VEKN MALKAVIAN NEWSLETTER - APRIL, 2002 - MASK ISSUE
Ben Swainbank
Welcome. This month the Malk Newsletter is returning to its roots to
look at sneaking and bleeding in the modern world. The inspiration and
focus for this endeavor is an absolutely sinister deck that comes to us
from the Quivering Messiah himself -- Mr. Ben Peal.
Ben was cruel enough to run us over with this deck recently and kind
enough to provide the deck list so that I can expose his machinations.
Before I get to the deck itself I feel a disclaimer is in order. The
presentation of this deck does not constitute an endorsement of the
deck, or the tactics suggested therein, by this newsletter. It is decks
like this that give Malkavians a bad name and make people rush
cross-table to kill poor Ozmo before he even gets to take an action. As
spokesman for clan Malkavian I'd like to point out that, even though
this is an Obfuscate, Auspex, Dominate sneak and bleed deck, it has only
5 Malkavians in it. Not even half! So its not our fault. Really.
This deck is the sole property of its designer, Ben Peal. All rights are
reserved. It may not be copied, reproduced, tweaked, or played without
the express, documented, notarized, permission from its creator.
Especially not at a tournament attended by this editor. Especially if
you're my predator. That would be bad.
The deck...
Man-E-Faces*
CRYPT
1 x Dollface (3): aus obf
1 x Zoe (3): AUS obf cel
1 x Zebulon (5): OBF aus dom pro
1 x Victoria (5): AUS obf cel
1 x Ozmo (6): AUS obf dom
1 x Regilio (3): aus obf
1 x Agrippina (4): OBF pot
1 x Tansu Bekir (4): OBF cel
1 x Badr al-Budur (5): OBF dom qui cel
1 x Quira, The Bitch Queen (6): OBF AUS obt tha
1 x Count Ormonde (5): OBF dom ser pre
1 x Raful al-Zarqa (6): AUS obf dom nec
LIBRARY
1 x Asylum Hunting Ground
1 x Muddled Vampire Hunter
2 x The Barrens
1 x KRCG News Radio
1 x The Rumor Mill, Tabloid Newspaper
1 x London Evening Star, Tabloid Newspaper
4 x Blood Doll
2 x Obfuscate
4 x Sudden Reversal
1 x J.S. Simmons Esq.
1 x Tasha Morgan
1 x Ivory Bow
1 x Laptop Computer
4 x Change of Target
3 x Wake with Evening's Freshness
19 x Mask of 1,000 Faces
6 x Spying Mission
6 x Swallowed by the Night
3 x Cloak the Gathering
3 x Lost in Crowds
4 x Pulse of the Canaille
2 x Eagle's Sight
2 x The Spirit's Touch
2 x Enhanced Senses
5 x Telepathic Misdirection
5 x Conditioning
5 x Deflection
Well, you may be thinking, it doesn't look THAT bad. Lots of stealth.
Some bleed permanents. Hmmm.... that's a lot of Mask of 1000 Faces...
How this deck might go about ousting people is pretty obvious. Sneak and
bleed. But, to really get a sense of it, we need to consider how it
responds to the typical threats that sneak and bleed decks face. What
are the obstacles they need to overcome in the process of ruthlessly
collecting VPs?
Stealth bleed decks have always been a powerful archetype. They
still are. But the deck type isn't quite as formidable as it used to be.
Intercept levels are increasing. Bounce has proliferated. And one or
more efficient and dedicated combat decks is likely to make an
appearance at a given table.
The main problem stealth bleed decks have is that the deck type is so
old that everyone knows about it and is ready for it. Can this deck
handle a stealth-bleed predator? is a typical question that defines if a
deck is "tournament caliber" or not. As a result, most players come
prepared to handle stealth-bleed. If such a deck shows up, they've got
their plan, they've got their cards, and they play accordingly.
A "good" stealth-bleed deck has to be prepared for a number of
contingencies and known bleed defenses.
So, how do you stop THIS deck?
Block it:
Good luck. It's got lots of OBF. Its packing 37(!) stealth action mods.
With the Mask of 1000 Faces you can play the same action modifier more
than once on the same action. You can have 2 minions both play Lost in
Crowds to deliver the same bleed, as long as you do the hand off with
Mask. And its got a few Change of Targets to flush out Wakes and
intercept. And IF you actually catch someone...finally... whoops. Mask.
Fight this chump instead. I'll save my big bleeder for the next action.
Bounce it:
Got your deflections? Going to wait for the Conditioning before you play
them? Good. But this deck has 7 bleed permanents. Its going to pump
Quira up to a intrinsic bleed of 3 or 4. She bleeds. You deflect? Mask.
