Hello! Welcome to a new edition of the Giovanni Newsletter, in which we look at everything the Family has to offer. I’m the new editor, John Baker, and I hope I can show that the Giovanni are more than just a group that sit on the sidelines. Please email me at faustus@psu.edu if you have any questions, comments, ideas, criticisms or whatever to help out. Sure, this one is long, but I do plan for these newsletters to have three parts. Firstly, a special topic regarding the Giovanni clan. Secondly, I will choose a single vampire and discuss in detail the advantages and disadvantages the vampire has. Thirdly, I will try to sum up my views in a single deck. Table of Contents: 1. A Look at Necromancy 2. Focus on the Family: Gloria Giovanni 3. Giovanni Deck: To Hell and Back A Look At Necromancy Any time spent dwelling on the Giovanni must involve a long look at Necromancy. After all, every Giovanni in the game has the discipline, and Dedefra is the only non-Giovanni with Necromancy. Luckily, Necromancy is a small discipline, so I will make a short comment on all the cards here. One thing I should note, however. Look over the Giovanni list. Rudolpho Giovanni, at 3 capacity, has NEC, but it’s not until we reach Rafaele, at 6 capacity, that we see another NEC. In addition, Rafaele doesn’t have any other in-clan disciplines (although obf and cel are quite useful on their own). If you’re going to use Necromancy, you should either be satisfied with the inferior line, have a "heavy" crypt, or carry skill cards. Compel the Spirit Action 1 blood Inf: +1 stealth action. Only usable if a retainer or ally you control has been burned since your last turn. Move the card from your ash heap to your hand. Sup: As above, but you may move the ally or retainer to the active region without paying the cost to put him or her in play. If a retainer is chosen, he or she must be placed on the acting minion. A very popular way to pull allies back into the action. At 1 blood, the cost isn’t bad, and if you have superior Necromancy, that ally is free! Sure, you can use the card on retainers, too, but there are precious few retainers that are worth diving into the ash heap for. One could argue that allies and retainers just aren’t worth it, but the Giovanni have some quite good allies and retainers at their fingertips. Death Pact Action/Retainer 1 blood Inf: This card is an action card that becomes a retainer card. +1 stealth action. (D) Put this card on a ready vampire. If that vampire is burned, put this card on the vampire who brought this card into play. This card then represents a retainer with 2 life. Once each combat, the vampire with this retainer may change one damage from aggravated to normal. Sup: As above, but the retainer has 3 life. Okay, I know what you’re thinking. This is a totally stupid card. Well, you’re mostly right. You can’t get the retainer until you’ve actually stuck this card on someone, which costs an action and a blood, then gone ahead and destroyed the vampire. However, being able to turn 1 damage from aggravated to normal is nothing to sneeze at; just ask Merrill Molitor. It’s just that it appears to be so much work that it’s hardly worth it. However, the 7/7 Directed Action rulings help us here. Firstly, we could stick this card on one of our own vampires and then destroy our own vampire. Since we’re Necromancy types, destroying one of our own vampires is only a temporary setback. Secondly, there’s no limit to the number of Death Pacts we can stick on a single vampire. So, we could theoretically sell some poor lick’s soul to a bunch of vampires, then just toast the one. I’ll have to come back to this card some other month. Eyes of the Dead Reaction Inf: Only usable when a reacting vampire you control attempts to block a vampire who is attempting to diablerize one of your minions. This reacting vampire gets +1 intercept. Sup: As above, but with +2 intercept. Now here’s a stupid and useless card. This card is Official 100% Pure Wallpaper. If you’re really keen on stopping diablerie, let’s take a look at another card: The Deadliest Sin Reaction Requires a ready vampire. Only usable when a vampire attempts to commit diablerie. This reacting vampire gets +2 intercept. If combat occurs, this reacting vampire gets +2 hand damage until the end of combat. See? The Deadliest Sin is in all ways superior to Eyes of the Dead. It’s a pity. Jar the Soul Action Inf: +1 stealth action. (D) Tap any ready minion. Sup: (D) As above, and that minion burns 1 blood. Aha, now here’s an interesting card. Yes, it’s the best tapper out there, as discussed in the September 1998 Giovanni Newsletter. However, you have to tap one of your own guys in order to tap one of theirs. Is it really worth it? Not if you consider Necromancy on its own, but it is once you pair it with other disciplines. With Dominate, it’s great for tap-and-bleed. With Potence, it sets up Ambushes and ties up potential blockers nicely. With Fortitude, you can always Freak Drive. With Thaumaturgy, you can empty a vampire of blood quickly. Be imaginative. Possession Action 2 blood Inf: Move any vampire from your ash heap to your inactive region. Sup: Move a vampire from your ash heap to your active region (turn him or her face up) and move one blood from the blood bank to the vampire. A lot can be said about this card. It's one of the easiest ways to get a vampire back, but it's expensive and not at stealth. However, if you've got a vampire with superior Necromancy, and another vampire