Introduction: Welcome to the new edition of the Brujah newsletter. Final Nights is out at last and will lead to a whole new brand of combats. More on this probably in the next issue, as this one is already late and I don't have the time at hand to thoroughly study all the new cards now. As it looks the boost the Brujah got is somewhat feeble, with one new vampire (Theo Bell) and a new card for each of the in-clan disciplines (Relentless Pursuit, Stutter-Step and The Summoning). Some other cards (equipment etc.) look interesting though... Let me just express my hope that future expansions will hold a little bit more for the Brujah and the other Camarilla clans. Not that I think the Camarilla and especially the Brujah can't stand against the rising forces of Independents and Sabbat, but I fear that their class will be forgotten soon with all the new players hopefully discovering this game. Recent tournament reports did nothing to repel these grim thoughts, as our clan rarely showed up, and than only in the muddle of rush decks still taking their chances against the rising tides of decks that, if they take combat into account, defend best against exactly this type. This issue is about toolbox decks, as promised. Please have mercy with the Deck of the Month, as I was a little over-optimistic about the viability of this approach in case of Brujah. Fiction: The light is blinding, but the purpose is obvious. Two video cameras, one a massive pro thing fixed on a tripod, the other the critical-for-MTV-style handicam are aimed at Yuri, The Talon and his drugged-out bandmates. Mausoleum Productions from Venice is shooting a documentary on hertzBl00d's support tour for Marilyn Manson in Italy. The reporter from a local metal mag, a skinny long-haired metal freak, steals an uncomfortable glance at Mr. Handicam while trying to point his vintage mike into Yuri's face. With an incredibly fast movement The Talon aims his claw-like fingers at the crawling camera assistant who involuntarily jumps back and drops the expensive Sony Digicam. Without a smile Yuri nods and asks: "I presume you have a few questions for me." The stench of sweat and stale beer is thick in this backstage room, outside the crew is noisily hauling the gear into the awaiting trucks. Today Bologna, tomorrow Roma, but the venerable cities just fly by in a blur when you are on tour, explains Yuri, bare-chested underneath his heavy leather jacket, still bleeding after the ritualistic and, if you believe the mass media, scandalous and immoral bloodletting on stage. Yet he doesn't betray any signs of exhaustion after the gig, he's not even perspiring. "Still I taste the blood of our ancients while standing on Italy's soil," he finishes his statement on his feelings about touring in Italy. "Err, are you of italian heritage?", the journo blurts in a thick accent. "I thought you were somewhat more, err, slavic, like Russian or so, 'coz of the name, you know..." Yuri catches his eyes with an evil smile, than relaxes and answers politely: "French, to be precise, and it's not a heritage thing - I was born there, once..." "Is that the reason your debut album is called 'Verdun'? That's in France, right?" "Verdun is synonymous for the eternal struggle between forces beyond the grasp of individuals. Today everyone pities the thousands of dead, but fails to see that they became parts of a machine when they went to the field. Verdun was a game of chess, played with a million pieces, and the price was not blood, but power. For us this album title has one message: Open your eyes, cease to be a pawn, become a player yourself. Don't be part of the machine, invent your own machine." He reaches for a copy of the 'zine while its representative scratches his filthy hair. "Is that something like an satanic statement? Or more, like, err, fascist?" "It's about me, about my way, not about politics. It's about individuality and one's sole responsibility to the personal needs. Of course that means I have to use, or even abuse fellow humans." He smiles and adds: "Like you and your paper here. I will sell more albums by talking to you. Why else would I do it? Media influence is a way to exploit others, it's a way to build a machine." The journalist consults his notes and tries to hide his growing irritation. "But, I thought you were considering yourself part of the, well, industrial death metal underground. Actually I was wondering why you would go on tour with someone like Marilyn Manson, after his sellout..." Yuri nods without taking his eyes off a big advertisement in the mag - a