# Blood & Destruction

By: Brad Solberg
June 9, 1997

Original source at Brad's web site .

Suzy Bao (a Hacker with a Demon Within cast on her by an irate eunuch):

> "You guys are so dumb! Why do you let sorcerers order you around? Use earplugs - if you can't hear their orders, you don't have to obey!"

Destroyer:

> "Why didn't we think of that! Thank you so much!"

Cut to the Abyss, with the Destroyer addressing multitudes of minor demons

> "Hey guys, listen to this...."

Bloody Hordes, their Friends and Relatives, and power from the Abyss.

## Blood & Destruction - Core Cards

Feng Shui Sites - 10
4 Cave Network
3 Proving Ground
3 Whirlpool of Blood
Edges - 0
Events - 5
5 Glimpse of the Abyss
States - 0
Characters - 18
4 Lotus Resource Providers (Claw of Fury or 1 fighting)
5 Bloody Horde
4 Walking Corpses
4 Evil Twin
1 Destroyer

Total - 33 cards, can increase deck to 50 with modules.

The core deck for Blood & Destruction revolves around getting out as many Bloody Hordes and their Evil Twins as possible. If the deck goes larger than 50 cards, the impact of the many Hordes is lost. Walking Corpses are used for early hitters and to get full use of the proving grounds. The Destroyer is used as a utility card, to slow comebacks when ahead, and to buy time when behind. Normally 2 Corpses or a Horde and a Reburial are better, so the deck should only have 1 Destroyer.

Using Resource Providers to provide the hitters is very efficient from a card standpoint, but slows the deck down at the beginning. This is the reason for the choice of Feng Shuis. The Cave Networks and Proving grounds speed up the deck enough to make it competitive, and the Whirlpools protect the sites from enemy Whirlpools. The trump card of the deck is the Glimpse of the Abyss. In a normal game, the Glimpse will be available about turn 4-5 and will provide a surge of power that will cause a giant army to appear on the table. When behind the Glimpse can be used for comebacks, but well designed two-player decks can often weather the comeback if they manage to keep the deck down for more than a couple of turns.

Glimpse whenever you can get two power for it, or when even 1 power might allow a key reburial or an extra site to be taken or played.

## Pocket Full of Blood

eM Variant

The Destroyer decides to try his luck in 69AD. He enlists the help of the weakest sorcerers, since his demons tend to be minor and the Sinister Priests are not very loyal to the Eunuchs. He has not told any important demons about earplugs because they provide no protection against other demons, and he wants no other masters.

Destroyer:

> "Join me and you can rule the world without having to become a Eunuch!"

Priest Delegation:

> "You just want us for our magic."

Destroyer:

> "Work with me and I make you wealthy and powerful. Work against me and I tell Kun Kan about Earplugs"

Record: 5-0 in Proving Ground Play, 0-1 vs Architect/Ambush "Friendly"

One of the best overall tunes versus web/net posted decks.

Core Resource Providers - 4
4 Sinister Priest
Other Characters - 5
+1 Sinister Priest (5 total)
4 Kun Kan
Events - 12
2 Inauspicious Reburial
1 Necromantic Conspiracy or +1 Walking Corpse
4 Pocket Demon
2 Curtain of Fullness
1 Scroll of Incantation
2 Discerning Fire

This is probably the most resilient tune, and is one of the fastest. The combination of Pocket Demon and Glimpse can generate a lot of power when behind or lacking in sites. The Kun Kan's are included because Lotus has no good character recycling. They are kind of expensive for the deck, and sometimes the Magic resource is a problem. At about 3 sites burned for victory they become quite cost effective, and are an alternative if for some reason your Bloody Hordes are in your toasted pile.

There are two drawbacks to the deck. It is very vulnerable to Lotus Hosers and is more vulnerable to hand destruction than any deck with Claw of Fury. Against Wind over Heaven bring out Kun Kans and their twins. Hope that the other guy does not Crucible often, since only the Walking Corpses are likely to avoid the Demon designator. This deck replaces some of the Inauspicious Reburials with Curtain of Fullness - it provides some event defense and can be used to deck out people that have small tight decks that get too far ahead.

