BEWARE THE BEAST - Hunter Newsletter, May 2006 Edition I. BEWARE THE BEAST (Prologue) II. THE HERE AND NOW (Introduction) III. SURVIVAL GUIDE (General tips and strategies) IV. I HAVE HEARD THE MESSAGE (Focus on the Crypt) V. THE HUNTER'S EDGE (Focus on the Virtues) VI. TOOLS OF THE HUNT (Focus on the Library) VII. ON WHOSE SIDE DO YOU STAND? (Mixed crypts) VIII. TAKE BACK THE NIGHT! (Decks) I. BEWARE THE BEAST Francois Loehr let out a sigh as left his office. He'd been hunting for nearly a year now, with the help of one of his guards and (to his eternal chagrin) two of the prisoners. He had nearly gotten used to the idea that monsters were real; he had even begun to get an idea of how they might be classified, what the strengths and weaknesses of various creatures were. He had built up a network of contacts throughout Europe, and many terrible predators had been destroyed. Surely, the price was high in blood and sanity, but he'd almost begun to feel like he and his companions had made a difference. Recently, though, he'd become aware that, despite his best efforts, rots and bruises had apparently infiltrated high positions in both NATO and the European Union. Had they always been there, or had he and his fellows let down their guard? Had the monsters just grown wiser and begun to corrupt those already there instead of trying to get their existing minions in? There was no way he could know for sure. He'd read the postings on hunter-net, but his grasp of English was not very good. Several members had posted about terrible experiences all across the middle east, as if an entire army of fangs and rots had gone to war with one another. The authors often spoke of demonic beings, which the fangs had apparently intended to destroy. From all accounts, they had failed, and the cost to the mortals (and hunters) in the region had been terrible. It was becoming more apparent every day that the problem was spreading - it couldn't be too long before the threat, whatever it was, reached Europe. When he reached his car, the warden noticed a piece of paper tied to the trunk. "A gift, for the coming storm. - A.S." Beneath this was the sign for cooperation and the quote "We also serve who watch and wait." Francois waited to open the trunk until he got home. He'd requested aid on hunter-net, and several Americans had volunteered on hunter-net. He just hoped that the weapons delivered each week would be sufficient to the task ahead. II. THE HERE AND NOW Welcome to the Official V:EKN Hunter Newsletter for May 2006. Nights of Reckoning is tournament legal as of today, so be ready! This month, we're going to look at how we might hunt monsters and live to tell about it. The eternal struggle is a dangerous place for mortals; even those imbued with strange powers. Few if any are powerful enough to stand toe-to-toe with even moderately powerful creatures, so they need all the craftiness they can muster. This month we focus on how to stay alive when facing off against the children of the night. III. SURVIVAL GUIDE "Nothing evens up the odds like a piece. The enemy may be able to change shapes, hide in people's bodies or claw you open, but a bullet makes a statement - and from a distance." - Hunter: The Reckoning Imbued have little trouble slipping by inattentive monsters, but have a hard time generating heavy stealth. Likewise, hunters have easy access to bleed enhancement, but have a much harder time generating heavy bleeds. Because they can't rely on speed to oust their prey, anyone playing an imbued deck has to be prepared to block at least some of their predator's deadlier actions. Put these together and soon you'll come to the conclusion that the imbued will end up in combat a lot, even if they aren't trying to. Imbued are also more fragile than vampires, as they cannot hunt and are incapacitated instantly at zero. While several of their powers and other virtue cards can help them survive and even beat down their opponents, some virtues don't provide much help. Thus, imbued will often need to rely on equipment or disciplineless combat cards for both protection and offense. So how do you keep your imbued alive against the fearsome array of disciplines and other combat options that your opponents' minions will surely marshal against them? One of the simplest forms of defense is controlling the range of combat. Some of the deadliest combat in the game comes from powered-up hand strikes; likewise, many devastating