CLAN NEWSLETTER TZIMSICE, August 2003
Contents: 1. Introduction.
2. Tech.
3. Vampire of the month.
4. Card of the month.
5. Deck of the month.
6. Humor.
7. Conclusion.
Introduction.
Greetings all. I'll keep the pleasentry's brief, but I shall be the new
editor of Clan newsletter Tzimisce at least for a little while, in the hopes
to keep the ball rolling for this glorious and esteemed clan. Oh, and I wont
be boring you with my feeble attempts at Fiction. Ever.
Tech.
It seems that Tzimisce have been getting a fair bit of attention as of late,
both on the NG and in playgroups all around the
world due to their renown of blocking everything and anything. For better or
worse, I will be taking a break from that style
of deck for this issue, and concentrating on other strategy's the Tzimisce
can have success with. So, to begin with, let's
take a little look at the voting scene for the grand old Tzimisce.
Lambach, 10 Cardinal.
Stravinsky, 9 Archbishop.
Meshenka, 8 Priscus.
Sascha Vykos, 8 Priscus.
Violet Tremain, 6 Bishop.
Ok, that's pretty good, though nothing to write home about (hah!). Obviously
they are not as powerful compared to their
fellow Sabbat voting counterparts of multiple Archbishops, Cardinals and
Gratiano from theLasombra (sorry, couldn't help myself). However, the
Lasombra do not have any inherent in-clan disciplines to help them vote, and
the power of Telepathic Vote Counting to snipe out that pesky Arika's
meddling votes is powerful indeed. The Tzimsce also have the follow
'cardinal-in-waitings':
Dragos 7
Little Tailor of Prague 8
Anton 8
Cardinal Benediction is arguably the best title-giving vote in the game, and
despite the capacity limitation, the built in
private audience is very handy indeed. Find a way to pay for all those big
vampires (probably Consaguinous Boon), add combat
defence (use your imagination, we've got CHOICES +++ with Vicissitude), add
intercept or bounce, plenty of vote cards, stir
thoroughly, place in the oven for 3 hours on moderate heat, and remove when
crispy brown on top. So, it is actually quite possible for the Tzimisce to
vote with just the power of Telepathic Vote Counting and titles, however,
for this month's
deck, we will be stepping outside the normal clan disciplines to use the
recent addition of, as Ethan Burrow might put it,
Presence as the Tzimisce's 4th discipline.
So what, you may ask, does the Tzimisce vote deck have over regular
Camarilla voting? First off, we have a strong crypt for
a PRE + VIC deck. 3 vampires with PRE VIC, one of which is a Cardinal, and
another a Priscus. And also, good 'ole Lambach
(the REAL sabbat one, not that one running around with a silly hair cut and
pink eye) has VIC and pre and is a Cardinal, so
all in all we have a great crypt line up with fillers coming from Creamy
Jade, Violet Tremain and even Jost Werner, who
doesn't need VIC so much due to his inherent +1 stealth. Compare this to
some Camarilla stealth-voting counterparts: There
are only 6 Toreador with obf, none if which have it at superior, and only 2
of which are Princes; The Ventrue get it a lot
better with 3 out of 6 vampires with obf having it at Superior, and also
with 3 princes, 1 Justicar and 1 IC member. However,
Suhailah, a prince with OBF, does not have Presence of any kind, making it
very risky to minion tap her unless you are
packing Restorations. Catherine Du Boi, a 5 cap, has niether nessecary
discipline at superior. So this leaves us with a very
high capacity weighted crypt, slowing down your game even if you do negate
the large cost with Minion Tap and other bloaty-
ness.
Oh, we shouldn't leave out the Setites, if we do they'll probably get a bit
narky and tempt one of our Szlachta to join some madi-gras or something.
Anyway, the Setites, while decent at calling Free States Rant, fall down a
little bit (unless they're using fee stakes) because of lack of permanent
votes.
Vampire of the Month:
Velya, The Flayer
9 cap, Tzimisce Cardinal
ANI VIC AUS PRE for
Once each combat, you may discard a card that requires Auspex to give Velya
a press.
Velya is one of the two latest additions to the Tzimisce ranks from the
Anarchs set, further spreading their discipline
choices, while not compromising in-clan strength. Velya belongs in almost
*any* Tzimisce deck, and there are several reasons
why. Obviously he's a stunning vote machine, whether you are mixing your
disciplines and using Presence to back your votes
up or just sniping out hostile voters with Telepathic Vote Counting. He is
brilliant in your stock standard Tzimisce Wall
deck as well, for the simple reason of being able to cycle through your
unwanted AUS intercept cards once you block an
action.
