OFFICIAL VEKN GIOVANNI NEWSLETTER Vol.III No.7 July.2001
In this Issue:
INTRODUCTION
WHISPERS FROM THE DEAD: The More Things Change...
VAMPIRES OF THE MONTH: Andrea Giovanni
CARD OF THE MONTH: Daemonic Possession
DECK OF THE MONTH: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!
CONCLUSION/PREVIEW
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INTRODUCTION
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Well, I'm starting to catch up. In a month or two, I should be able to be
back on track and sending these things out in the first week of the month
instead of halfway, or at the end...or the start of the next month.
And, last week, the infamous 7/7 date, was my birthday, so cut me some
slack.
o/~ Happy birthday to meeeee, happy birthday to meeee... o/~
(I'm not yet sure what the cosmic significance of the 7/7 rulings being on
my birthday was. I had only been playing VTES for maybe 3 months when it
happened, just enough time to have already built most of the broken combo
decks gratefully made invalid by 7/7.)
And Kudos to our double-finalist duo, David Tatu and Robyn Merrill, with
thier excellent performance at Gen Con. And skeptical glances at our
infamous Duo, Mike Perlman and Robyn Merrill, only 2 of 4
"double-qualifiers," evilly quashing possible competition by snarfing up
qualifier slots. (Nevermind I joined Mike on the trip to the Dallas
qualifier and didn't maket the cut) And nevermind *their* Evilness. Tatu is
twice as evil as either of them. =)
Ok, hometown hooting aside, on with the show...
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WHISPERS FROM THE DEAD: The More Things Change...
================================================================
...The more they stay the same.
Despite all the new cards, the Giovanni don't *feel* that different. They
feel more like they're really *working*, now. Even with all new cards,
playing feels like I always knew they did, but without lousy crypt draw, and
more of the cards you really needed in hand.
However, the Giovanni, are not, have not been, and will never be, a strong
stealth bleed clan. Play Malks, !Malks, or Lasombra. They are not, have
not been, and never will be, a strong bruise and bleed clan. Try Brujah,
!Brujah, or again, Lasombra.
However, they have access to the best bleed discipline in the game:
Dominate. They can bleed, but to just run forward and bleed, just pick
vamps with Dominate, Giovanni or not. However, you can incorporate the
other "powers" of Dominate to round out your deck: Kine Dominance, Far
Mastery, Graverobbing, Kindred Coercion, and of course, Deflection and
Obedience. The Giovanni can be exceptionally strong if given time to build
up, and dominate allows them that time.
And, they have access to the single best combat discipline in the game:
Potence. Even just a few scattered Potence strikes and cards can keep decks
wary. The most tournament effective combat decks' biggest problem is being
hit back, and playing even one Pushing the Limit will stall the onslaught of
a combat deck, both in that combat and psychologically.
And, the Giovanni certainly have FAR better vamps now to choose from, most
notably a rush of new vamps with all 3 in-clans, many of them at superior,
many of them 8-cap or less. What they did before, they do better now.
What really got changed is the new Necromancy and Giovanni additions. A few
cards can easily be the focus of decks (Hordes, DPossession), as was before
(Jar the Soul, Possession), but many more just round out the options
available to them. They've gained more options that people don't really
have defense built in against. No matter how often they block you, your ash
heap is always there for the taking. They have the best selection of allies
of any clan, still.
In general, the Giovanni are good at toolboxing, with light stealth and
lighter intercept, combat and combat avoidance. They have a lot of "toys,"
and one has to resist putting them all in one deck, but picking the ones
that enhance your strategy and/or shore up your vulnerabilities. They can
be fairly defensive, get moderate pool gain, fend off most strategies, but
are capable of sudden focus to either wall up or suddenly oust their prey,
especially with NEC/DOM, that can Obedience with light intercept and
Deflect, or Tap/Stealth/Bleed.
The great fun of the Giovanni, really, is the options open to them.
The Lasombra have POT/DOM, as well, but OBT is a better "support"
discipline. But, that's all it does. It gives intercept, stealth, combat
ends, additional strikes, steal blood, torpor strikes, etc. But really, it
does 3 things: Stealth, Intercept, and Fight. And it does all 3 better
than Necromancy does. But, it's not very motivating. You don't make many
"Summon the Abyss" decks, the closest thing to a "unique action" the
Lasombra have[0]. (Shadow Twin is the most unique, actually, but that's
really stealth and fighting and combat avoidance all in one. An excellent
card, nonetheless!)
The Giovanni have several cards you can "build decks around," and that
interact interestingly with other cards, and open up all kinds of ideas.
They have excellent supporting allies and locations, and ways to recoup them
and/or protect them. They have totally unique abilities not found in other
clans or disciplines. They upset commonly held beliefs ("burned is burned,"
say) about how the game progresses, and can be quite subtle and quite direct
in the same deck, being hard to either take down or defend against. The
variety open to them means just placing a Giovanni face-up in your
controlled region doesn't give away what your deck is doing. And, most of
all, they're FUN. I mean, you're Necromantic Italian mobsters! What's not
to love! It's just that Final Nights made them fun AND competitive, instead
of "just fun."
