Followers of Set Newsletter – Volume 5 Issue 5 Followers of Set Newsletter Vol. 5 Issue 5 Author: Daniel Figueiredo Table of Contents: 1)Introduction 2)Strategy: 10th Anniversary Goodies 3)Vampire of the Month: Kemintiri ADV 4)Sign-off Introduction: Long time no Set? Yes, unfortunately the last months have gone by without a newsletter. I was part in writer's block (whatever that really means) and part waiting for the new cards from KMW to show up I guess. But the wait has finally ended! Today Kemintiri ADV shows her face in the KMW preview. More about her later though. Since my last newsletter the 10th Anniversary Edition was also printed, and although it doesn't quite have anything that is really interesting for our clan in particular, I will also go over some of the new cards in that set and an idea or two about using them in Follower of Set themed decks. Is it just me of does it seem like ages since Gehenna was released? I missed the shake-up that Events promised (but didn't quite deliver), and the rush of logging into the WW site 3 times a day to check the preview. To me the months immediately before and after the release of a new expansion are the best for the game, at least they are when I get most excited about it. KMW is shaping up to be quite interesting so far. The first Bloodline pre-constructed deck, a change (a good one I think) to the infernal rule, some meat for the independent clans in group4 (sadly if the number of the other new indy vamps follows the number of new Assamites, we still won't have a full group 3+4 crypt for them), the new Red List rule and another still-mysterious new rule, an even MORE mysterious TBA vampire (or vampires) in the preview list… wait... let me go check and see if the TBA hasn't been revealed yet… :) Strategy: 10th Anniversary Goodies 10 years of Jyhad! Nine-something years of V:TES! Our game couldn't go without some sort of celebration right? And it comes with lots of reprints and a few new cards, all with the new layout to match more recent releases. None of our vampires get reprinted in this set, and only one of our clan cards (Tainted Vitae) does. Only a couple of our in-clan discipline cards get reprinted as well, Vanish from the Mind's Eye and Business Pressure neither very good cards at that. No Serpentis card gets reprinted either, so as you can see in the reprint department, the Followers of Set gain very little with this edition, less than most other clans even. The best we get is the revamped Invitation Accepted, which now gives us the option of entering the Camarilla even after the card is played if we influence out a new vampire. Other independents each get a card from their unique clan discipline reprinted, some good (Spiritual Intervention) and some not so good (Veiled Sight), and all get at least one clan card as well. Almost all disciplines get one card reprinted as well, with the exception of Vicissitude (already all got reprinted since Sabbat War), Dementation (who knows why they didn't reprint Wave of Insanity to have all Dementation cards reprinted as well) and Serpentis (nothing worth reprinting perhaps? Hehe….). So what about the new cards? Channel 10 and Bowl of Convergence make things even harder for Obfuscate alone to pass actions. With 6 locations that grant permanent intercept, having to use one of them from the second action of each turn onwards hardly is any serious drawback, especially when you have Reatiners and Equipment that also grant permanent intercept so easily available for any deck. Having 6 locations that grant intercept also makes it pretty much impossible for contesting to occur, from now on you can be sure that only contesting on purpose of these locations will happen. With so many of them, the chance that someone else already controls the exact one you will play now is very small. Add the Bowl in as well and the days of stealth-powered actions are practically over in any metagame that even mildly uses permacept (stealth alone has already been dead against "wall" decks for some time). You must use "block fails" or "block cancel" cards to help any stealth deck these days. Gladly the Followers of Set have Elder Impersonation and Approximation of Loyalty for that end, these two cards become more vital with each new expansion. Polaris Coach you say? Maybe. But it has too many restrictions, the constant blood loss, the fact that it is unique, a vehicle AND a haven at the same time all add up for a tad too much restriction in my opinion. It is better left for clans with exceptional blood management like Fortitude Thaumaturgy offer. Carlton Van Wyck and Caiaphas Smith are both interesting allies, one with built-in intercept (notice the theme?) the other with a built-in brain teaser. Insurance Scam can help a little, but is vastly inferior to the Khobar Towers in terms of pool gain, sure, you are not losing