Last weekend we gathered once again in Cambridge for what has become one of my favourite traditions: five friends, five decks and a few hours of politics, betrayal and the occasional vampire discovering that walking into combat was, in hindsight, a poor choice. The usual suspects were there (David, Manuel, Cristina, Aaron and myself) but this game came with one important difference. I wanted to give my freshly built Hecata deck its first proper trial. Up until now I had never played a deck that relied heavily on allies, especially stinky zombies, so I had absolutely no idea whether I had designed an effective necromantic engine or simply an expensive way of filling the ash heap. To make things even more interesting, I asked everyone to play as ruthlessly as possible. No friendly reminders, no "oh, you forgot to untap." If I missed a trigger, that was entirely my fault (and during the game, of course I did). It turns out tournament discipline is a lot like learning to ride a bicycle: you remember best after falling off a few times.
The seating ended up as Cristina (Path of Death) > Me (Hecata) > David (Ventrue) > Aaron (Salubri) > Manuel (Path of Caine). I approached the opening turns cautiously. I had never actually faced a Path of Death deck before and wasn't sure how much pressure my predator would generate. Fortunately for me, Cristina had far more urgent problems. Manuel's Brujah antitribu were already knocking on her crypt door, which gave me the breathing room every Hecata secretly dreams about. I quietly held a few Family Gatherings, influenced out my vampires, and slowly started inviting the dead back to work. There is something wonderfully thematic about Family Gatherings. Most families get together for birthdays or Sunday lunch. The Hecata apparently use theirs to recruit zombies. The deck felt surprisingly smooth. Aggressive Corpses, which I initially wasn't entirely convinced about, proved remarkably useful, slowly grinding away at my prey's vampires until they spent more time hunting than actually accomplishing anything. The only thing that disappointed me was the pace of ally recruitment. I had imagined a cemetery overflowing with restless servants by the late game. Instead, it felt more like hiring one ghost at a time through an exceptionally slow human resources department. That is definitely something I want to improve before the next outing.
David, meanwhile, demonstrated once again why elegant Ventrue politics should never be underestimated. His crypt revolved around Lucinde and a collection of titled princes who, thanks to Obfuscate, could slip important political actions through with frustrating consistency. I managed to keep his smaller princes busy by repeatedly throwing zombies at them, forcing them to hunt rather than govern, but Lucinde herself remained completely untouchable. It felt like trying to disrupt a board meeting by arguing with middle management while the CEO calmly continued signing documents upstairs.
Aaron played his now well-travelled Salubri deck and every time I see it, I become a little more convinced that I originally built it with the wrong emphasis. I leaned heavily into combat because, let's be honest, magical swords are difficult to resist. But after watching the deck evolve over several games, I suspect the real strength lies elsewhere. Between multi-actions, solid disciplines and reliable bleed potential, I can easily imagine it becoming far more aggressive outside of combat. Aaron seems perfectly happy regardless. Whether he keeps choosing the deck because he enjoys three-eyed vampires, aggravated damage, or simply proving me wrong every game, I cannot yet say.
Then there was Manuel. At this point I honestly believe he is physically incapable of building a deck that doesn't terrify people in combat. His Path of Caine deck was every bit as brutal as I expected. Hector was particularly memorable, casually threatening aggravated hand strikes that made everyone at the table suddenly reconsider their life choices. Watching Aaron's Salubri survive an encounter with Hector thanks to Fortitude felt less like winning combat and more like surviving a head-on collision with a freight train. Manuel has an uncanny ability to strip blood from opposing vampires with ruthless efficiency and every time I play against one of his decks I leave with a renewed appreciation for not entering combat voluntarily.
Cristina's Path of Death deck also had its own star. Ashur-uballit seemed determined to demonstrate that death is more of a polite suggestion than a permanent condition. He found himself in torpor multiple times during the game, only to crawl back into action again and again. His enormous blood reserve allowed Cristina to perform all sorts of sinister rituals while refusing to stay down. It was like watching the villain in a horror film that keeps getting back up no matter how many times the audience collectively says, "Surely that's the end of him". But Ashur-uballit (just like Palpy) somehow survived!
By the end of the game, David rightfully claimed the victory, having established the strongest position at the table before the timer ran out. As for me, I walked away genuinely pleased with the Hecata experiment. The deck felt thematic, atmospheric, and unlike anything I've played before. It also exposed a few weaknesses, I'd like to recruit allies more consistently and get my undead workforce onto the table a little faster. Every good manager learns something after the first team-building exercise and apparently the Hecata are no exception. The zombies are enthusiastic, the ghosts seem reasonably motivated and with a bit more practice I might even turn them into an efficient department. Human Resources would probably have some concerns, but fortunately the dead rarely file complaints. I shall now return to my sanctuary, consult ancient tomes, rearrange a few corpses and see whether the next version of the deck can make death arrive just a little earlier.
The game never ends, only pauses. I'll see you at the next move.
Custodian Hargrave
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