It's always been good to be the Giovanni. But these days, it's just
better. =)
[0] To their credit, the Lasombra can vote with the best of them, something
that the Giovanni do very badly. =)
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VAMPIRE OF THE MONTH: Andrea Giovanni
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Andrea Giovanni
7-cap, DOM NEC pot vic, +1 stealth on Necromancy actions
Quite simply, Andrea rocks the house.
He's a 7-cap with all 3 in clan disciplines, and GETS away with all
those cool Necromancy actions that you want to. He can play Telemarketers
of the Hungry Dead, Seduction, and Sleeping Mind on top of his inherent +1
stealth on those Necromancy actions he's taking. He's the guy that insures
your Tower of London pays for itself and then some, getting an action off
every turn.
In general, his inferior Potence is no problem. He can hit if he has
to, but he usually doesn't ever get caught.
For those of you who like "prayer cards" (I don't), note that he can
Lobotomize allies he recruits, to keep your Ambrosius and Hordes from
getting stolen left and right. So can Silvia, if you want to build a deck
around it. (note that that would actually give them a maneuver with
Chiropteran Marauder...good for keeping at close range for Grappling when
you "take the block" for your ally with Malleable Visage...)
He is THE best guy for Possessing, Daemonic Possession, Releasing Shackled
Souls, etc. He can afford to pay the blood more than Rudolpho can, gets
away with it. I think it'll be a long time before I make a Giovanni deck
that doesn't have Andrea in it.
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CARD OF THE MONTH: Daemonic Possession
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Daemonic Possession
Action
Necromancy
2 blood
[nec]: Only usable when a minion controlled by another Methuselah has been
burned since your last turn. Move that minion from his or her owner's ash
heap to your ready region, put one blood or life from the blood bank on the
minion, and tap the minion. You now control the minion.
[NEC]: As above, but the minion is untapped.
I'll admit that while Telemarketers of the Grateful Dead is a fine card, and
has saved my vamps from beatings and gotten me VPs, I'll still have to put
Daemonic Possession as tops card of the new set. One would usually compare
this card to Possession:
Possession
Action
Necromancy
2 blood
[nec] Move any vampire from your ash heap to your uncontrolled region.
[NEC] Move a vampire from your ash heap to your ready region and move 1
blood from the blood bank to the vampire.
But let's also compare this card to Graverobbing, which is really a better
comparison:
Graverobbing
Action
Dominate
[dom] (D) Move a vampire from any Methuselah's torpor area to your own
torpor area. You now control that vampire.
[DOM] (D) As above, and the acting vampire may burn 2 blood to move the
vampire into your controlled region.
Big downside of Daemonic Possession is the "since your last turn" clause,
like Compel the Spirit has. Big plus for Possession, there. Not such a big
deal for Graverobbing, though. Vamps that go to torpor usually only stay
there a turn, if they're worth having.
All 3 actions cost 2 blood, and are zero stealth. Ok, sure, you can
actually play Graverobbing at inferior, but the rescue is 2 blood.
(Catacombs and Humanitas aside of course, but counter with the Path of Bone)
The "zero stealth" is a kicker for all 3. However, Dominate comes with only
one "stealth" card, Seduction, while Necromancy comes with 2 stealth cards,
and has access to Andrea and Giuseppe. Amusing sidenote: Since ash heaps
are ruled uncontrolled, Daemonic Possession is an undirected action, so you
can use Creepshow Casino.
Good question that someone unimpressed with Daemonic Possession asked: "Why
not just use Graverobbing? It's easier to torporize guys and steal them
than to torporize and burn and steal them."
A few reasons [ed. note: with credit to Norm, Archon of the Swamp for
suggestions on this]:
* If a Graverobbing fails, the target will quite possibly be rescued, and
live to fight another day. If your Daemonic Possession gets blocked, than
neither of you gets them (other Giovanni decks aside, of course =).
* There can be other benefits and methods of burning guys that are good for
you: Anathema, Dismemberment of Osiris, Sac Lamb, Ritual of the Bitter Rose,
etc. With Graverobbing, you just get the body. With Daemonic Possession,
you get the benefit AND the body.
* Daemonic Possession at inferior gets you the body in your active region
for one action. (This is also head and shoulders above vanilla Possession.)
* Daemonic Possession at inferior gets the guy tapped with the blood on
them, same as if an empty guy had hunted, but without a seperately blockable
hunt action. (Most vamps hanging out in torpor are empty. Full guys in
torpor should be munched and then DaePossessed. =)
* At superior, Daemonic Possession gives you an untapped, ready to act guy,
something you almost never get from Graverobbing.
* You can't Graverob an ally. Daemonic Possession says "minion" and "blood
or life." Although you're playing the ally deck at the table, people
playing with "good allies," like the War Ghouls and the Garou, have to take
extra care not to get their guys burnt with you around. =)
* Good vamps don't often sit around in torpor for your turn. They get
rescued or eaten. If they get rescued, you can't Graverob them or
Daemonically Possess them. But if they get eaten, you can go fetch the
body. It kind of gives you another "vote" in diablerie. (I'm still very
curious to try this with Succubus Club to see if you can sell bodies back.
