This is probably the most toolboxy of the KOT starters, a good "graduating" starter for those who are now familiar with all the other basic mechanics introduced by the other more focused starters of the set. However, this starter suffers from an oversupply of weapons with insufficient resources to support it, and therefore isn't very effective just out of the set. But, if you buy 2 starters and slap them together, throw away some pointless cards and reduce some of them, it is actually effective enough to join most games in a form that you like, and it performs pretty well as a wall deck, or even a vote deck and toolbox deck.
How to Kill
This deck offers a few means to execute your prey. You can attempt to bleed him to death with your good PRESENCE bleeding card and threaten or eliminate your prey's blockers with your weapons, sending them to torpor or punish them severely to limit their ability to block your subsequent actions. You also have the option of using Kine Resources Contested to damage your prey's pool if you're able to get vote superiority. You're also able to use Intercept cards, especially with Eagle's Sight to block your prey's actions that are otherwise not opened to your blockers, and then sending them to torpor, either to remove their defense, or using Fame to cause damage.
But regardless of the path you're going, the weapons in this deck is the primary means for your Vampires to become a threat to your opponent, and therefore combat is almost a necessity for you to grasp and excel before you can successfully complete any of your paths to VPs.
That said, this deck's flexibility in ousting prey is by itself, an asset. Your prey will not be able to react to all your attacks anyway. If your prey excels at blocking, kill it with combat; if he is good at bouncing, KRC him to death, if he commands vote superiority, bleed him to hell.
For bleeding, use Public Trust to deliver heavy bleeds, keep Entrancement for stealing allies if you see some good ones hanging around. Use Crocodile's Tongue to dissuade blockers or reduce their blood level if they insist on blocking (and then you can shoot them dead), Approximation of Loyalty to remove young blockers or cancel wake cards; failing which, if you have other minions with guns, Suppressing fire might come in handy once in a while. But make no mistakes, stealth is not the forte of this deck, be ready to fight whenever you're doing something, unless you're facing opponents that are not blocking anyway. Use Contingency Planning if your prey bounces your heavy bleeds, this will encourage your prey to let it through, and hopefully net you one pool with your Public Trusts.
For Votes, you have the option of calling forth your titled Vampires - you have Rafael and Epikasta for this (Eugene is not efficient in this, unless you have no other choice). Use Public Trust to bring out big Vampires if you have a couple in hand, by influencing younger Vampires and hope that their bleeds will go through. This will save you some pool. If you're lucky enough to hold a Praxis Seizures in hand, and has one or both of the younger Vampires in your uncontrolled region, get them out quickly and hope that they can be declared Prince before anyone else can interfere. Also, do not forget the magnificent power of Kateline Nadasky - she is much more powerful in a voting scenario than you can imagine. Who needs votes when she can cancel opposing ones? She is worth at least 2 votes most of the time.
Intercept your prey's actions with Eagle's Sight when you see an opening, preferably with the ability to send that Vampire to torpor, and that he has a Fame slapped on it. This is all about combat.
Combat and Defense
This deck's combat is equipment-based, specifically, guns. It has so many guns that it is taking up too much deck space, and you'll almost always end up with too many weapons in hand, and the Concealed Weapon no where in sight, forcing you to equip them manually, wasting an action and often inviting trouble.
Throw the Beretta away when you can, they're inferior to Sniper Rifles and Desert Eagle and definitely to Ivory Bow. This deck doesn't really have a lot of manuevers to help you use Mark V so it might not be a very good weapon either. Sniper Rifles is the gem in blocking, giving you the ability to set range when you block, so it is the prime gun to buy when you're pursuing a blocking strategy. If you intend to get into combat really often, you have to hope that you have enough manuever cards, or you may be forced to equip 2 Berettas, which is quite an inefficient way to do it. If you get your hands on an IR Goggles, equip it immediately, it is crucial to your combat.
Once you get into combat, manuever to long if possible, shoot with guns, then additional strikes with Pursuit, start new combat with Psyche! if necessary, and remember to Taste back blood when you need it.
Other form of defense manifest as Telepathic Misdirection, allowing you to bounce bleeds to your prey, or if you really need it, the +1 Intercept to deal with some other malicious attacks. Use Minor Irritation to remain untapped if you expect further attacks in the round. IMHO, Eagle's Sight is usually more offensive in nature than defensive, but don't hesitate to use it at inferior AUSPEX if you see a good opportunity to punish or deter your predator. Oh, remember that you have a Bowl of Convergence, one of the best equipment in generating Intercepts.
Vampires
Depending on your path of ousting, all these Vampires will come in handy one way or another, there really isn't very much difference otherwise. With the exception of Epikasta, they all have the relevant discipline that is worthwhile for their cost (no, I'm not talking about the Inner Circle, he's pretty much a blank Vampire with +2 Bleed, but you may need his 4 votes afterall). Epikasta, however, is a good Vampire to get out if you're low on cards, he can continually Entrance allies if given half a chance (or bleed for that matter). Besides that, he is the most unnecessary Vampire unless you're pursuing a vote strategy and you don't see (or can't afford) Rafael.
Where you go from here
Anywhere exactly. Toreadors are good gun decks, good voters, and good interceptors. You can pursue a Toreador Grand Ball direction by acquiring maybe 3-5 Toreador Grand Ball master cards and make this into a vote deck. There are quite a few interesting Princes in KOT. Both the Justicars in group 3 and 5 are marginal Vampires of the investment. The Group 3 Princes are powerful Vampires, but Toreadors are quite lacking in numbers where titles are concerned. But hey, they have PRESENCE so who cares about titles anyway.
Toreador Gun decks are also a prime deck archetype in Vtes. Throw away some of the less useful guns in the deck and grab a couple of .44 Magnums. Add a few Concealed Weapons, some getting into combat cards, like the new Fleetness, more combat cards, especially defensive cards like Sideslip or Acrobatics, a few Blurs, and you're good to go. Don't forget to lower the average capacity of your crypt though, there is very little reason to include fat Vampires in a gun deck.
Bleeding is also a viable tech for Toreadors, given that they do have a reasonable number of Vampires with both PRESENSE and DOMINATE. And even without the mighty DOMINATE, Aire of Elation is most efficient in the hands of a Toreador. With Celerity now gaining a good number of Stealth, denial or "get around" cards, Toreadors can now actually get their heavy bleeds across - like this - bleed with Fleetness, make it +2 Stealth with Resist Earth's Grasp, preferably with a Vampire that is already enhanced with either +Bleed permanent cards such as Laptop Computer or Heart of the City; if he's still blocked, get around it with Torrent, then Aire of Elation. This dream scenario is potentially a bleed for 6 or more, but is screaming for Archon Investigation.
Value for Money
Good Value for this deck. I'd say it is only second to the Ventrue Starters. It has an Entrancement, 3 Sniper Rifles, 2 Mark V, an Ivory Bow and a Bowl of Convergence, and Vessels, Eagle's Sight and On the Qui Vive is always good to have. And this starter is significantly easier to get than the Ventrue ones.
(o.o)y
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