Post by Static Cat on Sept 12, 2008 2:34:48 GMT -5
Zachary Blaine Profile
By: Cat
5
8 
4 
4 
3 
6 
Persona Power
If you do not play a Special Card during your turn, you ma make one attack you play this turn hidden.
History
Adopted as a child by a family of performers in the court of Frerich Wilhelm. Zachary Blaine spent most of his life dangling from dangerous heights - trapezes, tightropes and Amanda's little finger. Zachary wasn't the first man brought down by Amanda and he certainly won't be the last when they met at the end of the 18th century the each something to teach other Zachary taught Amanda the tricks of the circus trade and Amanda showed him that there were easier ways to make a living than escaping from a locked trunk dangling over boiling oil at petty barons dinner party, together they were an unbeatable pair of thieves.
Their last liaison ended in 1985 when Amanda killed herself and framed Zachary for the murder, escaping in 1993 Zachary went looking for Amanda.
Lady and the Tiger . . . Zachary Blaine's appearance along with Amanda and her trick to give Blaine Duncan's head. Amanda and Zachary worked together in a circus originally called Cirque Mureno as high wire and trapeze artists.
Known Alias: Zachary Blount, Zach Montgomery, born in 1712, Hamburg Germany, his first death was in 1748. Jealous rivals sabotaged his tightrope and his first teacher was the Great Drucilla, Sword Swallower.
Overview
Blaine, the true artist of the high wire a cunning designer of mischief and mayhem, his gem distribution is a little low in the and fields, but he makes up for it in the and the which round him out quite well.
His greatest asset is however to make hidden attacks, after you fetch and or get out his persona specific cards, the rest is quite easy, hidden attacks as well, most of his specific cards allow him to make more hidden attacks.
Master of the hidden attacks anyone!!!
Persona Specific Cards
Acrobat: Play in conjunction with a Dodge. All your attacks you play this turn may be played hidden.
Ambush: Play in place of an attack. You may play up to three Non-Special Attacks from your hand. These attacks may be played Hidden. Dodges will not avoid multiple attacks you play this turn.
. . . And the Tiger: Your opponent must discard a Dodge in order to play a Dodge from their hand.
Combination: You may play an additional attack this turn. This additional attack may be played hidden.
Counter: Duck: Your next attack this turn may be played hidden.
Damascus Blade: You may only include this card in your deck if your using the Sabre Weapon of Choice. Your Hidden attacks do an additional point of damage.
Escape Artist: You do not loose an attack after playing Evade: Escape
Evade: Escape: You loose one attack this turn.
Improvised Weapon: You may play this attack even if you are Disarmed. This attack does 0 damage. This attack cannot be blocked. You may play an additional attack this turn. If this attack is successful, your next attacked cannot be dodged.
Master Thief: 2 Discard any number of cards from your hand. Your opponent must discard an equal number of cards from their hand.
Master's Dodge: 2 If your first attack this turn is Hidden, it cannot be dodged.
Pistol: This attack does one damage. If this attack is successful, name an area on the attack grid (except middle center). Your opponent must discard all defenses from their hand that cover that area.
Steal: Look at your opponent's hand and discard one card found there.
Trip: Remove all Standing Defenses your opponent has in play. Your next attack this turn may be played hidden.
Weapon of Choice
Sabre: If your opponent plays an unsuccessful defense against one of your hidden attacks that is not a power blow, they cannot make an Exertion for a defense to defend that attack. You must discard an attack to play a Non-Basic Attack from your hand.
Granted, the discarding of an attack to play an attack makes you want to make your deck a little heavier on the attacking department, but with the specific attacks of a Sabre make it worthwhile. Especially if you switch it up between the Slashes and the Fleche (personally one of my favorite cards for this weapon)
Fleche: (4)
Attack: This attack cannot be a Power Blow. If this attack is played hidden, it cannot be dodged.
This plays incredibly well to Blaine's ability if he doesn't play a Special card he can play a hidden card - hidden Fleche anyone?
Locations
The Circus: During their May do/Must Do Phase, each player may make a a Soft Exertion for . If successful, they may retrieve one Dodge from their Discard and place it in their hand.
Granted your opponent can do this as well, but Blaine has an advantage of doing this because that's his primary stat, of course if your playing against someone like Amanda who also has as her primary you probably don't want to play this specific card.
