Gangrel Newsletter - October 2005
quickbeam
I. Intro
II. Deck
III. Cards of the Newsletter
IV. Minions of the Newsletter
V. Strategies, Tactics, and Laments
VI. The Boring Part
I. I'm not really one for long intros.
II. Supertool - Commit Actions to tool up your small cap Gangrel while
engaging your foes.
Crypt [12 vampires] Capacity average: 4.25
Min draw: 12
Max draw: 22
------------------------------------------------------------
2x Lord Ashton 5 ANI for pro Gangrel:3
1x Antonino 6 FOR ani pre pro Gangrel:3
1x Sophia Watson 6 ANI FOR obf pro Gangrel:3
1x Dr. Allan Woodstoc 5 PRO ani aus for Gangrel:3
1x Bobby Lemon 4 ANI pro Gangrel:3
1x Gustavo Morales 4 ani cel for Gangrel:3
1x Ramona 4 for pro Gangrel:2
1x Ramona Adv 4 for pro Gangrel:2
1x Bothwell 3 ani for Gangrel:3
1x Chandler Hungerfor 3 PRO Gangrel:2
1x Sarah Raines 2 for Gangrel:3
Library [90 cards]
------------------------------------------------------------
Master [21]
2x Animalism
5x Blood Doll
1x Depravity
1x Ecoterrorists
3x Effective Management
3x Fortitude
2x Gangrel Revel
1x Parthenon, The
2x Protean
1x Zoo Hunting Ground
Action [13]
3x Army of Rats
1x Arson
1x Embrace, The
3x Restoration
2x Ritual Challenge
1x Sanguine Instruction
2x Shadow of the Beast
Retainer [3]
3x Raven Spy
Action Modifier [6]
4x Dawn Operation
1x Earth Control
1x Freak Drive
Reaction [16]
6x Cats' Guidance
4x Forced Awakening
2x Guard Dogs
3x Instinctive Reaction
1x Rat's Warning
Combat [31]
1x Bone Spur
1x Canine Horde
5x Earth Meld
1x Form of Mist
1x Hidden Strength
5x Indomitability
2x Pack Alpha
3x Rolling with the Punches
4x Scorpion Sting
3x Skin of Night
2x Skin of Rock
1x Skin of Steel
1x Undead Persistence
1x Unflinching Persistence
This library is rough, but this deck is fun to play.
When I built it, I envisioned a horde of special abilitied midcaps
emerging by midgame, but the first outing it had was with a weenie
presence predator. Amber, a new player, was playing the deck and
brought out a whopping three minions, using all the untap and blood
dolls to stay alive, and bringing out the Army of Rats to make sure
her prey didn't feel neglected. After successfully building up to 4
minions and 12 pool in between KRC's and presence bleeds, the presence
predator played Dramatic Upheaval to go find a softer target.
The deck is master heavy, but if Lord Ashton hits the table, you
should find time to search your deck for a master discipline at least
once a turn, which will smooth out the flow. He cannot use his own
special ability, and I never play masters on him. I just keep
untapping him to block, in the ongoing experiment to see if inferior
pro/for will keep him alive. Even if he goes to torpor, you can still
use his ability.
Sometimes, all this makes him a target, because he is central to the
strategy. This is unfortunate, but by the time the strategy is
recognized
and he gets whacked, the discipline masters are out already. Thanks,
Lord Ashton!
For the rest of it, it is a matter of deciding which trick you think
will work and building or card cycling to it, while keeping as many
Army of Rats in play as possible, and bleeding for one as many times
as possible. Let them deflect, the jerks.
I can't imagine any of you just playing it as is, but since it is a
build your own style thing, some judicious swaps can be made for
your various metagames. Things I plan on trying:
Sawed off Shotguns
Haven Uncovered
Delaying Tactics
Tension in the Ranks
Strained Vitae Supply
>From a Sinking Ship
10 Force of Will (I've heard plus bleed actions are strong.)
III. Indomitability and the Fortitude skill card.
I am not the first one to notice this card; See the Christmas 2003
indomitability resurgence in Scott Gomes' "Fortitude Weenies of the
World Unite" (Sire's Index Finger: Boston, Massachusetts. December
2003, on the TWD archive), and "Win", Jeff Small's Wynn wins monster
on the Vtesinla.org site, from 12.14.2003.
Indomitability is a great card. Coupled with the array of ways to
build up the hand damage of Gangrel, it is incredibly useful for
controlling combat. Enough copies of Indomitability start to make
Growing Fury look attractive. It is the card that will enable you to
use Bone Spur to burn minions, rather than sending them to torpor.