has the choice of burning or going to torpor, you're probably better off burning the vampire. Let's say a vampire can end up in torpor with no blood or burned during your minion phase, depending on which cards you play. If she goes torpor, then it will take an action at +1 stealth costing 2 blood to pull her, tapped and empty, out. However, with Possession, it becomes a 0 stealth action costing a card and 2 blood, but she is untapped and has 1 blood, ready to act again in the same minion phase, and the NRA rule has been reset for her, as she's a "new vampire." So, paradoxically, it may be more cost effective to burn your own vampires than to let them go to torpor. Here's another card I must come back to at a later date. Release of the Shackled Soul Action 1 blood Inf: (D) Burn an ally or retainer controlled by your prey. Sup: As above, with +1 stealth. This card is often overlooked, but it might be reasonable to do so. Since Dominate is also a Giovanni discipline, why bother burning that retainer or ally at the cost of 1 blood when you can just as easily steal him/her with Far Mastery? Admittedly, there aren't many reasons to use this card over Far Mastery. Sure, post 7/7, you can deal with a pesky Charnas with this card, and you don't need superior Necromancy to affect an ally, like you do with Far Mastery. Moreover, if you're playing a non-Dominate combat deck, it's the cleanest way to deal with a Renegade Garou or War Ghoul. In general, however, Far Mastery is the better choice. Soul Stealing Action modifier/Combat Inf: Usable as an action modifier. Only usable when a vampire you control burns a vampire controlled by your prey. Your vampire gains an amount of blood equal to half of the burned vampire's capacity (round down, ignore excess blood.) Sup: As above, but usable as a combat card. Here's a good card that is, unfortunately, high on its opportunity cost. Gain some blood as an action modifier or combat card? Sign me up! Unfortunately, the catch is that I have to be burning one of my prey's vampires to use this. Assuming that you don't want diablerie, this can be an interesting challenge for the Giovanni. Of the five vampires in the game with NEC, only two of them have POT. Enzo does have pot tha ani, but he's usually given to blocking or bleeding. Usually, better results can be obtained with a Taste of Vitae, thanks to Giovanni Potence. However, part of the fun of the Giovanni is in addressing these challenges. How many ways can you burn a vampire with an action that isn't diablerie? Spectral Divination Action modifier/Reaction 1 blood This card can be played as an action modifier card or a reaction card. Inf: If this vampire is acting, he or she gets +1 stealth. Sup: If this vampire is reacting, he or she gets +1 intercept. This is the most commonly seen Necromancy card. It's a good, useful card that can give a vampire either stealth or intercept, depending on the action. It is a little weak, because you have to spend a blood to use it, and you can't rely on Dominate or Potence to get you any more stealth or intercept (Bonding aside), so don't expect to move the world with it. However, if the metagame dictates many action decks, and little blocking and intercept, you can throw a monkey wrench in both your predator's and your prey's plans simultaneously with this one card. Note that since the stealth is given at inferior, it will be more of a stealth card than an intercept card. Spiritual Intervention Combat Inf: Strike: dodge Sup: Strike: combat ends Necromancy is not a combat discipline. This card is identical to Staredown in its ability. Since Necromancy specializes more in interesting actions rather than combat, this card is good for those times your non-combat Giovanni get into combat. Do everything you can to stay away. If you play Giovanni for thePotence combat, this card can be good for those few times you make an error in judgment (although any error in judgment can cost you the game). This is definitely the Family's Majesty. Torment the Soul Combat Inf: Strike: 1R; only usable after the first round of combat Sup: Strike: 1R, aggravated; only usable after the first round of combat As stated above, Necromancy is not a combat discipline. This card makes a feeble attempt to prove me wrong. Firstly, if you're going into the seond round of combat with the Giovanni, that means you survived the first round. So, you're either playing a combat deck, in which case a Thrown Gate, gun, or Walk of Flame will get you farther, or you've got inferior Necromany (you didn't end combat with Spiritual Intervention) and you're fighting someone that doesn't do enough damage in one round to incapacitate you. In the latter case, save the card slot and strike hands. With the new rulings on aggravated damage, you can't possibly burn a vampire even with the superior line with this card, so you can't use Soul Stealing unless you're willing to Amaranth. As a result, I don't bother with this card. Whispers from the Dead Action 1 blood Inf: Take one library card from your ash heap and place it in your hand. Discard down to your maximum hand size afterward. Sup: As above, but with +1 stealth. Now, this card and Carlotta are popular. However, I don't see this card as very useful, myself. If I'm playing Necromancy, I can gauge where my deck lacks with this card. However, if instead of Whispers from the Dead, I had a copy of the card I'm fishing for already, I can save myself an action, a card slot, and a blood. Note that since you