Crushing all deceivers, mashing non-believers
Never ending potency
Hungry violence seeker, feeding off the weaker
Breeding on insanity
Metallica, "Battery"
THE BRUJAH HATE YOU ALL
In the World of Darkness, the Brujah have no friends. They hate the
Ventrue and the Toreador, don't trust the Tremere, Malkavians, Giovanni
or Followers of Set, find the Gangrel inscrutable, have a grudging
respect for the Nosferatu, Assamites and Ravnos, are opposed by the
Sabbat, and create more Caitiff than any other clan, all of whom hate
them.
Their dream of Carthage was smashed by the Ventrue, their machinations
in the former USSR came to ruin, and even within their own ranks, they are
divided. The Iconclasts hate the Idealists, the Idealists loathe the
Iconoclasts, and everyone hates the Individualists. Coupled with the fact
that many Brujah are anarchs, the Brujah "curse" keeps them from acting
together most of the time.
In the World of Darkness, the Brujah hate you all.
But not in Jyhad. In Jyhad, the Brujah have lots of friends; in fact,
they can't survive without them: a pure Brujah deck has almost no chance
of achieving victory in a tournament setting. By mixing other clans into
a predominantly Brujah crypt, however, a much more effective deck emerges.
For this month's newsletter, I'm going to rate Brujah and non-Brujah
vampires according to how useful they are in the archetypal Brujah killing
machine: the weenie potence rush deck. A good weenie rush deck comes out
fast and hits hard, and is best designed around a crypt of small,
cost-efficient vampires chosen on the principle that POT will win more
combats than CEL or pot+cel. As such, I've limited the vampires rated to
those who fulfill any one of the following qualifications:
Vampires of capacity 1-4: Vampires of capacity 5-7:
a) pot a) POT
b) POT b) POT cel
c) pot cel c) POT CEL
d) POT cel
e) pot CEL
f) POT CEL
In my experience, vampires of capacity 8 and above are prohibitively
expensive in most rush decks -- and even more so in a weenie rush deck.
Similarly, it just isn't worthwhile to spend 5+ pool on a vampire that
doesn't have POT, even if she's got a cool special ability.
The judging system I'm using allows for ratings from * to *****,
including 1/2*. In order of blood capacity (and with relevant
disciplines), here they are...
BRUJAH, AND BRUJAH AT HEART
**** Hasina Kesi
Caitiff
1, pot
You must pay 1 pool each time Hasina goes to torpor.
Hasina kicks some -serious- ass. Bring her out on turn one, slap a
Potence skill card on her in turn two, and you have the potential to do
the following:
Bum's Rush + Torn Signpost + Immortal Grapple + Undead Strength
+ Pulled Fangs + Taste of Vitae
...which will torporize any vamp of capacity 5 or less, cycle your whole
hand, and leave Hasina full up at 2 blood. Her disadvantage should
rarely come up (unless your deck can't handle combat, in which case...),
and is pretty minor even when it does surface. No rush deck should be
without her, period.
* Uriah Winter
Caitiff
1, pot
During your untap, if your prey has more blood than you do, he or
she will take control of Uriah.
Although he is also a 1-cap with pot, Uriah pretty much sucks in a rush
deck. His disadvantage, unlike Hasina's, will come up all too often,
since rush decks aren't known for good pool management.
*** Lupo
Brujah
2, pot
*** KoKo
Nosferatu
2, pot
After Hasina, Lupo and KoKo can serve quite well in your speedy little
strike force. They're small enough to make them worthwhile
despite their lack of celerity, because if you bring them out early enough
in the game pot (or ideally POT, with the addition of a skill card) should
be all you need.
** Mitchell, The Headhunter
2, pot
Rescuing Mitchell from torpor costs an additional blood.
With a fairly minor disadvantage and 1 more blood than Hasina, Mitchell
isn't bad. On the other hand, both Lupo and KoKo are 2-caps with pot, and
neither of them comes with strings attached. Unless you're in serious
need of another 2-cap with pot -- and can't just double up on KoKo or Lupo
-- leave Mitchell out.
** Cameron
Lasombra
3, pot
** Cristofero Giovanni
Giovanni
3, pot
** Duck
Nosferatu
3, pot
** Mario Giovanni
Giovanni
3, pot
** Raziya Samater
Brujah
3, pot
** Tommy
Nosferatu-Antitribu
3, pot
For 3 pool, you can recruit either Dre or Jacob Bragg, both of whom
also have cel. Unless you're -really- strapped for 3-caps, give these
jokers a miss.
* Rex, The Necronomist
Pander
3, pot
Combat cards cost Rex an additional blood to play.
