OFFICIAL VEKN GIOVANNI NEWSLETTER Vol.III No.11 November.2001
In this Issue:
INTRODUCTION
WHISPERS FROM THE DEAD: Southern Hospitality
VAMPIRE OF THE MONTH: Pochtli
CARD OF THE MONTH: Shroud Mastery
DECK OF THE MONTH: Shroud Masters
CONCLUSION/PREVIEW
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INTRODUCTION
================================================================
Another month and another newsletter...soon I'll have to throw a
birthday party for this lil progeny of mine! I don't know if the
"Volume" number on the newsletters changes after each year, or just
after each editor. =)
But, with Bloodlines around the corner, I'll probably have a
retooled Volume IV, maybe more of an "All Things Necromantic" than
purely Giovanni. Which is fine with me; I didn't take this job for
the Potence, that's for sure.
This month's focus is a bit of a "trick deck," but it makes good use
of Final Nights cards, and finally gets around to using Pochtli, who
I've been holding off featuring until I could make a deck using his
Obfuscate, where he really shines. It also features all the Shroud
Masteries I own, which I've been itching to use for quite a while now.
=)
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WHISPERS FROM THE DEAD: Southern Hospitality
================================================================
If you could "be" a V:TES vampire, what would your card be? ... Ok,
now that you've made a totally broken vampire that would never
actually get past playtesting, (like a cheap Ventrue Prince with OBF,
or a 2-cap with POT and -1 stealth when bleeding) ask yourself why you
chose that vampire? For some people (any many players have batted the
idea around), they pick a vampire that goes into their favorite deck;
some, a vampire that rounds out their favorite clan; some, more
pertitent to how they actually picture themselves.
It's an amusing exercise, and seeing the results, poking around
the Web at fan sites, is kind of neat. As such, I'd like to invite
you all to drop by the totally unofficial V:TES Atlanta expansion
page, and see what we've made of ourselves:
http://people.atl.mediaone.net/intj/jpa/vtesa_cards.html
The page and some of the vamps are still a bit under construction,
but many of the vamps are full-sized ready to print-and-paste, and
feature such "luminaries" as
Todd Banister, Bitch of the Assamites
(aka Scribe of the Assamites and member of the Final Nights design
team)
David Anderson-Dávila
(aka creator of the Elder Library Deck Builder)
David Tatu, the Freakdriver
(sometimes slandered as the Great Manipulator)
Derek Ray, Archon of USENET
(incidentally the VEKN !Brujah Newsletter author, but better known
for...other qualities)
Jeffrey
(aka Jeff Thompson aka THE Lasombra)
and many (well, a few) more.
(Many of the wacky abilities have stories and/or decks behind
them, but to get all of THOSE, you'll have to actually come visit
Atlanta and hear about them over the beverage of your choice, and
experience the 5th-and-a-Half Tradition, Southern Hospitality. =)
I've actually played with a couple of these cards in local play,
and we pride ourselves on the vampires being actually balanced instead
of just crazy-perfect for some deck. It is pretty funny, though,
bringing out a vampire who happens to be the Methuselah who's your
prey! =)
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VAMPIRE OF THE MONTH: Pochtli
================================================================
One of everyone's favorite vampires before Final Nights was our own
dumpster-diver, Carlotta. It's the kind of permanent ability that
everyone could just die for, being able to reuse whatever critical
card you need right away, instead of cycling madly to find another.
But, now that the Sargon Fragment is out there, and the whole
world is getting superior Necromancy and rummaging through the ash
heap, it's kind of gone out of style. And, once you're out of cards,
you're out of cards. It takes the overblown Waste Management
Operation to actually net cards into your library. That is, until
Pochtli.
Pochtli
8-cap
cel dom NEC OBF POT
Independent: Pochtli may move up to two cards from your ash heap to
your library as a +1 stealth action. Shuffle your library afterward.
Simultaneously, Summon Soul entered the world of V:TES, not unlike
Whispers from the Dead being the action-card version of Carlotta
(almost). However, Summon Soul will run out; each Summon Soul action
at superior will remove the card from the game, limiting you from net
gain in your library. Not so for Pochtli. Decks have been suggested
built around him, making an "ultimate toolbox" deck that rapidly fills
it's ash heap and empties its library, so whatever 2 cards Pochtli
goes to get, get rapidly back into your hand.
