Vampocalypse

Alakallanar 28

This deck did surprisingly well for me so far. This version went 3-0 in a pre-MWL GNK-event and 3-1 in a post-MWL, pre-Khala Goda SC (Sadly my corp did a bit worse). In ~6-8 test games it lost once.

The general plan is pretty straight forward:

-make money while drawing for Faust, Vamp, Apocalypse

-in the meantime remotes can be threatened with Blackmail, SOT, Deja Vu

-as soon as you have Vamp and Apocalypse in hand and are rich enough, Vamp the corp first click, run r&d, run archives, Apocalypse

-next turn remove the tag (if deemed necessary), play Keyhole and/or Lamprey if possible and have fun with a penniless, iceless corp

Possible problems:

-Architect: Architect on HQ is the reason for the Crescentus. I have encountered zero Architects on HQ so far, but that was partly because the opponents didn't know I was playing Apocalypse and partly because Architect has become much less common due to the MWL. -2 Crescentus, +1 Diesel, +1 Imp is a possibility if one doesn't fear the Architect.

-Crisium or Caprice on HQ: Use Blackmail on HQ to trash unrezzed upgrades. Alternatively go for standard Eater+Keyhole play since most decks will have difficulty defending both with upgrades.

-Turing on HQ: You can still Vamp them, although it takes your whole turn. Sadly spending the three clicks doesn't count as breaking for Crescentus. Your best chance is standard Eater+Keyhole play after the Vamp.

-Chronos Protocol: This ID can snipe your Vamp and Apocalypse. While I won the one game I played against CP, I think this ID is probably the worst matchup for this deck. Which is ok by me, since it's a very rare ID.

-Beanstalk + Scorched Earth can kill you before you can remove the tag. But who plays BABW?

In my experience opponents (at least in their first play against the deck) rarely play Architect or Turing on HQ. More common is Turing on R&D (for fear of Keyhole) or Remote and Architect on R&D. Crisium or Caprice on HQ is more common but quite doable.

Although the main idea is Vamp+Apocalypse the deck can win without the combo. The one test game I lost was against an IG deck because I got tunnel vision and tried too hard to get a credit advantage in order to V+A instead of simply playing Apocalypse alone, trashing the ~15 remote servers and 5 ice (of 7 total in the deck), leaving my opponent with a big pile of cash but nothing to spend it on.

I also tried two different decks with the combo: Geist and Chaos Theory. Geist is nice because he doesn't mind Turing, doesn't need much money for non-vamp stuff and draws a lot. And Muerto Gang Member is nice to trigger just before Apocalypse. But his post-Vampocalypse game is much weaker without Keyhole, Lamprey or Immolation Script. And opponents have an easier time rushing agendas against him. Chaos Theory was interesting. Small deck size means finding everything needed is easier. Bookmark is nice as damage protection and to store a secondary breaker set for post-Apocalypse play. And the look of confusion on your opponents face when you use SMC to search for SMC in order to trash all your other programs is kind of funny. Nevertheless the combo seems to work better out of Valencia.

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