Abysmal. I'd rather chew my own leg off than put Rex in a combat deck.
'Nuff said.
*** Dre, Leader of the Cold Dawn
Brujah
3, pot cel
*** Jacob Bragg
Brujah-Antitribu
3, pot cel
Both the rush deck's posterboy and his Sabbat counterpart are worth
including in your crypt, and probably even good enough to merit doubling
up on at least one of them. Not exceptional, but with both pertinent
disciplines at a nice price, they're solid options.
* Agrippina
Nosferatu
4, pot
* Francesca Giovanni
Giovanni
4, pot
* Ignacio, The Black Priest
Lasombra
4, pot
* Sammy
Nosferatu
4, pot
* Shane Grimald
Gangrel-Antitribu
4, pot
Just like the 3-caps with pot, only worse. There's no reason to put any
of these vamps in a rush deck, unless you don't own enough of the better
4-caps.
** Yuri, The Talon
Brujah
4, pot cel
Yuri is outclassed from below by Dre and Jacob, and from above by all of
the 4-caps with POT, and by...you get the idea. There's really no reason
to use Yuri, even though he looks like a badass.
***1/2 Hugo
Brujah-Antitribu
4, POT
Hugo gets -1 intercept against Lasombra and Tzimisces.
Why take Hugo, when Hector Sosa, Agatha, and Jimmy Dunn are clamoring for
your attention? His disadvantage is pretty minor, but he still comes in
behind the other three 4-caps with POT.
**** Hector Sosa
Brujah
4, POT
**** Agatha
Nosferatu-Antitribu
4, POT
Hector, and his after-the-session-with-the-Ugly-Stick companion, Agatha,
should form the core of a rush deck's crypt. You might not want to double
up on either of them, since Jimmy Dunn is generally a more attractive
prospect, but they're still a very sweet addition, since POT doesn't come
any cheaper than 4 pool.
***** Jimmy Dunn
Pander
4, POT CEL
Jimmy Dunn cannot be contested. If a second Jimmy comes into play,
burn the first Jimmy in play instead of contesting him.
He may look like a demented Quaker, but this boy is Brujah all the way.
The next vamp with both major disciplines at superior is Anvil, who also
costs 2 more pool than Jimmy does. Moreover, in most tournaments you
won't see too many other combat decks, making his disadvantage relatively
minor in the long run. -Definitely- a vamp to double up on, Mr. Dunn is
always good to the last drop.
**1/2 Rigby, Crusade Vanguard
Brujah-Antitribu
5, pot CEL
If Rigby attempts to block a Sabbat vampire and fails, and if any of
your predator's Bishops are not at full capacity, move 1 blood from
Rigby to one of those Bishops.
His disadvantage is pretty silly, but he's still not good enough to
include in your crypt. Both Black Cat and Volker are better, and neither
of them are all that good in a rush deck that relies more on POT than it
does on CEL -- but at least they have a special ability and a title,
respectively.
*** Black Cat
Brujah
5, pot CEL
Equip actions with Black Cat cost 1 less pool (not less than 0).
Unfortunately, Black Cat's special ability isn't all that useful in a rush
deck, since weapons are less efficient than 0-cost combat cards (like TS
and US) and don't work in conjunction with Immortal Grapple. If you use
Leather Jackets, Sport Bikes or other defensive frippery, Black Cat
-might- be worth including, but otherwise Volker is the better option.
***1/2 Volker, The Puppet Prince
Brujah
5, pot CEL
Prince of Frankfurt
Volker cannot attempt to block a Primogen.
The best of the 5-caps with both disciplines, Volker is a bit of a
tough call. His disadvantage is more than cancelled out by his title, and
he has CEL, but both Jimmy Dunn and Anvil have POT CEL (and a title, in
Anvil's case). He's an excellent vamp for other decks, but I tend not to
play with him in my rush deck.
***1/2 Nigel the Shunned
Nosferatu-Antitribu
5, POT
I'd play with Nigel before I played with Volker, but only if I already had
two Jimmy Dunns and one each of Hector Sosa, Agatha and Olivia, all of
whom are at least as good and cheaper to boot.
**** Olivia
Nosferatu-Antitribu
5, POT
Bishop
Its possible to squeeze quite a few titles into a rush deck's crypt
without paying much extra pool for them (Volker, Anvil, et al), and if you
find having a few swing votes to be useful in your play environment then
Olivia isn't a bad addition. Most of the time, I'd rather have a 4-cap
with POT than a 5-cap with POT and a title, since speed counts for so
much in a rush deck.
