Matt Morgan's Tournament Winning Deck with 3 VPs in the finals
Crypt [12 vampires] Capacity min: 1 max: 8 average: 3.5
------------------------------------------------------------
4x Anarch Convert 1 Caitiff:0
1x Amaravati 8 DOM OBF QUI ani chi Assamite:4
1x Hafsa, The Watcher 6 OBF QUI aus cel Assamite:5
1x Vardar Vardarian 6 OBF QUI cel pre Assamite:4
1x Janni 5 cel for obf qui Assamite:4
1x Layla bint-Nadr 5 CEL OBF qui Assamite:4
1x Michael diCarlo 5 CEL obf qui Assamite:4
1x Alu 2 obf Assamite:5
1x Basir 1 qui Assamite:4
Library [75 cards]
------------------------------------------------------------
Action [17]
3x Embrace, The
1x Fee Stake: Boston
1x Fee Stake: Corte
1x Fee Stake: Los Angeles
1x Fee Stake: New York
1x Fee Stake: Perth
1x Fee Stake: Seattle
1x Khabar: Glory
2x Undue Influence
5x Web of Knives Recruit
Action Modifier [23]
3x Cloak the Gathering
6x CrimethInc.
2x Cryptic Rider
1x Domain of Evernight
3x Faceless Night
3x Lost in Crowds
3x Spying Mission
2x Veil the Legions
Action Modifier/Combat [3]
3x Swallowed by the Night
Event [1]
1x Uncoiling, The
Master [14]
3x Alamut
1x Archon Investigation
1x Barrens, The
1x Black Throne, The
2x Blood Doll
1x Club Illusion
1x Garibaldi-Meucci Museum
1x Pentex(TM) Subversion
1x Seattle Committee
1x Twilight Camp
1x Yoruba Shrine
Political Action [17]
1x Anarch Salon
5x Consanguineous Boon
1x Exclusion Principle
2x Firebrand
4x Kine Resources Contested
1x Patsy
3x Revolutionary Council
I wonder if Matt or Ben would like to comment on what made this deck
sing? I have a feeling it's all the untappy goodness and the weenie
swarming-ness of it. All combined with the Revolutionary Council for
maximum effect.
best -
chris
--
Super Fun Cards
www.superfuncards.com *NEW Website!*
auct...@superfuncards.com
> North American Continental Championship Day 1
> Montreal, Canada
> October 25th, 2008
> 57 players
> 3R + F
>
> Matt Morgan's Tournament Winning Deck with 3 VPs in the finals
>
> Crypt [12 vampires] Capacity min: 1 max: 8 average: 3.5
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> 4x Anarch Convert 1 Caitiff:0
> 1x Amaravati 8 DOM OBF QUI ani chi Assamite:4
> 1x Hafsa, The Watcher 6 OBF QUI aus cel Assamite:5
> 1x Vardar Vardarian 6 OBF QUI cel pre Assamite:4
> 1x Janni 5 cel for obf qui Assamite:4
> 1x Layla bint-Nadr 5 CEL OBF qui Assamite:4
> 1x Michael diCarlo 5 CEL obf qui Assamite:4
> 1x Alu 2 obf Assamite:5
> 1x Basir 1 qui Assamite:4
It's not an Amaravati deck as you can see. I considered more copies, but
I really wanted 4x Anarch Convert and feel that it was important to have
that many. If I played 4x AC and 4x Amaravati, there wouldn't be enough
crypt diversity to get a critical mass of minions, to say nothing of
vampires old enough to be Barons.
I influenced out Anarch Convert in probably every game, even if that meant
I'd have to go anarch the hard way. It's totally worth it to have an
extra guy around for blocking rushes, Revolutionary Council and other
tasks. Also, he makes the first cardless action cheaper.
