Table of Contents: 1. Whispers from the Dead: Feedback! 2. Combat and the Giovanni 3. Focus on the Family: The Twins 4. Deck: Boxing Match! Whispers from the Dead Welcome to the Whispers from the Dead, the place where you get to shout back at me! I hadn’t actually expected to do this at first, but when I started getting feedback, it just had to be done. First off, I got a letter for Ethan Burrows, the V:EKN Toreador Antitribu Newsletter editor: >After I read your piece on Gloria, it motivated me to compose most of >March's issue, which is a counterpoint to your claim that Gloria was the >best stealth-bleeder. As you may have guess, it had to be brought up >> >I just want to check with you that you understand my good intentions and >I'm not attempting to attack you in any way with the March newsletter. >I'm just trying to have a little fun with the competition of clans >aspect of the universe. Now, at the time of writing this, I hadn’t had a chance to read the March Newsletter yet. However, further correspondence has led me to say that he thinks Jost Werner is a better stealth-bleeder. Jost may be better in terms of permanent stealth-bleed, but Gloria is still faster, and in the end, more expendable. However, just like any good vampire, the return on investment becomes better as the amount spent becomes higher. Oh, and I’m all for these kinds of “competition.” Hopefully, we will all gain a better understanding of the game in the long run. In addition, I received this correspondence from Gwen Morse: >YAY!!! ANOTHER Giovanni newsletter issue! Thanks!!!! Glad to be of service. I asked if there was anything more she wished to contribute. She responded with: >I don't know enough about the strategy of deck-building to submit anything >(I read these newsletters to learn :) ), but, I'd really like to see some >"basic" decks that depend on a majority of Giovanni clan members that >actually "work". Not tournament caliber decks, just with the right mix of >cards to bring this clan out of storage! > >Tap and bleed, bruise and bleed, sneak and bleed (obfuscate deck). Well, first off I’ll also accept personal observations, “war stories” about Giovanni decks in action, and short fiction in addition to deck- building and other notes. Submit early! Submit often! I’ll probably keep these newsletters huge… Basic decks tend to be a little difficult, however. The Giovanni have Dominate and Potence as clan disciplines, and they’re basic enough. However, they don’t have as much of their in-clan disciplines as some other clans do. Out of the 13 Giovanni, 3 have basic Dominate and 4 have superior Dominate; 6 have basic Potence and 3 have superior Potence; and only Regina, the 10 capacity vampire, has both disciplines at superior. Necromancy, the one discipline that all Giovanni have, isn’t very good at giving the “basics.” Only one card can give stealth or intercept (not counting the wallpaper Eyes of the Dead), one card gives Dodge or S:CE, and one card causes damage in combat, and there are usually better choices for the Giovanni. Necromancy is a discipline whose specialty is doing things you can’t do with any other discipline. That said, it’s still possible to design “basic” decks. The 9/98 newsletter had a tap-and-bleed deck, and last month’s deck’s main strategy was stealth-bleed. Usually, however, Giovanni decks try to take advantage of the uniqueness of Necromancy. I’ll try to discuss combat strategies this month with the Giovanni. Finally, LSJ commented that last month’s discussion of Release of the Shackled Soul had an error. Because the affected retainer/ally must belong to your prey, you can’t use Release to remove a Charnas on one of your own minions. Thank you for the correction, LSJ. Combat and the Giovanni The Giovanni have Potence as a clan discipline. Potence is a discipline that’s meant for fighting. However, Dominate and Necromancy aren’t really suited to combat. Since your standard combat deck is either single discipline, and thus usually ignores clan lines, or double discipline, other clans like the Brujah and Nosferatu usually get more play. However, there are a few tricks in combat that the Giovanni can pull off that these other clans lack. The most popular way to deal with the famous Dodge/S:CE problem of combat decks is Immortal Grapple. Luckily, since the Giovanni have Potence, they too can use this wonderful card. However, the Giovanni also have access to another card that gets rid of the Dodge/S:CE problem: the much-maligned Thoughts Betrayed. It’s still somewhat of an unpopular card, because it still ties up part of a Methuselah’s hand. However, for those times that you might want to strike with a weapon or at long range, Thoughts Betrayed is a great help. The biggest problems with using it are its cost and requiring the superior level of the non- combat discipline Dominate. It’s a little better for use in bruise-and- bleed decks than straight out-and-out combat. Ambush is not as commonly used as Bum’s Rush, mainly because the minion targeted needs to be tapped (i.e., have a chance to act) before the combat can commence. The Giovanni, however, can use Jar the Soul to tap an offending minion before the minion gets to act. Also, if the acting vampire has superior Necromancy, you get to burn a blood off the vampire before rushing him/her. Sure, it’s another action, best taken by a weenie like Rudolpho, but the extra blood loss and card draw might just be the edge you’re looking for. Giovanni Potence allows the use of Rampage. A good combat deck should have a couple of Rampages because you just never know when that location is just ruining your day. And, if the action is blocked, whoopee, another combat! Once again, the Giovanni have a couple other choices for actions in this vein. For the bruise-and-bleeders, Kine Dominance is a good choice. Remember that you don’t have to pay the cost if the action is blocked, and if not, you can get the location to work for you! Barring that, +1 bleed and +1 stealth is useful. If you prefer a straighter combat deck, consider Release of the Shackled Soul. Some of the more combat worthy allies can be a little messy for a