Brujah Ascendent?

Interesting conflux of events -
1) The recent Eden Legacy Storyline results (Brujah tied at 6 wins with Guruhi with Dmitra Ilyanova as favorite Key Minion)
2) VTES_OS's concluded poll showing Dmitra being the best Brujah (more so that even the Eurobrujahs or Theo Bell)
3) extrala's ongoing poll of the best Deck of the Month 2009 showing a G4/5 Brujah Deck (featuring Ms Ilyanova again) leading the vote.

Dmitra Ilyanova is an awesome Justicar no matter how you slice it; 9cap, CEL FOR POT PRE obf with a blood gain special makes her very cost effective. She can either hang out with Count Germaine (identical disc. spread) and bludgeon people up, or go bruise vote with the other Bru princes (Tara, Karen Suadela and Carlak).

G1/2 or G2/3 Brujah tended to focus on the DOM Princes and Theo Bell to achieve its aims; no matter how i look it, Eurobrujah is the more efficient means of victory. Good deck archetype, but predictable.

With KoT are the Philosophers able to finally move on? New Carthage is one of the best Masters I've seen for a long time.

Having said that, there aren't that many alternate routes that the Brujah can employ; there are NO weenies with superior Potence; earliest is Tara at 6Cap. The weenies are a cruel mess of cel, pre and other crap disc like OBF, ani, aus. Every single time I see Herbert Westin he's in a Settite deck; for god's sake just make him an FoS. So weenie POT is out.

Midcaps wise, other than the oft-mentioned Princes (and Count Germaine), there aren't many that particularly stand out. Jack Drake sorta fits in Anarch decks but he's a little too expensive at 8cap. Don Cerro tries to be Ian Forestal with 5 inferior disc; perhaps he can swing with the Anarchs too? Though he lacks ani, tha and obf that would make him truly sing. Tomaine is decent but I'd choose Tara anytime for the Traditions. Themistocles is kind of iffy; FOR is great, AUS is great, but his special at +0 stealth is probably never successfully used. Though it could be used to force combat.

Largecaps-wise Gracetius and Adana de Sforza are excellent for their out-clan disc combo-ing their specials; Gracetius is a No Secrets from the Magaji-lite if he spams Raven Spies and Adana can abuse PRO for aggra-poke and Flesh of Marble and OBF for stealth. Unfortunately the rest of the clan lacks these skills.

One of my greatest gripes about Brujah is that they are terrible at stealth, intercept and bounce; they lack both the delivery method and the means to foil others'. Potence combat, scary as it is, isn't stealth. At least Resist Earth's Grasp is available for that +1 stealth at CEL. Don't mention the crazy expensive Alacrity. obf exists on Karen Suadela, Count Germaine and Dmitra Ilyanova so perhaps that could work. I often resort to Princes and 2nd Tradition or rushing (or both) to stop bleeders.

On the final analysis, it appears that bruise vote is the best and perhaps only way to win with them. They are really good at it when Dmitra is leading the way. Unfortunately this pigeonholes them, just like what happened to G2 Brujah. This predictability, and the spotty stealth, intercept and bounce, hurts them in serious tournaments.

How do other Brujah players overcome these limitations?


Also, I'd like to see a good G4/5 Brujah deck that eschews the Princes and Dmitra.

Eden's Legacy - Guruhi and Brujah Victors

The recent Eden's Legacy Storyline has just concluded, and the results are in. Tied for top place are Guruhi and Brujah with 6 wins each, followed by the Malkavians with 4 wins, and then Ishtarri, !Salubri, !Toreador, Ventrue at 3 wins each.


Guruhi
All four Motivations were accessed, with the dominance of Secrecy accounting for half. Eze, the Demon Prince was the overall Key Minion at 3 mentions, with Lucian, the Perfect, Nana Buruku and Ugadja having single mentions.


Brujah
All 6 wins utilized Gehenna; clearly the end times and the thirst for violent combat was slaked during the Storyline. Dmitra Ilyanova was the overall Key Minion at 3 mentions, with Menele (storyline minion), Theo Bell and Pug Jackson having single mentions as well.


Malkavians
Jyhad was pronounced on 3 of the wins with a single Knowledge utilization; the moonies bleed well and they know it. Normal, Dancin' Dana and Donovan Brouwer had single mentions with the fourth unannounced.

One of my favorite clans being the Brujah, I can't help but feel really pleased about the overall score. Mind you, i played a Malk AUS wall deck during the Santa Clara Storyline Tourney, thinking that you've gotta stop every bleed to delay 3 of the Motivations.

Beginner Decks: Gangrel

I never really like the theme of the Gangrels. Feral, animal loving vampires that prefer the country-side than the cities? This felt out of place with Camarilla political scheming and the modern nights. Anyways, I decided to build one just to see how it would function; plus it would be a natural fit for some people; Grace did indicate her interest.

