Assamite Clan Newsletter April, 2006 By Tom Duncan Khabar: Expensive Many players are attracted to playing Assamites for their interest in a particular vampire. I know my inspiration for creating my first Assamite deck came when I acquired Al-Ashrad, and saw all those superior disciplines and read his pimpity special text. I wanted to build a deck that allowed this uber -sorcerer to torporize the table. Knowing the RPG fluff was certainly a factor. Maybe for you it's Thetmes, with his Potence and aggravated hand damage, or Tegyrius and his access to Camarilla tech and superior out-of-clan disciplines. Whomever your favorite Assamite might be, I'm guessing it's not...Tansu Bekir. Have you ever sat down at a table excited to play your "Anwar deck"? For the majority of us, the answer is no. Assamites are traditionally a big crypt clan - the vampires on the small end of the scale are in the crypt to support Aziz or Fatima and Parnassus. This need not be the case, however. Going Small Weenie decks have certain strategical advantages of which you are hopefully already aware. More minions begets more actions and block attempts. Without going too much into general weenie strategy, just consider the comparison: Six one-capacity vampires can bleed for six and/or block six actions. One six-capacity vampire can bleed for one and block but one action (library aside). Obviously, the six-cap has the advantage of more disciplines, and the ability to utilize more library cards. However, having the proper cards in-hand at the right time requires a very high degree of deck-building finesse and often luck. If you were heads-up at the end of a game, would you rather have six caitiff or Vardar Vardarian? Small crypt minions will also allow you to bring vampires into play more quickly, and spend less Pool doing so. This will enable more tools like locations and equipment to solidify your position, or keep as a buffer against your predators' actions (Bleed for three? Darn, I'm down to 15...). There are disadvantages to going small, of course. The first and foremost being inferior disciplines. This is especially true with Assamites, because both Celerity and Quietus become much less effective at the inferior level. On the plus side, Obfuscate is a top-tier inferior discipline. It has multiple free stackable stealth cards, a handful of combat cards, and even a few actions that are effective at the inferior. Another disadvantage to consider is fragility. Harika Guljan just isn't going to fare as well in combat as Fatima - or at the very least not as often. Paying a blood for a card effect and taking a hand strike for one put a weenie at a significant percentage loss of blood. It takes far less effort on the part of your adversaries to put your weenies into torpor, or burn them outright. The Up-side to the Down-side Weenies are not doomed to be stuck with inferior disciplines, but it will cost you some library space. For most clans, this means using Master Skill cards to boost abilities. Other methods exist, including, but not limited to, Vial of Elder Vitae, Sanguine Instruction, Spontaneous Power, and Infernal Pact. Assamites have their very own remedy, and her name is Deviki Prasanta. Deviki Prasanta Type: Ally Requires: Assamite Unique ghoul with 2 life. 1 strength, 0 bleed. If Deviki is ready during your master phase, you may tap Deviki to search your library or ash heap for a master: Discipline card and place that card on a ready Assamite you control. Deviki allows you to run Master Skill cards with less risk of creating a Master jam. Master jams are cool if you happen to be a DJ or guitar player, but in V:tES should be avoided. With Deviki, you can dump your skill cards into your ash heap during your discard phase, thus allowing you to play a more pertinent Master card on your next turn. Deviki taps - not an action - and retrieves it for Ali Kar. Obviously, she can fish them out of your library before you even draw them, thus preventing a jam from ever happening. You will want to try to produce her early in the game to make her effective, so if you haven't purchased 3 or 4 boxes of Kindred of Most Wanted, you might try to trade for an additional copy or two to of this excellent rare ally. When your weenies have been over-stressed and find themselves out of commission, consider what you have lost. Not a whole lot. If Yazid, the star of your Black Hand bleed deck, ends up in torpor (by means of what MUST have been an extremely lucky draw on the part of your opponent), the majority of your efforts will go toward getting him out. You will likely need to halt your game plan in order to have a chance at effectively utilizing your library for the remainder of the game, for if Yazid isn't in the game, your options will be severely limited. However, if Kanya Ahktar ends up in torpor, do you care? She is easily replaced, and if she managed to bleed and get you the edge, or block a bleed for two, you have gotten your Pool's worth from her. It is probably easier to simply influence out another vampire. This can get costly, too, but Assamites have a way around that. Khabar: Loyalty Type: Action Requires: Assamite +1 stealth action. Move 2 blood from the blood bank