OFFICIAL VEKN CLAN VENTRUE NEWSLETTER Vol.II No.11 August.2001 - **Special Awards issue** Apologies for the late newsletter but my news server (pubnews) went to the wall and it's taken me a bit of time to sort a new one. Got me a new one done now so here goes... INTRODUCTION AGITATION NATION - Metagame analysis "you're not from round these parts are you ?" DECK OF THE MONTH #1 - Arika ! DECK OF THE MONTH #2 - 'We own you' by Cameron Domer ________________________________________________ INTRODUCTION Greetings from the basement of the Ventrue Headquarters, Yes that's right, I 'm down here again in my comfortable rocking chair, seeking shelter from the crossfire up on the surface. Times a' changing sports fans, the increase in popularity and subsequent cross-cultural altercations at tourneys are becoming commonplace. Bound to happen I suppose, doesn't make it any the easier to deal with though. The post Final Nights game seems to have settled down pretty well, the independents have asserted a decent foothold in the ladder of power and influence and the obviously useful / powerful cards have been established (but not abused yet). A rare treat this month with a 'special award' issue following the Watford E.C. qualifier. Two submitted decks this month for your delight - the now 'infamous' Turbo Arika deck and Cameron's Weenie Ventrue Hostile deck from US Gencon. There has been a lot of passionate traffic on the group lately regarding collusion, table dealing and national differences. I'll cover some of the main points in Agitation Nation this month and attempt to reach some non-confrontational conclusions (might have to use a bit of Fortitude there :o). ________________________________________________ AGITATION NATION - "you're not from 'round these parts are you ?" Metagame analysis is one of the most unpredictable parts of VTES. Pre-tourney predictions are a tricky thing to get right at the best of times. All it takes is a few more combat / vote etc. decks than 'normal' to make a tourney that players describe as heavy combat, heavy votes etc. As metagames shift, decks change and the whole game swings one way or the other. Everyone's interpretation of the game is different, as national playstyles come into contact more often, the sorts of 'cultural' differences we have seen recently will become more frequent. The French guys who made the trek across to the Watford tourney (all good, respected players in their own right) were taken aback by the level of dealmaking and were not used to that 'type' of game. We over here in the UK were conversely not used to the purely prey-focus style of play. This is not to say that either game is better or 'more right' but it was interesting to see on the one hand - the French guys encouraging prey-focus around the table and on the other the UK players typically looking to the whole table, trying to balance and use the other players to further their own needs. Both styles have obvious (and not so obvious) advantages and disadvantages and I argue that both have a place in the game. The sort of situations that compound this difference is the 'combat decks sitting together' scenario and wall / bloat decks that don't apply a lot of pressure to their prey. These type of decks use lay low tactics to appear innocuous (which can be frustrating for players committed to the predator / prey relationship) until enough resources (vamps, pool, cards etc.) have been accumulated to make a big push. On a parallel with the above, the UK environment used to be shaken up by a totally focussed deck. The game has levelled out a lot to handle focus in the last 6 months but previous to that '100 % prey dedicated' decks caused radical metagame shifts and a lot of surprise ousts. Historically, the UK game does see a lot of shifts, you can see a S+B / Vote bias at one tourney and a combat bias at the next a week later. I guess this is one reason why the semi-toolbox* deck has become popular over here. Reducing the Stone Paper Scissors effect to a minimum and still allowing the deck to perform to a desired level is a real artform in deckbuilding. It will be interesting to see what bias the Australian game takes, I should get a fair idea as I'm playing in 3-4 different cities as well as in New Zealand so I shall report back on my return in December. With a lot more international tourneys springing up, players will have to start a new level of metagame analysis. Making the trip to a foreign tourney is often a real eye-opening experience and whilst it can be incredibly