Official V:EKN Clan Salubri Newsletter Vol.4 No.1 October 2006 Of interest to Scholars and Slanderers Editor: Joel Tate In this issue: 1. Introduction 2. Miscellanea et Demonica - strategy 3. The Dwindling Few - featured vampire(s) 4. The Powers of the Righteous - featured card(s) 5. The Hosts of Heaven - featured deck(s) 6. Conclusion - summary & theme for next issue --------------------------------------- 1. INTRODUCTION --------------------------------------- Hello everyone and welcome to a new addition to the Salubri Newsletters, following on from the work done by Ben Peal and Patrick van der Reest. I will aim to carry on the same format of newsletter started back in 2002 by Ben and then carried on by Patrick. A lot has happen in the last couple of years since the last newsletter; there have been five new expansions and one base set, which makes it next to impossible to include all the updates in one issue. I will focus on the new additions to bloodline this issue, coming from Legacies, and then cover the other expansions in other issues. This month we shall look at the Antediluvian founder of the Salubri line, Saulot, his use in a multi-rush deck and a handy two action combination which gives your predator and prey a very awkward decision. --------------------------------------- 2. MISCELLANEA ET DEMONICA --------------------------------------- For those of us who have been playing with Salubri for sometime now, the effectiveness of Nose of the Hound and Spirit Marionette is one of the key pillars on which you build an aggressive Salubri deck (cards described in the card appendix to the section). The combination forces your predator and prey into considering the worth of every action they take, (not that they don't do this already!). The dilemma posed resolves around the threat of a stolen minion and the potential for lost blood (Heidelberg Castle) / burnt minion (Daring the Dawn) or to be targeted by a big nasty vampire, i.e. Saulot (or Lazverinus in a mixed deck with the Ventrue Antitribu). To further the problem, Spirit Marionette itself adds a bleed threat using basic Obeah, which used with a Salubri provides a +1 bleed action, and then taps a minion of your prey, ready to be rushed with Nose of the Hound. Normally most players will favor tapping their minions through actions rather than allow a Salubri player to get their hands on them. As noted in previous volumes of the newsletter, and also in the VTES Players guide, this encourages a Salubri player to add modest intercept to deter this course of action (no pun intended); Matthias can be invaluable with this approach, with his built in intercept. The card threat can also be translated to a multi-rush deck, which is the deck theme of the month, where Ambush has been added to complement Nose of the Hound. The affect of added Ambush increases the likelihood of minions not tapping; thus it is more likely for Spirit Marionette at superior to be playable. Both Nose of the Hound and Spirit Marionette (at superior) are at +1 stealth, and do suffer from being blocked, even when the invariable Repulsion is played. However, as noted in one of the first Salubri Newsletters, Dawn Operation and Kiss of Ra can prove to be effective countermeasures to this deficiency. A note on Spirit Marionette itself, the ability of Eurayle Gelasia Mylonas goes hand in hand with this powerful card, untapping any minion, even one controlled by another Methuselah. This ability can operate in the same way as the superior version of Precognizant Mobility. As a word of warning, repeated use of this combination on a single player, normally your prey does increase hate levels on the table. However, there is nothing more satisfying than turning your prey's resources against them and ousting them with their own minions (usually the approach of the accused Setites). Card appendix: Nose of the Hound Type: Action Requires: Spiritus/Auspex +1 stealth action [aus] (D) Enter combat with a ready tapped minion controlled by another Methuselah. This acting minion gets an optional maneuver in that combat. [spi] As [aus] above, with an additional optional maneuver during that combat. [SPI] As [spi] above, but enter combat with any ready minion controlled by another Methuselah. Spirit Marionette Type: Action Requires: Obeah/Dominate [dom] (D) Bleed at +1 bleed. [obe] (D) Bleed at +1 bleed, and tap a ready minion controlled by your prey (even if the target of the bleed is changed). [OBE] +1 stealth action. (D) Take control of any ready untapped minion until the end of the next action. That minion must bleed your prey unless he or she must hunt. --------------------------------------- 3. THE DWINDLING FEW --------------------------------------- Saulot Salubri (Group 4) Capacity 11 dai AUS FOR OBE THA VAL Independent: Damage Baali inflict on Saulot is reduced to 0. During your untap phase, you may move 2 blood from Saulot to any vampire in your uncontrolled region or in play. +1 bleed. +1 strength. Scarce. Saulot can block, bleed, bruise, bloat and steal; this vampire can almost do it all. As founder of both the Healer (Salubri) and Warrior (Salubri Antitribu) branches