> Library [75 cards]
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> Action [17]
> 3x Embrace, The
> 1x Fee Stake: Boston
> 1x Fee Stake: Corte
> 1x Fee Stake: Los Angeles
> 1x Fee Stake: New York
> 1x Fee Stake: Perth
> 1x Fee Stake: Seattle
> 1x Khabar: Glory
> 2x Undue Influence
> 5x Web of Knives Recruit
I think there's an error here. I'm pretty sure the deck has 4x Embraces
and my version didn't have The Uncoiling. Ben dropped the Undue
Influences for one Uncoiling and one Direct Intervention. These were
probably good changes. The UI is sort of leftover from early experiments
with CrimethInc. The deck originally had Keystone Kine. Ultimately,
these actions just don't seem to be that worthwhile, even if you get to
untap somebody.
Anyway, Ben still has the deck, so hopefully he can confirm the number of
Embraces.
> Action Modifier [23]
> 3x Cloak the Gathering
> 6x CrimethInc.
> 2x Cryptic Rider
> 1x Domain of Evernight
> 3x Faceless Night
> 3x Lost in Crowds
> 3x Spying Mission
> 2x Veil the Legions
>
> Action Modifier/Combat [3]
> 3x Swallowed by the Night
The Cryptic Riders were never useful for me, but they probably won Ben the
championship. I didn't have any trouble passing votes in any game.
There's a lot of stealth, but it's still important to conserve it.
Crutial actions must not be blocked and permanent intercept can be a pain.
The way to deal with Carlton? If it's an important action, stealth it.
If not, let him block. This deck can't get past +1 intercept forever.
There's no Elder Impersonation because I hate playing it at inferior.
Pentex Subversion usually works better anyway.
> Event [1]
> 1x Uncoiling, The
Wasn't in the deck as mentioned above and I never needed it. Ben said it
won him a game though.
> Master [14]
> 3x Alamut
Surprisingly not that important. The only time it mattered at all was in
round 1 when the table kept trying to convince John Eno to use his Alamut
counters against me but he (correctly, IMO) wanted to save them for a
crutial action since he was in a bad position and unlikely to get more. I
eventually contested Alamut to put an end to the discussion.
> 1x Archon Investigation
Very important for me in the final. I burned Hugh's Joseph O'Grady on his
first bleed which slowed him a bit and later Blackhorse Tanner played
Conditioning at inferior. I actually took a bounced bleed of 4 earlier
while I held the AI because I figured it was likely I could get one of my
predator's minions.
> 1x Barrens, The
> 1x Black Throne, The
> 2x Blood Doll
> 1x Club Illusion
This is so huge in this deck. Players will count the number of Anarchs
and realize I can do 2x that much pool damage if my vote goes off and will
hold a Delaying Tactics or Direct Intervention and believe themselves to
be safe for a while. Not true. Club Illusion makes a great backup plan
when the vote is delayed.
> 1x Garibaldi-Meucci Museum
Perfect anti-DI tech. If I have one RC in hand and one in my ash heap,
I'll go get the second one the turn I want to call it.
> 1x Pentex(TM) Subversion
Great for a Bowl-bearer.
> 1x Seattle Committee
> 1x Twilight Camp
> 1x Yoruba Shrine
I didn't get a whole lot of use for this, but Ben cancelled two important
actions with it in his final.
> Political Action [17]
> 1x Anarch Salon
> 5x Consanguineous Boon
> 1x Exclusion Principle
> 2x Firebrand
> 4x Kine Resources Contested
> 1x Patsy
> 3x Revolutionary Council
My only real comment here is that most games were a little too fast and
furious for me to go around getting Firebrands. I just didn't have time
to do it. They've been great in casual play, but often found I didn't
have the luxury of an extended set-up play in this tournament. I believe
Ben had the same experience.
By the way, I think I managed 18 pool damage with one Revolutionary
Council in this tournament, but my personal record is 22 in a casual game.
Matt Morgan
>Anyway, Ben still has the deck, so hopefully he can confirm the number of
>Embraces.
The deck Ben played had 4.
Confirmed.
Your deck as posted by Malefice only shows 3.
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=6169892925102059890&postID=3950702367327908776
I'll correct to your specifications in the TWDA.
What event card did Uncoiling remove that could have such a big
swing? Unmasking, perhaps?
