w Lasombra Nocturn
Highlights
This is a stealth & bleed deck of the Lasombra w clan, using the disciplines. It uses Govern the Unaligned to get vampires out faster and cheaper in the beginning. When enough minions are into play, it switches to strong bleed actions using for stealth. Nocturn are used to protect its vampires from agression, but also to deliver more bleed in a single turn.
The key is the balance between stealth and bleed amount: not enough stealth and the actions do not get through, too much and the hand will jam on it. Cunning opponents will be able to position themselves depending on their deck: if they have enough intercept, they will try to block every action to exhaust the stealth, while if they have no intercept they will avoid blocking to jam the hand on stealth. The deck includes some cycling devices like Dreams of the Sphinx and The Barrens to avoid this.
Seduction is great block denial, since it can either disable a high-intercept star blocker, or be cycled on just any action if not needed. Shadow Play is the core modifier here, with Shroud of Absence and Shroud of Night as useful additional stealth that costs no blood. Tenebrous Form is great against allies, preventing them to block since they have no blood to pay. Depending on the meta, proportions can be adjusted and Blanket of Night can be added for more denial.
With on top of Govern the Unaligned and Conditioning, the vampires consume blood fast. This means Badr, Shadow of Granada and The Path of Night are very useful since they spare a bit of blood. On top of that, the deck includes various ways of regenerating blood, like Jake Washington – who can also block a dangerous rush action – The Coven, which also hinders rush and grinder decks overall, and of course Giant's Blood. Hunting is not always possible: in case the predator has intercept, they will jump on this undirected action to disable a vampire if they can.
Deflection and Delaying Tactics defend against bleed and votes, and the deck uses only a few Shadow Body for additional combat defense, but also as a deterrent against a predator blocking Nocturn recruitements: this is the only undirected action they can block if they have the means so you might want to avoid losing stealth on that. As a conclusion, Sudden Reversal is there to disable bloat Master cards like Villein or Liquidation on your prey, or permanent intercept like KRCG News Radio.
Tweaks and variants
The Unmasking is a common inclusion in this build, but it is not mandatory. The number of Nocturn can vary widely: in case of a combat-heavy meta, playing 12 or more is not unheard of. Zaire River Ferry is another interesting option, since it provides both stealth and rush protection. Other equipments like Heart of Nizchetus and The Signet of King Saul can find their place here, as well as a Political Hunting Ground. Finally, if you have access to legacy cards, The Admonitions is a good addition or replacement for The Barrens.
The about the archetype presents additional variants.
What to buy
The bulk of the cards come from Print on Demand, the 25th Anniversary and the Parliament of Shadows. Badr, Shadow of Granada is tricky to find in enough copies, but there's one in Anthology 1 and they were 2 in the Danse Macabre Kickstarter bundle, and you can replace him with other vampires from the Parliament of Shadows or include some Anarch Convert for crypt management. Delaying Tactics and Sudden Reversal need to be sourced from other bundles or traded for.
If you have access to legacy cards, Dame Hollerton is a great vampire here and would be a great replacement for Leila Monroe.