Vampires
- 5Casino Reeds
- 2Nikolaus Vermeulen
- 1Amelia, The Blood Red Tears
- 1Calebros, The Martyr
- 1Nigel the Shunned
- 1Agatha
- 1Jimmy Dunn
Friday TempleCon · Warwick (RI), USA
February 5th 2010 · won by Jesse Cross-Nickerson
A fairly self-explanatory crypt. My primary concern was to get POT on everybody so that they can fling superior gates. Calebros is the one exception, but he is well worth it for ANI and a prince title. I've never been able to tap SchreckNET, but it's an easy action to cycle. Some day, I'll probably get to use it. These are often very useful as stealth for early game set up actions, especially Casino's 0 stealth action to move blood. Given how often I use them at basic, it might be wise to swap a couple for Lost in Crowds. The beauty of this combat package is its consistency, coupled with the ability to surprisingly divert from the playbook. I have been able to shut down some very nasty combat decks simply by always having a gate to manuever and do some damage, and then by surprisingly ending combat or dodging (there used to be some Behind You, and it could go back in) when I got caught in a bind. Flesh Bond is great for its flexibility, as it deals 3R damage with Casino's special. These tend to go on the support minions, not on Casino. They really help get the oust in once I've crippled my prey's minions A previous version of this deck, which got me to a final at Origins, spent a total of 0 pool on library card costs. I added a Pentex Subversion because it is awesome, and to contest should one land on Casino. (I would still prefer that it be banned.) Spending so little pool is a major part of what makes this deck work. Casino and Nikolaus both help get Nosferatu at reduced prices, and I never bring out more than 4 vampires. Usually I stick with 3, or even 2 under severe pressure. I use the extra pool as a buffer because at some point in the game I need to tap out against my prey, and then wake several times to stop her recovery actions. A lot of wall deck players seem to imagine that they can do this and magically cycle into the right mix of combat and reactions. Usually that won't happen. However, by keeping my pool as high as possible, I can afford to take some serious hits from my predator while I turn my defense into offense. I would certainly entertain the possibility of cutting some STSW for more 2nd Traditions.