OFFICIAL VEKN SAMEDI BLOODLINE NEWSLETTER : VOLUME I ISSUE IV In this issue: Introduction: Attack of the Living Dead Card of the Month: The Withering Vampire of the Month: Jorge de la Muerte Deck of the Month: Zombie Smackdown Bonus Non-Samedi Deck of the Month: The Horde Al nan Gran Bwa, al chache fey Le mwen rive mwen jwen twa zom O! Premye a, yon boutey nwa, Dezyem nan, yon tet san ko, Twazyem nan, yon asson nan men! Se li ke wa, se li kap komande. I go to Big Woods, go looking for leaves. When I get there, I find three men, O! The first, a black bottle, The second, a head without a body, The third, an asson in hand! It is king, it commands. -- Vodun Invocation (song for Gran Bwa) Introduction: Attack of the Living Dead Methuselahs! Do you like a library with 85% red-rimmed cards? Do you get impatient waiting for a successful block so combat can begin? Then it's time to sharpen your smiles, Rush lovers, because this issue of the Samedi newsletter is dedicated to Samedi Rush: Is it possible? Is it practical? Could it ever win a game? Yes. But like all things worth doing, it ain't easy. One way for a Rush deck to win on a regular basis is to be able to torporize minions as fast as its predator and prey can bring them out. Weenie monopotence Rush excels at this strategy because it can produce a number of minions quickly (Lupo, Koko, Paul DiCarlo, etc.) and can reliably draw a simple, deadly combo (Torn Signpost, Fake Out, Immortal Grapple, Disarm) that negates common defenses such as maneuvers, dodges and strike: combat ends . . . though not damage prevention. This is a difficult strategy for the Samedi. Their vampires are simply too large and too few, and they have no simple counter to strike: combat ends. However, by using fortitude weenies from other clans in the crypt and lots of Trap, Undead Persistence and Rapid Healing plus some Withering, Compress and Cloak the Gathering, the Samedi can muster a daunting mob offense. Another sort of effective Rush deck targets only one vampire, usually one controlled by its prey, and moves it in and out of torpor repeatedly, thereby activating a card such as Fame. This "yoyo" strategy works best for the Assamites, who can bloat using Minion Tap/Provision of the Silesia as they send the minion to torpor, and have access to Foul Blood so they can send the minion to torpor on its own turn. Again, ways around strike: combat ends (Psyche, Thin Blood) are critical. This is theoretically possible for the Samedi, but not really practical. Since they can't bloat as they attack, the Samedi need other defenses against their predator's bleeds and votes, defenses that will blunt their combat capabilities. I can't list all the possible Rush variants here; there's quite a few. But in most cases, the objections above disqualify the Samedi. They're either too big to be efficient as rushers, or they require too much additional defense to be practical. However, there's one Rush deck that they're perfect for: Mug and Steal. This technique is used to devastating effect in Eurobrujah, Lasombra and Giovanni Rush decks, involves beating vampires into torpor, then Graverobbing them. The Samedi must go one step further and burn the minions in question, then use Daemonic Possession. Burn vampires? you ask. Isn't it easier to knock them into torpor? Yes, of course, but for the Samedi burning is not that much more trouble. If you can get around strike: combat ends to land a strike, Withering opens the doors to a neat and easy kill. And although the window of opportunity for Daemonic Possession can be narrower than the window of opportunity for Graverobbing, you don't have to worry so much about the vampire being revived if you miss your window. Card of the Month: The Withering Withering Combat Thanatosis/Animalism [ani]: Strike: 1R damage. [thn]: Strike: strength damage. Place this card on the opposing minion. The minion with this card has -1 strength. Burn this card during his or her controller's next discard phase.: As [thn] above, and the minion with this card cannot play cards that require any Disciplines. With the Withering, the Samedi can cause their enemies' extremities to shrivel and decay. This is as painful as it sounds. Kudos to the artist, who mixes horror and humor into his illustration. The off-discipline use of Withering might conceivably be used in Nosferatu/Samedi crossover decks, but its usefulness is quite limited. 