[Ranked] Vampire Smash!

Hey everyone! So I've posted some decks in the past, and the running theme is that I'll never not run vampires. "Vampire Evolution" got me to high 1400s, and I broke 1600 on the Vulcan maps running a warrior instead of a wizard. That was a peak, though, and I fell a bit—in part, I think, because I switched from using Bejeweled Shortsword and Rageblood Dagger on my warrior to running two Flashing Longspears. Anyway, I got really depressed and tilted about my deckbuilding and play skill and started playing a lot less. Then Stexe's tournament happened, and I had to produce a singleton version of my ranked party.

After the tournament, I wanted to play more with Healing Hand Mace—an item I'd equipped for the tournament, and didn't expect to like much—so I embraced a truly all-in version of my vampire. He is accompanied by a human frenzybot who doesn't know about nimbus and an elf warrior whom I ran in the tournament for style points. Not sure if the warrior should be a human; Escapist is fun and I've won a surprising number of games against wizards thanks to the racial Dash. This version of the party has me back above 1600. I find it difficult but fun to pilot. YMMV.

I've talked about the deckbuilding fundamentals behind my frenzybot and vampire before, and I think the warrior is pretty standard, so I'm not going to go on too long about my decisions. Basically, traits, consistency, pass a lot, get in for massive damage. My build was weak against warriors so I swapped in the Black Cat Buckler instead of Slippery Shield. Still on the fence about that one but whatever.

Behold, Vampire Smash!

SRC_Dink Smallwood
Level 20 Human Priest

St. Olf's Fiery Pike​

Whiteglow Flail​

Mail Of Succor​

Streaked Shield​

Goat Boots​

Shuddering Relic​

Bleneth's Skull​

Shuddering Relic​

Perfect Command​

Focused Piety​

​

2 x Vulnerable​

1 x Impenetrable Nimbus​

2 x Fiery Stab​

2 x Nimble Strike​

1 x Barge​

3 x Altruism​

1 x Run, Team!​

1 x Weakened Armor​

1 x Dangerous Maneuver​

2 x Enervating Touch​

2 x Stab​

1 x Hit The Deck​

1 x Flanking Move​

1 x Fright​

1 x Boosted Heal​

1 x Immovable​

7 x Mass Frenzy​

1 x Dynamic Armor​

1 x Martyr Blessing​

1 x Lifesaving Block​

1 x Dash, Team!​

2 x Help The Weak​

​

SRC_Earmuff
Level 20 Elf Priest

Vampire's Blade​

Healing Hand Mace​

Angel's Strapping​

Black Cat Buckler​

Black Iron Boots​

Wuuna's Vampiric Shroud​

Flax's Thirsty Vial​

Wuuna's Vampiric Shroud​

Escapist​

Focused Healer​

​

1 x Elvish Insight​

1 x Draining Touch​

1 x Enchanted Harness​

3 x Talented Healer​

4 x Consuming Touch​

3 x Spear Of Darkness​

1 x Walk​

1 x Shredding Strike​

1 x Heavy Armor​

2 x Mighty Bludgeon​

3 x Enervating Touch​

1 x Quick Run​

3 x Parry​

1 x Immovable​

3 x Team Heal​

1 x Hardy Mail​

1 x Slippery​

1 x Lifesaving Block​

2 x Invigorating Touch​

2 x Loner​

​

SRC_Grace
Level 20 Elf Warrior

Infused Greatclub​

Nifty Halberd​

Bejeweled Shortsword​

Dependable Mail​

Slippery Shield​

Crusty Helm​

Black Iron Boots​

Escapist​

Savvy Attacker​

​

3 x Hard To Pin Down​

2 x Reliable Mail​

2 x Nimble Strike​

3 x Weak Chop​

1 x Team Run​

2 x Obliterating Bludgeon​

1 x Trained Bludgeon​

1 x Elvish Insight​

3 x Bludgeon​

1 x Powerful Bludgeon​

1 x Able Bludgeon​

2 x Mail​

1 x Impaler​

2 x Vicious Thrust​

1 x Quick Run​

1 x Obvious Maneuver​

1 x Immovable​

2 x Hardy Mail​

1 x Slippery​

3 x Powerful Hack​

1 x Slicer​

1 x Walk​

​

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Hey flax, I'm just curious how you feel about the current number of drain attacks in the vamp's deck. I counted 13 out of an effective 29 cards. Do you have enough? Would running double leadership help? It may not be a good idea to have both slowed and Heavy Armor in the same deck, though. Is Perfect Command movement overkill with elves? Are there other options for the priest's Human Skill? Would substituting a Gray Blade be a bad idea since I don't have a Healing Hand Mace?

 

Hi!

I count it as 13 out of 24 because Parry, Elvish Insight, and Lifesaving Block are all deck-thinners. The blocks aren't quite guaranteed to thin your deck, but most of the time they don't actually occupy a draw since they come and go quickly (and get card advantage in the process). So for starters, 13 out of 24 is a much better ratio than 13 out of 29. And then the other thing is that I've found that Mighty Bludgeons (often effectively Obliterating Bludgeons thanks to Mass Frenzy) and Shredding Strike are very good attacks to have. If you want more drains, try trading the Healing Hand Mace for a second Vampire's Blade. I've tested both and they're both fun; this version of Earmuff is a bit more durable and better at getting the rest of the party back into the game from a disadvantageous position. Also, Team Heal triggers Talented Healer, which is another nice trick.

There is no way to get Leadership into a party without making humongous sacrifices that I am not willing to make. Also, I rarely have cards I want to cycle on my vampire, which reduces the value of Leadership.

In a word, no. It is the best human skill in the game in my opinion, and elves' dash doesn't diminish that. The fact that you get two friendly no-line-of-sight, no-maximum-range winds of war PLUS a move card that can steal priority, all on one card, is huge. Push effects are great for overcoming frost, and moving multiple guys at once sets up fantastic forks. I don't think this item is at all overrated; I can't recommend it highly enough.

Novice Command is never bad, and it would free up a token to let you use Sticky Slippers or a better shield.

Do you like drawing Demonic Miasma? If so, by all means... but I'd rather use a Lifesuck Spear, a second Vampire's Blade, or St. Portia's Maul if you're lucky enough to have that.

I hope my answers are helpful

 

Thanks. Tried it with Glinting Eye Hammer instead of the healing hand mace. Biggest weakness seems to be to decks with lots of parries. I played against one 3DC (1300 rating) and won.

I used the strategy of passing a lot, then picking a unit low on cards and ganging up on it. That worked ok until I ran into two dwarf warriors packing O. bludgeon and mass frenzy. They made short work of the elves.

 

Parry is really rough on the deck, yes. Dodge also hurts. I hope you find a better weapon than Glinting Eye Hammer soon, that Raging Strike is really killer. Either way though, congratulations on your performance with the build. Keep it up!

 

Thanks Flaxitative! I used Huetotls firebrand instead of fiery pike it worked well. Also i am trying to post an item for aloyzos arsenal but i dont know how. Please help