Gangrel Newsletter December 2001 Contents 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 Ritual Challenge Section 1.6 Conclusion --------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------- 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. Bloodlines has given us a lot of new interesting cards to use, mainly as a result of the Ahrimanes. The Spiritus discipline cards newarly all split nicely to give basic animalism a real boost and since nearly all gangrel above 3 cap have animalism, this gives the gangrel a huge boost too. Feral Whispers will look at new and improved options open to us as a result of the new girls. Talking point will again have a look at table dealing - bananas splits - and we have the usual stuff for cards of the month. Enjoy and happy holidays! DH --------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------- Section 1.1 FERAL WHISPERS "Please miss, the new girl is being weird" The Ahrimanes: 4 Juanita Santiago (pre, ani, spi) 5 Nettie Hale (pro, ani, pre, cel, spi) +1 Stealth in recruiting 6 Cynthia Inglod (ani, for, SPI, pre) +1 strength v Cammies 7 The Siamese (ani, PRE, pro, SPI) +1 Bleed 8 Howler (ANI, obf, PRE, SPI) + 1 maneuver, +1 Strength, no weapons. I think all are Sabbat and all are sterile. What can we make of these girls, eh? Well, all have animalism, 2 have protean (at basic) and one has fortitude (at basic). For the cost (all are what I would consider Mid Range) this really isn't good enough for an easy fit with a basic Gangrel deck. Nettie at 5 isn't too bad - she has pro and ani plus a half decent special. She also has cel, which a few Gangrel have, and would also be useful if High Top ever showed up. For those who haven't seen him, High Top is a watered down version of the Renegade Garou. HT is unique, a unique werewolf ally with 3 life and 1 Strength. He has the maneuver, the additional strike and the regeneration of the Garou. He can also play cel cards at basic. He seems designed to go with Nettie and maybe the !Gangrel. He costs 4 pool, which is cheaper than RG, yet the fact that he is unique and has less hand damage makes quite a difference since it would be harder to work him into play - but he could still do the Abomination shuffle! on the whole though, finding Ahrimanes in a Gangrel deck is farily unlikely to happen. However, Gangrel in an Ahrimanes deck is fairly likely. Feral Spirit names and shames the Gangrel as prime targets to become very useful indeed. The addition of spi for the chosen vamp makes a very attractive proposition indeed, and Sanguinous Instruction to up the ante is a very cool proposition too. However, my feeling is that even this bonus is a lot of hard work, taking up a lot of card slots - most of them valuable Masters. There are not enough GREAT spi cards to make it worthwhile and only Bear Paw has more than 1 in-clan discipline of the cats (his pre FINALLY paying off, as is his ANI). So why bother then? Well, a pre / ani deck has always been a curious idea. Presence gives the second best bleed power in the game (after Dominate). Animalism is one of the most flexible all-round disciplines in the game too, giving some quite pokey bruise, a little intercept, a suite of anti bleed untapping, and lots of useful retainers (if you ignore the Jackal...). What you are looking at is the rudiments of a cheap and flexible bruise an bleed deck. e.g. Bleed with Social Charm, if blocked, Carrion Crows, Terror Frenzy, Aid from Bats, or Song in the Dark. After a couple of times with this happening, other vamps would hopefully stop blocking. The problem to date has been that for this to work, you would need to be looking for a bunch of weenies or at least mid caps with pre / ani to make it viable - otherwise it would be too slow and with no real way of stopping S:CE or Nasty Ranged Strikes (tm), you would either get the 6 (Jost Werner, Alexandria, Harrod, some 8 cap Nossie, etc) very big vampires with pre / ani demolished in no time, or you would have been bled out. The cats offer this discipline set at a reasonable cost, and the option of creating others quite cheaply (Bear Paw for one, others could be cheaply "rouged up" with the new Sanguinous Instruction or good old Masters). Otherwise, there is Spiritus, which is another support discipline very much in the style of Animalism. However, I think, it really isn't "all that". It seems they are a little more powerful than their Animalism equivalents, and there are some nice cards (Nose of the Hound - a penalty free Bums Rush with stealth, Strength of the Bear - a Fists of Death with a press a superior, and some intercept, including a card that is bascially an Eagles Sight). However, none of them really seem to be strategic enough to bother with Spiritus on it's own merits. There is nothing to make you go "ooooh!". Even NothH (the rush card) is fairly pointless since there are not enough damage cards or damage prevention to guarantee the opposition is put down, and there is nothing to get around S:CE even remotely. It is a flexible discipline, but far from great. So in all, the cats are likely to pop up in only few deck strategies. Although there is a lot of potential should the disciplines expand, at the moment, they are fairly tame. This is a real shame, since they look the prettiest of all the vampires in the set (artwork not done by Mr Shy!). But no matter how they look, they are still a dissapointment to my eyes. Feel free to comment either to the group or to my email address: davecrazy@hotmail.com --------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------- Section 1.2 TALKING POINT A Bluffers Guide to Table Dealing, part four... "Bananas