If your opponent was going to S:CE, they would have done it on the
first round. If you weren't sure about this, you can go ahead and
check with an Owl Companion or Aura Reading, but most of the time,
they'll just S:CE and be done with it. Since they don't have S:CE,
you can hit them for one and press until they are out of blood, and
then use Bone spur with a bonus strength card. I like Lucky Blow
instead
of Scorpion Sting, since Ramona and Ricki Van Demsi may use it.
Indomitability is more useful than hidden strength, because it can be
tossed as a press even when your opponent dealt no damage.
The fortitude master is the necessary companion of Indomitability,
owing to the paucity of superior Fortitude minions below 5 cap, and
the necessity of using small cap Gangrel if one is forging ahead
without the aid of Auspex or Dominate. Maybe the design team has a
reason in mind for not creating a minion with superior Fortitude at
capacity three or four, but we'll see after the new expansion. Either
way, it is worth the Master Phase Actions and the card slots to put in
three Fortitude skill cards, or more, if you are going to get mileage
out of Indomitability.
IV. Minions of the Newsletter
Bothwell - 3 capacity Gangrel, for/ani, Group 3, decent art
Quinton McDonnell - 8 capacity Gangrel, Primogen, FOR/pro/ani/cel, +1
strength, Group 1, sketchy art (What's with the hot tub?)
Bothwell is so utilitarian it is silly. His synergy with other small
for/ani minions is extensive, and I am a big fan of Animalism even at
inferior. Bring him and his pals Leon and Sennuwy out, and pile on
the Army of Rats. Fortitude and Indomitability ensure that getting
blocked or rushed isn't a concern, small size ensures some left over
pool, and several minions ensure several actions even without Freak
Drive. Forced Awakening / Cat's Guidance is particularly useful, but
you may need varying amounts of permanent intercept to pull it off,
depending on where you play.
Quinton is from the much maligned Group 1. Arguably overcosted, he
has one superior discipline, but it is the right one. The vote is
always
helpful, especially in a swing situation between two political decks
that hate each other, or with the edge and a pitched vote in your own
deck for diablerie. Obviously, he excels at using Indomitability and
burning minions with a well-timed Bone Spur. He can still play the
almighty Army of Rats, and Pack Alpha down Raven Spies, or, if you are
brave, The Dog Pack. He groups well with Giuliano "Superior
Shirtitude"
Vincenzi, Ricki Van Demsi, and Zack North, who will be soaking up your
Fortitude masters to form mini Quintons, and who are all immune to PTO,
if
that matters to you.
I haven't made much use of his celerity, but Blur, Fast Hands, and
Forced March are solid choices if you are using a few Quintons in a
Group one Fortitude deck. Mostly I stare at it and wish it were
potence, but if wishes and buts were candies and nuts, we'd all have a
merry Christmas.
V. Strategies, Tactics, and Laments
Ben Peal told me that the Gangrel have a lot of delivery
mechanisms but no payload, and I have to agree. No bounce, no inherent
bleed boost, no good answer to S:CE, and a newfound vulnerability to
PTO compound this problem. I had wanted to write a newsletter where I
could talk about a truly competitive deck using only in-clan
disciplines and tactics, and post it in time for the Storyline. To
that end, I headed out to Boston to try five different decks, all with
extensive amounts of Indomitability, to see if it could be done.
It could not be done by me in these last two weeks, although
Indomitability performed as advertised. Special thanks to Ben
Swainbank and John Eno for putting up with this for 5 straight games
("Gangrel again?") and congratulations to John for his recent win,
even if it was with the Setites. As an aside, I am in full support of
Ethan Burrow's coordinated effort to win the Storyline with a given
clan, even if it is the filthy Setites. I think that kind of thing is
fun, and good for the game.
I ran into several problems. I think that the more turns a game has,
the better off the Gangrel will be, because of permanents like Ritual
Challenge and Eco Terrorists. I also think that the more cross table
dealing there is, the better off the Gangrel will be, owing to their
ability to act without fear of being blocked, and to occasionally
generate stealth or blow through with protean. If you have time, the
constant assault of the Green Machine will pay off in the end, and
there is the option of attempting to stabilize the table by
cross-table rescues, Arsoning Parthenons, or calling Votes that are
easier to pass (Finding the Path, Disputed Territory, Con Boon for
some other clan). You can pitch these cards during another vote,
including diablerie, so I don't view one or two as wasted slots.
