Official VEKN Nosferatu Newsletter for September, 2007
Peter D Bakija
A Tale of Two Decks!
So this month, we have two versions of the same deck. I was discussing
Nosferatu decks with the inimitable John Eno, and he sent me a
(tournament winning?) Nosferatu Royalty Anathema breed deck that used
G1/2 Nosferatu with titles to make potence kids, call Anathema on his
preyšs vampires, and then mass rush them with Potence to beat them up,
burn them, and bloat up as he went. Išve been playing a pretty standard
Nosferatu BreedBoon deck for a long time (and got one in the TWDA), but
when John showed off his hot Anathema tech, I was totally sold on the
awesome. So I completely bit off his deck and made my own version that
focused on the G2/3 titled Nosferatu and instead of going OBF/POT like
John did, I went ANI/OBF to maximize the use of Calebros, the Martyr.
In any case, here is John original deck and commentary:
Deck Name: The Witchfinder Army
By: John Eno
Crypt (12 vampires, avg size = 5.33)
2x Selma the Repugnant (OBF POT, 8, prince)
2x Murat (OBF POT, 7, prince)
2x Nikolaus Vermeulen (obf POT, 7, prince)
1x Calebros, The Martyr (obf pot, 5, prince)
1x Agatha (obf POT, 4)
1x Agrippina (OBF pot, 4)
1x Duck (obf pot, 3)
1x Dimple (obf, 2)
1x KoKo (pot, 2)
Library (90 cards)
Master (15 cards)
3x Blood Doll
1x Giant's Blood
4x Haven Uncovered
1x Labyrinth, The
1x Mob Connections
4x Potence
1x Slum Hunting Ground
Action (9 cards)
3x Blood Hunt
1x Rampage
5x Third Tradition: Progeny
Political Action (11 cards)
4x Anathema
5x Consanguineous Boon
2x Nosferatu Justicar
Action Modifier (12 cards)
2x Cloak the Gathering
2x Domain of Evernight
2x Faceless Night
2x Lost in Crowds
2x Spying Mission
2x Veil the Legions
Action Modifier/Combat (3 cards)
3x Swallowed by the Night
Combat (30 cards)
4x Behind You!
8x Increased Strength
18x Thrown Gate
Reaction (10 cards)
2x On the Qui Vive
8x Second Tradition: Domain
[John Eno]Nothing shocking in the crypt. A bunch of princes to make sure
you can play your cards, and a bunch of dorks to get the other stuff
done.
The only possibly questionable inclusion is Agatha, since she can't
interact with any of the Nosferatu stuff (Labyrinth, Con Boons, justicar
vote, Nikolaus' discount ability). However, her cheapness, coupled with
her abilities to be sneaky when needed and kill folks real good the rest
of the time, more than make up for those minor drawbacks.
Again, nothing groundbreaking in the Master selection. It's quite
possible that Mob Connections would be better off as any number of other
generically good masters (Barrens, Dreams, DI), as it generally hasn't
actually been used more than once or twice in games I've played.
Remember that you mostly want to discard the skill cards, as they're
more intended for the Third Tradition weenies than your crypt minions
(but having the ability to make Koko super-punchy is sometimes
worthwhile too, of course).
In the action department, the Blood Hunts will make you sad if you're
sitting next to titled Camarilla guys; otherwise, they're much stronger
than most people seem to realize - I've had lots of people laugh or give
me funny looks when playing them, at least until the vampire they're
played on gets evaporated due to Anathema and swarm-rush.
Rampage could possibly be something else, but I like screwing with other
peoples' locations.
The Political section ends up being pretty massive bloat, which the deck
needs since it lacks bounce.
These aren't votes with much inherent sellability, should you see a
hostile vote deck at the table, but you may be able to use strong-arm
persuasion to get them passed. It's also possible sometimes to limp
along without being able to pass these votes - there's enough
toolboxiness in the deck to allow for some flexibility.
The combination of stealth and combat appears really ungainly on paper,
but tends to work very well in play. There are enough must-block actions
that your stealth shouldn't sit in your hand for very long, and enough
ways to dump combat cards if you need to, that you shouldn't jam on
either one.
