VEKN MALKAVIAN NEWSLETTER, SEPTEMBER 2001
This Month: The Political Issue
Table of Contents:
I. Introduction: Strange Bedfellows
II. Cross-Table Card of the Month: Rumor Mill
III. Card of the Month -Honorable Mention: Powerbase Rome
IV. Malkavian Political Tricks
A. Stealth
B. Malkavian Rider Clause
C. Malkavian Seven Miseries
V. Deck - Malkavian Fast Talking
VI. Deck - When Malkavians Rule the World...
VII. VTES Fun Facts!
VIII. Next Month
I. Introduction: Strange Bedfellows
Break out the placards and straw hats! The Malkavians are running for
office. This month I'm back to my fundamentals series, taking a look
at that peculiar beast, the Malkavian political deck, and using this
as an excuse to dabble in the topic of table-politics and deal-making
in general.
II. Cross-Table Card of the Month: Rumor Mill
Lets start off by looking at a card that has nothing in particular to
do with Malkavians, but belongs in every agitator's bag of tricks. No
Political campaign is complete without a Rumor Mill:
The Rumor Mill, Tabloid Newspaper [Sabbat, SW]
Cardtype: Master
Cost: 1 pool
Master: unique location.
Tap this card and choose a vampire. Once during the current action,
the chosen vampire may burn 1 blood to get +1 intercept.
For a long time I ignored the Rumor Mill. Burning a blood every time
you want to use it seemed like a pain. If I wanted an intercept
location I'd go for KRCG. Yeah, it costs an extra pool, but that
investment saves you a lot of blood burning.
That was then. Now Rumor Mill goes into most of my decks. The 1 pool
difference over KRCG is a nice advantage (think of it as half the
cost). When I see KRCG in the mid-end game I'm always thinking "Can I
afford this now?" I can afford Rumor Mill. And I've found that usually
one of my minions can spare a blood to go for the block. So, even if
you only want to use it for yourself, the Rumor Mill is *almost* as
good as KRCG. It works well combined with other intercept sources. If
it's the only intercept you've got, then its probably only good for
stopping no-stealth decks from performing +1 stealth actions. But then
a few well-timed blocks of a hunt, or vote, or torpor rescue can have
a huge impact on a game.
But, the real power of the Rumor Mill comes in when you consider what
you can do cross-table. Once it hits the table, begin looking for
opportunities to hand out the intercept. When you hand out that
intercept:
a) Someone else's vampire burns a blood.
If the block is successful:
b) An action you'd just as soon see stopped, is blocked.
c) Two minions, neither of which you control, get in a fight.
Hopefully, they cycle lots of combat cards out of their hands and
totally mangle each other. But even if they only slap for one, its all
good.
No matter how it turns out:
d) You're doing your cross-table buddy a favor! You're making
friends and influencing people. You've lent your precious intercept,
from your own Master Card, to your New Friend. Naturally, you can ask
for some help in return. This can be explicit by setting the terms
before you hand out the intercept, or implicitly by asking the next
time you need a favor. But you've got a little leverage.
It's cheap. It's powerful. It's versatile. There are very few decks
that can't benefit from the Rumor Mill.
III. Card of the Month -Honorable Mention: Powerbase Rome
Powerbase Rome is one of those cards that have come to us with a new,
reduced price in Final Nights. I've been giving it a second look, and
trying it in a few decks:
Powerbase: Rome [DS, FN]
Cardtype: Master
Master: unique location.
You may use a master phase action to move 1 counter the blood
bank to the Powerbase. Any Giovanni you control may move up to 2 of
his or her blood counters to this card as a +1 stealth action. Tap and
burn X counters from this card to gain X votes during a political
action. Any minion may burn all counters on this card as a (D) action.
Originally, this card cost 2 pool, which was pretty silly. And having
your Giovanni take actions to turn their blood into future votes
doesn't seem very productive. But having a free location that allows
me to turn surplus master actions into a vote cache is rather nice.
Combine this with Rumors of Gehanna and you can create a nice little
vote pile. This makes it a nice asset for decks that aren't 100%
political but still want to pass (or shoot down) the occasional
referendum. Not at table-killer by any means, but worth a look.
