OFFICIAL VEKN GIOVANNI NEWSLETTER Vol.III No.2 Feb.2001
In this Issue:
FICTION PRELUDE: Human Resources I
INTRODUCTION
CARDS OF THE MONTH: Jar the Soul and Change of Target
STRATEGY OF THE MONTH: Tap-and-Bleed, without Misdirection
DECK OF THE MONTH: Giovanni Tourney Losing Deck
(with Unauthorized Bonus Giovanni!)
CONCLUSION/PREVIEW
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FICTION PRELUDE: Human Resources I
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"How about that Chesulo guy? Mike?"
"Does he really know what's going on?"
"Oh, he will after this!"
"What if he's not ready? He doesn't even know..."
"Mike knows more than you think. He just acts big and dumb, but he's a
sharp guy. I think he knows what's going on."
"Well, you would know, I guess."
"Not really. I AM as big and dumb as I look. Don't let the extended
vocabulary fool you."
"If that's the case, are you -sure- this is a good idea? Or is this a dumb
idea that just sounds good to you?"
"How would *I* know the difference? It's the only plan we've got. Anyway,
go with Mike. Let Conchita welcome him in."
"Does he get a choice?"
"No, he doesn't. We need the manpower, and there's too many full blooded
Cammies and 'Bats to deal with. Ghouls won't cut it this time."
"You're the boss."
"Damn right. Anyone else? How about Umberto?"
"Hm. He's got too many daytime contacts we need. How about Guido?"
"Nah. I need him where he is. Good drivers are hard to find."
"How about the twins?"
"Both of em?"
"Be hard to explain why the other sleeps all day, wouldn't it?"
"Yah, you're right. Okay, let, um...Nunzio take care of them. Guess that
takes care if it."
&"Looks like we need one more, don't we?"
"Nah, I've already picked him out."
&"Who?"
"Three guesses, and none of them count."
&"...I don't get a choice, either, do I?"
"No, you don't. Welcome to the Family."
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INTRODUCTION
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While many people find the Giovanni to have some neat cards, they've got a
pretty bad reputation for actually winning. They make great trick decks
(most notably Rob Grau's Possession is 9/10's of the Law deck, which I was
astonished to actually see go) and get mushed in with Lasombra or
Euro-Brujah DOM/POT decks. The twins (Mario and Cristofero, not Donal and
Constanza) make a common enough debut in weenie potence rush decks. But
when people say "my table-sweeping Giovanni deck," it's assumed to be a
joke.
While this may well change when Final Nights comes out, I'll continue to
conjecture that the whiners just aren't trying hard enough, and not winning
with the Giovanni is a result of "gross mis-management" skills, not just the
inherent fault of the Giovanni themselves.
Lets see what we can do about "sweeping 'dem tables," shall we?
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CARDS OF THE MONTH: Jar the Soul and Change of Target
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One of the best necromancy cards, and my personal favorite, is Jar the Soul:
Jar the Soul
Cardtype: Action
Discipline: Necromancy
+1 stealth action.
(D) Tap any ready minion.
[S] (D) As above, and that minion burns 1 blood.
The inferior is amazingly useful. Tap ANY ready minion. Taps allies
and vampires, is usually used to tap your prey out for easy bleeding, but
you can also Jar backwards to your predator if he's going too strong, to let
your grandpredator go a'nuking. You can Jar cross table for various favors,
or just to keep the table balanced (or unbalanced) as suits you best.
It's also better than "the competition." Misdirection taps one minion,
but takes a Master Phase Action and a pool. Distraction requires superior
celerity and 1 blood for the same effect. Mind Numb has a greater effect,
but only stealth at superior, but can't be played on tapped minions, and
also costs a blood. Jar being free means you can do it all day long, even
down to one blood and one pool. Passion taps at no stealth at inferior, and
it MUST be a minion controlled by your prey, even with Superior Dementation.
Wave of Insanity is only allies, and so is vastly limited.
The superior of Jar the Soul is icing, but can be great when applied
well. Some people see the Superior of Jar the Soul as an expensive way to
do a Cryptic Mission. If you're playing a Society of Leopold deck, this is
probably true. But, if you're wanting to actually damage their pool,
tapping all the guys out and bleeding is more efficient than doing
Cryptic/Society on all of their guys, so they have no blockers at all before
you begin bleeding.
Since you won't have a horde of guys, in any deck, that all have
superior Necromancy (skill cards being too slow, and the vamps being too
scarce and/or too big), you won't be taking down guys from 5 blood to zero
with superior Jar the Soul. The best use is taking guys from 1 blood to
zero blood, forcing them to hunt. If you can tap AND take a blood off,
you've effectively tapped that minion twice with one action, once now, and
they'll tap right away when they hunt. (Note that on the right target, that
can be as good as Mind Numb) This is a particularly effective cross table
action you can "sell" for favors.