The lack of any way to recycle Evil Twins and the lack of any defense against burning for power prevents this from being the best tune. It is probably second best, after the Ascended Blood & Destruction tune.

## Bloody Mary

emM Variant

Having gained mastery in 69, the Destroyer tries to cut a deal with the Queen of the Ice Pagoda.

Destroyer:

> "Stick with me your Iciness, and there is no limit to what we can accomplish. If you allow my doppelgangers to duplicate your augustself, our foes will truly tremble"

Queen: ("We?" she thinks to herself, "I should have no trouble controlling a doppelganger of myself - combine my power with an immature mind and you get my brother - not a problem at all.")

> "This alliance could be profitable. If we need more power, we can probably dupe my brother into helping. We must speak further."

Core Resource Providers - 4
4 Sinister Priest
Other Characters - 4
1 King of the Thunder Pagoda
3 Queen of the Ice Pagoda
Events - 13
2 Inauspicious Reburial
1 Necromantic Conspiracy
1 Avenging Thunder
4 Pocket Demon
2 Curtain of Fullness
1 Scroll of Incantation
2 Discerning Fire

Never played in competition. Testing proved it a little worse than the Magic tune, but good against Lotus hosers.

This provides most of the resilience of the Lotus Deck with the biggest hitters in the game. The drawback is that the second faction is very expensive, and a lot of power to risk in one character. The advantage is that the Pocket Demon/Glimpse combination can sometimes provide more power than you can spend, and the Monarchs are a solution. This tune is almost invulnerable to Lotus hosers, but is more vulnerable to zaps and hand destruction, to the point where a good ascended speed deck will beat it often.

This deck might be better without Bloody Hordes, and with more event defense and hand protection. This would represent the Queen dispensing with the Destroyer, but would not be a B&D deck, it would become more like Kings & Things.

## Shield of Pure Blood

ehC Variant

After the Netherworld debacle, the Destroyer attempts to trick the Guiding Hand into assisting his bid to take 1850

Destroyer:

> "You want the Foreign Devils out of China. I can make them leave. We may be demons, but we are Chinese demons, and have no love for the foreigner or his animal masters who are evading their Tao."

Golden Candle Society Spokesman (looking tempted):

> "We can't work with you. Demons will automatically corrupt us."

Destroyer:

> "The Perfect Master disagrees."

Quan Li (sinister sibling of Quan Lo) steps out of the shadows.

> "What the demon says is true. Even demons can understand the need to follow their Tao. Destruction is a part of nature, even as perfection is....(continues philosophy lesson)"

Core Resource Providers - 4
4 Claws of Fury
Other Characters - 4
4 Golden Candle Society
Edges - 2
2 Shield of the Pure Soul
Events - 11
2 Inauspicious Reburial
1 Heat of Battle
2 Confucian Stability
4 Into the Light
1 Wind on the Mountain
1 Violet Meditation

Record: 1-5 in Proving Ground Finals

This deck is better than its Proving Ground record. It was facing decks designed to beat the B&D concept. In testing against other decks it did about as well as the Ascended tune.

This is the most flexible variant, because it can recycle both characters and events. The Confucians should be used to deny comeback events like Pocket Demon or Neutron Bomb. The Shields have a very low opportunity cost and make comebacks much easier. The Hand variant is very similar to the Ascended variant, but costs more - you need to save some power to make this work. The variety of events is because the recycling makes any event in the smoked pile available, and because Shield of the Pure Soul will bring the best event to the top. This variant is light on resource denial partly because resource denial as a tactic was no longer working against the opponents I tuned it to fight. Their decks were mono faction and required only 1 resource to run.

## Blood & Destruction

Original ea Tune

The Destroyer, deciding that he likes secret societies, uses a similar trick on the Ascended in the Contemporary juncture.

Destroyer:

> "Drako says you gotta do an Elvis for my boys outside."

Pledged Flunky:

> "But...they're Demons"

Destroyer:

> "Look. Are YOU going to argue with Drako?"

