Assamite Clan Newsletter Volume 2 Issue 5 (November and December 1999)
Written by Todd Banister
Review of Last Month:
In the last newsletter I showed how the Assamites could use the Infernal
Familiar to unlock vast amounts of hidden strength from within the clan.
Remember, this hidden power comes from your creative imagination and not
just from the new cards they can play. Always be creative! So far the
recruiting of the Infernal Familiars is working quite well. In most of the
games over the past two months I have been able to keep consistent pressure
on my prey and that has lead to a steady dose of victory points. I am now
getting more victory points in each game than when I started out on the
Assamite campaign but still not enough to consider them a legitimate
tournament clan. We still have a long way to go.
Since the last newsletter came out at the end of October, I have written an
analysis of the Independent Clans that were released in the Dark Sovereigns
and Ancient Hearts expansion sets. If you missed the analysis you can find
it at: http://intj.home.mindspring.com/jpa/strat_indclananalysis.htm. I had
a fantastic time writing this article and came to a new level of
understanding on how to play the Assamites.
Also, since the last newsletter I have read two books that dealt with the
Assamites. The first is a work of fiction that is aptly named Assamite
(ISBN: 1565048091) and is written by Gherbod Fleming. This is book seven of
thirteen in the clan novel series printed by White Wolf. Assamite is a very
enjoyable book and both Thetmes and Al-Ashrad make appearances in it as
well. The second book is a non-fiction work titled The Assassins: A Radical
Sect in Islam (ISBN: 0195205502) and is written by Bernard Lewis. This book
goes into detail the history of assassins and sheds light on the real world
location and hidden secrets of Alamut. The Assassins is an awesome book and
I recommend it to anyone that wants to know what White Wolf based the
legends of the Assamites on.
Main Discussion of December: Finding a way to allow combat to gain victory
points
One thing that I continue to notice is that most people playing the
Assamites try to build decks that resemble typical rush combat. Most of
these Methuselahs soon learn that playing a rush style combat deck with the
Assamites generates a lot of destroyed minions around them but rather few
victory points. Why is this?
A successful rush combat deck needs to be deadly in combat while still being
as fast as possible. The Assamites have the first condition easily met with
their combination of celerity and quietus. The second condition is where the
Assamites tend to fall apart. They are simply not fast enough due to them
only having one vampire with the celerity/quietus combination with a
capacity below seven. Over the course of a typical game an Assamite player
averages only a little over three vampires out at any given time. This leads
to the assassins not having enough available rush actions and basic bleeds
for one pool to finish any Methuselah off very quickly. So what can you do?
I have studied most of the Assamite decks that have been posted online and
none of them seem to get around them having insufficient number of actions.
Therefore I believe the key to the Assamites is not to create more actions
but to be as efficient as possible with the actions that they have. It would
be ideal if the Assamites had a way to deal damage to their prey's pool
supply while concentrating on what they do best - combat. Luckily for them
there is a way to do this now without having to wait for the coming
expansion set. The card that makes this possible is Fame.
Fame: Unique Master
Put this card on a ready vampire. If he or she goes into torpor, the
{vampire's controller} burns three pool. Each Methuselah burns one pool
during his or her untap phase if this vampire is in torpor.
The basis of the Fame decks has been around since the Jyhad days but not
until the recent rule changes did it make its way into dedicated combat
decks. Now the famous vampire becomes a target that when hunted down acts
like a bleed for four pool (three for the initial sinking and one during
your prey's untap phase for being in torpor). With just three actions (sink
the famous vampire, rescue and sink again) the Assamites can effectively
bleed for seven pool in a single round and most importantly the pool loss
can not be bounced or reduced. That is impressive for any combat deck.
But what makes Fame work better for the Assamites over the other clans? The
answer comes in the card that defines the essence of the assassins.
Contracts give the Assamites a form of permanent rush combat that is
desperately needed in order to continually punish the hunted vampire. With
just one Contract the famous vampire can no longer quietly escape from harm
due to you not having a single Bum's Rush or Haven Uncovered. Another
advantage that the Assamites have in the Fame style deck is the use if Foul
Blood. If for any reason the famous vampire has to hunt (due to having zero
blood) a well-placed Foul Blood can send the vampire back into torpor and
cost the Methuselah another three pool.