grim-looking thing lavishly decorated with skulls and crucifixes, for an album called 'The Ancient Kindred', no band name given, placed there by Chantry Records, which are distributed by the old Lady EMI. "So this is no sellout?" he whispers. "See, mon ami, there are two reasons why we are here: I had to come to Italy, and...", with a nod to the camera guys, "the people in Italy want to see me. Outside there are a few really gorgeous bambini waiting for me, and as I am hungry for them you will have to excuse me now." "You got all that on tape?" he asks the Mausoleum crew after the metal kid left. "Fine!" Thinking how much fun this media scam is Yuri makes his way to the nightliner standing outside in the humid night. Tomorrow night Constanza and her gang will attend the show, which sounds like even more fun, especially with the whole Giovanni mafia getting more and more exited about this scandalous and highly suspicious tour. All their eyes are now on him. Dangerous? Hell, yeah, but not worse than Verdun back in 1916, and he is ready to give them a serious dose of sensory overkill: An orgy of sights and sounds, a mental orgasm, leaving their minds numb, yet longing for more... Strategy: Toolbox - Hype and reality The term "toolbox" is often used in deck descriptions as a somewhat nebulous opposite to "focused". To me the core of toolboxiness is the interactivity of the deck. While some very focused strategies don't give a damn about what anybody else at the table is playing (weenie bleed and rush being the best examples), most decks have to include some cards that don't further their own strategy but rather defend their position. One Archon Investigation in a weenie bleed machine is a (somewhat random) example, thus, in this view of things, it is a toolbox card. The line between focused and toolbox decks is blurred, for the purposes of this discussion I consider a deck toolboxy if it sacrifices forward momentum to flexibility. Before talking about what exactly "toolbox" can mean for the Brujah, let's talk about the myth of these decks. This myth goes along the lines of "always the right card for a given situation", so: When it's your turn, your main strategy unfolds, taking these cards out of your hand and leaving room for the transient intercept, combat offense/defense or Sudden Reversal you will need to interact while it's not your turn. While this myth can become reality, I seriously doubt all claims that a certain deck can do more than three things consistently. Then again toolbox is more than a myth, it's actually a very flexible approach to the tactical challenges the average V:tES game poses. To me "toolbox" means not only flexibility, but also reactive potential. While certain elaborate bloat'n'vote'n'bleed'n'something strategies certainly look toolboxy, they really don't interact with the table outside their own turn - a typical indicator for a focused and pro-active approach. Modules - Do you want a Volkswagen or a Ferrari? The concept of Modules, introduced by Ethan Burrow in his always enjoyable Toreador Antitribu newsletter, offers an interesting approach to the art of building a good deck, as you just put blocks of cards that cover a certain aspect of the game into your deck. On the other hand the idea of having a certain stack of cards labeled "bleed module" or "pool gain module" over-simplifies the game and thus is not always up to the standards of competitive play. And they especially - although they look like they are made for this occasion - don't fit too well into the toolbox concept. Why is that so? Because of three points. a) Many cards would fit into many modules. Govern The Unaligned is a good example. Use it to bleed or for pool gain. Which leads me to b): Pool gain is a handy description for a certain game mechanism, its tactical value alas can be manifold. Pool gain may be bleed defense, fuel for a weenie swarm or a ToGP deck, or just the tactical alternative a toolbox deck needs: Govern your prey for 3 or bring out another minion to do it twice the next turn? The last point is a question: What is, say, a good bleed module? Cards worth of 30 points in bleeding? 20? 