Now its Agrippina bleeding. She plays Change of Target or Spying Mission
or just delivers the bleed of 1. Quira bleeds again...
Jam it:
37 stealth cards. Its easy to jam that up if you just don't block.
Except this deck relies on bleed permanents. It wasn't really trying to
draw into bleed mods in the first place. And it can cycle 3 Masks just
to bop around and wind up back at the minion who declared the original
bleed. Oh and there are those 2 Barrens as well.
Bleed it? Blast it?:
5 Deflections. 5 Telepathic Misdirections. 3 Intercept locations. More
auspex intercept. Not so easy to take out without a fight.
Rush it:
This can work. The deck has an Ivory Bow, a Muddled Vampire Hunter, and
up to 6 maneuvers with Swallowed by the Night. So its not totally
defenseless. But not so hard for a dedicated fight deck to bring down
either. Once all the guys with permanent bleed modifiers and/or OBF are
in torpor its a pretty watered-down bleed deck. Hit it fast and hard.
Still, its a savage deck. What makes so nasty is its strong responses to
many of the conventional anti-bleed defenses. Mask of 1000 Faces is not
a card I've used much, but its quite a strong and versatile card in a
deck with lots of superior obfuscate.
Unconventional Defenses:
There are a few other defenses that can be effective against sneak and
bleed, especially this deck.
Telepathic Counter: Well, its not exactly unconventional, but
increasingly I'm liking Telepathic Counter as a bleed defense. It is
very satisfying to take that big sneaky bleed and Deflect it into your
prey's lap. But my predator and prey always seem to be conspiring to
avoid killing one another. Deflection or Telepathic Misdirection can tap
your minion, cost a blood, and give your sneaky bleedy predator an
opportunity for more card cycling. The beauty of Telepathic Counter is
that it complements the hand jam defense so nicely. One little AUS weeny
can sit around, not blocking, dropping TCs, for a very blood, minion,
and card efficient bleed defense -- especially against those
"responsible bleeders" that consistently hit you for 2 or 3.
Got Semsith?: So, Meddling of Semsith was supposed to be this game
breaking card. I've got a few and put it in a few decks, but I still
haven't seen it played or played it myself. Anyone have any horror
stories about this yet? Is it broken? Is it good?
It seems like Semsith is actually a great anti-sleaze card. It busts
rapid-cycling action-intensive weeny decks, but other decks are not so
bothered by it. That's my theory anyhow. But in non-so-sleazy casual
games it doesn't look so great. Anyhow it'd be good against
super-cyclers like Man-E-Faces.
Perhaps it'll be one of those meta-game cards that's effect extends far
beyond its actual use, and everyone will stop playing old sleazy weeny
decks of their fear of Semsith. Well... maybe not... but we can hope.
This reminds me of...
Archon Investigation:
I like AI. I think it has a very positive effect on the game. That
sudden BLAM Your Big Bleeder is Burned will, frequently, cost you the
game. Don't like it? Don't bleed for more than 3. What could be easier
than that?
Sure, overall, bounce does more to control bleed decks. But so often I
KNOW my prey can't possibly bounce this bleed. But he might have the AI.
Do I want to take that chance? Even if I don't see AI played that much,
I think about it during deck construction and when I'm playing that
bleed modifier. Unless I need to roll the dice a little, I'll stop at 3.
This psychological impact of this one little hoser does a nice job of
reigning in and deterring abusive big-bleed decks. That's a good thing.
Other Fun Mask Tricks:
These suggestions aren't really necessary to win with this deck. They
are really just fun things to do with Mask of 1000 Faces to further
taunt your prey as you run him over.
Muddled Vampire Hunter bleeds for 0. No block? Mask. Its Pulsed-Up Ozmo
with a bleed for 4. Muddles comes to kill you.
Ozmo bleeds for 4. You block? Mask. Its Tansu with an Ivory Bow. OK. You
block. Twang!... Ozmo bleeds for 4.
*Editor's Deck Suggestion notes:
This looks like a tight deck. And it scares me more than any other deck
I've seen recently. So, I've left off my suggestions for the end. But I
do have a few.
Title:
Man-E-Faces is an inappropriate title for this deck. Man-E-Faces was
heroic and battled against Skelator and the forces of evil alongside
He-Man. This deck is pure evil.
Crypt:
I'd swap Regilio for Watenda. He's a Malk, there's already enough aus,
and his special rocks -- especially if he gets The Bow.
Masters:
Asylum HG is an interesting choice for a quick-kill non-fightin deck
like this. I'd go with Dreams of the Sphinx instead.
Minion:
I've loving Cloak the Gathering these days. But it doesn't do much for
you here. Maybe it'd be good for delivering a Muddles assassination. But
I think 3 more Lost in Crowds would be a bit stronger.