Also, his [for] should be noted. While the thought of recruiting a War
Ghoul, freak driving, then fishing another one out of
your deck with The Summoning is a tasty idea, I haven't really found
something that would make this worth while. However, he
doesn't have to worry about getting sent to torpor when you block a Kiss of
Ra totting Ventrue.
Card of the Month:
Changeling: Action Modifier, Vicissitude
[vic] +1 bleed; after playing this card, you cannot play another action
modifier to further increase the bleed for this
action.
[VIC] +1 stealth.
This card, along with Plasmic Form, allows the Tzimisce to step out of thier
usual 'wall deck skins' (quite literally, you
should see it!), and into something far more comfortable. It is perfect for
a PRE + VIC vote deck, for one particular
combination that mirrors (even mocks) the way you might play a Ventrue vote
deck. Bleed with somebody like The Rose, let them
block you if you can be sure you wont get pounded, Majesty out of there,
then call a vote. If they don't block you, you can
pump the bleed with Changeling. If the bounce you, let your grandprey block
you and majesty out of there. You have now tapped
out your preys blocker, or done pool damage to him. If you call a vote now,
you can stealth past them if they have wakesin
hand with the ever-useful Changeling. The great thing about this combo
compared to Ventrue Vote + Bleed combo's is that Changeling saves you using
up valuable card slots with putting in bleed-only cards in your deck.
The only card that is similar to this is Fata Morgana, and that costs 1
blood. Obviously changeling doesn't just belong in
Tzimisce Vote decks, it belongs in almost any of them. Stealth and/or bleed
is critical to almost any deck, because it helps that 64 million dollar
question "how do I oust my prey?" get answered, albeit in a 'toolboxy' way.
Deck of the Month.
Deck Name: FiendishVote
Created By: Cameron Roberts
Description:
Crypt: (12 cards, Min: 20, Max: 40, Avg: 7.75)
----------------------------------------------
3 Velya for ANI AUS PRE VIC 9, Tzimisce, Cardinal
2 The Rose aus PRE VIC 5, Tzimisce
2 Creamy Jade aus cel PRE vic 5, Toreador antitribu
2 Matteus AUS CEL PRE VIC 10, Toreador Antitribu, Priscus
2 Lambach ANI AUS DOM pre VIC 10, Tzimisce, Cardinal
1 Jost Werner ani AUS PRE 6, Toreador Antitribu
Library: (90 cards)
-------------------
Master (16 cards)
1 Art of Pain, The
1 Dreams of the Sphinx
2 Information Highway
7 Minion Tap
1 Powerbase: Madrid
1 Presence
1 Secure Haven
1 Sudden Reversal
1 Vicissitude
Action Modifier (20 cards)
6 Bewitching Oration
7 Changeling
7 Voter Captivation
Political Action (19 cards)
3 Banishment
1 Crusade: Atlanta
1 Crusade: Chicago
1 Crusade: Detroit
1 Crusade: Houston
1 Disputed Territory
1 Dramatic Upheaval
9 Kine Resources Contested
1 Year of Fortune
Reaction (14 cards)
7 Telepathic Misdirection
7 Wake with Evening's Freshness
Combat (14 cards)
6 Bloodform
8 Majesty
Combo (7 cards)
7 Plasmic Form
Pretty easy really. Bloat as much as possible, always taking 2 pool from a
voter capped vote, even if your vamp is left without much blood. Also, use
the combo of Changeling and Majesty I mentioned in the Card of the Month
section where possible. The only weakness I can see with this deck is that
it's pretty slow unless you are lucky enough to draw an Information Highway
early in the game. However, once you get up and bloating, you should be
alright. In fact, unless you're sitting as prey to a Wall, this deck should
be pretty scary once it can afford a few minions out.
Humor: The Tzimisce take of Monty Python.
"Greetings neonate, I am Velya, your Cardinal."
"Well I didn't vote for you."
"But...but... I am a Cardinal of the land beyond the forest...the
Vivisectionist, the Flayer, the guy with a woman stuck to his back."
"Just 'cause you have some ugly tart stuck to your back does not give you
basis for government!"
"Now listen here, insolent neonate, you had better shut it before I turn
that nose of yours into another appendage!"
"Help! Help! I'm being opressed!"
Conclusion.
I hope you have enjoyed this month's newsletter as much as I have enjoyed
writing it. Next month, I will take a continued look at the Tzimisce doing
things other than being obstructionist and blocking everything. Also,
hopefully starting with next month's newsletter I will add a picture I have
done specifically tailored to the Tzimisce, in replacement for the usual
fanfiction.
If you have any comments, quirky deck ideas, or just gushing praise, drop me
a line at meshenka@eftel.com.au
Cameron Roberts.
Metamorphosis is nigh.