Deck Name: Brinksmanship 2.0 Created By: David Cherryholmes Description: Won DC tournament Crypt: (12 cards, Min: 22, Max: 32, Avg: 6.83) ---------------------------------------------- 4 Bartholomew AUS dom MYT NEC obt 8, Kiasyd:2 3 Egothha AUS FOR NEC obf 7, Harbingers of Skulls:2 3 Gisela Harden aus dem FOR NEC 7, Harbingers of Skulls:2, Priscus 1 Le Dinh Tho aus dom NEC 5, Nagaraja:2 1 Juan Cali aus for 3, Ventrue Antitribu:2 Library: (82 cards) ------------------- Master (22 cards) 2 Blood Doll 1 Dia de los Muertos 1 Lazarene Inquisitor 2 Minion Tap 1 Parthenon, The 2 Secure Haven 8 Slaughterhouse, The 3 Storage Annex 2 Archon Investigation Action (4 cards) 2 Revelations 2 Summon Soul Action Modifier (9 cards) 4 Call of the Hungry Dead 3 Daring the Dawn 2 Telepathic Vote Counting Political Action (7 cards) 2 Brinksmanship 2 Cardinal Benediction 2 Dramatic Upheaval 1 Peace Treaty Reaction (22 cards) 2 Eagle's Sight 2 Enhanced Senses 8 Folderol 8 Telepathic Counter 2 Telepathic Misdirection Combat (16 cards) 8 Rolling with the Punches 8 Spiritual Intervention Combo (2 cards) 2 Spectral Divination The deck is not intended to sweep. As with all such decks, other people not only can get victory points.... you *need* for them to get victory points, so long as on one gets two. Your prey will probably be one of those who gets his VP. This is fine, since he probably will not have the resources to gain two, if he even gets that many. The deck takes exactly one action that really matters. As a result, there is room for large amounts of bleed and combat defense. Since so many slots are available, Telepathic Counter and Folderol stack to make pretty good bleed defense. Bart is brought out solely for this purpose, and to sit there and gain you pool. He should be Secure Havened since he lacks fortitude, but if you don't expect Grapple or Psyche, he can defend himself tolerably well with the free S:CE. Tap him down to one regardless; either they beat Spiritual Intervention or they don't, and whether he has one or four blood probably won't matter. There are also a disproportionate number of master cards in the deck. You won't really cycle unless people are bleeding you or rushing you, so it's important to have a few masters in hand to maintain deck flow. People tend to freak out when they see Slaughterhouses. I find it works to explain that of course you are trying to oust them this way, but it is *slow*, you won't touch their pool, and that's a better deal than then next guy in line will probably give them. If they don't buy it, hey, let them rush you. That's what all the comabt defense is there for. Aggressive voters are a little more of a problem, but you have a good shot at six table votes, and your bloat to fall back on. Combat decks, provided they aren't over-the-top trumpy, actually play into your strategy. Let them pound on your fortitude and grind their deck away. The challenge with this deck always lies in getting the win under the time limit. Earlier versions had Autarkis Persecution and Millicent Smith. These cards play perfectly into your strategy, but they add too much time to the table. Folderol is an acceptible means of controlling the oust, and Revelations and Le Din Tho can also be deployed to slow down other decks that might be positioning for the second VP. Dramatic Upheaval is also useful in several ways. If you think you can handle it, jump in front of the aggressive deck and let him help you cycle into your Slaughterhouses that much more quickly. It's also good to upheaval with your prey before he gets the oust. Leave him with a little deck, so your grandpredator doesn't get a free ride from your Brinksmanship; he won't have enough to oust you, and probably has plenty of pool to serve as a meatshield. On the plus side, you don't actually *do* anything on your turns, so they go very quickly. This adds roughly another 20% to the clock. Always wait to Slaughter until after your prey has taken his turn. This lets a whole table cycle expire before he gets slaughtered, and by that time something else has likely transpired that pisses him off more. Cuts down on the backstreaming, I've found. Another trick that bears pointing out: Telepathic Counter plus Folderol chops bleeds down for three. This creates an incentive to bleed for more than three. Then you Archon Investigate them. I assume the basics of the Brinksmanship/Slaughterhouse mechanic needs no explaining. I've recieved several comments to the effect that the deck doesn't have as many Slaughterhouses as it should. I think it's better to trickle them onto the table. Keeps your prey calmer, makes the aformentioned argument about not being that bad a predator to have easier to swallow, and lets your prey tear up the table and maybe get that lone VP. After you've ousted him, you've built up enough that the next prey, and possibly the one after that, go much more quickly. That's really about it. Not a turbo, power, crush-your-skull-in kind of deck, but a refreshing break from the three legs of the triangle. Oh yeah... play with two Dia's. I had to bum the one and couldn't scrape up another. _________________ David Cherryholmes VEKN Prince of Durham, NC