One of the most important things about playing the Fame deck is the
selection of who gets to be hunted. You should take your time in choosing
your victim, as your deck's overall performance will be directly affected by
this decision. I have noticed that in most decks players will include a few
token weenie vampires that help round out their decks. These vampires tend
to show up very early in the game as blockers and such. The token vampires
make good targets due to them being fairly weak and easily sinkable. Another
strategy in choosing the hunted is to find your prey's main vampire that is
blocking other player's actions and make them famous. Selecting the
interceptor will increase your chances of being able to rush into combat via
the Contracts. A third strategy is to pick out your prey's main bleeder and
drop Fame on them. Choosing the heavy bleeder will definitely slow your prey
down because now there are two Methuselahs (you and your grand prey) that
want to see this vampire sent to torpor. This creates a temporary ally in
your grand prey and gives you a chance to oust your prey before he picks up
an additional victory point and six pool. Regardless of the strategy you
choose, the one thing that remains the same with most of the famous vampires
is that they tend to play fairly conservative for the remainder of the game
for fear of being caught. Always keep this in mind and try to use this to
your advantage.
Another aspect to this deck is to consider when is the proper time to play
Fame and rush the vampire. The first thought is to start pounding on your
prey as soon as possible but more times than naught this leads to trouble.
This is because many Methuselahs will slow down or even stop transferring
out additional vampires when they realize what your deck plans to do. This
puts more pressure on your deck to perform and leaves you with even more
pool to burn through for a victory point. About the optimal time to begin
playing Fame and rushing the victim is when your prey transfers down to
around ten to twelve pool. Now your victory point is just a few trips to
torpor away instead of being numerous visits.
Now that you have a grasp on who to make famous and when to rush the last
thing to consider is how do you get them out of torpor so that you can dunk
them again? There are two cards in the game that make this task easier for
the rescuer and they are Humanitas and the Catacombs. Both of the cards give
the rescuer an additional plus one stealth and they burn one less blood if
the action is successful. Both can be stacked on the same vampire to allow
them to rescue the victim at plus two stealth and not have to pay any blood
for the action. One last thing to remember is that when rescuing someone
else's vampire from torpor you do not have to always pay the cost of the
action. Simply announce that you are going to rescue the famous vampire in
torpor and have them pay for your action if it is successful. This is a
fantastic way to keep the hunted low on resources and makes them very
susceptible to a well-aimed Foul Blood.
December's Fiction Section:
Just seventeen minutes after the gunshots sliced through the Atlanta night,
Thetmes and three other assassins gathered in an abandoned building located
just four miles south from the Ritz Carlton hotel. This vacant building was
prearranged to be one of the meeting places in case any "unusual
disturbances" occurred during their stay. Having a pack of local Brujah
storm the hotel with deadly intentions clearly fell into this category.
During the escape from the hotel, Thetmes had been contemplating why the
Brujah chose to make their strike at this time. What had set them off? Had
Rake been able to learn that the Assamites had actually helped the Ventrue
on the attack against Atlanta? Had Rake taken offense to them setting up the
meeting with the Prince and planting explosives within his lair? Or had they
been double-crossed somehow? It was true that Thetmes did not see the
Nosferatu when the chaos broke out but then again how many times does one
see a sewer rat unless they want you to? Either way, Thetmes and his brother
would have much to talk about whenever their paths crossed together again.
That much is for sure.
When Parnassus finally arrived at checkpoint called Masyaf (named after an
ancient citadel located close to Alamut), the coterie of the Assamites was
complete and the escape plan could resume. As Parnassus approached the Calif
of Alamut the first thing that Thetmes noticed about him was that there was
blood on his hands and no visual signs of injury on his body. It was obvious
that Parnassus had been in a fight and he had not taken the worst of the
exchange. As Parnassus bowed in front of the warmaster, Thetmes instructed
him to report on his actions.
Straightening up from bowing Parnassus began by stating "The 'pets' and the
scrolls that were obtained from the Prophet were successfully delivered to
Al-Ashrad and they will meet us in Savannah later tomorrow as planned."
Glancing at his blooded hands he continued with "I ran into a group of the
local Brujah on the way back and let us just say that two of them will no
longer be bothering us for some time." The anger in his voice spilled over
as he forced himself to calm down in front of his elder.
While remaining silent, Thetmes nodded in approval and after a short period
of time turned to the other clan members and asked, "Does anyone know who is
leading this raid against us? Is it Rake himself?" Stepping out of the
shadows Fakhr al-Mulk came forward still holding his sniper rifle. He
replied "I was on guard with Abd al-Rashid on the top of the hotel when he
informed you of the attack. We believe that the leader of the assault is not
Rake himself but actually his favorite childe. As far as we could tell the
raiding party consisted of about eight to ten kindred that split into four
groups in order to continue their search for us."
The Prince of Atlanta's favorite childe calls himself Tyrannos and was known
in the city as a brash loud mouth that hid behind his sire. Tyrannos was a
brutal vampire that uses his status to berate the local kindred without fear
of retaliation. In just the past twenty years, Tyrannos had made a bunch of
enemies that would love to see him get what he deserved.
