Poll Result: What kind of crypt do you like to play?

Hi folks!

Here is the result for the latest poll (47 votes were cast):

Mono Discipline	3 (6%)
Common Disciplines (more than 1)	7 (14%)
All Big Cap	2 (4%)
Mono Clan	23 (48%)
Star Vampire with weenie support	5 (10%)
Mixture of different disciplines	7 (14%)

Mono Clan turned out to be the most popular, which didn't surprise me. I like to play mono clan decks, too. I am little disappointed by the fact that big caps are so unpopular. Might this be because of Pentex Subversion?

by: Mephistopheles

I'm running out of tournament deck ideas...

Hi folks!

Since the NAC I've spent many hours thinking of new tournament decks to build, but I found it hard to match all those criteria I have developed:

1. I need to be able to rush vampires.

2. I need an effective combat package.

3. I need to be able to generate (lots of) pool.

4. I need either modest intercept or bleed bounce.

5. Ousting power should not rely only on torporizing or burning vampires.

So far I have three decks that fit these criteria.

1. Brujah Alastor

Pro: Very versatile, but still reliable. Has massive pool gaining ability with Parity Shift, Voter Cap and Grooming. Rush ability and Combat is fixed, saving resources. Another great advantage is that the deck can produce 3-4 stealth on critical actions. Second Traditions is awesome of course. Ousting Power is supported by perm +bleed through New Carthage, also Parity Shifts help to reduce your preys pool pretty fast. Can achieve total vote lock.

Contra: Can be very vulnerable in the first ~30 minutes. A bad draw in the early stage or an aggressive predator can ruin your game.

2. Nana Buruku + weenie Animalism

Pro: Many minions, that can cause a lot of damage either through combat or by bleeding. Very effective in combat. Ashur tech saves resources and provides you with pool. Also PB: Montreal and a hunting weenie gives an additional 2pool/turn when needed. Has access to some intercept via Animalism. Very good ousting power. Maybe my best deck for the 1GW 3 VP strategy.

Contra: Can have serious trouble when facing other decks with combat options like Akunanse or Apparition Ravnos. Very vulnerable to cross table ousts which are likely to happen. Combat Ends stealth-bleeders can be a serious problem, too.

3. Hardestadt eats the world

Pro: Can become very overwhelming. Diablerizes vampires, so whats dead, stays dead. Can produce large amounts of pool if the Amaranth - Villein engine starts working. Though it lacks intercept it can bounce bleeds, which is great. Very fun to play.

Contra: It's a star vamp deck, which is always a vulnerable deck type. Carlton is a real issue. Has problems against Animalism combat and decks running plenty of prevent cards.

Right now I am looking for another deck that could become No. 4 in the list. Any ideas? Potential candidates are Akunanse and Blood Brothers, though both have disadvantages: Akunanse can't handel S:CE and isn't weenie enough, Blood Brothers seem to lack stability: no bounce and Gestalt isn't really my favorite Intercept source to play...

Feel free to comment. Any ideas are highly appreciated!!!

by: Mephistopheles

HNC Ranking updated

Hi folks!

Yeah!!! UPDATE!!! MU-HA-HA!!!

by: Mephistopheles

HNC Debrecen: pwned by Peter Korsos

Hi folks!

Too bad I had to miss this event, too. I really missed something there, namely Peter Korsos winning with this lovely Temporatrix deck:

Deck Name: Temporatrix
Created By: Korsós Péter
Description: Goratrix+ Pocket out of time = Endless combat

Crypt: (12 cards, Min: 8, Max: 40, Avg: 5,08)
---------------------------------------------
1 Marciana Giovanni dom 2 Giovanni
1 Mustafa Rahman dom 2 Tremere
1 Ohanna dom 2 Malkavian
1 Samson dom 2 Ventrue Antitribu
1 Brooke dom tha 3 Tremere Antitribu
1 Saiz aus dom 3 Tremere Antitribu
1 Lia Milliner dom nec 3 Giovanni
1 Gloria Giovanni nec DOM 4 Giovanni
4 Goratrix vic ANI AUS DOM THA10 Tremere Antitribu

Library: (90 cards)
-------------------
Master (22 cards)
3 Dreams of the Sphinx
1 Erciyes Fragments, The
1 Giant`s Blood
5 Infernal Pact
2 Pentex Subversion
1 Rack, The
1 University Hunting Ground
2 Vessel
4 Villein
2 Wash

Action (10 cards)
4 Clotho`s Gift
4 Magic of the Smith
2 Rutor`s Hand

Action Modifier (21 cards)
3 Conditioning
7 Domain of Evernight
3 Enkil Cog

8 Pocket Out of Time

Reaction (21 cards)
9 Deflection
3 Delaying Tactics
3 On the Qui Vive
1 Rewind Time
5 Sense the Savage Way

Combat (4 cards)
4 Rego Motus

Ally (4 cards)
2 Nephandus (Mage)
2 Tye Cooper

Equipment (4 cards)
1 Bowl of Convergence
1 Heart of Nizchetus
2 Talbot`s Chainsaw

Combo (4 cards)
4 Quicksilver Contemplation

Congratulations to Peter Korsos! Finally there is an HNC round which is not won by Guyla Ferdos (who still was in the final though)...

by: Mephistopheles

Game Report: Tatu Sawosa Wall

Hi folks!