strikes are only playable at short (Entombment) or long (Sewer Lid) range. Simply outmaneuvering your opponent will defend you against the most basic of combat packages. While the imbued have limited options of transient maneuvers (Fake out is the only one they can ride to close range with if desired, and it's not replaceable), there are a host of permanent maneuver options. Among the best of these are those guns which have maneuvers built in. These come with drawbacks, of course - primarily that you become locked into a gun strike once you use that maneuver, leaving you vulnerable to effects like Immortal Grapple or Darkling Trickery. IR Goggles is another good permanent maneuver, but will be quickly burned if you're relying on Smite in your deck. All equipment is vulnerable to strikes and other effects that may burn or steal it. Two imbued come with built-in maneuver capability (Jack Harmon and Peter Rophail), and Imprison (a judgment combat card) stops the opposing monster from maneuvering at all, in addition to stopping presses to continue and making non-S:CE strikes cost an additional blood or life. Imprison [NoR:R] Cardtype: Combat Cost: 2 Conviction Virtue: Judgment Only usable before range is determined. For the remainder of combat, the opposing monster cannot maneuver or press to continue, and strikes other than strikes to end combat cost the opposing monster an additional blood or life. Artist: Brian LeBlanc Another defensive option that's open to all the imbued is damage-prevention. Equipment like Leather Jackets and Flak Jackets can absorb quite a bit of damage over the course of a game, and can be used by nearly any minion. Additionally, Surge (a vengeance power), can prevent up to three points of damage each time around the table, which is often superior to the jackets (though it also supplements them nicely). Memories of Mortality is another way to simply eliminate many ways that vampires can hurt the imbued. Combining damage prevention/reduction with Pulled Fangs can make vampires really think twice about tangling with your minions. Surge [NoR:R] Cardtype: Power Virtue: Vengeance [COMBAT][REACTION] [1 CONVICTION] Put three surge counters on this imbued. This imbued may burn any number of surge counters to prevent that amount of non-aggravated damage. Burn all surge counters on this imbued at the end of the action. Artist: Heather Kreiter Dodges are another good defensive option, especially if you're the blocking minion more often than the acting one in combat. You can't play a dodge if you're already locked into a gun strike or under an Immortal Grapple, however, so this is best paired with some form of range-control. A dodge also fails to protect your minion from any additional strikes played by the opposing minions. Strikes (and other effects) to end combat can be quite potent for the imbued. Flash Grenades leave vampires tapped for a whole turn after combat, and Rotschreck can be useful when a Smite/Crusader Sword/Flamethrower deck runs into trouble. As for the virtues, redemption is king when it comes to ending combat, with both Shame and Abjure. Vision has Foresee as well. Each of these comes with their own disadvantages and costs, but none of them are strikes, so they can be played even under threat of Immortal Grapple. Name: Shame [NoR:C] Cardtype: Power Virtue: Redemption [COMBAT] [2 CONVICTION] Only usable before strikes are chosen. Burn this card. The opposing monster takes an amount of damage equal to his or her strength, then combat ends. Not usable on an infernal minion, a vampire with capacity above 7, nor a vampire who has Memories of Mortality or Humanitas. Artist: Brian LeBlanc Simply including ways to recover your life points can give you a fair advantage over decks with little combat. Vagabond Mystic, Rejuvenate, and Respire all allow you ways to do this, as can many Obeah or Valeren cards like Healing Touch, Panacea, or Rayzeel's Song. Other options, like Bond or Jennie Orne's text, that allow you to pull imbued out of the incapacitated region quickly, are quite good as well. Name: Rejuvenate [NoR:C] Cardtype: Power Virtue: Defence During your untap phase, if this imbued has fewer life than his or her starting amount, he or she gains 1 life. [ACTION] [1 CONVICTION] +1 stealth action. Add 1 blood to a vampire or 1 life to any other ally, not to exceed starting life. Artist: Peter Bergting Finally, many decks out there ignore combat, and even many combat decks