How to Win
Blaine as stated before is the master of hidden attacks, after you've played your special cards for Blaine or those that you need to play to make him work for you then you can simply continue to hit him with hidden attacks. Of course your going to want to pack cards in your deck to take out certain situations so that you can continue to play your hidden attacks.
I personally run one Head Shot and a ton of extra attacks so that I can make the Sabre Slash hidden and of course the Fleche hidden, and with the Damascus Blade in play they do an additional point of damage, so 3 instead of 2 can make your opponents deck & life shrink to 0 quicker thus giving you the chance to play your head shot for the win.
How to beat
Anything that keeps Blaine from playing hidden attacks will definitely force his hand to play more cards to try and get rid of your cards that allow you to see his hidden attacks.
If he's forced to play special cards more often and attack, discarding an attack will make Blaine move through his deck at a faster pace than needed thus, forcing him to exhaust more and eventually be ready for his head to leave his shoulders.
Ramirez is one of the best match ups against Blaine because of his Master's Advantage blanking out Blaine's text and of course Jimmy Sang which allows him to see a hidden attack.
If your using cards that allow you to see the hidden attacks will as I said make him cycle through his deck faster and give you a better chance of winning.
Overall
Blaine is tough to beat, if you don't have the deck for it or the cards for it, but he's not impossible, just make sure that your synergy is working before his, because hidden attacks that can't be dodged and slashes that force an entire block, will make you rue the day and eventually force you to lose your head.
Decks
This is my deck that I played at one of our tournaments, the one with which I won. I'll tell you what I have in the deck and explain why I chose those specific cards. The ones that I didn't use either didn't make the cut due to gems or I just didn't find I needed in my specific type of deck building.
Zachary Blaine
Zachary Blaine +1
Sabre: WOC
RIP
( we were not allowed to use any other cards for this event, however, I do use the Grayson Quickening in normal format )
Persona Specific Cards
Counter: Dodge: Duck x5
Evade: Dodge: Escape x5
Master's Dodge: Dodge: x3
Combination: x3
Trip: x3
Master Thief: x2
Damascus Blade: x2
. . . and the Tiger: x2
Sabre Specific Cards
Slash x5
Fleche x3
Riposte: Block x4
Basic Attacks
Thrust (promo)
Upper Center x2
Upper Right x2
Middle Right
Lower Right
Lower Center
Lower Left
Middle Left
Upper Left x2
Basic Blocks
Upper Right
Lower Right
Lower Center
Lower Left
Upper Left
Upper Center (promo)
Generic Cards
Police: Situation
Misfortune
Investigation: Plot
Up and At 'em
Rush
Head Shot x2
Locations
The Circus
-----
61 Cards
Okay, so that was the deck that I used in the tournament the report can be found in the Tournament Report section of this site. As for the reason for not using the maximum number of cards is that I was trying to make the deck leaner than normal so that I could get to the cards that I wanted a little faster. Of course with 20 attacks (meaning I could make 10 attacks in an exhaustion) I had to make everything count.
I also had 23 defenses in my deck, enough to stave off any head shots with the Ripostes as long as it wasn't Duncan's or Kurgans Master Head Shot I was good to go.
The generic cards I only had one of each because they were used as tool box cards for decks that I might have encountered a majority of them never even saw play because they weren't needed and I wanted to make all my attacks count, like I said that's very important.
As for the location, I figured one will suffice, I know people normally play more, as would, but as I said this was a beginning tournament for our new people as well, and it worked out quite well. It wasn't a staple in the deck but the few times that I did get it, it helped against specific people, but I didn't rely on it.
As for some cards which you people are probably wondering why I didn't use, like Acrobat - I didn't have the space for it in that specific color and loosing an attack is fine with me when that gives me a chance to play a special card since I couldn't attack that turn.
As for Ambush, I don't have the attacks to throw out there to waste on 1 attack that could be Master Blocked and the rest of them I just didn't think fit into this type of deck, granted, Improvised Weapon would be fun a deck and wouldn't cause me a discard, but it doesn't really do anything for me because I wouldn't have an attack after it unless I had 2 attacks in my hand (1 to discard for the non-basic) and 1 to play.
Moot, its a good card, just not for this deck.
So there we go Blaine in a nutshell, I hope this works and if so, I will plan on writing other decks for the rest of the characters that I play that haven't already been written up.
