Mike Eichler Michael.Eichler@ramstein.af.mil - - - - - - - - - - - Story Time - The Influencing of Caceras Minion Call - A discussion of cards Deck - Silence and Darkness - - - - - - - - - - - The Influencing of Caceras Juan sailed through the air and impacted against the concrete wall. "What do you mean, you are unable to confirm who performed the raid on my district!", growled Caceras. "You and your pack were to bring back solid information, not guess work!" Juan groaned as he tried to pick himself up. "Your excellency", croaked Juan, "we were only able to determine from third party sightings of some new faces within the area prior to the hit." "And that is suppose to satisfy my ire from having my domain, my resources destroyed in a four block wide area? I am beginning to think I didn't throw you hard enough against the wall!" As if realizing the impending doom of being used as a club against an immobile object, Juan fought for mental clarity before he would become a bloody smear on the wall. "Joseph… Joseph told me of a possible lead earlier…",gasped Juan as he cringed from his sire's reaching hand. "He said the people who might have caused the arson are hiding in the Phillip's District. Juan's confidence increased as his sire silently absorbed his words. "We were on our way there to verify his lead, but only after we made our report to you, sire." With a glaring look Caceras grabbed Juan by the hair before he could react, "My… are we becoming diligent in our respect… and careless in our reporting.", he growled as he yanked Juan close. "Then by all means go check out your lead. And if it turns out wrong… don't worry about reporting in… I will already know.", in a low tone. "Go now!", commanded Caceras as he tossed Juan aside like a child would a doll. "Yes, sire.", Juan stammered quickly as he hurriedly stood and rushed out of the room. After the door was shut and the sounds of Juan's rapid departure of the house faded, Caceras calmly spoke to the darkness, "What do you think of his report?" "It would seem a highly improbable lead, but one that should not be over looked.", a voice from the dark corner spoke. "I take you want him tailed?" "You assume correctly… Go now, report when you know the truth and if it is a false lead, a red herring from his weak, pathetic mind… kill him." "Yes, master.", as the darkness faded away leaving Caceras alone in the candle lit room. - - - - - - - - - - - Minion Call - A Discussion on Cards From last month's Newsletter, we discussed two cards, "Arms of the Abyss" and "Call the Lamprey." This month we will examine "Entombment" and "Eyes of the Night." Anyone finding other good uses for these cards, please drop me a line explaining what you do and if possible a deck design. I will include your suggestions and deck in a future newsletter. Entombment Combat Card with 2 blood cost Normal Strike: Burn the opposing ally. Superior Strike: Send the opposing vampire into torpor. This card covers all opponents except retainers, however, the coverage is split into two halves. Allies are affected by the normal level and the vampires are affected at the superior level. On the surface, this would seem to give the card great latitude. However, the only real usefulness of the card is at the superior level as allies are not the most common opponent players usually face. Advantages of the card is in it's extremely aggressive nature. It coupled with "Arms of the Abyss" works quite well, dodging your opponent's strike for free and sending the opponent into torpor at cost of 2 blood. The limitation of the card, besides really being of major use at superior, is it's requirement of only working at close range. This opens up so many ways of defusing it's use it isn't even funny. As the active Methuselah, use of the card is extremely limiting as the opposition will more likely dodge or S:CE after seeing the card played, costing you 2 blood. If the opposing minion is from the combat persuasion, then they may decide to take you into torpor with them by beating the stuffing out of you. The card really finds it best use in a reactionary or defensive mode. Thus, you have to be able to block to get a good possible use of the card. There are several alternative methods of getting the card played but each is more expensive in terms of blood and combination requirements. The first is to use "Entombment" coupled with "Thoughts Betrayed." This combination is useful in an offensive capability, however, there is no recouping the 4 point blood loss as no damage was performed. A possibility of using alternating "Sacrificial Lambs" for blood gain could be accomplished, however, the logistical requirements to establish two 7 point (minimum) vampires are not easily accomplished especially in a highly competitive atmosphere like a tournament. The other possibility is using "Entombment" in a "Hidden Lurker" combination. This possesses the greater likelihood of being accomplished with minimal fuss. The only draw back is the use of two minions to bring one vampire down. Three, if you are looking at a "Sacrificial Lamb" finish to completely eliminate the evidence of it's prior existence. Personally, I believe the card is a good card but not a great card. You can usually find 1 to 2 of them within any of my Lasombra decks where I expect combat as their potential surprise value is tremendous. Eyes of the Night Reaction Card with no blood cost Normal Capability: +1 Intercept Superior Capability: +1 Intercept with an optional maneuver or press, if combat occurs. This is a wonderful card to help offset the Lasombra Clan's lack of Auspex. The card almost completely mirrors the Auspex "Spirit's Touch" but with a bonus. It provides an optional maneuver or press at superior while "Spirit's Touch" only gives an optional maneuver at superior. The card's application is only useful in a limited sense as you only gain a +1 Intercept against any one action. If the opposing Methuselah specializes in stealth, he will easily bypass any attempt of interception if this card is used alone. If the card is coupled with a "Sports Bike" or any of Unique Locations that provide intercept, or both then it's capabilities expand proportionally. Unfortunately, common use of the card requires a Methuselah to leave a vampire with Obtenebration untapped or play of a "Wake with Evening's Freshness" or "Forced Awakening." This type of play is often criticized as being too reactive and not offensive enough. IMO, the deck design should be measured on if the deck performs as the owner wishes. If it does, then it is a deck of merit, whether it can win in an intensely competitive or tournament setting is another story. Advantages of this card is it's simple capability of giving +1 Intercept at normal and +1 Intercept with a maneuver or press at superior. Not much, but better than nothing. The disadvantage of the card is it's reactionary role requiring an active minion to use or at least wake from untap to use. - - - - - - - - - - - Deck - Silence and Darkness A little deck I just threw together to see if Obtenebration and Quietus could be utilized in a "Resource Denial" format with Obfuscate as the mixer. The deck's theme is to either deny opponents (primarily the prey) of their minions in an indirect fashion or their blood pool from standard bleeds. Though classed as a "spoiler" deck, I am currently trying to refine the cards to see if there is any future potential to this idea. After reading several articles in the newsgroup, I know there are people who will probably have something to say about this deck. Crypt: (12 cards) [Min: 19, Max: 26, Avg: 5.5] 2 Abd al-Rashid (Assamite, 5, CE ob QU) 2 Aurora Van Brande, Paladin (Lasombra, 6, do fo OT po) 1 Didi Meyers (Malkavian, 5, au ce DO ob) 2 Guido Lucciano (Lasombra, 5, do OT ob) 1 Mariel, Lady Thunder (Malkavian, 7, au DO OB th) 2 Melek (Assamite, 7, ce OB pr QU) 2 Ramiro (Lasombra, 4, do ot vi) Library: (90 cards) Master 2 Blood Doll Master: Unique Location 1 Elysium: The Arboretum 1 Political Hunting Ground 1 Powerbase: Chicago 1 Underworld Hunting Ground Master: Unique 1 Path of Blood, The Master: Discipline 5 Dominate 5 Obfuscate Dominate Cards 4 Conditioning 4 Deflection 6 Govern the Unaligned 3 Grave Robbing 2 Scouting Mission Obfuscate Cards 6 Cloak the Gathering 8 Hidden Lurker 2 Psychic Veil Obtenebration Cards 8 Shadow Body Quietus Cards 3 Blood Sweat 6 Taste of Death Equipment Cards 6 IR Goggles 3 Laptop Computer Non-Discipline Cards 3 Ambush 4 Fake Ou