One of the few decks in my collection that did not come from net-decking, and frankly, it wasn't really functioning that well until lately. The Air Rock deck was the 3rd deck that I've made myself, and in the early days of my life as a Methuselah it brought me great pleasure in pounding my enemies into pulp - when it worked. The Air Rock today is much more efficient than before, no longer relying on my predator being either inactive, or slow, in order to survive and build up enough Razor Bats to defend my haven. This deck started off as a combat-wall deck, but has since evolved into a more aggressive breed-beat-block deck with an eye for a much more tool-boxy approach to the game.
Primary Path of Ousting
Curiously enough, I didn't expect this deck to oust that often with ghetto bleeding. I was expecting to beat my way through to the VP, intimidating my opponents with the incredible reputation of the Gargoyles. But in most of the games that I've played with this deck, the Hatchlings were the ones who caused the most damage to my prey's pool when the way was cleared by the older Gargoyles. Heck, sometimes they did it themselves, swarming their way through with those sweet little wings, or just tearing the defenders apart with their cute little talons.
Secondary Path of Ousting
Combat works pretty well most of the time. There are precious few combat decks in my environment that can handle a Gargoyle combat that is more or less set up. With Stone Dogs and Dive Bombs I can repeatedly pound on the enemies' door until they yield. With Fame and Dragonbound I can cause enough damage to the opponent if he gives me half the chance. With so many little minions around, and with Raking Talons potentially sending my enemy into torpor with zero blood loss to them, it opens the way for me to forced rescue his torpored vampires and then repeat the Famous torpor scene on TV all over again to cause my prey to lose 3 pool for Fame again and again.
Crypt
Ferox is the key vampire in this deck, and I always try to merge him as soon as I can. Failing that, the advanced version is usually more valuable than the basic form unless my prey happens to be a Nosferatu. Merging Ferox gives him a +1 Intercept against (D) actions, which is invaluable in the early defense of your pool. The TupDogs are there only to provide early defense as well as thin out the deck so I can get the right vampires out as soon as possible with minimal loss of time. Combine with the 5 Wider Views that I played in this deck, I almost never had any issue with getting all the vampires that I need. Though the TupDogs cannot do anything to directly hurt your opponents, they're great ways of deterring attacks, and very often, simply Voicing the Castle is worth the pool that you spent to get him on the table - if he successfully blocked and send an enemy to torpor then I'm really in luck! Erinyi and Fidus are great early vampires to bring out, providing early actions to quickly get more Hatchlings onto table. Fidus excel at this role - being a slave his whole purpose in the game is to hatch Hatchlings and hunt all the time when he can afford it. I use him almost every game as my Vessel, and try to keep him out of trouble. Erinyi very often is the first vampire that I influence, I use her for Hatchlings when able, and for some early defense or even making her my Vessel. Obsidian is almost always the last vampire that I influence. So when he's on the table I'm usually in a great shape.
Combat
The Gargoyles excel in combat. In this deck I rely on Raking Talons and damage prevention to fight. I have some Immortal Grapples to handle combat ends, but generally prefer to just wear my opponent down with repeated Stone Dog attacks. Once I have Razor Bats and Stone Dogs on Ferox, I can cause a lot of damage even without playing a single card. Armor of Terra and Guardian Angel does wonders for Ferox. If he had them on he became a combat monster all by himself. If I manage to slap the single Preternatural Strength on him then he is almost unbeatable under normal circumstances. Roll and Pounce provide punch for even the lowliest Hatchling, so I let them gain Flight when I expect problems from the opponents. This is not always necessary though, sometimes the risk of facing a Raking Talon is enough for my prey to ignore most if not all of the Hatchling's bleeds for one. It adds up after a while and eventually he has to face my Hatchling's talons. Roll deserves special mentioning as it is probably the most efficient maneuver card in the whole world, and it has caused much pain to my enemies. Weapon decks can be a pain if they have many maneuvers, but with Roll I will force them to use it and hopefully deplete their supply before my blood runs out. Sometimes my Brick by Brick will set the range to short and Immortal Grapple them to get rid of that one or two pesky fellow when necessary.
Defense
The deck blocks pretty well. Once I have even a single Razor Bat on Ferox my predator usually sit down and think about it when he take any (D) actions against me. This deck is prone to Seduction-style attacks, and if able I'll always put another Razor Bat on another vampire with Flight, and just block and go to long if I need to. Intercepts are alright with this deck once it's set up. Before that, use Voice of the Castle to reduce bleed or increase Intercepts, but rush backwards with your minions if necessary to reduce the danger. Gargoyles really don't like pool, so I have to defend every single drop aggressively since they burn through them like nobody's business.