Splits" (note: for the purposes of this newsletter, we shall assume that combat is a "strategy" - I am aware there are arguements for and against this) Rush Combat is possibly the most risky area of affecting table control, since combat can be amoungst the weakest of interactive strategies; With Vote based strategies, you will usually have anywhere between 2-5 players all vying for the best deal to suit them, and all of them will also have a stake in how the outcome resolves. Fringe strategies (strategies tied to one or two cards - eg. Corruption, Sensory Dep, etc) are often quite strong since you can often choose where to dish out the bad - not always at your prey! Bleed is the weakest - you are tied into going left - but only slightly better is combat - although you can take the damage to an individual vampire (usually of your choosing), for it to be effective, you have to actually torporise or burn the opposing vampire. However, with combat decks you will usually be in the situation where your primary strength (fighting) could be your ultimate downfall. In order to guarantee a vampire eats the dirt, you have to pack a lot of combat cards. This also follows that each combat will be fairly card intensive. Finally this means that you will be limited to the number of combats you can reasonably affect. Typically, a Gangel potence deck will be able to rush 8-10 times with assured success, maybe one or two more if you are lucky. This works on the theory that you have about 50-60 combat cards and use between 5-7 in each combat (e.g. (Using Katarina) Bums Rush, Carrion Crows, DotB, Immortal Grapple, Wolf Claws, Pushing the Limit, Skin of Steel). A Brujah Cel / Pot deck will use similar quantitues (e.g. (Using Anvil) Bums Rush, Torn Signpost, Flash, Immortal Grapple, Undead Strength, Taste of Vitae / Disarm). One variation that defies this trend is weenie combat. With weenie combat, you work on weight of numbers to do your work, so you will typically use less cards per combat combo - about 4-5 - and use more minions per turn to erode opponants libraries: e.g. (Using Lupo) Bums Rush, (Maneuver to ensure close or pray for close if blocked), Immortal Grapple, Pushing the Limits, (Pray you get struck for one / burn Leather Jacket) Disarm / Taste. The downside to this strategy is that the vampires are clearly more fragile and their attacks often have holes a mile wide in them (in the above case, multiple maneuvers from the opposing vampire ruin the whole strategy). In either case, a combat deck will typically have limited resources to throw at the opposition, but when it does, sparks truly fly. The above examples will already give you a few clues as to what a rush deck hates: First off, combat is not the best strategy against weenies. With a weenie deck, you knock one down and two pop up in its place, so you will often use all your combat cards ousting one methusula. Secondly, combat decks do not like fortitude decks - it's a fact! Although, in my experience, offensive combat decks will usually beat damage prevention decks over time, but they use up more cards than then should in the process, meaning less rushing oppertunities later on, meaning less success (having one player with lots of damage prevention will often mean at least one less VP for the rush combat player). Damage prevention is a means of slowing the advance of a rush deck, not stopping it. However, in the meantime (if all things remain equal) other players will get to execute their strategies and get VPs. Third, the advent of the Harbringers of Skulls. Combat decks being chased by the Ugly Boys will be under even more pressure with the Slaughterhouse and other special cards at their disposal. Not only will the combat deck lose cards quickly, but the HoS also have damage prevention a gogo to stop them pushing back. Other deck styles may have pros and cons vs combat decks, but this is a subjective matter dependant on individual games. The three threats above are real trouble for the rush combat deck player. So, how do you win with a rush deck? Well, the most reliable way of getting points in a tournament if playing a combat deck is the table split. Effectively this is a deal that you make with another player that means they will not interfere with you, or they may even aid you, allowing you to do "your thing". Then, when you have racked up the agreed number of points, you will "roll over" and allow the other methusula to bleed you out. This can also be offered the other way around (you hold back until they have the agreed number of points and then go through them). The reason why combat decks especially benifit from this sort of deal is that they rarely have a lot of card slots free to have increased bleeds. This means it will take a long time to oust their prey(s), in which time pressure will no doubt increase from the right (often resulting in the rush deck player being ousted before he can take down his prey(s)). So, making a deal with another player to reduce the pressure means that the combat player is given a free hand to dispose of his prey in the best time he can. There is a lot to be said about this kind of deal. It is imperitive that you can back up what is essentially an open threat to the rest of the table. If you are unlikely to be able to carry out what you have arranged, you are in no position to make a deal (e.g. you cleverly filled your deck with Canine Hordes instead of Carrion Crows, Undead Strength instead of Immortal Grapple, etc). The best way of checking if you ARE in a position to do so is take down a vampire. Rush a vampire of your predator or prey (usually best if it is your prey's). If