Thanks for reading,
Cat
By: Cat
5
8 4 4 3 6 Persona Power
If you do not play a Special Card during your turn, you ma make one attack you play this turn hidden.
History
Adopted as a child by a family of performers in the court of Frerich Wilhelm. Zachary Blaine spent most of his life dangling from dangerous heights - trapezes, tightropes and Amanda's little finger. Zachary wasn't the first man brought down by Amanda and he certainly won't be the last when they met at the end of the 18th century the each something to teach other Zachary taught Amanda the tricks of the circus trade and Amanda showed him that there were easier ways to make a living than escaping from a locked trunk dangling over boiling oil at petty barons dinner party, together they were an unbeatable pair of thieves.
Their last liaison ended in 1985 when Amanda killed herself and framed Zachary for the murder, escaping in 1993 Zachary went looking for Amanda.
Lady and the Tiger . . . Zachary Blaine's appearance along with Amanda and her trick to give Blaine Duncan's head. Amanda and Zachary worked together in a circus originally called Cirque Mureno as high wire and trapeze artists.
Known Alias: Zachary Blount, Zach Montgomery, born in 1712, Hamburg Germany, his first death was in 1748. Jealous rivals sabotaged his tightrope and his first teacher was the Great Drucilla, Sword Swallower.
Overview
Blaine, the true artist of the high wire a cunning designer of mischief and mayhem, his gem distribution is a little low in the
and fields, but he makes up for it in the and the which round him out quite well.His greatest asset is however to make hidden attacks, after you fetch and or get out his persona specific cards, the rest is quite easy, hidden attacks as well, most of his specific cards allow him to make more hidden attacks.
Master of the hidden attacks anyone!!!
Persona Specific Cards
Acrobat:
Play in conjunction with a Dodge. All your attacks you play this turn may be played hidden.Ambush:
Play in place of an attack. You may play up to three Non-Special Attacks from your hand. These attacks may be played Hidden. Dodges will not avoid multiple attacks you play this turn.. . . And the Tiger:
Your opponent must discard a Dodge in order to play a Dodge from their hand.Combination:
You may play an additional attack this turn. This additional attack may be played hidden.Counter: Duck:
Your next attack this turn may be played hidden.Damascus Blade:
You may only include this card in your deck if your using the Sabre Weapon of Choice. Your Hidden attacks do an additional point of damage.Escape Artist:
You do not loose an attack after playing Evade: EscapeEvade: Escape:
You loose one attack this turn.Improvised Weapon:
You may play this attack even if you are Disarmed. This attack does 0 damage. This attack cannot be blocked. You may play an additional attack this turn. If this attack is successful, your next attacked cannot be dodged.Master Thief:
2 Discard any number of cards from your hand. Your opponent must discard an equal number of cards from their hand.Master's Dodge:
2 If your first attack this turn is Hidden, it cannot be dodged.Pistol:
This attack does one damage. If this attack is successful, name an area on the attack grid (except middle center). Your opponent must discard all defenses from their hand that cover that area.Steal:
Look at your opponent's hand and discard one card found there.Trip:
Remove all Standing Defenses your opponent has in play. Your next attack this turn may be played hidden.Weapon of Choice
Sabre: If your opponent plays an unsuccessful defense against one of your hidden attacks that is not a power blow, they cannot make an Exertion for a defense to defend that attack. You must discard an attack to play a Non-Basic Attack from your hand.
Granted, the discarding of an attack to play an attack makes you want to make your deck a little heavier on the attacking department, but with the specific attacks of a Sabre make it worthwhile. Especially if you switch it up between the Slashes and the Fleche (personally one of my favorite cards for this weapon)
Fleche: (4)
Attack: This attack cannot be a Power Blow. If this attack is played hidden, it cannot be dodged.
This plays incredibly well to Blaine's ability if he doesn't play a Special card he can play a hidden card - hidden Fleche anyone?
Locations
The Circus: During their May do/Must Do Phase, each player may make a a Soft Exertion for
. If successful, they may retrieve one Dodge from their Discard and place it in their hand.Granted your opponent can do this as well, but Blaine has an advantage of doing this because that's his primary stat, of course if your playing against someone like Amanda who also has
as her primary you probably don't want to play this specific card.How to Win
Blaine as stated before is the master of hidden attacks, after you've played your special cards for Blaine or those that you need to play to make him work for you then you can simply continue to hit him with hidden attacks. Of course your going to want to pack cards in your deck to take out certain situations so that you can continue to play your hidden attacks.
