The Deck to Beat: Ani Combat

Flash grenade, ftw too.

Botched Move!

How about Nizzam al-Latif with Selective silence+Shadow Feint or Quick Jab?

Dorrinal wrote:

Trust me when I say that combat folds to - always has and always will. The best defense is to play a couple Walks of Flame to discourage them from pressing and/or drop all your Apportations for Movements of the Mind.

I still very much rate the inclusion of Weather Control in these decks, since the Wall-type Combat decks are usually sporting a big array of birds that you can spray with the Weather Controls. Thefting over and over can work, and sure you'll lose minions to the exchange... but then if you can take the birds down and make it hurt them at least as much... you've often got enough disincentive for them to be too aggressive.

Theft + Walk of Flame shits all over "standard" Animalism combat. The problem with that is, that without presses of your own Walk of Flame isn't going to do an awful lot, which hurts your deck against everything else.

I really feel Thaumaturgy needs some sort of strike with an inbuilt press to make all those round 2 goodies playable...

Izaak wrote:

I really feel Thaumaturgy needs some sort of strike with an inbuilt press to make all those round 2 goodies playable...

I believe it would be a start, but it may not be enough. Walk of flame is just too much effort compared to other "1/2R aggravated damage" out there, since one blood is usually much better than having to find a press. Especially since you still can be dodged, prevented, combat-ende, torporized on first round and whatnot.

If anything, walk of flame and other round 2 strike tend to not be powerful enough for the harsh condition.

Ahriman's desmene would be another proof : the discipline does have a "maneuver + press strike", the strike directly burn the vampire and is one of the very few strike that do so, and still nobody right in his head would use it or try to slap a celerity / obtenetration deck to use it. Round 2 only is just that bad of a restriction.