CurtAdams#
This is an analysis of what I know about the five top decks in the 8/28
Jyhad tournament in San Jose. I played one of the decks that tied for
fourth. I played against the first place, third place, and other fourth
place decks. I spoke with the player of the number two deck briefly after
the tournament. If I got anything wrong about the other decks, I
apologize to the owners; please post any corrections or additions you
think necessary.
General Points.
The winning strategy seemed to be unblockable bleeds. My deck, for
example, could usually manage a 3 point bleed at +2 Stealth, if necessary,
every round. Three of the top finishers focused on unblockable bleeds and
one more could do some. Every winning deck had either Presence or
Dominance as a core Discipline. I saw a number of combat decks and vote
decks but only one combat deck made it, tying for fourth. Only one of the
top finishers used votes a lot, combining it with lots of bleeds.
The tournament scoring system gave a point advantage to vote decks and
bleed decks, although the big points came from killing prey and being the
last survivor. The vote decks did well for a while, but generally could
not eliminate their prey, eventually falling to some bleed deck
steamrollering around the table. Combat decks could not eliminate prey as
fast as unstoppable bleed decks and the combat defense did not work
against unstoppable bleeds.
The decks:
No. 1: Ventrue/Toreador Presence and Dominance. Apparantly also had
Celerity and Fortitude, but I saw little of them.
Offense: Used voting to gain a pool and # of vampires advantage, then
attacked with enhanced bleeds, using an occasional +1 stealth bleed.
Defense: Plenty of vampires to block, and Misdirection (which allows you
to redirect a bleed against you to another Methusulah)
No. 2: Unknown composition. Presence, probably Dominate, maybe others
Offence: Bleed with vampires with Superior Presence. When blocked, use
Majesty to end combat without damage and pay a blood to untap, leaving
blocker tapped. Repeat until defender has no blockers, then bleed with
enhancements (Social Charm, Enchant Kindred, or Dominate enhancements).
Defense: Social Charm bleeds give 1 pool each to replace losses and
Majesty allows blocking without damage. May have had others as well.
No. 3: Malkavian/Nosferatu. Obsfucation, Dominance, and Auspex.
Offence: Bleed with Obsfucation for stealth and Dominance for
enhancement.
Defense: Block enhanced bleeds using Auspex, if necessary. Replace any
remaining losses with Blood Dolls on vampires doing hunts.
No. 4 (tie): Brujah/Gangrel: Presence, Celerity, Fortitude, and Protean.
Offense: Give one or two vampires nasty combat abilities (weaponry or
Protean aggravated damage), permanent enhanced bleeds, and bleed away,
knocking defenders into torpor until no defenders dare block.
Defense: Block with vampires enhanced as above, hopefully sending
attackers to torpor.
No. 4 (tie): Malkavian/Tremere. Dominance, Auspex, Obsfucation, and
Thaumaturgy.
(My deck)
Offense: Bleed with Obsfucation for stealth and Dominance for enhancement.
Defense: Give Thaumaturges flak jackets and block repeatedly using Auspex
and Wake with Evening's Freshness without taking damage. Occasionally
throw Trap on attackers and send them to Torpor with the high-power
thaumaturgy attacks.
Of the strategies used, I think Deck #2 has the best. With one Discipline
(Presence), it has an excellent offensive and functional defensive
strategy. Three clans have Presence (Brujah, Toreador, and Venture),
giving you five other disciplines to use to complement your strategy. The
player said he was already bored with the deck after one tournament as it
did so well, as well as because games with it took a long time.