Pool Recovery
I spent long nights pondering how to maintain the health insurance on this deck. Spending on experiments on Stone Dongs and Razor Bats are high, and the Gargoyles needed the blood on them to fight. I find that the Wider Views actually did keep me reasonably healthy, and when I'm able to defend the Powerbase Montreal, and my Vessels come out early, I'm pretty ok. Once any of these are in place and my defense is set up, this deck can defend it's pool quite effectively.
Surprise Element
The Army of Rats is an interesting attack, though only Ferox can do it. It is actually pretty good in attracting the prey's backward actions for me to block, and if he doesn't, the Rats will thin down his pool bit by bit. The Codex is a deadly weapon - the moment it hits the table and untaps with As the Crow, and the prey happens to not have an untapped ready minion (which is very common), I can hurt him for 4 pool immediately. Even without that minion actually bleeding, it forced the prey to rethink his blocking strategy and very often cause him much pain as he declines bleed after bleeds. If he has a ready minion, well, this is a combat deck afterall.
Known Weaknesses
Stuff like Seduction and Elder Impersonation that ignore intercepts are dangerous, since I rely pretty much on Ferox for defense. Reducing bleed with Voice can only go so far. The way I handle that is usually to rush backwards, but that may not be enough against weenie power bleeds. Rotschreck beats my combat during my turn, and unpreventable damages is a big issue. Shattering Crescendoes, for example, even the Assamite can cause enough damage to Ferox if they were given the chance. Sniper Rifle No Secrets can block and kill off my Hatchlings and Razor Bats, so I'll try to block them early. Zero vote defense. So if I can't block it, I'm doomed.
Playing the deck
This deck is slow. Relying on the prey to do some damage to the grand-prey is usually a good idea. Get as many Hatchlings onto the table, and start replenishing pool to get more minions and toys. Backward rush to reduce the threat of the predator and tell him to stop pestering me, failing that, pound his minion pool down to reduce the damage that he can cause, but never remove his defensive capability totally - if you have to take some damage so be it. Fight with damage prevention in mind, never use Ferox to take the last action unless there is no other option. This deck is afraid of Rotschreck, and if I lose Ferox I lose the game. One more thing, Ferox loves the Rack.
Air RockPrimary Path of Ousting
Curiously enough, I didn't expect this deck to oust that often with ghetto bleeding. I was expecting to beat my way through to the VP, intimidating my opponents with the incredible reputation of the Gargoyles. But in most of the games that I've played with this deck, the Hatchlings were the ones who caused the most damage to my prey's pool when the way was cleared by the older Gargoyles. Heck, sometimes they did it themselves, swarming their way through with those sweet little wings, or just tearing the defenders apart with their cute little talons.
Secondary Path of Ousting
Combat works pretty well most of the time. There are precious few combat decks in my environment that can handle a Gargoyle combat that is more or less set up. With Stone Dogs and Dive Bombs I can repeatedly pound on the enemies' door until they yield. With Fame and Dragonbound I can cause enough damage to the opponent if he gives me half the chance. With so many little minions around, and with Raking Talons potentially sending my enemy into torpor with zero blood loss to them, it opens the way for me to forced rescue his torpored vampires and then repeat the Famous torpor scene on TV all over again to cause my prey to lose 3 pool for Fame again and again.
Crypt
Ferox is the key vampire in this deck, and I always try to merge him as soon as I can. Failing that, the advanced version is usually more valuable than the basic form unless my prey happens to be a Nosferatu. Merging Ferox gives him a +1 Intercept against (D) actions, which is invaluable in the early defense of your pool. The TupDogs are there only to provide early defense as well as thin out the deck so I can get the right vampires out as soon as possible with minimal loss of time. Combine with the 5 Wider Views that I played in this deck, I almost never had any issue with getting all the vampires that I need. Though the TupDogs cannot do anything to directly hurt your opponents, they're great ways of deterring attacks, and very often, simply Voicing the Castle is worth the pool that you spent to get him on the table - if he successfully blocked and send an enemy to torpor then I'm really in luck! Erinyi and Fidus are great early vampires to bring out, providing early actions to quickly get more Hatchlings onto table. Fidus excel at this role - being a slave his whole purpose in the game is to hatch Hatchlings and hunt all the time when he can afford it. I use him almost every game as my Vessel, and try to keep him out of trouble. Erinyi very often is the first vampire that I influence, I use her for Hatchlings when able, and for some early defense or even making her my Vessel. Obsidian is almost always the last vampire that I influence. So when he's on the table I'm usually in a great shape.