This deck is built around the rushing capabilities of the vampires and their Garou allies; Fame the appropriate vampire and knock it into torpor. Rescue it, rinse and repeat. Claws of the Dead/Wolf Claws for aggra-poke and FOR to avoid damage. Quick Meld and Canine Horde to overcome guns. Some ANI/PRO intercept if rushing is not available.


I was deciding between KoT vampires with in-built rush (Talbot, Shiloh Marie) or G1 vampires with better disc. spread. I chose the KoT ones partly because they are better looking artwork-wise. Yes seriously.



Crypt
2 Talbot 7 ANI NEC PRO for. burn master card from hand to rush minion at +1 stealth.
2 Shiloh Marie 7 ANI FOR PRO. rush younger vampire at +0 stealth. During untap phase another vampire you control take 1 unpreventable damage
2 Lise 6 ANI FOR pot pro
2 Rathmere 5 FOR ani pro. +1 strength against Sabbat vampires
2 Gunnar 4 PRO for
2 Lillian 3 ani pro

Library
Master
4 Fame
2 Tension in the Ranks
1 Ecoterrorist
1 Backways
1 Zoo Hunting Ground
5 Blood Dolls
3 Life in the City
 
Action
6 Deep Song
3 Raven Spy
1 Army of Rats
1 Renegade Garou
2 Ossian
 
Action Mod

Reaction
3 Sonar
3 Cats' Guidance
3 Instinctive Reaction
3 Guard Dogs

Equipment

Combat
5 Claws of the Dead
5 Wolf Claws
3 Carrion Crows
3 Quick Meld
4 Skin of Rock
4 Rolling with the Punches
2 Taste of Vitae
2 Canine Horde

Beginner Decks: Malkavians

This deck was built with a little un-optimization in mind. See, malks are pretty good at OBF/DEM right out the box; so good that new players can't stand the pressure early on. Unless they happen to be some AUS wall. So I included some Dive into Madness (for long term bleeding) and Games of Malkav to really bring out the madness of the moonies. And some Spirit Touches to actually do something backwards. No Telepathic Misdirections (their prey don't need yet another bleeder on their tail), instead some Telepathic Counters were put in.

Also, i don't have Morel, the archetypal 6cap 3 in-clan disc superior vampire. It only comes in the Malk pre-con.

Crypt
2 Santaleous 9 AUS CEL DEM OBF +1 bleed per hunting ground in play. Burn 3 blood to cancel a master card
2 Bloody Mary 8 AUS DEM OBF pre primogen +1 bleed
2 Lord Fianna 8 AUS DEM OBF cel pro Red List. Allies cannot block Lord Fianna. +1 stealth
2 Gem Ghastly 6 DEM OBF aus primogen. May play cards requiring Ventrue
2 Arthur Denholm 5 AUS DEM obf
2 Bela 3 DEM ani obf pro -1 stealth. cannot attempt political actions

Library
Master
1 Muddled Vampire Hunter
1 Asylum Hunting Ground
6 Blood Dolls
3 Game of Malkav
1 Elysium: The Arboretum
3 Life in the City

Action
4 Dive into Madness
8 Kindred Spirits
1 Blithe Acceptance
2 Night Moves

Action Mod
2 Faceless Night
2 Lost in Crowds
2 Elder Impersonation
4 Spying Mission
2 Veil the Legions
2 Cloak the Gathering
3 Eyes of Chaos
2 Confusion

Reaction
4 Spirit's Touch
4 Wake with Evening's Freshness
4 Telepathic Counter
4 Wrong and Crosswise

Equipment
1 Aaron's Feeding Razor


Combat
1 Coma
6 No Trace

Beginner Decks: Ventrue

KoT Ventrue were used in this crypt; mostly because I felt that G1 titled Ventrue felt a little more expensive with Democritus' special not being as useful as Mary Anne Blaire's, Natasha Volfchek and Helena Casimir being really expensive 9 cap primogen (like seriously?).

While playtesting I noticed that inferior presence was predominant among the lower cap titled KoT Ventrue; this severely affected the (ab)use of Majesty to multi-action.

