Four casual games decks for evaluation

Hello!

It's been a time since I last touched VtES - mainly because of my exchange year still going on, and no-one, literally no-one in Ireland/Northern Ireland play the damned game. Not even at 'cons! There would be, obviously, some activity going on on the other side of the pond, but even if I avoid some horribly expensive ferries and fly, the cabs, flights, busses and trains together would most likely end up costing me more than £100 for a tournament weekend. Add food, possible accommodation, a pint or two, and you start to get the picture. But, when planned accordingly, it might be possible to attend a tournament or two during the spring.

So, I brought a little sideboard, and my decks with me after Christmas. I haven't touched them in some time, but these four decks are my pride and joy: all of them have gone through some heavy experiments and phases, of which Al'Muntaquim the most so, and they are prtty much in a shape I like to play them. They are in for some tweaking, however, and the Ravnos in it's present state has not seen much playing - or, let's say had not. It's been so long since I actually played the game.

So, everything you would like to say about any of the decks will be much appreciated! I was thinking I'd see how active people here are, now that VtES players (finally!) have a universal forum, and community.

So, without further ado, the decks:


The Groaning Carneval

They come in various forms: Groaning, Shambling, Reanimated... What they have in common, is that they're all corpses. They don't need a soul to be useful.

Pretty self-explanatory, I think. What I've found is that the deck would need more allies. Too bad I don't have any more corpses or hordes. One of each would be helpful. Also, there is a problem with poolmanagement, so +1 blood doll could be worthwhile. The reaction area is a bit weird too, now that I look at it. Why don't I have 4 OtQV, and only 2 Wakes? I can't remember where I've had a use for so many wakes. A fourth Freak Drive could do the trick.

I really like to play with this deck, though! It's always a nice of a challenge, even though a decent bleeder or a fast voter might give one hell of a trouble. Any worth in tournament enviorment?

:Ousting with allies and bleeding, usually 2-3 vampires with allies with them, decent bloodgain and vessels to be transfered into pool.

Ravnos Remnants

Durga Syn and Marcia discover means to survive the Week of Nightmares with Thaumaturgy, and form a toolbox with a multitude of disciplines.

I haven't had many games with this one played yet. I had one similar to this before, but with less thaumaturgy, and no rutor's hands or biothaumas. It usually got around 4 minions out before finally playing Week, and wreacking some moderate havock. I love the vampires - as with all my decks, the illustrations tend to have a bit too high a priority.

:Oust with bleeding, harass opponents with surprise Reality and decent intercept. Keep things going and alive before Week of Nightmares and lunge all out offensive.

'Avenger' Time Management Co.

The Caitiff do the dirty work, and if they get too careless, they have a good home in the freezer - and after feeding, Al'Muntaquim can eat their hearts for extra bleed.

This one's been on the workbench in more forms I can remember. After really getting into VtES some years ago I fell in love with True Brujah after seeing someone play them, and without knowing anything about them decided that I'd have a deck someday. After some research I decided to go with Al'Muntaquim - and thank God I did. He's awesome. I've been playing him with Nosferatu, and Ventrue, and Caitiff - even with Gargoyles to do the blocking, and summoning Ahrimane werewolves from History! Good times.

Here you have the latest incarnation.

:Swarm at start, rush and build up with Avenger. Ousting with a Fame rush, and bleeding. Usually 4-6 minions around midgame, after caitiff eventually succumb to the Meat Storage or +Bleed usually only Avenger on the table. He does killing and staying alive okay.

White Halls of Heidelberg

Serenna, being a hunted Salubri, makes her lair in Heidelberg, and transforms it into an asylum to feed her malkavian minions while gaining their trust by mending their insanity. Her enemies are lured into the keep to be drained my the malks, who are kept in good health - and Serenna out of trouble through aggressive politics.

This one's lovely. When the new set came, I skimmed through the spoilers, and Serenna immediately caught my eye. I fell in love and decided she'd be the star of one of my decks someday. First I gave a go with the new Harbingers, but they had some serious troubles doing pretty much anything. Serenna didn't have much to do there. The malkavians were the next obvious choice, and after experimenting I figured Santaleous had found a home. I'm not the first to figure that out, but I sure was the first in town to refill Santa with Renewed Vigour.

My first time playing Malkavians, or Salubri for that matter. Serenna keeps the Malks alive, and they try to take out some surprise bleeds. I wanted to experiment with Dementation, so there's little Obfuscate in there. The deck is wonderful in staying alive, if I play carefully, but it has some trouble in ousting - I haven't ousted a whole table more than once or twice. What I do love when playing Serenna, is the faces of people I play with: "Not her again!!"