As you (might) know I wanted to build a Cesewayo deck. Since I don't own any copy of Epiphany and also lack some Magic of the Smith I still didn't built it. So I came up with another concept for Osebo using Tatu Sawosa as a main vampire. The basic idea of the deck is to build up with permanents like Enforcer, Preternatural Strength and Well-Marked. Combat cards are basically cut down to Immortal Grapple, Disarm, Thrown Sewer Lid and Taste of Vitae. The deck features a strong Auspex module. Ousting power is Fame and Dragonbound.

So I gave that deck a try and it did pretty well. We played a 4 player table, I had an Anarch Diversion Gunner as a prey and a Striga - Concordance - Fractura Baali predator. Cross table buddy was a Blood Brother. The permanent stuff angle worked out really well. Nobody could block my rescue actions while I could block, that gave me an advantage. One of the turning points was when Tatu Sawosa playd a Legend of the Leopard stealing a Venificti with it. My prey had an Aranthebes in play, so when I tried to bleed him next turn he tried to block the Venificti. At this point I played my surprise card: Veil the Legion and bled him out.

At this point my predator was sort-o-dead, so it was basically down to the Blood Brother and me. I Pentexed one of 'em, and torporized two others. Unfortunately I had a Fame on my weenie support. I ran out of wake cards for Tatu Sawosa (she had hands for 4 + Well-Marked) so my only chance to defend Pentex was blocking with the weenie. I've got torporized and the Blood Brothers won. When I played the Slam in that last combat, I replaced an Eyes of Argus. Had I seen that 1 card earlier so I could block with Tatu the game win had been mine. If I hadn't blocked that last action the Blood Brother would have played a Hive Mind for untaping and an Oppugnant Night afterwards, so I'd be dead, too.

I still have a good feeling for this deck, it neads some little tweaks here and there, but it has potential.

by: Mephistopheles

First Imbued Experience

Hi folks!

I've just played with the Imbueds the very first time. Kevin was right, I've just played them 'cause I've got the booster boxes for free. However it turned out that it is actually fun to play them. There are just so many things you have to think of. It's a little bit more challenging than to play Govern-Stealth-Conditioning.

Well it was a four player table. My prey played a Ravnos anarch vote deck, my cross table buddy played an Aching Beauty deck and my predator played some Salubri/Harbringer toolbox. My predator was busy surviving so I could get some stuff. Angel of Berlin gave me an Ivory Bow and a Crusader sword. I didn't drew Travis in my crypt, but pool was still not a problem. Vampiric Desease turned out to be a cool card and Young Bloods just rocked the house. Since the Toreador didn't felt like cross table ousting me, I could safely build up strength and oust my prey. In the end I made the sweep.

Seeing the deck from the inside is pretty interesting. It's actually very similar to the Khazar's Peasant deck: if you want to stop that deck you just need to block everything right away. I don't know if I will take the deck to a tournament, but it was good to get to know my enemies...

by: Mephistopheles

HNC Ranking updated

Yep!

After HNC Veszprém the Ranking got updated. Awesome. Indeed.

by: Mephistopheles

/I couldn't join the event, that's why there is no tournament report/

Deck idea: Osebo Vote Deck

Hi folks!

I was just looking through my 7 displays I took home with me from the NAC and the idea stroke me like a lightning. Cesewayo seems so strong to me, I must build a deck around him. Since I like to play toolboxy decks I can't ignore his 4 votes. Together with Kisha Bhimji and an Osebo Kholo, I can have 8 votes on the table. Add cards like Ancestor Spirit, Kduva's Mask and Sense Vibration to it and you can easily call your politics with 10-12 votes.

Also Cesewayo has a very strong defensive ability. He can get some Aye and a No Secrets from the Magaji, too. Superior Dominate will make Obedience a No-Brainer, also I can try to fit in some Govern the Unaligned's.

Of course he can get a very card effective combat on him with Well-Marked and Preternatural Strength. Maybe a Blood Shield will fit in there, too. Combat is not my main strategy here, I will go with permanent solutions only with the exception of Resist Earth's Grasp.

The only problem I see is pool management. Since I'd like to play with Kduva's Mask, Monastery of Shadows and maybe some other equipments like Sniper Rifle and Blood Shield, I need to generate sufficient pool. Ancient's Influence and Powerbase: Tschwane might not be enough. Maybe I should go for the Rack + Vessel module. Another option could be Bamba + Con Boon with Carver's Meat Packing Storage for possible blood support on Cesewayo.

Well, I will build an alpha version of the deck and give it a try. Too bad I don't see when I will have time and opportunity to play v:tes in the next few weeks...

by: Mephistopheles

HNC Ranking updated

Thats right!

I've missed the tournament in Hatvan, but the organizers sent me the final standing. Once more Guyla Ferdos showed that he dominates the Hungarian v:tes scene and won the tournament with 1 Game 3 Victory Points in the final.

by: Mephistopheles

/next HNC round will be held on October 10th in Veszprém/