The combat package is pretty basic, but it works very well offensively
and fairly well defensively. "Fair" is good enough defensive combat
since you generally don't care too much about any particular minion with
this deck, and should have enough spare actions to rescue should
something go awry. CEL/guns will probably kill you dead, though you
might be able to take them with you as you go down.
I know there is a lot of untap, but I like playing with lots of wake-up
tech. Also, it's not uncommon to have to tap out with this deck even
once you've got 6-8 minions on the table, as both its bleed and rush
strategies can be pretty action-intensive.
Fun side note: This decks runs out of library more consistently than any
other deck I've ever made (including 60- and 70-card decks). :)[/John
Eno]
So I was so darned impressed by the entertainment value of this deck, I
immediately decided to build my own version. Rather than go with
OBF/POT, I wanted to go ANI/OBF, figuring that I could use Animal
Magnetism for extra vote push and Carrion Crows/Aid from Bats is
arguably a more robust combat angle than Increased/Thrown Gate due to
the inherent press and the Crows not being strike damage; yeah, less
shock value then a Thrown Gate for 10 damage, but also less foiled by
most standard combat defense. As I wanted to maximize ANI, I had to go
with the G2/3 crypt of titled Nosferatu which worked out well, as then
Calebros becomes super awesome and you get to take advantage of Casino
Reeds.
Crypt: (12)
3x Casino Reeds (9) ANI, OBF, Prince
2x Nikolaus Vermeulen (7) ani, obf, Prince
2x Jara Drory (7) ANI, OBF, Primogen
2x Calebros, The Martyr (5) ANI, obf, Prince
1x Clarissa Steinburgen (3) ani, obf
1x Krid (2) obf
1x Mouse (2) ani
Library: (90)
Master: (15)
6x Animalism
4x Haven Uncovered
3x Blood Doll
1x Giant's Blood
1x The Labyrinth
Action: (10)
6x Third Tradition: Progeny
4x Blood Hunt
Action Modifier: (10)
4x Animal Magnetism
4x Lost in Crowds
2x Elder Impersonation
Action Modifier/Combat: (6)
6x Swallowed by the Night
Combat: (26)
12x Aid from Bats
12x Carrion Crows
2x Canine Horde
Political Action: (15)
5x Anathema
4x Consanguineous Boon
2x Parity Shift
2x Nosferatu Justicar
1x Praxis Seizure: Cleveland
1x Praxis Seizure: Rome
Reaction: (8)
8x Second Tradition: Domain
In the crypt, I decided to maximize Casino Reeds, as he is a totally
fantastic vampire--a Prince who comes with built in Grooming the Protégé
and does +1 damage with Aid from Bats. Originally, I had Cock Robin in
the crypt, but as he is so huge and I often turn Calebros into the
Nosferatu Justicar as my first action, poor Cock Robin often got left
uncontrolled. Calebros becomes a super star in this version of the deck,
as his ANI is huge and occasionally, he wonšt even need to change his
title due to the high occurrence of non-Camarilla vampires these days.
Jara Drory is possibly a questionable vampire to use two of in the
crypt, but she has ANI/OBF in a reasonable 7 capacity package, her
Primogen vote is often very helpful in the vote push limited Nosferatu
crypt, and her special ability is actually kind of useful, if you can
remember to actually use it all the time.
In the library, I went with more skill cards, figuring my 3rd Tradition
kids will pull most of them out of the deck, and it is handy to be able
to give Nikolaus ANI early on. I have lighter stealth, a similarly sized
combat selection, although again, the Crows/Bats combination is less
likely to be foiled by a single dodge or Skin of Steel. Because of being
able to use ANI/OBF, Animal Magnetism becomes a useful vote pushing
tool, and I decided to fit a few Parity Shifts in for extra pool gain
and offense all in one (and really, who doesnšt like Parity Shift?).
Much like Johnšs version, a gun deck is probably going to kill you, but
at least having ANI, I can send some dogs out to eat my opponentšs guns
once and a while.
In casual play, this deck has been doing surprisingly well, winning more
often than not. Wešll see how it goes in the next tournament I attend...