10? It all depends on the environment they are put in. If it's a bleed'n'politics deck, 10 might do the job. If not, you need more. But more cards, i.e. 2 bleed modules? Or an industrial strength variant, but what if it drains your vampires of blood faster than you can watch? Some cards just work with biggish vampires, while others further the needs of weenie swarms. The main problem is the fact that modules offer only a slight advantage in balancing deck building, but they bring a lot of redundancy into your decks. Where would you fit Govern The Unaligned? Or Ancient Influence (which can be offensive on turn 2 and pool gain later on)? And how do you make them work smoothly with the other modules and your vampire selection? In my experience after a while of playing V:tES you apply the principle idea behind modules by instinct, without pressing them into a "need 10 bleed cards" dogma. (Please insert a generous amount of "IMHO"s all through this paragraph.) Brujah - What if we don't want to kill anymore? Some clans seem to be made for toolbox. That's because some skills cover a broad range of game aspects (Obtenebration, Dominate, Presence or Animalism come to mind). The Ventrue Law Firm deck with princes, some bloat, bleed and politics, that blocks crucial actions against it with 2nd Tradition, survives combat with S:CE and Fortitude and deflects bleeds against it to me is the classic toolbox deck (maybe because when I started playing Jyhad they were my clan). It can work really well, and by the way doesn't violate my claim that a deck can't do more than three things consistently, as it will not be able to dominate politics in every game, deflect every bleed or block every action. But, to take the adverb "toolbox" apart, it offers you as the player the necessary tools to have at least some strategic options in almost all game situations. It is flexible. Unfortunately the Brujah possess two clan skills that are very focused. Both Celerity and Potence shine in combat and in combat only. The Brujah can mimic the Ventrue Law Firm with good results - the Euro-Brujah deck from February's newsletter is a good toolbox deck, although it concentrates on Dominate instead of Presence, the "fourth" clan discipline many Brujah offer. Especially the reactive potential of our clan is very limited. Neither Presence, Celerity nor Potence offer intercept or untap, so you will have to help yourself with Wakes, Princes and/or permanents. Of course one could imagine an all-offensive toolbox deck for Brujah, with bloat, bleed and politics and some scary combat for intimidation purposes, but as stated above I don't consider this "toolbox" in the real sense. So what can the Brujah offer in terms of reaction? Casual intercept (News Radio, Sport Bikes etc.) is easy to include in any deck, and the Brujah can make the blocks count with a harsh combat. With Presence they can always play a role in the political arena, so even if politics are not your main strategy, you have a chance to profit by making deals and getting some cross-table help in exchange for your votes. One final word on the construction of toolbox decks: As stated in last month's Big Vampire HOWTO, don't use bigger minions than you need. The Euro-Brujah 2nd Tradition deck needs the Brujah Princes, especially Donal and Constanza, so in they go. If you don't need their votes and the ability to play Traditions, stick with smaller minions. Toolbox decks need a good card flow even more than focused decks, since they want the right cards for every situation. More minions equal better card flow, so make sure you are not stuck with a crypt full of 8+ capacity monsters. Vampire of the month: Yuri, The Talon 4, cel pot pre If you envision Clan Brujah as a bunch of punk rockers, there are still the glamorous bitches, the real scary street fighters or the crazy freaks no one wants to meet anytime, anywhere, under any circumstances. On first sight Yuri, The Talon looks like your neighborhood punk: mostly drunk, filthy, a bit frightening, but more or less part of the local folklore. He's Mr. Toolbox though, all three clan disciplines at inferior for the price of 4. No extras, sorry, just that. But still: He can fight and bleed, and whatever the focus of your deck is - one skill card, and he's up to any job. Normally I don't play decks that really use all three clan skills equally, so most of the times my favorite Dre, Uma Hatch or Hector Souza are a better choice. But for the classic toolbox situation he's got the right value-for-money. Card of the month: A tough one this time, as toolbox decks rarely center around one single card by definition. As gaining some sort of casual intercept is the biggest problem for Brujah, I will introduce you to the one card I find most helpful in this case: KRCG News Radio: Master, 2 pool Master: unique location. Tap to give +1 intercept to a minion you control, or tap and burn 1 pool to give +1 intercept to a minion another Methuselah controls There are many ways to