And, don't get me wrong, it's a good ability, but in general, it's
ONLY going to help you if you ARE out of cards. Taking an 8-cap
vampire's action to reshuffle in two cards that you're not sure when
you'll see...that's pretty inferior to Carlotta's instant
gratification grab-bag.
That doesn't mean I don't love Pochtli. Far from it. What *I*
really like about Pochtli is his disciplines. (Sure, he's got
inferior Dominate, but better that than have DOM and go up a point,
crossing the Line of Death into a 9-cap that would see no play at all)
* He's got all the in-clans.
* He's got NEC/POT, to go along with bruisers like Gillespi and
Carlotta.
* He's got Celerity to go along with Rafaele and Gaspare
And best of all,
* He's got Obfuscate, at -superior-, to be sure he gets away with all
his actions. And rounds out a possible crypt of Obf/Nec with Carlotta
and Rafaele, who just didn't have what it takes by themselves. [Ed
note: And, Scoo...er, Egotha will be bringing up the rear with
NEC/obf and a wonderfully annoying special at 7 cap come Bloodlines.
=]
Pochtli is about the most unblockable guy in the game, and he
doesn't have to spend 4 blood or go to torpor to do it. Just like we
went over in last month's Newsletter, he can play Seduction and
Sleeping Mind at Inferior, and everyone's favorite, Call of the Hungry
Dead, on whoever does try and block, but Pochtli can get even crazier
and drop down Elder Impersonation to make -another- block fail.
That's 4 blockers down, and the action is -still- at zero stealth.
Perfect for "responsible bleeding." But, on top of that, he can just
plain Get Away with all those Cool Necromancy Actions you want. And
for those non-bleeding actions, he can drop Forgotten Labyrinth and
Lost in Crowds. If he doesn't want to get caught, he won't. The only
thing that's gonna stop him is the dedicated "I catch even Pochtli"
Ravnos deck, and it will STILL have a hard time with it.
And with all that, he's got two more things everyone's wanted in a
Giovanni: He doesn't look like an yet another Italian mobster, and
his name doesn't have "Giovanni" in it! Really, for all the Giovanni
are simply about being cool, Pochtli breaks the mold, and with his
name, cool portrait, totally unique and cool ability, and a kickass
discipline set...Pochtli just oozes cool. =)
================================================================
CARD OF THE MONTH: Shroud Mastery
================================================================
(Okay, I may actually have traded for enough of these now, so the rest
of the world now has permission to trade them to someone besides me.
Thanks for your patience. =)
While it's easy to want to build a deck around Shroud Mastery, (I
did, from the day I saw it) it is Rare. But, unless you're building a
deck around it, it's so specialized that you're glad it's Rare. It's
only usable in conjuction with Wraith allies or Retainers. But, when
it works, it's fantastic.
Shroud Mastery
Action Modifier
[nec] Usable by a ready vampire when a wraith ally you control is
acting. The acting wraith gets +1 stealth.
[NEC] Only usable when an action to recruit or employ a wraith is
announced. Untap this acting vampire if the action is successful.
The inferior version of SM is a very specialized Cloak the Gathering,
only usable on Wraith allies. However, unlike Cloak that requires
superior Obfuscate, SM only requires inferior Necromancy.
[But, this card came just in time: people were starting to actually
READ the cards as they got reprinted, and started to notice that
Ambrosius's action to get retainers out of the ash heap isn't actually
at any stealth. And now he can get those Meat Hooks and Talbot's
Chainsaw at 2 stealth. Or 3, or 4, depending how many SMs you have in
hand, and vamps with Necromancy.]
The superior version is really a very specialized Freak Drive.
You have to actually get away with the action (hint: Use Pochtli =),
and it's only for recruiting Wraith allies and retainers, but in a
deck with many SMs and many Wraiths, it really makes the most of your
actions. Best of all, unlike Freak Drive, it's free!
One extra bonus to thank the Final Nights designers for was giving
Necromancy an intercept retainer, the Masquer, and making it a Wraith.