'Tis a pity it requires Animalism rather than Necromancy, which would be more useful and make more sense thematically. Inferior Withering resembles Disease, Song of Serenity, Scorpion's Touch and Bonecraft. It lasts longer than Disease and Song of Serenity, but doesn't necessarily affect the first strike resolution. It CAN affect the first strike resolution, unlike ST and Bonecraft, and has no blood cost, but also unlike those cards, The Withering goes away automatically. It mixes well with Traps and other presses. Superior Withering is unique, and many degrees more vicious. Once this strike lands, an opposing vampire cannot play discipline cards, so it probably can't prevent damage. That makes Dawn Operation/the Withering a great bruise combo. Furthermore, most combat cards require disciplines, so your opponent will probably not be able to use additional strikes, manuever, press or much of anything else. Even if a withered vamp survives combat, it will be crippled until its controller's next discard phase, which is as good a reason as any to play Samedi rush or bruise rather than Samedi intercept. First Strike with Withering is quite possible. Both Jorge de la Muerte and Jack Dawson can use Backstab and Shadow Strike; Jack can also use Silence of Death and Veil of Silence. In this case, the opposing minion's strength will be reduced when his first strike resolves. Note, however, that since your opponent chooses his strike before the Withering resolves, that he can still play a strike that requires disciplines. That means that strike: combat ends and go-to-torpor strikes are still problems. Methuselahs intent on spreading mayhem with the Samedi will need a combo that eliminates those problems. One possible combo, available to every Samedi with THN, is Hidden Lurker/the Withering. Hidden Lurker allows you to land the Withering (provided your opponent can't maneuver away), but HL's opportunity cost is high. It requires you to tap two minions (the actor and the lurker), and your prey has to block. Still, this combo works well when you're using a Samedi to deter your opponents from blocking. Add Trap and Compress and you have a deadly combination indeed. Alternately, combine HL/Withering with Ex Nihilio, a Ghoul Retainer and maybe a Disguised Weapon. To use The Withering with other S:CE hosers, the Samedi have to gain skill cards or otherwise boost their disciplines. Adding Potence to gain access to Immortal Grapple seems most practical, since The Withering is a hand strike. (Note that the Hand of Conrad mixes well with Hag's Wrinkles and Heidleburg Castle, two cards that belong in many Samedi decks anyway.) Conceivably, Jorge or Jack could gain celerity for Psyche, or the Baron could gain Dominate for Thoughts Betrayed. Most rush enthusiasts disdain adding disciplines, which reduces a deck's attack speed. If going this route, it would be wise to build a deck that can defend itself while its rushers are tooling up. Vampire of the Month: Jorge de la Muerte Jorge de la Muerte, the Agent Samedi 7 Capacity cel for nec OBF THN Sabbat: Jorge gets +1 bleed when bleeding a Methuselah who controls a ready Sabbat vampire. The Harbingers of Skulls must be terribly jealous of Jorge de la Muerte, who naturally possesses the flayed look they try so hard to cultivate. One look at this skinless apparition would take the fun out of Dia de los Muertos for even the bravest children. Sadly, Jorge is an inconvenient