Core Resource Providers - 4
4 Claws of Fury
Other Characters - 4
3 Pledged
+1 Walking Corpses (5 total)
Events - 13
4 Inauspicious Reburial
4 Tortured Memories
2 Bite of the Jellyfish
4 Faked Death
1 Realpolitik

Record: 6-1 in Proving Ground play, only loss to Earl's B&D (dragon) deck

This tune dominated Bay Area two-player play between October 1996 and February 1997. No one did better than 1 in 3 against it. Testing shows that this tune still loses to current Ambush/Zap and Superior Discard decks. This deck beat an early version of Pitbull in the first round of the Bay Area Proving grounds - Ambush/Zap does not work if it is not very tight and focused.

The original tune. This deck is the best against a wide variety of opposition because it is the only deck with a serious defense against burning for power. (Bite of the Jellyfish). The meta-game means almost every deck will slow down against it, since they don't dare burn for power. If they have Hackers, the combination of reburial and bites will overload them most of the time, especially if you add a Necromantic Conspiracy. People will most often seize sites or burn for victory, which helps the Glimpses. The Faked Deaths mean that the Evil Twins will come out again and again, and that the Proving Grounds will never lack for a character. Realpolitik protects against Wind over Heaven and is an antidote to an early Shadowy Mentor. This is not the fastest or most resilient tune, but it is the best overall tune, especially against an unknown opponent.

## Dragon Horde

ed Variant, created by Earl Miles

The Destroyer decides to contact some of Suzy's friends to see if they will help his efforts.

Destroyer:

> "I got Eunuch problems and could use some help."

Hacker:

> "What's in it for me?"

Destroyer:

> "I'd rather have a Eunuch make me into a Demon than a Demon make me into a Eunuch."

The Destroyer flexes his claws suggestively and grins menacingly:

> "My point exactly!"

Core Resource Providers - 4
4 Claws of Fury
Other Characters - 5
4 Hacker
+1 Walking Corpses (5 total)
Events - 12
4 Inauspicious Reburial
4 Tortured Memories
4 Golden Comebacks or Booby Traps

(these proportions are not exact, they are rough. Earl tinkered with this deck for a while before giving up and making a much better discard deck)

Record: about 4-4 in Proving Ground play.

Testing shows that the slightly slower speed causes a lot of extra losses against non-B&D decks - the wrong site gets burned for power in the first few turns.

This variant is best in an environment where reburial and DE decks are common. It is one of the better tunes against B&D decks because the ability to rebury while being nearly immune is quite powerful. The Vassals are used because the Hackers are expensive, as are the Golden Comebacks, so Glimpsing early is more important. This deck is a little slower than the other tunes, and is more vulnerable to hand destruction and power stealing. These weaknesses can slow it down a lot against Ascended Speed, but the Hackers allow you to burn for power for a comeback.

## Blood In Your Face

ej Variant

After using the Hackers to stem a Eunuch revolt, and using the Ascended to take the Contemporary juncture, the Destroyer thinks about 2056:

Destroyer:

> "Don't you feel guilty about kidnapping poor, innocent demons, torturing them and enslaving them to kill civilians?"

Timewalker:

> "Poor, Innocent...they're DEMONS! They're not innocent!"

Destroyer:

> "We prefer the term 'Supernatural Creature'."

Core Resource Providers - 4
4 Claws of Fury
Other Characters - 5
4 Portal Jockey
+1 Walking Corpses (5 total)
Events - 12
4 Inauspicious Reburial
1 Necromantic Conspiracy
2 Tortured Memories
5 In Your Face Again

Record: 5-2 in Proving Ground Play, 2-2 vs Tank/Zap "Friendly" both Proving Ground losses to Ambush/Zap deck.

Testing shows it weaker than Magic, Ascended or Hand tunes.

This deck is a little too specialized - its recycling is cheap but erratic and all it can really do is bring out characters and try to bury you. The lack of flexibility causes a slightly lower win rate against most decks.

Its saving grace is that it absolutely dominates Ascended Speed. The Mole Networks and Covert Ops will bring out the Claws for free. The Family Estates bring out the Portal Jockeys for free. The reliance on sites of Ascended Speed means that when the army rolls over you there is no coming back.