frustrating, a lot can be learnt from different playstyles. As somebody (might have been Bruce Lee :o) a lot wiser than me once said - "The best style is no style at all" If you have the ability to switch your skills to suit the environment and take the best parts of every type of game you are IMO well on the way to becoming a true master.. * by semi-toolbox I mean a deck that has a central focus but also incorporates a variable amount of multi-use situational handling cards or elements. _____________________________________________ DECK OF THE MONTH #1 - Arika ! Pretty much HAS to be Philippe Lang's nuclear power Arika cycle deck, that it's able jockey Francois has kindly mailed to me. Playing against it and pulling it apart after the fact has certainly taken my card analysis and deck building and to a higher (or lower) level. Not since the days of old skool pre 7/7 Fame, ToRIII and Return to Innocence have I been so scared of one particular deck. Looking back it is not quite as all encompassing as I first thought and is 'fairly' easy to stamp on IF (big if) you get it soon enough. If however you don't mess it up early in turn 3-4 then the whole table is dead. Yep, I'd call that powerful :o) One knock on effect of the deck will be the extreme prejudice cannon that will now be permanently levelled at 'poor innocent little' Arika. I for one will certainly consider putting some anti Arika ammo in my decks from now on (hmmm. A simple Demonstration would do the trick methinks :o) Anyway, here she is - Prey silence ladies and gentlemen... Hgghh humm. I would, at this juncture like to present a very special award for outstanding contribution to VTES sleaze and cheese, henceforth to be know as the VTES 'SC' cross. [puts two nice, shiny, desirable pewter medals round Philippe and Francois neck's to spurious applause and bottles / root vegetables impacting on chicken wire] A high accolade indeed ladies and gentleman, not to be taken lightly or without extreme contribution to the 'S+C' area of our beloved game. So without further pomp I give you - >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Turbo Arika Created by: Philippe Lang Description: Sweep a table in turn four ? Let's try this eleven-card deck (Crypt included)!! Crypt: 20 cards [Min: 44, Max: 44, Avg: 11] 20 Arika (aus cel DOM FOR OBF PRE, Ventrue, 11, Inner Circle) Library: (90 cards) 13 Awe 10 Conditioning 11 Daring the Dawn 5 Distraction 10 Force of Will 4 Forgotten Labyrinth 10 Freak Drive 5 Lost in Crowds 13 Praxis Seizure: Berlin 9 Soul Gem of Etrius [No master cards... NONE. Ed] Bring out Arika (3-4 turns) Equip her with Soul Gem (add stealth if necessary) Freak Drive Call PS: Berlin (add stealth if necessary), Awe for all but two blood on Arika. She then becomes a 12-cap Vampire... Force of Will + Conditioning + INFERIOR Daring, bleed for eight !! Arika burns, Soul Gem is activated, the next Arika enters play. Repeat immediately, [on the same turn! Ed.] ad nauseum... Use Distraction to build the combo if necessary. [IMO the master stroke of the deck, just enough in to facilitate the combo and boost cycling whilst being easy to cycle themselves.] >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> So there you go, a definitive chapter in the VTES annuls of washable sleaze :o) Please do not adjust your set, next month we will be resuming normal service with 'regular' decks. _____________________________________________ DECK OF THE MONTH #2 - Cameron Domer's Weenie Ventrue / Hostile. Cameron has kindly submitted his Ventrue deck which he played at US Gencon against some stiff voting opposition by the sound of things.. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Weenie Presence Vote (aka Cheese) and the current Metagame. (my time at Gencon 2001) This years Gencon was great. Tons of people came out for Vampire, and a ringing endorsement for White Wolf's patronage of the game was realized. I played the same deck in the Qualifier Tournement and (not to give anything away) in the Shadow Twin tournement the next day. First, the Deck: We Own You (translated into l33t 5p34k of course) Crypt: 12 Vampires 2 Gideon Fontaine 3 PRE 1 Itzahk Levine 3 pre cel 1 Roland Loussarian 3 pre for 1 Violette Prentiss 4 PRE dom 1 Courtland Leighton 4 pre dom for 1 Marriana Gilbert 4 PRE cel 1 Jazz Wentworth 5 PRE dom for 1 Ranjan Rishi 5 PRE DOM for 1 Rake 6 PRE aus cel pot Prince 1 Sir Walter Nash 7 PRE DOM FOR Prince 1 Timothy Crowley 7 PRE dom FOR ani Prince Deck: Masters: 12 Hostile Takeover 4 Blood Doll 1 Ventrue