IV. Malkavian Political Tricks
Malkavians are not the kings of politics. They tend to have other
things on their minds. But they are Camarilla, so they have a few
advantages. And of course they have a few tricks of their own:
A. Stealth
Everything just goes that much smoother when you have stealth. Mr.
Winthrop peering over their shoulders might deter the Ventrue, but not
the Malks. The ability to breeze by to get the votes off should not be
underestimated.
B. Malkavian Rider Clause
Malkavian Rider Clause [AH]
Cardtype: Reaction
Clan: Malkavian
Cost: 1 blood
Only usable during a before voting occurs.
If the passes, then the next you
successfully call passes automatically.
Votes? We don't need no stinkin' votes. With this little beauty, every
Malkavian deck can be a political deck. Slip in 1 or 2 of these and a
couple of political cards into your deck. Add the Clause to someone
else's vote, and if it passes, the next you call passes.
The effect lasts until you use it (or the game ends). So, you can drop
the Malkavian Rider Clause, and then use it whenever you get around
to drawing into your own political cards. Its a nice way for deck
with little or no votes to get off a Consanguineous Boon, Dramatic
Upheaval, or some other *surprise* ("No no, let ME call the
Bloodhunt...").
Ben Peal used this trick is NA Championship winning deck. You're not
going to find a better product endorsement than that. (Actually I'm
not sure he got the combo off. But he might endorse it anyhow.)
C. The Malkavian Seven Miseries
The Malkavian Seven Miseries [DS]
Cardtype: Master
Clan: Malkavian
Cost: 1 pool
Master.
Put this card in play. Any minion attempting a political action gets
-1 stealth. This card may be burned by any minion who is not Tremere
as a (D) action.
Ok, not a good card in a political deck. But its a good card for
screwing political decks. Sick of those vote decks dropping KRC damage
on you? Tired of those Con. Booners and Voter Capers out-bloating your
bleeds? Put down this little friend and put a stop to that. Yeah, it
can be burned as a action, but block that too. What are they going to
do to you? Play Majesty?
V. Deck - Malkavian Fast Talking
Table talk and deal making have been a hot topic of conversation
lately, especially within the various VEKN Newsletters. (I'll put in a
plug for the David Hammond's July Gangrel Newsletter, which has a nice
article on the topic:
http://www.thelasombra.com/newsletter/gangrel_july_2001.htm )
Deal making and table talk skills are useful and fun ones to develop.
One good way to get some practice is to play a political deck that
won't necessarily have vote lock. This forces you to look at your
hand, and look at the table, and talk your way into getting what you
want. I sometimes drop a Kine Resources Contested or two into a deck
that otherwise completely non-political. This gets me talking to the
table and working on alliances. And it really confuses the other
players, who thought they understood my deck.
With Cryptic Rider and Malkavian Rider Clause at their disposal,
Malkavians can be particularly good for building bleed/vote hybrid
decks that rely on some fast-talking in the beginning and try to build
their way to vote-lock by the end game.
This is a deck that was sent to me by Frederic Genest that uses a
combination of stealth and guile to pick up VPs.
The deck list and subsequent analysis is all Frederic's.
Deck Name: Malkavian Fast-Talking
Created by: F. Genest, August 2001
Description: Malkavians aren't great diplomats. But they can Ride
their vote through! Stay out of combat, vote your preys' pool down,
and bide your time until you can make that big Bleed count!