:Oust by Dementation bleed. Usually 3 minions, attempt at 4. Serenna multitasks in bleeding, renewing, marionetting, blocking and stopping rushes.


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Anything you want to say is appreciated!

I think the lack of response you've received so far is directly tied to how much you are asking. One deck in a thread is plenty.

I'll take a look at this deck.

Deck Name: Groaning Carnival
Author: Krause
Description:
They come in various forms: Groaning, Shambling, Reanimated... What they have in common, is that they're all corpses. They don't need a soul to be useful.

Crypt (12 cards; Capacity min=1 max=9 avg=5.75)
===============================================
3x Baron, The 9 Samedi:2
2x George Frederick 6 Samedi:2
2x Jorge De La Muerte, The Agent 7 Samedi:2
1x Lithrac 5 Samedi:2
1x Reg Driscoll 8 Samedi:2
3x Tupdog 1 Gargoyle:3

Tupdog is a bit baffling to me here. He can't take any of your actions, he can't bleed, he can't usefully play any of your reactions. Anarch Convert (or any other Caitiff) can do all of the same things for you (being a cheap minion, and it will actually stay around).

Library (89 cards)
==================
Master (17)
2x Blood Doll
1x Charisma
1x Dreams of the Sphinx
1x Fortitude
1x Giant's Blood
2x Houngan
1x Necromancy
2x Perfectionist
1x Sudden Reversal
2x Two Wrongs
2x Vessel
1x WMRH Talk Radio

I'd replace the Two Wrongs with Narrow Minds, since you only have 3 Deflections. I'd also consider Wider View in place of the Discipline masters. Fortschritt Library to ensure that you get The Unmasking in play is also nice. Do you have a Jake Washington to throw in instead of one of the Procurers? Blood gained at the beginning of your turn can make a ton of difference in your offense over the course of a game.

Event (1)
1x Unmasking, The

Action (10)
1x Blithe Acceptance
2x Divine Sign
2x Haunt
4x Off Kilter
1x Restoration

I'm not convinced that Divine Sign should ever appear in a deck that isn't devoted to ousting via intercept combat. Since it does untap you when you successfully put it into play, it isn't 100% horrible, but there are likely better actions to take. I'm not convinced you need the Blithe Acceptance, it would either be over-kill in my current environment or completely blood draining. I'd rather see those three as Elder Impersonation. Little Mountain Cemetery would also be a great choice if you have those.

Equipment (1)
1x Sargon Fragment, The

Ally (11)
2x Procurer
5x Reanimated Corpse
4x Shambling Hordes

I've yet to be convinced that Procurer is better than simply playing another copy of Perfectionist. If you are in need of blood, your first step in addressing it shouldn't be to lose two blood. I also think you need more allies to be able to reliably bring the Hordes into play when they come into your hand.

Action Modifier (14)
3x Cloak the Gathering
3x Freak Drive
2x Lost in Crowds
3x Under My Skin
3x Veil the Legions

Combo (2)
2x Swallowed by the Night

A bit low for my taste, you could drop probably half of your combat if your actions were simply succeeding in the first place. i.e. I'd go for more Cloak/Veil to get the bleeds of the allies through.

Reaction (11)
3x Deflection
3x On the Qui Vive
5x Wake with Evening's Freshness

I'd lean a bit more towards the On The Qui Vive. That way your Reanimated Corpses can get that last action in before they lose their last pathos counter and still block on their way out.

Combat (22)
1x Compress
5x Groaning Corpse
2x Haymaker
2x Indomitability
1x Rolling with the Punches
5x Soak
3x Trap
3x Withering

Pulled Fangs? The Shambling Hordes will hit for a sufficient amount that it is frequently playable. The Reanimated Corpses hit for two as well, so it is easily played by them. With this much combat, I think you need a reliable way to get into combat to cycle it. Perhaps change up some of the reactions to be more able to block and cycle cards on other players' turns?

I think the lack of response you've received so far is directly tied to how much you are asking. One deck in a thread is plenty.

A few thoughts on this one.

Deck Name: White Halls of Heidelberg
Author: Krause
Description:
Serenna, being a hunted Salubri, makes her lair in Heidelberg, and transforms it into an asylum to feed her malkavian minions while gaining their trust by mending their insanity. Her enemies are lured into the keep to be drained my the malks, who are kept in good health - and Serenna out of trouble through aggressive politics.