Many a deck has suffered getting that first Raven Spy or Sport Bike
and then having no Wake or untap -- it's FAR better to get the
intercept and BE untapped as way of showing "Hey!! I *can* block
that!" Rather than threatening to have a Wake and have to use it,
it's better to keep those around you from taking any actions by simply
having the interceptor untapped. (Of course, for the Masquer, having
one at all and ANY untapped minions is a bit of a threat =).
[I would have made Masquer the other Card of the Month, but I
personally haven't had that much success with them. At 2 blood a pop,
I think a deck dedicated with several Path of Bone and Ambrosius to
recycle them if they get burnt is what's needed to really make them
go. Probably another newsletter.]
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DECK OF THE MONTH: Shroud Masters
================================================================
Deck Name: Shroud Masters
Created by: Patrick O'Shea
Description: Nec/Obf deck starring Pochtli, Carlotta, and Rafaele,
because Cloak and Shroud Mastery stack.
Crypt: (12 cards) [Min: 18, Max: 31, Avg: 6.25]
3 Carlotta Giovanni (dom NEC obf POT, Giovanni, 7)
2 Isabel Giovanni (DOM NEC pot, Giovanni, 5)
1 Petrucchio Giovanni (aus dom NEC, Giovanni, 5)
3 Pochtli (cel dom NEC OBF POT, Giovanni, 8)
2 Rafaele Giovanni (cel NEC obf, Giovanni, 6)
1 Rudolpho Giovanni (NEC, Giovanni, 3)
Petrucchio Giovanni is an unofficial vampire made for the V:TES
Atlanta expansion, (see the Whispers from the Dead) Basically, it's
"me," and I used him in the Giovanni Tap Dance in issue #1, which long
ago was one answer to the question "What would you do with
Aus/Dom/Nec?" =)
You can trade him out for anybody you care for, or just jump to:
http://people.atl.mediaone.net/intj/jpa/vtesa_cards.html
and print him out. =)
Library: (85 cards)
Master (13 cards)
1 Acquired Ventrue Assets
3 Blood Doll
2 Charisma
1 Dominate
1 Minion Tap
3 Obfuscate
1 Path of Bone, The
1 Tower of London
Action (12 cards)
2 Compel the Spirit
2 Govern the Unaligned
1 Haunt
2 Psychic Veil
1 Release of the Shackled Soul
4 Summon Soul
ActionMod (26 cards)
4 Call of the Hungry Dead
2 Change of Target
5 Cloak the Gathering
1 Conditioning
1 Elder Impersonation
2 Forgotten Labyrinth
2 Lost in Crowds
2 Seduction
7 Shroud Mastery
Reaction (6 cards)
2 Deflection
4 Wake with Evening's Freshness
Combat (9 cards)
4 Behind You!
5 Spiritual Intervention
Ally (10 cards)
1 Ambrosius, The Ferryman (Wraith)
2 Brigitte Gebauer (Wraith)
2 Felix 'Fix' Hessian (Wraith)
1 Leonardo, Mortician
3 Puppeteer (Wraith)
1 Shambling Hordes
Retainer (5 cards)
5 Masquer (Wraith)
Combo (4 cards)
4 Spectral Divination
Last minute changes added a second copy of Brigitte and a second
Change of Target. The deck has run best in practice when Brigitte and
Felix both came out, and since it's light on bleed, Rafaele's inherent
+1 bleed comes in awfully handy. The one Change of Target I had
before saved my butt about 5 times (thanks to Carlotta =), so I added
another. But, since people tap out to stealth they can't stop, and
especially Puppeteers, which aren't much good stealing tapped minions,
Change of Target is great for flushing out Wakes when Fix or Brigitte
needs to bleed, since when they untap, they each have useful
non-bleeding actions (well, in Brigitte's case, tapping).
Since Shroud Mastery is free, I actually found the Path of Bone to
never really make that much difference; I'd consider dropping it for
some generically useful Master, like the Barrens or Giant's Blood, or
maybe a second Dominate skill card (heck, even a Hunting Ground). I'd
really like to leave the Psychic Veils in, despite having never played
one to great effect.
If you want more bleed/deflection, drop the Release of the
Shackled Soul, all 4 Summon Souls, and the 2 Psychic Veils, and swap
an Obf skill card or Path for a Dom skill card; then add 3
Deflections, 2 Governs, a Threats, and a Foreshadowing Destruction.