My experience in Boston was that there were no "extra" turns, and there
was limited dealing and not much stabilization. Many of the decks I
saw had the potential to lunge, so the idea of a long build up and
battle in an endgame never came to fruition. Certain cards, notably
Fame and Force of Will, can help deal pool damage to your own prey,
but the real problem was dealing with predators. If they can't be
bargained with, and you can't bounce their bleeds, rushing key minions
often seems like the best option. Animalism can generate some
intercept, but not like Auspex. If you cripple your predator in error,
or because you are forced to, you are rewarded with a new predator.
All this fighting can be card intensive, as others have pointed out
over the years.
Meanwhile, offense with stock Gangrel tends to be slow and steady,
allowing the lunger to pick the right turn to make a run for glory. A
metagame change to more turns, more combat, or more dealing will help
the Gangrel, but to force such a change means winning tournaments with
them, and it is an uphill skate with their discipline spread. You can
check the TWD archive for evidence of how often people bolt on
Dominate to make the payload happen.
There are still upsides, though. I still think a winner is out there
in the ether, with the in clan stuff. The clan bloats reliably, with
Eco Terrorists, Restoration, and an excellent small capacity minions,
with Ramona being the stand out. They fight very well, so combat is
never a problem. When someone is outfighting you, there is Earth
Meld, and I think Earth Meld deserves a place even in Rush decks, so
you can save your "real" combat cards for the right opponent.
The areas I am going to try are bolting on superior Auspex to the
Group 3 minions who have auspex already (and Omaya), continuing to
mine for/ani (although it isn't storyline legal, and I'll try to keep
newsletter decks storyline legal for the most part), and caving in and
using power cards like Sudden Reversal and Delaying Tactics with Group
1/2 rush. I tried to do it without them, but it didn't work well in
Boston.
VI.
Green Hate - Deck Core
Crypt [12 vampires] Capacity average: 4.42
Min draw: 8
Max draw: 25
------------------------------------------------------------
2x Quinton McDonnell 8 FOR ani cel pro primogen Gangrel:1
1x Badger 6 FOR PRO ani pot Gangrel:1
1x Zack North 6 ani for pot pro Gangrel:1
1x Camille Devereux, 5 FOR PRO ani Gangrel:1
1x Ramona 4 for pro Gangrel:2
1x Ramona Adv 4 for pro Gangrel:2
1x Roman Alexander 4 ani for pro Gangrel:1
1x Ricki Van Demsi 3 for pro Gangrel:1
1x Giuliano Vincenzi 2 for Gangrel:1
1x Rufina Soledad 2 for Ventrue:1
1x March Halcyon 1 for Pander:2
Library [62 cards]
------------------------------------------------------------
Master [14]
3x Blood Doll
1x Ecoterrorists
1x Fame
3x Fortitude
4x Haven Uncovered
1x Life in the City
1x Zoo Hunting Ground
Action [9]
2x Arson
1x Big Game
1x Bum's Rush
2x Harass
1x Rapid Healing
1x Restoration
1x Ritual Challenge
Reaction [1]
1x Forced Awakening
Combat [38]
1x Amaranth
2x Bone Spur
1x Gleam of Red Eyes
1x Growing Fury
17x Indomitability
1x Lucky Blow
1x Skin of Rock
2x Skin of Steel
3x Trap
5x Undead Persistence
4x Unflinching Persistence
After reading about Ethan Burrow's module idea, I thought about
building deck cores that could be added to depending on the metagame,
without changing the basic frame. This is my group 1/2 rush template.
Thanks for reading. Please post any opinions/ insults/ rants, or
anything else you think of regarding the newsletter. I'll try to get
out one a month until January, and see from there. Thanks to the
Boston, Worcester, and Seattle playgroups, and all the fine folks who
spoke with or emailed me regarding the underdogs.
Dave Clooney
dcqui...@yahoo.com
CthuluKitty
so everyone knows, I play with Dave a lot, including some really brutal
heads-up games, and we've made some joint outings to Boston and
Worcestor.
>>>When I built it, I envisioned a horde of special abilitied midcaps
emerging by midgame, but the first outing it had was with a weenie
presence predator. Amber, a new player, was playing the deck and
brought out a whopping three minions, using all the untap and blood
dolls to stay alive, and bringing out the Army of Rats to make sure
her prey didn't feel neglected. After successfully building up to 4
minions and 12 pool in between KRC's and presence bleeds, the presence
predator played Dramatic Upheaval to go find a softer target.