Crypt (12 cards; Capacity min=3 max=9 avg=6.58)
===============================================
2x Arthur Denholm 5 Malkavian:5
2x Gem Ghastly 6 Malkavian:5
1x Kalila 3 Malkavian:5
1x Keller Thiel 4 Malkavian:5
2x Santaleous 9 Malkavian:5
4x Serenna the White 8 Salubri:6

I didn't find anything in your library that would make you want to restrict yourself to Camarilla Malkavians. If you were to throw in some Malkavian Antitribu, you could get a second unique hunting ground, and have Santaleous bleeding for three without cards while gaining plenty of blood at the beginning of your turns. Perhaps Marge Khan instead of Gem Ghastly?

What do you mean by 'aggressive politics'?

Library (90 cards)
==================
Master (17)
1x Asylum Hunting Ground
2x Blood Doll
1x Dementation
1x Dreams of the Sphinx
1x Giant's Blood
2x Heidelberg Castle, Germany
1x Jake Washington (Hunter)
1x Rack, The
1x Sight Beyond Sight
2x Vessel
2x Villein
1x Wash
1x Wider View

I think your pool gain is a lot lower than it could be when you have Renewed Vigor at your disposal. I don't think you need The Rack, as you should spend your efforts defending your pool instead. I'd drop it and the Dementation skill card, for more Villein if you have them, more Vessel/Blood Doll if you don't.

Action (15)
1x Arson
5x Kindred Spirits
1x Pulse of the Canaille
3x Renewed Vigor
1x Restoration
4x Spirit Marionette

I'm not convinced that Pulse of the Canaille is good for you here. Free permanent bleed is almost always a better choice. J.S. Simmons, Tasha Morgan, and/or Camera Phone would all work well. I'm of the opinion that it and Restoration should both be dropped for more Renewed Vigor.

Equipment (2)
1x Bowl of Convergence
1x Sniper Rifle

Both solid. Perhaps some Light Intensifying Goggles to help when Serenna is acting?

Action Modifier (15)
2x Cloak the Gathering
3x Confusion
2x Eyes of Chaos
2x Freak Drive
1x Lost in Crowds
2x Mind Tricks
3x Repulsion

Combo (7)
2x Deny
4x Gift of Sleep
1x Touch of Clarity

I'd be partial to more Freak Drive and fewer Mind Tricks. Veil the Legions before Mind Tricks as well.

Reaction (20)
2x Eagle's Sight
2x Enhanced Senses
3x Eyes of Argus
1x My Enemy's Enemy
2x On the Qui Vive
1x Precognition
2x Spirit's Touch
4x Telepathic Misdirection
3x Wake with Evening's Freshness

Forced Awakening or Fillip instead of Wakes? (To keep your hand size up.)

Combat (14)
5x Anesthetic Touch
2x Resilience
4x Rolling with the Punches
1x Superior Mettle
2x Target Vitals

Combat looks ok, if you are blocking a lot with Serenna. Another minion with fortitude might be a good idea.

A few thoughts on this one.

Deck Name: 'Avenger' Time Management Co.
Author: Krause
Description:
The Caitiff do the dirty work, and if they get too careless, they have a good home in the freezer - and after feeding, Al'Muntaquim can eat their hearts for extra bleed.

Crypt (Capacity min=1 max=8 avg=3.58; 12 cards)
==================================================
4x Al-Muntaquim, The Avenger 8 True Brujah:4
1x Andy 1 Caitiff:4
2x César Holfield 1 Caitiff:4
1x Dirk 1 Caitiff:4
1x Johan Wrede 1 Caitiff:4
1x Maldavis 4 Caitiff:3
1x Nedal, The Careless 1 Caitiff:3
1x Sandra White 1 -none- Caitiff:3

Library (88 cards)
=====================
Master (15 cards)
1x Archon Investigation
1x Barrens, The
1x Blood Doll
1x Carver's Meat Packing and Storage
2x Dreams of the Sphinx
2x Fame
1x Perfectionist
1x Tabriz Assembly
2x Two Wrongs
2x Vessel
1x Wall Street Night, Financial Newspaper

Pentex Subversion wrecks your day. Any thoughts about Wash/Sudden Reversal/Secure Haven?

