Assamite Clan newsletter. Volume 4, Issue 10 (October 2004) Published November 20th, 2004 Written by Otto Koskinen ========================= I know this is late. I was a bit busy, and thus, here it is. More late than ever. But, onwards Jolly Rogers. ---------------------------------------- MULTIPLE ACTIONS -How, and why? Why do weenies work? Why is Freak Drive "the reason why Fortitude doesnt suck"? Why should Assamite embrace their Flurry of Actions? The game revolves around vampires *acting*, barring a couple cookycutter decks. *cough* Anson *cough* The more you can act, the more cards you can play, the more you actually *do*. Actions count. So, how to get more, when playing Assamites? Flurry is a card I've seen a lot use of, lately. It enables not only hand cycling, which is somewhat crucial to many Assamite decks, but also allows you to bleed and rush/vote/hunt/whatever afterwards. Now, when combined with the innate magical abilities of the Clan, there should be many decks around utilizing Thaumatugy, mainly Rutor's hand, and Flurry, and doing whatever they feel like with their multitude of actions. Yet, it is not so. Now, when using Thaumaturgy and Celerity at the same time, I - personally - get rushing as the extra actions, when I think about the extra actions the two disciplines are able to generate. Now, I've before talked about "Short Chain Combat" and how permanent effects are good. So, I've made a deck which attempts to utilize these all, in a sense. I do believe lots of other things can be done than just rushing, and infact, I am still working on a "Hunter" deck, revolving around Rutor's hands, and permableeders, locking down vampires hunting them dry, and bleeding in the same turn. So, here it is. Deck Name: Thalerity Crypt: (11 cards, Min: 22, Max: 34, Avg: 7,00) ---------------------------------------------- 3 Parnassus aus CEL QUI tha 7, Assamite:2 2 Yitzak pre AUS CEL THA 7, Toreador antitribu:3 2 Al-Ashrad aus obf CEL QUI THA 9, Assamite:2 1 Kalinda CEL OBF tha 6, Assamite:2 1 Melisande AUS CEL DOM PRE tha 9, Toreador Antitribu:2 1 Zoe AUS cel obf 3, Malkavian:2 1 Zahir CEL OBF qui tha 6, Assamite:2 Library: (90 cards) ------------------- Master (15 cards) 1 Barrens, The 4 Blood Doll 1 Depravity 1 Direct Intervention 1 Dreams of the Sphinx 2 Haven Uncovered 1 Perfectionist 3 Thaumaturgy 1 Underworld Hunting Ground Action (18 cards) 1 Ambush 1 Bum's Rush 2 Clandestine Contract 7 Flurry of Action 2 Harass 5 Rutor's Hand 1 Sanguine Instruction Action Modifier (6 cards) 6 Serenading the Kami Reaction (12 cards) 2 My Enemy's Enemy 2 Quicken Sight 5 Telepathic Misdirection 3 Wake with Evening's Freshness Combat (29 cards) 1 Aura Reading 3 Blood Fury 6 Blur 2 Infernal Pursuit 9 Psyche! 4 Pursuit 1 Taste of Death 3 Taste of Vitae Retainer (3 cards) 1 J. S. Simmons, Esq. 1 Mr. Winthrop 1 Tasha Morgan Equipment (2 cards) 2 Laptop Computer Combo (4 cards) 4 Swallowed by the Night <<>> The idea is somewhat simple. Cut off your arm, Rutor's hand, start harassing people around the table, equip permableed/intercept, and bleed, staying untapped as much as possible. Tossed in a couple Serenading the Kami, for the rushes. Kami lasts after Psyching, can be cycled quite easily, and makes those Blurs really kill. Very tight combat, in a sense, playing in three cards 9 damage across the enemy. (Rush, Kami, Blur). ---------------------------------------- PRETENDING, AND PREYS WHO SIT So, the game has started, your prey brings out Appolonius you bring out Parnassus. Parnassus proceeds to rip the poor sucker into shred, sending him into torpor, empty. Your prey stops influencing, claiming that he has no use in bringing out vampires, since you will just rip them to shreds as soon as they come. Ever had the above happen? Yeah. Now, combat decks generally have a hard time ousting a prey who doesnt bring out vampires, since nuking minions is their way of attacking pool via Fame, Dragonbound, Tension and such, and making their prey influence mroe pool on vampires. But what to do when your prey has 21 pool, he has only one vampire, already in torpor, and they aint bringing any more out. Now, I personally feel in making decks using SCC (Short Chain Combat) which leaves you space for other things. Bleed defense, random groovy actions, and umm.. bleeding. Yeah. I dont think there is one simple answer for the problem, however. But I do think, that if you are playing a rush deck, you should prepare for the abovementioned situation. Contingecy plans are good to have, methinks. So, about pretending. Say what, you ask? Right. Is pretending worth it? For one, you are playing a known multi-rush deck, and the abovementioned situation is quite likely to happen, once people get on with what you are playing. And you know this to be the case. Is it worth it, then, to try and lull your prey into thinking you are something else, than what you are? Bringing out a weenie chump blocker, next turn influencing a new vampire, even though you already have your star. Of course, this leaves you vulnerable from your predator, most likely, but herein comes the SCC and deckplanning in to matter. Using weenie chumps who actually *CAN* defend, and not just take one for the team can go a long way, while you are letting your prey do your work for you, influencing more and more. Or playing a less known rush deck, ie. Arika multi-rush, for one. She's big, she's bad, and she loves it. Tossing in there a couple votes for humor, and pretending to be "general" Ventrue. And next turn, Ambush, Trap, Superior Mettle, and laughing. ---------------------------------------- MASTER DECKS Their star is on the rise, one might say. So what to do? You cant pack enough Suddens, voting away the AR's is a bit of a two-edged sword. In one opinion, it only helps the AR deck, when you do it, in another opinion you should just let them be, and bleed more. Now, they are coming, and many will see them. I dont think there is one definitive answer for them either, but Suddening their Life Boons helps in disrupting their control of the table. Even so, should you ever see a master deck as your prey while playing Assamites/any other rush, I'd consider one single effect. Veil of Darkness. No more deflections, obediences, or any other cards they use to protect themselves. Nuking Anson into torpor, emptied, isnt a bad move. Sure, they will Golconda him away, but you've just hit them for at least 7 pool, taken away one of their MPA's for a turn or two, and they are still likely going to be hit by their AR's. ---------------------------------------- PATH OF BLOOD Have you heard of it? No, I am not talking about the card anymore. The Path of Blood is the best on-line site dealing with Vampire: The Eternal Struggle. Mainly dealing with Assamites, naturally. In the halls of Alamut, the latest deck ideas, hottest tech, and the fan fiction keep on flowing. If you are interested more closely in Assamites, visit the site at: http://www.thepathofblood.com/ ----------------------------------------