get intercept without having a suitable discipline available. Retainers or the Sport Bike offer one way, but I don't like the fact that they create a designated blocker. Mr. Moto Guzzi will hardly ever be able to take an action, or you will have to include many Wakes. But I want all my minions to be available if I need their skills. Also they take up much time, because you need the minion first and then an action to equip, which can be intercepted as well. Transient cards are limited to Pack Tactics and Elder Intervention, which have a high opportunity cost: They are only useful against bleeds (same goes for Guardian Angel). Locations are vulnerable, but still offer two advantages: speed and flexibility, two important factors for toolbox decks. From the three available, London Evening Star; Rumor Mill, Tabloid Newspaper and KRCG News Radio, the latter is the best IMHO. The Evening Star is too expensive, although might be a viable alternative if the risk of contesting the News Radio is too high. The Rumor Mill has two disadvantages - costing a blood from your minion to get the intercept, and it's not "sale-able", i.e. you can't give intercept to another Methuselah's vampire - that are not balanced by its lower cost. Deck: hertzBl00d This is probably really shit, because every time I think about it I get the shivers. The fact remains that your average Brujah has a main strength offensively: She can bleed or call a vote, but if blocked you have to make the combat count. Defensively you can try and block with casual intercept, but you have to make the combat count. So all comes down to decent combat, which is not very toolboxy since you need too many cards. I could have turned this into a denial deck with tons of Majesty and Celerity cards to run away, but actually that would have been a Toreador toolbox deck using the wrong clan. The only chance you have is pretending to be combat-heavy - many players still shy away from close contact with a Brujah in combat. The only Brujah specific thing about this is the use of the incredibly cheap princes Volker and Rake. They might give you a word in the politics on the table. Apart from that offensively it's classic tap'n'bleed using most of the toys for this, err, mediocre strategy, backing that with some reasonable, if not scary combat ability. Defensively it offers casual intercept, use the Heidelburg to move the stuff around as necessary. Fight or end combat depending on what your opponent has to offer. More Disarms would be nice, but I don't own more than 2 (*sigh*). Crypt: (12 cards) [Min: 8, Max: 23, Avg: 4] 1 Angel (cel, Brujah, 2) 1 Antoinette DuChamp (cel pre, Caitiff, 1) 1 Anvil (dom CEL POT pre tha, Brujah, 6, Primogen) 1 Black Cat (CEL pot pre, Brujah, 5) 1 Brachah (for CEL PRE, Brujah, 5) 1 Dre (cel pot, Brujah, 3) 2 Rake (aus cel pot PRE, Brujah, 6, Prince) 1 Uma Hatch (cel pre, Brujah, 3) 1 Vasilis (pre, Brujah, 2) 1 Volker (CEL pot, Brujah, 5, Prince) 1 Yuri (cel pot pre, Brujah, 4) Library: (72 cards) Master (12 cards) 3 Blood Doll 1 Dreams of the Sphinx 1 Heidelburg Castle, Germany 1 KRCG News Radio 3 Misdirection 1 Presence 1 Storage Annex 1 Warzone Hunting Ground Minion (60 cards) 2 Aire of Elation 2 Banishment 3 Bewitching Oration 1 Blood Bond 1 Brujah Justicar 2 Consanguineous Boon 1 Delaying Tactics 2 Disarm 1 Distraction 1 Dramatic Upheaval 3 Flash 1 Incriminating Videotape 1 Legal Manipulations 4 Majesty 3 Media Influence 3 Mind Numb 1 Mr. Winthrop 1 Praxis Seizure: Venice 3 Pursuit 3 Side Strike 5 Social Charm 1 Sport Bike 3 Taste of Vitae 3 Torn Signpost 4 Undead Strength 5 Wake with Evening's Freshness Final Note: So that's it for this month. No promises on the contents of my next newsletter, as I want to wait and toy around with the new cards (and promised to do a Brujah toolbox thing without realizing what a fiasco I was facing). I guess I will introduce Theo Bell to you, rant a little about the new cards and come up with some weird one-trick-pony deck idea. But in case I get frustrated by the lack of real support to the Brujah cause, I will retaliate with a strictly fun deck for the summer season - get out your old Cramps albums to prepare, as there was another rock'n'roll casualty to remember, and this deck is about fun and death equally... Any comments, suggestions or praise please send to skaffen_amtiskaw@runbox.com Any abuse please direct to /dev/null Thanks for reading Skaffen Chantry Elder Of Munich "Death followed my way Whereever I lay my weary feet. Like a wolf, too weak to win a hunt am I, alone, with one thought in my head..."