A word on doubled up-crypts: From trying to build decks around a
few key vampires, 3/12 isn't enough to get one vampire consistently,
but having 4 or more copies can really jam up a deck, especially when
you go fishing off the top of your crypt, and get Yet Another copy.
However, for decks with multiple vampires you would like, having 3
each of 4 will often jam you up on having 2 vampires. I'd recommend
instead 3 each of the 2 vampires that will really do the job, which
gives an effective 6/12 for a vamp you want, and then no more than 2
copies of any other vampires. Also, always include at least one
weenie, preferably 2, that can basically do the job. If you can't
find anyone, put in Smudge, at least! Better to cough up one pool to
get *someone* who can at least let you push through the Blood Doll and
rescue, than to go fishing again.
Ok, onto actually playing the deck:
Bring out one of the mid-caps as soon as possible, and get
building up while getting a second. Use the Shroud Masteries when
possible as untap, to make the most of your few minions. The main
purpose of the Puppeteers is as cheap blockers, and to get weenies to
just tap out for you. People get REALLY agitated by Puppeteers being
out on the table; feel free to make deals where you don't steal their
minions for the next 2 turns or whatever, just to keep them alive.
They're actually NOT that nasty, and be sure to point that out if the
table is percieving you as a threat.
Don't go silly on the Masquers if intercept won't help you. But,
do enjoy the "I get intercept and untap if successful" Shroud Masquery
combo. If people look like they think they can block Felix and you're
light on stealth, point out that you can Cloak from -each- OBF minion,
and Shroud Mastery from -each- NEC minion. The deck should look so
sneaky that people just tap out (this is what happened to me, in
practice, every time).
It's not a quick table sweeper, and it is a bit toolboxy, some of
that being based upon me not being sure which direction I wanted the
deck to go in, some of it based upon cardstock limitations (Puppeteer,
Brigitte). It does have a bit more intercept than the average
Giovanni deck, so does better with voting predators than most.
Also, it does make good use of Giovanni allies, and I've still
been helped more than hurt by using them. I don't have many stolen or
burnt, but have had frustrated players with Kiss of Ra, Daring the
Dawn, Anarch Troublemaker (says "vampires!"), etc. Having disposable
minions makes up for playing mid-caps, especially against 0-stealth
rushes (and burning the Masquer so the Puppeteer can block the
Clandestine Contract is worth your time, yes =) and Bruise-backed
bleeds. Allies are, as a whole, weak, but the Giovanni ones are ahead
of the curve, and using them is really one of the keys to making a
successful Giovanni deck. In fact...well, more on that next month.
================================================================
CONCLUSION/PREVIEW
================================================================
Well, it looks like Bloodlines is going to be favoring us
Necromancers, with both the Aus/Dom/Nec Nagaraja and the Aus/For/Nec
Harbingers of Skulls fleshing out the the Giovanni. Depending when
Bloodlines hits the streets, and whether I can scrounge up enough
money for a box or two, either December or January I'll have to give a
rundown on what Bloodlines has done for the Necromancers. In fact,
come January, I might have to change the name of the newsletter to be
more inclusive, or at least have a corner for our Brothers in Bone.
Next month might take a stab at using Mind Rape with the Giovanni, as
an excuse to use the Big Boyz and Girlz, like Augustus, Silvia, and
Ambrogino; and at the same time, not make a copy of Noal's Mind
Rape/Puppeteer deck.
Also, I may finally get to fully addressing Peter Bajika's claim that
the Giovanni don't win tournaments because they don't do anything that
some other clan can't already do better. While, on the surface, there
is a lot of truth to that statement and it says a lot about what you
*shouldn't* be trying to do, the counterpoints will highlight what you
*should* be doing if you're trying to be sucessful with the Giovanni.
And, while the Giovanni losing streak continues, I'll just have to
keep hammering away the message until someone hits the magic recipe
and finally puts us on top where we belong. (Just gotta make sure we
beat the Ravnos and the !Tremere to the goal-line, and stay out of
last place. =)
--
Pat Ricochet
Soul Jar'rn Fool of Atlanta