Action (16 cards)
3x Bum's Rush
2x Clotho's Gift
3x Harass
1x Heroic Might
2x Kiss of Lachesis
1x Path of the Scorched Heart, The
1x Rampage
1x Restoration
2x Vaticination

Equipment (1 cards)
1x Assault Rifle

Restoration should be Taste of Vitae. Use all of this combat to re-balance your blood, don't waste an action gaining blood when you could be removing a threat to your pool or the defense of your prey.

I think that you would ideally have a lot more of these and Kiss of Lachesis to guarantee that you got them early. Summon History for an Assault Rifle isn't bad either. Then, you can focus your combat away from all of that dangerous close range stuff and increase your Pocket out of Time / Taste of Vitae success. That may be too much of a change, in which case I'd be partial to removing the 3 cards you have in now as they are too random to count on.

I'd be partial to seeing a Kevlar Vest or Guardian Angel as well, with the amount of combat you have planned.

Perhaps an Anima Gathering for Maldavis?

Ally (1 cards)
1x Mylan Horseed (Goblin)

Always nice to have in play.

Action Modifier (14 cards)
6x Domain of Evernight
3x Freak Drive
2x Hidden Lurker
3x Pocket Out of Time

I'm not a fan of Hidden Lurker, as I don't think you can really afford to tap Al-Muntaquim on your turn in a way that he can't untap from. Let Al-Muntaquim lead the way, and the Caitiff can follow up with bleeds against your prey who can no longer defend.

Reaction (5 cards)
1x Delaying Tactics
3x On the Qui Vive
1x Wake with Evening's Freshness

If you're only going to have 4, why not have them all as On the Qui Vive? You're extremely unlikely to block anything now, and unless you switch that Wall Street Night for a Channel 10, you won't be blocking much of anything at all.

Combat (36 cards)
2x Decapitate
6x Immortal Grapple
3x Indomitability
5x Outside the Hourglass
2x Rolling with the Punches
3x Soak
4x Superior Mettle
5x Taste of Vitae
6x Torn Signpost

As mentioned earlier, I'd like to see all of this close combat disappear and be replaced by Asssault Rifle/Taste of Vitae goodness. I'd also double the number of Outside the Hourglass. Use some for damage and some for maneuvers. If you stick with the close range combat, I don't have anything specific to change, though I would still double the Outside the Hourglass to chase down your opponents when they try to get away.

Adonai wrote:

I think the lack of response you've received so far is directly tied to how much you are asking.

It's certainly what scared me off from bothering to look at any of them.

Kushiel wrote:

Adonai wrote:

I think the lack of response you've received so far is directly tied to how much you are asking.

It's certainly what scared me off from bothering to look at any of them.

Fair enough. I was kind of afraid that would happen, but at the same time I really didn't know if people would appreciate a newcomer littering the forums with four different deck threads. I guess I went wrong there.

Plenty of thanks to Adonai for going through the trouble! Let's see what I can say about the changes.

Pentex Subversion wrecks your day. Any thoughts about Wash/Sudden Reversal/Secure Haven?

It will, and it has. I freaking hate the card. Now that you said it, I'm surpised I don't have washes in there. It might be I'm running out of Suddens or Washes... I'll double check some of the less fun-to-play-with decks, if they'd have some spare. Secure Haven is a surprising idea - which might not be a bad one! A Nightmare Curse will destroy my game, or a well placed rush against which I'm not prepared. Tabriz Assembly isn't really much of a card in there, I suppose - that could be replaced by Haven, or at least master counters.

Actions

Fair enough, another taste might be okay - the thing is, however, that against decent combat resilience (fortitude springs in mind) tastes are good for nothing. Perfectionist hunting might be enough, though. A good point, but as a defence let's say that restoration seldom has let me down.

Assault Rifle combat is very fragile, I think. First of all I need to have the combo working to get it with decent pool cost, then there's lots of animalism being played in my home town, and there are plenty of techs to wreck my rifles. Also, I own only 3 Clotho's Gifts. That's not exactly enough to pull out the weapon combo.

Guardian Angle could be fun. Also, Anima Gathering. Nice ones.

Hidden Lurker

I think I added them just to try it out. With OBF it would work better. At least the second one will go. It's fun to experiment sometimes.

Wakes

I don't have infinite amounts of OtQVs.

Outside the Hourglass

5's all I own. If I had more, I'd have plenty of them there.

Assault Rifle deck would be one completely different one. There were some good points about masters there, though - also Hidden Lurker and Anima Gathering. Some intercept techs could be worthwhile.