> > 1x Club Illusion
>
> This is so huge in this deck. Players will count the number of Anarchs
> and realize I can do 2x that much pool damage if my vote goes off and will
> hold a Delaying Tactics or Direct Intervention and believe themselves to
> be safe for a while. Not true. Club Illusion makes a great backup plan
> when the vote is delayed.
So you hold the Club Illusion until you're ready to strike? I
understand your logic that it's a good back up plan, but the surprise
part surprises me.
> > Political Action [17]
> > 1x Anarch Salon
> > 5x Consanguineous Boon
> > 1x Exclusion Principle
> > 2x Firebrand
> > 4x Kine Resources Contested
> > 1x Patsy
> > 3x Revolutionary Council
>
> My only real comment here is that most games were a little too fast and
> furious for me to go around getting Firebrands. I just didn't have time
> to do it.
I'm surprised about pool defense. It seems like you have quite a bit
of setup, and not much pool defense. 5 Con Boons, a couple of blood
dolls, and 1 AI. And you have mid-cap to large minions, no combat
defense, no intercept, and no bounce.
How did your deck survive long enough to oust?
Also, did you find that 6 CrimethInc were too many? Seems like you
don't have *that* many actions that require Anarch.
Why did you let Ben play your deck Day 2, instead of winning with it
yourself? :)
Congrats to both of you!
Ira
Dragonbound.
If he hadn't cycled into the Uncoiling during the turn (and gotten lucky with
the 50-50 shot of removing the Dragonbound), the Dragonbound would've ousted him
that turn.
At least, that's the story I heard later. I didn't see that game.
I didn't play Uncoiling in Day 2. In the finals of Day 1, it was a
key factor in getting me a VP 'cause it picked off an Unmasking.
> So you hold the Club Illusion until you're ready to strike? I
> understand your logic that it's a good back up plan, but the surprise
> part surprises me.
It's a good backup plan. It's a good plan A, too. It isn't really
a surprise unless you play it and lunge that very turn, or if you
CrimethInc a guy or two after a Rev Council or what have you.
> I'm surprised about pool defense. It seems like you have quite a bit
> of setup, and not much pool defense. 5 Con Boons, a couple of blood
> dolls, and 1 AI. And you have mid-cap to large minions, no combat
> defense, no intercept, and no bounce.
>
> How did your deck survive long enough to oust?
Exclusion Principle is another one. You're also not spending a ton
of pool on guys. 5 Con Boons and an Exclusion Principle is a lot of
pool gain for a 75 card deck. Also, Revolutionary Council is often
like a Con Boon. ;)
> Also, did you find that 6 CrimethInc were too many? Seems like you
> don't have *that* many actions that require Anarch.
6 Fee Stakes and 6 anarch-only votes, plus the go anarch action.
The CrimethInc count didn't seem high to me.
> Congrats to both of you!
Thanks!
- Ben
No, that was the finals of the LCQ, where Johannes Walch picked off
John Eno's Dragonbound.
- Ben
I stand correct(ed).
Thanks.
> On Oct 27, 5:48 pm, "Matthew T. Morgan" <farq...@io.com> wrote:
>>> Event [1]
>>> 1x Uncoiling, The
>>
>> Wasn't in the deck as mentioned above and I never needed it. Ben said it
>> won him a game though.
>
> What event card did Uncoiling remove that could have such a big
> swing? Unmasking, perhaps?
I guess I misunderstood Ben and he actually didn't get any use out of
The Uncoiling with this deck. But yeah, Unmasking or Dragonbound would be
important cards to remove. What about an Anthelios that allows a DI to be
recycled to stop the Revolutionary Council? Anyway, I chose not to play
with any silver bullets instead focusing on offense. I actually did end
up playing against The Unmasking twice, but I had enough stealth that it
wasn't a big problem.
>>> 1x Club Illusion
>>
>> This is so huge in this deck. Players will count the number of Anarchs
>> and realize I can do 2x that much pool damage if my vote goes off and will
>> hold a Delaying Tactics or Direct Intervention and believe themselves to
>> be safe for a while. Not true. Club Illusion makes a great backup plan
>> when the vote is delayed.