I must not have been around that night. In any case, it's definitely a
sign that a deck has staying powers if it can handle pre weenies as a
starting predator. I've seen numerous players on here say that such
decks are more or less guaranteed to oust their first prey, and it's
easy to see why. As for the use of Dramatic Upheaval, was the person
who built that deck aware that the card is banned in tournaments? If
the playgroup doesn't care that's fine, but I tend to agree with all
the reasons for banning this particular card. Most importantly, did
the weenies go on to win the game, and does it look like the Gangrel
might have won if the seating order had remained the same? If the deck
lost due primarily to the play of a banned card I don't see that as a
reason to think any less of it.
>>>I ran into several problems. I think that the more turns a game has,
the better off the Gangrel will be... [snip meta-game discussions]
I'd add to that: the more turns a game has, the better the game as a
whole will be. Obviously this infringes on the unfriendly ground of
challenging the 2 hour time limits, which we've both been known to do
from time to time. It would also be nice if people would pay attention
and play faster. Just because it's not your turn doesn't mean you
aren't responsible for knowing what's going on. I really feel like the
current implentation of the time limit, along with a general laxness on
quick play, artificially shortens the possible turn length of a game
and therefore distorts the metagame as a whole. There are quite a
number of viable deck archetypes and strategies (such as the Gangrel,
but also including wall and intercept combat decks, among
others--really combat in general...) that just can't win in 12 turns.
And when the metagame is geared towards winning in 12 turns, offensive
strategies that become fragile in the long term,like stealth bleed or
vote, become even better than they already are, and everyone plays
them, making things even harder for the slower decks.
>> Quinton McDonnell - 8 capacity Gangrel, Primogen, FOR/pro/ani/cel, +1
strength, Group 1, sketchy art (What's with the hot tub?)...
and....
>>Giuliano "Superior Shirtitude" Vincenzi
These comments made me laugh. A lot. I hope I'm not alone in this.
>>>After reading about Ethan Burrow's module idea, I thought about
building deck cores that could be added to depending on the metagame,
without changing the basic frame. This is my group 1/2 rush template.
I'd like to see you elaborate on this. Maybe next month?
Jesse
quickbeam
CthuluKitty wrote:
> Looks like I'll be the first to reply to this on the newsgroup. Just
> so everyone knows, I play with Dave a lot,
I'm glad someone replied.
> >>>When I built it, I envisioned a horde of special abilitied midcaps
> emerging by midgame, but the first outing it had was with a weenie
> presence predator. Amber, a new player, was playing the deck and
> brought out a whopping three minions, using all the untap and blood
> dolls to stay alive, and bringing out the Army of Rats to make sure
> her prey didn't feel neglected. After successfully building up to 4
> minions and 12 pool in between KRC's and presence bleeds, the presence
> predator played Dramatic Upheaval to go find a softer target.
>
> I must not have been around that night. In any case, it's definitely a
> sign that a deck has staying powers if it can handle pre weenies as a
> starting predator. I've seen numerous players on here say that such
> decks are more or less guaranteed to oust their first prey, and it's
> easy to see why. As for the use of Dramatic Upheaval, was the person
> who built that deck aware that the card is banned in tournaments?
That was a four player game. Amber was bleeing me (playing
anarch/toolbox focused on Dylan, stealth bleeding with the laptop,
railroad, and Skulldugery). I was bleeding George, who IIRC was playing
a Valerious Mejor (sp? normally I check all that on monger, but it is
down right now) merged deck. I was able to beat on George some in that
game due to Dylan having a .44 and access to diversion, but he was
giving me quite a time. George was bleeding Tina, (Weenie presence)
who had a bad run of luck and didn't draw into many Praxis seizures
early, but was still hammering on Amber pretty hard.
Due to it being a four player game, Tina's strength allowed me to take
that Dylan deck a further than it deserved I think; at any rate, George
and Amber each had some intercept, which allowed them to stop votes
here and there. Some they would let through even when they had
intercept, because they couldn't stop them all and were being
selective. Then there was one turn pretty late that involved a lot of
untapping on Tina and Amber's part due to Animalism, wakes, majesty,
etc, but when it was over, Amber had torporized a few of the weenies.
I had just bleed George down to 4, and thought I'd have another turn to
get him, when Tina played Dramatic Upheaval and swapped with me. We
called it at that point, because George was done either way, and if we
quit then we could fit in another game. I don't think I was going to
win that one after the DU, I'm not sure whether Amber or Tina would
have taken it, but Tina definitely was going to get 6 pool and a VP.
