A Belated ACC 2025 Account

Today, veteran players from Metro Manila are descending upon Calamba, Laguna, to participate in a local tournament, Pangil sa Pangil. Unfortunately, I am unable to attend due to stuff needed to do in the house, so I will try to catch up on V:TES stuff.

Last year, the Philippines hosted the Asian Continental Championships (ACC), and it was held in Whimsy Cafe last September 6, 2025. About 40 players, with three coming from Japan and one from Taiwan, participated, making it one of the largest numbers of players in the region. After three rounds and a finals table, local player Micon Garcia won it using a weenie-Computer Hacking deck, which basically blazed its way through to the finals.  

As luck would have it, there were a number of similarities between Micon's deck and the deck I used in the ACC, as both of us relied on weenies and Computer Hacking. However, in my case, I opted for a little more combat flavor, as well as a slight sprinkling of Dominate. 

I focused on using group 2-3 vampires with a capacity of 1-2. To bring them out, I had cards such as Effective Management, Powerbase Montreal and Information Highway to facilitate their coming into play. 

For the pool management, I included Tribute to the Master and Autarkis Persecution; the latter would always be a gamble, since I didn't have votes to push it, and instead relied on the need of the players' on the table for pool. 

For the forward movement, I added an Anarch aspect, with Anarch Revolt and Constant Revolution available to put some pressure on players. I also added Antedeluvian Awakening for the same purpose. Naturally, Computer Hackings were readily available, with some Camera Phones for the extra bleed push.  

Since I had a number of vampires with basic dominate, I also included some Deflections just in case an opportunity came to bounce a bleed. 

Of course, I added a combat module consisting of .44 Magnums and Wooden Stakes, with Concealed Weapons, Fake Outs and Lucky Blow all included to put some hurt, as well as the occasional torpor of an opposing vampire.  

When I look at the deck list, I realize what a toolboxy deck it was. It had some bleed, and some combat, and relied on sheer numbers to overwhelm the opposition. While it wasn't as single-minded as Micon's deck, which I believe focused solely on bleeding opponents out, the Ewoks deck was fun to play. (decklist below) 

The deck worked relatively well, especially when opposing players were not ready to deal with so many minions in play. I was fortunate that I didn't encounter Aranthebes, the Immortal, which would nerf the bleed of my minions, or had to face a referendum of Ancilla Empowerment/Anarchist Uprising, which would have knocked me out. In the end, I had a GW, and around 7-9 VPs, which landed me in 9th place. Not enough to make it to the finals, but respectable.

All in all, last year's ACC was fun, as I got to play against a lot of different players, which made me think hard and plan ahead on how to best use my deck. This year, the ACC will be in Japan, so I will likely participate in the local CACC (Cannot ACC) tournament. 

The ACC 2025 field. Image from the Philippine VTES Community feed. 

Deck Name: The Ewoks 1.1
Author: greyet

Crypt (22 cards, min=4 max=8 avg=1.73)
======================================
1x Almiro Suarez                     2 aus          Tre:3
1x Arnold Simpson                    2 pot          Bru:3
1x Boy Toy                           2 dem          !Mal:2
1x Carter                            2 cel          !Tor:2
1x Christine Boscacci                2 dom vic      Pan:2
1x Doris McMillon                    2 val          !Sal: 2
1x Jesús Alcalá                      2 cel          !Gan: 3
1x Kanya Akhtar                      2 cel          BanH:2
1x Krid                              2 obf          Nos:3
1x Marciana Giovanni, Investigator   2 dom          Gio:2
1x Mustafa Rahman                    2 dom          Tre:2
1x New Blood                         2 san          BBro:ANY
1x Ohanna                            2 dom          Mal:2
1x Samson                            2 dom          !Ven:2
1x Sasha Miklos                      2 chi          Rav:2
1x Zip                               2 ani          Rav:3
2x Anarch Convert                    1              Cai:ANY
1x Huang, Blood Cultist              1 pro          Pan:2
1x March Halcyon                     1 for          Pan:2
1x Royce                             1 dom          Pan:2
1x Sandra White                      1              Cai:3

Library (90 cards)
==================
Master (27)
------------
6x Anarch Revolt
1x Antediluvian Awakening
1x Archon Investigation
6x Effective Management
2x Information Highway
1x KRCG News Radio
2x Parthenon, The
1x Powerbase: Montreal
1x Seattle Committee
4x Tribute to the Master
2x Twilight Camp

Action (14)
------------
12x Computer Hacking
2x Constant Revolution

Political Action (4)
---------------------
4x Autarkis Persecution

Equipment (14)
---------------
5x .44 Magnum
4x Camera Phone
5x Wooden Stake

Reaction (6)
-------------
4x Deflection
2x Delaying Tactics

Combat (25)
------------
10x Concealed Weapon
5x Fake Out
8x Lucky Blow
2x Target Vitals

 

 

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

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