Happy Families is a deck-constructing formula that aims to build a flexible playable deck around a given selection of vampires. Usually these will all be vampires of one clan. Basically you choose the vamps you want to play with, and the library size you want to use, and then you determine the cards in the library as follows: 20% or so should be master cards The remaining 80% or so should be minion cards, divided up with respect to discipline in the following way: Count the number of vampires in your crypt: Call this number p. Count the number of vampires with the most common discipline in your deck: call this number q. Count the number of vampires with the second most common discipline in your deck: call this number r. Count the number of vampires with the third most common discipline in your deck: call this number s. Count the number of vampires with the fourth most common discipline in your deck: call this number t. Now if 80% of your chosen library size is a, then you want [(p/[p+q+r+s+t]) x a] cards that require no discipline to play [(q/[p+q+r+s+t]) x a] cards that require the most common discipline to play [(r/[p+q+r+s+t]) x a] cards that require the second most common discipline to play [(s/[p+q+r+s+t]) x a] cards that require the third most common discipline to play [(t/[p+q+r+s+t]) x a] cards that require the fourth most common discipline to play Of course this is not a totally formulaic method: you can have more or fewer disciplines, and you probably are going to favour particular cards within a discipline at the expense of others, depending on how you visualise the clan, how you like to play, and what cards you actually have. Additionally, a lot of the art of Happy Families comes from choosing what master and non-discipline cards to pick. Basically you have a choice of making these cards strengthen whatever your vamps already do well, or else trying to compensate for whatever they do badly. Personally I tend to go for the latter, but I'm far from sure that's strategically right - it's the old question of focus versus flexibility. Nevertheless this method REALLY WORKS, creating fun decks that are ideal for teaching, that actually work OK at playgroup level and even, sometimes, do surprising and thought-provoking things [Blood Brother Ambush playing Burning Wrath is one that springs to mind]. Currently we at Legbiter Mansions are playing with 12 Happy Families decks and others have been made for Andrew Sparkes' playgroup at Safeway head Office. Here is the Gangrel antitribu HF deck which, having six disciplines instead of the usual 4, generally bombs, but tonight stormed to a sweep in a five-player at Louisa's house. CRYPT [12 Vamps] Caitlin Luther Samantha Zachary Shane Grimald Genevieve Sadie Pieter Monique Blaise Leon Huang LIBRARY [70 cards - usually we play threesomes at home] MASTERS Auspex Twisted Forest Blood Doll x 2 Pentex Loves You! Fortitude City gangrel Connections Obfuscate Dominate Animalism Haven Uncovered Protean Gangrel Conspiracy Minion Tap NON-DISCIPLINE CARDS Ambush Atonement Saturday Night Special Black Spiral Buddy Computer hacking x 2 Wake With Evening's Freshness x 2 Bum's Rush Arson Gas Powered chainsaw Laptop Computer Shadow Court Satyr Sengir Dagger Leather jacket DOMINATE Conditioning Redirection Govern the Unaligned Grave Robbing PROTEAN Homunculus Claws of the Dead x 2 Shadow of the Beast Bone Spur x 2 Wolf Claws x 2 Earth Control x 2 Rapid Change ANIMALISM Carrion Crows x 2 Murder of Crows Cat's Guidance x 2 Army of Rats Rat's Warning x 2 Guard Dogs x 2 Raven Spy FORTITUDE Skin of Rock x 3 Superior Mettle Restoration x 2 Hidden Strength AUSPEX Spirit's Touch Precognition My Enemy's Enemy Aura Reading OBFUSCATE Cloak the Gathering Faceless Night Swallowed by the Night Lost in Crowds Spying Mission Now i know this looks like a pile of shit and often it plays that way too: it's also most definitely the weakest of the HF decks. But sometimes, like tonight, it REALLY kicks against quite competitive opposition. A key play is often Caitlin doing a bit of graverobbing. The difficulty of course is the enormous diversity of !Gangrel disciplines [there are actually two mini-bloodlines, the city and country gangrel], and yet this is also the source of the deck's flexibility and fun-play factor. i am always happy when i beat John Eagles but to do so with this deck, tonight, was absolutely tip-top fun, MUCH better than having afternoon sex with a gorgeous 21-year old blonde. Actually no, that was a slight exaggeration, but it WAS a good game. Happy Families decks can be evolved, too, and for that idea see one of the earliest !Gangrel newsletters of all, maybe July 98.