Assamite Newsletter August 2005 Author: Jarkko Suvela Table of Contents: Castes of Clan Assamite Decks of the Month Next Issue Castes of Clan Assamite --------------------------------------- Sorcerer, Vizier and Warrior. These are the castes of Clan Assamite. They are kind of like clans within a clan, because there is such a big difference in their discipline spreads. This month I will highlight each of these castes and give examples of the kinds of unusual combinations that can be achieved by using their caste disciplines. Sorcerers have Quietus, Celerity, Obfuscate, Thaumaturgy and Auspex as their distinctive disciplines. Notable vampires from this caste include Al Ashrad and Parnassus. Quietus, Celerity and Thaumaturgy is a very deadly combination, whether it's used for close-range combat or long-range combat. Its best-known combination is that of Theft of Vitae and Taste of Death, using additional strikes from Celerity. This can burn a vampire with six or less blood on it. Combinations and notes for this Caste: Rush with Perfect Clarity - this prevents the use of Presence and Dominate in combat and reactions. So no more Obedience, Thoughts Betrayed or Presence-based Strike: Combat Ends. Minion Tap and Theft of Vitae with Blur - with these cards you can gain quite a lot of blood and pool, simultaneously emptying your opponents' vampires, which is always good. If you sprinkle Taste of Deaths in your deck, you can easily burn a vampire if there's no prevention at hand. Thin Blood, Blood to Water and Kali's Fang - these cards can burn opposing vampires very easily. Non-damage blood loss can be up to 8 blood and Kali's Fang provides the necessary +1 strength aggravated damage in order to burn the now-empty vampire. (Vampiric Speed is recommended to get to the second round of combat safely.) Quicken Sight and Draught of the Soul are well-known to this Caste as well. Viziers have Quietus, Celerity, Auspex, Presence and Fortitude as their distinctive disciplines. Notable vampires include Tegyrius and Antara. Auspex and Fortitude can be the cornerstones in wall-type deck. Presence, on the other hand, gives the addition of bigger bleeds than the Assamites are normally able to pull off. Combinations and notes for this Caste: Bruise and Bleed with Presence - Auspex allows you to play Crocodile's Tongue and Quietus gives you access to Thin Blood. With just these two cards, you can make the opposing minion burn 2-4 blood before you even get to the strike step. Save Combat Cards - use Aura Reading to know what your opponent has in store for you, or play Kiss of Ra if you think that you might need those combat cards later on in the game. Quicken Sight, Forced March and Draught of the Soul are used frequently in Vizier decks. Warriors have Quietus, Celerity, Obfuscate, Dominate and Potence as their distinctive disciplines. Notable vampires include Thetmes and Jalal Sayad. The warrior caste is the least well-represented of the three castes, if you're looking for vampires with both Potence and Dominate on them. So if you're interested in Warriors, you should make a choice of using only one of those two disciplines. Dominate, Quietus and Obfuscate allow you to play powerbleed with no stealth quite easily. Potence and Quietus, on the other hand, have really nasty combinations in combat. Combinations and notes for this Caste: Disease, Selective Silence and Immortal Grapple - it is really rare that your opponent will be able to strike back at you if you pull this combo off, unless of course he/she uses Potence. Eye of Hazimel - this equipment gives superior Potence, one rush per turn, +1 strength, and a reduction in the cost of combat cards. Yes, it does have an expensive cost, so you should consider adding Mylan Horseed or some other means of getting more actions out of your vampire to keep the cost balanced with its effect. Hand of Conrad is another way to graft