p Gangrel Thing
Highlights
This is a Gangrel p Anarch barons wall deck, with Protean as the main discipline. A baron must land early to really switch the wall on, but Thing is the engine: it pulls the crypt into play fast and builds a swarm. Depending on the starting hand, the first influence is either a small capacity vampire to play a Thing, or a baron directly. The plan is to get 5 or more vampires out, using Villein to leech the swarm.
Being a wall, the defensive part is deep: Organized Resistance, Deep Ecology, and Earth Meld to unlock, Raven Spy, Deep Ecology, and Form of the Bat for intercept, plus Bait and Switch to bounce.
Base pressure is plain bleeds from the swarm: a board of ones is a real clock and makes bounces a miserable option. If Club Illusion lands, the power doubles. But the deck has another payload: Revolutionary Council to kill in a single move, which is the reason behind the "Death Star" nickname.
Stealth is tight but effective: Form of Mist and Earth Control, plus the versatile Form of the Bat.
Typical of a wall, the deck brings in many permanents that stack up and continuously support all the important axes of the strategy: stealth, intercept, plus blood and pool regeneration. Also, a solid range of cycling options with Heart of Nizchetus, Dreams of the Sphinx, and Powerbase: Los Angeles.
Tips & Tricks
Garibaldi‑Meucci Museum is incredibly strong here: not only can it fetch back Bait and Switch continuously when facing a strong bleed deck as predator, it can also retrieve Revolutionary Council again and again to swipe a whole table. As a bonus, it provides protection against anarch combat decks.
Versatility is a strong point: many cards fill multiple purposes, and using the right option depending on the table is key. Form of Mist is stealth or defense, Form of the Bat stealth or intercept, Organized Resistance can be stacked if multiple barons are around, Thing can be used to bloat in a pinch, and Revolutionary Council can dispose of a cumbersome location.
This version packs up a few one-copy surprises: Monkey Wrench, Daring the Dawn, and Fee Stake: Seattle for example. Each of them can open a lunge opportunity. Life Boon is a similar wildcard: well timed, it can swing a loss to a win, especially during finals. Direct Intervention is aimed at block denials, but can also swing the game when used at the right inflexion point. Those cards' efficiency depends on the player's ability.
Variants
Eyes of the Wild, Protection Racket and Rewilding are common inclusions this deck forgoes, as are Smiling Jack and Constant Revolution.
The Grinder variant punishes blockers with a more offensive combat — Donnybrook, Claws of the Dead, a Gangrel Revel strength boost — as in Édouard Menneson's deck at the 2024 Iberia GP, or Otso Saariluoma's grinder at Ropecon.
The Council Propaganda variant pushes the votes: Propaganda of the Deed for extra votes, and Consanguineous Boon to bloat, as in Jakub Rypar's swarm at the 2024 Slovak NC.
The Renegade variant adds rush with Renegade Garou, backed by more Villein and Thing to pay for it, like José Roberio Barbosa da Silva's deck at SAC 2024.