r Platinum Protocol
Highlights
This is a Stealth & Bleed deck using the V5 Ministry r anarchs and their ominous Platinum Protocol to deliver constant strong stealth bleeds, supported by the combo cards Revelation of the Serpent and Enchanting Gaze.
The game plan is very straightforward: get vampires out and bleed your preys to death successively. Party Out Of Bounds is used for bleed defense, and the versatile Form of Mist as both stealth and combat defense. Standard leeching bloat devices Villein and Blood Doll are used to get some pool back and influence more bleeders throughout the game.
Tips & Tricks
This version is unique in its use of the master module. The doubled Bleeding the Vine helps tremendously: it can disable bloat modules based on master cards like Villein, but also completely paralyze a Haqim Royalty deck by denying it access to Haqim's Law: Retribution.
The inclusion of House of Sorrow is a stroke of genius: coupled with Bleeding the Vine it makes all the opponents think twice before they play a Master card even if the vine is locked. But also, it can provide double stealth if needed, both with Opium Den and Anarch Railroad. Because of the strong Master module, trippling Nonu Dis only makes sense.
Field Training allows the mid cap vampires of the crypt (Elisha Tucker, Aluc Romas De Leon and Doctor Morocco) to get access to the juicy superior version of the combo cards Revelation of the Serpent and Enchanting Gaze. It is more often used to provide superior because of Form of Mist, but using it for is not out of the question if more stealth is of no moment.
Since the deck relies on Party Out Of Bounds for defense, the inclusion of Archon Investigation (to keep the opponents on their toes) and Narrow Minds (to hinder more classical bleed defense modules) only makes sense.
Variants
Vivian VI often shows up in the crypt, sometimes twice. The main variation is on the reactions side: including more barons allows for Bait and Switch, which can be better than Party Out Of Bounds, but higher crypt cost otherwise slows the deck a bit. Both can be mixed, of course.
The master module can vary widely. Pentex™ Subversion is often included, but also Carfax Abbey and Temple Hunting Ground. Some have experimented with Cave of Apples to add a dreadful use to all these juicy corruption counters Platinum Protocol pops up.
The inclusion of a view political cards like Eat The Rich and Reckless Agitation in more Barons-heavy decks is also a possibility: it can be backed by Propaganda of the Deed and offer a stronger lunge by calling the votes after a successful Platinum Protocol and an unlock from Dabbler and Crimethinc.. The downside is, obviously, less stability and a harder hand management. Still it is appealing since two top players, Desso Alastor and Karl Schaefer, already ran away with it.
Another variation combines this archetype with The unnamed, see for example Lukáš Simandl's deck for the Austrian Open. It is debatable whether or not the combination is in any way stronger than any of the individual decks, but it does not seem to be inferior either.