=)
This card is capital-P Powerful. I'm not yet sure if it's more powerful
than Possession, but I intend to find out over the next months, and giving
you monthly updates.
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DECK OF THE MONTH: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!
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Deck Name: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!
Created by: Pat Ricochet
Description: All bodies belong to Andrea. Potence weenies produce
sufficient bodies.
Crypt: (13 cards) [Min: 6, Max: 28, Avg: 3.92]
5 Andrea Giovanni (DOM NEC pot vic, Giovanni, 7)
1 Cristofero Giovanni (nec pot, Giovanni, 3)
1 Hasina Kesi (pot, Caitiff, 1)
1 KoKo (pot, Nosferatu, 2)
1 Lupo (pot, Brujah, 2)
1 Mario Giovanni (nec pot, Giovanni, 3)
1 Mitchell (obt pot, Pander, 2)
1 Paul Dicarlo (pot, Giovanni, 2)
1 Smudge the Ignored (Caitiff, 1)
(I've gotten crypt screw enough times in my life to put in 5/13 vamps
being Andrea, but in playing this one, 4/12 might have done. After all, the
other vamps are weenies, and come out quickly. Just bad luck I had with a
Lazvernutz deck that has 5/12, and still gets crypt screwed, making me go
fishing twice. The difference being that Andrea comes out in 2 turns, not
3, though. YMMV.)
Library: (90 cards)
Master (18 cards)
1 Barrens, The
2 Blood Doll
1 Depravity
2 Effective Management
1 Fame
6 Haven Uncovered
1 Morgue Hunting Ground
1 Parthenon, The
1 Path of Bone, The
1 Tower of London
1 Vulnerability
Action (23 cards)
1 Arson
7 Computer Hacking
6 Daemonic Possession
1 Possession
2 Scouting Mission
6 Summon Soul
Reaction (4 cards)
1 Redirection
3 Wake with Evening's Freshness
Combat (32 cards)
5 Amaranth
4 Disarm
6 Immortal Grapple
5 Torn Signpost
12 Undead Strength
Ally (2 cards)
1 Ambrosius, The Ferryman (Wraith)
1 Leonardo, Mortician
Retainer (2 cards)
2 Guiseppe, Gravedigger
Equipment (3 cards)
3 Meat Hook
Combo (6 cards)
6 Spectral Divination
This is a deck that my fellow newsletter writer, Wes, sent along to me,
and that we sent back and forth for tweaking. I've since taken it for a few
runs, and it's a hoot.
Weenies kill and/or eat big targets of vamps, cross table if neccesary
for both table balance and your need for useful vampires. Andrea, at his
inherent +1 stealth, goes and gets the body. Note that players who have all
torped vamps and hopelessly about to be ousted make good targets; they have
vamps they're not getting back, and they might as well be put to good use.
Princes/etc. make good first targets, since that way you can maybe
survive Blood Hunts in future munchings.
The deck has deliberately "few" of some cards so that Andrea can Summon
Soul and get the cards you want back (at 2 stealth!) now and then when he's
not Daemonically Possessing people. Good for Tower of London pool gain if
it shows early enough (say, more than 3 turns before the end of the game =).
Vulnerability makes Daemonic Possession that much better (Wes gets all
the credit for that evil idea.), and vice versa. I'm tempted to put in
another one. Well worth one or even two copies in EVERY Daemonic Possession
deck, really.
If Andrea gets killed, you're in trouble, but you've got weenies to take
the hit and/or rescue him and/or preemptorily kill people threatening
Andrea. The deck is not it's most robust, no. A tad low on pool gain, too.
But, it can weenie swarm bleed in the absence of anything else.
I would tweak it and play it more, but I've still been having fun
tweaking the Hooooordes deck, and it seems more metagame/seating dependent
than some decks, but that's because it's a more focussed, "moving parts"
deck. Rather than toolbox it up too much, I'm planning to move onto a new
Daemonic Possession deck, for comparison.
Again, thanks to Wes for the dialouge (tossing a deck idea back and
forth with another mind is interesting...try it sometime if you haven't,
hopping in on a "any suggestions?" post if nothing else.) and the deck.
And, no offense to other contributors, of course. I've only got one
newsletter a month (more than I have time for, really! =) and several ideas
bubbling up.
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CONCLUSION/PREVIEW
================================================================
Time to revisit the old to add to the new next month; we'll see about
sprucing up the old Jar the Soul/Society of Leopold deck by playing with
Dolls, and perhaps (who can resist?) RePossessing those ashes. (Besides, I
haven't Jarred a Soul in far too long. =)
Quite possibly another Daemonic Possession deck the month after that, too,
but we'll see if I can resist long enough to toss in a more Potent or
Dominating deck in between.
I have to say that I'm having a grand old time playing VTES since Final
Nights came out. I've seen and made some really fun new decks, and have
that brand new feeling of a wealth of ideas to be explored that I haven't
had since really beginning playing. Hope everyone else is enjoying the
same. And, of course, for those of you enjoying Final Nights via the
new'n'improved Giovanni, Welcome to the Family!
--
Pat Ricochet
Soul Jar'rn Fool of Atlanta