-Peter D Bakija
You can check out all of my old Nosferatu Newsletters at:
http://www.lightlink.com/pdb6/vtes.html
Peter D Bakija
pd...@lightlink.com
http://www.lightlink.com/pdb6/vtes.html
"Find hungry samurai."
-The Old Man
Kushiel
> So this month, we have two versions of the same deck. I was discussing
> Nosferatu decks with the inimitable John Eno, and he sent me a
Yeah, it won Re-Writ of Acceptance on August 12. Only nine people,
though, so no TWDA entry for me...
> that used
> G1/2 Nosferatu with titles to make potence kids, call Anathema on his
> prey¹s vampires, and then mass rush them with Potence to beat them up,
> burn them, and bloat up as he went.
Also, it should be noted that I often Anathema one of my predator's
guys with this deck, if he's big enough to be worth the effort. The
Parity Shifts in your version probably make this a less necessary
tactic.
John Eno
bluedevil
> In the crypt, I decided to maximize Casino Reeds, as he is a totally
> fantastic vampire--
Then you might consider a copy or two of Blessings of Chaos. Plugs
the Majesty hole and hoses dom/pre action modifiers.
--
David Cherryholmes
Jeff Kuta
> Official VEKN Nosferatu Newsletter for September, 2007.
>
> A Tale of Two Decks!
>
> So this month, we have two versions of the same deck. I was discussing
> Nosferatu decks with the inimitable John Eno, and he sent me a
> (tournament winning?) Nosferatu Royalty Anathema breed deck that used
> G1/2 Nosferatu with titles to make potence kids, call Anathema on his
> burn them, and bloat up as he went. I¹ve been playing a pretty standard
> title due to the high occurrence of non-Camarilla vampires these days.
> Jara Drory is possibly a questionable vampire to use two of in the
> crypt, but she has ANI/OBF in a reasonable 7 capacity package, her
> Primogen vote is often very helpful in the vote push limited Nosferatu
> crypt, and her special ability is actually kind of useful, if you can
> remember to actually use it all the time.
>
> In the library, I went with more skill cards, figuring my 3rd Tradition
> kids will pull most of them out of the deck, and it is handy to be able
> to give Nikolaus ANI early on. I have lighter stealth, a similarly sized
> combat selection, although again, the Crows/Bats combination is less
> likely to be foiled by a single dodge or Skin of Steel. Because of being
> able to use ANI/OBF, Animal Magnetism becomes a useful vote pushing
> tool, and I decided to fit a few Parity Shifts in for extra pool gain
> Much like John¹s version, a gun deck is probably going to kill you, but
> at least having ANI, I can send some dogs out to eat my opponent¹s guns
> once and a while.
>
> In casual play, this deck has been doing surprisingly well, winning more
>
> -Peter D Bakija
>
> You can check out all of my old Nosferatu Newsletters at:
>
> http://www.lightlink.com/pdb6/vtes.html
>
> Peter D Bakija
>
> "Find hungry samurai."
> -The Old Man
No love for Sundown? 6-cap ANI/obf and 1 vote which isn't a title.
Surely he'd be an adequate substitute for 1x Jara for that ever so
slight diversification...
Jeff
Jeff Kuta
If you did this, you could also probably find room for Maris Streck
and/or Rachel Brandywine.
Jeff
Peter D Bakija
> Then you might consider a copy or two of Blessings of Chaos. Plugs
> the Majesty hole and hoses dom/pre action modifiers.
Ooh! Awsome idea!
-Peter
Peter D Bakija
> No love for Sundown? 6-cap ANI/obf and 1 vote which isn't a title.
> Surely he'd be an adequate substitute for 1x Jara for that ever so
> slight diversification...
Heh, yeah, originally, I had Sundown in there, but I figured the 1
extra cost for OBF, permanent +1 vote (instead of pay a blood for +1
vote) and the goofy special on Jara was worth going with 2 Jara
instead of 1 Jara and 1 Sundown. Once and a while I'll be sad, 'cause
I draw two Jara, but usually not.
-Peter