Legbiter's Halloweenies
.... a Setite/GioVanni deck which DOESN'T suck.
This is a deck I've been playing with over a period of some months, and it is
now at a stage where it can do quite well in social play against good
players. In a previous incarnation it was good enough that when David Tatu
[runner-up in Atlanta last year, and all-round Good Chap] was my prey, he
felt it necessary to help his grand-predator [Lunar Moon] to oust me ... but
I've tweaked it some more since then [mainly to improve its pool gain], and
now it wins, regularly. The combination of insane chainsaw-wielding violence,
HORDES of weenie minions, Deathless Allies and corruption is a difficult one
for people to deal with but it kinda appeals to me, for some odd reason
..remarkable, doncha think, for such a sweet mild-mannered chap as m'self?
Here is the deck:
CRYPT [12 vampires]
4 GIOVANNI [i LOVE these guys. If ONLY the Giovanni girlies could've
fitted into this deck].
Cristofero Giovanni 3 pot nec
Mario Giovanni 3 pot nec
2 x Rudolpho Giovanni 3 NEC
8 SETITES [and these. Sigh. My two favourite clans, and my favourite combo].
Dedefra 5 obf nec SER +1 hand damage against Camarilla Vampires [Lady Legbiterin a bad mood]
2 x Hadrian Garrick 4 pre obf +1 hand damage
Khalil Anvari 3 pre ser
2 x Lalitha 2 ser
2 x Nepata 4 obf pre ser [a former Bride of Legbiter in a time-for-a-li'l-recreation
mood ... sigh .. scene fades to reverie of white lacy lingerie
and unbridled passion .....]
[Average 2.83, High draw 17, low draw 10].
LIBRARY [90 cards]
20 MASTER CARDS [22%]
No particular comment, except forGiant's Blood ....
an unusual card for a weeny deck, you might think, and so
in a way it is. But, of course, the idea is to play it BEFORE the
heavy-hitter does, thus really pissing him/her off. No real skin off your
nose, if s/he plays it first. Also, it's probable that one of these cards
[SC, GB or one of the THGs] would have to be a Barrens, if you wanted to play
this deck in a tourney.
4 x Blood Doll
Giant's Blood
Heidelburg Castle,Germany [o alright, ONE other comment ...use this to move
the chainsaw around, and to rescue minions from the
Talbot's Chainsaw trap [no blood, and can't hunt].
DO NOT cheat by trying to move the chainsaw to/from
Ambrosius using this card. He is NOT a vampire.]
KRCG News Radio
Morgue Hunting Ground
5 x Obfuscate
Opium Den
Succubus Club [Sigh, OK, ONE more. Michael Beer told me to put this in.
i am not sure why. But Michael is DEFINITELY a better
player than me, so he is probably right.]
2 x Temple Hunting Ground
3 xTribute to the Master
MINION CARDS
32 ACTIONS [36%]
No Comment, except to point out that Corruption will ONLY work in an
No-Card-Limits environment. As a play-for-fun kinda guy i usually find myself
in SPIRITUAL agreement withthe Card-Limits people. But this deck demonstrates
why, nevertheless, i personally am adamantly of the No-Card-Limits camp.
18 x Corruption
10 x The Embrace
Form of Corruption
Lure of the Serpent [War ghoul, Succubus, Muddles and somebody else
acquiring/ playing Ambrosius are BAAAD for this deck].
3 xTemptation [Two of these i swapped off Pierre Rebstock for the new
[Urza'sSaga] versions of Timetwister and City of Brass.
Silly ol' Pierre, huh? He even threw in a
Vampiric Embrace .... hehehehe].
18 ACTION MODIFIERS [20%]
A heavy intercept deck can piss off most people, but not this deck. Also, the
unexpected stealth-bleed for two of Kherebutu is GREAT fun.
4 x Cloak the Gathering
3 x Forgotten Labyrinth
3 x Lost in Crowds
5 x Spectral Divination [with the KRCG and Rudolpho, this is enough for
+2 Intercept, but you won't get many of these.
Keep them for the important blocks!]
3 x Spying Mission
7 ALLIES [8%]
Allies and Equipment benefit IMMENSELY from the mantra:
"Allies and Equipment Suck". Keep it up, News-Group Comrades!
It's true that simple-minded ally/equipment strategies suggested in
the VTES literature ARE easy to spot and easy to counter, and it's also true
that a deck BASED SOLELY on either is likely to fail. It DOESN'T follow that
allies and equipment in GENERAL suck.
5 x Ambrosius the Ferryman, Wraith
2 x Kherebutu (Bane Mummy)
6 COMBAT CARDS [7%]
ALWAYS have SOME combat is article I of the Legbiter Code.
When i am feeling romantic this extends to, Combat is Good In and Of Itself.
But, alas, that is not really true .....
[debate to be continued on the NewsGroup, ad infinitum].
4 x Fake Out
2 x Lucky Blow
6 EQUIPMENT [7%]
6x Talbot's Chainsaw [This is the ONLY thing in the current Newsletter that
has anything to do with the Gangrel antitribu - for why,
see the last issue. Hey, I''m feeling guilty, alright?
So I'm TRYING to construct a Gangrel-anticombatty sorta
deck for the next Portsmouth tournament. Happy now????].
Clearly this is a rare-heavy deck so it's unlikely to achieve wide
circulation. But i think it does make the point that apparently-sucky clans
and cards CAN be made to work in unexpectedly-powerful ways in a
No-Card-Limits environment. A deck that brings out little itty-bitty Setites
and Giovanni and plays a few Corruptions lulls people into a false sense of
security .... then WHAM! Embrace! Embrace! 4-5 Corruptions a turn! WHAM!
Ambrosius plus Talbot's Chainsaw! All of a sudden things are looking BAAAAD.
