Ahrimanes Newsletter #23 29.03.07 ==================================================== [ 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 2.3 Sign Off --[1.1 - Word from the Editor]----------------------- So the Ventrue won Millennium Cultist Event, with Lasombra and Ventrue antitribu coming equal second. A shame really as it looked for a while like the Ventrue antitribu would win it. I wonder what sort of card we can expect for them, perhaps something political? Wouldn't think it would be a Political Action, but maybe a modifier of some kind - wielding the power of the Cultists for profit and gain. In other news I have just entered the 2007 JOL league, and it looks like it will prove to be very interesting, as all of the Sword of Caine cards are in the database. I am not sure what I am using yet, as I am still trying to comprehend the changes this set has bought - anyway perhaps I will see you there? --[1.2 -Next Issue]------------------------------------ Deck lists, deck lists, deck lists! Nothing but deck lists which will give you some compensation for this issue. At the moment I have six deck lists from four different players, so if you want yours added to the list send it to me now! --[2.1 - Crypt Card Focus]-------------------------- Well Sword of Caine doesn't bring much that easily fits with the group 4 Ahrimanes, however there are a few stars in their own right. Hagar Stone and Legion seems like a good fit, and Ondine "Boudicca" Sinclair could really bring some hurt to a table with Art of Pain. Of course there is Carmen to letch over, and she is by far the strongest reason to disband the grouping rule - just so you can pair her with Selena. J --[2.2 - Library Card Focus]------------------------ For Library cards Sword of Caine has bought us some very interesting cards. A lot of them are focussed on Black Hand, but it is now far easier to go Black Hand and thus use all these shiny new cards. Blind Spot Type: Master Master. Choose a vampire you control and an ally or younger vampire controlled by your prey. While the first chosen vampire is acting this turn, the other chosen minion cannot block or play reaction cards. This is great for getting actions through, the cannot block clause is not very different from many other cards excepting that this time it comes from a Master rather than a Minion card. However the fact that the chosen minion cannot play reaction cards either make this card very strong, especially in the usual Ahrimane Toolbox where getting that crucial action through can be difficult to guarantee. This will allow Howler to trounce the big cap rather than some weenie, or get that Heart of the City minion to bleed the right target. Cadet Type: Master Master. Trifle. Put this card on a Sabbat vampire in your uncontrolled region who is not Black Hand. While this Sabbat vampire is controlled, he or she is Black Hand. This card remains in play, even when the vampire is in the uncontrolled region. A minion may have only one Cadet. Cadet gives us a much easier way to go Black Hand, and thus gain those abilities. Of course it is quite playable, with the placement on uncontrolled vampires - I wonder if Galaric's Legacy should be reprinted along similar lines. You can use this with Aksinya Daclau as she will be able to burn through excess cards, or you could try Brothers Grimm, but that is definitely risky. For back up you can have Blooding, which gives another way to go Black Hand and open up access to all those nice cards. Drop Point Network Type: Master Requires: black hand Cost: 1 pool Master. Requires a ready Black Hand vampire. Remove 7 cards in your ash heap from the game to search your library for a minion card. Show it to all players and move it to your hand. Discard afterward. Drop Point Network of course has the Black Hand requirement, but that is relatively easy to achieve now. Then once achieved you can use this card to pull out what you need when you need it, which in a toolbox deck is most important. Usually you only have a few copies of key cards so that you have flexibility in your deck, but with this you can have right card at right time. Excellent! Enrage Type: Action Requires: Presence +1 stealth action. Frenzy. [pre] Put this card on a vampire you control. This vampire has +1 strength and may enter combat with another minion as a (D) action. Burn this card at the end of this turn. [PRE] (D) Put this card on any vampire. This vampire must burn 2 blood to attempt any action except for hunting and actions to enter combat. Burn this card after resolving this vampire's action. Simply get all your weenies to tease Howler about her pointy fingers and let her go mad. Ideally you will have a way to untap, because these will stack, so with two or three on a vampire you with have +2/+3 strength and two/three separate rushes. Very very nasty when combined with Howler and maybe a Wildebeest... To gain the untaps with Howler will either require some grafting of other skills, or perhaps use Danse Macabre and Zilla's Tears. The superior can help to lock down key vampires, as to act outside of the restrictions will cause blood loss, and of course with the Ahrimanes you should have a wealth of intercept to cause them additional