Contents - Section 0.9 - Prelude Section 1.0 - Welcome Section 1.1 - Feral Whispers Section 1.2 - Talking point Section 1.3 - Vampire of the month Section 1.4 - Card of the Month Section 1.5 - Deck of the Month Section 1.6 - Conclusion ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Section 0.9 PRELUDE The vicious hordes of the Sabbat stream down the streets of the city, hollering, shouting, and shooting at anything in sight. The Masquerade is not an issue for them and a good job too for their bestial forms and sharp fangs are proudly on display to any poor soul who dare cross their path. The Camerilla troops huddle together as they come into view, suddenly realising for the first time that their eternal existence; something taken for granted for so long, may finally be about to end. With a roar, a Sabbat warrior leaps over a burning car - the battle is engaged! Flesh against flesh, fist against fist, fang against fang, the Sabbat hordes revel in the wanton destruction as they tear into their foe amidst a crescendo of blood and screaming. The stench of death begins to cover the scene as Kindred after Kindred slowly starts to rot and turn to ash where they fall. As the rampage continues, the city burns to the cries of the fallen. Some miles outside the city, in the woods, a small campfire glows cheerily in the dark. Around it, warming themselves in the still night sit two vampires, dressed in scruffy, but durable clothes. One has pronounced, pointed ears, which prick up suddenly at some far of sound. "What’s all that noise?" says Chandler "Buggered if I know!" says Badger. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Section 1.0 WELCOME Come, brother, sit by my fire and listen to our tales of old. We are Gangrel and we are the beast. With the dust settling over Sabbat War, it is fairly clear to see the good old Camerilla Gangrel have come off fairly unaffected. There was nothing in the set that was new or relevant to the Gangrel (although the re-issuing of the Animalism rare Tier of Souls was a welcome return). In fact, it’s almost as if the country boys and girls were off hiding in the woods while the whole thing played out! Not to let this (and the slight de-powering of Drawing out the Beast) put us off, let continue this month in a "Business as Usual" manner and look at some more ideas for Clan Gangrel. Thanks to those of you who took the time to write me an email as a result of the last couple of newsletters - they were greatly appreciated, and deck concepts are always welcome. As a tribute to this, there is a new section called Feral Whispers, where you, the reader, will have the "Right to Reply". Enjoy! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Section 1.1 FERAL WHISPERS First off, it appears I made a few errors in the November newsletter in the Deck of the Month - Nat (no other details given!) correctly pointed out that the Renegade Garou could never get a Dog Pack! Going back to the basic rules, a retainer cannot leave a vampire unless you use a Heidleburg Castle. Of course, the Castle only works between 2 vampires. So the big soppy can’t pick up the goods. Well spotted Nat! Thanks also to Laurent, the yellow dwarf (?) who gave some great ideas about the Gangrel and Mask of 1000 faces. I am playing with a few ideas, but this may well make an appearance in a later edition. Erik Carlsson also pointed out that the Garou / Assault rifle deck could also work with a Hawg and an RPG Launcher (ow!). This could work quite well with Pier 13, Baltimore (a nice card from the Sabbat War set - one that is quite good for all clans and all sects of Vampires) if you are lucky enough to get it on to the Garou (not an easy task!). Finally, an apology - I was sent a lovely Illiana based deck, but accidentally deleted it. Could whomever it was who sent it send it again please! Thanks. Don’t forget, mail all comments to at davecrazy@hotmail.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Section 1.2 TALKING POINT Pool generation - are Minion Taps better than Blood Dolls? Minion Taps are great. They can really get you out of a hole when you need to find some pool fast - like when you’ve got a stealth bleeder on your tail and you have enough rush action to take down 3 of his 5 minions this turn, but you only have 2 pool left. Pop quiz - Whaddaya do? You pull a Minion Tap. Minion Taps are one hit wonders, but this is good - you can play them straight away and feel the benefits instantly. You get the pool there and then, and can use it to buy in Hunting Grounds, the Inbase Discotek, Frankfurt, or any other wonderful masters that could help towards replacing the lost blood on the vampire. The Gangrel are blessed with plenty of fortitude, which means that Restorations can help replace the blood off the minion in double or treble quick time. And if you bring out the royalty (Ingrid, Angus, or Katarina) then you could easily play a 5th tradition to top up the hungry vampire. Although Blood Dolls offers consistent blood generation, it can be painfully slow, and gradually weakens the vampire. With a Minion Tap, you know where you stand - you’re at the bottom looking up, as opposed to Blood Dolls that slowly wear you down. Also, a Blood Doll on a vampire will make it more of a target for rush decks - it is after all the means to generate pool. I have seen many decks get smashed because the Blood Dolled minion was hit hard the turn it was brought into play, leaving it with no blood to spare the pool. Of course, there is an argument that weenie decks are best suited to Minion Taps, and this is largely true. To recover the same amount of blood over 5 turns from a single Blood Doll, you would need to use 2 or 3 Minion Taps, wasting card slots and Master Phase actions. However, even a weenie deck will have a vampire with 3 or 4 capacity, and the power to pull that blood off instantly in a bad situation can be the difference between being oustee or ousted. Feel free to comment! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Section 1.3 VAMPIRE OF THE MONTH Bear Paw Clan: Gangrel Capacity: 5 Artist(s): Robert McNeill Set(s): Jyhad / V:TES Disciplines: Superior Animalism Inferior Fortitude Inferior Presence Inferior Protean Bear Paw is unique amongst Gangrel - he has Presence! Quite what is so impressive about this Gangrel as opposed to any other, it is hard to tell, but there’s the discipline, loud and proud. I am sure there is mileage in an Animalism / Presence deck, but I have yet to fathom it (certainly it would feature Bear Paw, Jost Werner, and maybe Alexandra, but what it would do is anyone’s guess! Bleed and Bruise probably). It’s an usual little "extra" like this that makes Bear Paw stand out. However, what is possibly the most interesting thing about Bear Paw is the fact he is the cheapest Gangrel to have Superior Animalism. Animalism is having somewhat of a revival in the UK scene at the moment, to the extent it has become the only combat discipline some Methusulahs use. The wonderful combo that is Trap (or Conquer the Beast for preference!), Carrion Crows, and Song of Serenity (plus liberal use of Aid from Bats and a Murder of Crows if you have one) can cause all manner of mayhem. Not to mention there is the wakeup factor of Guard Dogs and Rats Warning, and Cat’s Guidance to stay upright Bear Paw should be the backbone of any Gangrel Animalism deck. At 5 points, he is sweetly set in the mid- price range, and were it not for the Presence would probably have another clan discipline at superior (much like Raven / Camille). Even so, he is a vampire that no Gangrel deck should be without. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Section 1.4 CARD OF THE MONTH Surprise Influence Type(s): Reaction Rarity: Common Artist(s): Steve Casper / David Fooden Set(s): Jyhad / V:TES / Sabbat / Sabbat War Card Text: Requires a ready vampire. Only usable during a political action. This reacting vampire gains 2 votes. A lot of people are probably double taking at this choice. Why? I’ll tell you why - votes are more trouble that they’re worth to the Gangrel. Unless you have a very focussed deck, you will probably not have much in the way of votes, leaving you susceptible to Banishment’s, KRC / Conservative Agitation, Disputed Territory (for the Zoo Hunting Ground and Eco Terrorists) and worse! It is unlikely that a Gangrel player will have more than 3 or 4 votes in total from his vampires, and a dedicated vote deck will just laugh this off. More often than not, even your Ally will start throwing damage from votes your way if it looks as if there could be trouble from his Predator or Prey when he calls the vote. The problem is, Gangrel just don’t have the presence to pass votes, and don’t have much in the way of Dominate to cancel the votes. They really just do simple, direct actions - combat, bleed, and recruit retainers and allies. You can count the number of Animalism, Protean and Fortitude action cards there are on your fingers! That isn’t to say they are bad actions, just not very numerous. So, the best defence is in surprise! The great thing about Surprise Influence is that you hold them in your hand, giving you excellent bluff value, and so can make the voter think twice before he damages you. Also, each untapped minion can play one, so with multiple SI’s in your hand, you can overturn the vote anyway. You never know when votes can count - it could be the difference between winning and losing the game. And any Gangrel (indeed any vampire!) can play them. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Section 1.5 DECK OF THE MONTH Deck name: Ask the Gangrel Crypt: (12 cards) [Min: 11, Max: 23, Avg: 4.00] 1 Anastasia Grey (Gangrel, 3, an pt) 1 Badger (Gangrel, 6, an FO po PT) 1 Bear Paw (Gangrel, 5, AN fo pr pt) 1 Chandler Hungerford (Gangrel, 3, PT) 1 Daliyah (Nosferatu, 4, ob PT) 1 Gitane St. Claire (Gangrel, 7, AN FO PT,Primogen) 1 Lazar Dobrescu (Ravnos, 3, fo) 1 Panagos Levidis (Gangrel, 3, an ob) 1 Raven (Gangrel, 5, an FO PT) 1 Ricki Van Demsi (Gangrel, 3, fo pt) 1 Roman Alexander (Gangrel, 4, an fo pt) 1 Vliam Andor (Gangrel, 2, an) Library: (90 cards) Master (18) 7 Anarch Revolt 1 Animalism 3 Blood Doll 1 Eco-terrorists 2 Minion Tap 1 Protean 1 Sudden Reversal 1 Tribute to the Master 1 Zoo Hunting Ground Minion (72) 5 Aid from Bats 6 Cats' Guidance 5 Claws of the Dead 3 Earth Meld 2 Form of Mist 1 J. S. Simmons, Esq. 2 Laptop Computer 5 Political Backlash 3 Rapid Change 3 Raptor 3 Raven Spy 6 Restoration 6 Skin of Steel 3 Sport Bike 12 Surprise Influence 1 Tasha Morgan 6 Wake with Evening's Freshness This is a concept in keeping with this months Card of the Month, but also incorporates another favourite - Political Backlash. The trick is encouraging others (especially your Prey) to attempt to vote them down - that’s where gamesmanship comes in: >I won’t attempt to intercept the vote - help yourself"... shortly before you pull out 4 Surprise Influences and 4 Political Backlashes! Its main strength is intercept via allies, but this may take time, and you also have to take care not to overextend yourself - you have to pay for Anarch Revolts too! Be warned - this is a deck that people will only play against once. Don’t be surprised if people refuse to play against this deck once they have seen it! Still, great fun to play that first time... ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Section 1.6 CONCLUSION Thanks for reading. As before, any comments or ideas, feel free to post, or mail to me at davecrazy@hotmail.com. Any abuse, mail to ghoulsbestfriend@hotmail.com (after that Deck of the Month, I am ducking for cover!) See y’all David Hammond UGPOW