I personally run one Head Shot and a ton of extra attacks so that I can make the Sabre Slash hidden and of course the Fleche hidden, and with the Damascus Blade in play they do an additional point of damage, so 3 instead of 2 can make your opponents deck & life shrink to 0 quicker thus giving you the chance to play your head shot for the win.
How to beat
Anything that keeps Blaine from playing hidden attacks will definitely force his hand to play more cards to try and get rid of your cards that allow you to see his hidden attacks.
If he's forced to play special cards more often and attack, discarding an attack will make Blaine move through his deck at a faster pace than needed thus, forcing him to exhaust more and eventually be ready for his head to leave his shoulders.
Ramirez is one of the best match ups against Blaine because of his Master's Advantage blanking out Blaine's text and of course Jimmy Sang which allows him to see a hidden attack.
If your using cards that allow you to see the hidden attacks will as I said make him cycle through his deck faster and give you a better chance of winning.
Overall
Blaine is tough to beat, if you don't have the deck for it or the cards for it, but he's not impossible, just make sure that your synergy is working before his, because hidden attacks that can't be dodged and slashes that force an entire block, will make you rue the day and eventually force you to lose your head.
Decks
This is my deck that I played at one of our tournaments, the one with which I won. I'll tell you what I have in the deck and explain why I chose those specific cards. The ones that I didn't use either didn't make the cut due to gems or I just didn't find I needed in my specific type of deck building.
Zachary Blaine
Zachary Blaine +1
Sabre: WOC
RIP
( we were not allowed to use any other cards for this event, however, I do use the Grayson Quickening in normal format )
Persona Specific Cards
Counter: Dodge: Duck x5
Evade: Dodge: Escape x5
Master's Dodge: Dodge: x3
Combination: x3
Trip: x3
Master Thief: x2
Damascus Blade: x2
. . . and the Tiger: x2
Sabre Specific Cards
Slash x5
Fleche x3
Riposte: Block x4
Basic Attacks
Thrust (promo)
Upper Center x2
Upper Right x2
Middle Right
Lower Right
Lower Center
Lower Left
Middle Left
Upper Left x2
Basic Blocks
Upper Right
Lower Right
Lower Center
Lower Left
Upper Left
Upper Center (promo)
Generic Cards
Police: Situation
Misfortune
Investigation: Plot
Up and At 'em
Rush
Head Shot x2
Locations
The Circus
-----
61 Cards
Okay, so that was the deck that I used in the tournament the report can be found in the Tournament Report section of this site. As for the reason for not using the maximum number of cards is that I was trying to make the deck leaner than normal so that I could get to the cards that I wanted a little faster. Of course with 20 attacks (meaning I could make 10 attacks in an exhaustion) I had to make everything count.
I also had 23 defenses in my deck, enough to stave off any head shots with the Ripostes as long as it wasn't Duncan's or Kurgans Master Head Shot I was good to go.
The generic cards I only had one of each because they were used as tool box cards for decks that I might have encountered a majority of them never even saw play because they weren't needed and I wanted to make all my attacks count, like I said that's very important.
As for the location, I figured one will suffice, I know people normally play more, as would, but as I said this was a beginning tournament for our new people as well, and it worked out quite well. It wasn't a staple in the deck but the few times that I did get it, it helped against specific people, but I didn't rely on it.
As for some cards which you people are probably wondering why I didn't use, like Acrobat - I didn't have the space for it in that specific color and loosing an attack is fine with me when that gives me a chance to play a special card since I couldn't attack that turn.
As for Ambush, I don't have the attacks to throw out there to waste on 1 attack that could be Master Blocked and the rest of them I just didn't think fit into this type of deck, granted, Improvised Weapon would be fun a deck and wouldn't cause me a discard, but it doesn't really do anything for me because I wouldn't have an attack after it unless I had 2 attacks in my hand (1 to discard for the non-basic) and 1 to play.
Moot, its a good card, just not for this deck.
So there we go Blaine in a nutshell, I hope this works and if so, I will plan on writing other decks for the rest of the characters that I play that haven't already been written up.
Thanks for reading,
Cat
I need to get them. - Thanks though
. . . thanks