Crypt (12)
3 Mary Anne Blaire 10 AUS DOM FOR PRE ani pot Justicar Perma-PRE Enchant Kindred, ICs -2 bleed
1 Johannes Castelein 9 DEM DOM FOR PRE Prince Political Action card played or referendum called by Johannes is canceled, Methuselah burns 2 pool
2 Lodin 8 DOM FOR PRE aus pro Prince can prevent 1 damage from the opposing minion's strike once each combat.
2 Graham Gottesman 7 DOM FOR obf pre tha Prince
2 Victor Donaldson 6 DOM for pre Prince Cancelled Golconda may be shuffled back into library
2 Emily Carson 5 DOM for pre primogen may burn Edge during discard phase to untap Emily



Library: (72)
Master: (14)
 6x Minion Tap
4x Information Highway
2x Presence
1x Giant's Blood
1x Papillon

Action: (6)
6x Govern the Unaligned

Action Modifier: (25)
 7x Voter Captivation
6x Freak Drive
4x Perfect Paragon
4x Seduction
2x Bonding
2x The Kiss of Ra

Combat: (8)
8x Majesty

Political Action: (11)
 5x Kine Resources Contested
2x Consanguineous Boon
1x Ancient Influence
1x Banishment
1x Parity Shift
1x Political Stranglehold

Reaction: (8)
 5x Deflection
3x Wake with Evening's Freshness


edited 13 Oct 2010: Overhaul of deck after playtesting. Kiss of Ra, Seduction and Perfect Paragon for stealth, and Majesty for combat. Changed crypt to ensure Mary Anne can Govern/Enchant down.

Beginner Decks: Toreador

Each clan deck were created to showcase their classic plays and whatever quintessential strengths that clan possessed. No real unusual cards or overly complicated tricks that needed certain particular cards to succeed. They were designed to play relatively smoothly as the cards come up.

The Toreador deck is designed as somewhat toolboxy, with AUS to block and CEL guns to back that up. PRE bleeding is kinda iffy especially with the severe lack of obf or perma-stealths. Aching Beauty was the sorta fix.

Decided to use G1 Toreador as their disc. spread were tighter.

Crypt
1x Anneke 10 AUS CEL PRE dom Justicar Perma-Eagle's Sight, +1 bleed
2x Anson 8 CEL PRE aus dom Prince +1 Master Phase Action
2x Tatiana Romanov 7 AUS cel pre Prince +1 bleed
2x Adrianne 6 aus cel pot pre +1 bleed
2x Felicia Mostrom 5 AUS CEL pre
1x Dorian Strack 4 AUS cel
1x Demetrius Slater 4 aus cel pre
1x Colin Flynn 3 aus cel


Library
Master Cards
1 Guardian Angel
5 Aching Beauty
1 Society Hunting Groun
1 Art Museum
1 Powerbase: Montreal
1 The Rack
4 Blood Doll

Action Cards
4 Public Trust
1 Entrancement
2 Media Influence
3 Enchant Kindred

Action Modifiers
3 Aire of Elation
2 Force of Personality
2 Scalpel Tongue

Reaction Cards
3 Enhanced Senses
3 Precognition
3 Spirit's Touch
4 Eyes of Argus
4 Forced Awakening
4 Telepathic Misdirection


Equipment
1 Bowl of Convergence
4 .44 Magnum
3 Saturday Night's Special

Combat Cards
3 Concealed Weapon
2 Blur
2 Pursuit
2 Sideslip

Beginner Decks

I created a bunch of beginner decks so that I could lend them to whoever i could teach vtes to. With  myself as probably the sole vtes player here in Stanford, I really need at least 2-3 other players to get things started. The idea is that with a small group of players we can hold demonstration games at visible locations like the aforementioned study area near the Axe & Palm.

Thing is, VTES isn't an easy game to teach, unlike say Settlers of Catan (awesome game btw) where the mechanics and the objectives are more concrete and achievable. And the fact that VTES has multiple sub-systems in it (stealth-intercept, combat, politics, blood management) makes it less appealing to non-hardcore gamers. Plus the backstory is rather intense for non VtM players.

The biggest thing though, is that each deck plays differently. So you can't just sit down with 3 other people and teach them all together. You've gotta explain that the Toreador gun deck AUS-es its way and CEL guns while the Gangrel rushes and Fames vampires to death, that the Malks stealthily conduct massive bleeds and the Ventrue has to multi-action bleed and vote to exhaust his prey.

Managed to teach Huiwei over the course of an afternoon (she played the Toreador). Probably would talk to Ngiam about it, he seemed a somewhat interested when I had that abortive attempt late that Sat night.

Will post my decklists up in a bit.

G2/3 Obf PRE Toreador

Saw a post on extrala about a deck played in a tourney that had "stealth" toreadors. Suzanne Kazim, Antoinette, Klaus van der Veken and Francois Villon as crypt. obf as delivery, PRE as bleed, AUS for blocks and bounces. CEL gun for combat. Seems efficient and way better that being reduced to Aching Beauty as "stealth".

Will try to build it sometime. Though somehow it'll feel like Settite bleed w/ AUS and more expensive vampires. At least the CEL would deter rushing.