One of my favorite all around, often underrated cards is Change of Target:
Change of Target
Cardtype: Action modifier
Only usable when this acting minion is blocked. Untap the acting minion, do
not tap the blocking minion, and cancel the current action and combat. If
you do a second action with this minion this turn, it cannot be the same
action.
Why Change of Target is a Good Card(tm):
2) It burns Wakes. Even Forced Awakening doesn't untap you, and while they
don't burn a blood (they DID block) they lose the Wake but you can still
act.
1) It beats Obedience. Acting minion goes first, so when you're flushing
out for Wakes and 2nd Traditions, etc, you can do something offensive enough
to be worth blocking, and not have to get into combat, and, of course, not
get Obedienced.
3) It draws out intercept. Intercept, block, mangle, and burn decks love to
block every little stealthy action you take. Change of Target runs them out
of transient intercept cards while filling them up on combat cards they
don't get to use, because you keep Changing at the crucial moment after the
intercept has been played but before a single pre-range card can be dropped.
as such, also...
4) It stuffs up combat blockers. S:CE is great, but they guy can still
cycle a Song of Serenity, Carrion Crows, and Horrid Form to draw more
intercept. Not so with Change of Target.
5) It allows you to both kill and defend. Many games have been down to "if
he's out of Wakes, I got him, but if he's not, I need a blocker." Change of
Target lets you try to do damage, but if you get blocked, you can untap and
keep the blocker to "live to fight another day."
6) It helps your grandprey on bounced bleeds. If they have Wakes, they're
no *more* screwed, but if they have an untapped minion, you can assure them
it's safe to block. You burned through a bleed bounce card, you can still
take actions, and your grandprey keeps her blocker.
I find this card to be worth putting 1-2 of in many, many decks. If you
disagree, email me at pat(AT)socrates.gatech.edu and I'll trade you for some of
yours.
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STRATEGY OF THE MONTH: Tap-and-Bleed, without Misdirection
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Okay, let's put it all together:
Jar the Soul lets you tap out your prey at 1 stealth each time.
If you get caught Jarring, you can leave the guy who blocked you tapped,
or you can Change of Target (especially if they played Wake) to go at it
again.
Once you tap out your prey with Jar the Soul, go a-bleeding. I highly
recommend Govern the Unaligned as a way to go bleeding, since the Giovanni
have Dominate. People don't like to ignore bleeds for 3.
If you get blocked now, via untap or Wake, play Change of Target. If
you now have a new untapped minion to deal with, Jar that one and then go
back to bleeding.
If you get bounced, tell the new target to block with an untapped
minion, and not to worry. Spell it out for them if you have to. Change of
Target when you get blocked.
Seems like it should work. Well, it does. Sort of.
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DECK OF THE MONTH: Giovanni Tourney Losing Deck
(with Unauthorized Bonus Giovanni!)
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Created using the Elder Library Deck Builder. Go Dave!
Deck name: Giovanni Tourney Losing Deck
Created by: Patrick O'Shea
Description: Jar Souls to tap out your prey, and then bleed. Wait! They Wake
and block! Add stealth, they add intercept -- Change of Target! Just
kidding, thanks for burning the Wake! Make an Embrace instead, who will Jar
you next turn. =)
Crypt: (12 cards) [Min: 12, Max: 21, Avg: 3.92]
2 Cristofero Giovanni (Giovanni, 3, ne po)
1 Francesca Giovanni (Giovanni, 4, do ne po)
2 Gloria Giovanni (Giovanni, 4, DO ne)
2 Mario Giovanni (Giovanni, 3, ne po)
1 Rafaele Giovanni (Giovanni, 6, ce NE ob)
2 Rudolpho Giovanni (Giovanni, 3, NE)
1 Stefano Giovanni (Giovanni, 6, DO ne po pr)
1 Vittorio Giovanni (Giovanni, 5, do fo ne po)
1 Conchita Giovanni* (Giovanni, 4, do NE)
(The crypt has doubles just because the vamps need to be small, both for
Governing at Superior and to get rolling fast, before the table fills up
with intercept. Even without Dominate, I've *seriously* considered putting
2 copies of Rafaele in. The +1 bleed is great to have, and superior
Necromancy makes Jar the Soul all the better. Also, an added bonus is that
he comes out with 6 blood, allowing him to Embrace once or twice, and
intercept with Spectral Divination once or twice. Alas, not having Dominate
keeps him to one copy. Nevertheless, I assure you that he's been a boon to
the deck every time he shows up.)