With the knowledge that Tyrannos was leading the attack, Thetmes now had an
answer but it only served to open up more questions. Is Tyrannos leading the
assault on his own or did another direct him? Was it Rake or someone else
outside the city? There were too many questions still to answer and not
enough time to worry about it now. Thetmes had learned in the past centuries
that things like this always has a strange way of working themselves out.
Now is not a time for solving riddles but rather for action.
As Thetmes scanned the group of assassins the only sound that could be heard
was the moaning of the wind coming from outside. As he gazed into their eyes
he knew what each of the Rafiq was thinking. Each and every one of them
wanted to strike back against the Brujah for their insolent actions and
spill their blood on the streets of Atlanta. Luckily none of them would act
out unless they were commanded or it was in self-defense. Addressing the
other Assamites, Thetmes stated "Tonight is not the night that we will begin
waging war openly with the Brujah. But do not think that they will go
unpunished for their actions. Everyone here will have their chance to serve
their vengeance upon these Munafiqun in the near future. Our mission here in
the States is over for now. We need to regroup with the others in Savannah
and return home to Alamut."
Sensing that the other assassins were not happy about leaving the Brujah
unpunished, Thetmes continued "We will not strike back against all of the
Brujah tonight but we will punish the individual that lead the attack!"
Quickly turning Thetmes ordered Parnassus to cripple Tyrannos but under no
circumstances send him to his Final Death. Thetmes continued with "Tyrannos
must be a reminder to all here in Atlanta of what will happen when they try
to oppose us. Finish your mission and rejoin us as soon as know that you are
not being followed." With that Thetmes turned to leave. Enough time had been
wasted here tonight but as long as one of them was able to spill blood of
the enemy then the group would remain focused on the mission at hand.
Parnassus would see to it that retribution was delivered.
In less than forty minutes, Parnassus was peering out of a third story
window in a run downed apartment building at the Prince's childe and another
Brujah. Tracking them down was actually quite easy since Tyrannos was
walking down the middle of the street waving his rifle around and calling
for the Assamites to come out and fight. Parnassus could not figure out if
this kindred really believed he was that powerful or was just simply a cocky
idiot. Either way it was time to find out.
Parnassus quickly worked his way down the interior stairs and then
cautiously opened the door to the outside at street level. Quickly glancing
around and finding no one looking, Parnassus stepped out of the building and
into the thick shadows. Concentrating on preparing for the battle to come
Parnassus did not see the empty beer bottles hiding in the darkness and
knocked them over with a loud crash. "So much for setting up an ambush"
thought Parnassus as he braced himself for what was to come.
Upon hearing the noise of glass breaking Tyrannos ordered the other anarch
to go and investigate while continuing to yell obscenities at the Assamites.
The Brujah reluctantly checked his shotgun to make sure it was loaded again
and quickly made his way around to the front of the building.
As the brute rounded the front of the building with shotgun in hand he came
face to face with the assassin. For a brief second both kindred stared into
each other's eyes without moving and with a flash both were set into motion.
Parnassus took a step backwards and in a blur of action launched himself
into the air while beginning to twist and turn trying to avoid the shotgun
blasts. But the slugs were never fired. When Parnassus landed he crouched
into a battle stance his and was shocked to see the Brujah casually lean
against the wall. After leaning the shotgun against the building he withdrew
a pack of cigarettes from within his leather jacket. Parnassus had not been
this surprised in ages.
The Brujah continued to startle the assassin when he yelled back to Tyrannos
"Don't see anything over here. I'm headed inside the building to check it
out." With a wicked smile that was partially hidden behind his long back
hair the anarch turned to Parnassus and offhandedly stated "Down to my last
two smokes. What a shame." Savoring the taste of the smoke the Brujah
exhaled and continued in a much lower tone of voice "Name's Akram, so you
can thank me later. Now hurry up before the rest of the gang shows up."
Even with the invitation Parnassus did not rise from his crouch. Instead he
concentrated a moment on the Brujah in order to read his aura. Just as soon
as he began concentrating the colors surrounding the kindred began to dance
in pale shades of black, orange and violet. This combination told the
assassin that the vampire in front of him was very excited and full of hate
but also slightly afraid. Parnassus still did not quite know how to
interpret the reading but felt sure that Akram was not being dishonest due
to the lack of usual light green color that surrounded a liar.