About the ban, I think it was after the card got banned, but I think
Tina hadn't reworked the deck since the ban. It was eye opening for
me, I hadn't been on the receiving end of DU in ages.
>>>I ran into several problems. I think that the more turns a game has,
> the better off the Gangrel will be... [snip meta-game discussions]
>
> I'd add to that: the more turns a game has, the better the game as a
> whole will be. Obviously this infringes on the unfriendly ground of
> challenging the 2 hour time limits, which we've both been known to do from time to time.
Yeah, I'm probably overly vocal about this.
However, as Devil's advocate, there are real world considerations that
promote 2 hour time limits. And while slow play does occur, I don't
think it is deliberate most of the time. It is true that even more
turns could be packed into 2 hours. I do hate it when a table goes to
time, though. I'm just not sure how I feel about including Smiling Jack
because of a time limit.
If acceleration fits your style, fine. If you are playing Giovanni
power bleed, or weenies or something, and you want to get it done early
because that is the deck design, fine. But Nadima does great without
Smiling Jack.
> And when the metagame is geared towards winning in 12 turns, offensive
> strategies that become fragile in the long term,like stealth bleed or
> vote, become even better than they already are, and everyone plays
> them, making things even harder for the slower decks.
Just like combat becomes more powerful in smaller games. There are
certainly some styles that draw their strengths from the metagame, but
I'm starting to worry about that a little less. It could be argued
that I'm just being philospohical because I got my head handed to me,
but I have been thinking about all the acceleration issues a lot, and I
think that they can be dealt with even under the 2 hour time limit.
Possibly even in 12 turns, although it might be a little tougher to do
than, say, using obfuscate with dominate for teh win.
I think what we are really dealing with here is a question of
optimization as much as a question of timing and game length. My
project, such as it is, is to build decks that are less optimized but
more utiilitarian, and see if they can compete with the nuclear capable
decks under the 2 hour time limit. I think it can be done (I wouldn't
try otherwise) but I've been wrong before.
Anyways, thanks for commenting.
-Dave Clooney
Ben Swainbank
> Gangrel Newsletter - 10 October 2005
>
Good stuff.
>
> II. Supertool - Commit Actions to tool up your small cap Gangrel while
> engaging your foes.
>
>
> Action [13]
> 3x Army of Rats
> 1x Arson
> 1x Embrace, The
> 3x Restoration
> 2x Ritual Challenge
> 1x Sanguine Instruction
> 2x Shadow of the Beast
>
> Retainer [3]
> 3x Raven Spy
>
I'm thinkin the way to play the small Gangrel is to cut back on the
actions. A deck that bleeds for 1 once or twice a turn can be ignored.
A deck that bleeds 4 times a turn is a much bigger problem for its
prey.
>
> The deck is master heavy, but if Lord Ashton hits the table, you
> should find time to search your deck for a master discipline at least
> once a turn, which will smooth out the flow.
And it will slow you down.
>
> III. Indomitability and the Fortitude skill card.
>
>
> Indomitability is more useful than hidden strength, because it can be
> tossed as a press even when your opponent dealt no damage.
I love the Hidden Strength. At basic it's just plain better than
Indomitibiliby (and most other fortitude prevent). At supperior its
great for stopping that 2nd point of agg and spoling Taste of Vitae
(which combat decks rely on). If I'm going to have 3 Fortitude prevent
cards in my hand I might want some Indomitability, but if I'm expecting
just 1 at a time I'll go with Hidden Strength (mixed up with Skin of
Steel).
>
> V. Strategies, Tactics, and Laments
>
> I headed out to Boston to try five different decks, all with
> extensive amounts of Indomitability, to see if it could be done.
>
>
> I ran into several problems. I think that the more turns a game has,
> the better off the Gangrel will be,
Some truth to this. Time isn't really a factor in our casual games.
Really, time=turns and the way to get those is with a strong defense.
Hang in there and grind down the table. You need permanent intercept
for that - here Nadima (and Ryder?) give you a great head start.
> because of permanents like Ritual
> Challenge and Eco Terrorists.
Both essential. I run 2 of each in most every gangrel deck.
> Meanwhile, offense with stock Gangrel tends to be slow and steady,
> allowing the lunger to pick the right turn to make a run for glory.
Who would do a thing like that :-)
> I'll try to get
> out one a month until January, and see from there.
Cool.
I've played a number of Gangrel decks with some success. Some themes
for thought:
Serpentis Gangrel: Nadima and Mirembe (Form of Corruption works with
attrition and Enticement provides some outsting power)
Gangrel Multi-Rush: Karsh!