pain. The important part to remember is that the blood is lost when attempting the action - so before any combat occurs! Soften up those vampires and leave them ready for torpor. Epiphany Type: Action +2 stealth action. Requires an unmerged base vampire. Untap this acting vampire and search your crypt, uncontrolled region, or ash heap for his or her advanced version to move to him or her. Shuffle your crypt afterward. With Epiphany finally Maria Stone might be worth playing, although only might. However I can certainly see some use with other advanced vampires, once you have reorganised the crypt ratios between base and advanced as this only works with base vampires. Follow the Blood Type: Reaction Requires: black hand Requires a Black Hand vampire. Only usable when a hunt action is successful, after resolution. This Black Hand vampire taps and enters combat with the acting vampire. This reacting vampire gets an optional maneuver or press in that combat. This card will help you finish off vampires, as your attrition will have worn down your foes, so they go for a rejuvenating Hunt, only for you to pounce and finish them off. This also has the advantage that is gets you into combat with the minion you (hopefully) want with no opportunity for some chump to get in the way. This is good and made better by the optional maneuver or press that you get - like a having a free Swiftness of the Stag. Mantle of the Bestial Majesty Type: Action Requires: Protean Cost: 1 blood [pro] +1 stealth action. The acting vampire untaps. Until his or her next untap phase, damage from this vampire's hand strikes is aggravated. [PRO] As above, and this vampire gets +1 strength until his or her next untap phase. As mentioned in previous NL's there are a selection of Ahrimanes with pro, so this card is quite easy to use. Now you can easily get aggravated hand damage from pro, so what is special about this card? Well it is the fact that it lasts and lasts and lasts until your next untap, and during that time you can do a whole lot of blocking and sending minions to torpor. Also this card untaps you so that you are ready to act, or indeed to block - if you can get PRO then the +1 strength is good as well, especially with The Wildebeest. For real overkill you could Enrage your minion, then Mantle, and rampage during your turn followed by blocking everyone in his or her turn. It will be very messy. Notorious Brutality Type: Action Modifier Requires: sabbat,capacity above 7 Cost: 1 blood Requires a Sabbat vampire with capacity above 7. Only usable as the action is announced. Non-infernal vampires with capacity less than 6 cannot block this action. This is best for group 2, because of size requirement, as that will give you Howler ready to go, and probably The Siamese with an ANI skill card. Of course you could be using it with converted Ahrimanes such as in last months DL that featured Una and Aksinya. Taunt the Caged Beast Type: Action Requires: Animalism [ani] (D) Enter combat with any vampire, with an optional maneuver in that combat. [ANI] Choose a vampire controlled by your predator and another controlled by your prey (not usable when only one other Methuselah is in the game). The chosen vampires enter combat. If only one is ready at the end of combat, he or she gains 4 blood. This is good at basic, as it gives you a replaced Bums Rush for any minion with ani - which 8 out of 10 Cats have. So if you are rushing, this keeps the cards flowing through your hand. Something to watch out for though is that this card only rushes vampires, and not minions, so those pesky Imbued and Allies are untouchable. At superior it is more interesting, and quite usable as it is paired with the basic rush so you should be able to use the card one way or another. The beauty of this card is that it gives you further attrition tricks without including your vamps. Let your predator and prey beat each other, and you can pick up the pieces and victory points. Sadly there seems little you can do to influence the combat, as neither vampire is acting or reacting so you can't add in cards like Inspire Greatness. However you can increase your gain from it by including Vampiric Disease (what Ahrimane deck worth its salt is caught at close range?) or more unusually Alejandro Aguirre who does have ani and is Sabbat. Perhaps you can sweeten the deal with Bounty, but there is that clause at the end to watch out for - do you want your predator or preys vampires gaining four blood? Truth in Ink Type: Reaction Requires: black hand Requires a Black Hand vampire. Only usable when a vampire who is not Black Hand is bleeding you. Reduce the bleed amount by 2. Bleed reduction is always good, especially if you don't have bounce. So pair it up with Keep it Simple and those big bleeds are no longer a problem. --[2.3 - Sign Off]------------------------------------- Sword of Caine has bought us a wealth of great cards, indeed so far there doesn't appear to be any card that won't see play. Also everyone at White Wolf seems to have pulled their finger out and we have good artwork, and crucially no printing problems. So congratulations to the team, and we can all look forward to the next set whatever that may bring. Sam *