[Crime/Media] Ali's Pickpockets

[kackman73]

Per Ironclad's request, I'm posting the Damat Ali Pasha/Romani Pickpocket deck that I've been using.

I'm sure that this can be improved, and I look forward to any suggestions that anyone might have.

Agents
5x Romani Pickpocket
4x Dama Rossa
5x Damat Ali Pasha
2x Yusuf Tazim
5x Lanz
1x Ezio Mentor

Actions
4x Ruthless Kidnapping
2x Political Patronage
1x Forced Charity
5x Nimble Thrust
2x Magnetic Personality
3x Mark Target
4x Controlled Arson
4x Bearer of Mixed Tidings
3x Military Brutality

Excuses and whatnot: I only own one Forced Charity. I'd like to own more, but I'm not paying 6k for one card.

General Notes:

I don't use Discreet Calling because I'm generally okay with whatever combination of thieves pops up. With 10 combined Damat/Lanz cards, I'm going to get something that boosts the pickpockets one way or another anyway.

Nimble Thrust has been great vs. Media decks (killing Street Thespians, City Officials, and Shahkulus before they get buffed) and also helps keep Ottoman Gunmen in their place (that is, dead).

Ruthless Kidnappings are there as minor income boosters + they make my pickpockets and Yusuf just as nasty as Damat and Lanz.

Bearer of Mixed Tidings helps with draw power, of course.

Military Brutality gives me the option of using thieves defensively if needed, or simply as a way to restore my thieves after the opponent wipes them via other means.

Ezio's really only there in case the game drags on.

I don't do well against Animus Reboot or History Glitch, but I have yet to make a deck that does well against those that isn't counter-based.

All in all, the deck is kind of fun. It can certainly be beat, and beaten handily in some cases, but if I can get a couple Damat Ali Pashas + any other two thieves down, it gets strong quickly - especially if Lanz is out there as well.

[ironcladtrash]

Thanks for posting. I like the variety and speed in this better than the counter version I was working on. I tweaked a few card counts just because I was fortunate enough to buy 5 Forced Charities a while ago when they were still reasonable. Also what was the point of playing Nimble Thrust over Tactless Theatrics when you use Media? That was the main card I swapped.

I tried it a few times but every time I tried earlier I ran into an annoying Discard Deck with Wrath of the Righteous or (I think you jinxed it) the History Glitch and Animus Reboot decks . I’ll have to try again later and hopefully play against some other kinds of decks to see how it works.

[lurifaxb]

Consider using Altaïr assassin for draw. Works wonders with pickpockets. If you give him threat and pump him up with lanz/Damat he will also be a powerhouse.

Dama rosa is good in almost all decks. Maybe not here. Political patronage is much better (providing you have 5) since speed of getting out your cost 3 thieves (lanz/Damat) is critical. Also you will pretty fast fill out your agents slots at which dama rosa will be useless in hand.

[kackman73]

@ironclad - Nimble Thrust is in there instead of Tactless Theatrics because I'm dumb. I switched in the two TTs that I have, thank you.

@lurifax - Sadly, I only have the two PPs, and those are both contest prizes from these boards. I've been pondering Altair Assassin, and I do have a few so maybe I can pop a couple in there.

Thank you both.

[ironcladtrash]

Lurifaxb makes great points. Although for Altair Assassin, I would try to use some combination of him and Bearer of Mixed Tidings. From my experience in other decks with him I find sometimes I get stuck with my HQ filled with agents and not really wanting to replace any of them to get more draw with Altair. I think the best play would be to fill your HQ with Altair in play and then use Bearer on top of that for massive card advantage. I am thinking about also trying to squeeze in an Underground Maze or two somewhere. I will try to tweak it more with some of those changes and see what I can come up with for card counts.

I don’t have any extra PP’s or Forced Charities but if you need more Tactless Theatrics I have a ton of them, just put 0 offers on them and I will give you however many you need.