## Bloody Defeat

ef Variant

The Destroyer's Hordes were gassed, his Twins imprisoned, his Feng Shui sites ambushed and his allies eliminated from history by Arcanowave Researchers. The Architects had no trouble with the Destroyer - earplugs are no defense against Monster Hunter equipment.

1-5 against No Mercy/Pitbull Ambush/Zap Decks

0-2 against Superior Architect Discard Deck

It is perhaps fitting that Architect decks were the bane of B&D, since I have not found a use for the Architects yet. I can get Magic from other factions and have not found an Architect or Tech event that is worth tuning 10 cards into the deck. Neutron Bomb is the only thing that is tempting, but it would get in my way if I was winning, and the two Architect resources required when I am behind would interfere with getting the Lotus resources needed to Glimpse. Ideas are welcome.

This deck created by Brad Solberg and Gretchen Shanrock, as a multiplayer deck. The multiplayer tune is the Ascended tunee, replacing 3 whirlpools with 4 inner sanctums, 3 glimpses with 3 Trade centers, Inauspicious Reburials and Necromantic Conspiracy with 4 Tortured Memories, 4 Operation Killdeers and 1 extra Realpolitik. A Single Family Estate provides extra Ascended resources. Earl Miles inspired the non-ascended tunes, when he created the Dragon Horde deck. The two-player tune is still excellent in general 2-player play, but can be beat by several common, high quality 2-player deck designs. The multiplayer tune is very dangerous in 3 player, but beats itself to death against denial if there are more than 3 players.

This deck was designed just after Flashpoint came out and is still competitive on the eve of Throne War.

After 3 months of Proving Grounds and "Friendly" 2-player games Blood & Destruction has been downgraded from the best deck to one that is merely
competitive. This is because two designs have been found that can beat it reliably - my very high success rate in the general tournaments is due
to the fact that the decks that can beat B&D are vulnerable to some common decks B&D was designed to beat.

This is an analysis of how the B&D deck design has done against various designs since it was created in October. With Throne War upon us I'll be
looking for the next generation deck - which is good since I've done all I can with this design.

B&D will win 70-90% of the time against the following deck designs, and manage comebacks about half the time when it is beaten down:

Stitches variants. Hefferman-style decks. Ascended Speed. Ordinary discard decks (Curtains without recycling - force discard of 15-20 cards
in a game). Gun Decks. Dark Traveler Decks. Cop Decks. Bronze Sentinel Decks (with or without trade centers). Ascended/Architect/Trade Center
decks (similar to the Watts deck). Decks that rely on proving grounds. Decks that have sites that turn and no whirlpools. Hand decks. Jammer decks (believe me, I really tried to make a rocking 2 player Jammer deck).

B&D will win 50-70% of the time against resource denial decks. The main difference is that it can't come back against these decks. These decks
include B&D variants, Spices (Curtains, Burials, Abysmal Absorber & Displaced) and Displacer decks (Displaced, Netherworld Return, In Your Face
Again). A fast start is essential against this type of deck.

B&D is about 50% against Architect Tank decks (Tanks & Zaps). It will almost always lose against Ambush/Zap decks like Pitbull. It will almost
always lose against a superior discarder deck with recycling - a deck that makes you discard 25-30 cards in a normal game.

The vulnerability to discard is because B&D simply can't be larger than 50 cards. Every time I tried to tune more cards in, the deck stopped
flowing smoothly. With ordinary discard decks, I would usually win with about 10 cards left. Earl's new deck pushed past the threshold and was
very resilient - twice in the second game I had him down to no sites and no resources and he had no trouble coming back.

The vulnerability to Ambush/Zap is because B&D attacks and defends almost entirely with characters. If I can't cover my sites with my army, and
my counterattacks are broken up by zaps, B&D never gets going.

So after Throne War I'll be looking for the design that could beat any of the decks that participated in the Bay Area finals - and can still
handle the common decks that B&D dominated all year.

Amusingly enough, the original multiplayer version of this deck won its last two three player games in 5 turns and 6 turns. People around
here haven't had to face a Steamroller deck from me in a while - so I'll keep B&D around for a while to keep them on their toes.

Last modified: September 18, 1997.