minions, but any Caitiff or Embrace can give you as much pool as one location you lose. Only really good if you are sure Arika will come up sooner or later. The Powerbase LA offers a cool new cycling option for Setite Anarchs, but nothing that a simple Barrens can't do, and The Barrens does not have inherent steal-ability. Orb of Ulain isn't that much of a problem because of it´s restriction to allies, but if/when it does see play it can be a major hassle for the clan, effectively neutering 2 of our 3 clan disciplines against such ally. Liquidation can be good for Corruption Decks when you have a hand full of Corruptions/Venenations, or in any deck that uses many copies of the same few cards. If you use Reformations, then Powerbase L.A. and the Barrens together should be more than enough cycling power for you to never need this card. And last but not least, Rastacourere (anyone know what that actually means???) is perhaps the most interesting card in the Anniversary Edition, since it helps Followers of Set in many ways, by reducing the power of titles that could be used against us or hamper our own voting power, and by reducing the capacity of our enemies, to make them easier to Tempt/Corrupt. Vampire of the Month: Kemintiri ADV Wow, what responsibility! The first Advanced Follower of Set! The first Red List minion as well (not counting the outdated preview we had of Valerius Maior a few weeks back). Appropriate, since she is the head of the Red List. Kemintiri has long been a part of V:TES, but she never really lived up to her name. Her normal version is very weak for a 10cap vampire. In fact, if there are no ready Ventrue when she is around, she is a 10cap without any special power whatsoever (the only such one?). Granted, when she was released it was pretty difficult to sit at a V:TES table and not see any Ventrue, but since then came the whole Sabbat, and all of the Bloodlines as well. So paying 10pool for one vampire that does nothing at all without help from cards unless there is a single other clan in play is not exactly something to be proud of. Not anymore! Now she comes right out of your uncontrolled region with inherent +1stealth. Currently the overwhelming amount of easy intercept, permanent or no, makes this ability almost a must in many decks. Especially for her since she is a Red List minion. As we discovered a few days ago, any Methuselah can target Kemintiri with D actions at a cost, and given the fact that the Followers of Set aren't the most difficult vampires to beat up in the game, she pretty much begs to be targeted. So while she is ready, her +1stealth helps a lot in making sure all of the actions she attempts actually pass. So while she isn't a fantastic-oh-my-god-how-powerful-Arika-scoot-over vampire, she is still good in my opinion. And when she merges…. Now we're talking! Suddenly Kemintiri becomes a pseudo-Justicar with almost all the advantages of being one (she can still be PTO´ed), and none of the drawbacks (she isn't afraid of Mekhet for example). Her 3 votes and inherent stealth, along with her superior Presence and Obfuscate make her a fantastic voter, one that can even call Alastor votes to prepare for the hungry trophy-hunters that will be coming after her. And let's not forget all the traditions. And if any Ventrue does show its face after Kemintiri is merged, she can bleed their controller for 2 at +2stealth now! Just hope said Ventrue is not Lucinde, who will be able to triple-rush Kemintiri with enough Freak Drives in the same turn. :P Her superior Thaumaturgy lets her use her inherent stealth twice per turn after a Rutor´s Hand and her Magic of the Smith actions are even harder to block, should she choose them as a way to prepare for combat instead of Alastor votes. Not a vampire that is easy to use, no brainless influence-Arika-win-game action here, but the best thing about her is her potential, being almost a vampire with two clans, two titles and two sects at the same time. The change in Invitation Accepted makes Follower of Set Camarilla decks more viable, and should they become Camarilla, Kemintiri´s powers can make your other Followers of Set all titled Princes in no time. And if all else fails, if Kemintiri is low on blood, is declared Anathema and Lucinde after a lot or rushes doesn't look like she will be giving up so soon, you can always send Kemintiri to the Khobar Towers for a last ditch, glorious 10pool contribution to the clan! :) Sign-off : KMW is almost here, and the months to come will hopefully be full of new cards and minions to analyze and new decks to build. I can't wait to see the new cards, and their possibilities! Hope you enjoyed this month's newsletter and hope that Black Lotus, Ankh-sen-Sutekh and Neferu are all hot Setite Chicks (or at least hot Setite power-bitches that will give the Setites cool new deck strategies!)