Table of Contents: 1. Back to Basics 2. Focus on the Family: Francesca Giovanni 3. Deck: "Hold still, this will hurt a bit." 1. Back to Basics I've spent a lot of time discussing the various Necromancy cards and how they interact with the world, but we can't leave out the far more common disciplines of Dominate and Potence. Dominate is also found among the Malkavians, Ventrue, Tremere, Lasombra, and Ventrue and Tremere Antitribu. Potence is also found among the Brujah, Nosferatu, their Antitribu, and the Lasombra. In fact, both the Lasombra and the "Euro-Brujah" use both Dominate and Potence. So, there's a lot of potential crossover with these two disciplines alone. Dominate has multiple uses. It is excellent in bleeding, and has bleed defense, vote defense, stealth, and combat defense. Potence is strictly combat, and it does it very well. Unfortunately, there are few ways that the two disciplines "combo" well, and there are still few ways that either or both "combo" with Necromancy. In addition, Dominate and Potence are not very universal disciplines among the Giovanni, so you'll find your choices of vampire very quickly reduced. Not all is lost, however. Now that Thoughts Betrayed has rejoined the land of the not-quite-so-cheesy, there are new, clever ways to use it. Although it requires DOM instead of pot, and it costs two blood, Thoughts Betrayed has much the same effect as Immortal Grapple, but it gives you the added assurance that the expected hand strike (although it may still be a weapon) isn't pumped too much by Potence. In addition, you won't see any Dodges or S:CE unless they're already on the table. Furthermore, you can use this card at range as well as close up, so it may just be the ticket to make a Potence pitch deck work. Dominate and Potence also can work as a bruise-and-bleed strategy, but they are difficult and more liable to hand-jam than stealth-and-bleed. On the subject of stealth, don't forget Seduction. It's an often overlooked card that can do a lot in assisting your actions. Usually, you'll know who you need to worry about blocking your actions. Seduction along with Jar the Soul can tie up all the blockers very quickly. In keeping Dominate and Potence, the Giovanni have a lot of potential flexibility. They can be effective in and out of combat, and they have a number of things they can do thanks to Necromancy. When designing a deck around the Giovanni, don't forget to consider all angles. You may have to remove one, usually best achieved by removing a discipline, but the end deck should still be very capable, and full of surprises. 2. Focus on the Family: Francesca Giovanni Francesca Giovanni is the "Giovanni Poster Boy." As a 4 with basic Dominate, Potence, and Necromancy, you can't get much more bland. If there's any real problem with her, it's that the three disciplines rarely combo well. However, that very same disadvantage is also her main advantage. Just like Vittorio, she's very flexible. In fact, unless your deck uses Fortitude, Francesca is the most flexible low-level Giovanni out there. This is very important when designing your decks. She's only useful if you plan to use all three disciplines of Potence, Dominate, and Necromancy. Tighten your deck's focus a little bit, and you'll find that one discipline pops out, and Francesca is no longer an attractive choice. For Dom/Pot, there's the Lasombra Cameron. For Dom/Nec, there's Gloria. For Pot/Nec, there are the Twins. Otherwise, like a good cracker, she forms a good base upon which you can use the other vampires to build the flavor of your deck. 3. Deck: "Hold still, this will hurt a bit." This deck uses the Dominate power of Thoughts Betrayed to make a pitch deck work, as opposed to using Immortal Grapple to make a hand-damage deck work. This deck is light on Necromancy, and uses a little bit of defense in the form of Redirections. There is a wrinkle, however. (I can't seem to make a dek without one.) I've added Jar the Soul and Misdirection so that you can use Ambush as much as possible over Bum's Rush. Don't forget that Ambush and Bum's Rush give you a free maneuver! Vampires: Lupo KoKo Mario Giovanni Cameron x 3 Gloria Giovanni Francesca Giovanni x 2 Gaspare Giovanni Lisette Vizquel Enzo Giovanni Total: 48, Average: 4, Best: 10, Worst: 24 Masters: 15 Dominate x 4 Potence x 2 Misdirection x 2 Blood Doll x 4 Elder Library Dreams of the Sphinx x 2 Minion: 75 Ambush x 9 Bum's Rush x 4 Hand of Conrad x 2 Wake with Evening's Freshness x 4 Redirection x 4 Jar the Soul x 5 Rampage x 2 Far Mastery x 1 Taste of Vitae x 6 Thoughts Betrayed x 10 Trap! x 2 Increased Strength x 10 Thrown Sewer Lid x 6 Thrown Gate x 6 Well-Aimed Car x 2 Mighty Grapple x 2 John Baker V:EKN Official Clan Giovanni Newsletter Editor