Table of Contents: 1. Lasombra: The history of… 2. Minion Call: Political Playground 3. Deck: Lasombra - Politics and Blood - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Lasombra: The history of… In the 13th or 14th century, a charismatic Lasombra Cainite with other Lasombra anarchs, Assimites and other clan anarchs located and diablerized the Lasombra Antediluvian. This event spurred the Tzimisce to follow suit in locating and diablerizing the Tzimisce Antediluvian. With the success of the Lasombra and Tzimisce over their elders, a vicious war of patricide raged across Europe as other clan anarchs sought to bring down their Antediluvian and Methuselah sires. The revolt, now called the Anarch Revolt, went too far, arousing Rome to have the Inquisition move toward locating and destroying the monsters that lived within the midst of the mortal population. The Cainite population was devastated as vampires had to fear not only the Inquisition but each other. As the Lasombra have strong ties to the Church, it helped the Lasombra evade much of the destruction wrought upon the kindred society during the time of the Inquisition. The Convention of Thorns was called upon by the elders of the clans to end the revolt in a written accord and promised to restore order to the kindred. This convention led to the creation of the Camarilla. Many of Cainites from the two clans that succeeded in bring down their elders, Lasombra and Tzimisce, rebelled at following the accords of the convention and eventually created their own sect called the Sabbat. As one of the founders of the Sabbat, the Lasombra clan is one of the dominate members of the sect. Masters of manipulation and shadows, the clan seeks to control everything and everyone through force of will, force of strength and by guile. To meet these ends, the Lasombra possess the disciplines to accomplish their ends and approach every situation with the express purpose of furthering their own agenda. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Minion Call: Political Playground The role of politics is usually dominated by three clans within the realm of V:TES, the Ventrue, Brujah and Toreador. While other clans may be able to work voting themes into their decks, they do not have the not possess the political clout of these clans. The political clout of the Ventrue, Brujah and Toreador is from possessing more cards and capabilities dealing with politics than other clans. The Ventrue are by far the stronger of the three, with 22 titled points for votes on their minions, Camarilla only. The Brujah are a close second with 21 titled points for votes on their minions, Camarilla only. The Toreador are a third with 20 titled points for votes on their minions, Camarilla only. The Lasombra in direct relation can only muster up 11 titled points for votes on their minions. Based upon the above statistics, many might not consider the Lasombra to be star performers in the political arena. However, based upon the disciplines and clan specific cards each clan possesses, the Lasombra have strong political capabilities that could easily be overlooked. The Ventrue disciplines are Dominate, Presence, and Fortitude - they have the overall edge with political disciplines. The Brujah disciplines are Presence, Potence, and Celerity - they have only one political discipline. The Toreador disciplines are Presence, Celerity, and Auspex - they have only one political discipline. The Lasombra disciplines are Dominate, Potence, and Obtenebration - they have only one political discipline. The political clan specific cards that are available follows: Ventrue - Elder Kindred Network - Reaction Card Ventrue Directorate Assembly - Master Ventrue Headquarters - Unique Location Ventrue Anti - Demonstration - Unique Master Brujah - Oxford University, England - Unique Location Brujah Anti - None Toreador - Scorn of Adonis - Action Modifier Toreador Anti - None Lasombra - Power Structure - Unique Master Political Seizure - Note Note - Political Seizure is not so much a political card but is fantastic at tying up political locations of other clans to prevent their usage. (i.e. Ventrue Headquarters, Oxford University, City Gangrel Connections, etc.) Politics for the Lasombra, due to their low vote count, can try to make up for the difference by various means. Examples are: - Voting in more Archbishops, that the Camarilla minions are unable to participate in, to increase their voting presence on the table. - Using Political Seizure to deny their usage from other players. - Using Kindred Coercion and Pulling Strings to deny other players' minions from voting. - Using Power Structure to increase voting potential based upon number of Lasombra controlled. (great with Embraces) Played correctly, the Lasombra can have a strong potential of dominating the table. As with many decks, especially with politics; manipulation of the table either by verbal, by card or both, is one of the highlights of the game. With the Lasombra, manipulation is a requirement, it's part of their nature in the Jyhad/V:TES world. - - - - - - - - - Deck name: …Of politics and blood Created by: Mike Eichler Crypt: (12 cards) 1 Alvaro, The Scion of Angelica (9, do OT PO pr, Archbishop) 1 Angelica, The Canonicus (10, ce DO ob OT PO, Cardinal) 1 Antonio Delgado (9, DO OT PO th, Archbishop) 1 Aurora Van Brande, Paladin (6, do fo OT po) 1 Gratiano (8, DO ob OT po, Priscus) 1 Guido Lucciano (5, do OT ob) 2 Ignacio, The Black Priest (4, do ot po) 2 Quentin (9, AU ce DO FO ot, Bishop) 2 Ramiro (4, do ot vi) [Min: 16, Max: 37, Avg: 6.75] Library: (90 cards) Masters 5 Ascendance 2 Dominate 1 Festivo dello Estinto 1 Fragment of the Book of Nod 3 Minion Tap 2 Obtenebration 1 Political Seizure 1 Power Structure 1 Political Hunting Ground 2 Political Stranglehold 1 Short-Term Investment Obenebration Cards 2 Arms of the Abyss 2 Entombment 3 Eyes of the Night 2 Shadow Body 5 Shadow Play 5 Shroud of Night Dominate Cards 4 Conditioning 4 Deflection 2 Far Mastery 3 Govern the Unaligned 1 Grave Robbing 2 Kindred Coercion 2 Pulling Strings 3 Scouting Mission Political Cards 2 Cardinal Benediction 1 Command of the Harpies 1 Crusade: Detroit 1 Crusade: Houston 1 Crusade: Mexico City 1 Crusade: Miami 1 Crusade: Philadelphia 1 Crusade: Pittsburgh 1 Crusade: Toronto 2 Domain Challenge 1 Dramatic Upheaval 2 Kindred Segregation 5 Kine Resources Contested 2 Sabbat Inquisitor 2 Sabbat Priest Action Cards 2 Blood Feast Action Modifier Cards 4 Cryptic Rider A simple but effective political deck for Lasombra. Provides the player the capability of attacking their prey on two fronts. The deck is centered around Obtenebration and Dominate. Quentin is included for his Dominate and special ability. You can send comments, suggestions, deck ideas and other misc. material to me via email at michael.eichler@ramstein.af.mil - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - "It's a dog-eat-dog world and I'm wearing Milk Bone underwear." Norm from Cheers