of the Salubri line, Saulot has access to all in-clan disciplines, plus superior Thaumaturgy and basic Daimoinon. Saulot will team up effectively with the Salubri Antitribu, Ventrue Antitribu, Harbingers of Skulls, and also the Tremere Antitribu. There are three problems with Saulot, firstly that you can easily be overwhelmed with the options presented through discipline spread. Second, that he is "Scarce", thus influencing out a second Salubri will likely inflict almost terminal pool damage, although his skill goes a long way to cure this. Lastly, any deck involving Saulot will take a while to build up, and if your predator has a speed deck, well you can guess the rest... --------------------------------------- 4. THE POWERS OF THE RIGHTEOUS --------------------------------------- The Path of Tears Type: Master Requires: Salubri Cost: 1 Pool Master: out-of-turn. Path. Put this card on a Salubri when you move that Salubri from your uncontrolled region to your ready region during your influence phase. If you burned 3 or more pool for the scarce penalty for this vampire, you gain 3 pool. Cards that require Obeah cost this Salubri 1 less blood to play. Any minion may burn this card as a (D) action. The second master card exclusively for the Salubri, and it lends a way out to the pain of paying for the "scarce" cost of these rare vampires. With the release of The Path of Tears, the Salubri are the only clan afflicted by "scarceness", with a way of recouping some of the pool lost on the second entrant into play. As an added bonus all cards requiring Obeah have their cost reduced to zero for this vampire, i.e. cards like Neutral Guard and Renewed Vigor that make their way into most Salubri decks are even more playable. While the path can be burnt as an action, it can make tempting bait to a Salubri block deck. Sense Death Type: Action Requires: Valeren/Animalism +1 stealth action [ani] (D) Enter combat with a younger vampire. [val] (D) Enter combat with any minion. This acting vampire gets an optional press during this combat. [VAL] As [val] above, and this acting vampire gets an optional maneuver during this combat. While not strict card for the Salubri, Sense Death is a particularly good rush card for any Valeren user, i.e. Saulot. At +1 stealth, your opponent has to stump up intercept to block the action, which makes it less likely to be blocked. The card will also go particularly well with any vampires with Animalism you team with your Valeren user, i.e. Cock Robin in Jeremiah Moore's "Wakes with Righteous Vengeance!" deck. Best of all, if the action is successful, vampire has superior Valeren, you get both a free press and maneuver, which assist in getting to close range to deliver the vital strikes. --------------------------------------- 5. THE HOSTS OF HEAVEN --------------------------------------- Here is the first version of my Saulot multi-rush deck, built back when Legacies was released, and is currently subject to being revised to improve resilience to table hate, as I seem to collect it very quickly. Deck Name: Saulot Multi Rush v1.0 Created By: Joel Tate Description: Fairly straight forward multi-rush deck, taking advantage of the inbuilt untap of Rutor's hand, Mylan Horseed and Eurayle's very handy ability; there is also transient untap with Freak Drive. The deck does have the irritation of S:CE, however in the current revision, Telepathic Tracking mitigates this. Unlike other multi-rush decks, blood control can be less of an issue, as Renewed Vigor refills Saulot when he is particularly thirsty. Depravity and Serenading the Kami are there to give +strength, I wanted to use the latter as I had never seen it in a deck locally before. Crypt: (12 cards, Min: 11, Max: 44, Avg: 7) ------------------------------------------- 5 Saulot dai AUS FOR OBE THA VAL 11 Salubri 3 Eurayle Gelasia Mylonas for pre AUS OBE 6 Salubri 1 Maldavis for pre AUS 4 Caitiff 1 Martin Franckel tha AUS 3 Tremere 1 Piotr Andreikov aus 2 Tzimisce 1 Nicholas Chang aus 2 Toreador Antitribu Library: (90 cards) ------------------- Master (12 cards) 3 Blood Doll 1 Depravity 1 Dummy Corporation 1 Fame 1 Giant's Blood 2 Haven Uncovered 1 Heidelberg Castle, Germany 1 Perfectionist 1 Tension in the Ranks Action (18 cards) 2 Ambush 3 Nose of the Hound 4 Renewed Vigor 2 Rutor's Hand 4 Sense Death 3 Spirit Marionette Action Modifier (19 cards) 8 Freak Drive 2 Neutral Guard 2 Repulsion 7 Serenading the Kami Reaction (10 cards) 4 Telepathic Counter 4 Telepathic Misdirection 2 Wake with Evening's Freshness Combat (30 cards) 15 Anesthetic Touch 10 Unflinching Persistence 5 Vitae Block Ally (1 cards) 1 Mylan Horseed (Goblin) --------------------------------------- 6. CONCLUSION --------------------------------------- Well, that's it for this newsletter, over the next couple of issue we shall be look at the other additions made to the Salubri in Legacies of Blood and the recent 3rd Edition. I will also come back to Saulot in a subsequent issue, when I have fully discovered how to break him (if it is possible). If you have any ideas, comments or additions please feel free to contact me. Joel Cambridge, UK