to a younger Assamite in your uncontrolled region. Heartblood of the Clan Type: Master Requires: Assamite Cost: 1 pool Master: unique location. Any Assamite may take an action to move 1 blood from the blood bank to this card. During your influence phase, you may move any amount of blood from this card to any Assamite in your uncontrolled region. Because you have more vampires in play, you will be able to take these 'peripheral' actions that are often less effective when running high-capacity Assamites, whose actions are at such a premium as to nearly require they be directed unless library slots are dedicated to multi-act tech. Four Score and More A small crypt won't be a significant advantage until you have significantly more minions than your prey. Ideally, you'd like to have as many as your prey and predator combined or more. Since every Methuselah starts with the same number of vampires in their uncontrolled region, you will have to use cards that allow you to pull new crypt cards, or pay your one Pool and spend four transfers to do it. Card slots and influence phases can be precious resources, though, and Assamites have an excellent means by which to get additional vampires into play. Web of Knives Recruit Type: Action Requires: Assamite Cost: 1 pool +1 stealth action. Put this card in play in your uncontrolled region with 3 training counters. During your untap phase, burn a training counter from this card. You may burn counters from no more than two recruits each untap phase. When the last training counter is burned, move this card to your ready region; it becomes a 3-capacity, non-unique Assamite with Celerity [cel], Obfuscate [obf], Potence [pot], Quietus [qui] and 3 blood who is Blood Cursed. Of the "library-card-becomes-vampire" cards, WoKR is perhaps the strongest with four disciplines and entering play at full capacity. The trade-off is of course time. However, if your weenies can take a WoKR action almost every turn, you will soon have a horde of Assamites to fling at your prey, all of whom can bleed at +1 stealth under The Khabar: Community, or Haven Uncovered rush with grapples and signposts. The standard means by which to get a new crypt cards into your uncontrolled is Effective Management. However, you can save Master card slots by using Clotho's Gift Type: Action Requires: Temporis/Obfuscate Cost: 1 blood +1 stealth action. [obf] Move the top vampire from your crypt to your uncontrolled region. [tem] Move 2 blood from the blood bank to a younger vampire in your uncontrolled region. [TEM] Put this card on this acting vampire. Beginning with your next turn, once during each of your minion phases, this vampire can burn 1 blood to untap. and let your vampires do it for you during your minion phase. Combinations of Web of Knives Recruit, Effective Management, Clotho's Gift, Khabar: Loyalty, and Heartblood of the Clan can keep you producing vampires at a respectable rate. In a pinch (or if you achieve a significant minion advantage), they also allow you to gain Pool by ensuring you have an uncontrolled vampire from whom you can pull your 'free' counters during your influence phase. The Horde Looking at our stock of weenie Assamites, we can count nine different vampires of capacity four or less. Of those, two are from group four, and only Ali Kar is group 3. This leaves us with six different vampires in group two. Doubling up on weenies in your crypt is less effective than it is in larger crypts - the idea is that each vampire is equally as useful as the next, and influencing them into play with speed is the priority. Having a duplicate in your uncontrolled is a detriment. With a maximum of seven Assamites in our crypt, we will need to go out-of-clan to fill it out to twelve. Or will we... Fida'i Clan: Assamite (group 2) Capacity: 2 Disciplines: cel qui Independent: Fida'i do not untap as normal during the untap phase. During your untap phase, any ready Assamite you control with capacity above 6 can burn 1 blood to untap this Fida'i. Fida'i are not unique and do not contest. (Blood Cursed) Fida'i are not unique and do not contest. You can indeed make an entire crypt of Assamite weenies without adding duplicate unique vampires. But wait, that means the Fida'i are totally worthless after they take their first action, or make their first block!! Didn't you read their special text?! You can only use them if you have an older Assamite in your crypt, too!! I beg to differ. Black Sunrise Type: Reaction Requires: Quietus Only usable by a tapped vampire. [qui] Only usable during a (D) action directed at you or something you control. This vampire untaps and attempts to block. [QUI] As above, but usable on any action. With inferior Quietus, Fida'i can untap anytime a D action comes your way, making them excellent chump blockers. If the first action a Fida'i takes is Web of Knives Recruit, it will have effectively replaced itself in the ready region. Of course Wake with Evening's Freshness and Forced Awakening will still allow a Fida'i to be useful, but a wonderful side effect of Black Sunrise is that if the block attempt fails, the Fida'i will stay untapped, able to perform another action. If you choose to run multiple Fida'i in