Crypt: (13 cards) [Min: 19, Max: 28, Avg: 6,08]
1 Didi Meyers (aus cel DOM obf, Malkavian, 5)
3 Gilbert Duane (AUS DOM OBF, Malkavian, 7, Prince)
3 Greger Anderssen (AUS dom OBF pro, Malkavian, 7, Prince)
1 Korah (ani AUS DEM OBF, Malkavian Antitribu, 7, Priscus)
1 Ozmo (AUS dom obf, Malkavian, 6)
1 Roland Bishop (aus dom obf, Malkavian, 4)
1 Victoria (AUS cel obf, Malkavian, 5)
1 Volker (CEL pot, Brujah, 5, Prince)
1 Zebulon (aus dom OBF pro, Malkavian, 5)
Library: (90 cards)
Master (13 cards)
1 Asylum Hunting Ground
1 Auspex
1 Blood Doll
1 Creepshow Casino
2 Dominate
1 Elysium: The Arboretum
1 Elysium: The Palace of Versailles
2 Legendary Vampire
3 Tribute to the Master
Action (10 cards)
2 Fifth Tradition: Hospitality, The
4 Govern the Unaligned
4 Night Moves
ActionMod (26 cards)
3 Bonding
5 Bribes
4 Cloak the Gathering
4 Cryptic Rider
4 Elder Impersonation
4 Lost in Crowds
2 Telepathic Vote Counting
Political (18 cards)
2 Banishment
2 Consanguineous Boon
7 Kine Resources Contested
1 Malkavian Justicar
3 Parity Shift
1 Praxis Seizure: Amsterdam
1 Praxis Seizure: Cairo
1 Praxis Seizure: Cleveland
Reaction (22 cards)
3 Deflection
4 Malkavian Rider Clause
8 Obedience
2 Redirection
2 Telepathic Misdirection
3 Wake with Evening's Freshness
Equipment (1 card)
1 Lyndhurst Estate, New York
This is the fourth iteration of the deck. I've played a previous
incarnation of that deck in 3 tournament games so far, earning 1.5
VPs. It has been plagued by Light Intercept from Prey or Predator
(once having a Tzimisce Intercept-combat as a Prey, which quickly
ousted me). Also, it wasn't quick enough at ousting my Prey, and I
lost maybe 2 VPs because of this. So, I've added Stealth (especially
Elder Impersonation to cancel block attempts) and more KRCs than in my
previous version.
A fourth game was played on JOL with a slightly modified deck
following the tournament, in which I successfully survived a
Weenie-Computer Hacking deck with the use of Obedience and
Deflections. That game is still going on (JOL160). My prey is again a
Tzimisce Intercept-Combat, and I haven't enough Stealth in that deck,
so I'm having some troubles.
Regarding the deck, I've limited myself to Malk Princes, instead of
adding Primogen, Justicars, or Inner Circle Members. The added votes
of Justicar and Inner Circle come with high cost and useless
Disciplines. And I consider Malkavian Primogenes to be costly for 1
vote (being at 7 capacity or more). I balance this with Praxises and
Legendary Vampires. So far, I usually got between 4 and 6 votes on the
table (spread among 3 to 4 vampires).
Those votes aren't enough against, say, a dedicated Ventrue Law Firm.
This is, of course, where the Riders come in, as well as the
Banishments. "Chain-reacting" a Parity Shift and a KRC with Malk Rider
Clause and Cryptic Rider for a total of 8 pool loss to the Firm is a
sweet revenge.
The Night Moves are there to get the Edge, which can then be spent
during a critical Vote.
Pool gain with the Tributes and Governs is enough to keep the deck
afloat and survive a few bleeds (instead of having to block and do
combat).
Experience, extrapolated to the current incarnation of the deck,
suggests that the toolboxy nature of the deck would make it able to
survive and behave properly independently of table position. Most of
the voting Action Modifiers can be cast regardless of the situation,
preventing hand clogging. Stealth, so far, as been a much-needed
resource; so I can't comment on its clogging risk. Deflections and
Obedience were there when I needed them (except at one point when I
got ousted), so the balance seems fair for the moment.
Interesting modifications might include a Malkavian Network to take
advantage of those moments between my Predator's turn and mine. Also,
a Gird Minion or two might help keep the minions full of blood (it is
a problem with the Riders).
VI. Deck - When Malkavians Rule the World...
This deck is based on one Prescot Jenner used to run us over a few
months back. Playing it is pretty straightforward- get a weenie on the
table and immediately make her a Prince. Bring out more weenies and
make them Princes. Have those weenies create Progeny and Embraces.
Make them Princes. Have them create more Progeny and Embraces. Bloat
along the way. Once you have way more votes, pool, and minions than
everyone else, swarm around the table.
