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 Masquerade breaking Christmas Cracker joke... How many Gangrel does it take to change a light-bulb? Have you ever met a Gangrel who is scared of the dark? Gleam of Red Eyes mate! ---------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------- 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. As a sit here at my screen, bloated from turkey and feeling like a carpet monster is tap dancing on my tongue, it brings a warm glow to me when I reflect on all the I’ve had playing V:TES in the last year. It is somewhat ironic that my most successful decks to date is not really a Gangrel deck, but a bastardised Caitiff and Pander deck (the one point mini - minion deck) or the Inner Circle member deck, with Stanislava noticeable by her absence. However, this is a time for New Years’ resolutions - I WILL create the ultimate Gangrel beats deck and might even get to play it at Southampton next week (Lord help us all!). Any ideas? Enjoy! ---------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------- Section 1.1 FERAL WHISPERS A bit of a quiet month for mails - don’t be shy, I don’t bite... However, as a special bonus, here is the Illiana deck I promised, kindly sent by Kajik. Come to Dark Side Crypt 3 Iliana 7 PRO DOM FOR 1 Lisette Vizquel 6 pro DOM Bishop +1 intercept vs Diablerie 1 Vanessa 6 DOM FOR 1 Caitlin 5 PRO dom Bishop 1 Camille Devereux 5 PRO FOR 1 Ingrid Russo 4 DOM for 1 Chandler Hungerford 3 PRO +1 intercept vs Gangrel 1 Ricki Van Demsy 3 pro for 1 Anastasia Grey 3 pro 1 Sadie 2 pro Deck 2 Eco Terrorist 1 Zoo HG 1 Backways 1 Giant's Blood 2 Blood Doll 1 Minion Tap 1 Dreams of the Sphinx 1 Rumor Mill , Tabloid Newspaper 1 Elisium , the Arboretum 1 Anarch Troublemaker 1 Sudden Reversal 1 Direct Intervention 8 Govern the Unaligned 3 Kine Dominance 1 Far Mastery 1 Grave Robbing 1 Foreshadowing Destruction 1 Laptop Computer 1 Tasha Morgan 1 J.S. Simmons esq. 2 Sport Bike 1 Mr. Winthrop 1 Gangrel Justicar 1 Renegade Garou 1 Freak Drive 1 Kiss of Ra 1 Daring the Dawn 1 Force of Will 1 Ablative Skin 5 Form of Mist 5 Earth Meld 4 Earth Control 1 Claws of the Dead 5 Forced Awakening 4 Deflection 3 Redirection 2 Delaying Tactics What I liked about this deck is that has a nice toolbox-y feel whilst still being fairly focussed as a dominate bleed deck. Although there is a lot about it I would tweak (more Kiss of Ra and Grave Robbings, some Rapid Changes rather than Form of Mists), it looks like a deck that could do the business - a no-nonesense Gangrel bleed deck. Don’t forget, mail all comments to at davecrazy@hotmail.com ---------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------- Section 1.2 TALKING POINT Who plays with Big Vampires? One of the big problems with the Gangrel is that only one vampire under 5 capacity has any disciplines at superior (Chandler). Worse still, only one of the mid-range vampires (5-8) has a full compliment of clan disciplines (this weeks vampire of the month), leaving the Gangrel lover with a bit of a dilemma. The best stuff happens with disciplines at superior (see Scorpion Sting, Form of Mist, Dawn Operation, Drawing Out the Beast, and so on), but the vampires with the disciplines at superior are very expensive. So what can be done? To boost the smaller vampires up to fully tooled hosing machines needs lots of Master Card slots, which are too valuable to waste. This also takes up time (unless you risk diablerie) and leave the vampire weak in the meantime. The alternative is only to use expensive vampires, and while this can easily be done (Minion tap / Fifth Tradition / yawn) it leaves you open to serious assault in the first few rounds of the game. Not to mention malicious Brainwash decks (yuk!). A Tomb of Rameses III can help, but it is doubly costly (costs 3 and give half blood). So where do you draw the line? Well, you have to consider what you *really* need at superior, and what is fluff? If you can get rid of one discipline at superior, you can probably make a decision which way to lean. I’ll wager that if you are doing a Gangrel combat deck, you will be looking at Animalism at superior as a must (Carrion Crows, Drawing Out the Beast, and Scorpion Sting to name but three that have essential superiors). If you are looking at a Gangrel Bleed deck, you should be looking at Protean at superior (Earth Control and Form of Mist are a must). Fortitude is nice to have in both cases, but rarely critical unless you are constructing a deck around Dawn