The Intelligence of Choice (of Deck)

One of the things I have noticed too is that some decks seem to be built to suit a playstyle. Borrowing decks can really change the way a deck plays and how a deck performs.

I'm not trying to relate this to player ability (although there was a classic example of a player who used to be in my group who was focussed on trumpy-tactics and having a silver bullet for everything) but instead the idea that while two players may use an identical wall deck, the effect on the table (assuming all other things constant or comparable) will have markedly different game results. One of my guys really does want to play a weenie-potence deck and I just don't know of the deck suits his playstyle.

I say let him try. For all you know, he may actually do well with or even like it.

Oh he has played it, quite a few times, and it doesn't behave well in his hands.

then he probably needs to know what is not working for him and tweak from there. Sometimes it may be easier to make the deck change to fit the player than to have the player change mindsets to play the deck.

I sort of feel that VTES has three stages of difficulty in deck construction and play.

When you start playing the game, you stick to the basic mechanics and strats that are obvious to everyone.

-Stealth Bleed.
-Lots of Intercept. Act as a wall, letting you shut down other strats on the table.
-Straight up combat. Kill everything you can and hope for a VP or two.
-They tend to be mono clan and stay away from focusing on only one or two vamps to carry out the decks plan.

To me the above decks are starter level no matter how you play it. Starter level decks are still most certainly deadly, even in the most veteran VTES players hands, but just like with any other games you play for a long time, sticking to those play styles gets boring fairly quickly as you look for ways to get more out of the game.

Sure, you are always limited by your collection and some people are happy to stick with starter contents and ideas, but for those who have been around a long time and have the resources, I feel there's no excuse as to why a player 10-15 years into the game would want to restrict themselves.

I suppose that could sound elitist, but when you start playing tennis, you concentrate on getting the ball over the net without anything fancy. The more you play the game, the more tricks and strats you can employ as you gain skill. Same principle.

Moderate decks start mixing clans. Maybe sects. You look for specific conditions for your strat that works outside the generic mechanics of the deck. You start splashing in elements of stealth, intercept, combat, politics and whatever else, as you've learned timing, using your cards in the most effective way as possible instead of trying to do everything. That way you can fit more possibilities into your deck instead of clogging up your hand, waiting for others to create the environment for you to use all those cards.

I suppose advanced decks would be those with all sorts of different vamps, maybe concentrating on one or only two. Many of the decks that allow many actions from the same vampire fall into this category as you need to think ahead more than one or two steps. To me, the advanced game heavily relies on interacting with the other players. Those people without the want or ability to navigate VTES socially tend to have a harder time against proactive people out to manipulate the table.
I would also slot heavy library and ash heap strats into the advanced game.


I'd be interested to know the spread of decks at Championship events. Do people resort to "sleaze" tactics or straight up mass stealth bleeds etc, because they think others are doing the same?