replace Whispers when you declare the action, you end up dumping two cards in order to pick up the one you want. That's good for a hand jam, but for a well-designed deck, you can get more utility out of The Barrens, Elder Library, Dreams of the Sphinx, or the Frag-o-Book-o-Nod. Note that in a card limit environment, Whispers becomes much more useful. Alternately, if you find yourself always fetching a different sort of card each time you use this, then Whispers is actually serving a purpose. Carlotta, on the other hand, having disciplines, and able to do thiswithout a card, is much more useful. If you need the card cycling, then she'syour man. To sum up, of the 11 Necromancy cards, there are six Actions, of which five have a blood cost, one Action Modifier/Reaction, one Action Modifier/Combat, two Combat, and one Reaction. Eyes of the Dead is worthless, I wouldn't use Whispers from the Dead nor Torment the Soul, and I'd only consider Death Pact and Soul Stealing in decks specifically designed for them. This leaves us four Actions, 1 Action Modifier/Reaction, and 1 Combat for general use. Even Release of the Shackled Soul is usually replaceable with Far Mastery. So, if you plan on using Necromancy, you'd better be prepared to base your deck around its unique capabilities. Focus on the Family Here, I plan to discuss in exhaustive detail the benefits and concerns of a single member of the Giovanni family. We’ve already seen the overview in the September 1998 newsletter, but there is much more that can be said. And so, for our first subject, I have chosen to examine Gloria Giovanni. You might ask, why Gloria? I could choose to work from the top, with Regina, down, or start with the most mundane, with Francesca, the most oft-seen, with Carlotta, or even the most controversial, with Patrizia. I chose Gloria to emphasize a point: the Giovanni are a clan of many secrets, even when they are worn on the family sleeve. Gloria Giovanni is a capacity 4 vampire with superior Dominate and inferior Necromancy. Yes, she makes a great bleeder. As a matter of fact, she’s the best stealth-bleeder in the game. All right, that’s a controversial statement. However, she’s often overlooked in deck designs because she has that little-used inferior Necromancy. Having superior Dominate makes her a good bleeder, that’s for sure, no question there, but the best? Well, let’s look at the facts. A quick overview of all the vampires in the game reveals that there’s only one other vampire of so low a capacity and superior Dominate: the Ventrue Antitribu Ingrid Russo. These two women are the only vampires that you can get out on your first turn without help from other cards that have superior Dominate. That fact by itself should be quite interesting. As a bleeder, Gloria is top notch. If, on the first turn, you get out Gloria, then, on your second, she can bleed with Govern the Unaligned, Command of the Beast, Conditioning, and Spectral Divination for a total bleed of 7 at +1 stealth for a cost of 3 blood. Assuming you’d like the vampire to remain ready after the bleed, Ingrid can bleed for that much at that much stealth if she first equips with a Laptop Computer (or a +bleed retainer), Freak Drives, then bleeds with Govern the Unaligned, Command of the Beast, Bonding, and gets help from Pentex Loves You! Sure, Ingrid has inferior Fortitude, so she could use Day Operation or Daring the Dawn, but then you’ve got the vampire in torpor, in danger of burning. Gloria’s just a cheaper, easier way to bleed for lots at stealth. However, is blowing up via Daring the Dawn so bad? Not necessarily for the Giovanni. As stated before, for the Giovanni, destruction is only a temporary setback. Thanks to Compel the Spirit and Possession, the return of minions can happen very quickly indeed. Perhaps a good deck should take advantage of the abilities of both ladies? Deck: To Hell and Back This deck uses the special values of both Gloria and Ingrid. True, the deck uses a number of rares and so would be difficult to construct on the fly. But, since I've been playing only JOL for over a year, I tend to forget about card rarity. Also, note that there are a large number of Masters in this deck. Feel free to consider the skill cards "throwaways," because you can always recycle them with The Embrace as needed. Strategy notes: Gloria is used as a major bleeder. Ingrid is used as a major bleeder until she runs low on blood. Then, she bleeds with Daring the Dawn, burning her. Rudolpho then Possesses her and then she bleeds (with Daring the Dawn if needed to get it through) again. Royce and Samson are disposable, and Vittorio is to fill in whatever gaps your other vampires have left. Crypt: 1x Royce - 1 Pan dom, -1 stealth when bleeding 1x Samson - 2 !Ven dom 4x Rudolpho Giovanni - 3 Gio NEC 2x Gloria Giovanni - 4 Gio DOM nec 2x Ingrid Russo - 4 !Ven DOM for 2x Vittorio Giovanni - 5 Gio dom for nec pot Best: 8, Worst: 18, Average: 3.4 Masters: (20) 2x Morgue Hunting Ground 1x Corporate Hunting Ground 2x Blood Doll 4x Effective Management 2x Gird Minions 2x Dominate 4x Necromancy 3x Fortitude Actions: (20) 6x The Embrace 6x Possession 4x Govern the Unaligned 2x Force of Will 1x Far Mastery 1x Compel the Spirit Retainers/Allies: (5) 2x Guiseppe, Gravedigger 3x Leonardo, Mortician Action Modifiers: (35) 6x Command of the Beast 6x Bonding 4x Threats 3x Conditioning 3x Freak Drive 6x Daring the Dawn 7x Spectral Divination Combat: (10) 5x Skin of Rock 5x Spiritual Intervention John Baker