your crypt, be sure to include a few Black Sunrises above and beyond your usual amount to help the little fellas out. It is my experience that Fida'i are incapable of being anything that could be described as "effective", however. At best, you can make them "useful" by allowing them to bump your Alamut/Consanguineous Boon angle or stealing their blood with Tribute to the Master, while trying to squeeze an action and an occasional block out of them. You Big Weenie A variant on the weenie concept is to include one big vampire - typically in triplicate - in your crypt, and pack the rest with the tiniest clan-mates you can find. This approach can be effective, but it becomes difficult to balance your library - choosing cards that only Thetmes can use severely limits your options when Thetmes gets Banished, or doesn't show up in your opening draw. Choosing only cards that the majority of your vampires can use means that you are paying way too much Pool for a vampire who will under-achieve. The extra copies of the big vampire can throw a wrench into your crypt-machine. This strategy can bolster your Fida'i a bit by allowing them an opportunity to untap, but it is more likely to thwart the effectiveness of their Assamite sponsor than it is beneficial. Perhaps the best reason to include a big-cap in your Assamite swarm is Haqim's Law: Judgment. Ur-Shulgi chooses just about anybody as the target, and five weenies line up to take their shots, all qualifying to use Khabar: Honor strikes. Who needs Pushing the Limit? Name Your Game Weenie decks thrive when they stay focused - take the same (presumably VP-gaining) action repeatedly, eventually exhausting your opponent of his defenses and succeeding through force of numbers. Toolboxing your build is not advisable, because your vampires lack the gumption (and superior disciplines) to adapt. Combat Celerity, Quietus and Obfuscate all provide maneuvers at inferior. Celerity (and even Obfuscate) can get you presses and dodges, while Quietus can manage some weak strikes with no blood cost. If your intent is combat oust, you are in for a real challenge. I would suggest trying the Khabar: Honor angle, or using free weapons, either concealed, disguised, or in the shape of a cane. Paying Pool for equipment in a weenie deck is ill advised, as they are less likely to be around long enough to use it much. "Out of Torpor" tech like Catacombs or Humanitas can also help (especially if Fame-dunking is in the plan), as can "gain-a-blood" effects like Life in the City and Archetypes. Perhaps your weenies can Go Anarch and Cry Wolf as a Diversion? Bleed This is where weenismites can shine, with access to Obfuscate stealth and The Khabar: Community. Simple Computer Hackings sprinkled with Khabar: Glory will put steady pressure on your prey. With five or six vampires in play, you should be able to eat up the bounce or blocks and punch a few holes in your prey's armor each turn. Keeping your bleeds at one or two is responsible enough, and Alamut/Con Boon can serve as your pool Defense. Not Combat or Bleed Other strategies are more difficult to pursue with Assamite weenies. While Ventrue weenies can gain titles and even vote control of a table, chances are you will need to rely on bleeding and putting counters on Alamut to gain votes. While this could lead to permanent titles on the table for you, remember your vampires are fragile and can't Majesty every time trouble comes knocking. Managing a bleed and political module like this would be difficult at best. For weenies, Alamut is more likely a vote defense mechanism. Wall or intercept-based builds are going to be difficult to construct using occasional cel/obf/qui as your discipline set. Permanent sources of intercept require time and Pool, and Atonement costs most of a weenie's blood. While it is possible to build the "casual" level of intercept that you might in any other Assamite build, table-controlling block capability is not likely to be achieved. Sticking to Market Square, Media locations, and Mr. Winthrop is probably your best bet. Deck Name : Weenimites Author : Tom Duncan Description : It's not the size; it's how you use it. It's Spring Break, even at Alamut! These Assamites are young, drunk, and willing to take their tops off for the camera. Crypt [12 vampires] Capacity min: 2 max: 5 average: 2.92 ------------------------------------------------------------ 5x Fida'i 2 cel qui Assamite:2 1x Abd al-Rashid 5 CEL QUI obf Assamite:2 1x Anwar 4 cel obf qui Assamite:2 1x Parmenides 4 CEL qui Assamite:2 1x Tansu Bekir 4 OBF cel Assamite:2 1x Ali Kar 3 obf qui Assamite:3 1x Harika Guljan 3 QUI Assamite:2 1x Kanya Akhtar 2 cel Assamite:2 Library [86 cards] ------------------------------------------------------------ Action [30] 4x Clotho's Gift 14x Computer Hacking 4x Khabar: Glory 8x Web of Knives Recruit Action Modifier [11] 8x Change of Target 3x Cloak the Gathering Ally [2] 2x Deviki Prasanta Combat [15] 4x Flash 3x Preternatural Evasion 3x Side Strike 3x Sideslip 2x Taste of Death Master [20] 1x Alamut 2x Celerity 3x Effective Management 1x Heartblood of the Clan 1x Khabar: Community, The 4x Life in the City 1x Market Square 2x Obfuscate 2x Quietus 2x Tribute to