you can at least torporise it easily, you are in business - burning is a bonus! If you can immobilize a vampire in one swift action, you have done two things - first hit that Methusula a telling blow and second, delivered a message to the rest of the table that you are a force to be reckoned with. If you can't, you could be in trouble. Assuming you can, though, you are now in a position to make deals. With the current tournament rules, you have to go for the optimum number of VPs availible. This means you have to try and negotiate a deal where you get the most points. For example, on a 5 player table, talk to someone and offer them 2 points if you can get 3. On a 4 player table, offer 1 if you can get 3, and so on. There is always room for negotiation (e.g. on a 4 player table, you could go for 2 each if you get the last VPs giving better TPs). So, who do you deal with? I believe it is totally subjective where on the table you deal with and with what kind of deck they are playing. A bleed deck could be a good bet if they look capable (i.e. good vampires and showing lots of stealth and increased bleeds), but if he is your predator, you might want to think very carefully. If he is your prey, then you are in business. Vote decks are also a good bet, since they can effect the whole table from wherever they sit. As an aside, a typical stealth + bleed deck is often the most useful to the combat player since they typically include more stealth and bleed than combat. This means you could be in a position to offer a "bodyguard" deal, with the points in your favour. The hardest kind of deck to go against, as discussed, is the Weenie deck. If it is behind you (your predator or even your grand predator), you are more than likely finished. As such, this is the kind of deck that is worth considering dealing with early on, especially if they are packing a lot of presence or a lot of stealth. The trouble is they are harder to deal with! The most important guideline to follow in table splitting deals is not to even consider a deal for a few turns. Wait until at least turn 3 or 4, or until the other players have all shown their true colours. This will also give you time to bring out your vampires and set up and make that all important first rush. Never attempt a deal unless you have had a chance to fully consider the options. Although you may think you are able to back up a deal, it is entirely possible that the otehr person in the deal might not be, despite early appearances. More next time. Any comments, post up or mail me at davecrazy@hotmail.com --------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------- Section 1.3 VAMPIRE OF THE MONTH Vliam Andor Clan: Gangrel Capacity: 2 Artist(s): Ken Meyer, Jr. Disciplines :Inferior Animalism OK, he's fairly poor by normal standards, but in the light of the Ahrimanes arrival, he kicks ass! He's cheap, he has one of the cat's in-clan abilities, and... er... he's cheap! For two pool and the addition of a Feral Spirit, you almost have a cookie cutter (basic) just without the presence. Even on a Gangrel day, he can get a Raven Spy and Aid from Bats / Carrion Crows until the cows come home. He is just crying out for an Animalism skillcard, though. So, in review: He's cheap. --------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------- Section 1.4 CARD OF THE MONTH Strength of the Bear Type(s): Combat Discipline: Animalism / Spiritus Blood Cost: 1 Rarity: Common Artist(s): Jeff Holt Card Text: Only usable before range is determined. ani: +1 Strength for the remiander of this round Spi: +1 Strength for the whole combat SPI: As above with an optional press I like this for 4 reasons: First it is stackable. This means that the first srike in combat is going to be a doozy! Pile them on and Taste them back. Second, it is playable even with basic ani - meaning 90 percent of Gangrels can play it! Great for the likes of Raven, who can now rush with Uncotrollable Rage and 2 SotB, then strike with Scorpion Sting for 4 and 2 agg! not bad for a 5 cap with no potence. Third, it isn't a rare! Compare to the likes of the very rare Fists of Death, Fire in the Blood, or even the very desirable Torn Signpost, and the fact it is readily availible makes a huge difference. Although it is only for the first round, you can easily make it count with the load of agg options the Gangrel have... Forth and most importantly, it reminds me of the early 1990's cartoon Bravestarr... the adventures of a Marshall in some futuristic cowboy setting, who could call on the powers of his totem animals, one of which was a Bear. He stand proud and shout: "Strength of the Bear... ear... ear..." *to fade* and become, unsuprisingly, quite strong. Happy days indeed. Of course, now I have it in my head, I'm going to be doing that every time I play the card. Doh! --------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------- Section 1.5 RITUAL CHALLENGE I'm leaving last time's challenge open, since no-one sent in a response! There has to be mileage out of Torpor deck, maybe using Crimson Furys, Regenerations, Minion Taps, and so on. Anyone got a good variant they want to share? Answers to the usual address, or to the newsgroup. Best of luck. --------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------- Section 1.6 CONCLUSION Thanks for reading. Next time we shall see the effects of Bloodlines starting to trickle into play. I reserve the right to see what will I write next until then! Have a great Holiday Season. As before, any comments or ideas, feel free to post, or mail to me at davecrazy@hotmail.com. Any abuse, mail to likeIcare@upyerbum.com See y'all David Hammond UGPOW