Anarch Gangrel: Beckett Adv. and Gustavo Morales love Diversion and The
Mole.
Gehanna Gangrel: Beckett Adv. loves to watch the world burn.
-Ben Swainbank
salem
<bswai...@hotmail.com> scrawled:
>I love the Hidden Strength. At basic it's just plain better than
>Indomitibiliby (and most other fortitude prevent). At supperior its
>great for stopping that 2nd point of agg and spoling Taste of Vitae
>(which combat decks rely on). If I'm going to have 3 Fortitude prevent
>cards in my hand I might want some Indomitability, but if I'm expecting
>just 1 at a time I'll go with Hidden Strength (mixed up with Skin of
>Steel).
If i'm going offensive combat, i prefer indomitability. It gives you
that press at superior even when you're not taking any damage, unlike
hidden strength which requires you to be being hurt to play it.
Handy against maneuvers (don't maneuver back, just press), dodgers,
etc.
salem
http://www.users.tpg.com.au/adsltqna/VtES/index.htm
(replace "hotmail" with "yahoo" to email)
CthuluKitty
> that press at superior even when you're not taking any damage, unlike
> hidden strength which requires you to be being hurt to play it.
>
> Handy against maneuvers (don't maneuver back, just press), dodgers,
> etc.
I'm gonna go ahead and cast my vote for Indomitability too. The need
to press without taking damage comes up way more often than one might
expect, such as in the cases you mentioned, and any time you throw down
1 press and then they counter it--or if you happen to draw
Indomitability after damage resolution (most likely as a result of
playing other prevent damage cards). Hidden Strength is really only
useful in the cases Ben mentioned. That is, against multiple agg or
Taste (also Disarm and similar cards), none of which shouldn't bother
you much if you're playing a substantial amount of Fortitude and tend
to be somewhat rare anyhow (and the more combat you see the rarer the
latter 2 tend to become, since they're really only reliable as ways of
whacking losers who can't fight back). Now, if you're using Fortitude
as purely a defensive measure against rushers or whomever then I can
see how HS is better--but then why not just play Skin of Steel?
quickbeam
>
Hidden Strength is really only
> useful in the cases Ben mentioned. That is, against multiple agg or
> Taste (also Disarm and similar cards), none of which shouldn't bother
> you much if you're playing a substantial amount of Fortitude Now, if you're using Fortitude
> as purely a defensive measure against rushers or whomever then I can
> see how HS is better--but then why not just play Skin of Steel?
Well, I see what Ben is saying. Actually, the way I came around to
Indomitability was discovering the hard way that Hidden Strength
wouldn't always let me press. The aggravated damage angle is actually a
really big deal, though. Another use is to combo it with Dawn
Operation, which I really enjoy as the aggravated damage option of the
Gangrel. If you are preventing their damage anyway, why pay for claws?
But a lot of the arguments for indomitability don't start to make
themselves felt until you are using a lot of fortitude (20+ cards), and
even then I always include at least one Hidden Strength. A lot of
times I'll sit on it to, since it can be such a bail out for agg.
> I ran into several problems. I think that the more turns a game has,
> the better off the Gangrel will be,
(Ben replied-)
Some truth to this. Time isn't really a factor in our casual games.
Really, time=turns and the way to get those is with a strong defense.
Hang in there and grind down the table. You need permanent intercept
for that - here Nadima (and Ryder?) give you a great head start.
-Yeah. There isn't any getting around this. You're right about Nadima
though, and Ryder. Free aura reading? Awesome. Further proof of the
flat out superiority of new minions to Group 1 (Ryder has it all over
Badger for just 1 more capacity).
I agree with you about the actions with small Gangrel, getting started
earlier. I could leave in some tools, but swapping out a Shadow of the
Beast for a Gleam of the red eyes here and there would make it faster
with a fairly consistent effect. That deck actually started as a
action/ reaction experiment since the few Freak Drives I own were in
other decks, so I was trying to get extra mileage out of folks on
defense with the Earth Melds, Cat's Guidance, and Forced Awakenings. So
they could tool up, and then defend with the new tools. Army of Rat's
just doesn't do enough pool damage to carry the whole show.
Thanks for the comments. If you have any extra Karsh to trade, I'll
try out some Multi-rush with him. As far as Beckett advanced, I could
never keep him out of torpor around here.
-dc
Fabio Ciccone
intend to play Gangrel in the Storyline.
Anyway, I still think Quinton sucks :P
Cheers
Fabio Ciccone