v Ventrue Lawfirm
Highlights
This is a vote & bleed deck using Ventrue v Princes.
This deck pushes the Ventrue v advantages to their best: use titles and to vote then to unlock thanks to Freak Drive, and bleed hard with .
The plan is to get the highest capacity vampire out first to be able to play Govern the Unaligned and at superior. You can even do both if you manage to unlock with Freak Drive. Once enough vampires are out, bleed and vote, using Majesty (when blocked) and Freak Drive to unlock and act in between.
On the defence side, the deck uses just a few Deflection. It also includes a couple of Second Tradition: Domain for tactical use and a Carlton Van Wyk just in case. It also has a pair of Entrancement against allies. Parity Shift, Voter Captivation and Vessel can provide a bit of bloat. Against combat, Majesty and Force of Personality provide ample combat ends to keep the vampires safe.
On the offense side, the whole point of the deck is to use the multiple actions offered by Freak Drive, Majesty and Change of Target to overrun the prey's defenses. The idea is to build a strong lunge hand, combining votes and bleed for a tremendous ousting power. Then, when the prey is at its most vulnerable, helped by block denial cards, deliver a maximum of damage in a single turn.
Tweaks and variants
You might want to check the main article for additional ideas and tips. Overall, this deck is pretty close to the Ventrue Grinder, but it forgoes block and combat to focus on forward damage. Anything in the middle is possible, although a clear plan with a strong focus tends to yield better results.
If you got access to legacy cards, replacing a couple of Deflection with Redirection can help you handle cancellation. A couple of Awe could be a nice addition since it combines so well with Voter Captivation. Justicar Retribution is also worth considering if you expect some Inner Circle.
There are a lot of possibilities to adjust this deck depending on the meta and your preferences. Blood Doll could replace the Vessel for a bit more pool gain. Giant's Blood is also common. Papillon could easily be included if you're not too concerned about contesting it. Doubling the Ventrue Headquarters or adding The Palace of Versailles can help against other vote decks. Dark Influences could help, since it can prevent a rogue Direct Intervention to stop your lunge.
The whole modifier module can be adjusted depending on your style and expectations. Bonding is a very common inclusion. More Seduction could fit in, but you might just end up cycling them most of the time. Change of Target is interesting, but could also be cut in favor of something else. Dominate Kine is an option if you expect permanent intercept locations like KRCG News Radio, and combines well with Bonding. All in all, it is a question of synergy: if you go for more pool gain with Blood Doll, you might want to add Papillon too. If you go for a bit of stealth with Bonding, maybe Dominate Kine becomes more interesting and Creepshow Casino could be considered.
The crypt, finally, is a matter of debate. Mary Anne Blaire can be a great inclusion here, and also work as a star for the deck. On the other hand, her high capacity makes the whole deck slower and, since it is built for a strong forward offensive, this can be a huge downside.
What to buy
V5 Ventrue, Keepers of Tradition 2, 25th Anniversary and V5 Toreador. A few additional cards can be traded or found in other bundles like Libertine Ball and Anthology 1.