Crypt: 12
Brazil (aus, Malkavian, 2)
Ohanna (dom, Malkavian, 2)
Normal (obf, Malkavian, 2)
Watenda (obf, Malkavian, 3)
Dollface (aus obf, Malkavian, 3)
Zoe (AUS obf cel, Malkavian, 3)
Roland Bishop (aus obf dom, Malkavian, 4)
Aleph (AUS dom, Malkavian, 4)
Victoria (AUS obf cel, Malkavian, 5)
Zebulon (aus OBF dom pro, Malkavian, 5)
Franciscus (aus, caitif, 1)
Smudge the Ignored (caitif, 1)
Masters: 20
Obfuscate x5
Auspex x4
Tribute to the Master x3
Effective Management x3
The Rumor Mill
Creepshow Casino x2
Elysium: The Arboretum
Elysium: The Palace of Versailles
Minion: 70
Auspex: 8
Telepathic Vote Counting x4
Telepathic Misdirection x2
Telepathic Counter x2
Obfuscate: 11
Lost in Crowds x5
Forgotten Labyrinth x6
Action: 10
The Embrace x5
3rd Tradition: Progeny x5
Action Modifier: 2
Cryptic Rider x2
Reaction: 4
2nd Tradition x2
Malkavian Rider Clause x2
Political: 35
Praxis Seizure: Atlanta
Praxis Seizure: Boston
Praxis Seizure: Chicago
Praxis Seizure: Cleveland
Praxis Seizure: Dallas
Praxis Seizure: Houston
Praxis Seizure: Miami
Praxis Seizure: Seattle
Praxis Seizure: Washington, D.C.
Praxis Seizure: Amsterdam
Praxis Seizure: Barcelona
Praxis Seizure: Berlin
Praxis Seizure: Brussels
Praxis Seizure: Dublin
Praxis Seizure: Frankfurt
Praxis Seizure: Geneva
Praxis Seizure: Glasgow
Praxis Seizure: London
Praxis Seizure: Paris
Praxis Seizure: Rome
Praxis Seizure: Stockholm
Praxis Seizure: Venice
Praxis Seizure: Athens
Praxis Seizure: Cairo
Praxis Seizure: Istanbul
Praxis Seizure: Monaco
Malkavian Justicar x2
Consanguineous Boon x4
Conservative Agitation x3
VII. VTES Fun Facts!
Putting multiple copies of a Vampire in your crypt is certainly a
matter of taste. Lately I've been doubling up more often, hoping to
see that certain special someone. Of course, this creates the danger
of seeing the dreaded double in your opening draw. Doing a little risk
analysis, I calculated some statistics that I've found useful in
thinking about how I build my crypts.
I'll spare you the methodological explanation (yeah, this annoyed my
high school teacher too). But I invite the numerate readers of the
newsletter to confirm or correct my calculations.
Likelihood of getting a particular vampire in your opening draw of 4
with 1 copy in you crypt: 33%
Likelihood of getting a particular vampire in your opening draw of 4
with 2 copies in you crypt: 58%
Likelihood of getting a particular vampire in your opening draw of 4
with 3 copies in you crypt: 75%
Likelihood of getting a particular vampire in your opening draw of 4
with 4 copies in you crypt: 86%
Likelihood of getting 2 copies of the same vampire in your opening
draw of 4 with 2 copies in you crypt: 16%
Likelihood of getting 2 copies of the same vampire in your opening
draw of 4 with 3 copies in you crypt: 36%
Likelihood of getting 3 copies of the same vampire in your opening
draw of 4 with 3 copies in you crypt: 14%
Likelihood a particular vampire is one of the top 5 in your crypt with
1 copy: 42%
Likelihood a particular vampire is one of the top 5 in your crypt with
2 copies in the crypt: 68%
VIII. Next Month!
Next month I'll take a long look at that most malevolent of Malkavian
cards: The Madness Network.
This seems a great opportunity to tap the collective wisdom of this
particular group of mad netizens. So please, send me your favorite
tricks, decks, combos, and strategies that use the Madness Network.
I'll collect the results and publish then next month.
Last but not least, the October Malk newsletter will be a little late
in hitting the newsstands. Why is that? Well, the family and I are
hopping on a plane and will be cruising around France in late September
and early October. AND it so happens we'll be pulling into Paris just
in time for me to dive in, test my mettle, and see if I can win a
qualifier spot at the EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS! (as we say here in the
U.S. of A.) Yeeehawwww!
So, I hope all you European types will be kind enough to introduce
yourselves. I'll be the slightly lost looking guy with the American
accent. See you there!
-Ben Swainbank