April 20th, 2024 Grand Prix in Paris.
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x Ravnos Clown Car

Highlights

This is a swarm deck where Ravnos x use Embraces to proliferate, Consanguineous Boon to bloat and bleed with their swarm for the kill.

The plan is to have a horde of Laibon Ravnos x vampires. Get a vampire out as fast as possible, use Mozambique Allure to become Laibon and unlock, then Embrace. When you get the chance, play a Ravnos Carnival to help you pay for The Embrace. Continue to grow your horde, then call Consanguineous Boon with The Eldest Are Kholo to bloat and recruit even more Ravnos. Once you have enough vampires to kill your prey, start bleeding. Week of Nightmares can help you lunge with style.

The deck is hard to stop because of the high number of +1 stealth actions. Once it is settled with enough vampires, it is virtually unstoppable. A few subtleties deserve a note: rescuing your vampires from torpor might not be necessary - they still count as controlled for the Consanguineous Boon so, if you do not need their votes or actions you can just leave them be. Also note that Mozambique Allure can be used to draw a crypt card if all your vampires are already Laibon. Finally, The Eldest Are Kholo can also be used as a reaction to stop an opponent's vote, but this should be done sparingly: you need it to get your Consanguineous Boon through.

If you get too much attention on a table, especially if your neighbours keep minions unlocked with intercept ready, you can consider taking a static stance and just do nothing for a turn or two. Holding back to block actions that do not come can be very frustrating for them: just waiting it out can give you the opening you need to get the deck rolling.

Tweaks and variants

You might want to check the on this archetype for other variants.

The idea leaves room for interpretation and alternatives. You can, for example, include a few Kine Resources Contested for additional damage so you don't have to rely on the Week of Nightmares so much. You can also have more modifiers to help you get the actions through: more Change of Target can be used and most vampires in the crypt can use k for stealth with Fata Morgana or Mirror Image. City Star Taxi and Strange Day are other possibilities, although they're not in print yet.

If you have access to some legacy cards, consider replacing Life in the City with a pair of Gird Minions. You might also want to include one or two The Uncoiling to deal with problematic events like The Unmasking or Scourge of the Enochians. An Aranthebes or two can also be nice, just to contest it if it gets out. Finally a few Bamba might help reduce the cost of these Embraces and Autarkis Persecution might bring a bit of vote diversity to fight back against Delaying Tactics.

What to buy

Two Libertine Ball and a 25th Anniversary, the rest of the cards can be found on Print on Demand. Ashlesha is, for now, only available as a promo card from the Kickstarter in 2021. But you can replace her by Joaquina Amaya or just an Anarch Convert. Life in the City (V5 Malkavian) and Heart of Nizchetus (Anthology 1) can be traded or just cut out.