As Parnassus rose to his feet, Akram calm remained focused on enjoying his
cigarette. As the two kindred stared at each other, the shouting of Tyrannos
broke the silence of the night as he continued to issue random threats from
the side of the building. Akram continued with the lowered voice said, "Your
business is with Tyrannos and not me. I don't want any part of it when you
introduce yourself to him". Snickering Akram continued with "although I
would love to see his reaction on his face." While still holding the
cigarette in his mouth, the Brujah reached into his jacket and pulled out a
cell phone and added "You've got three minutes before I call the rest of
them here." Feeling like a gladiator the moment before entering into the
arena Parnassus answered back with "That will be more than I need". As the
assassin walked passed Akram he muttered under his breath "We shall soon
meet again."
By the time the cigarette had burned down the sounds of the fight had come
to an end. The gunshots were the first to fade but the screams of pain still
hung heavily in the air. Tyrannos had frantically begged the Assamite for
mercy as many have done but it was to no avail. Parnassus had quickly
crippled the Brujah with a deep gash across the hunted's thighs with a
enormous blade and then continued to torture the kindred with repeated blows
to the legs and arms with his fits until Tyrannos slipped into torpor. As
the blood from Tyrannos slowly inched towards the street's gutters, Akram
pulled out his cell phone and mumbled quietly to himself "In the end,
everyone gets what they deserve".
December's Deck Idea Clinic: Teaching a Lesson
The Crypt:
Parnassus (7) CEL QUI tha aus
Parnassus (7) CEL QUI tha aus
Parnassus (7) CEL QUI tha aus
Parnassus (7) CEL QUI tha aus
Abd al-Rashid (5) CEL QUI obf
Abd al-Rashid (5) CEL QUI obf
Abd al-Rashid (5) CEL QUI obf
Victoria (5) AUS cel obf
Colin Flynn (3) aus cel
Harika Guljan (3) QUI
Zoë (3) AUS cel obf
Kanya Ahktar (2) cel
CEL - 11 (4 at minor and 7 at superior)
QUI - 8 (all at superior)
AUS - 7 (5 at minor and 2 at superior)
Total Capacity of Crypt: 59
Average Vamp Size: 4.92
The Library:
Masters: (20)
1x The Barrens
2x Blood Doll
5x Contract
1x Dream of the Sphinx
5x Fame
1x Fragment of the Book of Nod
1x Giant's Blood
1x Humanitas
1x Market Square
1x Quietus
1x Slave Auction
Combat: (42)
4x Acrobatics
5x Blood Sweat
2x Blur
2x Disease
2x Fake Out
6x Flash
2x The Khabar: Honor
5x Psyche
4x Pursuit
4x Taste of Death
6x Taste of Vitae
Actions: (12)
1x Ancient Influence
4x Bum's Rush
2x Catacombs
1x IR Goggle
1x Ivory Bow
1x Mr. Winthrop
1x Palatial Estate
1x Rumors of Gehenna
Reactions: (16)
2x Enhanced Senses
6x Forced Awakening
2x Foul Blood
1x Precognition
1x Spirit's Touch
2x Telepathic Misdirection
2x Wake with Evening's Freshness
Deck Comments:
The crypt for this Fame deck is split into two distinct sections. The brute
force section includes multiple copies of Parnassus and Abd al-Rashid and
will act as the weapon to drive the hunted into torpor. The other section of
the crypt is a collection of smaller kindred that will act in support and
generally perform the calling of votes, equipping and rescue from torpor
actions. This crypt also gives the deck light intercept from the seven
vampires that have the auspex skill. This is important because it gives the
deck a way to survive while cycling cards to set up the Contract/Fame
combination later in the game.
While having a lot of master cards (20) the Teaching a Lesson deck has
several ways of cycling cards with the use of the Barrens, Fragment of the
Book of Nod, Dreams of the Sphinx and a Rumors of Gehenna. The other library
cards give this deck nine rush actions, eight untaps, seven ways to
intercept and a ton of excellent options in combat. The combat cards can be
adjusted to your playgroup's meta-game. For example: if your group tends to
have more strike combat ends style decks then you can replace the diseases
for extra Psyches. Another adjustment that you can make is if your playgroup
tends to have large stealth and bleed decks then you can replace the Colin
Flynn for a Dorian Strack and some of the intercept cards for more
Telepathic Misdirections to allow for more ability to bounce.
All in all this is a fun (but very potent) deck to play and may be the best
Assamite deck that I have created so far. Please send me your comments and
let me know how it faired in your playgroup.
Coming in next month's issue
In the next newsletter I will show what happens to you when you hang around
a Nosferatu too often and will finally reveal how to fight back against the
growing number of weenie hordes. In the fiction section you will see that
power always comes with a steep price and to be careful what you wish for
because sometimes you actually get it. Until then beware of the shadows and
warn all of the Munafiqun of the coming storm.
Todd Banister
Prince of Atlanta
Scribe of the Assamites
Please send all comments and stories using Fame to:
T_Banister@Premier-Lending.com