Ahrimanes Newsletter #15 28.07.06 ==================================================== [ AHRIMANES NEWSLETTER ] ==================================================== 1.0 - Editorial 1.1 Word From the Editor 1.2 Next Issue 2.0 - Concepts 2.1 Crypt Card Focus 2.2 Library Card Focus 3.0 - Deck 3.1 Ahrimane Laibon 3.2 Sign Off --[1.1 - Word from the Editor]---------------------- Finally I have managed to include something on the Laibon! I think they have been a little overshadowed by the Imbued as in comparison they changed little in the world of Vtes. However I think that the combinations inside Legacies of Blood give some very good options and I am sure that they will take their place in the world of Vtes. It will be interesting to see how they place in future Storyline Events. Now as some sort of heresy I have suggested not playing Vtes on a couple of nights locally. Not as a long term plan to stop playing, but more as way to inspire the group by giving them time between games nights to build decks. Also it can be interesting to play other games as it changes the usual table dynamics, for example I have tried Mall of Horror, which is nearly all table talk, and currently playing Doom: The Boardgame, which requires cooperation! So take a break, play something else, and then return to your favourite game - Vampire: The Eternal Struggle! --[1.2 -Next Issue]------------------------------------ Abombwe, or the easiest way to a higher capacity. Building on this Issues focus on the Laibon, and previous work on Protean we will look at the options we get from grafting on a whole new skill set. --[2.1 - Crypt Card Focus]-------------------------- After recent months looking at the new, this month we go back to something old Nettie Hale Clan: Ahrimane (group 2) Capacity: 5 Disciplines: ani cel pre pro spi Sabbat: Nettie gets +1 stealth when employing retainers and recruiting allies. Sterile. So what does Nettie bring us? She has all the in clan skills at basic, which is a good start, and to that mix she also brings CEL and PRO at basic which we will get back to later. She also has her special, which grants +1 stealth when employing retainers and recruiting allies. Normally this is a little overlooked, as (ANI) retainers are usually gained by playing Pack Alpha, and allies can be gained by The Summoning which has the advantage that, if blocked, leaves the ally in your library for future attempts. However with this months focus on the Laibon, what can that bring us? Swarm! Swarm is an interesting retainer that can grind down any minion. Swarm Type: Retainer Requires: laibon Cost: 1 blood Animal with 1 life. Requires a ready Laibon. Put the Swarm on any ready minion (employing the Swarm is a +1 stealth (D) action if that minion is controlled by another Methuselah). If this action is blocked, put the Swarm on the acting minion instead (no cost is paid). During this minion's untap phase, if the Swarm has more than 1 life, it burns a life; otherwise, it steals 1 blood or life from this minion. A minion may have only one Swarm. However it has that little drawback that, if blocked, the acting minion gains it. Now Nettie Hale has a total +2 stealth on recruiting this, without any further cards, so it is more likely to end up where you want it. Of course there are a couple of modifiers that should help make the action successful, however if it all goes wrong there is one card that will help: Wildebeest, The Type: Action Requires: Ahrimane Cost: 1 blood +1 stealth action. Put this card on the acting Ahrimane. This Ahrimane gets +1 strength and -1 stealth and gets an optional maneuver each combat. He or she cannot use equipment and cannot have retainers (any retainers on this vampire are burned). A vampire can have only one The Wildebeest. Now in the past the burning retainers part has been a problem, however here it is a definite advantage. The only problem is that it only works once, as a vampire can only have one The Wildebeest. Returning to Nettie's out of clan skills we have CEL and PRO, I don't think we can get much mileage out of CEL as there is only one other clan member with it, and at basic most of the effects can be achieved with other skills. However there are four vampires with SPI and PRO, and PRO allows us to introduce the Abombwe skill card very easily. --[2.2 - Library Card Focus]------------------------ This issue we look at the Laibon Sect, and what that can give to the Ahrimanes. It is reasonably easy to go Laibon, with Mozambique Allure Type: Action Requires: laibon Requires a ready Laibon or untitled vampire. +1 stealth action. If this acting vampire is Laibon, move the top card of your crypt to your uncontrolled region. Otherwise, this vampire becomes Laibon, and he or she untaps if he or she is Akunanse, Guruhi, Ishtarri, Osebo, Assamite, Follower of Set, Ravnos, Lasombra, Tzimisce, Harbinger of Skulls, or Salubri antitribu. Now of course this can be blocked, but with cards like Squirrel Balance you should be able to push this through. However we have Sobayifa, which gives us a Laibon straight away, so unlike Anarchs you should be able to use the cards in your deck even if this action is repeatedly blocked. Now what does being a member of the African Sect bring us? Well it can bring us votes, with Overseer, permanent votes and bleed with Kduva's Mask and Ancestors Spirit and reduced cost cards with Powerbase:Tshwane. However a few cards stand out and require further discussion. Terra Incognita Type: Reaction Requires: laibon Requires a ready Laibon. Not usable if you