the Master 1x Underworld Hunting Ground Reaction [8] 8x Black Sunrise This is a pretty straightforward swarm bleeder. It should generate vampires and bleed consistently. You won't block anything at stealth, though I have included a Market Square for the prayer. There is a little bit of Pool recursion tech, though your primary defense will be not spending too much Pool. You can gauge just how much "too much" is on a game-by-game basis. My playgroup dynamic demands attention to combat cards, so I have included a handful in my version. Your Meta May Vary. It is possible you may want to include Kalinda in this type of deck, to utilize her bleed special. Be sure to add tech to help her regain blood a little faster. I have not included much stealth in this build, favoring Change of Target instead. With so many potential actions to take, you should be able to out-pace your blockers. Deck Name : Rock 'em Sock 'em Assamites Author : Tom Duncan Description : Bruise and Bruise with wee 'smites. Crypt [12 vampires] Capacity min: 1 max: 5 average: 2.75 ------------------------------------------------------------ 4x Fida'i 2 cel qui Assamite:2 1x Abd al-Rashid 5 CEL QUI obf Assamite:2 1x Anwar 4 cel obf qui Assamite:2 1x Parmenides 4 CEL qui Assamite:2 1x Ali Kar 3 obf qui Assamite:3 1x Harika Guljan 3 QUI Assamite:2 1x Sarah Brando 3 CEL !Brujah:2 1x Kanya Akhtar 2 cel Assamite:2 1x Sandra White 1 Caitiff:3 Library [90 cards] ------------------------------------------------------------ Action [18] 3x Ambush 3x Bum's Rush 3x Harass 2x Khabar: Glory 7x Web of Knives Recruit Ally [2] 2x Deviki Prasanta Combat [44] 8x Dagon's Call 8x Flash 4x Immortal Grapple 1x Pulled Fangs 4x Scorpion's Touch 2x Taste of Death 9x Taste of Vitae 4x Torn Signpost 4x Trap Master [20] 1x Celerity 1x Contract 2x Fame 3x Haven Uncovered 1x Heartblood of the Clan 1x Humanitas 4x Life in the City 2x Path of Blood, The 2x Potence 2x Quietus 1x Tribute to the Master Reaction [6] 6x Black Sunrise Here, the idea is to repeatedly rush a target until it falls, perhaps giving it -1 strength in the process. Again, there isn't much defense in the build other than closely monitoring your spending. The press combat will put your vampires at great risk, but they should be able to do more damage than your opponent, and you can decide whether or not it is more efficient to rescue or replace torporized weenies on a per game basis. The Taste of Vitaes are there to help avoid this, but remember that they are not playable if your vampire is going to torpor already. The crypt could include Jalal Sayad and another Parmenides or a Parnassus, for the +1 strength. To keep on theme, I have chosen the smallest vampires available - even at the cost of going out-of-clan. However, adding Jalal would help enable your Potence cards, which, while limited in number, will be important against S:CE and weapon combat packages. Including Parnassus could also open up the build to support Blood Dolls or Minion Taps. Either would be able to utilize Clandestine Contract, which could also be included in small quantities. Should you choose to include Thetmes, you will definitely want to Minion Tap him and allow him to refill himself (via Taste of Vitae, Blood Tears, Master cards, etc), and include Haqim's Law: Judgment. I'd also recommend a Yoruba Shrine or Secure Haven if you adopt a Star + Weenies crypt. Just remember, these larger vampires could also be two or three small vampires in your ready region. Be sure you weigh your decision carefully - is the extra Pool and slower influence worth one more discipline at superior? Often it is not. Khabar: Irreverent Whatever you choose, it is important to remember that your deck will flow much differently when you have five, six, or perhaps more vampires in play when compared to the usual three or four. You can cycle many more action cards each turn, and by extension more action modifiers. The small Assamites are weakest in the Obfuscate discipline, but it is thankfully the most forgiving to use at inferior. Every combat might be that particular vampire's last, so don't get attached to your minions. They are there to serve your end, which is getting an oust, not a nice retirement home on the beach. It is much easier to fall victim to "minion empathy" when running the bigger vampires, but it can happen at any time. When you realize you are concerned for poor Anwar's well being is when you should declare a Bum's Rush with Lazverinus as the target, just to help you get over it. Throw your vampires into the fray, and let Caine sort them out. When the game is over, everybody gets shuffled back into the deck for another go. Respecting your weenies or considering the risks to their health before you act will only hinder your efforts. So will The Unmasking and a few Renegade Garou, but what do you care? Alamut is safe and sound, diligently guarded by the elders. Find everything you need to know about playing Assamites at www.thepathofblood.com! Comments, Suggestions, and Submissions should be sent to: veknpontiac@yahoo.com Special thanks to Merlin Petersen, Official True Brujah Newsletter Editor, and John Eno, Assamite Newsletter copy-edit mercenary, for their contributions.