>
> So you hold the Club Illusion until you're ready to strike? I
> understand your logic that it's a good back up plan, but the surprise
> part surprises me.
No, I played it when I drew it. Players often fixate on one angle and
ignore others. Anyway, ousting with Club Illusion often requires stealth
so my prey could hope I don't have enough to get the job done.
>>> Political Action [17]
>>> 1x Anarch Salon
>>> 5x Consanguineous Boon
>>> 1x Exclusion Principle
>>> 2x Firebrand
>>> 4x Kine Resources Contested
>>> 1x Patsy
>>> 3x Revolutionary Council
>>
>> My only real comment here is that most games were a little too fast and
>> furious for me to go around getting Firebrands. I just didn't have time
>> to do it.
>
> I'm surprised about pool defense. It seems like you have quite a bit
> of setup, and not much pool defense. 5 Con Boons, a couple of blood
> dolls, and 1 AI. And you have mid-cap to large minions, no combat
> defense, no intercept, and no bounce.
>
> How did your deck survive long enough to oust?
Had I been the prey of a bleedzooka at any point, I probably would've just
died. Many decks don't plan to do 20 pool damage by turn 6. I frequently
went low on pool, then gained 12 or so with a couple of Con Boons.
> Also, did you find that 6 CrimethInc were too many? Seems like you
> don't have *that* many actions that require Anarch.
6 Fee Stakes + 2 Undue Influence (not in Ben's version) + 1 Anarch Salon +
2 Firebrand + 1 Patsy + 3 Revolutionary Council = 15 anarch-requiring
actions. Also, I can CrimethInc off the cardless go anarch action.
That's plenty. If I wasn't happy with my hand and didn't have something
to CrimethInc about, that was always my first discard.
> Why did you let Ben play your deck Day 2, instead of winning with it
> yourself? :)
I don't like to keep playing a deck once it's won. If only I'd had
another deck as good with me.
> Congrats to both of you!
Thanks!
Matt Morgan
heh. :)
--
salem
(replace 'hotmail' with 'gmail' to email)
"In *my* Assamite deck, this would pwn you in teh FAEC, so shut up."
"Thats only cos u've never sene mi Gionavvi PUNCHnMUCNH u asshat."
- James Coupe
Well, at it's core, it's a breed boon deck. So, you have your
weenie swarm plus your big pool gain. It also has two sources of
lethal lunge power: Club Illusion and Revolutionary Council.
- Ben Peal
I even got to wondering if Amaravati is even necessary for the
deck. Thing is, the next best options are Djuhah (and one more pool
for Amaravati's special is totally worth it) or double up on someone
else (Layla). Going with group 2-3 gets a stronger 5-cap and 6-cap
base (with some tha for the CrimethIncs), but the small caps aren't as
good.
> I influenced out Anarch Convert in probably every game, even if that meant
> I'd have to go anarch the hard way. It's totally worth it to have an
> extra guy around for blocking rushes, Revolutionary Council and other
> tasks. Also, he makes the first cardless action cheaper.
I didn't draw a Convert in Round 3 of Day 2, but 4 intercept decks
at that table contributed to my death far more than the lack of
Converts. I still lucked into a VP due to David Tatu's craftiness (my
predator says "no block" on Tatu's ousting bleed 'cause his
grandpredator promised an Eagle's Sight. Tatu plays Crocodile's
Tongue, and the blocker only had one blood...).
> The Cryptic Riders were never useful for me, but they probably won Ben the
> championship. I didn't have any trouble passing votes in any game.
Oh, man, the Cryptic Riders were gold. I ran into a lot of table
votes on Day 2, and couldn't draw an Alamut in the finals. In Round 2
of Day 2, Kevin Mergen (my prey) had to fish for a Prince or Justicar
with his Nos breed boon deck, finally getting Nikolaus after
discarding a few 3rd Trads (and the table votes wouldn't let him pass
a Praxis Seizure or Justicar vote). I called a Con Boon to help my
predator and grand predator, Cryptic Rider, then Patsy to pick off
Nikolaus's title (and 2 pool loss!). In the finals, I couldn't draw
an Alamut, so I was beholden to the table votes again. I got an
Anarch Salon to pass, Cryptic Rider, Revolutionary Council for the
oust.