control any ready non-Laibon vampires. Reduce a bleed against you made by a non-Laibon controlled by your predator by 1, or burn a blood to cancel a card that would retarget a bleed to you played by a non-Laibon as it is played (no cost is paid). Now this one may be a difficult one to lever in, as it requires you to control only ready Laibon vampires, something that is not going to be easy to achieve. However once in place it gives Bounce protection, which is something that cannot be achieved any other way, and will foil a DOM predator. It also gives bleed reduction, so is useful whenever you are reacting to a bleed, but Ahrimanes tend to block such actions from your Predator. Elephant Guardian Type: Retainer Requires: laibon Cost: 1 blood Animal with 3 life. Requires a ready Laibon. When this minion is in combat with an acting minion, the acting minion takes 2 damage during strike resolution each round if the range is close. A minion can have only one Elephant Guardian. Now the wording of this is subtle, but important, as at first I wondered why it didn't say 'only useable when reacting'? However the fact it says 'combat with an acting minion' means that if you are rushed and don't block you will still be in combat with an acting minion, which makes it much more useful as it is a permanent deterrent. Aye Type: Master Master: trifle. Put this card on a Laibon. This Laibon may tap this card to cancel a Frenzy card played on him or her as it is played. This Laibon may burn a blood and tap three of his or her Aye to be able to play reaction cards and attempt to block as if untapped for the current action. If this Laibon burns a minion, equipment, or location in play, he or she burns one Aye. Burn this card if this Laibon has more Orun and Aye than his or her capacity. When I first saw this I thought that it would be very slow, and not worth the effort. However having seen the way Conviction cards can build up, I have reappraised it, especially in the use of an Ahrimane wall deck - cardless reactions! With a three or more of these in play (on the same Vampire of course), and a couple of Raven Spies you can act and react for the rest of the game. However I am not sure I would combine it with High Aye, because of the required build up of Aye cards first, which almost guarantees the High Aye showing up first. Static Virtue is meant to alleviate this, but requires the use of Orun as well which I imagine must be very difficult in one deck as you would want about six Aye and six Orun, with a couple of Static Virtues (assuming tooling up multiple Vampires) meaning the already crowded Master card section of the deck is overwhelmed. No Secrets From the Magaji Type: Action Requires: magaji +1 stealth action. Requires a ready magaji. Put this card on this magaji and untap him or her. The magaji with this card gets +1 intercept when attempting to block vampires. If this magaji is tapped, he or she may attempt to block a vampire as if untapped. Burn this card if this magaji attempts to block a vampire but is not successful. A vampire may have only one No Secrets From the Magaji. This seems like a key card in an Ahrimane deck, however the layered set up it requires (Mozambique Allure, then Overseer, and then this) means that it doesn't make the grade in a 'Go Laibon' deck. As the Burn penalty can be severe, especially after all the above set up. Certainly it has its uses in a Laibon crypt deck, as the permanent intercept and ability to block is awesome and the set up isn't required - see Sobayifa for details. Being Laibon also allows the use of Abombwe skill cards, which will be the focus of next months newsletter. --[3.1 - Deck: Ahrimane Laibon]--------------------------------------- Well here it is, a deck featuring Ahrimanes and Laibon. Not quite sure how it will play as it has not been tested, and was drafted up quite quickly. However there is a good core of skills, although mostly only inferior SPI. It may be lacking in Mozambique Allure, and I expect I am trying to fit in too much at once, as I have put in the Aye which later in the game should give you cardless reactions - along with No Secrets from the Magaji. However it should survive and build up in the early game, and then start pushing forward with permanents towards the end. Crypt [12 vampires] Capacity min: 3 max: 8 average: 5.5 2x Sobayifa 8 ANI PRE aus pot pro spi magaji Guruhi:3 2x Muricia 7 ANI PRE SPI Ahrimane:4 2x Gentha Shale 6 ANI PRE pot spi Ahrimane:4 2x Effie Lowery 5 ANI SPI obf Ahrimane:4 2x Lumumba 4 PRE ani Guruhi:4 2x Aiyana, The Wolfcatcher 3 pre spi Ahrimane:4 Library [90 cards] Action [15] 4x Enchant Kindred 2x Engling Fury 1x Heart of the City 4x Mozambique Allure 2x No Secrets From the Magaji 2x Nose of the Hound Action Modifier [13] 3x Awe 8x Squirrel Balance 2x Voter Captivation Combat [17] 12x Carrion Crows 5x Pack Alpha Combat/Action Modifier [6] 6x Swiftness of the Stag Equipment [1] 1x Kduva's Mask Master [15] 1x Ancestor Spirit 8x Aye 4x Blood Doll 1x Guardian Angel 1x Spontaneous Power Political Action [8] 6x Kine Resources Contested 2x Overseer Reaction [10] 2x Cats' Guidance 4x Falcon's Eye 4x Speak with Spirits Retainer [5] 2x Elephant Guardian 3x Raven Spy Will try to test it soon, and post the results in future newsletters. --[3.2 - Sign Off]------------------------------------- Hopefully I have shown you a few of the options available to the Ahrimanes when they 'Go Laibon'. I will certainly be experimenting with the combinations for a while yet, and then working on the Abombwe angle. Sam