*As with last month, Conchita is the "13th vamp" that I didn't actually play
the deck with, but the she just fits in so perfectly. She can be found as
part of the Austin Expansion:
http://whitestar.ddg.com/vtes/expansion/
and there's a excellent printable .pdf version of the new Giovanni they've
made, specifically at:
http://whitestar.ddg.com/vtes/expansion/pdf/Giovanni.pdf
because those Austin guys are just cool like that. =)
Library: (80 cards)
Master (13)
3 Blood Doll
5 Dominate
1 Morgue Hunting Ground
3 Necromancy
1 Sudden Reversal
Minion (67)
1 Ambrosius, The Ferryman (Wraith)
8 Change of Target
1 Compel the Spirit
5 Deflection
5 Embrace, The
1 Ghoul Escort
8 Govern the Unaligned
1 Guiseppe, Gravedigger
1 Ivory Bow
10 Jar the Soul
1 Leonardo, Mortician
1 Mr. Winthrop
1 Release of the Shackled Soul
1 Scapelli, The Family Mechanic
7 Spectral Divination
6 Spiritual Intervention
1 Tasha Morgan
2 Threats
5 Wake with Evening's Freshness
1 Whispers from the Dead
The original deck had 90 cards and got 0VPs at the tournament I took it to,
foolishly not actually testing or tweaking it. The next night at cards
locally, I took out 10 cards, handed it to someone else, and they swept the
table. I've swept a several tables with it, and never failed to get at
least one VP with it since.
If you read last month, you'll note that this deck plays a bit similarly
to the Giovanni Tap Dance, but without the Auspex intercept. It's
Tap-and-Bleed, but in the Era of the Solution of the Misdirection Equation
(X=1). The only intercept you've got, really, is the 7 Spectral
Divinations. 5 Wakes and 5 Deflection help out, and sometimes your best
option after playing Change of Target is just to remain untapped, if you
just need 0-stealth action blockers.
The Embraces can have either Dominate or Necromancy, depending if you
need more bleed or more Jarring. Basically, use your discretion to make up
for your crypt draw.
3 things to watch out for:
1) Weenies in front of you. You may not have the actions to Jar them
all out AND still bleed them. You'll need to Jar-at-Superior to force
enough hunt actions off, and maybe make some deal with your grandprey to get
some help "softening them up." If weenies rule your world, put in more Jar
the Soul.
2) Permanent intercept on a minion, like Raven Spies and Sport Bikes.
Locations can be tapped for intercept, but Change of Target will get you out
of that. You need to either just be blocked to leave the blocker tapped,
and not use the Change of Target (and hope Spiritual Intervention gets you
out of trouble), or Jar AND add the Spectral Divination to Jar that guy at 2
stealth. For reference, I have managed to run over a Gangrel Wall-of-Untap
as my first prey with this deck; I've got more guys, more Jars, and more
Change of Target than they could keep waking. I'm sure there are Gangrel
Walls that would have even more untap, but that's usually the kind that has
no forward pressure at all and is going for 2VPs. Oh well.
3) Big Vote. Not every deck can do everything. THAT killed me one round
in the final; 4 player game, 3 votes decks and me; the two cross table vote
decks (my predator and prey) agreed to be be cross table buddies and help
each other's damage votes out. If KRC is your number one problem, swap
Deflections for Delaying Tactics, and be sure to intercept only the key
votes.
Combat is quite the problem you might think. Your minions are small,
and come out of torpor easily. If they're getting burned, you can afford
more, and a few Embraces help a lot. The Tzimicse deck may be able to kill
ALL your guys, but that's about all they'll be able to do. You'll need to
table deal to make this clear. If your guys were all 5 and 6 caps, losing
them would hurt more, but again, your minions are puny, and largely
disposable. I have had this deck pounded more than once, but then managed
to pull itself back together over a couple of turns.
This is probably the most effective Giovanni deck that I've personally
built, and it has all the basics of a tourney-quality deck:
It has Dominate. You can't go wrong with Dominate.
It has weenies. Small guys making Embraces gives you advantage of
numbers, come the endgame, and losing a 2-cap for one Bum's Rush isn't so
bad.
It has saleable actions. Leonardo is always great, but you can Jar the
Soul of ANY minion, and a cross table Jar, especially one that forces a hunt
action, can often get you a favor.
(NOTE: After a bit of research, the first ever Official VEKN Giovanni
Newsletter of September 1998 also featured Jar the Soul and Tap and Bleed,
though it makes no use of Change of Target. However, to give credit where
credit is due, you can read another take on Jar the Soul and how to use it
in tap and bleed:
http://lasombra.tripod.com/newsletter/giovanni_september_1998.htm
Thanks be to The Lasombra for the VEKN archives. =)
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CONCLUSION/PREVIEW
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Since people complain (whine) often that they can't win with the Giovanni,
the last couple of months have been "effective" Giovanni decks. Similar
(can't go wrong with tap-and-bleed!) but they each play differently.
Next couple of months I'll delve into some "trick" decks, hopefully after I
tweak up the decks from "neat in theory" to "fun to play." I'll also go a
bit into why the Giovanni can't use Potence like you'd like to, but how to
go about it if you insist.
And, if anyone's getting any more enjoyment out of the Giovanni for these
newsletters... welcome to the Family!
--
Pat Ricochet
Soul Jar'rn Fool of Atlanta