Asguresh and Alcoan

One of my favourite things about VTES is the way that thinking about one card often leads to thinking about completely different cards. I'd never looked at Asguresh and Alcoan before, but I stumbled across them today, and want to build one of two decks. I'd like some help deciding between them. In either case, I'd like to make use of those interesting clan-specific cards like the Erebus Mask, Maabara, Shaal Fragment, and Ritual Scalpel.

Option 1: Bruise/Bleed with Flurry

Bleed with Flurry of Action, punishing blockers with frightening CEL gun combat (backed up by Asguresh's brilliant special text). If successful, pump the bleed to 2 or 3 with Trochomancy and then untap to block with Quicken Sight or redirect with Telepathic Misdirection.

Option 2: Bruise/Bleed with Keystone Kine

Bleed with KK and Trochomancy for 2-4, gaining blood in the process (or doing some damage via CEL combat). Rather than worrying about being untapped all the time to block, include several Vessels or Blood Dolls to pull off the blood gained from the KK bleeds, and include a few more Eyes of Argus for untapping. Take advantage of Diversion and Friend of Mine as well as other anarch-specific cards (Anarch Free Press, Constant Revolution, Blood Turnip).

Ideas? Which would you build? Or would you try for a Mercy of Seth/Blur/Fame deck, which was my original (ridiculous) intent?

I think you end might up with a better crypt having celerity/necromancy if you go with groups 4-5, rather than group 5-6.

Contrast:

Crypt [4 vampires] Capacity min: 6 max: 10 average: 8.25

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1x Appius Claudius Corvus 10
1x Luna Giovanni 10
1x Alcoan 7
1x Asguresh 6


Crypt [10 vampires] Capacity min: 6 max: 10 average: 7.9

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1x Appius Claudius Corvus 10
1x Dmitri Borodin 10
1x Luna Giovanni 10
1x Guillaume Giovanni 9
1x Mugur Sabau 9
1x Gualtiero Ghiberti 7
1x Agru Kabera 6
1x Asguresh 6
1x Benedict Giovanni,Agent 6
1x Honorine Ateba 6


I'd be inclined to more of the Flurry of Action path.

If you do go the Mercy for Seth route, you might grab some inspiration from these decks:

games.groups.yahoo.com/group/rgtcjdeckarchive/message/6835
games.groups.yahoo.com/group/rgtcjdeckarchive/message/6788
games.groups.yahoo.com/group/rgtcjdeckarchive/message/6785
games.groups.yahoo.com/group/rgtcjdeckarchive/message/6580
games.groups.yahoo.com/group/rgtcjdeckarchive/message/6382
games.groups.yahoo.com/group/rgtcjdeckarchive/message/5215

For Keystone Kine inspiration:
games.groups.yahoo.com/group/rgtcjdeckarchive/msearch?query=keystone+kine&submit=Search

For Alcoan inspiration:
games.groups.yahoo.com/group/rgtcjdeckarchive/message/6587

Thanks for the links. I was looking at a few of those earlier.

CEL/NEC is fine, but I'm also interested in being able to pose a threat in combat both offensively and defensively. Asguresh's special helps a lot in both cases, and the fact that both of them share Auspex means that they can block effectively as well (and find support in the G5/6 AUS weenies). Dmitri's great too, but he costs 10; I guess I could pair Asguresh with him instead. His combat special is great, after all.

DeathInABottle wrote:

One of my favourite things about VTES is the way that thinking about one card often leads to thinking about completely different cards. I'd never looked at Asguresh and Alcoan before, but I stumbled across them today, and want to build one of two decks. I'd like some help deciding between them. In either case, I'd like to make use of those interesting clan-specific cards like the Erebus Mask, Maabara, Shaal Fragment, and Ritual Scalpel.

Option 1: Bruise/Bleed with Flurry

Bleed with Flurry of Action, punishing blockers with frightening CEL gun combat (backed up by Asguresh's brilliant special text). If successful, pump the bleed to 2 or 3 with Trochomancy and then untap to block with Quicken Sight or redirect with Telepathic Misdirection.

Option 2: Bruise/Bleed with Keystone Kine

Bleed with KK and Trochomancy for 2-4, gaining blood in the process (or doing some damage via CEL combat). Rather than worrying about being untapped all the time to block, include several Vessels or Blood Dolls to pull off the blood gained from the KK bleeds, and include a few more Eyes of Argus for untapping. Take advantage of Diversion and Friend of Mine as well as other anarch-specific cards (Anarch Free Press, Constant Revolution, Blood Turnip).

Ideas? Which would you build? Or would you try for a Mercy of Seth/Blur/Fame deck, which was my original (ridiculous) intent?

If you go with option one, I'd say that you are better off with permanent bleed, like Tasha, J.S., and laptops. Flurry isn't super-strong, so I'd not put too much effort into making it work. Permableed + intercept combat could work. As for the clan toys, I dunno.

For option two, keystone kine usually sucks. Again, don't rely on this card to carry much weight. Anarch stuff an be fun. If you combine ritual scalpel, Anarch Free Press, Hospital Food and Aaron's Feeding Razor and Perfectionist to shock and awe the table.

Oh, hunt machine plus cel/gun featuring lightning reflexes ftw!

I followed your first option to build the deck.

Deck name: Tombstone; Duel in OK Corral.

Description:

It´s basically an auspex + celerity gun deck, with multiaction ability and some necro-tech to give it some flavour.
The deck is pretty straightforward, rush what you can´t block, take permanents and bleed out your prey. Thanks to inferior flurry you will catch the guns easily.
It has some Harbingers of Skull tech, like you wanted, but it has no Nagaraja tech and necromancy is also very limited.


Crypt

5x Alcoan
3x Anguresh
3x Titi Camara
1x Lindsay Yates


Library (81)

Master (16)

1x Yawp Court or KRCG News Station
1x Crematorium or Maabara
1x Lazarene Inquisitor or Maabara or Slaughterhouse or Fame
1x Powerbase: Montreal
1x The Rack
1x Pentex Subversion
2x Haven Uncovered
1x Powerbase: Luanda or Haven Uncovered
3x Vessel
1x Blood Doll
1x Powerbase: Barranquilla
1x Auspex or another Blood Doll or Dark Influence or another Haven Uncovered
1x Heidelberg Castle, Germany

Actions (9)

7x Flurry of Action
1x Abbot or Divine Sign
1x Fleetness or Chair of Hades or Divine Sign

Equipment (9)

1x Bowl of Convergence
6x 44. Magnum
1x Shaal Fragment or Erebus Mask
1x Camera Phone or Codex of Edenic Groundskeepers

Retainers (2)

1x Tasha Morgan
1x JS Simmons or Mr. Winthrop

Modifiers (6)

3x Trochomancy
3x Forced March

Reaction (18)

4x On the qui vive
5x Telepathic Misdirection
3x My Enemy´s Enemy
5x Eyes of Argus
1x Quicken Sight

Combo (3)

2x Spectral Divination
1x Resist Earth´s Grasp

Combat (19)

6x Concealed Weapon
3x Pursuit
2x Taste of Vitae
3x Blur
4x Psyche !
1x Cold Aura

Depending on the combat enviroment, maybe you have to drop psyches for more Cold Aura, Sideslip or Sidestrike.

I hope you like it or at least it gives you ideas to build your own deck.

Dr.Mafrune