Operations or Kiss of Ras (a very poor idea in itself). So, now you have reduced the amount of disciplines you need, you just need to work out the best crypt. The combat decks will come out with more mid to upper range vampires (Faruq, Gitane, Gunther etc) whereas the Bleed deck should come out with more lower cap vampires (Chandler, Raven, Camille, Badger). Who plays with big vampires? People who like combat. ---------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------- Section 1.3 VAMPIRE OF THE MONTH Gitane St. Claire Clan: Gangrel Capacity: 7 Title: Primogen Artist(s): Quinton Hoover Disciplines : Superior Animalism Superior Fortitude Superior Protean Gitane is a useful vampire for the Gangrel because she is the cheapest Gangrel with all clan disciplines at superior. However, it is somewhat unfair that she is a Primogen, because this makes her just a little too pricey for some - it would have been better for her to be a 6 pointer with no title. Still, you shouldn’t complain about the result - one of the best combat combinations (Animalism plus Protean) and damage prevention (or unblockable madness) thanks to the fortiutude. Load her up with some Guard Dogs and you have a fabulous unstoppable beats-meister (Scorpion Sting and Wolf Claws - yummy!). Bearing in mind that she costs 2 pool less than Ingrid Rossler (the next all - discipline vampires) to influence, she’s a deal, she’s a steal, she’s Sale of the Century! Talk about your January Sales! ---------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------- Section 1.4 CARD OF THE MONTH Raptor Type(s): Retainer Discipline: Animalism Blood Cost: 2 Rarity: Uncommon Artist(s): Ron Spencer Card Text: Retainer with 1 life. The minion with this retainer gets +1 intercept. SUP: As above, and when the minion with this retainer is in combat, the opposing minion's controller's hand size is reduced by one. Basically, to really optimise this retainer in a deck, you need at least 7 of them, recruited with superior Animalism, on one vampire. This allows you to enter combat with confidence, as it is very unlikely that the opponent will be able to play any card to do more than basic damage. Worse still you get your target to discard a whole handful of cards at a time - a classic Millstone deck. Old hands at VTES will be more than familiar with the 7 Raptors deck, and I understand it was quite popular for a time (before my arrival on the scene, I have to say). However, with the release of Sabbat War, there is a new kid on the block who can add some spice to a revised version of this kind of deck - Ellen Fence, the Tracker. With this little lady and Wyn in a deck, plus a flack Jacket and a Heidelburg Castle, you can now really cause mayhem! I have a deck of this kind ready to go, but it is work in progress - news as it happens! ---------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------- Section 1.5 DECK OF THE MONTH Deck name: AAAAAAARRRRGH! Crypt: (12 cards) [Min: 17, Max: 40, Avg: 7.00] 1 Angus the Unruled (Gangrel, 10, AN ce fo po PT, Justicar) 1 Badger (Gangrel, 6, an FO po PT) 1 Basilia (Gangrel, 10, AN FO ob po PT, Primogen) 1 Bear Paw (Gangrel, 5, AN fo pr pt) 1 Gitane St. Claire (Gangrel, 7, AN FO PT, Primogen) 1 Ingrid Rossler (Gangrel, 9, AN do FO PT, Prince) 2 Raven (Gangrel, 5, an FO PT) 1 Ricki Van Demsi (Gangrel, 3, fo pt) 1 Roman Alexander (Gangrel, 4, an fo pt) 2 Wynn (Gangrel, 10, AN FO ob po PT, Primogen) Library: (90 cards) Master (16) 1 Animalism 1 Backways 2 Blood Doll 2 Fortitude 1 Gangrel Revel 1 Giant's Blood 1 KRCG News Radio 1 London Evening Star, Tabloid Newspaper 3 Minion Tap 1 Parthenon, The 1 Rumor Mill, Tabloid Newspaper, The 1 Zoo Hunting Ground Minion (74) 2 Aid from Bats 3 Ambush 2 Anathema 2 Arson 6 Bone Spur 5 Bum's Rush 4 Cats' Guidance 2 Computer Hacking 3 Dog Pack 2 Drawing Out the Beast 2 Earth Control 1 Elder Intervention 2 Fifth Tradition: Hospitality, The 1 Force of Will 2 Freak Drive 1 Gangrel Justicar 3 Guard Dogs 2 Laptop Computer 1 Palatial Estate 1 Praxis Seizure: Glasgow 1 Praxis Seizure: London 1 Restoration 1 Ritual of the Bitter Rose 4 Rolling with the Punches 5 Scorpion Sting 2 Shadow of the Wolf 1 Shepherd's Innocence 5 Skin of Steel 2 Uncontrollable Rage 3 Wake with Evening's Freshness 3 Wolf Claws Due to my turkey overdose, I am less inspired than usual, so here is a boring Gangrel Rush deck. Yawn. Sooo sleepy... ---------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------- 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