TWD »Don't Cry for Pentex« Lackey League

Winning deck of the »Don't Cry for Pentex« League. Enjoy!

Deck Name: Dont Cry for Pentex: The Shadow
Author: Rudolf Scholz
Description: Based on my own deck »And in the Shadows bind them« played successfully at the EC in Berlin 2017.
And, yes, the deck's name is a tribute to »The Gamers«.

»Don't Cry for Pentext« Lackey League 2019 (already using the announced rules / card text changes)
June 17th to July 22nd, 2019
43 players in total
5 rounds (best of 3 mode) plus finals
www.vekn.net/forum/lackeyccg/77721-dont-cry-for-pentex-league-2019

Crypt (12 cards; Capacity min=4 max=11 avg=9)
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2x Ambrosio Luis Monçada, Plenipotentiary 10 aus for DOM OBT POT PRE Lasombra:2
1x Aurora Van Brande, Paladin 6 dom for pot OBT Lasombra:2
1x Francisco Domingo de Polonia 9 pro DOM OBT POT PRE Lasombra:2
1x Gratiano 8 obf pot DOM OBT Lasombra:2
1x Ignacio, The Black Priest 4 dom obt pot Lasombra:2
1x Kassiym Malikhair 6 dom for MYT OBT Kiasyd:2
5x Montano 11 ANI DOM FOR OBT POT Lasombra:3

Library (81 cards)
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Master (17)
2x Dreams of the Sphinx
1x Giant's Blood
2x Heidelberg Castle, Germany
2x Information Highway
1x Sudden Reversal
9x Zillah's Valley

Action (18)
5x Baltimore Purge
5x Govern the Unaligned
4x Graverobbing
4x Mind Rape

Political Action (2)
1x Ancient Influence
1x Banishment

Equipment (4)
3x Learjet
1x Signet of King Saul, The

Ally (4)
4x Nocturn

Action Modifier (32)
1x Blanket of Night
1x Daring the Dawn
2x Enkil Cog
14x Freak Drive
3x Seduction
5x Shadow Play
3x Shroud of Absence
3x Tenebrous Form

Reaction (2)
2x Deflection

Combat (2)
2x Shadow Body

Created with Secret Library v0.9.4e. (Jul 23, 2019 10:08:16)

www.secretlibrary.info/index.php?deck=view&id=31122

Report: Finals of the "Don't Cry for Pentex" Lackey League

Note: This league season played with the announced card text changes that will be valid one month after the 25th Annivesary Box will have been released.

Seating: me (GER, Montano Baltimore Purge) => Slaven Nikolic (CRO, Capuchin Emerald Legionnaire) => Martin Schumacher (GER, g23 Weenie Auspex) => Diogo Pratas (POR, Vignes Tap & Bleed) => Hellgie Tod (FRA, Ventrue g45 Lawfirm)
Seating and starting player position were random, so I had only the (sometimes double-edged) advantage of being top seat.

My starting hand shows useful cards and two Zillah's Valley, both of which "ignite".
At the end of the second round (!) Montano can enter the scene and sees at the beginning of the third round (which also gives me a Heidelberg Castle) the following resistance:
Slaven: La Viuda Blanca, Martin: Elizabeth Westcott, Diogo: Gracis Nostinus, Hellgie: - (but an anarch troublemaker, fortunately not used, and also The Coven, which of course everyone, but especially me or Montano helps).

Without Freak Drives and stealth worth mentioning, I play a Mind Rape on La Viuda Blanca. Successfully. I pull out a freak drive and decide to make a bleed because I have Enkil Cog on hand. Get blocked. Get Kassiym Malikhair out to assist Montano. This brings me to 9 pool.
Start Round 4: Slaven has transferred to another vampire. Hopefully on Capuchin (just a top target for Baltimore Purge and Graverobbing). Martin has another 5-cap in the game. Diogo thanks to Govern down Ranjan Rishi. Hellgie finally Johannes Castelein.
Round 4: I need pool, but no poolgain is in sight yet, and I am accordingly worried about being bled by direct bleeds or bounces. I can play Enkil Cog, the Signet of King Saul and Lear Jet, then the machinery stops again. La Viuda has to leave her blood to Montano. A Nocturn and Kassiya make up the defense. I am at 7 pool.
Heart of Nizchetus for Martin. Diogo plays Mind Numb on Johannes Castelein (* happy *), bleeds and continues to build up. Hellgie brings Mustafa, The Heir into play.
I hardly remember the details of the 5th round. The Capuchin appears, with Martin a third Auspex-Weenie and Channel 10 (that can become something ...), Diogo comes on 4 vampires (and plays Mind Numb on Mustafa). Hellgie cannot do much.

Round 6: Time for Baltimore Purge. Freak Drive. Mind Rape on Johannes Castelein. (Hellgie: You're ousting me. -- Sorry, it is a complicated situation with tough decisions.) Another Freak Drive, so I can act in Slavon's turn as well. (It's going to be a Mind Rape on Gracis.)
Slaven's Capuchin plays an Emerald Legionnaire. Freak Drive. Afterwards, Capuchin bleeds (on Martin's suggestion that he should not hand Capuchin over to me unlocked in the case of Graverobbing), by My Enemy's Enemy the bleed gets bounced to me (well, great ...), fortunately, I have a Deflection at hand. No block, bleed for 3 thanks to Bonding. Bounce to Diogo, and now the big question: To whom will he bounce? To Hellgie, who is then on 3 pool.
Diogo ousts Hellgie in his turn witch takes Anarch Troublemaker out of the game.
Round 7: The show begins. Montano takes Capuchin, Elizabeth and Ranjan with him. Dreams of the Sphinx, two additional cards. Kassiym rescues Montano from torpor. Freak Drive. Montano plays Graverobbing superior on Capuchin. +2 hand size, so 11 cards in hand. Freak Drive. Kassiym plays Ancient Influence, passes, finally some pool buffer. Gracis plays Banishment on one of Martin's two ready Auspex weenies, passes, then blood to Montano. Thanks to Seduction, Montano diablerises Martin's Elizabeth and grabs the Heart of Nizchetus.

What follows now, is a brutal wearing down of the table by Baltimore Purge and diablerie actions. Montano's special of paying one blood to give one of my own minions +1 stealth proves to be an additional breaker thanks to the "infinite supply" of blood.
Without hurry I oust Slaven two or three rounds later. Diogo shows spirit and continues to play full forward, which grants me a new and shiny Gracis via Graverobbing.
Of course I try to oust Martin, but he bounces twice and eliminates Diogo. German-German heads up. I have no library left, and there are still 30 minutes left on the clock.

I have 5 vampires, Montano, Kassiym and Ignacio as well as Capuchin and Gracis, the big ones also with a lot of blood. And yet I'm afraid I'll run into the wall now (3 Auspex-Weenies supported by Channel 10 and also KRCG News Radio) and be "shot down" by guns and/or aggravated damage and lose the game.
But it turns out differently, the fights are only "Hand Strike, one". So it's a constant race, a struggle for Edge and The Rack, also changes The Coven happy back and forth.
Finally, a bleed for 3 by Montano ends the game, as the last blocker is overcome thanks to a Blanket of Night by Kassiym.

(I hope this is a correct description of what happened. Maybe the other finalists might add or correct one or the other from their point of view).