Introduction:
November has been a hectic month with at least one tournament each
week. Players have been building decks frantically with all kinds
of queer results.
The Storylineevents draw to an end and we seem to have had one of
the very few tournaments were players were actually interested in
getting the Eye.
At the time being the gamingcore in Europe has turned its attention
away from the Storylinetournaments and towards the EC in Vienna.
The new set:
Actually I'll just touch on one single card that doesn't even really
belong to the new set.
Eye of Hazimel.
This is a card the Toreador has to take into consideration if it
shows up elsewhere on the table. With Francois Villon being the
only Toreador with Chimestry it'll require a strange deck indeed
if the Eye is to be used by the Toreador - quite contrary to the
actual novels.
It's apalling when used by any for/pot -rushdeck featuring Freak
Drive, or imagine Cailean setting range to close happily preventing
damage with Apparition for free.
Tactics:
Last month I wrote about my view of strategy. This month I'll take
on tactics.
As always I only consider the tournament playstyle.
Tactics is planned execution. You're at the table, deck in hand and
seating is just determined. You have to do with the situation as it
actually is.
As tactics is operational I'll divide the game into its natural
phases.
1) Startgame
2) Middlegame
3) Endgame
4) Duel
Startgame lasts maybe four or five turns. Players influence up
their vampires and finds out what the opposition actually looks
like. This is the phase where weenie-decks thrive.
1) What vampire goes first?
2) Should I play offensively, defensively or just wait for a while?
3) What happens if I block or get blocked?
4) Which cards that I don't need at the moment shall I discard?
Middlegame lasts until there are three players left. Most of the
game takes part here. With most of the game I actually mean most of
the game as it is viewed and discussed. Here is where things like
"tablecontrol", "crosstable", "tabledynamics" and "politics" mostly
belong. However it's not unusual that this stage only lasts for
one or two turns, even though I've participated in games where we've
spent ten or twenty turns here. This is also the phase where you don't
want any attention as a strong position here makes you the target for
all other players.
1) Do I have to kill backwards or am I strong enough to start hunting
for that first VP?
2) Any tableallies?
3) How do I build strength without showing it?
4) Which vampire, if any, can I afford to lose?
Endgame is the threeplayertable. Everyone's got two enemies and each
player can still get the gamewin. Quite often this is where you get an
ousting deal where two players gang up on the third until he/she is
actually ousted. Political decks are usually very strong here.
1) Kill, kill, kill or wait until the largest threat is ousted?
2) Deal myself out of the duel? (Can't win but can get a VP)
Duel is the finishing duel between the last two players. There really
isn't that many questions to answer any longer. The player with the
stronger position will usually win here more or less automatically.
Combat-decks, political decks and stealth-bleeders thrive here. This is
also the phase where it pays off best to remove the opposing minions.
1) Wait or kill?
What goes where:
It's a bit peculiar that most of the focus is directed at the phase
that to most players actually is the least important. Just like in chess
it takes a great deal of skill to actually make most of the middlegame,
so most of us should try to excel during another phase before we take
another attempt at the middlegame.
Most new players, who have played long enough to give up their first
idea, will turn to weenie-decks. The reason is simple - almost every
player will want to get their deck running as early in the game as
possible. We've been drowned in information stating the importance of
speed.
The startgame belongs to the weenie-player. A weenie-player will sooner
or later also have to learn how to survive the middlegame, but that is
another story.
Having grown tired of being overrun by speedy decks players often
take a look at the interceptors. Block and bounce and defend at all
cost.
The duel is where the archetypical interceptor will take its only
win, netting 2 VP totally. This phase is also where those players
usually aim at. This not only seems like a bad strategy turned into
bad tactics - it actually is just that. The interceptor needs to take
control during the endgame, and tactical focus should also be on that
phase.
The duel is also when a rush-deck gains momentum again. A usual game
is where an agressive combatdeck beats its first prey into oblivion
and after that first oust is unable to get anywhere. Usually this is
the negative result of the initial success. Grandprey has been left
totally alone for too long. That grandprey quite often gets two ousts
after which it falls to the rush-deck in the duel - if the combatant
has played correctly that is. Several players never stop beating up
their neighbours after the first oust and end up lacking the fighting
power to actually get somewhere afterwards.
Sooner or later we want to try politics with titled vampires. Most of
us attempt to solve all problems by getting more permanent votes than
the rest of the table together.
The endgame is where this votelock might actually come true, and it
is here where the political deck should control the table. However,
the political deck is also the one that simply cannot ignore the
middlegame.
After a lot of games a player slowly starts asking the question "who
do I want to see ousted and when" without immediately answering it with
"my prey, as soon as possible".
The middlegame is actually the most important phase of the game, but in
my opinion not for the reasons most people state. Mastering this phase
is mastering the game, and I'm far from doing it myself. Some things
are getting clear though. Most may seem obvious, but anyway:
1) 3 VP is enough and 4 is an added bonus.
2) 1 VP is not always better than 0, but 2 VP is always better than 0.
3) 5 VP too often gets me 0 or 1 in the next game.
4) One deck is my main enemy, no matter where it sits.
5) Killing my main enemy might lose me the game.
So, what does this mean in reality, and why does it belong to the
middlegame?
1) If you build your deck to grab 3 or 4 VP you'll have place to put in
resources (librarycards and vampires) that makes it possible for you
to temporarily change your playingstyle during the middlegame in
order to:
1a) Avoid being too visible.
1b) Locate your main enemy.
1c) Scream for help while still having some defence if you're
currently being overrun.
2) If you can't get the gamewin then noone else should have it if
possible. If you can sabotage the table efficiently enough by
not getting one single VP it might actually be the best result
you can manage during that game.
If you can't get the tablewin but still can get 2 VP you must
grab it as that second VP guaranteed a second place at your table.
During the middlegame you'll see where things are heading and if
you're losing this might be your only dealingpower.
3) So, you're trying to sweep every table in order to shine in glory?
You'll shine alright, and every player on the table will see that
while they are still all in play. Having played you too many times
they will know, by the time you're in the middlegame, if you're
fielding one of those "sweep the table" -decks again - and they'll
act on it.
4) When you built your deck you decided upon what you cannot handle.
Chances are such a deck will be present at the table and that you
don't want to be anywhere near it. During the middlegame you'll
know. If you sigh in relief as you realise its one the other side
of the table you forget that it won't stay that way forever. This
might be a good time to let your prey cripple it.
5) But spending your resources killing a player crosstable might
create another main enemy who had the time to build up undisturbed.
So, you can handle guns? Why start whining just because your prey
is at 15 pool, has 8 vampires at average capacity 6 all equipped
with guns and half of which are Blood Dolls boosted by two
hunting grounds and Club Zombie?
Basically - you have to keep an eye on what's happening at the table
even when it doesn't seem to concern you, especially during the
middlegame.
Rounding it off:
Well, not too much about Toreador it might seem, but don't forget that
the clan is one of the best suited to actually act as well as react
during those oh so important turns that define the middlegame.
Sten During