Even if people are wise to this trick, Cryptic Rider has another
benefit - protecting you against Delaying Tactics (referendum auto-
passes, no opportunity for DT). Months ago, I told Matt to put in a
couple of Cryptic Riders for this very reason. When the Fee Stakes
hit the table, you know people will be holding on to their DTs.
Cryptic Rider keeps that target locked.
> There's a lot of stealth, but it's still important to conserve it.
> Crutial actions must not be blocked and permanent intercept can be a pain.
> The way to deal with Carlton? If it's an important action, stealth it.
> If not, let him block. This deck can't get past +1 intercept forever.
> There's no Elder Impersonation because I hate playing it at inferior.
> Pentex Subversion usually works better anyway.
I'd still be inclined to put in a couple Elder Impersonations, as it
helps conserve stealth cards. Yeah, there are 18 stealth cards, but I
still felt like I wanted a couple more in there. There were times
where I could Pentex the key vamp but still not get the oust that
turn, and I'd be left wondering how to get a second lunge through.
Also, there's only one Pentex in the deck (one is certainly free to
add more), and I would've liked more than one such option. Then
again, the deck did win both Day 1 and Day 2, so I suppose one could
say that the amount of stealth was sufficient. :)
> > Event [1]
> > 1x Uncoiling, The
>
> Wasn't in the deck as mentioned above and I never needed it. Ben said it
> won him a game though.
I never played it in Day 2, as I didn't see any events played.
However, it was a key part of getting me a VP in the finals of Day 1
by picking off an Unmasking.
> > Master [14]
> > 3x Alamut
>
> Surprisingly not that important. The only time it mattered at all was in
> round 1 when the table kept trying to convince John Eno to use his Alamut
> counters against me but he (correctly, IMO) wanted to save them for a
> crutial action since he was in a bad position and unlikely to get more. I
> eventually contested Alamut to put an end to the discussion.
In Round 1 of Day 2, I was vaporized by Floppy's weenie DBR, so
Alamut didn't matter. In Round 2, Alamut definitely helped due to the
quantity of table votes. In Round 3, it didn't matter 'cause there
were 4 intercept decks at the table so getting an oust ended up
meaning "bleed my prey out after spending more than half my deck". I
had zero gas after that oust and I was lucky to even get it. In the
finals, I didn't draw Alamut and very badly wanted one.
> > 1x Archon Investigation
>
> Very important for me in the final.
I didn't play it at all in Day 2, but it still seems like a good
idea to have it.
> > 1x Club Illusion
>
> This is so huge in this deck. Players will count the number of Anarchs
> and realize I can do 2x that much pool damage if my vote goes off and will
> hold a Delaying Tactics or Direct Intervention and believe themselves to
> be safe for a while. Not true. Club Illusion makes a great backup plan
> when the vote is delayed.
I certainly agree that it's a great Plan B, but I also found it to
be a good Plan A. Combined with CrimethInc and/or Firebrand, it also
helps extend the reach of your lunge following a Revolutionary
Council.
> > 1x Garibaldi-Meucci Museum
>
> Perfect anti-DI tech. If I have one RC in hand and one in my ash heap,
> I'll go get the second one the turn I want to call it.
Definitely a great card for the deck, but I think I only drew it
once all day.
> > 1x Twilight Camp
I wasn't impressed with Twilight Camp when it hit the streets, but
after playing with it, I like it a lot.
> > 1x Yoruba Shrine
>
> I didn't get a whole lot of use for this, but Ben cancelled two important
> actions with it in his final.
Alas, it wasn't close to enough to protect me against Floppy's
weenie DBR in Round 1, but it was critical in the final as it helped
keep my Ani rush prey at bay and shut down a Banishment.
> My only real comment here is that most games were a little too fast and
> furious for me to go around getting Firebrands. I just didn't have time
> to do it. They've been great in casual play, but often found I didn't
> have the luxury of an extended set-up play in this tournament. I believe
> Ben had the same experience.
