Report - French Nationals - 30-09-2012 Rennes

I have a question...how does Enkidu survive opposing combats, mainly aggropoke (considering that he's usually an acting minion)? Is a single Guardian Angel enough, or is it not an issue in that particular meta?

I thought that too, since there's only a couple fortitude cards, and enky is a big rush target in Ohio playgroup since he only has little fortitude. but there are stutter steps and earth melds enough in this deck to probably survive anything agg poke other than grapple agg poke. now, in the report cel guns, animalism and grapple potence are all listed, but what this deck is weak against is high damage output with fortitude and grapple. Cock robin could torp enky with a rush, some pres a grapple or 3 and maybe 2 fortitude cards.
beefcake or hardestadt could use just grapple, fortitude, disarm, then possibly freak drive and graverob.
they key is those kinds of decks are not as commons other combat, and the only agg that can routinely get thru to torp enky is rotshreck reliant decks. in metas where combat is common, there's always a chance someone is playing this decks trump, but its certainly not even a garuntee then.

I'm just surprised there's no sideslip or adaptability. well, the latter of those kinda sucks, but this deck has a really diverse defensive combat package for being a very offensive combat deck. Stutter step is just funny for 3 possibly agg.

ReverendRevolver wrote:

I'm just surprised there's no sideslip or adaptability. well, the latter of those kinda sucks, but this deck has a really diverse defensive combat package for being a very offensive combat deck. Stutter step is just funny for 3 possibly agg.

I don't see too much reason to put Sideslip when you can just put more Flesh of Marble to be honest

More seriously, Sideslip would mainly serve against aggravated, but the deck seem well armed against thoses, except in case of Grapple, and grapple + aggro is pretty uncommon. When Flesh of marble just make laughable any attempt at grappling with potence, while being powerful against everything else.

Also, 9 tastes when your generally punching double or triple what regular potence does tends to keep beads piled high.

Ohlmann wrote:

[ but the deck seem well armed against thoses

But how, considering that Enkidu is the one who's acting? I mean, yeah, he can S:CE just in case, but that seems not very efficient to me.

Maybe I'm reading too much into this, but it seems to me that way too many clans have access to aggro damage (any Gangrel, Tzimisce, even any Tremere via Flames of the Nethervoid, if we're discussing first round agg damage, Baali (and particulary the unnamed decks), Assamite, Gargoyle...) for this not to be an issue. Enkidu really can't afford ending up in torpor...

Kiddo wrote:

But how, considering that Enkidu is the one who's acting? I mean, yeah, he can S:CE just in case, but that seems not very efficient to me.

Guardian angel, weapon destruction, 2 skins of steel, 4 stutter step. That's a lot of thing that can foil you.

Kiddo wrote:

Maybe I'm reading too much into this, but it seems to me that way too many clans have access to aggro damage (any Gangrel, Tzimisce, even any Tremere via Flames of the Nethervoid, if we're discussing first round agg damage, Baali (and particulary the unnamed decks), Assamite, Gargoyle...) for this not to be an issue. Enkidu really can't afford ending up in torpor...

Problem is, aggravated damage tend to not be too efficient in combat. It doesn't prevent hitback, so by itself it's most often 2 blood vs 2 blood in blood management term : 1 for doing aggravated, 1 because of hitback. Compare to .44 (once setup, 0 blood vs 2), Carrion crow (1 blood vs 2 blood), Torn Signpost (1 blood vs 3 blood), etc ...

The true value of aggravated is that the vampire is in torpor, ripe for destruction (but cross table rescues, or even sidekick rescue, can ruin your day), and the lost action. But it's just not enough to be that good most of the time.

That's why people play animalism combat and not aggropoke. Burning blood is way more reliable and less easy to deal with than torpor.