4 Pulses. That's a lot. Its expensive. And if Ozmo or Quira get one they
become Archon bait. I'd swap 1 for another Laptop.
See you next month.
-Ben Swainbank
--
Posted via Mailgate.ORG Server - http://www.Mailgate.ORG
CurtAdams
>With the Mask of 1000 Faces you can play the same action modifier more
>than once on the same action.
My understanding of the current version of the Mask is that's not
so; all action modifiers remain in effect, which includes the effect
of not being able to play copies.
Curt Adams (curt...@aol.com)
"It is better to be wrong than to be vague" - Freeman Dyson
LSJ
>
> bswai...@hotmail.com writes:
>
> >With the Mask of 1000 Faces you can play the same action modifier more
> >than once on the same action.
>
> My understanding of the current version of the Mask is that's not
> so; all action modifiers remain in effect, which includes the effect
> of not being able to play copies.
The same minion cannot play copies.
Playing an action modifier doesn't restrict other minions from playing
other action modifiers, however. See also: Cloak the Gathering.
--
LSJ (vte...@white-wolf.com) V:TES Net.Rep for White Wolf, Inc.
Links to revised rulebook, rulings, errata, and tournament rules:
http://www.white-wolf.com/vtes/
CurtAdams
>The same minion cannot play copies.
>Playing an action modifier doesn't restrict other minions from playing
>other action modifiers, however. See also: Cloak the Gathering.
Sure; I just thought that the point of the Mask errata was that
the newly acting minion really had played all previous modifiers.
If not, why the restriction the the new actor must have been
able to play all previous modifiers? If you wanted to be really
technical, I suppose by the current text the first masker could
duplicate a modifier and then a second mask would become illegal
since the new masker would have had to play both modifiers.
[excluding things like the Cloak which can duplicate otherwise]
But, boy, is that legalistic. If the idea is that the masker
"really did it" IMO the rules should reflect that.
Chris Berger
"LSJ" <vte...@white-wolf.com> wrote in message
news:3CA9F74F...@white-wolf.com...
> CurtAdams wrote:
> >
> >With the Mask of 1000 Faces you can play the same action modifier more
> > >than once on the same action.
> >
> > My understanding of the current version of the Mask is that's not
> > so; all action modifiers remain in effect, which includes the effect
> > of not being able to play copies.
>
> The same minion cannot play copies.
> Playing an action modifier doesn't restrict other minions from playing
> other action modifiers, however. See also: Cloak the Gathering.
>
specific restrictions on them), on the same action, correct? Although I
suppose you could make a funny Command of the Beast/Mask of 1000 Faces deck.
Not that it'd be very strong, just funny.
LSJ
> > > >With the Mask of 1000 Faces you can play the same action modifier more
> > > >than once on the same action.
>
> specific restrictions on them), on the same action, correct? Although I
> suppose you could make a funny Command of the Beast/Mask of 1000 Faces deck.
> Not that it'd be very strong, just funny.
Right.
Ben Peal
> *Editor's Deck Suggestion notes:
>
>
> I'd swap Regilio for Watenda. He's a Malk, there's already enough aus,
> and his special rocks -- especially if he gets The Bow.
Sounds good.
> Masters:
>
> Asylum HG is an interesting choice for a quick-kill non-fightin deck
> like this. I'd go with Dreams of the Sphinx instead.
The deck has a lot of card cycling ability as it is (by design), and
the outside chance of getting a slightly quicker transfer rate doesn't
seem worth it. I'd rather have a contingency plan for the very long
term, as I've encountered those situations before with Short Leash
Bleed. Those situations are certainly infrequent, but it's an easy
thing to prepare for. Never underestimate the power of a hunting
ground in the endgame.
> Minion:
>
> I've loving Cloak the Gathering these days. But it doesn't do much for
> you here. Maybe it'd be good for delivering a Muddles assassination. But
> I think 3 more Lost in Crowds would be a bit stronger.
I still prefer to have some variety in the stealth package. You're
not always going to have a barrage of Masks, and when you have a
couple tapped minions, you're not going to have the same ability to
cycle stealth.
> 4 Pulses. That's a lot. Its expensive. And if Ozmo or Quira get one they
> become Archon bait. I'd swap 1 for another Laptop.
Yeah, 4 Pulses is probably too many. 2 or 3 is about right. I'm not
particularly worried about AI...maybe swap two Pulses for a pair of
Revelations. :)
- Ben Peal, Prince of Boston
fu...@mindstorm.com
Ben Swainbank
> Never underestimate the power of a hunting
> ground in the endgame.
Indeed. That was one of the lessons I took away from that
blood-starved endgame in Portland.
-Ben Swainbank