A few times I felt myself wishing for more KRCs to get a lunge
going. Firebrand did help in Round 2.
> By the way, I think I managed 18 pool damage with one Revolutionary
> Council in this tournament, but my personal record is 22 in a casual game.
Alas, the most I did was 10.
- Ben Peal
For what it's worth, he was pretty key during round one of day one
(the game in which Matt kindly contested Alamut with me so I didn't
have to continue to explain to the rest of the table why I wasn't
using its counters).
John Eno
Yes. Most hilarious ever. Has to be mentioned that I had to cycle into
the Uncoiling as well :) That game will stick to my memory for a long
time, especially the back-to-back screw-myself moves from floppy.
--
If playing against Cock all you need to
remember is: Don´t get caught by Cock.
Particularly since you drew into it from a spite rush directed at
me. :)
John Eno
Just for you here is that !ven deck, adapted from a deck idea Anthony
Coleman made me build for him:
Deck Name : Gents on the town, twirling their canes
Author : Hugh Angseesing
Crypt [12 vampires] Capacity min: 3 max: 8 average: 6.08333
------------------------------------------------------------
2x Owain Evans, The W 8 AUS DOM FOR cel pre !Ventrue:3
2x Blackhorse Tanner 7 AUS DOM FOR !Ventrue:3
2x Joseph O'Grady 7 DOM FOR aus cel !Ventrue:3
2x Neighbor John 5 AUS dom for !Ventrue:4
1x Mariel St. John 6 AUS FOR dom pro !Ventrue:4
1x Jephta Hester 5 DOM FOR aus !Ventrue:4
1x Louis de Maisonneu 5 FOR aus dom obf !Ventrue:4
1x Ulrike Rothbart 3 dom for !Ventrue:4
Library [90 cards]
------------------------------------------------------------
Action [11]
1x Abbot
6x Govern the Unaligned
4x Scouting Mission
Action Modifier [6]
5x Conditioning
1x Kiss of Ra, The
Combat [24]
6x Hidden Strength
7x Indomitability
4x Rolling with the Punches
1x Soak
1x Taste of Vitae
5x Weighted Walking Stick
Equipment [2]
1x Bowl of Convergence
1x Ivory Bow
Event [1]
1x Uncoiling, The
Master [19]
2x Anarch Troublemaker
3x Blood Doll
1x Channel 10
1x Corporate Hunting Ground
1x Depravity
2x Dreams of the Sphinx
1x Erciyes Fragments, The
1x KRCG News Radio
2x Pentex(TM) Subversion
1x Powerbase: Montreal
3x Vessel
1x Wall Street Night, Financial Newspaper
Reaction [27]
9x Deflection
2x Delaying Tactics
2x Enhanced Senses
2x Forced Awakening
2x My Enemy's Enemy
4x On the Qui Vive
2x Precognition
1x Telepathic Misdirection
3x Wake with Evening's Freshness
Cool deck.
> Action Modifier [6]
> 5x Conditioning
> 1x Kiss of Ra, The
Why no Freak Drive?
> Master [19]
> 2x Anarch Troublemaker
> 3x Blood Doll
> 1x Channel 10
> 1x Corporate Hunting Ground
> 1x Depravity
> 2x Dreams of the Sphinx
> 1x Erciyes Fragments, The
> 1x KRCG News Radio
> 2x Pentex(TM) Subversion
> 1x Powerbase: Montreal
> 3x Vessel
> 1x Wall Street Night, Financial Newspaper
Why not WMRH instead of Wall Street Night? Seems like you'll be
blocking most of the time you try.
> Reaction [27]
> 9x Deflection
> 2x Delaying Tactics
> 2x Enhanced Senses
> 2x Forced Awakening
> 2x My Enemy's Enemy
> 4x On the Qui Vive
> 2x Precognition
> 1x Telepathic Misdirection
> 3x Wake with Evening's Freshness
Also surprised to see no Eagle's Sight. Just didn't think it would be
as useful?
Ira