size. He's too large to bring out in one turn with the Information Highway, and he's too small to use Zillah's Valley on. He seems reasonably priced for his disciplines when you take his special into account; it should come into play fairly often. Unlike previous Samedi of the Month, Jorge's disciplines don't beg to have a deck built around them. Still, he's the smallest vamp with with OBF THN, a combination with little synergy, but considerable utility. He's also one of the smallest vamps with OBF nec (Sarrasine ties for the title), which makes him useful in wraith ally/Cloak the Gathering/Shroud Mastery decks. Jorge also complements Lithrac (in OBF for decks), George Fredrick (in THN decks), and Jack Dawson (in Assamite/Samedi crossover decks). Deck of the Month: Zombie Smackdown Simple but brutal, this deck uses pot/dom weenies to support one or more Samedi rushers. Crypt: (13 cards, Min: 15, Max: 32, Avg: 5.62) ---------------------------------------------- 2 The Baron dom FOR NEC OBF THN 9, Samedi, 2 votes 2 Jorge De La Muerte cel for nec OBF THN 7, Samedi 2 George Frederick FOR nec obf THN 6, Samedi 1 Terry aus dom POT san 5, Blood Brother 1 Isabel Giovanni DOM NEC pot 5, Giovanni 1 Shane Grimald ani dom pot 4, Gangrel Antitribu 1 Ignacio dom obt pot 4, Lasombra 1 Francesca Giovanni dom nec pot 4, Giovanni 1 Chas Giovanni Tello DOM POT 4, Giovanni 1 Cameron dom pot 3, Lasombra Library: (90 cards) ------------------- Master (12 cards) 3 Blood Doll 2 Dreams of the Sphinx 5 Potence 2 Visit from the Capuchin Action (8 cards) 6 Ambush 2 Daemonic Possession Action Modifier (10 cards) 3 Conditioning 5 Hag's Wrinkles 2 Hidden Lurker Reaction (13 cards) 7 Deflection 6 Wake with Evening's Freshness Combat (38 cards) 7 Compress 3 Fake Out 6 Immortal Grapple 3 Superior Mettle 5 Taste of Vitae 7 Trap 7 Withering Equipment (5 cards) 1 Hand of Conrad 1 IR Goggles 1 Laptop Computer 1 Palatial Estate 1 Talbot's Chainsaw Combo (4 cards) 4 Swallowed by the Night Bonus Non-Samedi Deck of the Month: The Horde! The Horde! (To the tune of "Rawhide!", as sung by the Blues Brothers) Intro: Shambling, shambling, shambling Shambling, shambling, shambling (etc.) Shambling, shambling, shambling, Keep those zombies shambling! Your rivals will be scrambling to hide! Don't try to get to know them, Just rush and Lucky Blow them, Make more zombies from old ones as they die. Bring 'em out! Take 'em down! Chop 'em up! Bring 'em back! Fake 'em out! Box 'em in! The Horde! Bring 'em back! Chop 'em up! Fake 'em out! Take 'em down! Box 'em in! Bring 'em o-o-o-ut . . . The Ho-o-orde! YAH! Crypt: (12 cards, Min: 26, Max: 38, Avg: 7.83) ---------------------------------------------- 2 Agaitas AUS for NEC 6, Harbingers of Skulls 2 Gisela Harden aus dem FOR NEC 7, Harbingers of Skulls, Priscus 2 Egothha AUS FOR NEC obf 7, Harbingers of Skulls 2 Anisa Marianna Lopez aus FOR NEC QUI 8, Harbingers of Skulls 2 Unre AUS dom FOR NEC ser thn 9, Harbingers of Skulls, Bishop 2 Regina Giovanni aus DOM for NEC POT 10, Giovanni, 2 votes Library: (90 cards) ------------------- Master (16 cards) 2 Blood Doll 1 Charisma 1 Club Zombie 1 Creepshow Casino 2 Fame 1 Giant's Blood 2 Jake Washington (Hunter) 1 KRCG News Radio 1 London Evening Star, Tabloid Newspaper 1 Powerbase: Chicago 1 Powerbase: Montreal 1 Powerbase: Washington, D.C. 1 Rack, The Action (7 cards) 5 Haunt 2 Pulse of the Canaille Action Modifier (5 cards) 5 Call of the Hungry Dead Reaction (11 cards) 2 My Enemy's Enemy 5 Telepathic Misdirection 4 Wake with Evening's Freshness Combat (29 cards) 6 Boxed In 5 Fake Out 4 Lucky Blow 6 Martyr's Resilience 4 Pulled Fangs 4 Rolling with the Punches Ally (16 cards) 16 Shambling Hordes Equipment (1 cards) 1 Erebus Mask Combo (5 cards) 5 Spectral Divination Thanks for reading. I'm interested in hearing any comments or suggestions you may have. Send any submissions for future newsletters to emmitsvenson@hotmail.com.