Kamut Krisp

Begin Ankur's comments] The deck name is from an unusually terrifying cereal of the same name. A version of this deck was in the !Nosferatu newsletter from March 2004. Peter Bajika and I must share a brain, as he independently and simultaneously posted another very similar version of this deck in the Nosferatu newsletter in the same month. (This is probably bad, since it means I'm vulnerable to employing the Bajika Gambit. . . .) The deck is essentially a strong mix of intercept deterrent combat and bleeding at stealth. The mid/end game is strongly affected by the presence of the Thuggees, who exist to torpor key minions with low blood (which will be the case in the mid/end game). All of a sudden, the hit for three with the lid is extremely relevant for any deck without prevention. The deck truly locks into high gear with a Sabbat prey. A Sabbat predator isn't bad either. Here are some comments on deck construction: Of the vampires in the crypt I least like Tarbaby Jack, as his special isn't of great use to me. I have considered doubling up (or tripling up) on virtually every vampire in the crypt aside from Piotr and Ingram, but ultimately made no change in order to minimize bad crypt draw. . . . . Probably the best choice to replace him is another Kazimir, though Mariano Pomposo and Soldat aren't horrible choices either (but you lose the use of the Nosferatu Kingdom and the Information Network for these swaps). Usually, everyone thinks Ingram is the best vampire in the crypt, but they just happen to all be wrong. Piotr consistently gains about 16-20 pool for the deck before he bites it. He is the hoss of all that is good and holy, but not worth three copies. You may notice that Peter and I share the same crypt. I originally had Korah in place of Quira, but once I saw his version of the deck, I decided that Peter made good sense on the choice and switched. I tried to make it an 80 card deck, but in most games, I do a good job of using most of the deck, so 90 cards seems to be the lesser of two evils -- I'd rather flow cards slightly more poorly than not have cards to flow. (Though, incidentally, this logic only works if you're decking yourself quite often.) Kaymakli Nightmares and Info Highway were included to handle a problem that I often seemed to face with this deck: too much free pool in my uncontrolled region. I wanted to access that pool faster with these cards. If I happen to draw an early Kaymakli (instead of the late draw I'm hoping for), it can really slow down other decks and increases the value of the less enabled vampires in the crypt -- Piotr, Roger, and the Colonel. Remover is the most golden card ever. It effectively serves as stealth for the Thuggees without using the precious little stealth I have, as well as forcing my prey to use wakes. Weeping Stone was the best decision I made among the masters. Not sure about the Nosferatu Kingdom, though it's probably solid math to keep it. I often have to fish to see my second !Nosferatu, but then again, I fish quite often anyway. I guess it makes good use of the extra Ingrams. I'd like to fit in an extra Corporeal Reservoir if possible. I considered Perfectionist, but this is a deck that not only doesn't necessarily need it, but really *really* doesn't want it. I don't want to give anyone any incentive to block/deflect anything I do. It's critical that they take the small bleeds and let the small bloat through. Momentum's Edge, on the other hand, *is* a card that would go quite well in this deck. Perhaps it is the swap for Nosferatu Kingdom. Dunno, though, since if the deck has ousted, it's probably doing just fine, but if it's not, you can still gain pool from Nosferatu Kingdom. I have exactly one Stunt Cycle in the deck, primarily as anti-Ivory Bow tech. Never saw the dratted thing all day, and I really really wanted it the final -- it would have saved me a trip to torpor. Probably not worth a second copy, though, as I'd rather have dependable damage most of the time. Aura Reading saved my butt at both levels in many games. Art of Memory is the best card in the whole freaking deck. I ousted several times only as a result of this card. It's stealth, combat, or actions -- whatever you need most -- that you decide *after* you draw into your replacements and see how the attempted action played out. Hell, you can even slap them on a bleed for one. They probably won't even attempt to block, because they figure you have stealth in your hand that you'll just take back and use on the next action. An outstanding card. I toyed with adding more, but they might be wasted slots. (Jamming on them is unlikely as you can cycle them on anything.) I basically want one in my hand, and I pre-emptively use it before my hand turns into utter crap and needs to be flushed with Aura Reading / Admonitions. Incidentally, the timing of getting back Admonitions around the table synchs up well with the Arts. I royally screwed up the use of the Admonitions in the final, though. (Sorry Will!) I struggled a lot with the choice of intercept. Six Ministries is usually about one too many, but I always want to have one in my hand; six Misdirections irritates me, as I feel all sleazy and gooey when I bounce. But it's there nonetheless. Ideally, I'd almost like another Spirit's Touch for the maneuver, but I can't imagine what I'd drop for it. Ministry isn't a good trade, since any chump can use it (today, Chump = Teresita or Tarbaby), and is a whole lot of intercept at once. I forgot to swap out two Wakes for two Forced Awakenings, which I think would have helped me out a couple of times. Also, I really wanted more stealth in the deck for those situations when I'm bleeding a non-Sabbat prey. Adding another Cloak and another Swallowed (or maybe two Swalloweds to also address the Spirit's Touch problem) would satisfy me, I think. Dunno what I would/could drop for it. Maybe one Kamut for one Swallowed to start with, but then the deck would be less capable of bloating mindlessly and being named after a cereal. ;) Another interesting solution to my lack of stealth was suggested by R. Brian Smith and I think might just work if done well -- Derange your prey to make them Sabbat. I have enough Malk Antis in the crypt to support such an idea, and it's probably worth it to slot in 2-3 Deranges in total. The trick is just to find a small enough target, since Derange only works on younger vampires. (Ironically enough, this might justify swapping back to Korah.) Even if you can't use it on your immediate prey, if someone is deranged down the line, it'll be good for you in the end. It has the side benefits of: a) introducing a (D) action that might be directed at you to block, b) either forcing them to have wakes or burning blood off of vampires (which give the Thuggees more tasty targets), and c) eliminating dangerous votes from the table. [End Ankur's comments