{% extends "archetypes/_layout.html" %} {% import "archetypes/_layout-erratum.html" as erratum with context %} {% import "archetypes/old-guard/goratrix-high-tower.json" as deck_json %} {% block meta %} {% endblock %} {% block archetype_name %}
This is a {{ wall }} deck starring {{ goratrix }}: a single vampire manning the whole tower. His superior {{ ANI }} and {{ AUS }} fuel the reaction pile, while {{ THA }} provides stealthy utility actions, and his +1 bleed helps deliver the finishing blow.
The reaction module is enormous, including bleed {{ bounce }} with {{ telepathic_misdirection }} and {{ my_enemy_s_enemy }} and a mass of wake and unlock effects, so {{ goratrix }} is never caught locked. {{ read_the_winds }} is the signature card, buying intercept without locking him down; {{ eyes_of_argus }} and {{ cats_guidance }} keep him blocking round after round, and {{ eagle_s_sight }} lets him police the whole table, blocking key actions even when he is not the target.
{{ goratrix }} needs very little help in combat: his ranged blood theft cannot be prevented and refills him every combat. {{ carrion_crows }} and the {{ murder_of_crows }} retainers pile on damage each round on top of it, with {{ pack_alpha }} deploying a crow mid-combat or converting a spent one into permanent strength. {{ rego_motum }} covers prevention and {{ canine_horde }} answers weapons.
Pool damage comes from permanents the tower defends: {{ smiling_jack_the_anarch }}, {{ army_of_rats }}, {{ constant_revolution }} and {{ creeping_sabotage }}. Removing them means acting into a mountain of intercept and a combat nobody wants. The {{ anarch_convert }} are there to make {{ goratrix }} an Anarch so he can put {{ constant_revolution }} in play himself.
The economy is solid: {{ villein }}, {{ vessel }} and {{ the_rack }} keep the pool flowing, and {{ ashur_tablets }} recycle the deck's many one-of tech cards. {{ the_erciyes_fragments }} adds a little theft from the prey's ash heap on top.
{{ magic_of_the_smith }} fetches the one-of equipment suited to the table context: {{ heart_of_nizchetus }} is almost always first — its card flow is what keeps such a sprawling wall coherent — then {{ bowl_of_convergence }} for intercept, or {{ ivory_bow }}, {{ kevlar_vest }} and {{ ruins_of_ceoris }} to upgrade combat when the crows are not enough.
{{ millicent_smith }} is a poisoned gift: she defects to the predator during the discard phase, and from then on every action they take is a gamble — if the tower blocks, their acting vampire is burned along with her. Against a wall that blocks everything, few predators keep acting at all. Given the number of {{ eagle_s_sight }}, anyone on the table needs {{ goratrix }} permission to act if she is around.
{{ rutor_s_hand }} lets {{ goratrix }} take an action — typically {{ magic_of_the_smith }} — and still unlock to defend. The deck's own {{ pentex_subversion }} is best saved for constest, or for the one blocker standing between the drain permanents and the prey's pool.
The backup crypt keeps the reactions live if {{ goratrix }} gets neutralized: {{ anastasz_di_zagreb }} and {{ omaya }} both sport {{ AUS }} with {{ ani }}, and the {{ animalism }} master can bump Anastasz to superior. {{ wash }} and {{ direct_intervention }} usually deal with the nastiest surprises first, while {{ anarch_convert }} and {{ wider_view }} dig the crypt for the star.
The archetype is remarkably stable and has been winning quietly for years, lately mostly in Brazil. {{ mailton_silva_s_deck }} and {{ mailton_silva_s_earlier_win }} run an almost identical 90 cards: more {{ sense_the_savage_way }} and {{ eagle_s_sight }} in place of {{ read_the_winds }}, all-in on {{ carrion_crows }} instead of the {{ murder_of_crows }} and {{ pack_alpha }} package, and a {{ sniper_rifle }} added to the {{ magic_of_the_smith }} targets. The earlier list also packs an {{ enkil_cog }} to have {{ goratrix }} bleed at the end of the predator's turn.
Older builds leaned on {{ anarch_revolt }} as an additional clock — the Anarch theme is a legacy of that era, now trimmed down to powering {{ constant_revolution }}.
{% endtrans %} {% endblock %}