Tuesday's Social

(YAVP)

I managed to get two games in (1 4 player, 1 3 player) (Kevin not arriving meant it took a while before we could get a second table going).

In the first game, Gerhard (Blooded Sand) (playing a Tariq superstar deck), was bleeding me (Ahrimane), bleeding Phillip (Harbringers of Skulls) bleeding Val (Mid-cap Gangrel Protean), with Val starting.

I suffered from having a rather weird combat draw throughout (only 1 Carrion Crows, for example), and a somewhat unfortunate crypt draw (all 3 the non-Ahrimane vampires came up) and twice had minions toporised and then diablerised, which was rather sucky. I was able to pressure Phillip fairly well early on, but never got close to ousting him. Val's deck was too strong for both Gehard's and my decks. I didn't stick around to watch the end game. With a few different draws, I might have been able to survive better, but so the game goes sometimes.

In the second game, I tried the mid-cap Serpentis bleed deck. Val (weenie guns) was bleeding Gehard (Tariq) bleeding me, with me starting. I had a great start, being bring out the two-cap, and play the hunting ground early. This allowed me to pay for the Eternal Masks, and, although Val was able to bring out several minions quickly, the time taken to find his intercept locations meant I could bleed unhindered at the start. Gehard's deck was unable to resist the weenie swarm, and he conceded fairly early. Val helped my cause by paying for several guns, and I was never short of S:CE, so the combat was never an issue. There was a turn where things looked like they might be a little tight, as I went down to 6 pool, and was facing six minions, and some farm, but, with a Catatonic Fear at superior to knock a minion into torpor, and a vessel to destroy one of Val's blood dolls meant I was able to push through.

The Settite deck shows some promise, but the card balance needs work. I ideally also need to find room for the Path's as well, as being able to bleed for 2 at +1 stealth with one card at no cost will be useful, and it will make the Truth of a Thousand Lies a much more attractive option to play.