Potence onto one of your Assamites. Powerbleed with Block Denial - Deed of the Heart's Desire, Elder Impersonation, Seduction and the Sleeping Mind give you 4 block denials on a single action. Combined with Dominate's potential to bleed big, this is disastrous for your opponent. (Bounce is still a threat, so put in a few Change of Target or Spying Mission to ensure the safety of your grandprey.) All and all, this was my idea of showing that there is a lot of diversity amongst Assamite vampires and you can make almost any kind of deck with them, be it super-killers with Warrior and Sorcerer castes, or hyper-interceptors with the Vizier caste. Decks of the Month --------------------------------------- Yes, this month I'm presenting more than just one deck. Here are three different decks, featuring the three castes of the Assamite clan described above. All three decks are old (pre-10th Anniversary), but they have worked well for me in the past. Deck Name: Wicked Wizards of the East Author: Jarkko Suvela Description: Sorcerer deck. Crypt: Ashrad x3 CEL THA QUI aus obf (+1 bleed, burn a location special) Kalinda x3 CEL OBF tha (innate inferior Dominate Kine) Zahir x2 CEL OBF tha qui (can take action to retrieve Contract from Library) Hanna Redmonds obf tha (older vampires get optional maneuver or press) Sandra White x3 (when diablerizes, target Methuselah burns 1 pool) Library: 90 cards Master: Blood Doll x5 Perfectionist x2 Thaumaturgy x2 KRCG New Radio Rumor Mill Market Square Rötschreck Action: Rutor's Hand x3 Bum's Rush x3 Ambush x3 Equipment: Leather Jacket x3 Veneficorum Artum Sanguis Ivory Bow Black Gloves Kali's Fang Improv. Flamer x2 Modifiers: Perfect Clarity x2 Spying Mission x3 Reaction: Forced Awakening x5 Foul Blood x2 Combat: Blood to Water x2 Disguised Weapon x4 Sideslip x6 Blur x3 Acrobatics x2 Pursuit x5 Theft of Vitae x9 Shadow Feint x3 Psyche! x6 Combo: Swallowed by the Night x6 --------------------------------------- Deck Name: Tegyrius Smiles with Grace Author: Jarkko Suvela Description: Vizier deck. Crypt: Tariq, the Silent x4 AUS FOR QUI OBF cel (archon and innate rush) Tegyrius, the Vizier x3 AUS CEL FOR QUI pre (+1 strength, Camarilla special) Teggy, the Vizier ADV x1 AUS CEL FOR QUI PRE (Voteburn, Merged: Justicar) Fatima x4 CEL OBF QUI aus for (innate inferior Disguised weapon) Library: 83 Masters: 14 Auspex Celerity Guardian Angel Blood Doll x4 Smiling Jack x3 Powerbase: Montreal Rötschreck Carver's Meat Packing and Storage x2 Actions: x6 Pulse of the Canaille x3 Jack of Both Sides x3 Equipment: x5 Palatial Estate Ivory Bow Sengir Dagger Bowl of Convergence IR Goggles Modifiers: 7 Freak Drive x7 Reaction: 24 Eagle's Sight x6 Quicken Sight x6 Forced Awakening x8 Fast Reaction x2 Combat: 23 Taste of Death x5 Pursuit x6 Rolling with the Punches x6 Psyche! x6 Combo: 3 Draught of the Soul x3 Event: 1 Dragonbound --------------------------------------- Deck Name: Brujamites Author: Jarkko Suvela Description: Warrior deck Crypt: Akram x3 CEL QUI pot pre (Primogen, innate Psyche!) Jalal Sayad x3 CEL QUI pot (innate Psyche!) Volker x2 CEL pot (Prince, cannot block Primogen) Parmenides x2 CEL qui (+1 strength, first round goes to predator) Nik cel (Brujah get +1 intercept against Nik) Antoinette DuChamp pre cel (cel actions/strikes cost additional blood) Library: 83 Master: 15 Potence x2 Quietus Fame x2 Leadership Vacuum Haven Uncovered x4 Blood Doll x3 Tension in the Ranks Humanitas Action/Equipment: 9 Sanguine instruction Bum's Rush x4 Harass x3 Rampage Equipment: 3 Eye of Hazimel x2 Hand of Conrad Reaction: 12 WwEF x6 Foul Blood x2 Pack Tactics x4 Combat: 43 Disease x6 Torn Signpost x5 Flash x8 Immortal Grapple x7 Blur x5 Taste of Vitae x6 Blood Agony x3 Pushing the Limit x3 Event: 1 Dragonbound Next Issue --------------------------------------- Theme Decks: The Storytelling Politics - Should we fool around with it? -Signal off-