combat deck. Release solves that problem quickly by just getting rid of the bloke. And, once again, if you’re blocked, another combat! Allies usually get a bum rap in this game. Only a few ever get regular use. However, allies are one of Clan Giovanni’s strengths. Most people know the evil combo of Ambrosius, the Ferryman with Talbot’s Chainsaw. Since Ambrosius is immune to non-aggravated damage, he’s good for both taking the Chainsaw’s damage and attacking other minions with it. However, Ambrosius doesn’t need to be the one lugging around the Chainsaw. It could easily be someone else, like another vampire or Scapelli, the Family “Mechanic.” Scapelli is, sort of, the poor man’s Renegade Garou. He doesn’t have the rush ability, the maneuver, the extra strike, or the healing ability. He does, however, cost 2 less pool, can strike at range, and gets a free press to continue. Give Scapelli the Chainsaw and he can rush, prevent a point of damage, and still harm opponents whether they’re at close or at far range, and get two free presses. Just be careful that he doesn’t die with the Chainsaw, though. Although he can be quickly patched up with Compel the Spirit, the Chainsaw would have to be played (and paid for) the hard way again. The Giovanni also have clan-specific retainers that are useful in combat. The Spiritual Protector will prevent the opponent from using any weapons in combat. Considering that the Protector is immune to non- aggravated damage, he’s really hard to dispose of. Long-range aggravated damage isn’t trivial when you can’t use weapons. Of course, since there aren’t many weapons used, use of Spiritual Protector will depend on the metagame. Also, Zombies are useful. They’re Clan Giovanni’s Wolf Companions, and they can be eaten, too! If Ambrosius is hanging around not chewing up vampires with the Chainsaw, have him pull Zombies back out of the ash heap as food for your vampires. As long as the Zombies are eaten before they get their three Pathos counters, you can recycle them indefinitely. There’s one more card, which, although not specifically Giovanni, should be considered in each deck that the Giovanni use Potence: the Hand of Conrad. Giving a vampire superior Potence is always a good thing, but the added bonus of pulling back your dead is quite fitting with the Giovanni concept. Why, it’s even slightly better than Gaspare’s special, which puts the vampire on the top of your crypt instead of the inactive region. Note that Possession at superior is even better, but we can’t always do things like that. Focus on the Family: The Twins The Giovanni are an inbred family, and it shows best with two members of the clan: Cristofero and Mario Giovanni. They are both 3 capacity vampires, and both have basic Necromancy and basic Potence. No two other vampires differ in name only (and not much difference in name at that). I’ll have to admit that I hated Cristofero when I first encountered him. Dark Sovereigns had just been released, and I picked up a few boosters. In every one of those boosters, Cristofero showed up, staring at me with that blue-faced inbred stare. I bought more packs later, and to my dismay, Cristofero appeared in at least half of them. He’s not that exciting of a vampire, and not worth having a crypt of twenty of him. Imagine my chagrin when Ancient Hearts was released and I found Mario. Not only did suddenly my copious number of Cristoferos lose half their value (why put a second Cristofero in your deck when you can put in a first Mario?) but Mario had a better portrait. I looked at my endless pile of Ol’ Blueface and considered wallpapering my room if it weren’t so ugly. Once again, though, here had to be another family secret. Lots of people grab vampires from other clans just to fill discipline needs, especially for combat decks (Hasina, KoKo, and Lupo, anyone?) but here are two Giovanni thugs that can be out at the same time without contesting. However, that Necromancy isn’t exactly the best discipline combo for a big weenie. Rudolpho has superior Necromancy, so he’s better at calling the Necromantic tricks than the twins, so the strength has to lie in Potence, and thus, combat. Dre’s Celerity and Duck’s Obfuscate gets more play in combat decks than these boys’ Necromancy. Why bother playing with these guys, then? The trick is finding what advantages basic Necromancy and basic Potence can give you over superior Necromancy only or Potence and another discipline. Compel the Spirit and Possession give a much better return on their investment at superior. With Spectral Divination and Spiritual Intervention, you get stealth and dodges, but Obfuscate has better stealth and Celerity has better combat capability to go with the dodges. The best reasons for the twins to use basic Necromancy in a combat deck are Jar the Soul and Release of the Shackled Soul, as detailed above. Don’t forget that they’re Giovanni, either. They’ve got better combat capability than Rudolpho, and can still call out all the Giovanni cards that can help with combat. Deck: Boxing Match! Crypt: Cristofero Giovanni x2 nec, pot Mario Giovanni x2 nec, pot Rudolpho Giovanni NEC Gaspare Giovanni x2 POT, nec, +1 hand damage, bring back old vamps Carlotta Giovanni NEC, POT, bring back old cards Lupo pot KoKo pot Hasina Kesi x2 pot, burn 1 pool if she goes to torpor Best: 6 Worst: 22 Average: 3.33 It’s quite a spread, and they’re not exactly weenies, but you should be able to get a few vampires out quickly. Library: Masters: (15) Haven Uncovered x4 Potence x3 Dreams of the Sphinx x2 Elder Library Blood Doll x4 Information Highway Minion: (75) Release of the Shackled Soul x2 Possession x2 Jar the Soul x4 Ambush x4 Bum’s Rush x8 Rampage x2 Hand of Conrad Immortal Grapple x12 Undead Strength x10 Torn Signpost x10 Fists of Death x4 Decapitate x4 Disarm x4 Taste of Vitae x8 Clearly, this is based off PDB6’s combat deck. It doesn’t compete with the clean, elegant simplicity of his deck, though. However, some light Necromantic spice gives this deck its Giovanni flavor. Remember that it is a little slower, but for the most part strategy with the Nosferatu deck carries into this one.