*1/2 Lisette Vizquel
Lasombra
6, POT
Bishop
+1 intercept against any vampire who attempts diablerie.
Even with her title, Lisette just isn't worth the space. Her special
isn't all that useful, and Olivia and Nigel both have POT and cost one
less pool.
**** Bianca
Brujah
6, pot CEL
+1 hand damage
Even lacking POT Bianca is a pretty good buy, since her +1 hand damage
almost makes up for it. If you're planning on using more than a few
Blurs, she's a must (and definitely a bargain). If not, Sela, Anvil and
Gaspare are all slightly better vampires.
****1/2 Anvil
Brujah
6, POT CEL
Primogen
Anvil is an astonishingly good vampire, and one you'll likely find
yourself contesting fairly frequently. Don't double up on him, but
definitely include him, as he's one of the best 6-caps out there.
****1/2 Sela
6, POT cel
Brujah-Antitribu
Bishop
If Sela becomes an Archbishop, each ready Bishop controlled by
your prey burns 1 blood. +1 bleed.
Almost as good as Anvil, and the +1 bleed can be quite nice (as it tends
to get her blocked, which is what you're after anyway. If you're using
2-3 6-caps, Sela should probably be one of them.
*1/2 Judah
Nosferatu
6, POT
Primogen
Judah is as bad as Lisette, and almost worthless unless you're using
-zero- celerity cards. Yuck.
****1/2 Gaspare Giovanni
Giovanni
6, POT cel
During your master phase, Gaspare may burn 2 blood to move a
burned vampire from your ash heap to the top of your crypt. +1
hand damage.
As good as Anvil and slightly better than Sela, Gaspare has POT and
+1 hand damage, as well as his funky special ability. A -very- good
high-end vampire for any rush deck, although he often gets overlooked.
**** Richter, The Templar of DuMont
Brujah-Antitribu
7, POT CEL
+1 hand damage.
Nice, but just slightly too expensive to be -really- nice. Most rush
decks can't handle huge pool expenditures, and although Richter has the
best combination of disciplines and special abilities (he can TS+US+PF for
a whopping 7 points of damage) he's not a must-have.
**** Beast, The Leatherface of Detroit
Nosferatu-Antitribu
7, POT cel
As a directed action, Beast may enter combat with any minion.
Beast cannot equip, recruit allies, hire retainers, or play
actions cards. +1 hand damage.
Beast is a one-vampire army in his own right, although including him in a
rush deck is a complicated affair. He's very, very cool, but also costly.
Moreover, he won't allow you to cycle cards as efficiently as any other
vamp in your crypt, which could be a bit of a problem. Unless you have
some decent sources of pool gain, or design your deck to be explicitly
Beast-friendly (in which case you've got a Beast deck, not a weenie
rush deck) I'd leave Beast out.
OPEN UP A CAN OF WHOOP-ASS
With all of this in mind, here's the current incarnation of my weenie
potence rush deck, with its crypt of (roughly) 50% Brujah and 50%
non-Brujah vampires. The complement of combat cards is designed for
minimum blood expenditure with maximum damage potential (the three basic
combat cards, Torn Signpost, Undead Strength and Pulled Fangs, cost no
blood to use), with enough celerity to support Flashes and a handful of
Blurs. There's plenty of rush and pseudo-rush (Rampage and Computer
Hacking) and blood recovery (Taste of Vitae), as well as a decent amount
of pool gain (Blood Doll). Enjoy.
DECK: The Brujah School of Dentistry
[ Crypt ]
1x Hasina Kesi--1 pot
1x Lupo--2 pot
1x Jacob Bragg--3 pot cel
2x Dre, Leader of the Cold Dawn--3 pot cel
1x Hector Sosa--4 POT
1x Agatha--4 POT
2x Jimmy Dunn--4 POT CEL
1x Sela--6 POT cel Bishop +1 bleed
1x Gaspare Giovanni--6 pot CEL +1 hand dmg.
1x Anvil--6 POT CEL Primogen
12 vampires (average 3.83, worst 22)
[ Library ]
5x Blood Doll
4x Potence
4x Haven Uncovered
12x Bum's Rush
2x Computer Hacking
1x Rampage
12x Immortal Grapple
10x Torn Signpost
10x Undead Strength
10x Pulled Fangs
9x Taste of Vitae
7x Flash
4x Blur
90 cards (13 master, 15 action, 62 combat)
OTHER STUFF
If there's anything you'd like to see more of in future newsletters, or if
you'd like to contribute something directly, email me (skywise@umich.edu).
Comments, questions, and feedback are also welcome. See you in a bit less
than a month. ;-)
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Martin Ralya - Prince of Ann Arbor
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