HQ Actions: 13 Parity Shift 9 Praxis Seizure (glasgow, boston, barcelona, berlin, cairo, geneva, rome, cleveland, athens) 1 Ventrue Justicar 5 Mind Numb 8 KRC 2 Con Ag. 1 Entrancement Action Mod: 5 Freak Drive 17 BO [That's a whole lot of BO. Ed] 1 Aire of Elation Combat: 9 Majesty On the first day I got 0 vps in three rounds. In round one my prey's first vampire was Anson, which my Grand Predator contested (having dropped a ToR3 on him first turn and then brought up a small Toreador) I was looking good at this point, got a prince, and started damaging my prey. My grand prey was a Malk bleed deck, and my predator was playing Brujah votes, but his pressure wasn't overwhelming me, and I even managed to grab Constanza, who RTFC, didn't have PRE. I should have gotten two VP's, but misplayed, leaving my prey in the game an extra turn to contest Alexandra with my Grand Predator, who displayed more bleed than I had expected quickly took out the table. Round two went similarly, again there were big voters at the table, and this time I never even passed a Praxis seizure. Second Turn Princes and Justicars and I think a third turn IC. The bloat at this table also shut down my ability to Hostile to get vampires or hurt my prey. The big cross table voters gave my prey pool and took whatever minion I put up for sale. I went fighting, but was overwhelmed. Third round ALSO had a big cross table bloat deck, but this time my predator was a sneak and bleeder, and my prey was IG rush. I was whittling away at the IG (without table votes again) when I was Dramatically Upheavaled and got moved to less sunny climes. Again no joy. In my opinion the main failure of the deck was the speed at which the other decks at the table got out votes. Even if you get out Igo (say) with the first transfer, the people across table can (and seemingly will) be getting out Prisci and Princes with alarming regularity before you can call that first Praxis Seizure. Here's a for instance (assuming I'm going 4th, because it happened a lot) A 1+4 (Zillah) on oh... Sheldon or Polonia or Gratiano or Kyle B 2+ 2 counters (ToR3) on Alexandra C 3+ 4 (Zillah) on Arika D 4 on Violette Prentis... yeah E 2 each on Lupo and Koko A gets a 9 cap with 2-3 votes B gets an 11 cap with 4 votes C gets an 11 cap with 4 votes D calls a Praxis Seizure, with 5 votes, is lauged at. E Drops POT on KoKo, kills somthing. [Man, that was a harsh game for Weenie Pre. I find that Mr. Volker can be your worst nightmare when playing a deck like this, he has all three headaches - early votes, Pot and 2nd Trad capability. Ed] This example is obviously extreme, but table votes get out quick, far to quick for Praxis+BO to get a title, even on the second turn. Even emptying Violette with an Awe doesn't get a vote passed at the above table. And no o ne, but no one wants to see you get more votes on a Presence weenie, especially once you drop that first Parity Shift. Of course if the metagame isn't for large voters, then a deck like the one above can do very well. I got 7 VPs and made the finals on Saturday in the Shadow Twin tournament, mainly because I never really saw the same level of table votes. Even in the final there was no firm vote lock, although many of the decks had some votes. A few notes on how to improve the above deck: Some of the Freak Drives should be Day Operations, stupid Tzimisce. Less BO's for a few Voter Caps, and an Awe or 2 if you have them. Maybe add a little bleed bounce (deflection) for a few Parity Shift. Cameron Domer Ring-a-ring o'roses, A pocketful of posies, A-tishoo, a-tishoo, We all fall down. [Thanks a lot Cameron, quality analysis and deck commentary there] _____________________________________________ I shall be of on my travels at the end of September, a huge thanks to everyone from Australia and New Zealand who have extended invitations for a few games whilst we're over there. In my absence (as I'm not taking a laptop in my rucksack !) Special Agent Jon Cooper has agreed to take up the mantle for the October letter and I reckon you can safely expect a combat bias in that particular edition. I'm thinking of tapping up Barny Baker to do the November one (although he doesn't know it yet :o) whaddya think Barn ? you up to the task, huh ? So plenty to look forward to there then :o) Until next time, when all us UK players will have played / survived Gencon 2001 in London, I shall bid you all farewell. Any submissions, comments, questions, abuse, rhetoric, prose, fetishist material etc. mail to Rob.Treasure@btinternet.com