Contract Killers

Please Help. I've made a variety of decks over the years, but I'm having real trouble making an assamite contract killers themed deck. I tend to always make the same mistakes building decks and can only correct with extensive playtesting, which I don't always get the chance to do.

I really like the idea of Assamites using Contracts, so that's the challenge. Make a deck that uses contracts (Assamite Contracts, not BlackHand Contracts), that works.

Here's my first draft, that performed dismally in a recent game.

How do you intend to oust?
Loss bleeds + fame

How do you intend to keep from being ousted?
Pool gain from 'Provision of the Silsila' and blocking with intercept from 'Open Dossier'

What do you want your ready region to look like (ie, how many guys are you planning on getting out)?
Two maybe three Assamites. With the crypt choice any are good. Izhim is best. Bigger the better because the blood/pool gain from provision of the silsa is better with bigger vamps.

What do you want your average turn to look like?
Enter combat x1 (Contract)
Successful bleed / Blocked bleed + combat x1

What's your metagame like? How do your opponents play?
Always some combat around. Votes, stealth bleed.

What problems have you observed with the deck in play?
Only played once but I emptied the vamps too much with villein (leaving 1/2 blood), consequently they tended not to survive a combat. I was ousted before I could recover from my mistake.



Deck Name : Contract Killers
Author : Eius P
Description : Assamite contract-bruise/bleed



Crypt [12 vampires] Capacity min: 6 max: 10 average: 7.58333

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2x Izhim abd Azrael 9 CEL OBF QUI THA pot Assamite:5
2x Kashan 7 CEL OBF QUI obt pre 1 vote Assamite:4
1x Dmitri Borodin 10 AUS CEL NEC QUI obf Assamite:4
1x Antara 8 CEL FOR QUI aus obf pre Assamite:4
1x Bakr 8 CEL OBF QUI dem pro Assamite:5
1x Monty Coven 8 CEL OBF QUI dom for pre Assamite:5
1x Joe "Boot" Hill 7 CEL QUI for obf Assamite:4
1x Hafsa, The Watcher 6 OBF QUI aus cel Assamite:5
1x Reza Fatir, The Da 6 CEL QUI obf pro Assamite:4
1x Vardar Vardarian 6 OBF QUI cel pre Assamite:4


Library [90 cards]

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Action [9]
4x Clandestine Contract
5x Loss

Action Modifier [2]
2x Lost in Crowds

Action Modifier/Combat [4]
4x Swallowed by the Night

Action Modifier/Reaction [10]
4x Blood Awakening
6x Provision of the Silsila

Combat [26]
5x Disguised Weapon
2x Psyche!
5x Pursuit
5x Selective Silence
2x Shadow Feint
2x Target Vitals
5x Taste of Death

Equipment [7]
1x Ivory Bow
2x Light Intensifying Goggles
3x Mark V
1x Sniper Rifle

Master [19]
1x Alamut
1x Black Throne, The
4x Contract
1x Fame
1x Lilith's Blessing
1x Market Square
2x Path of Blood, The
1x Tension in the Ranks
7x Villein

Reaction [11]
3x Black Sunrise
1x Confusion of the Eye
2x Nest of Eagles
5x Open Dossier

Retainer [2]
1x Ghoul Retainer
1x Omael Kuman


Crafted with : Anarch Revolt Deck Builder. [Mon Mar 04 18:47:18 2013]

Well, Open Dossier is too hard to make work (as is Provision of the silsilla in a lesser degree). If what you really want is to use thoses two cards, find room for somehing like 4 Dream and 6-8 Infernal Pursuit.

In the same idea, either do Taste of death combat or gun combat, not both. Use reliable ranged weapon, like .44 or assault rifle (and one ivory bow), not mark V.

Ditch either Quietus or Celerity (preferably Quietus), and use smaller minion

In short, make everything you can to have less moving part. You want to play a rish deck with additional requirement ; there is already plenty of thing that will go wrong, your deck must be as consistent as possible.

In essence, ditch everything, but Cel and make Assamite Cel guns

On a serious note, you need more Psyche! (at least 6, depending on metagame), and a turbine (2 Info Highway, 6 Zhilla's Valley, some Dreams of Sphinx). You need to take care of your prey fast if you have S&B or Weenie as predator. And many of them would just love a prey with 2 Psyche! in deck and influencing 10-cap as the first vampire. You have enough free master slots to add turbine, but if you won't then go full wall style, so you could stand with 1 vampire just as well.

kombainas wrote:

In essence, ditch everything, but Cel and make Assamite Cel guns

Well, in essence, cel gun + contract w/ open dossier and Provision of silsilas. This deck try to cram in it cel gun, quietus ranged combat, contract with silsilas, and wallish element. That's too much moving part for one deck, especially since you need to put a contract before using Open Dossier.

Also, my suggestion would not to try to "turbine", because the deck need master phase for contract, and because quite frankly thoses fatty add nothing except having the three discipline at sup. Instead, use 5-cap or 6-cap with big celerity ; it may seem boring, but it will also make the deck much more enjoyable.

kombainas wrote:

(2 Info Highway, 6 Zhilla's Valley, some Dreams of Sphinx).

Currently, and this is just my personal style of play, I don't bother with Zillahs, nor with multiples of Info HWs. What I do instead if I need speed is just put 6 or so Drams in a 70-80 card deck - Dreams are a good card to draw whenever in the game and are more versatile, especially in combat decks. Sure, they don't provide such a speed boost as Zillah's do, but they are not dead cards after a third turn - especially if your deck doesn't rely on being on less pool than your prey, as Parity Shift decks are.

Info HW I put only in decks where both speed is needed AND you can expect to end up with some counters on your uncontrolled vamps in midgame (like via Govern or something similar) and you want to use them as pool...

The deck is filled with "wouldn't it be great if" cards.
You only plan on getting 3 vampires out, so choose three and duplicate them in your crypt (+1-2 wider view). I like Bakr for his innate rush. This lets you contract back and Fame(2) forward. Bakr has which could be very useful to you. Blessing of Chaos(+3-4)counters & combat cards and decent D# vs bleed/vote. On the premise that BoC is a good card there are 2 other with . Nizzim has Agg hands and Thucimia's special allows for weak card flow (idk if it bad or not). Library should be no larger than 75 cards.