped. Still, it will depend on what you do in the game that will result in failure or success. In the end, as we players are wont to say, play your game.

Hey Now, You're an All-Star

One of the more heated discussions on the V:TES forums involved the card Pentex Subversion, which basically paralyzes the vampire on which it's placed. I found the discussion odd, although one of my co-players observed that, if one is playing a star vampire deck, the Pentex would stop it dead in its tracks. Otherwise, it's just another card one has to deal with on the table; while annoying, I've never found it to seriously hinder my play.

What constitutes a star vampire deck? As suggested by the name, such a deck focuses on one or two vampires in order to be effective. Generally, this means a big vampire, of  capacity 8 and up, since it should be versatile enough to cause damage on the the table. Also, large cap vampires often have special abilities which make them desirable to play.

In terms of deck construction, this means placing multiple copies (4-6) of said vampire in the crypt, in order to ensure it coming out in the opening uncontrolled region. The star vampire then acts based on whatever theme or strategy the Methuselah playing it had in mind, with the rest of the crypt acting as support.

In the Manila scene, some examples of star vampire decks include the Wynn deck, which is combat-based due to Wynn's built-in ability to enter into combat. Others involve using members of the group 2 Inner Circle vampires, particularly Arika or Stanislava; Arika is particularly effective due to the difficulty in taking her down; with FOR, DOM, and PRE, she can either soak combat damage, stop combat before it even happens, or strike:combat ends. I considered it a badge of honor in being able to torpor her, although I only managed it once.

Other examples of an effective star deck include using the Guruhi Lucian the Perfect, whose discipline spread, and built-in +3 bleed ability, allows him to bleed for a crapload of pool, using either OBF or DOM in order to get it through; the record, if I recall, was a bleed for 21 (I forget the combination that led to this insane amount of bleed).  

In my case, I've built few star vampire decks, since I prefer swarms or versatile decks, with crypts able to act regardless of who's out. My main star vampire deck is that of Cock Robin, whose ability to unlock after taking an action using ANI helped me get to the Finals table of the 2011 Asian Continental Championship Using a combination of Animalism intercept and Second Traditions, the Cock Robin wall deck ran smoothly, especially if its ousting mechanism, the Smiling Jack, came out. Later on, I reconfigured the deck to become more proactive, and focused it on combat, but, for some reason, I've had less success in using it.

Recently, I've begun experimenting with Dominate (more on that in a future post), and built a grinder deck around Gotsdam the Tired Warrior. Gotsdam is a foil to many combat decks, since he has three built-in trumps against combat: he can end combat as a strike that costs 1 blood, he's immune to frenzy, and he treats aggravated damage as normal. In other words, he's rather difficult to kill.

Another star deck I've put together, but have not yet tested, revolves around the Brujah Count Germaine, who is immune to weapons, and, if advanced, has +2 bleed against Methuselahs who control titled Sabbat or Camarilla vampires. It's a riff off the Celerity Gun deck, with FOR and PRE complementing the gun combat.

When one builds a star vampire deck, one has to consider what other vampires to include in the crypt. Generally speaking, one puts vampires who can complement the main vamp; for example, there's an Enkidu deck that includes Dominate weenies, wherein the weenies Graverob the minions that Enkidu torpors. In my case, I tend to include vampires of smaller capacity, who have the same discipline spread as the main one. In the Cock Robin deck, for example, I included Nikolaus Vermulen and Calebros the Martyr, who are both Princes, in order to maximize my use of Second Traditions. At the same time, I try to avoid being too overly reliant on my star, hence my choice of crypt build.

I find that using a star vampire deck from time to time allows me more versatility than my other decks, since the star vampire is able to perform a lot more tricks than a midcap vampire. However, I also keep in mind not to rely so much on the star vampire, lest I be rendered helpless by players who target the star of the deck.

Forces Stirring

So, I hit the proverbial wall once more, and went a whole month without any writing done.

However, in the Manila scene, there are forces stirring.

The return of the game with the release of the four Sabbat preconstructed decks, as well as other products such as reprints of the Berlin anthology, the Keepers of Tradition set, and the bloodline sets (Heirs to the Blood and Lost Kindred), have attracted a few new players, as well as brought out an old player out of torpor. I've not met the old player yet, but he does have a handy venue located in the Cubao area, and has managed to stock the decks for sale. Hopefully, this will help spur on the growth of the game once more.

In my case, I've been introducing the game to my co-teachers, and about two of them have joined me in informal games at the workplace. With a little persuasion and a little bit of luck, we could catch the interest of one or two more, and have a complete table which will be closer to how the game is actually played.