aren't prepared for serious hitback. Add to this the fact that vampires can't play Taste of Vitae against allies (nor Fame or Dragonbound, or even Tension in the Ranks without burning the imbued in combat), and sometimes just having a weapon or showing some red in your hand will be enough to convince other players not to tangle with your minions. Great virtue options for hitback include Smite, Inflict, and Cleave. Ammo cards can also increase your punch, especially Caseless Rounds (to date, the only way for the imbued to gain additional strikes). Strike With Convicition is also quite effective when used well. Alternatively, one can simply avoid combat. Cards like Secure Haven, Hide, or Lock can frustrate decks that want rely on combat to destroy IX. I HAVE HEARD THE MESSAGE (Focus on the Crypt) Imbued of the Month: Inez "Nurse216" Villagrande [NoR:U] Cardtype: Imbued Creed: Innocent Group: 4 Life: 3 Virtue: inn When Inez enters play, you may search your library (shuffle afterward) or hand for a power that requires innocence and put it on her. Hellooooooo Nurse! Inez Villagrande comes into play with your choice of powers. Hide, Inspire or even Illuminate could tip the scales in your favor depending on the game state - early in the game, she can grab an Inspire and start helping you pull out additional imbued. If you don't see her until later on, she could find a Hide to supplement Second Sight pseudo-stealth, especially if you already have several imbued with Inspire in play. If she turns up at a time when you're desperate to shore up against a vote deck or other moderate to heavy stealth predator, or just want to block some mandatory hunts without spending your Second Sight, pulling Illuminate by surprise could make a pretty big impact. In a low-intercept environment If you can find a way to put her in and out of play multiple times, she can theoretically gain multiple powers (although she still can't have more than one copy of the same power). Currently, I think this could only happen if she came back into play after being contested, so it's not something you'd plan for. Still, be aware of the implications, so you can take advantage of them if the situation comes up. The Nurse is also the only imbued to have only one virtue, but with her special and the innocence cards available, she's still a nice fit for many imbued decks. Many could include just one copy of her and a single Inspire for her to retrieve from the deck when she enters play. Paying 3 pool for a minion who just takes an action to gain a pool each turn is not terrible compared to the hunting Blood Doll tactic employed by many players - and it doesn't even take a master phase action. She could still employ some of your other tricks just by being an imbued, and Edge Explosion can let her play with some of the more exclusive toys in your deck. X. THE HUNTER'S EDGE (Focus on the Virtues) Virtue of the Month Name: Inspire [NoR:R] Cardtype: Power Virtue: Innocence [ACTION] [1 CONVICTION] +1 stealth action. Add a counter to an imbued in your uncontrolled region or move the conviction you paid for this action from your ash heap to any imbued in play. Artist: Thomas Manning The imbued can often have a hard time bloating. Two of the best pool gain cards, Blood Doll and Minion Tap, only work with vampires. The imbued have other tricks, however. This card parallels Fourth Tradition and Founders of the Ebony Kingdom, though for obviously a lesser effect (one counter instead of three or four). However, it's reusable, has a dual purpose, and is not restricted to "younger" imbued. The cheap imbued can help bring out the others and then devote themselves to pool gain (much like hunting blood dolls in other decks - but with no Master slots devoted to it). In addition to pool/transfer gain, you can transfer conviction cards to other imbued, allowing you to build up one minion with enough fuel to use an expensive power or take on an elder vampire in combat. XI. TOOLS OF THE HUNT (Focus on the Library) Library card of the Month: Name: The Church of Vindicated Faith [NoR:R] Cardtype: Master Cost: 1 pool Master: unique location. Requires a ready imbued. When an imbued successfully performs an action, tap this card to move 1 blood from the blood bank to an imbued in your uncontrolled region. Artist: David Day As Inspire compares to Fourth Tradition, so does The Church of Vindicated Faith compare to Ecoterrorists or Arcane Library. The Church is