Combat
The Gargoyles excel in combat. In this deck I rely on Raking Talons and damage prevention to fight. I have some Immortal Grapples to handle combat ends, but generally prefer to just wear my opponent down with repeated Stone Dog attacks. Once I have Razor Bats and Stone Dogs on Ferox, I can cause a lot of damage even without playing a single card. Armor of Terra and Guardian Angel does wonders for Ferox. If he had them on he became a combat monster all by himself. If I manage to slap the single Preternatural Strength on him then he is almost unbeatable under normal circumstances. Roll and Pounce provide punch for even the lowliest Hatchling, so I let them gain Flight when I expect problems from the opponents. This is not always necessary though, sometimes the risk of facing a Raking Talon is enough for my prey to ignore most if not all of the Hatchling's bleeds for one. It adds up after a while and eventually he has to face my Hatchling's talons. Roll deserves special mentioning as it is probably the most efficient maneuver card in the whole world, and it has caused much pain to my enemies. Weapon decks can be a pain if they have many maneuvers, but with Roll I will force them to use it and hopefully deplete their supply before my blood runs out. Sometimes my Brick by Brick will set the range to short and Immortal Grapple them to get rid of that one or two pesky fellow when necessary.
Defense
The deck blocks pretty well. Once I have even a single Razor Bat on Ferox my predator usually sit down and think about it when he take any (D) actions against me. This deck is prone to Seduction-style attacks, and if able I'll always put another Razor Bat on another vampire with Flight, and just block and go to long if I need to. Intercepts are alright with this deck once it's set up. Before that, use Voice of the Castle to reduce bleed or increase Intercepts, but rush backwards with your minions if necessary to reduce the danger. Gargoyles really don't like pool, so I have to defend every single drop aggressively since they burn through them like nobody's business.
Pool Recovery
I spent long nights pondering how to maintain the health insurance on this deck. Spending on experiments on Stone Dongs and Razor Bats are high, and the Gargoyles needed the blood on them to fight. I find that the Wider Views actually did keep me reasonably healthy, and when I'm able to defend the Powerbase Montreal, and my Vessels come out early, I'm pretty ok. Once any of these are in place and my defense is set up, this deck can defend it's pool quite effectively.
Surprise Element
The Army of Rats is an interesting attack, though only Ferox can do it. It is actually pretty good in attracting the prey's backward actions for me to block, and if he doesn't, the Rats will thin down his pool bit by bit. The Codex is a deadly weapon - the moment it hits the table and untaps with As the Crow, and the prey happens to not have an untapped ready minion (which is very common), I can hurt him for 4 pool immediately. Even without that minion actually bleeding, it forced the prey to rethink his blocking strategy and very often cause him much pain as he declines bleed after bleeds. If he has a ready minion, well, this is a combat deck afterall.
Known Weaknesses
Stuff like Seduction and Elder Impersonation that ignore intercepts are dangerous, since I rely pretty much on Ferox for defense. Reducing bleed with Voice can only go so far. The way I handle that is usually to rush backwards, but that may not be enough against weenie power bleeds. Rotschreck beats my combat during my turn, and unpreventable damages is a big issue. Shattering Crescendoes, for example, even the Assamite can cause enough damage to Ferox if they were given the chance. Sniper Rifle No Secrets can block and kill off my Hatchlings and Razor Bats, so I'll try to block them early. Zero vote defense. So if I can't block it, I'm doomed.
Playing the deck
This deck is slow. Relying on the prey to do some damage to the grand-prey is usually a good idea. Get as many Hatchlings onto the table, and start replenishing pool to get more minions and toys. Backward rush to reduce the threat of the predator and tell him to stop pestering me, failing that, pound his minion pool down to reduce the damage that he can cause, but never remove his defensive capability totally - if you have to take some damage so be it. Fight with damage prevention in mind, never use Ferox to take the last action unless there is no other option. This deck is afraid of Rotschreck, and if I lose Ferox I lose the game. One more thing, Ferox loves the Rack.
Type : Toolbox
Crypt [12 vampires] ------------------------------------------------------------
4x Tupdog
2x Ferox, The Rock Lord
3x Ferox, The Rock Lord [Adv]
1x Obsidian 1x Fidus, The Shrunken Beast
1x Erinyi
Library
[90 cards] ------------------------------------------------------------
Action [18]
1x Aranthebes, The Immortal
2x Armor of Terra
1x Army of Rats
4x Dive Bomb
8x Hatchling
1x Preternatural Strength
1x Sanguine Instruction
Action Modifier [9]
7x As the Crow
1x Freak Drive
1x Skin of the Chameleon
Combat [23]
2x Brick by Brick
1x Disarm
3x Immortal Grapple
2x Pounce
7x Raking Talons
2x Roll
1x Rolling with the Punches
5x Stonestrength
Equipment [2]
1x Codex of the Edenic Groundskeepers
1x Heart of Nizchetus
Event [1]
1x Dragonbound
Master [19]
1x Dreams of the Sphinx
2x Fame
1x Guardian Angel
2x Perfectionist
1x Powerbase: Montreal
1x Rack, The
1x Tribute to the Master
4x Vessel
1x Visit from the Capuchin
5x Wider View
Reaction [11]
2x Forced Awakening
4x On the Qui Vive
5x Voices of the Castle
Retainer [7]
4x Razor Bat
3x Stone Dog
(o.o)
No comments:
Post a Comment