On the tournament front, the Manila players held their first tournament since hosting the Asian Continental Championship last year. Dubbed the Blood Feud, the tournament was small (only 7-8 players all in all) but it did bring in two new players into the VTES scene. In my case, I tried out my Gotsdam the Tired Warrior deck, and it managed to net me a VP in the two rounds I played.


Slowly but surely, the game makes its comeback, as more players become interested.

Tech for the Single Discipline Deck

Continuing on the discussion on using midcap, single discipline decks, it's necessary to take a look at the tech one has to add in order for the deck to be able to deal with different threats. When one is focused on using a single discipline in the deck, one can overlook what is needed to survive on the table. Here are a few staples which I like to add to whatever midcap deck I'm using.

Permanent Intercept, or as some players call it, "permacept."

Depending on the environment, one may have to deal with blocking actions which involve stealth. This means that one has to counter it with intercept. This isn't a problem for players using Animalism (ANI) or Auspex (AUS), but, even for those who aren't playing disciplines with intercept, there are a number of options one can resort to in order to gain intercept.

 The master card Guardian Angel offers +1 intercept against bleed actions, and prevents 1 damage when your minion is in combat.

Locations, such as KRCG News Radio and WMRH Talk Radio, allow a measure of intercept. Of course, one has to be ready to contest such unique locations, especially the two above, so a Methuselah may be forced to resort to the less effective Rumor Mill or Channel 10. Club Zombie, while expensive, has the additional ability to allow minions to gain blood if it isn't locked.

Sport Bikes offer an uncontestable alternative, but they're not stackable, giving you only +1 intercept. In a stealth-heavy environment, that will not be enough. Still, it's better than nothing.

Then, there's Mr. Winthrop, a retainer who gives the minion +1 intercept, also another possibility.

Generally speaking, one may need around 2-3 intercept to deal with most actions comfortably, so a mix and match of the disciplineless intercept cards is in order.

Equipment (Combat)

A number of  disciplines which have options to end combat as a strike, but I prefer to be more pro-active in my combat options. As such, when one is not using a combat discipline deck, I tend to prefer guns such as the .44 Magnum or the Sniper Rifle. The former does 2 damage per strike, and the latter has the additional advantage of setting the range to long in the first round of combat. Combine it with a Target: Vitals, and your minion does 4 points of damage in one strike.

Given the combat-heavy metagame of Metro Manila, if I'm not planning on mixing it up in combat, I tend to use equipment that allow me to get away, e.g. fight at long range, hence, the two types of guns, plus IR Goggles for the additional maneuver. Combine them with Concealed Weapon, and you get a free equip action in the middle of combat (you still pay the cost, though). I'm not too keen on using ammo cards, though; they take up space, and, unless you also pack Magazines, they're one use.

Damage prevention without Fortitude is a little trickier, with your best options being Leather Jacket, Flak Jacket or Kevlar Vest. While the Bundi and the Nightstick can also prevent damage, the Bundi only prevents melee weapon damage, and both are melee weapons. The thing is, if your opponent is playing Potence or other strength related strikes (Blood Fury), your best bet would be to get away, not close the range.

Bleed modifiers/Ousting tech
  
If you're not using a bleed-oriented discipline, such as Dominate or Presence,  then Computer Hacking, Laptop Computers, and Tasha Morgan, are your best bets to push the bleed on your opponent. Other options are Pentex Loves You (for Sabbat) or the Stolen Police Cruiser (for anarchs).

For other forms of pressure, there's Anarch Revolt and Antedeluvian Awakening, which both force Methuselahs to burn one pool per turn, although having an anarch minion protects one from the Revolt.

Then, of course, there's Smiling Jack, although, if you take this path, you'd better make sure you have a surefire way of paying for its cost and defending it. To summarize, each turn, you move a pool onto Smiling Jack, and then every other Methuselah has to burn the equivalent number of counters on the Jack from either his/her pool or from his minions. Paying for it means you have enough pool to keep from getting ousted; there are a number of ways for pool gain, but that's for another article.

The main challenge for the Jack is defending it. For one, it can be canceled by Sudden Reversal or Wash straight off the bat. Then, if you manage to get it through, be prepared to deal with the whole table. Playing the Jack is announcing that you're a threat, and other players will often ignore predator-prey relationships until the threat is removed. That means that the Jack is removed (via directed action), or you are ousted. Still, while there is risk involved, playing the Jack can be fruitful against a table unprepared to deal with it.

While playing a single discipline deck can be dangerous due to the weaknesses of each discipline, there are a number of cards which, when added to your deck, help bolster and strengthen your deck.