cheaper, but the counter gained is dependent upon a successful action each turn. The Church is also not creed-specific, which is a mixed blessing. On the one hand, you can tap it to add a counter to an imbued of any creed. On the other hand, if more imbued decks begin see the light of day, it will contest across the creeds as well. XII. ON WHOSE SIDE DO YOU STAND? (Mixed crypts) Traitor of the Month: Name: Alan Sovereign [Promo-20051001] Cardtype: Vampire Clan: Ventrue Level: Advanced Group: 3 Capacity: 6 Discipline: for pre AUS DOM Advanced, Camarilla: While Alan is ready, you may pay some or all of the pool cost of equipping from any investment cards you control. [MERGED] During your master phase, if Alan is ready, you may move a counter from any investment card to your pool. Artist: Leif Jones Alan Sovereign has a great asset to the Ventrue and loyal to the Camarilla during the recent storylines, but since Nergal's recent victories he may be willing to seek alternative means to end the infernal threat. His ability to finance equipment directly from investment essentially cuts the cost of those cards in half. With the Angel of Berlin offering an opportunity to equip without an action and Vast Wealth or Moise Kasavubu to find them out of your library, several of your imbued can be quickly armed with potent weapons at minimal cost. Alan's merged abiliy also helps you to gain pool directly from the investments, and his basic text adds an extra counter to each one, allowing you to gain even more power for your pool. Combining him with Wall Street Night turns Secret Horde into a potent bloat tool. Alan can also play Deflection and Conditioning, as well as Telepathic Misdirection and a variety of other cards to further your strategy. He can commit diablerie, burn Smiling Jack, and prevent you from losing 5 pool when Ancient Influence is called. All in all he works wonderfully well with the imbued. XIII. TAKE BACK THE NIGHT! (Decks) Decks of the Month: Deck Name: Hello Nurse! Description: Heavy bloat and weenie swarm with Donate for heavy hitting. Crypt [12] ------------------ 2x Travis "Traveler72" Miller 4 mar def Martyr:4 2x Jennie "Cassie247" Orne 5 inn jud vsn Visionary:4 2x Inez "Nurse216" Villagrande 3 inn Innocent:4 1x Liz "Ticket312" Thornton 2 inn red Innocent:4 1x Leaf "Potter116" Pankowski 4 inn red vsn Redeemer:4 1x Xian "DziDzat155" Quan 4 def inn Defender:4 1x Maman Boumba 4 inn mar Martyr:4 1x Earl "Shaka74" Deams 6 jud mar vsn Visionary:6 1x Pedro Cortez 4 mar ven Avenger:4 Library [90] -------------------- Conviction (18) React With Conviction x6 Strike With Conviction x6 Second Sight x6 Masters (18) 4x Angel of Berlin 4x Effective Management 2x The Church of Vindicated Faith 2x The Barrens 2x Information Highway 1x Vox Domini 1x Secure Haven 1x The Rose Foundation 1x Unity Events (5) 2x Edge Explosion 1x Nightmares Upon Nightmares 1x Torpid Blood 1x The New Inquisition Powers (28) 16x Donate 2x Illuminate 6x Inspire 1x Project 3x Hide Ally (4) 1x Carlton Van Wyk (Hunter) 1x Vagabond Mystic 1x Moise Kasavubu 1x Wendell Delburton (Hunter) Equipment (4) 1x The Crusader Sword 1x Meat Cleaver 1x Laptop Computer 1x Orb of Ulain Action (2) 1x Arson 1x Bond Combat (6) 2x Fake Out 2x Inflict 2x Boxed In Reaction (5) 4x Determine 1x Poison Pill Decks of the Month: Deck Name: Weapons Cache Description: Alan Sovereign supplies the imbued. Crypt [12] ------------------ 2x Travis "Traveler72" Miller 4 mar def Martyr:4 2x Jack "Hannibal137" Harmon 4 def jud Defender:4 2x Francois "Warden" Loehr 3 def jud Judge:4 1x Marion "Teacher193" Perks 4 red jud Redeemer:4 1x John "Cop90" O'Malley 4 jud ven Avenger:4 4x Alan Sovereign (Adv) 6 for pre AUS DOM Ventrue:3 Library [90] -------------------- Masters (17) 6x Secret Horde 6x Angel of Berlin 2x Illegal Search and Seizure 2x Church of Vindicated Faith 1x Blood Doll Conviction (16) 4x React With Conviction 6x Strike With Conviction 6x Second Sight Event (8) 3x Dragonbound 3x Edge Explosion 1x The Unmasking 1x Torpid Blood Power (14) 2x Champion 4x Rejuvenate 4x Vigilance 4x Discern Equipment (9) 2x Leather Jacket 4x Assault Rifle 2x Submachine Gun 1x Crusader Sword Ally (4) 3x Moise Kasavubu 1x Political Ally Action (8) 2x Arson 3x Bum's Rush 3x Ambush Combat (9) 3x Imprison 2x Boxed In 2x High Ground 2z Caseless Rounds Action Modifier (1) 1x Conditioning Reaction (4) 2x Deflection 1x Poison Pill 1x Delaying Tactics Thanks for reading! Witness1 -ItE